Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

[Rise, my subject]: Later, when we were chatting, we found out that we were in the same place, so we arranged to have dinner together and get to know each other.

[Ai Jong-kook]: Is that even possible? That's not bad.

Ai Qing thought this reason was plausible.

But when Xiaoyu saw this, she was immediately shocked and blurted out, "How did you know I was reading your novel?"

Ai Qing: "...???"

Chapter 94 Thank you, Uncle!

Ai Qing feels a bit numb right now.

Ai Qing had already regretted telling Xiao Youqian the name of her new book in a moment of madness.

The feeling of having your friends and family find out you're writing a romance novel is an extreme test of your sense of shame.

Because once people know both the author's and real-life identities, the writer must accept the possibility that acquaintances will learn about their own "XP" through the content.

Especially when it comes to writing romance novels.

Ai Qing currently lacks the ability to freely express her feelings and indulge her imagination without caring about others' opinions, even when acquaintances know about her work.

So when Ai Qing sees Xiao Youqian, she won't bring up his book-writing as long as Xiao Youqian doesn't mention it.

But Ai Qing never expected that Xiao Yu, this usually cute and obedient little cat, would secretly do such a thing!

He even sneaked out of his house to eat barbecue in the middle of the night!

However, getting 6000 yuan from my dad as a dating fund isn't a bad deal... It's enough to cover three months' rent, so I've made up for the rent I paid in the first three months.

The rent for May is due in a few more days, which means that I haven't paid the rent at all.

"Waaah..." Little Fish lowered her head, pouted, and looked a little unwilling.

It was only then that she realized that Ai Qing had just said it casually on WeChat and didn't actually know that she was secretly reading Ai Qing's novel.

In his nervousness, he accidentally revealed the secret to Ai Qing.

She's only gotten to chapter 37 in the last few days; she hasn't had time to read the rest yet.

After all, there are still daily study tasks, and after becoming human, there are still cooking, cleaning, and washing Ai's clothes.

The remaining time was when she would play on her phone or play computer games with Ai Qing.

Besides, if given the chance, Ai Qing would take her out for a stroll, just like tonight.

So in reality, she didn't spend much time reading novels each day.

She also wondered if the female lead, who could turn into a cat later on, could become a couple with the male lead.

Little Fish will be very sad if she never sees it again.

"How long have you been watching?" Ai Qing asked.

"Not long," Xiaoyu said softly, "only... four, five, six, or seven days."

"So you've only had the new phone for a couple of days and you're already looking at it?" Ai Qing rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Where are you looking at it?"

"On your phone." Xiaoyu blinked, not understanding why he asked that.

"I mean, on which app on the phone did you watch it?"

"Just use that browser." Xiaoyu hesitated for a moment, then unlocked her phone and demonstrated it to Aiqing. "Just like that, search for your book title, and you'll find lots of things to read."

Ai Qing looked at the page full of pirated links and finally found the official website at the end. Her eyes twitched involuntarily: "...You're really smart. You even know how to read pirated versions."

"Huh?" Little Fish was taken aback. "What is piracy?"

“Just like online thieves.” Ai Qing sighed. “But whatever, piracy is piracy.”

Ai Qing doesn't completely oppose piracy, after all, he himself used to read pirated copies when he was in school.

I didn't even know that "official websites" existed.

Every time I see an author say something like "requesting monthly votes" at the end of a chapter, I have no idea what "monthly votes" are.

Later, when he went to university and his living expenses increased, he had some extra money to support legitimate products.

Ai Qing doesn't see anything wrong with students without income watching pirated content, as long as it doesn't interfere with their studies.

If one day Xiaoyu is able to earn her own money and has enough capital to support herself, then Ai Qing would be very willing for her to support the official version as well.

What Ai Qing really dislikes are the pirates who profit from piracy, and the readers who read pirated copies but still insist on coming to the official version to complain.

There are even readers who think piracy is a given, and that the author should be grateful and feel honored even if they read pirated copies.

That's pretty incredible.

However, most readers, whether they read the original or the pirated version, are actually the silent majority and will not speak out at all.

Just like Xiaoyu, she simply reads books quietly by herself.

“I’ll download an official, legitimate app for you,” Ai Qing said. “Then you can use my account directly, and if you want to read novels in the future, you can just pay me.”

After much deliberation, Ai Qing came up with this compromise.

Since Xiaoyu is a girl, Ai Qing was thinking that she should download a female-oriented novel website for her.

However, considering some works in the female-oriented genre... although they carry certain stereotypes, Ai Qing decided to pass.

Let's wait until Xiaoyu has developed her own stable values ​​before we look into it.

"Like I said, novels are all fiction, so don't take them too seriously." Ai Qing downloaded the Qidian Reading app on Xiao Yu's phone and logged into her account. "If there's anything strange or confusing, just ask me. Don't try to figure it out on your own, okay?"

"Oh..." Xiaoyu nodded. Seeing that Ai Qing hadn't really scolded her and didn't seem very angry anymore, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. But she still reached out her little hand and gently tugged at Ai Qing's sleeve, whispering, "Xiaoyu knows she was wrong. She won't hide it from her brother next time."

"Yes, it's good that you know you're wrong and can correct it." Ai Qing patted her head.

Feeling the warmth of Ai Qing's hand, Xiao Yu's lips immediately curled into a smile, knowing that Ai Qing had forgiven her.

She smiled happily, picked up her chopsticks, and offered Ai Qing a piece of grilled fish: "Brother, you eat."

Ai Qing didn't refuse, opened her mouth to take it, and then picked up her chopsticks: "Alright, alright, let's leave it at that. Let's eat the barbecue first, it won't taste good if it gets cold."

Now that things have come to this, what else can Ai Qing do?

In these situations, it's better to guide than to suppress.

Even if Ai Qing strictly forbids Xiao Yu from secretly reading his novels, there's no guarantee that Xiao Yu will actually stop reading them.

Xiaoyu might obediently listen at first, but if she can't resist the temptation in the end, she might secretly take a look when Ai Qing isn't paying attention.

Once this habit is formed, it will only affect the little fish's personality.

The death of a member of society is a minor matter; the most important thing is the growth of Xiaoyu's personality.

Since Xiao Youqian already knew about it, what difference would it make if one more little fish came along?

After all, much of my content is inspired by my daily interactions with Xiaoyu.

It could even be said that Xiaoyu's contribution to the book's current success, which is considered above average, is undeniable.

This book is not the result of his efforts alone.

Thinking of this, Ai Qing felt a little relieved as she looked at the little fish happily eating grilled fish.

While Ai Qing was "interrogating" Xiao Yu, Ai Zhongguo also sent some messages on WeChat.

[Ai Jong-kook]: I think this girl is very interested in you.

[Ai Jong-kook]: I may not be good at other things, but I'm pretty good at judging people.

[Ai Jong-guk]: You haven't worked as a reporter and editor for nothing all these years. There's a sense of trust in you in this young girl's eyes.

[Ai Jong-guk]: And the fact that she called me "Dad" right away shows that she was probably too nervous, which means she cares about you a lot.

[Ai Jong-kook]: And later, every time I asked a question and you answered, she would subconsciously look at your face and pay attention to your expression.

【Ai Jong-guk】: This means she cares a lot about your emotions and attitude.

[Ai Jong-kook]: You're really lucky, kid. You get along well with him, and your dad will cover all your dating expenses!

After reading the long analysis sent by her father, Ai Qing's lips twitched. She thought to herself that it was a real waste of her father's talent not to become a relationship analyst.

[Rise, my subject]: Please don't meddle in this matter, okay? She and I are really just friends now, nothing more.

[Ai Jong-kook]: I understand that girlfriends are also friends. Why would a young man be shy with his father?

[Ai Jong-kook]: That's what your mom and I said back then too, that we were just friends, but we still ended up getting married.

Ai Qing: "..."

Judging from Dad's expression, I doubt he'll believe me no matter how I explain.

Just like Kong Fugui.

Sigh... Why doesn't anyone believe him?

He felt that his attitude towards Xiaoyu had always been pure.

It's simply that Xiaoyu's moral and ethical values ​​are not yet the same as those of people who have grown up in a normal social and family environment.

This leads to situations where Xiaoyu's behavior sometimes seems to conform to certain characteristics, but in reality, it's simply because she doesn't understand or comprehend them yet.

It's like a two- or three-year-old girl kissing a boy her own age; no one would think there's any love between them.

This is the state the little fish is in right now.

Although their physical development is almost the same as that of adults, their mental development in this respect is still far behind that of adults.

[Rise, my subject]: Let's put everything else aside for now and start by agreeing on some rules, shall we?

【Ai Jong-kook】: What do you mean?

[Rise, my subject]: I won't tell my family that you came out alone in the middle of the night to drink alone, and you shouldn't tell my family that I went out to eat barbecue with a girl alone, okay?

[Ai Jong-kook]: Who told you I was out drinking alone?

[Ai Jong-kook]: I was invited out by a friend.

[Rise, my dear subject]: Hehe, there's only one pair of chopsticks on the table and only one wine cup. Dad, stop pretending.

[Ai Jong-guk]: Isn't it normal not to use chopsticks when eating barbecue? I only used chopsticks after ordering a small grilled fish. Besides, my friend is quite generous and drinks directly from the beer bottle, so it's normal not to have a glass.

[Rise, my subject]: After all that talk, can't I just ask the landlady directly?