Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

Unfortunately, the story of "My Childhood Sweetheart Will Turn into a Cat" has now progressed to the end of the college entrance examination and the start of summer vacation.

Despite the climax, the female lead finally learned that the male lead had known all along that she was the cat, which boosted the average subscription to 3500 and even the follow-up subscriptions to over 2000.

However, such climaxes in romance novels are purely expendable; once they've been used once, the reader's enthusiasm will gradually cool down.

Fortunately, the two haven't officially established a relationship yet, but the female lead is already furious and has recently stopped coming to see the male lead in the middle of the night.

The summer vacation storyline is about the two people truly getting to know each other, understanding each other, and entering university hand in hand.

Because of the serialized nature of online novels, the parts of the story where both characters are in a state of confusion and awkwardness are naturally quite difficult to endure.

The upward trend in average orders also subsided after this peak.

The traffic generated by the previous strong promotion of the new book has been put to good use.

According to Ai Qing's current estimate, the two will confirm their relationship after entering university for a period of time and enter a happy phase of showing affection.

I might have to finish writing it by my sophomore or junior year.

As for the final word count... I don't know if it will even reach a million words.

If, like the previous book, I could only write a few hundred thousand words, then it would only be a few months of serialization.

Even if you manage to save over ten thousand each month, by the time this book is finished, you'll probably have saved around fifty or sixty thousand.

Not particularly many.

But at least it's enough for Ai Qing to support herself and Xiao Yu for a long time.

As long as the sales of the next new book remain stable, these good days can continue for a long time.

After finishing her meal and returning to her bedroom, Ai Qing carefully calculated the expenses in her notebook, which made her feel more at ease.

His only worry now is that his book's good results are just a coincidence, and his true colors will be revealed in his next book.

In short, I still need to work harder and strive to make some progress in this book.

He also considered another possibility: this book is a rare gem, and it could easily be filled with mundane, everyday content.

But that's not what I want.

Rather than slowly dying over a book, Ai Qingning would rather embrace a real challenge.

After settling her accounts, Ai Qing put those matters out of her mind and took out her phone to find Xiao Youqian's WeChat.

[Rise, my dear subject]: Sister Qian, are you free these next few days?

[Yuqian does whatever she wants]: What's wrong? Are you going to catch the cat again?

[Rise, my dear subject]: Catching the cat isn't urgent, but my royalties from last month have already been paid out, and I was thinking that since you gave me a Silver Alliance before, I'd like to treat you to a meal this time.

【Youxi does whatever she wants】: Sure, I recently saw a Japanese restaurant that I like, what do you think?

[Rise, my lord]: Which family is it?

【Youxi does whatever she wants】: It's a Japanese restaurant that just opened this year in Yintai City. The restaurant is quite small, but it's very popular and you need to make a reservation in advance to get a table.

[Rise, my subject]: Could it be that Asakusa House?

【Youxi does whatever she wants】: Yes, yes, yes! That's the place! I heard the food is really good, have you been there before?

[Rise, my dear subject]: No, I only heard about it from my mother.

[Rise, my dear subject]: If Sister Qian is interested, I can make a reservation and treat you to a meal then.

【Youqian does whatever she wants】: Okay, then I'll look forward to it.

After confirming with Xiao Youqian that she would be treating her to dinner, Ai Qing called her mother again.

The call was answered very quickly.

"Hello? What's wrong?" Yao Qiang's voice came from the other end of the line. "Mom's busy here, what can I do for you?"

"Oh, nothing else," Ai Qing said. "Mom, are you free this weekend? I earned some money from writing this time, I'll treat you to that Japanese restaurant."

"That's great?" Yao Qiang chuckled, then nodded. "Sure, but you have to make a reservation in advance for that shop."

"I'll take care of it, Mom. You just come with me to eat then," Ai Qing assured him, patting her chest.

"Okay, I'll look forward to it then," Yao Qiang said with a smile. "Shall I hang up now?"

"Okay, that's all. Bye, Mom."

After settling things off with her mother, Ai Qing opened her phone, searched for Asakusa House near Yintai City, and booked a table for lunch on Friday and Saturday through their official WeChat account.

Boss Xiao Youqian is definitely available even on weekdays, so she'll schedule it for Friday.

My mom is free this weekend, so we've set it for Saturday.

However, after booking these two time slots, Ai Qing looked at the little fish that had been squatting next to her without her noticing, and felt a headache coming on.

Why are you looking at me like that?

Looking at Xiaoyu's pitiful appearance, Ai Qing knew what the girl was thinking.

"Japanese food is really just so-so, not as good as barbecue."

"But Xiaoyu has never eaten it before." Xiaoyu pursed her lips and said softly, "Brother, didn't you say that you would have two thousand yuan every month, and after buying groceries, the rest would be mine? How about I use it to treat you to Japanese food?"

Do you know what "Japanese cuisine" means?

"I don't know," Xiaoyu shook her head, then said, "but Mom and that older sister both like to eat it, so it must be delicious."

"Alright, alright." Ai Qing said speechlessly, and then made another reservation for Saturday evening. "I'll take you to try it this weekend."

Ai Qing himself had no interest in Japanese food, especially raw food such as sashimi, and he avoided condiments like wasabi.

But since Xiaoyu wants to give it a try, it's not impossible.

Anyway, we should try them all.

But looking at the three Japanese meals booked on the official WeChat account, Ai Qing clicked her tongue.

Having Japanese food three times in two consecutive days is really maddening.

……

October 5th, Thursday.

The items I bought on Taobao have gradually arrived at Cainiao Stations.

Ai Qing knew that Xiao Youqian usually slept in late, and it was almost noon when she went to the pet hospital.

So early in the morning, when the Cainiao Station opened, Ai Qing took Xiao Yu out of the house and went to the Cainiao Station.

I received about twenty different packages, big and small.

Fortunately, most of them were clothes, which weren't heavy and were easy to carry.

However, if Ai Qing were alone, she definitely wouldn't be able to take it down in one trip.

Now that we have the little fish, this kind of thing is much more convenient.

Now, Xiaoyu is a little cook, a laundry maid, and a laborer.

Having such a lovely girl by your side on a daily basis can help you with many trivial matters in life.

This is practically my ideal life.

"You can leave the gifts for Grandpa and Grandma at home for now, and bring them over when we go back for dinner this weekend," Ai Qing said as she walked, carrying a pile of packages. "As for your packages..."

"Try on the normal clothes I bought for you first," Ai Qing said helplessly. "Those maid outfits, Hanfu, cheongsams, etc... well... you can try them on in another room later."

To be honest, Ai Qing was really looking forward to seeing Xiao Yu wear those clothes.

But reason allowed him to restrain himself.

What troubles him is that Xiaoyu's cognition is still at a relatively low level, yet he has learned a lot of things with the comprehension ability of an adult.

This has led to some misalignment between the two, making Xiaoyu's current views very different from those of normal people.

I don't know how to correct it.

Or rather, this is simply an inevitable situation that will occur for a special species like the small fish.

"Don't you like it, brother?" Xiaoyu blinked and asked innocently, "There are lots of these on your Bilibili."

"This matter is rather complicated," Ai Qing coughed twice. "Essentially, a person possesses both the primal instincts of an animal and the self-restraint honed by long-term societal moral influence. Between these two..."

"So, does your brother like it?"

"Okay... I like it."

Chapter 97 Little Fish's New Clothes

Ai Qing also indulged in ignorant fantasies.

I fantasize about having such a girl.

She is cute, gentle, a little mischievous, innocent, kind, and naive.

She has her own ideas, yet she also relies on him in just the right way. The two of them can talk about anything.

They understand and care for each other, and have an unparalleled understanding and telepathy in life.

She gets incredibly shy if you tease her even a little, but she always manages to muster the courage to secretly wear the clothes he likes.

I would also play games with him, learn about his career, and understand his hard work and dedication.

Ok.

Ai Qing knew this was just a fantasy, so she never hoped that such a thing would happen.

Because he also knew he didn't deserve it.

Or rather, if she were to encounter such a stroke of good fortune from heaven, Ai Qing strongly suspected that it might shorten her lifespan.

Ok.

Watching the little fish carefully unpacking the delivery box in the living room, Ai Qing touched her heart, wondering if she was already shortening her lifespan.

He was unwilling to let Xiaoyu delve into deeper areas before she understood anything.

But there's also the fear that it's all just a dream, and that one day the dream will end, and the little fish will still be that cute little kitten, and everything will go back to square one.

Therefore, Ai Qing was worried that before Xiao Yu grew into a real person, others would discover the secret.