I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

Is this reasonable?

Chapter Thirty-One: The So-Called Sense of Ritual

In the living room.

Bai Xiaoqi sat on the sofa eating breakfast, her expression absent-minded. The cat ears on her head twitched slightly as she listened carefully to the sounds coming from the kitchen.

At first, there was the sound of running water, probably washing something. Then there was the chopping sound of a cleaver cutting something on the cutting board. And now, the gurgling sound is the sound of water boiling.

She wanted to see what he was doing in the kitchen, but she was also conflicted. After struggling with this for a long time, she stuffed the last bun into her mouth and looked down at the oil stains on her little hands.

Seeing this, she suddenly felt she had found a reason, so she got up and walked to the kitchen to wash her hands and 'casually' peek at what he was doing.

Chen Shuo was cooking red date and brown sugar water in the kitchen when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Bai Xiaoqi striding in, her cheeks bulging and moving, clearly chewing something.

Considering that she was not in a position to speak at the moment, Chen Shuo did not ask her what she was doing in there. He glanced at her a few times and then turned his head away.

"Humph..."

Seeing that he ignored her, Bai Xiaoqi wrinkled her nose and snorted, "If you ignore me, I'll ignore you too."

She craned her neck to look at what was cooking on the induction cooker, pursed her lips, and said it looked dark and unappetizing.

Then he went to the sink to wash his hands. At this time, the water in the pot was boiling, and the kitchen was filled with steam. The sweet smell of brown sugar mixed with red dates inevitably entered his nasal cavity.

Her little nose twitched twice, and she couldn't help but turn her head to take another look. This thing looked dark, but why did it smell sweet?

Bai Xiaoqi swallowed the bun in her mouth, hesitated for a long time, and then asked casually, "What are you cooking?"

"Red dates and brown sugar water," Chen Shuo replied casually.

"Oh..."

Seeing that she only said "oh" and then didn't say anything more, Chen Shuo couldn't help but glance at her. When he saw her staring at the brown sugar water in the pot with a hesitant expression, he couldn't help but laugh. "Don't look at it. This is for you."

"Did you cook this for me?"

Bai Xiaoqi's cat ears twitched, and a hint of surprise appeared on her face, but she quickly turned her face away and deliberately asked, "Why did you cook this for me? Just offering it up for no reason..."

At this point, she paused, wondering what she was offering again.

"Unsolicited kindness is either a sign of ulterior motives or theft," Chen Shuo sighed, adding the missing line for her.

"I know, you don't need to remind me."

"Okay, you know you're the smartest."

"........"

Bai Xiaoqi didn't answer, paused for a moment, and then asked again, "Why did you make this sweet soup for me?"

As she spoke, she looked up at Chen Shuo with a hint of expectation in her eyes, determined that as long as this person said that he was cooking this to apologize.

I reluctantly forgave him.

"Of course it's for drinking, what else would it be for?"

Chen Shuo frowned as he looked at her, feeling that this girl was unusually silly today. He had only ever heard people say that pregnancy makes you stupid for three years, but does that mean you become stupid when you have your period?

"I know it's for drinking." Seeing that this person was clueless, Bai Xiaoqi became inexplicably anxious and couldn't help but remind him, "Isn't it for any other purpose?"

"Other... do you know the function of this?" Chen Shuo was a little surprised and couldn't help but look her over.

Did you secretly take some advanced courses?

They even know the benefits of brown sugar water.

"Of course I know."

"It's good that you know. I didn't know how to tell you this." Chen Shuo flipped the pot over, poured the brown sugar water into a bowl, and put a spoon in the bowl. "This is best drunk while it's hot. Take it out and drink it quickly."

"........"

Bai Xiaoqi frowned and stared at him, feeling as if he and she were not on the same wavelength, making communication particularly difficult.

Why are you staring at me like that? Are you afraid you'll burn your hand?

Chen Shuo was taken aback for a moment, then realized what was going on and reached out to pick up the bowl. "Okay, I'll help you carry it."

With that, he picked up the bowl, turned around, and walked out.

"......"

Bai Xiaoqi stared at his back, a little confused. After a moment, she took a step and followed him. The two walked into the living room one after the other.

Seeing Chen Shuo put the bowl on the coffee table, she looked at the brown sugar water in the bowl, hesitated for a moment, then reached out and poked Chen Shuo's lower back, asking, "Aren't you going to apologize to me?"

"Apologize? Why should I apologize to you?"

Seeing his blank expression, Bai Xiaoqi felt a surge of frustration and reminded him, "You said you wanted to turn me into a big, bearded man."

"When did I say I was going to turn you into a big, bearded man?"

"You said it this morning."

"I was just asking casually."

Chen Shuo finally realized that he had just asked her casually in the morning, and the cat girl, perhaps still half asleep or just being silly and not paying attention, had taken it seriously.

He thought he was regretting that when she was being asked to be ennobled, he hadn't turned her into a big, bearded man.

That's why she was so angry this morning.

This leads to a new problem.

"So you're saying you didn't have a relative visiting?" he asked.

"relative?"

This time, Bai Xiaoqi was stunned. Her expression was a little unconfident. Did I have relatives after all?

How come I didn't know?

"The relative I'm referring to isn't the one you think of, it's that..."

Seeing her expression, Chen Shuo knew she must have misunderstood. He wanted to explain, but didn't know how.

After hesitating for a while, he said, "It's nothing. I was just asking casually this morning. I didn't mean to turn you into a big, bearded man. I never thought of turning you into that. Besides, it's not certain whether Tao Feng can change gender, so I was just a little curious, right?"

At this point, Chen Shuo lowered his gaze to the coffee table, considered his words carefully, and continued, "And this brown sugar water, you can consider it an apology to you."

"Apologize?" Bai Xiaoqi's cat ears twitched slightly. She stared at him for a while, then looked at the brown sugar water on the coffee table.

She did think it was for an apology just now, but it's definitely not that simple now.

and……

"What do you mean by 'it's for apologizing to me'?" She frowned, feeling that the words sounded awkward no matter how she looked at them.

"Okay, it's not a pawn, it's just an apology to you. Don't overthink it, drink it while it's hot." Seeing her doubtful expression, Chen Shuo couldn't help but urge her.

"Oh..."

Bai Xiaoqi responded and didn't think much of it. She sat down, took a sip with her spoon, and then, remembering something, suddenly looked up.

She stared at Chen Shuo for a couple of seconds, then lowered her head to continue drinking her sugar water, muttering under her breath, "Since you've apologized, I'll forgive you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuo couldn't help but chuckle. This girl was really interesting; upon closer reflection, it seemed she had always been like this.

I remember the last time I made her angry, she did the same thing. She asked me to apologize first, and after I apologized, she said the same thing: "I'll forgive you."

This is probably what she calls a sense of ritual.

Actually, she's quite cute.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Of course I have a clear conscience.

As evening approached, Chen Shuo came out of his bedroom with a water glass, intending to get some water from the water dispenser.

Bai Xiaoqi was sitting on the sofa, holding her phone and watching videos. Her expression was extremely serious, and her eyes were practically glued to the screen.

"What are you looking at so intently?" Chen Shuo asked curiously as he glanced at the phone screen and immediately understood.

A food documentary is playing on the screen, accompanied by a deep voice narrating. One by one, diners are enjoying skewers, their mouths greasy and their faces flushed with drink.

Chen Shuo glanced at the title, "Life on a String," and wondered how she found it.

Looking at the time, it was already past six in the evening. He reached out and tapped the phone screen, turning off the documentary.

"What are you doing?! I haven't finished reading yet."

"What's the point of just looking? Come on, let's go out to eat. I'll take you to get some grilled skewers."

"Really?"

Bai Xiaoqi's cat ears on her head suddenly stood up, her face full of surprise.

"Oh, would I lie to you? Go change your clothes. Oh, and put on the white shirt and black skirt I bought you last time. Change your style."

"Uh-huh."

Bai Xiaoqi nodded repeatedly, took out her clothes, and went into the bathroom to change.

A moment later, she opened the door and came out. The fitted white shirt made her figure look even more impressive, making her appear fuller and more voluptuous.

She wore a black skirt that covered her thighs but left some distance from her knees. While her fair legs were certainly beautiful, the outfit still felt a little lacking.

If I could wear a pair of black stockings with it, it would be perfect.

Seeing Chen Shuo staring at her legs again, Bai Xiaoqi felt a strange mix of emotions. She felt shy, but also a little bit of secret joy.

She didn't understand why she had such thoughts, but after hesitating for a moment, she decided to cover her legs and then walk to the corner of the living room, where there was a wardrobe she had bought some time ago, the kind assembled with plastic sheeting.

Her few clothes were all kept in there.

Seeing her unzip the wardrobe, Chen Shuo couldn't help but ask, "What else are you looking for?"

"I want to wear a pair of black stockings."

"Uh...."

Chen Shuo was just wondering how to bring this up when she unexpectedly brought it up herself.

He coughed twice, then said calmly, "Then hurry up and put on your shoes, and we'll set off."