I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

.......

It was past seven o'clock and they hadn't eaten dinner yet, so Bai Xiaoqi went to the kitchen to cook. Chen Shuo also stopped writing and decided to take a day off, standing by her side to help her, steaming rice, washing vegetables, peeling garlic, and so on.

Looking at the two of them now, Chen Shuo felt that this was the normal way for couples to get along, and even more like a married couple. When he was tutoring her with her homework earlier, they were like a teacher and a struggling student.

"You can call me Teacher Chen when we do problems in the future," he suggested.

"I don't want to," Bai Xiaoqi refused outright.

"why?"

"Because we are a couple."

Bai Xiaoqi had her own principles; she only wanted to be this person's lover, and then develop into a couple, before she would let him be her teacher.

"It's just a title, it's not like I'm actually going to be your teacher."

Chen Shuo placed the peeled garlic on the cutting board and continued, "Besides, what's a teacher? Some couples even call their boyfriends 'Dad'."

"???"

Bai Xiaoqi paused in her cooking, as if she had remembered something, and her expression instantly turned ashamed and indignant. Then she kicked him.

Startled by the sudden kick, Chen Shuo asked, "Why did you kick me?"

"I will absolutely not agree to this."

Seeing her embarrassed and annoyed expression, Chen Shuo felt a mix of emotions. After a long silence, he couldn't help but ask, "Why do you think I would think such things? What kind of image do you have of me?"

“…”

Bai Xiaoqi pursed her lips twice, then lowered her head to continue cooking, ignoring him.

He also realized he was overthinking things; although this person was lewd, he probably wouldn't let him call him "Dad."

Seeing that she didn't intend to reply, Chen Shuo stopped asking. He felt that the answer he would get would be unacceptable.

Rather than doing that, it's better to pretend you don't know, so you can continue to be a decent person.

It's good to be a little confused when you're alive.

Evenings always seem to fly by. After finishing dinner and washing the dishes, it was already past nine o'clock. Chen Shuo came out of the kitchen wiping his hands and saw her walking towards the bathroom in her sandals, carrying a set of pajamas she was going to change into.

Are you going to take a shower tonight?

Chen Shuo asked, but received no response. Seeing the bathroom door closed, he was stunned. What was going on? Why was he ignoring him?

The sound of rushing water filled the bathroom. Bai Xiaoqi, with a shower cap on her head, looked down at her little feet, bit her lip, and squatted down to carefully scrub them.

The sound of running water continued for more than twenty minutes before she emerged from the bathroom, steaming, and went into the bedroom.

When Chen Shuo saw her come in, he couldn't tell if it was because she had taken a shower or something else, but her face looked rosy.

Looking further down, she noticed that her fair, delicate feet were still wearing sandals, and the cuffs of her pajamas were rolled up a bit. She couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you change into slippers? And why don't you pull your pajamas down a bit? Aren't you cold?"

Bai Xiaoqi looked down, hesitated for a moment, and was about to speak when she saw him pick up his pajamas. She stopped herself from saying anything and instead asked, "Are you going to take a shower too?"

"Yes, take a shower. Okay, now get into bed and cover yourself with the blanket. Be careful not to catch a cold."

As he spoke, Chen Shuo took his pajamas and left the room. Bai Xiaoqi stared at the door for a while, climbed onto the bed, pulled up the blanket, thought for a moment, and then covered her head with the blanket.

When Chen Shuo returned after taking a shower, this was the scene he saw. He walked to the bedside, pulled the blanket down to reveal Bai Xiaoqi's head, and asked, "Why are you covering your face? Aren't you feeling suffocated?"

"I..."

Bai Xiaoqi opened her mouth, but then hesitated, unsure of what to say. She reached out and took the blanket from his hand, covering her face again. "I... I'm going to sleep. Goodnight."

"Well... goodnight."

Chen Shuo was also somewhat hesitant, recalling what she had said that afternoon, and considering her shower tonight, the rolled-up trouser legs, and the sandals she was deliberately wearing, but he didn't want to press her for details.

I simply said goodnight, went over and climbed onto my folding bed, and then turned off the lamp.

The room fell into darkness. Chen Shuo closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and asked, "Do you remember what I said this afternoon?"

“…”

Seeing no response, he continued, "I understand your shyness and embarrassment, so you..."

As he was speaking, Chen Shuo suddenly stopped, because he sensed something reaching out towards him, and then he heard her voice, trembling slightly, filled with barely suppressed shyness.

"I...I washed myself very clean tonight, do you want a kiss?"

"this.."

Chen Shuo remained silent. How could he, a man of integrity, refuse?

Chapter 86 His health is already quite poor.

"Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, the old year departs; the spring breeze brings warmth to the New Year's wine; the sun shines brightly on every door and window; everyone replaces the old peachwood charms with new ones."

On New Year's Eve, Chen Shuo was preparing to go to his parents' house for the New Year's Eve dinner. Just before leaving, he remembered that he hadn't put up the couplets yet, something he didn't usually do.

I live alone and spent the Lunar New Year at my parents' house. By the time I came back, the New Year was over. Who would I put up the poster for? But this year is different.

"In ancient times, people would paste peach wood charms to pray for good fortune and ward off misfortune. Spring Festival couplets were similar, except that they were mainly for the purpose of celebration."

While tearing off the tape, Chen Shuo pasted the couplets on the door, muttering to himself. Finally, he slapped them a few times and took two steps back to admire his masterpiece.

Springtime fills the universe, and blessings fill every home.

As people age, cats live longer.

Horizontal scroll: Humans and cats prosper together.

"How is it?" Chen Shuo turned his head and asked. He was quite satisfied with the couplet he had written himself, but he hadn't written calligraphy in a long time and was a little rusty.

"I feel like you don't treat me like a human being."

Bai Xiaoqi looked left and right, feeling that this jerk was offending her.

"The 'meow' here doesn't mean cat, it's your nickname. Isn't your nickname Ah Miao?"

"What's your nickname?"

I don't have a nickname.

Chen Shuo took the tape into the house, and after coming out, he patted it a few more times, afraid that the Spring Festival couplets would fall off.

"I've come up with a nickname for you, what do you think of Ah Gou?"

Seeing his actions, Bai Xiaoqi thought for a moment and made a suggestion, then added, "I think this is particularly good."

"..."

Chen Shuo turned to look at her for a moment and asked, "Why did you give me such a weird name?"

"I think it suits you very well, don't you think?" Bai Xiaoqi looked at that person, Miao Gongwang, again and again, and found him more and more annoying. This person is really a jerk.

“I don’t think this name makes me sound like a dog. You can call me Ah Wang if you want.”

"Awang? Is that the sound of a dog barking?"

"Yes, woof woof woof..."

"You imitated it so well! I knew Ah Gou suited you perfectly," Bai Xiaoqi clapped her hands in praise.

“…”

Chen Shuo stopped talking, went inside, took out their scarves, and wrapped them around her neck. "Come on, let's go out."

This year's Lunar New Year's Eve came a little later, almost in mid-February.

After being gloomy for more than half a month, the weather finally cleared up. Although it was afternoon, the sunshine felt warm on people.

Spring is coming.

When they got home, Wu Yulan was making dumplings, and Chen Jianwen was sitting on the sofa watching TV. Both father and son were completely useless when it came to cooking.

"Mom, you take her with you to make dumplings. I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back in a bit."

What are you going out for?

"Something happened."

Seeing that Chen Shuo was about to leave as soon as he returned, without saying what he was doing, Wu Yulan was stunned for a moment, then turned to Bai Xiaoqi and asked, "What's that kid going out for?"

He said he had something to do.

"Oh, you didn't know either." Wu Yulan lowered her head to stir the filling, then couldn't help but ask, "Doesn't this kid usually tell you when something's going on?"

Some said it, some didn't.

Bai Xiaoqi answered honestly. She rolled up her sleeves and started rolling out dumpling wrappers. She had learned to make dumplings once before, during the Winter Solstice.

This was my second time, and I was still a bit rusty; the dumpling wrappers I rolled out were sometimes thin and sometimes thick.

What do you usually eat at home?

Wu Yulan could tell from her posture that she was a complete novice, and thought to herself that the two of them must eat takeout every day.

"I drink porridge after waking up in the morning, I don't necessarily eat lunch, and I usually eat rice for dinner, but sometimes I eat out."

"Not ordering takeout?"

"I order sometimes."

"..."

Wu Yulan stopped asking questions. She had originally planned to teach the girl all her culinary skills if she didn't know how to cook.

When you're living together, someone has to be able to cook. You can't just eat takeout all the time. It's unhealthy. People on social media post about how dirty takeout is and how poor the hygiene is.

But now it seems this girl can actually cook, though she probably isn't very good at making dumplings.

Come to think of it, dumplings are for holidays and festivals, and this girl is an orphan...

Without thinking any further, Wu Yulan asked, "That kid doesn't usually bully you, does he?"

“…”

Bai Xiaoqi was speechless. She didn't know whether that guy usually bullied her or not.

If that's the case, then I'm being bullied by him every day.

But I'm too embarrassed to say it.