410: Chapter 410 Ivy: What's wrong with me?

"Wow!"

Qu Yanran was the first to cry out.

"It's so alike! It really is so alike!"

"Feiying naturally has that slightly wild temperament! Paired with cat ears, it's absolutely perfect!"

"Quick! The tail! Put the tail on too!"

Feiying took the cat tail prop, looked down at the buckle at her waist, and fastened it deftly.

The tail hung down behind her, the tip swaying gently with her movements.

The bell let out a crisp "ding."

She looked in the mirror, gave a satisfied "hmm," and then turned to look at Fei Xue.

"Sister, it's your turn."

Fei Xue shrank back.

"I won't..."

"Come on, come on!"

Qiao Shiyu and Bai Lulu surrounded her from the left and right, holding another pair of cat ears in their hands.

"Sister Fei Xue, you will definitely look great wearing them too!"

"You guys—don't—"

Before Fei Xue could even refuse, she was already surrounded by the two.

Qiao Shiyu gently placed the cat ear headband on her head.

Bai Lulu knelt down to help her fasten the buckle of the cat tail.

The whole process was smooth and seamless.

It was so fast it was like they had practiced it countless times.

By the time Fei Xue came to her senses, she was already wearing the full set of cat ears and cat tail.

She sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, the tips of the cat ears on her head trembling slightly, her tail hanging by her side.

The bell at the tip of the tail swayed gently due to her nervousness, emitting a faint "ding-ding" sound.

She was usually as cold as frost, but now, paired with these fluffy cat ears and tail,

the contrast was shockingly large.

The whole room went quiet for a moment.

Then, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted.

"Fei Xue, you look so good like this!"

"Even cuter than Sister Ai Wei!"

"Sister Ai Wei is that type of lively cat, and you are a cold, aloof cat!"

"Yes, yes, yes! That kind of cat that ignores people! Yet it's incredibly good-looking!"

Fei Xue's cheeks flushed red from everyone's compliments, and she lowered her head, not daring to look at anyone.

She felt Lin Yun's gaze fall upon her, hot and filled with undisguised admiration and possessiveness.

The tips of her ears turned even redder, and even the fur of the cat ear prop seemed to be dyed a faint pink.

Feiying leaned over and reached out to poke the tip of the cat ear on her sister's head.

"Sister, you really look great like this. Better than me."

"Shut up..."

Fei Xue's voice was small and muffled, as if it were coming from under a blanket.

Feiying did not shut up.

She turned to look at Lin Yun, her tone filled with a hint of pride as if asking for credit.

"Husband, what do you think?"

Lin Yun looked at the two people in front of him.

One was cold as frost yet wearing fluffy cat ears, the other was heroic and wild, also wearing cat ears.

The two pairs of cat ears in the light, one on the left and one on the right, were like two cats of different breeds and vastly different temperaments.

"Both look great."

He gave an affirmative reply.

Feiying hummed in satisfaction.

Fei Xue buried her face even deeper.

Qiao Shiyu and Bai Lulu high-fived, their triumphant smiles impossible to hide.

The other sisters also gathered around.

Someone reached out to touch the tips of Fei Xue's cat ears.

Someone circled around Feiying's tail.

Someone took out a device, wanting to record this precious moment.

Fei Xue was surrounded by everyone, so embarrassed she was about to smoke, but this time she didn't hide.

She just lowered her head, letting the sisters tease and watch her.

The room was filled with happy laughter.

The ambiguous candlelight flickered.

It swayed gently inside the beeswax lampshade, reflecting every smiling face warmly and brightly.

The bells on the cat tails made faint "ding-ding" sounds with their movements.

Intertwining with the laughter.

Like an out-of-tune but exceptionally beautiful nocturne.

The heat of the night had begun.

...

Meanwhile, at the Tianlang Delegation's quarters, in Ai Wei's room.

The moonlight outside the window spilled across the floor.

Ai Wei sat on the edge of the bed, a book spread out on her knees, which she had been flipping through for a while without reading a single word.

The cat tail hung over the edge of the bed, drooping listlessly.

She was lost in thought.

To be precise, she had been lost in thought for the entire evening.

After returning from the Tang Ji Sweet Shop in the afternoon, she had been sitting in this spot, flipping through this book over and over.

She had flipped through dozens of pages and hadn't remembered a single word.

Her mind was filled with those images.

The laughter in the private room of the Tang Ji Sweet Shop, the melon Qiao Feifei had handed her, the warm smile of Shen Youqing when she mentioned hot pot.

Bai Ling's innocent words, "Sister Ai Wei, are you hot?"

And Lin Yun.

He asked her how the taste was, asked if she wanted to try the walnut pastry, asked if she was leaving tomorrow.

She remembered every word he said clearly, even the tone and the pauses.

She even remembered the corners of his mouth curving slightly when he looked at her.

Ai Wei closed the book, fell backward, and lay on the bed.

She stared at the ceiling, her cat tail sweeping back and forth restlessly on the edge of the bed.

Leaving tomorrow.

The scheduled itinerary was for tomorrow.

This was something decided long ago.

The luggage was mostly packed, and everything that needed to be brought was packed.

Should leave.

Originally, she should have left.

The Tianlang Empire was the place she should stay.

There she had her fellow disciples, her Revered Master, and everything she was familiar with.

No matter how good Lingyuan City was, it was just a place of temporary residence; no matter how long she stayed, she would eventually have to leave.

She should have been eager to leave quickly.

But why...

Ai Wei turned over and buried her face in the pillow.

Why, when she thought about leaving tomorrow, was there an indescribable sense of melancholy in her heart?

She thought of...

Thought of Lin Yun.

As soon as this name popped into her mind, her tail curled up abruptly.

She buried her face deeper into the pillow, letting out a muffled whimper.

"What is wrong with me..."

The voice was muffled in the pillow, indistinct, as if she were talking to herself.

She had never been such an indecisive person.

She had been cultivating for nearly a hundred years, a Tier 7 Heavenly Spirit Body, the youngest Tier 7 Martial Artist of the Tianlang Empire.

She had always been decisive in her actions; when it was time to fight, she fought, when it was time to leave, she left, never dragging things out.

But now, she was actually hesitating for a group of people she had only known for a few days.

To be precise, she was hesitating for one of them.

Ai Wei suddenly lifted her head from the pillow, the imprint of the pillowcase still on her cheek.

She stared at the wall opposite for a while, then fell back listlessly.

Leave.

Must leave.

Leave early tomorrow morning.

The earlier she left, the better; the faster she left, the better.

As long as she left Lingyuan City, left this manor where the red silk hadn't been fully removed yet, left those people, left that name...

She would be able to return to normal.

She definitely would.

Ai Wei closed her eyes, forcing herself to clear her thoughts.

But just then, the last image in her mind froze.

It was the image of Lin Yun standing in the sunset when they parted in the evening.

Against the light, his figure was tall and straight, a smile on his lips, nodding at her.

He didn't speak, yet he said everything.

Her tail swept gently against the edge of the bed.

And swept again.

Then she opened her eyes, looked at the ink-blue night sky outside the window, and whispered a sentence.

"...Tomorrow... leave."

The voice was very soft, as if she were convincing herself.

But her tail had, at some point, gotten a small smear of syrup on it that had splattered when she ate the melon in the afternoon.

It shimmered faintly in the moonlight.

Like a silent answer.