Chapter 318: Two Little Crybabies
Because Xiao Ai was covering her mouth, Adele could only kiss her smooth, white forehead.
“Mmm…I’m being eaten!” Now it was Xiao Ai’s turn to cover her forehead. Adele couldn’t help but laugh. She patted the little one’s head and said with a smile, “Mama’s not a monster, how could I eat you?”
“Silly, Mama’s going to make you breakfast, stay in the room and be good.”
Because of her mind-reading ability, Xiao Ai could understand every word Adele said. At the same time, she memorized the meaning of the “words” in Mama’s speech. For example, the word “breakfast.” Xiao Ai learned both its pronunciation and its meaning: “food eaten in the morning.”
The little one had a good memory, perhaps just a little short of photographic memory. She could remember after just two glances. Therefore, as long as Adele spent time chatting with her, introducing everything she saw to her, Xiao Ai would quickly become proficient in human language. Calling her a prodigy wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
This made Adele think, as long as she was around, if Xiao Ai went to school in the future, no matter what difficulties she encountered, as long as she, as a parent, worked hard to understand them, wouldn’t that mean Xiao Ai understood them too? Wouldn’t she be Xiao Ai’s human cheat code?
It was just a bit painful to relearn all that old knowledge. But for her child, no matter how hard it was, it was worth…Wait! Why was her thinking already shifting to that of a parent!? Even Adele herself was still a student!
“Mm! Xiao Ai, good!” Xiao Ai responded to Adele’s instructions. She would stay in the room and wait for “Mama” to return.
Adele then left the room with peace of mind, her footsteps light as she padded down the stairs. She hadn’t even changed out of her nightgown, and unless something unexpected happened, like having to go out, Adele would stay in her pajamas at home.
If only I could wear nightgowns and pajamas forever! she thought. They were a hundred times more comfortable than regular clothes, especially uniforms!
Adele arrived in the kitchen. She planned to make noodles for her little Xiao Ai! Adele’s noodles were super delicious, meow! Especially instant noodles! Ahem, just kidding. How could Adele give Xiao Ai instant noodles? Of course, it had to be her own special plain noodles. They looked simple, but the taste was complex and addictive. Add two soft-boiled eggs, the kind where the yolk would run when poked with chopsticks. Simply divine~
Meanwhile, as Adele happily prepared breakfast in the kitchen, an unexpected “guest” arrived at her window. It was, of course, First Snow, the kitten, who hadn’t even had time to eat the breakfast prepared by Headmistress Winona.
After yesterday’s reunion, the kitten’s relationship with Adele had returned to its former harmony, or rather, it had become even closer. And so, early in the morning, she came to Adele’s house to freeload. Actually, it didn’t matter whether she ate canned food or not, the important thing was to be with Adele. Then, during the holidays, they could do comfortable things together~ or play games in front of the computer, which could bring a lot of happiness to both human and cat.
“Meow~ Little First Snow is here, meow!” First Snow, without a word, used short-range teleportation magic to pass through the tightly closed glass window and into Adele’s room.
This startled Xiao Ai, who was obediently staying in the room. How could a fluffy, flying thing suddenly appear!? Was it a bug!? It seemed not…not only was it not a bug, it was also quite cute.
Xiao Ai knew about griffins because there were griffins among the mist monsters she could control. But this was the first time she had seen a Cat-Bird. Since First Snow was currently in her cat form, the two little ones just stared at each other, one floating in the air, the other kneeling on the bed. Both received a mental shock.
First Snow’s reaction was particularly strong. She meowed and, flapping her small golden wings, flew to Xiao Ai’s side, circling her continuously. At the same time, she let out a series of rapid meows! She even forgot to transform into her human form. So no one could understand her.
But in fact, translated from cat language, First Snow was asking Xiao Ai, “Ade-Ade-Adele! Why have you become so small, meow!? Although you’re still very cute like this…but if we want to do comfortable things, it would be a crime, a crime, right!? I don’t want to become a criminal kitty, meow…Or do human laws not apply to cats? Meow…then I can only do it, meow!”
First Snow, quickly changing her train of thought, even thought that Adele in this form might be easier to bully. Therefore, after circling several times, she suddenly pounced into Xiao Ai’s arms, knocking her onto the bed. At the same time, First Snow transformed into her human form, a teenage cat-girl with fluffy ears and a tail.
Xiao Ai, who had just arrived in the human world, had never experienced this before and was completely flustered. No matter how cute First Snow looked, it was difficult to dispel the child’s instinctive fear of the unknown. So First Snow could see that “little Adele’s” lips were pursed so tightly that her smooth skin wrinkled, and her pupils trembled continuously. This was clearly…
“Waaah!!!” A sign of crying!!
First Snow panicked, and she finally smelled Xiao Ai’s scent as she got closer, realizing…that this girl might indeed be related to Sister Adele…but definitely not Sister Adele herself! As expected, she was a fool to believe that Sister Adele could become smaller, meow!
But what should she do in this situation, meow!? First Snow herself was still a child who had just grown up a little. To have her deal with Xiao Ai, who was younger than her in both appearance and mental age… Maybe she should just shave her head! This is a joke, not a serious suggestion.
First Snow, at a loss, sat on Xiao Ai and came up with a brilliant solution. That was…
You cry, I cry! It was childish, indeed, like a solution from kindergarten. One child cried, and then the whole kindergarten cried. Don’t ask why, just cry!
“Meowww! Meow!”
“…” First Snow cried with genuine emotion, confusing Xiao Ai.
So when Adele heard the crying and rushed upstairs, taking five steps at a time, and pushed open the door, the scene she saw…was First Snow, who had pushed Xiao Ai down, crying…on top of Xiao Ai? And Xiao Ai looked at her with pleading eyes. Then, Xiao Ai seemed to feel that it was unfair that she wasn’t crying in front of Mama. So she also wailed loudly, crying again. This made Adele, who had just opened the door and hadn’t figured out the situation yet, even more confused.
“Eh…”
“Eh?!?” Something wasn’t right. Who was the victim here!? Should she cry too??
Chapter 319: A Friendly Pawshake
True to Adele’s nature, even in this situation, she came up with a unique solution. However, she didn’t actually cry. There were two little ones waiting for her comfort. Of course, she was also curious about what happened between First Snow and Xiao Ai while she was downstairs preparing breakfast. Xiao Ai was pushed down on the bed, and First Snow was on top of her, looking bewildered.
But now First Snow had come to her senses. The big Adele at the door was the real Adele! As for the “little Adele” in front of her, she wasn’t Adele, meow!
Startled, First Snow bounced up like a spring and flew around the small room, the flapping of her wings rustling the pages of the books Adele had left on the table. It reminded Adele of a poem she had read: “The breeze doesn’t know how to read, so why does it ruffle the pages?”
But now wasn’t the time for literacy. First Snow went from shock to fear.
“Ade-Ade-Adele! Meow meow meow!”
Adele probably understood. She was asking, “Who is she!?” First Snow finally landed and ran to Adele, who was still wearing her apron, hiding behind her in a panic and looking at Xiao Ai, who was sitting up on the bed, rubbing her eyes pitifully.
It had to be said that even though everything she saw was beyond First Snow’s comprehension and made her panic, she couldn’t bring herself to dislike the little girl who looked almost exactly like a younger Sister Adele. Instead, she felt like comforting her. Perhaps this was what it meant to love someone so much that you loved everything associated with them.
“Alright, alright, quiet down!”
“I’ll explain everything to you separately.” Adele stepped forward in time to take control of the situation.
First Snow clutched her clothes and nodded obediently. Xiao Ai also cutely covered her small mouth. It was so red that it made one want to taste it, to see if it tasted like cherries or red berries. So tempting…
“Then I’ll start by introducing Xiao Ai.”
“This is my ‘daughter’ whom I brought back from the Vampire territory after…certain events!”
“What do you mean by ‘certain events,’ meow!?”
“And what’s a ‘daughter,’ meow!?” This explanation was as good as no explanation! It only made the cat more curious.
“How could Sister Adele have a daughter…That’s not right, meow!” Because having a daughter meant that either Sister Adele was pregnant, or another girl was pregnant. Either way, it was difficult for First Snow to accept.
Although First Snow was naive and just entering puberty, she had lived for a long time and knew exactly what pregnancy was. She couldn’t imagine how Sister Adele had secretly raised such a little daughter! Who took advantage of Sister Adele when she was young, meow!? Damn, so enviable…no, wait!
Or…given Sister Adele’s personality, was it more likely that she, at a young age, had won over an innocent girl, had a child with her, and raised her in the vampire territory? It sounded like something Sister Adele would do…
Fortunately, Adele didn’t know what First Snow was thinking. Otherwise, she would definitely vomit blood. Was she really that much of a scumbag!? And a scumbag from a young age? This was slander!
“She’s not…born in the usual way!”
“Anyway, it’s a long story. I met Xiao Ai, found out she looked exactly like me, and then I treated her like my daughter.”
“We…shouldn’t be blood-related.” Adele said “shouldn’t.” She wasn’t entirely sure. Because what if this was one of the author’s abandoned plot points, a setting that wasn’t written out? For example, Xiao Ai’s true identity was the child of Adele’s parents, or the child of one of Adele’s relatives, etc. Anything was possible. But Seraph also said she was the “creation of a false god.” It was giving Adele a headache.
Fortunately, she wasn’t someone who liked to get to the bottom of things. And she couldn’t just ignore Xiao Ai, who looked exactly like her younger self. So she brought her back to raise her. It was also a way to gain experience for raising a daughter in the future.
Seeing First Snow’s dumbfounded look, Adele continued to introduce First Snow to Xiao Ai, regardless of whether she had fully accepted it.
“And this is First Snow, my little kitty!”
“Meow…” This kind of thing couldn’t be said in front of Headmistress Winona. Otherwise, the Headmistress would really lose it. I’ve been feeding you since you were a kitten, until now. You’ve only eaten a few cans of Adele’s food, and now you’re her kitty!? That’s too much. Is there such a thing as a ‘poached’ cat!?
“Little…kitty?” Xiao Ai wiped her tears, looked at Mama’s face, and murmured pitifully. She could understand a kitten. But she couldn’t understand a kitten with wings that could transform into a silver-haired loli with cat ears and a tail.
However, Adele didn’t want to explain too much. They would get along eventually. Or rather, because First Snow came to cling to Adele every day, she would probably become one of the beings Xiao Ai was most familiar with.
“Now that everyone knows each other, let’s shake paws and make up~”
“…”
“…” Clearly, both First Snow and Xiao Ai were still a little confused. But since Adele had said so, they wouldn’t continue making a fuss. Besides, First Snow was indeed curious about Xiao Ai. Loving the house and its crow, First Snow couldn’t dislike Xiao Ai. Or rather, looking at Xiao Ai reminded her of Sister Adele when she was little, making her instinctively want to take care of her, protect her, bully her… Uh, scratch that last one.
But loving someone meant loving every aspect of them, whether they were laughing or crying. As for Xiao Ai’s thoughts on First Snow, it was probably just: white, fluffy, and wanting to touch. A cat’s affinity was undeniable.
The two little ones stared at each other for a long time. Finally, First Snow, who looked older, pursed her lips and bravely walked towards Xiao Ai. Since Sister Adele had said so…let’s shake paws, meow.
Xiao Ai also sensed the urge to befriend Sister First Snow from Adele’s heart. After hesitating for a moment, she extended her small, tender hand. The historic handshake between First Snow and Xiao Ai was born at this moment! Truly a joyous occasion.
“M-My name is First Snow, meow!”
“…First Snow, meow?”
“It’s First Snow, meow! Not First Snow, meow!” Who could understand that!?
But the clever Xiao Ai quickly understood. That “meow” seemed to be Sister First Snow’s verbal tic. So she repeated it in a murmur, “First…Snow.”
“Yes, that’s right, meow!” First Snow patted Xiao Ai’s hair. This felt new to Xiao Ai.
Adele smiled at the harmonious scene before her. Until—she remembered the two eggs she had left boiling in the pot! The smile instantly vanished from her face! At the same time, Adele uttered words that could be easily misinterpreted: “My eggs!” Then she rushed downstairs to the kitchen.
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