Chapter 40

After we got home, the little one had slept enough and started to make a fuss.

It opened its mouth and howled, while waving its limbs wildly.

Yu Miaomiao touched the baby's belly; it was flat, and the last feeding had been two hours ago.

She judged that she was probably hungry.

She precisely prepared 15ml of formula with warm water, added supplements, and followed the instructions to feed the baby while the baby was lying on its stomach.

This is a little cub that's very eager to nurse.

Before the pacifier even entered its mouth, it seemed to sense the smell of food, stretched its neck high, tilted its head back, took the pacifier into its mouth, and sucked hard.

Its movements were very hurried, its cheeks puffing out, and it would choke if it wasn't careful, spraying out milk powder and making a soft "cough cough" sound.

Yu Miaomiao quickly removed the bottle and patted the baby's back to help it burp. The little one was so tiny that she only dared to use two fingers, afraid of using too much force.

Afterward, she kept a close eye on the baby's drinking speed, and moved it away if she noticed it was too fast.

After finishing a bottle of milk, the little one was still restless, biting the nipple and refusing to let go.

She had to prepare another 5ml of milk and feed it to him before he calmed down.

After a whole feeding process, Yu Miaomiao was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

She looked at the clothes stained with milk, the mess on the floor, and then at the little one who had fallen asleep after eating.

My mind was foggy from not sleeping all night, and I couldn't help but feel lost and doubt my decision.

Familiar sounds of doors opening and footsteps came from downstairs.

Yu Miaomiao glanced at the time; it was already eleven o'clock.

Jiang Chengyi came home very late today.

Three hours have passed since I brought the little one back.

Even though it wasn't mealtime, I still felt hungry reflexively.

She subconsciously wanted to revert to her original form and go downstairs to freeload a meal.

But in the end, she suppressed her impulse and took the cat food can from the refrigerator.

While eating, I kept my ears perked up, trying to catch every sound from downstairs.

It looks like it went into the kitchen and is chopping vegetables. Is it going to cook? I want to eat the cat food that Jiang Chengyi makes.

She scooped the canned food out spoonful by spoonful.

This is a limited edition cat food gift from Xu Lan. She should really like it, but she doesn't seem to enjoy it.

I finally finished eating and just threw the canned food into the trash can when the little rascal started getting restless again.

What's going on here?

Yu Miaomiao stared at the cub, frowning as she pondered the feeding list given to her by the lab staff.

Is it cold? The temperature displayed on the cooler is 30℃, which is sufficient.

Hungry? The baby is fed every 2-3 hours, and was just fed an hour ago;

Did she choke on milk? It doesn't seem like it; there's no milk residue on her lips.

She picked up the baby and examined it from all angles, but found nothing unusual.

It's perfectly normal to sense the demonic aura; there's no change.

The final judgment was that they were just making trouble out of nothing.

She put the baby back in the incubator and went to take a bath.

After taking a shower, Yu Miaomiao changed into her pajamas, threw her milk-stained clothes into the washing machine, and went to bed.

I pulled the covers up, closed my eyes, and felt sleepy.

But thinking about the baby's strange symptoms, she still felt uneasy and couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

After a two-minute pause, she opened her eyes to check on the baby's symptoms.

That one glance made her heart leap into her throat, and her sleepiness vanished.

The once energetic little one lay on the blanket, whimpering and listless.

And the demonic energy also showed signs of weakening.

She dialed Xu An's number, but after waiting for a long time, no one answered.

I tried three times in a row, and it was still the same.

Seeing that the baby's condition was getting worse, she decided not to wait any longer, picked up the incubator, and prepared to go out.

The Cat Paradise Animal Hospital is not far downstairs.

But as soon as she reached the door, she hesitated.

She couldn't tell the cub was a snow leopard, but that doesn't mean professional veterinarians couldn't.

If it gets discovered, it will be very troublesome to explain.

The Demon Department does have a designated hospital, but it's 20 kilometers away, and it would take at least an hour by taxi.

As she was pondering, footsteps downstairs interrupted her thoughts.

She suddenly woke up with a start, and a flash of inspiration struck her.

Yes, isn't Jiang Chengyi studying veterinary medicine?

He is also the president of a stray animal association and has cared for countless cats.

As a feline, the snow leopard should be... similar to a cat, right?

With that thought in mind, she no longer hesitated, picked up the insulated box, and knocked on Jiang Chengyi's door.

Faced with a critical situation, she forgot about escaping and resisting.

Jiang Cheng had just turned on his computer and was about to start his homework when there was a sudden, urgent knocking on the door.

It's past midnight. Who would come looking for him at this hour?

Cheng Nuo? No, he's a person with a healthy lifestyle, going to bed at ten o'clock sharp.

With a sense of doubt, he walked to the door and looked through the peephole at a familiar yet unexpected face.

He was somewhat surprised by the scene that greeted him when he opened the door.

In the past, when they met, Yu Miaomiao was always dressed neatly and meticulously.

Now, she was wearing cat-themed pajamas with a coat over them and fluffy slippers.

His hair was a bit messy, with a few strands of brown hair sticking up and standing stiffly on his head.

Its round, bright cat eyes stared intently at Jiang Chengyi, so focused and expectant.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Cheng asked softly.

The suspicion was a hallucination caused by staying up all night to do experiments for half a month in a row, and it would dissipate when the sound was loud.

"Come and see, what's wrong with it?"

Yu Miaomiao took a cub out of her coat and held it up in front of Jiang Cheng.

Her brows were furrowed, and her expression showed an unprecedented anxiety.

The little cub didn't resist being handled like that, it just let out a listless whimper.

Jiang Cheng immediately shifted his attention from Yu Miaomiao to the cubs, observing them carefully.

His professional knowledge allowed him to immediately tell that it was not an ordinary cat.

Yu Miaomiao's worried expression made him suppress his doubts.

"Let me see."

He gave the baby a full-body checkup, focusing on touching its belly, and made a judgment in his mind.

"Did it not poop after drinking milk?"

"No."

Yu Miaomiao shook her head.

Jiang Cheng moved the computer aside, took out a disposable diaper pad from the cabinet, laid it on the desk, and put the little brat on it.

Then I found cotton balls and warm water, and put on gloves.

He used a damp cotton ball to stimulate the cub's urethra and anus, and soon urine gushed out.

He continued moving until the baby had completely emptied its bladder, then threw away the diaper pad, took off his gloves, and cleaned the cubs clean as well. His movements were fluid and seamless.

After urinating, the little one became peaceful, stopped whimpering, and relaxed.

Just as Jiang Chengyi had guessed, the reason for its abnormal condition was that it couldn't urinate.

Yu Miaomiao stared in disbelief, "Can't it... pee by itself?"

Jiang Cheng nodded and explained, "Newborn kittens can't excrete on their own. What I did just now was to imitate the mother cat licking to stimulate excretion."

How long will it last?

"Judging from the condition of this cub, it should need at least another two weeks."

Jiang Cheng made a judgment.

What he didn't say was that ordinary kittens only need artificial stimulation in the first two weeks after birth, but this "cat" looked to be much older than two weeks.

"Two weeks..."

Yu Miaomiao gasped, her eyes filled with disdain as she looked at the cub.

The little guy, who had just settled down, started barking again, this time with much more energy than his previous whimpering.

"Looks like they're hungry."

Jiang Cheng touched its belly and made a judgment.

Before he could say another word, Yu Miaomiao dashed upstairs and brought down the formula and bottles.

"I don't know how to breastfeed, you can do it."

This was the first time Yu Miaomiao had so sincerely admitted that she didn't know how.

She never wanted to go through the ordeal of playing tug-of-war with her baby using a bottle while burping him, all while getting milk splattered all over herself.

Jiang Cheng took the baby bottle and formula and deftly prepared the formula.

When feeding the cub, its enormous size and powerful strength made him feel somewhat unfamiliar with the task.

But relying on his extensive experience, he quickly found the trick.

Before long, the little cub was lying in Jiang Cheng's hand, sucking on it with great relish.

Jiang Chengyi finally had time to ask the question that had been bothering him.

"Is this your new...cat?"

"My friend had something to do and left the animals with me to take care of them."

"Its size is unlike that of an ordinary cat."

"Hmm, maybe it's a new variety from abroad. I don't know anything about it."

Yu Miaomiao rested her chin on her hand, yawned, and looked relaxed and carefree.

Jiang Cheng looked at the little cub's round ears, white and black patterned markings, and its long tail that was more than half the length of its body.

There was silence for a moment.

"So that's how it is," he said.

The bottle of milk was quickly finished.

Jiang Cheng went to the kitchen to wash the baby bottles.

When I came out, I found Yu Miaomiao slumped over her desk, asleep at some point.

He tiptoed to the wardrobe, found a blanket, and covered Yu Miaomiao with it.

The girl lay on her side, resting her head on her left arm, with a few strands of brown hair falling down.

There was a faint dark circle under her eyes, as if she hadn't rested in a long time.

The eyelids are thin and lack color, with pale blue veins visible on them.

Her eyelashes were long, but unlike most people's, they weren't slightly curled; instead, they were very straight, just like her personality.

He sat down on another chair next to Yu Miaomiao.

"Yu Miaomiao".

He called out softly.

There was no response.

“...Miaomiao”.

He called out again, his voice even lower, like a whisper between his lips.

"You know what I'm talking about from that day's event, right?"

Why are you avoiding me?

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Do you...hate me?"

Yu Miaomiao suddenly frowned, as if she had been woken up by his voice.

Jiang Cheng's heart tightened slightly, not out of fear, but rather with a secret anticipation.

I hope Yu Miaomiao heard what he said.

Looking forward to seeing Yu Miaomiao's reaction.

I hope... to see the result I imagine.

In the end, Yu Miaomiao simply shook her head and flicked the hair off her nose.

Jiang Cheng chuckled, reached out, and gently brushed her hair behind her head.

Under the light, Yu Miaomiao's brown hair shone with a light golden glow.

It looks a lot like a cat's fur color.

Jiang Chengyi's mind was filled with random, unrelated thoughts.

The annoying itching disappeared, and her expression returned to calm.

Although Jiang Chengyi was disappointed, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

In this situation, he had to admit that he had become a coward when facing Yu Miaomiao.

Half an hour later, Jiang Cheng woke up Yu Miaomiao.

Yu Miaomiao woke up from her sleep, feeling that she had just had a very good sleep.

He was in a daze, thinking he was at home, when he saw Jiang Chengyi in front of him and was startled.

"Um, what are you doing here...?"

Because she had just woken up, her eyes were still blurry, and her tone was soft and non-aggressive.

A moment later, she realized where she was.

"She actually fell asleep."

She patted her cheeks to clear her head.

"I'm going back now."

She scooped the baby up and tucked it into her bosom.

The cub howled in dissatisfaction when it was moved while sleeping.

His actions were quite the opposite; he burrowed deeper into Yu Miaomiao's clothes.

She staggered to the door, then remembered something, stopped, and turned back to wave at Jiang Cheng.

"goodbye."

The door closed with a click.

Jiang Chengyi stood in the porch for a long time before turning around, picking up the blanket that Yu Miaomiao had covered with, folding it neatly, and putting it back in the wardrobe.