Chapter 23 The cat kept making noises, saying he missed you.

"I'm just waiting for my prince."

Seeing Liang Minghe curled up in bed with a serious expression, Zhou Jinqin found it amusing. She pretended to leave and said, "Oh, then you can continue to wait."

She had just turned around and hadn't even had a chance to leave when she was enveloped from behind by the lingering warmth of the blankets and the unique scent of a man.

Liang Minghe wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder and neck. His thick, black hair tickled Zhou Jinqin's skin. She thought of Tuantuan. Whenever she leaned back on the sofa and played on her phone, the kitten liked to squat on the back of the sofa and put its chin on her shoulder. It was always so fluffy.

Because he had just woken up, the man's voice was still a little hoarse, and with his superior vocal quality, it sounded even more ambiguous.

"Why are you leaving? Do you want someone else to kiss me?"

He raised his voice slightly at the end of his sentence, making it sound less like a question and more like he was being coquettish.

Zhou Jinqin said helplessly, "Wouldn't you call this breaking your promise?"

Recalling what happened a few hours ago, her face suddenly flushed, and her tone became somewhat unnatural: "Didn't you say that this is the end for today?"

Liang Minghe acted shamelessly: "You definitely understand better than me, an art student, that time is just a concept set by humans. Take the games I dub, for example. The start of a new day is usually not at midnight, but mostly around four or five in the morning."

“My day begins at dawn, meaning that I only start a new day in my life at the moment the sun rises.” He brushed his lips against the side of her neck, saying indistinctly, “Yesterday is already in the past.”

Zhou Jinqin didn't have much gaming experience, but she was particularly impressed by Liang Minghe's concept of time.

Two years ago, Xiang Ziqing suddenly became obsessed with a simulation game called Stardew Valley on the Steam platform. During the fall sale, she bought a copy for Zhou Jinqin and coaxed her to play it with her online.

The game's timeline is set at 2 AM. If players cannot return to their beds before 2 AM, they will faint and will always be short of money or supplies the next day.

Zhou Jinqin was not familiar with maps at the time, and it was common for her to not be able to find her way home. Her two little eyes could be found anywhere except on the bed, which made her particularly sensitive to time.

She raised her hand and patted his head: "Isn't that just making excuses?"

Liang Minghe hugged her tighter, and her lips, buried in his shoulder and neck, made a muffled sound: "If you would hate me because I'm untrustworthy and unreasonable, then I wouldn't want you to kiss me today."

Logically, this kind of talk should classify him as a seasoned veteran in the dating scene, but Zhou Jinqin always felt that he was like a naive and innocent child.

She turned around, cupped his face in her hands, stared intently into his eyes, and asked seriously, "Then how will the princess wake up?"

Liang Minghe glanced away from her, saying, "I was already awake..."

"Really? I feel like you're still a bit dazed." Zhou Jinqin tightened her grip, forcing him to turn his face towards her.

Liang Ming glanced at her, then quickly lowered his eyes: "Perhaps it's just your imagination."

"It's alright, it's just an illusion." Zhou Jinqin smiled gently.

Liang Minghe didn't understand what she meant by those words, and looked up at her suspiciously, but only received half the light.

Her cool, soft lips touched his left eye lightly, and then she mimicked him, her wet kisses traveling down his nose and finally landing precisely on the center of his lips.

After a very light touch, Zhou Jinqin created some distance between them, lowered her head, and whispered, "Are you awake?"

"Hmm, it seems you are my true love." Liang Minghe smiled, his eyes crinkling.

It's good that he stopped there; he doesn't intend to ask for more this time.

The two lingered in the tent for a while, but when they came out, they weren't teased by Kong Feifei and Kang Na, because they were passionately fighting for Tuantuan's ownership today.

Kanna: "How can you be so selfish? I already compromised and let it stay with you all night yesterday, and you still have the heart to argue with me today? Do you have any conscience?"

Kong Feifei: "So what? Didn't I get all of this through my own hard work? Yesterday is yesterday, today is today, and I still have the right to fight for it today."

Both of them love cats very much, but each has their own cruel reasons for not being able to keep a cat, which is why they cherish this hard-won opportunity.

The central character, who was being fought over, looked utterly dejected, but upon seeing Zhou Jinqin and Liang Minghe, a glimmer of light returned to her gloomy eyes.

Tuantuan, who had previously given up struggling, started thrashing about again, howling at Zhou Jinqin in a high-pitched voice, as if she had been kidnapped by human traffickers.

Zhou Jinqin quickly took Tuantuan from the two of them, held her on her shoulder, and comforted the kitten for a long time before calming her down.

Tuantuan nestled its head into her arms again, meowing occasionally. It sounded incredibly adorable, making the two catless savages nearby grit their teeth and lament its fate.

Zhou Jinqin stroked the cat's head and asked Liang Minghe, who was feeding Tuantuan, "What do you think Tuantuan is saying when it meows?"

Without even thinking, Liang Minghe replied, "It's probably saying, 'Mom, I miss you so much.'"

Kong Feifei pretended to vomit: "You call yourself a professional in the field of sound? You can even mishear this well. And you call yourself a mother? I think you should stop being so smug."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jinqin's face instantly turned red.

She didn't really understand, but her good friend Xiang Ziqing was a very versatile person when it came to relationships. She would play games with a boyfriend who was a generation older than her, and she would coax an 18-year-old man who was 10 years younger than her to call her "mommy" when they were intimate. In short, she would say whatever suited her and whoever suited her. In love, she would do whatever made her happy and would never shortchange herself.

Zhou Jinqin didn't really understand the fun of this role-playing mode, but she also knew that it was just a kind of fun between couples, and it didn't really need any reason.

She pretended not to understand and quietly took her cat to a sunrise viewing spot.

The timing was perfect; the sun slowly rose amidst Kong Feifei and Kang Na's argument.

When the golden, dazzling light pierced through the morning mist and fell upon me, it instantly dispelled the chill. Birds and beasts hidden deep in the forest also emerged, chirping and chattering incessantly.

It was only then that Zhou Jinqin truly realized that humans are just another kind of animal. Everyone was cheering and singing, and they were just birds emerging from the steel jungle.

Liang Minghe asked her, "Won't you get bored?"

Waiting for the sunrise is actually a very long process; most of the time is spent waiting for this moment to unfold.

Zhou Jinqin shook her head: "Not at all. This is a rare opportunity, and even if we wait, we will be with everyone, so it won't be hard to get through."

Whether during her student days or after starting work, Zhou Jinqin's time was never very free, and going out for a trip was a luxury.

She turned to him and asked, "What about you? After watching countless sunrises, do you ever find it bland and tasteless?"

Liang Minghe kissed her forehead: "No, as you said, it is very meaningful for you to be by my side."

A flash of light suddenly went off not far away. The two looked up and saw that one of the college students next door had taken a picture of them together.

The boy smiled and waved the device in his hand, saying, "It's very beautiful. I'll export it and send it to you later."

Their first photo together, apart from their marriage certificate, was taken at sunrise.

After watching the sunrise, everyone packed their luggage and headed down the mountain.

Of course, it's not a return trip. At least for someone like Kanna who has used up her annual leave, it's absolutely unacceptable for a trip to end so hastily.

Since we were already there, she found a nearby ancient town for everyone to visit. It was very convenient; we just needed to take another road down the mountain and drive 50 kilometers west.

This ancient town is known as a good place to escape the summer heat. Compared to the city where the temperature can reach 40 degrees Celsius, it is indeed cool, but it doesn't seem to attract many tourists.

Because of the low number of people, most shops in the ancient town were closed, with only a few shops selling souvenirs remaining open.

The place was not very interesting, and the group got bored after walking around for a while, but Liang Minghe was very enthusiastic.

He picked out a basket of items in a souvenir shop.

Kong Feifei picked up a long-tongued ghost, and when she squeezed it, it would stick out its tongue, which was wrapped with washi tape printed with the characteristics of the ancient town.

He looked puzzled: "You need this?"

Kanna looked down on him for making a fuss: "Isn't his house full of these kinds of things?"

Liang Minghe scoffed, then blinked at Zhou Jinqin, pulling her hand: "But it only costs five yuan, can't I really buy it?"

Zhou Jinqin was both amused and exasperated: "You can buy it. If you like it, you won't lose out."

Just like that, five yuan at a time, Liang Minghe spent a total of two hundred yuan at this shop. The owner hadn't seen such a scene in years. Not only did he give them free gifts, but he also rented out his own guesthouse in the ancient town to them at a low price.

Summer rains always come suddenly, and now it was already dark with thunder rumbling. The road back was difficult to drive on, so the group decided to stay at the boss's house.

The thunderstorm and the sparsely populated ancient town at night made it seem somewhat eerie. In addition, the wooden structure of the houses made them prone to decay in the rainy and humid environment.

In this atmosphere, Kong Feifei suggested that everyone watch a horror movie together.

Connor is both timid and loves to watch, so she doesn't refuse when someone is with her. Zhou Jinqin and Liang Minghe don't want to spoil the fun either, so after everyone finished washing up, they gathered on the sofa in the living room.

The film was randomly selected by Kong Feifei. It had a Chinese style and no sudden appearances or gore, but a pair of red embroidered shoes was enough to create a terrifying atmosphere.

Zhou Jinqin and Liang Ming remained very calm throughout, while Kong Feifei and Kang Na, who were the organizers, screamed all night. Afterwards, the two refused to sleep on their own and begged and pleaded to sleep according to the arrangement made the night before.

Finally getting to the third room, Liang Ming felt a pang of regret. He knew Kong Feifei and Kang Na's true nature all along; he should have nipped their ideas in the bud from the start...

As agreed, Zhou Jinqin would turn off the lights and go to sleep after Kang Na fell asleep. Afraid of falling asleep herself, she simply picked up her phone and started browsing the medical weekly she had previously subscribed to.

Connor assumed she was being affectionate with Liang Minghe, so she muttered under the covers, "Is Liang Minghe asking you to go to the bathroom with him again?"

Zhou Jinqin was about to say no when Liang Minghe's message popped up.

She read the message aloud very frankly: "He asked me what to do if my cat keeps making noises."

"It's all sweet talk to a deaf person, and flirtatious glances to a blind man." Conna hated that she was such a blockhead, and she worried, "He said he missed you."

-----------------------

Author's Note: Thank you for the nutrient solution [please!]

Xiao Ming confesses his feelings indirectly every day; his methods are quite clever. [doge emoji]