Liu Xiaoxiao didn't say anything upon hearing this, but silently hugged the doll to her chest.

Meow~

Just then, a meow from behind caught Liu Xiaoxiao's attention. She turned around and saw a yellow and white cat with a cute little bell around its neck curiously looking at her, its questioning eyes seeming to ask who she was.

"This is my cat, Zhaocai." After introducing him to Liu Xiaoxiao, Chen Bing walked around her, bent down, and picked up the meowing Zhaocai from the ground. "Zhaocai, you're awake! Are you hungry? How about some grilled squid to fill your stomach?"

"Meow meow meow!"

"Okay, okay, I forgot to feed you before I left, I'm sorry. But you're also at fault, you're still not up so late, did you stay up late last night?"

Although she didn't understand what Chen Bing was saying, Zhao Cai could clearly see the blame in his eyes. She immediately meowed in rebuttal, trying to overwhelm him with her aura.

After interacting with Zhaocai for a while, Chen Bing found some cat food and poured her a bowl. Zhaocai stopped pursuing what had just happened and happily started eating her breakfast.

After calming Zhao Cai down, Chen Bing turned to look at Liu Xiaoxiao, whose gaze was fixed intently on Zhao Cai.

"Do you want to pet her?" Chen Bing thought. Girls this age must all like cats. It's only natural that they would react this way when they see their own Zhaocai is so cute.

However… after spending this short time together, Chen Bing thought that Liu Xiaoxiao, this awkward girl, would definitely refuse. Unexpectedly, he actually heard an “hmm” from his little cousin.

"Huh?" Chen Bing subconsciously thought he had misheard, but after his mind cleared, he immediately ignored Zhao Cai, who was still eating, and picked her up from the ground.

To be fair, this kitten is really well-behaved. Even when Chen Bing picked it up while it was eating, it didn't get angry. Perhaps because it was "spoiled" from a young age, it doesn't understand what it feels like to go hungry. In any case, this kitten doesn't seem to crave food very much.

After being picked up, Zhao Cai first licked its lips, and then licked its own feet with its tongue, looking very clean—provided that its feet hadn't been buried in poop that day.

After being passed through Chen Bing's hands, Zhao Cai was handed to Liu Xiaoxiao. However, after a moment of silence, Liu Xiaoxiao simply extended her finger and tentatively tapped the cat's forehead, without making any other move.

Her timid and hesitant demeanor not only left Chen Bing speechless, but even the lucky charm she was poking seemed to have some reservations.

Does this human want to hug us too? But why is she being so hesitant and dawdling?

As a cat that grew up surrounded by people, Zhao Cai was already used to being hugged and cuddled by humans. So when it saw the little guy dawdling in front of it, it became impatient and jumped directly into the other person's arms.

Liu Xiaoxiao was startled by the kitten's sudden movement, but then she relaxed and gently held Zhaocai in one hand while rubbing her head with the other.

This scene filled Chen Bing with great satisfaction. He looked at his cat with approval, silently thinking, "Well done, lucky cat! I'll give you an extra treat tonight!"

"Uh... well, this little fat cat is quite heavy. You can sit on the sofa and put her on your lap, that way the cat will be more comfortable."

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Xiaoxiao chose to follow Chen Bing's advice.

"Move over a little, make room for me."

Liu Xiaoxiao couldn't refuse such a reasonable and natural request, so she could only hold the cat and, under Chen Bing's relentless pressure, slowly move deeper into the sofa, without considering why the other party didn't just sit on the other side.

And so, Liu Xiaoxiao was sealed in a corner of the sofa by Chen Bing. Unless Chen Bing left or she learned to fly, she would never be able to escape from here.

"Hey, do you want Coke or Sprite?" Chen Bing picked up two large bottles of carbonated drinks from the coffee table and shook them in front of Liu Xiaoxiao. But he didn't intend to wait for Liu Xiaoxiao's reply. He put the Sprite aside and said, "Let's have Coke. Fried chicken goes better with Coke."

After pouring a glass for himself and Liu Xiaoxiao, Zhaocai, lying in Liu Xiaoxiao's arms, meowed twice in dissatisfaction.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot about you, my bad."

After taking out a disposable paper plate from the drawer, Chen Bing poured half a plate of cola into it, and then took out a few skewers of grilled squid and other things and put them aside.

Seeing this, Zhao Cai nodded in satisfaction, then leaped onto the coffee table and began to enjoy his lunch.

Just then, the movie playing on TV reached its first plot point. Chen Bing plopped back down on the sofa, a Coke in one hand and fried chicken in the other, ready to happily begin enjoying himself… what a load of rubbish! Liu Xiaoxiao was still standing there.

"Take it, don't be shy, make yourself at home." Chen Bing imitated the way the aunties warmly welcomed her when she visited relatives, deliberately using an exaggerated tone to try to ease the awkward atmosphere with this humorous approach.

As a result, just like the older women had described her, Liu Xiaoxiao simply nodded blankly and then did nothing.

No, ma'am, please don't do that. Making me look like one of those middle-aged women makes me seem no different from them.

Chen Bing scratched his head awkwardly, trying to do something different from what an ordinary middle-aged woman would do. Then, a brilliant idea struck him.

"Oh, right, you just petted the cat, it might still have poop on it, let me feed you."

Chen Bing, thinking himself clever, picked up a skewer of grilled squid, smiling brightly, and offered it to Liu Xiaoxiao's mouth. Soon after, he regretted it.

No, what am I doing? I'm used to feeding Shang Yunmiao, but I can't do this. She's a young girl, after all. How can you feed someone you just brought home?

While Chen Bing was lost in thought, to his surprise, Liu Xiaoxiao silently opened her mouth and ate the squid.

Well, okay, I don't understand girls' psychology. Maybe you're just really hungry.

After giving up on thinking, Chen Bing watched a movie while feeding Liu Xiaoxiao, occasionally taking a few bites herself. After a busy half hour, Liu Xiaoxiao finally agreed to feed herself.

After a slight sigh of relief, Chen Bing put Zhao Cai, who was sleeping on her lap, aside and prepared to tentatively talk to Liu Xiaoxiao. After all, it was impossible for her to run out alone with a tearful face without a reason.