Chapter 18 is flammable and explosive; the reaction is super interesting...

The sun was shining brightly on Saturday morning.

Nekono Ikuya woke up to a cheerful, off-key tune that she unconsciously hummed.

"La la la, la la la~"

Nekono Ikumi rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed. His soft black hair was sticking up in his sleep, and his face, which was still a little sleepy but already had a bright look, made him look particularly childlike.

The first thing to do after waking up in the morning is, of course, to sunbathe. "La la la~" he hummed a couple more times, kicked off the blanket, and practically jumped off the soft bed, leaping up without even looking and landing precisely on his slippers.

"Nekono Ikuya, perfect score!"

He moved his feet contentedly, happily put on his slippers, and pattered across the wooden floor as he walked briskly to the window. He reached out and pulled back the curtains.

"Whoosh~"

Large swaths of warm sunlight flooded in instantly, gently bathing the entire bedroom through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows and enveloping Nekono Ikuya.

"Mmm, the weather is so nice!" Nekono Ikumi stretched comfortably, loosened her body after sleeping, and then smiled brightly and easily in the sunshine.

The sunlight seemed to favor him, the part of the light that fell on him seemed brighter than the rest, illuminating his true face and making his naturally clear and bright emerald green cat eyes even more vivid and lively, full of vitality.

At this moment, those bright, emerald-green eyes, still slightly misty from just waking up and being exposed to sunlight, had become sparkling and filled with an inexplicable joy.

Clearly, Ikuya Nekono was in a great mood.

"Good morning, world! Good morning, myself!" Nekono Yuuya took a breath of fresh air out the window, which deepened his happy mood, and then turned around and skipped into the bathroom.

"What should I do today?" Nekono Yuumi asked, blinking at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, her emerald green eyes brimming with obvious excitement and anticipation.

"The weather is so nice today, perfect for..." he mumbled to himself, his mouth full of foam, his thoughts clearly drifting away.

Today is another day full of anticipation, which makes me very happy.

His good mood lasted until he went downstairs and sat down at the dining table.

Black appeared as usual, standing silently and efficiently beside Ikumi Nekono, seemingly blending into the background, yet also appearing ready at any moment.

No doubt about it, just two words: professional!

Good morning, Blake!

Nekono Ikuya greeted Black as usual, but her voice was a little more cheerful than before, with obvious excitement and joy.

"Good morning, Young Master Yumi."

Blake nodded slightly, his gaze lingering for a moment on Nekono Ikuya's undisguised bright smile. It seemed that young master Ikuya's mood had been exceptionally cheerful lately?

Nekono Ikumi practically jumped to the table, looking at the nutritionally balanced breakfast in front of her. She quickly picked up her knife and fork, and even her eating movements were faster than usual. Although she didn't seem rushed, she clearly couldn't wait.

Soon, Nekono Ikuya finished her breakfast, put down her knife and fork, and picked up her milk.

“Young Master Yumi,” Blake finally spoke, his voice extremely calm, “you seem to have been in a very good mood all week.”

"Hmm?" Nekono Ikumi looked up from the glass, her bright emerald cat eyes appearing exceptionally clear in the sunlight.

He tilted his head and looked at Blake: "Really?"

Blake nodded silently: "Very obvious."

Does this even need careful observation? Anyone with eyes can see it at a glance.

Nekono Ikuya really didn't try to hide it.

"Hmm~" Nekono Ikumi held the milk and let out a light, cheerful sound from her nose. "Because we did a good deed this week. Don't you remember, Blake? We helped a boxer get into an important match, and he even won the championship."

"Helping others makes me happy!" Nekono Ikumi took a sip of milk with a smile, his expression flawless, as if that was exactly what made him happy.

I'm just that kind of helpful person, hehe~

Is that all? Blake looked at him with disbelief. After all these years, don't I know you?

“Okay.” Nekono Ikuya surrendered and immediately confessed, “Because a really interesting new student came to the school. He’s blond, dark-skinned, and his personality is like a particularly wary and easily agitated Siamese cat.”

He thought for a moment, then shook the milk cup and continued, "It looks serious and earnest, but it's actually flammable and explosive, and the reaction is super interesting!"

When Nekono Ikuya thought of Furuya Rei's complex expression—a mixture of wariness, shock, feigned composure, gritted teeth, and helplessness—she couldn't help but laugh. It was just too funny!

Blake: "..." Just as expected.

He couldn't help but light a candle for Rei Furuya, this unknown new classmate, wishing him good luck.

As Nekono Yuumi spoke, she became more and more excited. She picked up her cup and drank all the milk in one gulp. Then she suddenly jumped up from her chair, her eyes shining brightly.

"Alright!" He snapped his fingers, announcing energetically to everyone, "I'm going to school now!"

Blake: "..."

Blake's gaze swept over the wall clock, and he calmly said, "Young Master Yumi, today is Saturday." There's no school on Saturdays.

"..." Nekono Ikuya's bright smile and the stance of her feet as she prepared to charge forward froze instantly. "!!!"

He blinked his beautiful emerald green cat eyes, as if he had been suddenly struck by this fact, and it took him two seconds to finally react.

“Oh yeah~” he muttered, his shoulders suddenly slumped, and the excitement on his face cooled down at a visible speed. “Saturday, no school.”

Then all his excitement this morning was for nothing.

Not being able to see Rei Furuya's surprised reaction to his appearance makes it much less fun.

Nekono Yuumi listlessly circled the living room twice, then slumped into the sofa, curling herself up in a ball.

“How boring, Black.” Nekono Ikuya sighed, his emerald eyes gazing out the window. He complained, “School is much more interesting.”

So you want to make things easier for your classmates, huh? Blake thought to himself, "I think the interesting thing isn't the school, but that new classmate you mentioned. You've been bothering him for almost a week now, just let him off the hook this weekend."

Despite his inner grumbling, Blake remained calm on the surface and proposed, "Perhaps you could engage in some outdoor activities, young master Yumi."

"You haven't gone on a trip with your friends in a long time. Miss Ai is going on a trip to Nagano with Master Shin and the others today. Master Yuya, are you interested? Should I contact Miss Ai?"

The Nekono family and the Sootome family have always been close, and young master Ikuya and young lady Ai are childhood friends. Why haven't I seen them hanging out together much lately?

Blake was somewhat puzzled.

"Eh~ No, no!" Nekono Ikuya was startled and immediately waved her hands frantically to refuse.

He held his face and said sadly, "Ai always wanted to get close to Shin-chan, and Shin-chan always wanted to get close to Kazama. Kazama once mistakenly thought that Ai wanted to get close to him because Ai wanted to observe why Shin-chan wanted to get close to Kazama."

"The three of them seem to be playing some strange emotional game." Nekono Ikuya shuddered. "It's too complicated. I'd better not get involved."

"?!?!" Blake's eyes widened, and he almost lost his composure.

What? Are relationships between kids this complicated now? He's not old, so why does it feel like there's such a big generation gap?

What do you think? There's a generation gap every three years! Nekono Ikuya glanced at Blake with a worried expression. This was a tendency that could be seen even in kindergarten.

Fortunately, he was quite well-behaved during kindergarten. Mr. Kuroiso has had to take care of five or six children at a time since then, while Blake only had to take care of him.

Wait a minute, Nekono Ikuya tilted her head, recalling her behavior during her kindergarten days.

"..." Hmm, but compared to others, why does it seem like he's harder to manage? Or is it just my imagination?

...

Well, you've really had a tough time, Blake.

Nekono Ikuya silently shed two crocodile tears for Blake, deciding to suggest to her parents that they give Blake another raise when they returned.

Hopefully, the mundane reality of money can soothe your work fatigue; being stuck with me is truly an ordeal from time to time.

Alright, now I'm not guilty anymore. Nekono Ikuya's once-blinking cat eyes instantly calmed down.

But it's still so boring! His eyes dimmed again. No point!

"How about baseball? Or tennis?" Unaware of the surprise he was about to receive, Blake was still dutifully offering suggestions.

You deserve this raise!

“Boring, not interested.” Nekono Ikuya shook her head, still sprawled on the sofa, utterly bored.

His gaze wandered aimlessly, finally settling on the sunniest windowsill by the window, where his eyes suddenly lit up.

Blake noticed the change in Nekono Ikuya's expression immediately and followed her gaze.

There was a cat, all black and shiny except for its four paws and ear tips, adorned with white fur. It looked as if it had gracefully stepped through fresh snow, or as if it was wearing white earmuffs and gloves, curled up in a ball, sleeping soundly.

The sunlight warmed its glossy fur, and the cat's clear, lustrous emerald eyes, so similar to those of Yokono Ikuya, were lazily closed, with only its whiskers occasionally trembling gently with its breath.

As if sensing Ikuya Nekono's increasingly bright gaze, the cat suddenly flicked its tail uncomfortably. Oh, and the tip of its tail was white too!

Looking at the 'brilliant idea' shining on Nekono Ikuya's face, Blake suddenly had a bad feeling.

As expected, his premonition was correct. Without any warning, Nekono Ikumi got up and went to the windowsill, picked up the sleeping cat, and pressed one of the cat's paws against its paw pad. The cat's hidden claws popped out with a 'whoosh'.

With those outstretched claws, Nekono Ikumi raised an innocent smile and turned to Blake with a righteous air, saying, "Blake, let's go walk the cat, let's walk 'Snowflake'!" He picked up Snowflake.

"Walking...the cat?!" A slight crack appeared on Blake's expression as he wondered if he had misheard.

“Young Master Yumi, cats… generally don’t need to be walked, right?” Blake struggled to find the words. He’d only ever heard of walking dogs, never cats, especially this proud ‘Snow Treader’ cat.

“But Tayuki isn’t an ordinary cat! It needs to see a wider world.” Nekono Ikumi remained righteous. “Stayuki is so bored staying at home all day. It needs to breathe fresh air. It needs socialization! It needs… uh, exercise! Catching birds and butterflies and stuff.”

Blake looked at the delicate black cat yawning gracefully in Nekono Ikuya's arms.

"Meow~" At this moment, the cat was impatiently swishing its tail, its bright green eyes filled with indifference that seemed to say, "Are you crazy?", "I don't need socialization or exercise", and "Let me go back to sleep".

And—the final act of indulgence with "Fine, I'll give you face."

I knew it; Blake was just disappointed in him.

Ta Xue, show me the same attitude you usually have towards me. Stop always indulging Young Master Yu Mi!

He made a final effort: "Cats don't like the feeling of being on a leash. They don't like being restrained. Felines love freedom."

Nekono Ikuya was already excitedly heading towards the door. "Then let's not use a leash! Black, hurry up, let's go!"

"Sigh~" Anyway, cats have to be walked, right?

Blake sighed helplessly and followed. Oh well, as long as Young Master Yumi is happy.

A note from the author:

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