Eileenburg (11)
As Mi watched Ailian radiate pink bubbles, she couldn't help but feel happy too. This emotion was so intense that it was impossible not to succumb to it again and again; Mi had to shut down all her senses to think clearly. When Ailian leaned against her, enveloped by the overwhelming emotion, Mi felt for a moment that she was Ailian. The deep love Ailian showed when she looked at her was like a daffodil looking at its reflection in water. Mi had never loved herself so passionately before.
After lunch, Aileen strolled in the garden arm-in-arm with Mi. Mi felt she needed to have a serious talk with Aileen. Aileen was tall, making walking with Mi's arm awkward, so she simply pulled her hand away and put it on Mi's shoulder. Mi looked at the hand on her shoulder, then at the smug little face smiling at her, and gave up on lecturing her. Aileen, like a cat that had received a new toy, tried every way to tease her. Aileen's joy was unrestrained, and Mi was drawn into her emotions, feeling that Aileen was the brightest light in the world, that she was so wonderful. For the first time, Mi understood El and Joe; they affirmed themselves through each other's eyes, just as she discovered her own brilliance through Aileen's eyes. It turns out that everyone is the brightest, most attractive light in the eyes of their loved one. We discover our own shining qualities through the eyes of our loved ones; this affirmation is passionate and direct, striking straight to the heart. Mi felt she was divided in two: one half was how wonderful it was that Aileen's heart and eyes were only for Mi; the other half was Mi herself, trying hard not to be arrogant, the feeling of loving herself was truly wonderful.
When the gardener, Tony, saw Ailian and Mi arrive together, he quickly came out from behind the flower stand and bowed: "Good day, Miss. Good day, Miss Mi. We haven't prepared the flower arrangement yet. What kind of flowers would you like, Miss?"
“I’ll arrange them myself today. I want this one, this one, and that one too.” Ailian completely forgot that because she got up so late, Xiaowei hadn’t asked the gardener to bring the flowers up. She pointed to the dahlias, star grass, and pampas grass: “Pick out the ones that are in good condition. Put them on the table next to the swing set. Oh, and go tell Xiaowei to bring me two vases, the two with round mouths and bellies.”
Tony responded and ran off. Ellen pulled Mi onto the swing set and sat down. Ellen extended a finger, lifting Mi's chin to kiss his lips. In broad daylight, Mi could no longer restrain himself and pushed Ellen away, saying seriously, "Ellen, we need to talk."
“No, we don’t need to,” Ailian snuggled closer to Mi. “Mi, I’ll listen to whatever you say. We don’t need to talk.”
Mi pushed away Ailian's shoulders, thinking to herself how lucky she was to have some martial arts skills: "Ailian, if you keep going like this, I won't be able to stay in Ailian Castle any longer."
"No," Ailian said pitifully, her eyes reddening, "Tell me what's wrong with me, and I'll change it."
"What do you like about me? I'll change it, okay?" Mi had a headache; she couldn't do anything with this little kitten.
"I love everything about you, Mi. There's not a single part of you I don't like." The kitten snuggled closer again.
Mi pushed Ailian away again and said, "If you continue like this, in less than three days everyone will say that I am your personal maid, you know that—" Mi let go of Ailian's hands, sat up straight, and looked at the flowers on the courtyard wall.
“No, none of them will know.” Ailian shook her head repeatedly. “No, I will tell them that I am your maid.”
“No one will believe it, and what can I offer you in exchange for you becoming my personal maid? You are a nobleman.” Mi looked at Xiaowei and Xiaobai carrying two vases over. “Don’t even mention outsiders, within your own estate, how many people would believe it? And how many would go to great lengths to become your personal maid?”
"What do you want me to do? Mi, don't leave me, I'll die." The kitten's eyes filled with tears.
“I never said I was leaving you,” Mi felt like she had lifted a boulder, only to be crushed by it. Mi reached out and pressed her lips to cover her lips, which were about to open in protest: “From now on, you need to maintain the same manners and distance as before yesterday—don’t worry, I’ll come to see you. You can’t keep pestering me. Practice singing when you need to, record songs when you need to.” Having received Mi’s clear answer, Ailian opened her mouth and bit Mi’s finger, then sheepishly let go under Mi’s stern gaze, pouting as she sat up straight.
Little Tony, holding the cut flower branches, cheered the kitten up again: "Mi, I'll make you a super pretty vase." Xiao Wei gently stood behind Mi and pushed the swing. Mi, feeling dizzy and drowsy, was about to fall asleep when Xiao Bai glared at her on the swing and stood by the table helping her mistress arrange the flower branches. Soon, Ai Lian had arranged two pots of flowers. Identical blooming dahlias were surrounded by star grass, with a few reeds scattered to the side. The entire arrangement was pleasing to the eye, the vibrant dahlias and the rustic black ceramic vase complementing each other perfectly.
"Is it pretty?" The kitten raised its eyebrows smugly.
"nice."
The kitten, beaming with joy after receiving the praise, tried to squeeze in again.
"Xiao Wei, prepare some water for your young lady's bath." Mi saw Xiao Wei carrying a vase and about to leave, so she quickly stood up and said. Xiao Wei turned to look at her young lady, who was pouting and not saying a word, and nodded, saying, "I'll go prepare it right away. Please come upstairs, young lady."
"Xiao Wei, put one basin in my room, and the other in Mi's room," Ai Lian instructed Xiao Wei, then followed behind her with her head down. Mi shook her head and followed behind, slowly going upstairs back to her room.
"Mi, come wash with me!" The kitten clung to Mi's bedroom door, begging sweetly.
"Go wash up properly, I'll trim your nails later." Mi pointed to the nail kit on the table.
"Why do I have to cut my nails?" The kitten raised her hand and looked at her slender fingers, her beautiful nails trimmed into sharp curves, with little flowers that Mi had drawn for her. "These nails are so pretty, I don't want to cut them! Mi, please don't cut them, okay?" The kitten put her hands behind her back and looked at Mi with pleading eyes.
Mi walked to the door and looked at Xiaobai, who was holding clothes, and said, "Go and get ready first. I'll take Ailian over in a bit." Xiaobai squatted down and turned to walk towards the bathroom on the other side. Mi pulled Ailian into the room, closed the door, took two steps back, and started unbuttoning her clothes one by one. The little cat immediately smiled with surprise and reached out to tug at her clothes.
"Don't take off your clothes, look carefully." Mi took off her shirt, revealing her back covered in scratches.
"Mi—" The kitten exclaimed, covering its mouth and immediately taking two steps forward to hug Mi. Warm tears dripped onto Mi's back. Ailian gently kissed Mi's back and said in a trembling voice, "I'll cut it, I'll cut it all off. It will hurt so much, waaaaah."
"Alright, go take a shower." Mi loosened her hand from her belt. "I'll trim your nails in a bit."
"Okay." The kitten drooped its head and turned to leave, but turned back at the door and said, "Mi, you should wash too. I'll ask Xiaowei to get some medicine for your wounds. It'll heal quickly if you apply it. I promise I won't bother you this time." The kitten held up three fingers to swear.
"I understand." With her back to Ailian, Mi took back her shirt and put it on, then picked up a book and sat down in the rocking chair by the window. The kitten peeked in from the doorway for a while before finally having to go to the bathroom alone. Mi couldn't help but chuckle at the kitten's dragging footsteps as it left. Seeing the wound, her heart ached genuinely; she truly wanted to be close to it. This child lacked both a father's love and a mother's affection, which was why it clung to her so tightly. Mi put down her book. She felt the castle needed more young people; the butler and Xiaowei were both too old.
Ailian was soaking in the bathtub all by herself, almost getting moldy, and the rice still hadn't arrived.
"Xiao Wei, go and get the lotus seed medicine."
"Miss, are you hurt anywhere?" Xiaowei asked worriedly.
“It wasn’t me,” Ailian said, splashing water in frustration. “It was me who scratched Mi, scratched her so many times, waaaaah.”
"Don't cry, don't cry, Miss, don't cry. I'll go get it right away. I guarantee Miss will be fine after wiping it off. Don't worry, Miss. This was specially made by your father for your mother. There's no better medicine than this."
"Mm." Ailian nodded with her head drooping, and then quickly added as she watched Xiaowei leave, "Xiaowei, please bring the rice over when you come back."
"Understood, Miss." Xiao Wei tiptoed out.
"Miss, did you hit Miss Mi?" Xiao Bai poured hot water into the bathtub, suddenly feeling sorry for Miss Mi. It seemed that sleeping with Miss Mi wasn't such a good job after all. "Although Miss Mi did overstep her bounds, if you talk to her nicely, she'll change." Miss Mi was even older than Xiao Bai's mother, and her injuries would be hard to heal.
"Xiaobai?" Ailian blushed at Xiaobai's question. "Mi is my teacher. You should respect her more than you respect me, understand?"
"Miss?" Xiaobai didn't understand how a tutor could be more noble than the master.
"Did you hear that?" Ailian, being a noblewoman who had held a high position for many years, immediately frightened Xiaobai into kneeling down, trembling. "Yes, Miss. I understand, Miss."
"You can leave now." Ailian waved her hand, dismissing Xiaobai, and hesitated whether to tell Xiaowei to change her personal maid.
"Xiao Bai?" Xiao Wei sighed when she saw Xiao Bai standing at the door as she brought Mi in. "Come in with me."
"Mi!" The kitten perked up immediately upon seeing Mi, raising its hands: "Here, cut all your nails, cut them like—" Ailian peeked out, "...cut them bald like you."
"Willing to give it up?"
"I can't bear to part with you," the kitten pitifully stretched out its paws, "but I can't bear to part with you even more."
"Tsk tsk." Xiao Wei moved a stool and placed it next to the bathtub for Mi to sit on. Mi and Ai Lian blushed at Xiao Wei's tsk tsk.
"Okay, paws." After trimming the kitten's nails, Mi put its paws back in the bathtub. The kitten loved beauty, and its paws were neatly trimmed. Mi suddenly regretted listening to the kitten and trimming her own paws to little points; in the end, she was the one who suffered the consequences. The kitten whimpered and moved to the other leg.
Ailian, who had just trimmed her nails, came out of the bathtub, took out the medicine, and said, "Xiaowei, change the water. I'll give Mi a bath later." She turned around and tugged at Mi's sleeve, "This is medicine left by Father. I'll apply it and you'll feel better."
"Won't the medicine your father left behind expire?" Mi raised an eyebrow in disbelief. She accepted Ailian's kindness; after all, Mi's body was different from a normal person's, so even if it expired, it wouldn't cause much harm. Ailian opened the lid; half a jar of clear, green ointment emitted a pleasant fragrance and looked well-preserved. Mi thought that even if it didn't work, she could heal her wound herself later, to avoid the kitten crying whenever it saw it. After changing the bathwater, Xiaowei took Xiaobai and stood guard at the door.
Mi took off her clothes and let the kitten apply the medicine to her with teary eyes. A cool sensation filled Mi's body, and she felt as if she were sleeping inside a dormant flower in a witch's forest. "This medicine is interesting," Mi thought. "No world should be underestimated."
"Okay, Mi, look carefully." The kitten happily poked Mi's back with its finger. "My nails are gone too, so I won't hurt you anymore." Drowsy Mi looked up at herself; the marks were gone, and even her skin felt slightly firmer. The kitten continued applying medicine to Mi's chest, and Mi's chest visibly perked up. Mi was startled: "What kind of medicine is this?"
"This is the elixir of immortality," the kitten said proudly. "My father specially made it for my mother."
"Uh, okay, you should put this medicine away quickly. I'm all better now, I don't need to apply it anymore." Mi hurriedly stepped into the bathtub, afraid that Ailian would apply the medicine to some part of her body again.
"Okay—" The kitten held up its finger and watched as Mi soaked herself in the water, then gave up on the idea of applying more ointment to Mi. It put the ointment on the tray and then stepped into the bathtub.
"Didn't you finish washing?" Mi looked up, wondering what this cunning little kitten was up to now.
Ailian pulled Mi up and sat her between her legs: "The bathtub is too hard, let me lean on you, it's comfortable leaning on me." As she spoke, she rubbed Mi's back a few times. "Is it comfortable leaning on me? I'll wash you!" The kitten reached out and patted Mi's body while taking credit.
"You call this taking a bath?"
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