Yu Tong didn’t expect this son of a dog to be so alert. All he did was bite off his phone, but the man began to suspect that he could understand human language already.
The system expressed concern: 【It seems like the antagonist realized you’re not an ordinary little cat.】
Yu Tong rubbed against Yun Mingchen’s ear, meowing.
‘Be confident, remove the “seems like”.’
【Why aren’t you nervous?】
‘He’s wary of cat demons, and I’m not a demon; I’m just a little cat that can understand human language.’
As he was chatting with the system, someone suddenly grabbed his scruff.
Yun Mingchen sat up and lifted him in front of him.
The eyes of the man and the cat met, and Yu Tong sweetly mewled at him.
Yun Mingchen frowned, looking particularly serious.
He removed the mask of the elementary school kid, and his demeanour changed to be exactly like when he commanded the monsters earlier.
Under Yu Tong’s gaze, Yun Mingchen pinched his fingers decisively, and golden light appeared at his fingertips.
Chanting an incantation, he lightly touched the cat’s head with his finger, and the golden light instantly entered the cat’s body.
Yu Tong could feel something sweeping through his body.
As the spell concluded, Yun Mingchen’s furrowed brows finally relaxed.
He gently stroked Yu Tong’s little head, and the vigilance in his eyes gradually faded.
The system exclaimed in Yu Tong’s mind, 【He just checked what shape your soul is. Luckily, I was quick-witted enough to mold your soul into the appearance of a kitten.】
【The cultivation world is really dangerous since people can casually inspect the host’s soul. Your human identity almost got exposed. Ugh, in the future, who cares about this crappy place — let whoever wants to come come.】
Yu Tong wasn’t too nervous. After hearing the system’s words, he felt that the antagonist was indeed clever.
Yun Mingchen thought that a human soul might be dwelling inside the cat’s body and was worried that the cat he picked up had been possessed by some cultivator.
Yu Tong pulled up the original story and quickly reviewed various settings in the cultivation world. A few minutes later, he looked at the antagonist, who had lain back on the bed, and couldn’t help applauding him in his heart.
‘To be so cautious, Little Eight, the antagonist really has potential. If I were actually a soul possessor, after seeing Yun Mingchen’s search interface, I would try my best to conceal my spiritual power to avoid being mistaken for a cat demon, and consequently, neglect hiding my soul.’
‘If I were actually a cat demon, the moment I saw the browsing interface, I would reveal a flaw. Yun Mingchen’s move coulddirectly eliminate two unstable factors. No wonder he could contend with the male lead for so long; he’s indeed very clever.’
The system grumbled with a sour tone, 【What about me? No praise for me?】
Yu Tong: ……
‘Praise for you, praise for you. Your reaction speed was really fast.’
【Hehe!】
After comforting the system, Yu Tong looked toward the corner of the room.
The expression and demeanour Yun Mingchen had when probing him just now seemed completely different from his naive young master image.
Was he not afraid of ruining his persona?
Or was the surveillance in the bedroom once again compromised?
As Yu Tong pondered this, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a red shadow outside the window.
He tilted his head thoughtfully.
That red shadow always gave him a strangely familiar feeling. He seemed to have seen it somewhere recently.
————
Not long after the red shadow appeared, Yu Tong heard a scream from somewhere in the dormitory building.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ktf rmgfjw kjr mibrf, ilxfis bc atflg oibbg.
Te Kbcu aegcfv ab ibbx ja Tec Zlcumtfc.
Ktf wjc rffwfv cba ab tjnf tfjgv atf rmgfjw pera cbk jcv kjr ralii islcu bc atf yfv qijslcu klat tlr qtbcf.
Llr fsfr kfgf ibkfgfv, ulnlcu atf jqqfjgjcmf bo mjiwcfrr.
Lbkfnfg, j ragbcu rfcrjalbc kjr agjcrwlaafv ageatoeiis atgbeut atf “Lfjga-ab-Lfjga” qgbq gfjmtlcu Te Kbcu.
He twitched his ears slightly in surprise.
That piercing scream just now made the antagonist feel excited?
Yu Tong’s understanding of Yun Mingchen hadn’t increased with their interaction over the past two days. Instead, he found himself increasingly unable to see through this person.
The gentle young master was a persona Yun Mingchen put on to deal with the outside world. The willful and arrogant elementary school kid was an act for his parents and Mr. Wen behind the surveillance.
In the early morning, Yun Mingchen coldly ordered the monsters to kill. At a glance, he appeared indifferent and ruthless, as if that were his true nature.
He, however, would secretly search online to see if the cat liked him and would staunchly refuse an arranged marriage with Miss Wen due to his homosexuality.
He was a very contradictory person.
Fortunately, the prop wouldn’t lie, and through the emotions conveyed by the “Heart-to-Heart” prop, Yu Tong could vaguely see through the layers of masks Yun Mingchen wore, revealing his true nature.
Yun Mingchen was a steady, calm, capable, and patient person.
At the moment, he also seemed upright. He deeply loved his family and prioritized the interests of the family. He cared a lot for his sister, even though he didn’t openly show it.
When facing various surveillance, Yun Mingchen adeptly navigated life on an edge and ensured that everyone believed him to be a delicate, irritable, mentally fragile, and worthless young master of the Yun family.
During the initial video call with his parents, he indeed appeared as usual, suppressing his frustrations while wearing the elementary school kid mask.
It wasn’t until they mentioned same-sex marriage and surrogate pregnancy that Yun Mingchen couldn’t hold onto his facade any longer and erupted completely.
Upon careful consideration, Yu Tong realized that their conversation had actually revealed a lot of information.
Yun Mingchen had a weak constitution since his childhood and spent a lot of time in a medicinal bath. The Yun family emptied their coffers to ensure he grew up safely. Later, they provided him with many treasures to help him advance in cultivation.
While it seemed like they treated him well, this love was burdensome.
His parents devoted all their resources to him, making him not just an individual but a possession of the Yun family.
He worked hard on his cultivation to bring glory to the family. Getting married and having children were actions meant to secure alliances and continue the family line.
What made Yu Tong feel uneasy was that the antagonist’s feelings didn’t seem entirely fabricated.
Yun Mingchen was initially firm in his convictions, but when his mother began recounting their kindness towards him, his mental state immediately crumbled.
At that moment, he was just a tiny step away from agreeing to the arranged marriage.
Upon hearing the phone ring, Yun Mingchen became nervous. When his parents spoke, he felt anxious. Extended conversations with them seemed to rob him of the ability to think independently due to the overwhelming pressure.
The more Yu Tong thought about it, the more he felt that the antagonist had fallen victim to his parents’ persuasion.
It explained why he faced such difficulties in the academy and didn’t seek help from his parents.
He might be afraid of them.
Yu Tong is also afraid of his parents.
While they didn’t emotionally manipulate him, they had a penchant for mistreating the family’s dogs. If one died, they would replace it with another, be it a big or small dog.
Even now, Yu Tong often dreams of the pitiful cries of those dogs.
He still remembers the one that almost died — a small black dog with sparse fur that liked to whimper at night.
————
After Yun Mingchen performed a soul check, he didn’t pay much attention to the little cat anymore.
In an effort to strengthen their relationship, Yu Tong, like a seasoned masseur, spent a considerable amount of time kneading Yun Mingchen’s shoulder.
He shamelessly pressed against Yun Mingchen’s face, hoping to leave a lasting impression on the antagonist before bedtime.
Yun Mingchen, who had removed all his masks, neither scolded him nor gently patted his head.
He remained expressionless throughout, appearing to ignore the little cat completely.
However, through the “Heart-to-Heart” prop, Yu Tong could sense that the antagonist was currently quite happy, seemingly enchanted.
Ah, this hypocritical man.
Around two in the morning, after watching science fiction movie explanations for a while, Yun Mingchen finally set aside his phone and slept.
Yu Tong couldn’t fathom why a sword cultivator would be so interested in science fiction movies.
Once Yun Mingchen fell into a deep sleep, Yu Tong immediately utilized the “Dream Romance X” prop.
Until now, the villain’s character deviation value still hasn’t changed. This showed that it was still possible for him to marry Miss Wen like in the original story.
Worried that Yun Mingchen might be feeling down, Yu Tong prepared to continue educating him in his dreams.
After pressing the use button, he waited for a while, but there was no apparent change in the surroundings.
Thinking that he might not have used the prop correctly, he started frantically pressing the button.
The system held a cigarette, and observed, 【It’s useless. You can’t enter his dream because there’s no you in his dream.】
Yu Tong: ……
Apparently, their relationship wasn’t close enough, making everything inconvenient.
Yu Tong stayed by the item, but the antagonist didn’t dream of the little cat all night.
As dawn approached, the system accessed the backend and saw that the deviation value of the antagonist’s character was still 0.
Remembering the bet Yu Tong mentioned earlier, the system rubbed its hands together, ready to agree to the wager.
Just as the system was about to speak, Yu Tong, who had been incessantly pressing the confirm button, suddenly felt a blur before his eyes, and the surroundings rapidly changed.
The dimly lit student dormitory disappeared, replaced by a clean and tidy classroom filled with students attending class.
Sunlight streamed through the windows, but it didn’t bring any warmth.
Young cultivators, covered in fine threads like marionettes, sat expressionlessly in their chairs.
On the podium stood a female teacher with an equally vacant gaze.
Fine threads bound her neck and limbs, with the other end of the threads passed through the classroom ceiling. The controller on the opposite side was unclear.
The system, bound to Yu Tong’s soul, also entered the antagonist’s dream.
It curiously peered inside and remarked, 【Is this the antagonist’s dream? It seems quite unique. Is he a puppetry enthusiast?】
Yu Tong didn’t understand how he, a little cat, would be involved in a classroom-style dream.
He wanted to take a look around, yet realized he couldn’t move.
The system chuckled, 【Little Yu Tong, don’t struggle. In Yun Mingchen’s dream, you are the paper cut out of a cartoon cat on the bulletin board, on the right side of the classroom.】
Yu Tong: ……
————
Dreams plagued with marionettes were something Yun Mingchen often experienced.
It was just that the scenes varied, sometimes in the school and sometimes in the Yun family estate.
Today, he dreamt that everyone in the school had turned into puppets.
Like the others, Yun Mingchen was entangled with fine threads.
He watched silently as the threads guided him.
After class, the classroom door opened, and the young miss Wen Yingying was led in by the threads.
She had red eyes and discussed the arranged marriage with Yun Mingchen.
Yu Tong, now a paper cartoon cat cutout, was plastered on the bulletin board less than three meters away from them.
While he was struggling to break free, he also eavesdropped on their conversation.
After listening for a while, he hesitated and asked, ‘Little Eight, don’t you find Wen Yingying’s voice unlike that of a twenty-something girl?’
The system joined in to watch the excitement, stating, 【Indeed, it sounds a bit like the voice of a middle-aged woman. The way she talks to Yun Mingchen also resembles an elder talking to a younger person.】
After relentless effort, Yu Tong’s head managed to break free from the bulletin board.
Fortunately, the bulletin board in the middle of the classroom was made with thumbtacks and cut paper. He struggled vigorously, causing the thumbtacks to tear the paper, giving him some room to move.
If it had been a chalkboard at the back, Yu Tong would have laid flat.
After a bit of struggle, Yu Tong suddenly noticed something.
‘Why aren’t the antagonist’s parents in the dream?’
The system, losing interest in the dream, yawned, 【This is a classroom, and his parents aren’t students. What would they be doing here?】
Before it could finish speaking, two figures suddenly appeared in the classroom.
Yu Tong found their faces familiar — they were the old bastards from the Yun family he’d just met last night.
However, there were no threads entwined around them.
Yu Tong glanced at the system.
The system felt its face ache, and retreated back into its space, remaining silent.
Compared to reality, everything in the dream seemed more exaggerated.
The Yun elderly couple stood on either side – one left, one right, whispering into Yun Mingchen’s ears, creating a live performance of voices that surrounded and hypnotized him.
“Dad and Mom have left all the good things for you. To repay our kindness, you should marry Wen Yingying.”
“If you don’t marry into the Wen family, we’ll marry your sister off to a stranger, let her marry into the Su family!”
Wen Yingying’s head raised, lifted entirely by the threads, revealing a shy smile on her face.
Yun Mingchen looked on blankly, feeling exhausted.
During the day, he had to play various roles, and now, even in his dreams, he couldn’t escape the events of the day.
His parents called him every two days, urging him to marry Miss Wen.
Almost every day, Wen Yingying messaged him, claiming she had found someone she liked, pleading with him not to agree to the arranged marriage.
Yun Mingchen, caught in the middle, didn’t know what to do.
His parents’ voices grew louder, becoming the only sound in his world.
Just as they were about to admonish Yun Mingchen, telling him how much they sacrificed over the years, Yun Mingchen suddenly heard a faint meow.
The next second, a tattered paper cartoon cat leaped from the nearby bulletin board.
Yun Mingchen slightly turned to look at the commotion behind Lord Yun.
Their positions suddenly changed, and aiming for Lord Yun, Yu Tong, who was flying towards him, didn’t have time to dodge and collided headfirst into Yun Mingchen’s face.
Yu Tong: ???
Yun Mingchen: ???
Awww, a cutout paper cat.