What Harm Could a Cat Cake Possibly Mean?

Just as Lin Feng huddled in the corner, feeling as though he had become a "despairing Cat Cake," with [I can't do it.jpg] flashing frantically through his mind, he noticed someone slowly approaching him.

Before he could turn his Cat Cake body around, a pair of warm hands gently scooped him up.

It was Ruan Mei.

She wore a gentle smile that seemed almost purifying, making her look like an entirely different person from the creator who had calmly assessed his "value as a specimen" in the laboratory moments ago.

Her fingertips were slightly cool, but her touch was exceptionally gentle, as though she were holding a priceless treasure.

"Scared, weren't you?" Her voice was soft, like a feather brushing across his heart. "Don't be afraid. Everything's all right now."

Under her touch, Lin Feng's stiff body relaxed a little despite himself.

It was an almost irresistible soothing that reached him on the very level of life itself.

Her fingers gently combed through his nonexistent "fur" (or rather, glutinous rice skin?), moving slowly and rhythmically.

Lin Feng could even smell a faint, cool plum blossom fragrance on her, mingled with the scent of some special reagent from the laboratory.

Wait!

This wasn't the first time she'd held me, so why didn't I smell it before?

He soon understood why. He had just gone through transmigration and Herta's threats, and he hadn't yet adjusted to this body.

But the main reason was that he had now relaxed his entire body, meaning his Cat Cake body.

His glutinous rice-like body went completely soft.

Let's get one thing straight: you can't blame me for this. The main reason is—

It feels too good...

His instincts as a Cat Cake nearly made him purr, even as what remained of his human reason frantically sounded the alarm:

[Get a grip, Lin Feng! She's Ruan Mei! Genius Society #81! Ruan Mei, who's indifferent to everything beneath the Aeons! This gentleness is a sugar-coated shell! It's a more sophisticated test!]

Yet his Cat Cake body instinctively gave a gentle twist, offering the other side, which had yet to be soothed, to that slender hand.

The movement was so natural, as though a cat being petted in an itchy spot had unconsciously shifted its position.

But with that one little turn, his perspective spun, and a range of soft hills seemed to fill his entire world.

The distance between them vanished in an instant, and that rich fragrance, carrying the crisp scent of plum blossoms and the warm sweetness of pastries, swept over him like a tide, nearly drowning his reason altogether.

The "warnings" he had barely been able to make out before now shattered under such a direct assault on his senses.

"[She's Ruan Mei... genius... indifferent...]" The alarm became a string of broken static.

His body reacted before his mind did.

His round, soft Cat Cake body began to nuzzle against her, ever so slightly and beyond his control.

At first, it was only an experimental rub, seemingly accidental.

But that sensation—incomparably soft, with the warmth of a human body—combined with the fine texture of her clothing to shatter his last line of defense in an instant.

Whatever... The thought burst into his mind as he gave up all restraint, quickly gaining the upper hand.

His nuzzling grew more pronounced, turning from subtle friction into unmistakable, affectionate rubbing.

He pressed the softest side of his body tightly against her, feeling the astonishing springiness and warmth.

Before long, his movements grew more practiced and uninhibited. His round body wriggled in small motions, trying to let a larger area of his "cake body" enjoy that ultimate softness.

"(╯▽╰) Smells so good~~" His inward sigh became a muffled murmur.

"(╯▽╰) So soft~~" His Cat Cake instincts trampled his human sense of shame underfoot.

"Want to snuggle so bad~~"

"Being a Cat Cake doesn't seem to be all bad—"

He was done for. Now he was completely immersed in this haven of softness.

Then again, anyone else would have been the same.

At least, that was how he comforted himself deep down.

Ruan Mei seemed not to have noticed the battle raging within him.

She simply watched him intently, looking into his Cat Cake's beady eyes, which had widened slightly with fear. Her gaze revealed an unprecedented curiosity and... a trace of affection so faint it was almost impossible to detect.

Or rather, even if she had noticed the odd sensation against her chest, she didn't care.

After all, what harm could a Cat Cake possibly mean?

"You're different from the others, little one."

She murmured to herself, her voice so low that she seemed to be speaking only to herself. "Your reactions, the look in your eyes, even the way you ran for your life... they're all so unusual."

Her slender fingertip gently tapped Lin Feng's body, which was still trembling slightly.

"Don't worry," she promised again, her tone even more certain than before. "I won't let Herta slice you up."

Her words were like a bucket of ice water over his head, instantly jolting Lin Feng out of his bliss beneath her soothing touch!

[Warning! Logical paradox!]

The alarm in his mind blared at maximum volume.

Based on his understanding of Ruan Mei's character, she felt little emotion toward anything other than her pursuit of the mysteries of the Aeons, including her own creations.

Such an explicit promise of protection was completely at odds with her usual style!

Could this still be a test!?

Is she testing how I'll react after getting a "promise of safety"? Or whether I'll let my guard down and reveal more secrets?

Lin Feng's heart tightened.

Lin Feng immediately forced down the comfortable feeling in his body and tried to make himself look as though he was still shaken. He even deliberately made himself tremble a little harder—

He had to play the part of a simple, frightened creation that had just escaped death and was incapable of thinking about complicated matters.

However, Ruan Mei keenly sensed the brief increase in his trembling.

A faint ripple passed through her beautiful eyes, so subtle that even she might not have noticed it.

She held Lin Feng even more carefully, almost cupping him in her palms, using her own body heat to warm the frightened "glutinous rice cake."

"You really don't need to be afraid anymore..." she repeated, her voice almost overflowing with tenderness.

This time, she seemed to be speaking not only to Lin Feng.

She lowered her eyes slightly, her long lashes fluttering as her gaze settled on Lin Feng.

"How... strange," she murmured at a volume only she could hear. "You're only an accidental creation... so why do you make me..."

"Never mind." Ruan Mei smiled. "Little one... I can't keep calling you that. How about I give you a name?"

"How does [Ruan Mei Ultimate Creation] sound?"

Lin Feng didn't dare speak. He didn't even dare make a purring sound.

"If you don't object, I'll take that as a yes."

"All right, dear, I have other things to do. Stay here for a while."

Lin Feng's soft body was placed on the floor, leaving its warm resting place behind.

Though he was still a little reluctant to part from it, now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

Judging by Ruan Mei's tone just now... this didn't seem to be a test.

Wait!

Her tone just now—she really thinks of me as family, and she even gave me a name, [Ruan Mei Ultimate Creation].

[Beep! Absorbable data stream detected]

[Absorbing data stream...]

[Data meme conversion complete. Constructing plasticity mimicry]

[Mimicry construction complete!]

As the last electronic chime faded, Lin Feng discovered that he seemed to have grown taller.

His gaze was no longer fixed on the floor just beneath him, but on laboratory equipment at his own height.

A little dazed, he subconsciously touched his face—

Subconsciously!

He abruptly looked down. This time, what he saw wasn't a Cat Cake body, but a pair of long legs.

He had a human body now!?