An Interesting Kitten

Weekend morning.

Normally, with no academic pressure, Ye Li could have slept in.

But as usual, he got up early and made himself a simple breakfast.

After all, sleep was something he could take or leave.

And there was another reason...

Ye Li was broke. He needed to work to earn money.

Staring at the empty fridge and his flat wallet, after cursing a certain cabbage-head a thousand times, Ye Li pushed open the door of his apartment.

After a few bus transfers, Ye Li successfully arrived at his destination for the day, which was also his workplace—a café called "Cat Tail."

Pushing open the café door, he was greeted by a pink-haired girl wearing cat ears.

"Welcome, custo... oh, it's just Ye Li."

Seeing that it was Ye Li, the pink-haired girl immediately dropped her professional smile.

"You're late today~ Careful, or I'll tell Marguerite!"

Looking at the pink-haired girl's mischievous grin, Ye Li, not wanting to lose pay, pulled out his tried-and-true trick:

"Diona, I know you're the best. After all, you're going to be a world-famous coffee master someday. Surely you wouldn't make things hard for an ordinary guy like me with no coffee talent, right?"

Watching Diona's face flush red, Ye Li delivered the finishing blow:

"Oh, and I heard you've been experimenting with a few new coffee recipes. I can be your taste tester~"

Seeing Ye Li's sincere expression, Diona felt a warmth in her heart.

Not for any other reason—it was because her coffee was terrible.

For some reason, every cup of coffee Diona made inexplicably ended up tasting like alcohol.

Even though she never used any alcohol or alcohol-containing ingredients during the brewing process.

This had led to no one at "Cat Tail Café" being willing to drink Diona's coffee.

It was a huge blow to Diona, who loved coffee.

Of course, some might wonder: why would a café keep a barista who couldn't make good coffee?

To that, the owner Marguerite would say, "What can I do? She's just too cute~"

Then Ye Li appeared, and under the stunned gazes of the entire staff, calmly finished Diona's coffee.

When the others cautiously asked for his thoughts, Ye Li slowly set down the cup and said with a smile, "I could feel the 'heart' in this coffee."

Thinking back to that, Diona's face turned even redder, and she stammered:

"Wh... what's that supposed to mean? Don't think you can get away with this...

Fine, since you're so... eager to drink it, I'll reluctantly agree~"

With that, Diona hopped away, leaving Ye Li standing there with a silent smile.

Because of that incident, Ye Li's coworkers treated him with incredible warmth, seeing him as an exceptionally gentle person.

After all, in their eyes, Diona's coffee was practically a god-slaying weapon!

As for Ye Li himself, he thought they were making a big deal out of nothing.

A cup of coffee? He'd seen things far more terrifying than that!

As evening approached, Ye Li finished his work for the day.

Just as he was about to head to the changing room, he noticed a "little tail" following not far behind him.

Seeing a certain pink-haired figure hiding behind the wall, Ye Li smiled and walked over.

Meanwhile, Diona was still agonizing over how to invite Ye Li to try her new coffee.

Even though Ye Li had said that morning he'd be her taste tester, Diona still found it hard to bring up.

After all, who knew if he was just being polite?

Just as Diona was hesitating, a voice came from above her head.

"Diona, so you're here."

Faced with Ye Li suddenly appearing beside her, Diona jumped like a startled cat.

"Mew~!"

Seeing Diona's face burning red, Ye Li stopped teasing her and got straight to the point:

"Diona, I've been busy all day and I'm a bit thirsty. Could you make me a cup of coffee?"

As soon as she heard someone willing to let her help brew coffee, Diona's eyes lit up considerably.

But then she suddenly remembered—this very person had just embarrassed her earlier.

So Diona deliberately turned her head away with an air of arrogance: "Hmph~ I'm pretty busy too, you know. When would I have the time to brew coffee for you..."

Diona's words nearly made the male clerk wiping down the nearby table burst out laughing.

Busy?

By "busy," do you mean spending the whole day as a mascot at the coffee shop, letting the young ladies feed you?

In his eyes, whether Diona was busy or not was anyone's guess—but she was definitely full.

On the other side, as if realizing that Ye Li was the only person in the entire Cat Tail tavern willing to taste her coffee, Diona quickly added:

"Of... of course, if you insist on drinking it, I'm not saying I couldn't..."

"I knew Diona was the kindest and cutest. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to brew coffee for me." Ye Li clasped his hands together and smiled warmly.

"You!" Diona's face instantly flushed red. She quickly turned and headed for the counter: "Just wait—it'll be done soon!"

Ye Li watched the pink-haired cat girl standing on tiptoes on a chair, diligently mixing coffee, a fond smile spreading across his face.

Truth be told, he didn't really know why he felt this way about Diona.

Maybe... it reminded him of another interesting little cat?

Ye Li thought.

He wondered if, in this peaceful era, that little cat had managed to fulfill her wish...

Whether she had enough sunlight to bask in, enough time for her afternoon naps...

Ye Li said goodbye to his coworkers at the coffee shop and set off on his way home.

While waiting for the bus, he took the chance to stop by a nearby convenience store and buy a discounted bento.

Ye Li didn't really care about the taste—he couldn't tell the difference anyway. The main thing was that it was cheap.

After enduring the evening rush hour bus, Ye Li finally made it home.

To be honest, whether it was because his body hadn't fully recovered or for some other reason, just that one rush hour bus ride had already left Ye Li physically and mentally exhausted—almost giving him the illusion that it was harder to deal with than a Herrscher.

Then Ye Li scolded himself for being too delicate.

After all, compared to the Honkai, which could take your life at any moment, rush hour traffic seemed pretty trivial.

Looking at the steaming hot meal on his table and the beautiful city nightscape outside the window, Ye Li felt that everything was heading in a good direction—except for...

Ding-dong~ The UP you follow @miHoYo's First Idol Ai-chan has uploaded a new video. Come watch now!

Ye Li: I'm going to fucking lose it!