"What is this... thing?" Xiao Wu's voice came from behind him.
For some reason, Su Bai felt that the little one's voice sounded different from before. Even before this, he had thought Xiao Wu's voice sounded a little awkward, like a contrary child forcing cheerfulness despite being unhappy, but the tone had always been polite and pleasant.
Now, though, there was a chill in Xiao Wu's voice.
"Meow?"
When Su Bai turned around, Little Black Cat was standing very obediently on the counter, looking straight at the child whose head barely cleared it.
"This is the cat I brought back from the last game. I suppose that makes the cat our shop's newest member?" Su Bai walked over and gathered the kitten into his arms, thoroughly enjoying the soft, fluffy fur. As Su Bai stroked that fur, Kai Xin also lifted a little head with an expression of utter bliss.
Only Xiao Wu stared fixedly at the little creature in Su Bai's arms. Something seemed to stir in those eyes, as blood-red as the Red Moon, but they eventually settled back into stillness.
Seeing how relaxed and genuinely happy Su Bai looked while holding Little Black Cat, Xiao Wu sighed with a world-weariness beyond his years, then said with a very strained smile, "Madam... Boss, as long as you're happy."
"There seem to be quite a few more things in the shop." Xiao Wu turned his gaze away from Su Bai and Little Black Cat toward the shelves, where a few scattered items were on display. Although the shop was clearly still nowhere near ready to open, it was already a tremendous improvement over the completely empty space of a few days ago.
Although Xiao Wu seemed intent on changing the subject, perhaps because of the hostility Xiao Wu had