In the real world, Shuo Yu could confidently show Shen Zhiyin a picture of Mianmian, introducing her as her wife. But face-to-face with Ji Mianmian in the game, she suddenly felt too embarrassed to be so forward.
Cat Island Diary had highly intelligent AI, and if her "thirsty" tendencies slipped out, she might scare the girl away from the western ear beach.
Shuo Yu deeply suspected that the reason Mianmian avoided being seen while changing clothes was because the game designers didn't animate the dressing process. After all, if Mianmian really was self-conscious, she wouldn't always look so expectant when seeing her.
Being intensely watched was inherently a private and intimate experience.
While waiting for Ji Mianmian to finish changing, Shuo Yu, bored, selected the shovel tool and began digging in the sand.
This was typical for her when playing games—she couldn't relax if her energy bar wasn't fully depleted.
Wasting energy and stalling character growth was practically criminal!
Shuo Yu didn't stray too far with her camera angle, so when Mianmian finished changing and stepped out, she immediately spotted her.
"Shuo Yu, I've changed into my new dress. It's beautiful—I love it!"
"You carry on with what you're doing; I'm off to check on One-Eye!"
As soon as the words came through her headphones, Shuo Yu put away her shovel and rushed over, not even bothering to pick up the clams she had dug up.
But Mianmian was as quick as a rabbit, and despite Shuo Yu's best efforts, she only managed to capture a few shots of her back as she ran off to the very edge of the beach.
At least Shuo Yu had a good eye—she managed to capture some aesthetically pleasing screenshots.
The cat-eared maid, with her little shoes and backpack, running along the forest path with her tail arcing in the air, conveyed a lively energy even through the screen.
Shuo Yu had a knack for composition, a skill every model needed to master to quickly align with a photographer's vision.
"It's the first time I've changed Mianmian's outfit. I should commemorate it properly."
Shuo Yu opened her photo gallery and moved all her Cat Island Diary screenshots into a new folder.
She then returned to the game and stored the seafood she had dug up into the materials inventory.
One of the best features of this game was the lack of durability limits. Food wouldn't spoil if left uneaten, allowing Shuo Yu to hoard to her heart's content.
She remembered she hadn't yet sorted through the items dropped by the evil spirits earlier, so she quickly opened the question mark packages she had hastily stuffed into her inventory.
The contents were—[2 Cat Gems, 178 Cat Coins, Time Fragment: Morning, Location Fragment: Seabed, Event Fragment: Pearl Fishing, Treasure Hunting].
No materials, but each spirit had dropped an interaction fragment, which was much rarer than materials.
Shuo Yu studied the fragments carefully. To successfully complete an interaction card, the time, location, and event fragments had to be logically aligned.
She tried several times but couldn't fit the [Event Fragment: Bathing] she got from the monthly pass into place.
For a cat, an early morning bath in the sea was a bit too intense…
But early morning pearl fishing made sense.
Shuo Yu placed the completed [Pearl Fishing Card] in a prominent spot, planning to take Mianmian there when she had time.
She also noticed that the five blueprints she had queued earlier were now fully decoded.
They were—[Carved Road Bricks, Plaza Floor, Carved Railing, Pushcart, Exploration Robot].
Shuo Yu hadn't found any ore deposits on the island yet, so she could only craft these items using the wood and stone she had collected.
"Finally, it's time for my favorite part—building!"
She put on some music and, in high spirits, began crafting materials while mentally mapping out her plans for the safe zone.
The system indicated that laying down road bricks would prevent the cats' paws from sinking into the sand, making it easier for them to run. Paving the plaza and adding railings would slow down evil spirit-possessed cats from damaging things and increase the comfort of the friendly cats.
The pushcart was for the cats—it could be lined with a cushion to serve as a makeshift cat bed. Cats loved semi-enclosed spaces, after all.
If the cats didn't like it as a bed, it could still be used for storage, so Mianmian wouldn't have to carry everything in her little backpack.
However, the pushcart required Rainleaf to craft, and the thought of the leaves she had painstakingly collected for the cat house being torn to shreds by the evil cats made Shuo Yu fume.
As for the exploration robot, Shuo Yu couldn't build it yet. It required a mechanical core and metal, materials she had no way of obtaining at the moment.
^
The medicine Shuo Yu provided was effective, and One-Eye cooperated during the treatment. Soon, the wound on its head was clean and no longer bleeding.
Ji Mianmian was overjoyed. "This medicine is working! There's a medical station at the western ear beach—we should go there for a full checkup!"
Wild animals lived at the mercy of nature, their fate as uncertain as fish in the sea. An injury was often a death sentence.
Now that the evil spirits had grown stronger, the cats were still like fish on the chopping block, vulnerable and helpless.
She had to hold on tightly to the lifeline Shuo Yu offered.
After the immediate danger had passed, One-Eye gently nudged Mianmian's arm with its healthy right front paw.
"This place isn't safe anymore. Even our friends' cats might get possessed… I've been attacked by an evil spirit—I can't be sure I won't turn into one of those things. You should take Little White and Little Flower and run, as far as you can…"
Ji Mianmian crouched down, stubbornly emptying her backpack to make room for One-Eye. "We don't know how these half-cat, half-ghost creatures came to be, but you're still a good cat."
Without waiting for a reply, she carefully lifted One-Eye into her backpack.
The cat, with its crippled left front leg and chronic malnutrition, weighed only five pounds despite being fully grown.
Mianmian knew that if she had spent the night in the sandpit instead of One-Eye, she would have been the one injured today…
One-Eye had saved her life. She had already raised the abandoned Little White and Little Flower, so taking in one more cat wouldn't be a burden.
Cat food didn't weigh much, so Mianmian packed the rest of the uneaten food into her backpack along with One-Eye.
Finally, she picked up the terrified Little White and Little Flower and faced the sandpit below the cliff. "This place isn't safe anymore, but remember, this was our first home."
Since waking up on Cat Island, Mianmian had always felt out of place. She was the only humanoid cat, different from all the others. Many cats on the island hated humans and avoided her whenever they saw her.
It wasn't until she found the kittens and started hiding at night like the other cats that she felt like she was truly living.
The sandpit held many memories, and she didn't want to forget them.
Ji Mianmian, along with her little family, made their way to the western ear beach. Along the way, they encountered two groups of cats.
Although their territories overlapped, they had little interaction—familiar faces but not friends.
Still, when the nocturnal cats paused to stare at her from a safe distance, Mianmian spoke up, "Cat Island isn't safe anymore. Evil spirits can possess cats and roam around during the day. If you get hurt, come to the western ear beach—there's a new medical station there."
To make her warning more credible, she even unpacked two bags of cat food and left them on the ground.
They were all cats, after all. Even if they weren't close, she didn't want to hear about any of them dying violently.
When Ji Mianmian returned to the western ear beach, she almost didn't recognize the place.
Where there had once been only a natural beach and forest, now stood a small, organized world of civilization and order.
Winding stone paths connected everything, making it easy to reach the sea or explore the forest. Her little shoes made a delightful tapping sound on the stones.
A wide, flat plaza had been constructed in front of the medical station, and the three vending machines had been moved to its right side. Nearby, a pushcart and a newly crafted cat house stood, everything looking neat and full of life.
The campfire had been moved to a spot closer to the beach but still safe from the rising tide. Shuo Yu didn't seem worried about wasting firewood, letting it burn warmly even during the day.
The fragrant wood railings enclosed this little haven, separating the world Shuo Yu had built for the cats from the wild beach beyond.
Ji Mianmian looked around but didn't see the beautiful woman.
She had so much she wanted to share with Shuo Yu, but she wasn't here.
Little White, oblivious to Mianmian's inner turmoil, wriggled in her arms, eager to explore. "Big sister, this place is so beautiful now! Let's go see what's there!"
The kitten's excitement was infectious, and Mianmian felt her worries melt away. "Yes, Shuo Yu is very good to us. She can't enjoy any of this herself; it's all for the cats."
She set Little White and Little Flower on the ground, and they dashed across the plaza, leaving two cute trails of paw prints behind.
But as Mianmian took a few steps forward, she felt an invisible force pushing her back, preventing her from going any further.
One-Eye's raspy voice spoke up, "Mianmian, put me down. I haven't been granted permission to enter the safe zone."
After completing the plaza, Shuo Yu had set the area to allow only cats with positive affection levels to enter.
Having witnessed the destruction caused by feral cats, she didn't want to risk another incident.
This system-imposed barrier kept One-Eye out. It was happy to see the western ear beach looking so nice, but its frail, injured body wouldn't allow it to cause any harm.
Ji Mianmian sighed, resigned, and leaned the backpack against a nearby palm tree. "Wait here for now. Shuo Yu is easy to talk to—once she's back, you'll be able to come in…"
Her words trailed off as she instinctively looked up at the sky and saw something stunning.
^
After setting up the safe zone and using up her energy, Shuo Yu logged out of the game.
Worried she might miss something important, she enabled push notifications for Cat Island Diary.
Shuo Yu preferred a simple life and had most push notifications turned off except for a few essential apps.
None of the other games she had played before had earned this privilege, but this one was so immersive that she couldn't shake the worry that next time, Little White or Mianmian might get hurt.
[Cat Island Diary: Dear player, the cat you've been following has returned to the safe zone. Go say hi!]
After days of indulgence, Shuo Yu had finally gotten herself back to her home gym, riding her stationary bike.
She wasn't overly strict with her diet, but as a model who needed to look good on camera while maintaining her figure, she had to put in extra effort with exercise.
Sweaty and in need of a break, Shuo Yu saw the notification just as she was about to rest.
She tapped the touch screen to stop the bike and stretched out on a yoga mat while opening Cat Island Diary.
The Shuo Yu Ji Mianmian had seen before was either bare-faced or lightly made up, with a calm expression as she tapped away at her phone. No matter what she was thinking, her face always looked confident and composed.
But today, Shuo Yu had just finished working out, her skin glistening with a thin sheen of sweat, her upper body clad only in a sports bra that showed off her impressive curves and the elegant lines of her shoulders and neck.
And her face was flushed with a hint of red, her mood lifted by the knowledge that Mianmian had returned.
Shuo Yu's eyes, when she let her emotions show, were so gentle.
Ji Mianmian swallowed, instinctively covering Little White and Little Flower's eyes with her hand. Shuo Yu was just too beautiful—this was not something kittens should see…