Lei Meow Meow raised her drink high and shouted,
“(゜v゜)つロ Cheers!”

There weren’t any big round tables in the school cafeteria, so we held the victory party outside on a long picnic table. Naturally, there was no free buffet during the holiday, but thankfully the paid dining hall was still open—and this time, Lei Meow Meow was footing the bill herself.

Uncle Lei Luo was extremely busy, and he also didn’t want to turn into a little girl, so he didn’t attend the celebration.

“Hey, I gotta ask—why is someone who didn’t even participate in the operation shamelessly sitting here?”

The one speaking was Haitang. The person she was pointing at was Xiao Lei, who was sitting right next to me, shoveling beef strips into her mouth as if trying to fill a black hole of a stomach.

By the way, Haitang was the true unsung hero of this operation. While Meow Meow was leading her people into the bar, Haitang was single-handedly dealing with the Rashomon thugs who tried to rush back to reinforce the place, knocking every last one of them down at the bar’s front entrance—quietly claiming all the credit and none of the fame.

By the time we rode the police car back to school, Xiao Lei had already returned ahead of us with Xi-jie and the others.

After swallowing the meat in her mouth, Xiao Lei wagged a finger and said,
“You can’t say it like that. If I hadn’t gone to cover a shift, how would Sharo have been able to join the operation?”

I asked, “Then how do you suddenly have time to come out now? Isn’t the shop busy?”

“Of course I clocked out after Xiao Jiu-je came in. Plus, Saki-chan’s still there—those two are more than enough to handle customers.”

So Senior Changpu’s been working from morning till night…
With that workload, I’m genuinely worried she’ll die of overwork.

“By the way,” I asked, “have they caught the guy who stabbed… Lü Le?”

Meow Meow shook her head.
“Not yet, but no rush. With Lu Huangze already in custody, the rest is only a matter of time.”

She was in a great mood—her earlier irritability completely gone. Honestly, I’m really not used to her sudden gentle demeanor.

“Little Sharo, thank you so much this time too!” Meow Meow said, walking over with her drink. “About hitting you back then, I’m sorry—please forgive me~”

Sharo, clearly flustered, raised her juice to return the toast.
“I-It’s okay! Being able to h-help you, I-I’m honored!”

Why the honorifics? And she’s stuttering too—Sharo really couldn’t handle Meow Meow well.

“Hey, don’t be so nervous! I remember you saying you’re my fan too, right? If you ever want to go to one of my concerts, just tell me!”

Xiao Lei immediately shot her hand up and shouted with eyes squeezed shut,
“I’m your fan too! I want Meow Meow-chan’s concert VIP seat too!”

“No problem!”

“Ohhh! She actually agreed?!”

Maybe because she was in such a good mood, Meow Meow casually granted Xiao Lei’s request.

I actually wanted one too. Just as I was hesitating about raising my hand, my phone rang. I awkwardly pressed my half-raised right hand back down.

It was Wu Qinglan calling. I jogged off to the side to answer.

“Hello?”

“Uh… this is Xiao Kai, right?”

“No kidding. What is it?”

“…Why does your voice sound like that?”

I immediately covered my mouth. Damn it—being so used to this body, I’d completely forgotten I was a split avatar right now.

I tried lowering my voice.
“Ahem… that was falsetto just now. I was practicing.”

“No, your voice now sounds like falsetto! Your voice suddenly sounds so nice… did you get castrated?”

Tch. So hard to fool.

I snapped back, “Piss off, you’re the one who got castrated! My voice is fine—probably just the phone. Get to the point.”

“Oh, you remember the costume ball tomorrow, right?”

I froze. That was the last day of the holiday, wasn’t it?

What date is it today?

I counted on my fingers… damn it—tomorrow is the last day!

Seven days went by way too fast! Someone definitely stole my time!

“Yeah, I vaguely remember. Didn’t you say you didn’t need my help?”

“I don’t need you to come with us~ I’ll bring the mascot costume over later. Help me talk to your dad… judging by the noise, you’re not at home, are you?”

“Yeah, eating out with friends.”

“Hey—those are all girls’ voices, aren’t they? Lil’ boy… you’re actually a harem protagonist?”

“Stop messing with me. I don’t even have a girlfriend—what harem…”

“That calm attitude is exactly because you could get one anytime! Burn in hell! F·I·R·E!”

She’s so annoying.

“Anyway, I’ll head back after dinner. Come a bit later.”

I hung up without waiting for a response.

The victory party carried on with food and drinks. When Meow Meow got excited, she even belted out an impromptu a cappella performance. Time flew by in no time.

She was really generous—the amount of food on the table was excessive. Even with Xiao Lei helping, we couldn’t finish it all. Not wanting to waste food, I asked for takeaway boxes to bring a hearty dinner back to my main body.

Even after packing, there was still plenty left…

Tangerine asked shyly, “Can we give the leftovers to the campus stray cats?”

“Of course! Take as much as you want, Tangerine!”

Knowing Tangerine had some hostility toward her—and being a cat lover herself—Meow Meow had been trying to ease the tension between them.

“Thank you!”

With permission granted, Tangerine raised her arms and shouted,
“Meow—!”

Immediately, meows echoed from all directions. Dozens of stray cats burst out from corners and bushes, gathering around Tangerine in neat order, patiently waiting for food distribution. The scene was spectacular.

The most eye-catching was still that white short-haired cat who wanted to become human. Meow Meow clearly couldn’t resist either and went over with a plate to feed them.

“Hey! Don’t let the cats lick the plates!” Xi-jie warned.

Sharo had never seen anything like this—and she didn’t know Tangerine was a cat—so she exclaimed in awe,
“Is this some kind of superpower?!”

No. Tangerine just knows one more language than everyone else.

A sudden thought crossed my mind:
Do foreign cats and local cats have trouble communicating?

After eating and drinking our fill, it was already past six. The sun sank westward, the moon rose in the east, and the temperature turned cool.

Just as I was thinking about when to slip away, Xi-jie tugged my arm and gestured for me to talk aside. She also called over Shan-jie.
We sat on a bench by the greenery, with Xi-jie in the middle.

“What’s up?”

“It’s about Lü… um… about Xiao Shan,” Xi-jie said softly. “I want to ask about her plans going forward. You’re interested too, right?”

I nodded vigorously—after all, Shan-jie’s decision directly affected my quota for this month.

Shan-jie tilted her head slightly, puzzled.
“Huh? Plans?”

Xi-jie rested a hand on her shoulder and gently asked,
“Xiao Shan, I just want to know… do you plan on turning back?”

“Oh, that’s what you wanted to ask?”

Shan-jie touched her lips, a sweet curve forming at the corner of her mouth.

“As for me, I don’t feel any attachment to my former male identity. Lingmeng-san can count me as this month’s quota.”

So… she’s accepted it?

That was fast! Did I just complete this month’s requirement like that?

I was surprised, but Xi-jie looked exactly like she’d expected this answer.

“I knew you’d say that. After all, there’s really nothing back there for you to cling to, is there?”

I began to understand what she meant.

With a cleft lip deformity, Lü Le had been abandoned by family, rejected by orphanages, shunned in job searches. For Lei Shan now, was there really any need to return to being Lü Le?

“But surely there’s still something worth holding on to, right? Male dignity, maybe…”

“Dignity?” Shan-jie gave a self-mocking smile. “That’s something you think about after filling your stomach.”

She looked up at the darkening sky.

“To survive, I stole plenty in the Tianping Commercial District. I knew it was wrong, but I had no choice. As for dignity—it was discarded long before that.”

Growing up in such an environment, it was remarkable she still had such grounded values. She was just introverted; her emotions and preferences rarely surfaced, giving her a cool exterior.

“…I’m sorry.”

She shook her head, unfazed.

“If there’s regret, then yes—but it was an impossible luxury from the very beginning.”

“Luxury?” Xi-jie asked.

“Let me tell you a secret,” Shan-jie said. “I actually liked Big Sis. She accepted my flaws and treated me like a brother without hesitation. She was like the sun—bright and dazzling. So when she turned into a girl, I was actually happy, thinking maybe I’d have a chance… but once I calmed down, I knew I could never measure up to her.”

That was… explosive.
Meow Meow treats you like a brother, and you were thinking that?

She then looked at Xi-jie, suddenly changing the topic.

“Speaking of which, didn’t you dislike me back then, Xiao Xi?”

“Of course not!” Xi-jie protested. “It was more like jealousy. You’re way smarter than me—no matter what, Meow Meow always asked for your opinion first. Of course I’d be jealous.”

Shan-jie smiled—a rare sight.

“Thinking back, you were full of bad habits too, and your personality was much worse than now… why don’t you just stay like this too? Isn’t it better now?”

“No way! I’m not like you—I still have male dignity!”

“Oh please,” Shan-jie teased. “It’s something else you’re attached to, isn’t it…”

Just as Xi-jie understood Shan-jie, Shan-jie knew her just as well—if not better.

“Xiao Xi, listen to me. You should really go home sometime. Things deserve closure. There’s no need to keep fighting with your mom.”

“…Yeah.”