Du Xixi had no idea what Miao Miao was thinking. She was curiously looking at the egg roll in her hand, seeing it golden and adorned with aromatic toasted sesame seeds on the surface, she couldn’t wait to take a bite.
As her lips and teeth touched the crispy egg roll, tiny crumbs quietly fell from the gaps, unable to be tasted together with the larger pieces by Miao Miao.
"So fragrant!" Miao Miao couldn’t help but jump a little, and the long tail hidden under her skirt started to wag unconsciously, "Miss, the egg roll is so delicious!"
"Then eat more." Du Xixi placed the big bowl and spoon in her hand beside the sink, seeing that Miao Miao liked them, simply placed a large plate of egg rolls in front of her.
After all, these egg rolls were easy to make. Even if Miao Miao finished all of them, it wouldn’t take Du Xixi much time to make more.
Miao Miao nodded happily, still eating, with half of her face sticking out from under the hood, her auburn eyes flashing faintly under the brim, which made Du Xixi pause.
Looking at Miao Miao, whose whole body was almost shrouded under the hooded dress, Du Xixi felt a bit complicated for a moment. Miao Miao wasn’t quite human nor a complete cat; maintaining a human form while retaining feline characteristics meant that for a long time to come, Miao Miao wouldn’t be able to reveal her true appearance.
Bound by etiquette, hidden appearance, Du Xixi turned away, trying to conceal the bitterness slowly spreading across her lips. She started to doubt her decision—to take Miao Miao away from CD-0329 Star and have her live so restrained—was it truly good for her?
After calming herself down, Du Xixi turned back to look at Miao Miao, and after a while, made a decision in her heart. She looked at Miao Miao and softly called out, "Miao Miao..."
"Miss?" Miao Miao had just finished the egg roll she was holding, licking the crumbs stuck on the corners of her mouth with her little tongue, and raised her eyes in confusion to look at Du Xixi from under the brim of the hood.
"Starting today, you don’t have to hide your ears and tail at home, okay?" Du Xixi reached out and personally removed the large and somewhat cumbersome hood from Miao Miao’s head and, seeing those once clever, pitch-black cat ears cautiously twitching, revealed a gentle and soft smile.
Miao Miao knew she looked a bit different from humans, so she obediently wore the hood and hid her tail, worried about causing trouble for Du Xixi.
At first, wearing the hood, feeling her ears being pressed, Miao Miao was indeed uncomfortable, but after more than four months, she had gotten used to it. On the contrary, when the hood was removed, her cat ears suddenly experiencing long-lost freedom made her feel a bit uneasy.
Miao Miao’s cat ears twitched left and right, her small, clean hands momentarily forgot to reach for the delicious egg roll, instead clutching the side of her dress, creating some wrinkles, "Miss, Uncle Ke and Your Majesty still don’t know I..."
Du Xixi patted her head, stuffed an egg roll into her hand, and said, "Don’t worry, they won’t overthink it."
Ke Lian had known Miao Miao’s secret since her hospital stay, even witnessing the miraculous transformation of Miao Miao from human to cat firsthand, but he never asked anything or tried to investigate, so Du Xixi felt that revealing Miao Miao’s secret to Ke Xing and Chen Yin wouldn’t cause any issues.
Ke Xing was a very wise man, possessing great power in the Military Department in his early years, making strategic decisions on the battlefield, matched by his commanding decision-making capability. Although Miao Miao had never revealed her cat ears and tail, Ke Xing might have had some suspicions all along.
Previously, Ke Xing had thought of lifting Miao Miao’s hood but was brushed off by Mo Feng with the excuse of "having a rash." But did Ke Xing really believe that on the surface? Whose rash would last over four months without clearing up? The medical level of the Star Era hadn’t declined to that extent.
But Du Xixi and Ke Lian intentionally kept it a secret, and Ke Xing just pretended not to know, never voicing his concerns.
As for Chen Yin, Du Xixi didn’t mean for Rob to hide it from him, perhaps he already knew, or maybe Rob only mentioned it casually and it didn’t stick to Chen Yin’s mind.
In summary, Miao Miao’s peculiarity might cause a stir of curiosity and exploration in Chen Yin and Ke Xing’s eyes, but there’s no reason for animosity to exist.