Allergic To Furry Things But Can Pet Them Mentally – CH80

Chapter 80

The moment the little cub picked up the jar of stars, a line of text instantly popped up above the little bird’s head: “We folded them together for you.”

Three more words appeared above the little nine-tailed fox’s head in addition: “Lucky stars.”

The little lion joined in as well: “We hope you’ll always stay safe and healthy.”

Everything had already been said, so the little black wolf, not knowing what to add—and with Lin Fei always telling it to keep quiet whenever possible—silently popped up one simple line:

“+1”

“Meow!” the little snow leopard chimed in agreement.

Lucky stars…

As if handling a treasure, Tang Rong carefully opened the jar and slipped his little hand inside, lightly touching the plump paper stars. He did not dare use any force, only brushing them gently.

These were lucky stars everyone had folded together for him!

The system was touched too, and said in his mind: [Host, you’re the luckiest little cub in the entire galaxy!]

And it really was true.

Though he had been lost right after birth, he had been taken in by a kind grandmother and met the first beam of light in his life.

Later, after his grandmother passed away, he had stumbled through life alone. It was hard, but even in such a harsh environment, he had managed to survive without major illness or disaster.

Then he had been bound to the system, found by his family, brought to the main planet, and given a good life. He had gotten to cuddle fluffy creatures that didn’t make him allergic, and he had discovered an incredibly powerful healing ability.

And now there was even hope of bringing his mother back and truly reuniting the family.

Looking at the bigger picture, he really was very lucky!

Tang Rong happily carried the jar full of lucky stars to the table and carefully set it down, then ran back to the window to admire the snow sculptures outside one by one.

There was a little snowman made from two round snowballs stacked together, a leopard-ball with little ears pinched out, a simple cute little heart…

He didn’t dare open the window. The room was heated, and the warm air would probably make the snow melt very quickly.

Though he knew that once the sun rose, they would slowly melt in its embrace anyway, Tang Rong felt that melting in the arms of the sun was a very happy thing. Back on Garbage Planet, he had rarely seen sunlight this bright and warm.

There was no need to worry. When the next snow came, they would be created all over again.

“Meow.” Using the optical brain’s AI voice function, the little snow leopard explained where these snow figures had come from.

—it had made every single one of them itself, stored them in the freezer, and had them delivered over this morning to surprise him.

When the next snowfall came, they had to build a snowman together.

A big snowman.

A snowman even bigger than the two of them.

…

And just like that, life gradually returned to normal.

It was just a bit of a pity that they had missed the final kindergarten class before winter break. The children at school had asked about them long ago, and Shen Muhan had answered for Tang Rong too, vaguely saying they had fallen sick without explaining in detail.

Though they had missed it, the other three children in their class would all be returning to the main planet as the New Year drew closer, so they could finally arrange to meet offline.

But the end of the year was a busy time for most families, so it would have to wait until after the New Year.

The busiest of all, however, was Crown Prince Shen Muhan.

Not long after Tang Rong recovered, people from the imperial household came to bring him back.

Because of the SSS-rank report that had been posted online some time ago, he had been the center of heated public attention recently. But with the imperial family handling things on that side, and with Tang Rong’s prolonged sleep having taken up all his focus, he personally had not paid much attention to it.

With Shen Muhan away, Tang Rong could no longer go to the recovery base to cuddle fluffy creatures and earn points, so he could only continue studying healing abilities with his little uncle at home, while visiting his mother’s coffin every day.

Thinking of the bracelet that had broken not long ago, Tang Rong decided to make him a new tag to hang around his neck, with his name engraved on one side and a healing rune on the other.

This time, he wanted to use slightly better materials, so he took money out of his little savings stash and asked his uncle to help him buy them.

Naturally, Yun Yuan had no intention of taking his money. When he learned that it was going to be a new gift for the little crown prince, he bought a very good piece of material, had someone cut and polish it into the shape of a little snow leopard head according to Tang Rong’s wishes, and secretly removed a zero from the price, only taking a token amount from him.

All things in the world contained spiritual energy, and healers could use special runes to store their healing power inside them.

Tang Rong was very good at drawing, and compared to beginners, the healing runes he carved were already much prettier and more fluid.

He first put on protective gloves, then used a special carving knife to engrave the healing rune on the back. As for the front, he wanted to wait until the end and ask Xiao Han-ge what name he wanted carved there.

If it were for the little snow leopard to wear, then “Baobao” would be the most fitting.

But since he could continue wearing it in human form too, “Shen Muhan” would be the more proper choice.

Unable to decide, Tang Rong planned to hand the choice directly to him.

But this material was harder to carve, and he wanted to be extra careful this time, so it would likely take a while to finish.

He hoped he could make it in time to become a New Year gift.

…

At that moment, Shen Muhan was attending an internal imperial family banquet.

The long table was filled with people, and the rules and etiquette were cumbersome and suffocating. If he had not patiently spent so much time learning them earlier just to perform them in front of Tang Rong, he definitely would have grown impatient by now.

He missed the time he spent at Tang Rong’s home so much, when the little snow leopard could bury its whole face in its leopard bowl, crunching away at chicken drumsticks until its fur got greasy, and then trot over with a handkerchief in its mouth so Tang Rong could wipe its fur clean.

Still, he knew that occasions like this would only become more frequent in the future. The sooner he got used to them, the easier it would be.

He had always been the sort to face difficulties head-on.

Finally, after the family banquet ended, seeing that the adults still had more to discuss, Shen Muhan quietly slipped out to get some air.

The temperature had dropped again these past two days, and the sky stayed overcast. Another snowfall would probably come before long, and it would most likely last a long time—perhaps until around the New Year.

Then he could build a snowman with Xiao Rong.

As the cold wind blew around him, Shen Muhan suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure swaying onto the terrace.

It was his cousin, Shen Yuchun.

He seemed to have had a bit to drink that night. His face was flushed, and his steps were slightly unsteady, though he was not drunk enough to truly lose himself.

If Shen Muhan remembered correctly, someone at the dinner table earlier had brought up his marriage prospects, saying that now that his career was successful, he ought to start thinking about family matters too. They had wanted to introduce him to a few daughters from prominent families, but he had turned them down.

But once the topic was opened, it had not been so easy to shut down, and even his own parents had started pressing him. He had only kept his head down and drunk more wine, giving very few responses.

Now, his gaze was fixed on a distant point, seemingly lost in thought, as though he had not noticed Shen Muhan standing in the corner.

“Cousin,” Shen Muhan called out first.

Shen Yuchun’s eyes finally landed on him. He froze a moment, then gave a foolish grin. “Xiao Han, you came out for some air too?”

Shen Muhan nodded and gave a quiet mm.

“When are you going back to Xiao Rong’s place?” Shen Yuchun asked again.

After a moment’s thought, Shen Muhan answered, “The day after tomorrow, probably. I still have to meet some people tomorrow.”

Shen Yuchun nodded. “Then I’ll make some desserts tomorrow. You can bring them back with you the day after.”

“Okay.”

Ever since that time his cousin had made a whole bunch of desserts for them and the feedback had all been that they were delicious, he had become even more diligent about making them.

Shen Muhan liked his cousin’s cooking too.

Muttering to himself again, Shen Yuchun said, “Xiao Qiu likes vanilla pudding, strawberry mousse, and macarons. I’ll make extra this time. Hehe.”

His voice scattered into the cold night wind and drifted straight into the ears of a certain little cub not far away.

Shen Muhan: “…?”

He felt like he had just heard something huge.

Xiao Qiu.

If he remembered correctly, Xiao Rong’s second sister was named Tang Qiu, and her family often called her Xiao Qiu.

Could it be that Xiao Brother Chun liked Xiao Sister Qiu?!

…

That night, after burrowing under the covers, Shen Muhan quietly shared this discovery with Tang Rong over the phone.

Tang Rong was already lying in bed too. Upon hearing it, the bit of drowsiness he had been feeling instantly vanished.

The two little cubs, whose ages together barely added up to eight, analyzed the matter for a very long time and finally arrived at one conclusion—

Xiao Brother Chun was secretly in love with Xiao Sister Qiu!

At once, they decided to help create opportunities for Xiao Brother Chun to pursue Xiao Sister Qiu.

In their eyes, Xiao Brother Chun was wonderful, Xiao Sister Qiu was wonderful too, Xiao Brother Chun liked Xiao Sister Qiu, and Xiao Sister Qiu liked Xiao Brother Chun’s cooking. If the two of them could get together, that would be perfect.

In a small voice, Shen Muhan said, “I know of a temple on the main planet that’s supposed to be really effective. It’s famous for romance and matchmaking. I saw it on the star-net during Valentine’s Day. They sell blessing pouches there that are woven on the spot, and you can slip little notes inside. A lot of people buy them as tokens of love.”

He fiddled with his optical brain for a while, then added, “It’s called Fangfei Temple. From Eden, it takes three hours by hovercar.”

Tang Rong nodded. “I’ll invite Xiao Sister Qiu. You invite Xiao Brother Chun. We’ll all go together.”

And so, the two little cubs enthusiastically plotted until very late at night. The system listened with great interest and occasionally offered a small suggestion or two.

The next day, both little cubs slept in very late from staying up too long, and once they woke, they each immediately set their plans into motion.

Shen Muhan went to find his cousin Shen Yuchun.

When Shen Yuchun heard about it, he assumed his younger cousin had been encouraged by the family elders to prod him about marriage, so he refused without even thinking. “Forget it, forget it. I don’t believe in that kind of thing.”

Tang Rong went to find his second sister Tang Qiu.

Pinching his little cheek, Tang Qiu gently turned him down. “In winter… the mountain path… is slippery. It’s dangerous.”

The temple sat high atop a mountain. To protect the ancient structures there, flying devices were blocked from going straight up. There was a paid cable car, but it did not go all the way to the top, and you still had to climb part of the way. There were also spirit forms doing part-time work carrying visitors up the mountain, but it was winter now, and cold besides. The snow on the mountain was thick, making it easy to slip.

Besides, in this star-age, she honestly preferred online worship.

But that probably sounded too dispiriting, so she did not say it aloud.

The matchmaking plan the two little cubs had spent all night devising suffered a catastrophic collapse.

In the end, they decided to break the pot and not bother repairing it.

“If they won’t go, we will.”

They would buy the blessing pouch for Xiao Brother Chun themselves and let him give it to Xiao Sister Qiu.

…

When Tang Zheng’en learned of this, the veins at his temples twitched. “The two of them together don’t even add up to ten years old. What are they going to that kind of temple for?”

The butler fell silent for a moment before replying, “They said they’re going together to pray for their future spouses.”

That was Xiao Rong’s exact answer to him.

Tang Zheng’en: “…”

Tang Zheng’en: “Call Yao, Fei, Qiu, and Hu. We’re all going together.”

It was about time, after all, to use this chance to discuss Yao and Fei’s wedding plans too.

…

On the day they set out, it was Shen Yuchun who brought Shen Muhan over.

He scratched his head awkwardly and kept stealing glances at Tang Qiu from the corner of his eye as he explained, “My uncle and aunt are busy, so they asked me to accompany Xiao Han.”

Only Shen Muhan knew just how hard his cousin had worked to secure the chance to come along after learning that Xiao Sister Qiu would be going too.

Originally, Tang Qiu had opposed the idea of the little cubs going to a temple on a mountaintop in winter. With all the ice and snow, the paths really were slippery. But seeing how strongly Tang Rong wanted to go, and with Dad also wanting to use the opportunity to discuss his brother and sister-in-law’s marriage, Tang Qiu ultimately stopped objecting.

Although Tang Rong was there, the Tang family still wore anti-bite muzzles just to be safe.

Before long, the whole group boarded the hovercar together.

Tang Rong deliberately sat as close to his second sister as possible, while Shen Yuchun naturally took the seat beside Shen Muhan.

With the two little cubs between them, they were not especially close, but they were not far apart either.

Tang Qiu naturally still remembered Shen Yuchun—that man from the mall who had tried to hit on her. Because of that, her social anxiety exploded. She hurriedly buried herself in her optical brain to distract herself, silently chanting in her heart that he must not remember her.

She thought that so much time had passed that perhaps he had already forgotten all about her.

She sincerely prayed he would.

Just as she was scrolling through her optical brain and praying in her heart, the little cub sitting beside her suddenly spoke up.

“I’m bored. Let’s all play a game together,” Tang Rong said, swinging his little legs.

Everyone’s attention was instantly drawn over, and they all asked with interest, “What game?”

The ride to the temple was three hours long, and with the entry checks at Eden, it really was a long trip. Finding something to pass the time together would be nice.

“Truth or Dare,” Tang Rong announced.

This had been the system’s idea from the previous night. He had shared it with Xiao Han-ge, and Xiao Han-ge had agreed it was a good one. If Xiao Brother Chun and Xiao Sister Qiu were chosen, perhaps they might end up revealing some of their real feelings.

Everyone in the car readily agreed.

This version of Truth or Dare was different from the one before. The instructions came from the cards drawn, rather than from the players themselves.

Under the system’s guidance, Tang Rong and Shen Muhan had specifically chosen a romance-themed Truth or Dare deck from the categories. Whoever the spinner landed on would draw one card, and the card itself would contain the question or task.

The spinner turned slowly for the first round and stopped on Tang Zheng’en.

After a brief pause, Tang Zheng’en chose a truth card.

The card read: “Tell one love-related memory you think is the most interesting. If you have no romantic experience, draw again.”

Staring at the card, his eyes filled with lingering tenderness. After a long moment, he slowly began, “Back in university, A-Jian loved feeding the stray cats near campus. But most strays were quite wary, and some would suddenly scratch or bite people. Once, one of them scratched her. I was furious, so I deliberately turned into my young form and ‘disciplined’ all the cats around the school. I successfully became their leader, and I often cuddled with A-Jian right in front of them. Gradually, they understood that A-Jian was their leader’s leader, and after that, none of them ever hurt her again.”

Upon hearing that, Tang Rong praised him, “Dad was an awesome kitty!”

Tang Zheng’en smiled at him, though the fingers gripping his seat revealed that his heart was anything but calm.

If only A-Jian were still here…

The second round of Truth or Dare began, and this time the spinner landed on Tang Yao.

Tang Yao drew a dare card. It read: “Say ‘I love you’ to the person you like who is present.”

Tang Yao instinctively turned his head to look at Lin Fei beside him, their fingers interlaced. But instead of saying those three words, what came out was, “Will you marry me?”

Lin Fei had been gleefully waiting for this hopelessly straight man to awkwardly say “I love you,” only to have him suddenly change style and hit her with something this direct.

The atmosphere in the car instantly turned hazy and charged as everyone’s burning gaze locked onto them.

This was not the first time they had discussed this topic. Back when Yun Jian-auntie was still alive, they had already said they would marry right after graduation and had even discussed which planets they would visit on their honeymoon.

During the past four years, Tang Yao had kept running from it, but he knew she had always been waiting.

Lin Fei was ecstatic inside, but outwardly she kept a relaxed face and said, “Then let’s go register once we’re back.”

The pressure of their interlocked fingers deepened, betraying the pounding of her heart—something only Tang Yao knew.

Beside them, Shen Yuchun was so moved he was practically in tears.

Wuwu, another day of crying over beautiful love.

“Can I come to your wedding?” Shen Yuchun asked.

He would definitely prepare a big gift envelope.

Tang Yao and Lin Fei both nodded.

After all the desserts of his they had eaten, he could count as a friend now.

Tang Qiu pressed her lips together.

Why did it feel like she would never be able to completely cut ties with this person?

In the third round, the spinner finally landed on Shen Yuchun. He drew a dare card that read: “Read aloud the very first post on your optical-brain timeline.”

Shen Yuchun: “…”

With great effort, he opened his optical brain and softly read out the contents of his first post: “Today… was a super miserable day.”

No one understood why reading this one little post seemed so difficult for him, and no one thought there was anything strange about the post itself—

except Tang Qiu, whose face filled with shock.

If she remembered correctly, she had once seen a post with exactly those words from one of her friends.

Why was it so memorable? Because the account name had been “Chunchunchong,” and the avatar had been a cute little Q-version bug. She had even left a comment saying “hug hug,” and not long afterward the other party had replied with an adorable little emoji.

She had always thought it belonged to a cute little girl.

Who would have imagined…

After reading it aloud, Shen Yuchun did not dare glance in Tang Qiu’s direction again.

Back at the mall, when he had tried to strike up a conversation with her, his whole plan had been for her to realize how fatefully connected they already were—that they had actually been optical-brain friends for ages. And now, in a twisted way, the plan had finally succeeded, yet instead of feeling relieved, he only felt nervous.

“Why was Xiao Brother Chun sad that day?” Tang Rong did not let him off the hook.

Shen Yuchun finally found somewhere to pour out his grievance and replied sadly, “Because that day you and Xiao Han went to my rival’s mall instead of mine. I waited forever for you, only to receive that terrible news.”

Tang Rong blinked, momentarily not understanding.

Still, he knew what “rival” meant—someone you didn’t get along with, basically the same as an enemy.

Shen Muhan quickly thought back and asked, “Xingyu Mall?”

Shen Yuchun nodded.

Turning to Tang Rong, Shen Muhan explained, “That’s the mall near the place where we bought the pumpkin buns.”

Tang Rong remembered at once. So that had been Xiao Brother Chun’s rival’s mall. He immediately patted his little chest and said loyally, “It’s okay. We won’t go to that mall anymore.”

With Xiao Han-ge making pumpkin buns for him now, he did not need to buy them outside anyway. Xiao Han-ge’s tasted the best.

Shen Yuchun was deeply moved. “When your big brother works harder and buys the whole place out one day, I’ll make every floor give out free pumpkin buns. Then you can go.”

Tang Rong happily agreed.

Listening to the childish exchange by her ear, Tang Qiu felt her emotions calm ever so slightly.

Right now, there were only two things she desperately wanted to know—

First, when had she and Shen Yuchun added each other on their optical brains?

Second, did he know that the person on his friends list was Tang Qiu?

The friend-add history on the optical brain was never erased. Taking advantage of the fact that the fourth round had gone to someone else, Tang Qiu quietly began searching through it.

She searched for a long, long, long time—so long that the game continued for several more rounds—before finally finding a friend request from twenty years ago.

Tang Qiu: “?”

Twenty years ago, she had only been four or five.

Could it really have been from kindergarten?

That time was far too distant. She genuinely could not remember a thing.

All she remembered was that because of her stutter, she had not liked going to school very much, and she had always gone three days and skipped two. Her parents had guided her, of course, but they had never forced her. At that young age, they had shown her more indulgence than discipline.

She had not made any friends in kindergarten either. Some of the more mischievous children had deliberately mocked the way she stuttered. Though she was introverted, she was also an SS-rank spiritual power user. If anyone intentionally bullied her like that, she simply punched them directly. She never wasted words on them. Since it was virtual space, she knew she would not truly hurt them.

After hitting them, she would still spend a long time spiraling inwardly, and every time her parents would stay by her side and talk her through it.

Later, as she grew older and became bound by a stronger sense of morality, she turned into a civilized social-anxiety sufferer and never again did anything as straightforward as punching someone first.

Just as Tang Qiu was sinking into her memories, the spinner landed on Shen Yuchun again. This time he drew a truth card.

The card read: “When was the last time you cried?”

After thinking for a long while, Shen Yuchun answered, “Probably when I was four and a half. I was fat when I was little, and kind of clumsy, so I looked stupid. My name has the character ‘Chun’ in it, and everyone used to call me ‘Chunchunchong.’”

The character “chun” split apart, after all, did resemble “spring bug bug.”

“At that age, most kids thought bugs were gross and scary, so being called that kind of nickname out of spite hurt me terribly. I always cried in secret. But those kids who bullied me saw me crying and gathered around to make even more noise, shouting my nickname and turning it into a chant. That only made me cry harder.”

On hearing that, Tang Rong clenched his fists angrily. “Mean kids are the worst.”

Shen Yuchun smiled. “Later, when I grew up, I never cried over it again.”

Because he had met a little girl who genuinely loved bugs.

That little girl had punched the bad kids away and told him that bugs were the cutest things in the world.

Only later did he discover that the girl liked bugs because her spirit form was a bird and, in addition to admiring them, she probably found them delicious.

But even so, that chance encounter had still saved him.

As he finished speaking, Shen Yuchun cautiously stole a glance in Tang Qiu’s direction, only to catch the unmistakably displeased look on her face. He immediately straightened in his seat, his heart pounding like a drum.

The next round began, and at last the spinner stopped on Tang Rong.

After thinking for a bit, Tang Rong drew a dare card.

It read: “Kiss the person you like most who is present for three seconds.”

Tang Rong stared at that line and blinked blankly.

He knew what a kiss was—it meant giving someone a peck. But “kiss” here seemed to mean something a little different. How exactly were you supposed to kiss for it to count?

Tang Zheng’en’s gaze instantly sharpened.

Who picked this deck of cards?!

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