Chapter 88
That same evening after returning home, the little snow leopard came rushing back in a flurry, carrying a small bundle on its back. Inside were gifts it had prepared for Xiao Rong.
Even though it had to leave again early the next morning, it still came back without hesitation, just so it could share a New Year’s meal with Xiao Rong.
It was not that it could not turn back into human form. It was simply because Xiao Rong liked snow leopards, and it wanted to spend the New Year with him in the form he loved most.
The very first thing the little snow leopard did after coming back was pick up that dirty ball of yarn and throw it into the trash.
Tang Rong followed behind it and saw everything. Confused, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
The little snow leopard had lots of toys. He remembered that it quite liked playing with yarn balls, so why had it suddenly thrown this one away?
“Meow.” The little snow leopard, still upset, lifted its tail and hooked Tang Rong’s little hand with it, then led him straight toward the bedroom without even turning its head.
At the same time, the system analyzed the situation in Tang Rong’s mind: [Lin Xian played with that yarn ball for a long time yesterday. Spirit forms are more sensitive to smells, and they also have stronger territorial instincts. It probably does not like its things being touched by other people so casually.]
Tang Rong lowered his head and looked at the fluffy, sulking little figure of the snow leopard. There was still that little bundle on its back. He pressed his lips together slightly.
If the system had not pointed it out, he would never have noticed.
Deep down, he had always thought that his things and Brother Xiao Han’s things were shared between them, belonging to both of them together. So when he had been entertaining Brother Xiaoxian and the other boy picked up that ball of yarn, Tang Rong had not thought much of it. If that yarn ball had belonged to him, he would not have minded sharing it for someone else to play with.
But that yarn ball actually belonged solely to Brother Xiao Han… He should have stopped Brother Xiaoxian from playing with it and given him a different new toy instead.
Led by the little snow leopard’s tail into the bedroom, Tang Rong sat down on the small sofa inside. He immediately picked the snow leopard up into his arms and said softly, “I’ll buy you a new yarn ball, okay?”
“Mii.” The tip of the little snow leopard’s tail flicked quickly through the air, and its mood improved a little.
Then its tail curled and pointed at the little bundle it had been carrying on its back the whole time.
Receiving the signal, Tang Rong quickly raised his hand and untied the bundle.
Inside were all kinds of molds.
The moment he opened it, an “instruction manual” popped up over the little snow leopard’s head.
As long as snow was packed tightly into them, it would come out in the same shape as the mold.
Among them, it had specially had its parents custom-make a mold in the shape of a little snow leopard.
After several days of accumulation, the snow outside had already piled up very thickly.
Since it was not completely dark yet, Tang Rong immediately gathered up the molds, took the little snow leopard with him, and headed into the courtyard.
The little snow leopard gave a fierce dash forward and leapt straight into the thick snow, smashing a small hollow into it. Then, like a tiny marmot, it burrowed beneath the snow. In no time, its little head popped out from another patch of smooth snow not far away.
“Mii.”
Before Tang Rong could get a good look, it dove back under the snow again and popped out from yet another spot.
“Meow.”
The sight made Tang Rong think of a whack-a-mole game he had once played on his light brain.
Infected by the little snow leopard’s carefree movement through the snow, Tang Rong also pulled on his warm, waterproof boots and stepped into the snow in the yard.
The snow in Eden was a bit different from the snow on Trash Planet. The snow here was softer and wetter.
Tang Rong could not help stamping in place a few times. It felt as though he were standing atop solid clouds, and he and the little snow leopard were both little spirits living happily above them.
Seeing this, the little snow leopard stopped burrowing and instead padded directly across the snow toward the little boy.
On the flawless white surface, it left behind a string of adorable plum blossom pawprints.
Tang Rong immediately crouched down and used the snow leopard mold to make a real “snow” snow leopard.
“Mii.” The little snow leopard twitched its nose and sniffed at the snow snow leopard.
Tang Rong was suddenly struck by an idea and took a bite out of the snow snow leopard’s tail.
It tasted like snow—cold and flavorless.
That was what he had expected, really, but for some reason he had just wanted to take a bite.
“Meow.” Staring at the tailless snow snow leopard, the little snow leopard slapped the ground with its own tail. Its strong tail smacked the snow with loud little pats.
Tang Rong set the tailless snow snow leopard down and kept using the molds to make more.
The little snow leopard tilted its head, lifted one paw, and smacked the incomplete snow snow leopard flat into a snow pancake.
Before long, dozens of snow snow leopards appeared in the yard.
Some of them sat in neat rows outside the glass door. Some crouched on tree branches. Some were stacked one atop another in tall towers…
The tree was an evergreen variety that stayed green all year round. Even in the coldest depths of winter, it remained completely unaffected. Though snow rested on its leaves, they were still lush and jade-green.
Besides the snow leopards, there were also stars, moons, and other shapes, hanging from the branches and leaves. It truly looked as though they had plucked the stars and moon out of the sky and placed them in the little courtyard.
Seeing this, the butler had some string lights brought over and wrapped around the tree. They blinked and shimmered.
Without noticing it, the sky gradually grew dark. With the lights and all those star- and moon-shaped snow sculptures, the little courtyard looked even more like something out of a fairy tale.
As the temperature dropped steadily at night, the butler did not let them keep playing outside. He called them back into the warm house, where the heating was on, and they enjoyed a lavish dinner.
After eating, Tang Rong and the little snow leopard played with the bubble machine for a while in the bathroom.
The little snow leopard bounced up and down, using its little tail to burst each falling bubble one by one. Its aim was excellent.
The result was that too much bubble liquid got onto its tail, making it slippery and slimy. It then took the initiative to curl up in its own little bath basin and soak there beside the little boy, who was in the bathtub.
Unexpectedly, Tang Rong suddenly developed a fever that night.
The light-brain ring had a simple body-monitoring function. It could track some basic real-time data, such as body temperature, and the data was synchronized to the elders’ light brains. If there was any abnormal fluctuation, it would immediately send a notification.
The butler pushed open the door almost at once.
Hearing the movement, the little snow leopard opened its eyes immediately. It watched as the butler strode over and reached out to feel the little boy’s forehead, then belatedly realized that the warmth in his arms tonight had indeed been a bit unusual.
“Mii?” the little snow leopard called softly.
“He has a fever,” the butler said quietly.
Before long, the family doctor and Tang Zheng’en both hurried over. Tang Rong was burning enough that he slowly woke up.
After an examination, they concluded that it was only a simple chill-induced fever, caused by playing in the snow and by the bite he had taken out of the snow snow leopard’s tail. As long as the fever could be brought down normally, it was not a serious problem.
After taking his medicine, Tang Rong drifted off into sleep again.
The butler exchanged a glance with the little snow leopard sitting at the head of the bed, then picked it up and carried it out of the bedroom while saying firmly, “Illness can be contagious. You should sleep somewhere else tonight.”
The little snow leopard instinctively struggled once in his arms.
“If you get infected too, Xiao Rong will definitely blame himself and feel bad. Besides, you still have to return to the imperial palace tomorrow. If you get sick, it will delay many things.”
Reluctantly, the little snow leopard lowered its head and gave in.
Its new sleeping place was the butler’s bedroom. The butler specially brought over its favorite nest and placed it there, and also brought it a cup of preventive medicine.
Its little pink tongue absently lapped up the liquid in the cup. Bitter and astringent, it finished it one lick after another. Though it was drowsy, it still slept badly the entire night.
Ever since Xiao Rong had once fallen into that three-day sleep, the little snow leopard had become especially afraid of him falling ill. It was terrified that something similar would happen again.
Fortunately, there was an energy-boosting nutrient drink, so at least it would not be too sleepy the next day.
Before the people from the palace came to pick it up, the little snow leopard sneaked over to the bedroom for a look at the still-sleeping little boy inside.
His small face was flushed, a cooling patch was stuck to his forehead, and a few strands of hair were damp with sweat and clung to his cheeks, making him look like a sickly doll.
They said his temperature had dropped a little and that there was no major concern.
But it still made the little snow leopard worry terribly.
“Meow…” The little snow leopard tapped the tip of its tail anxiously. It had just raised a paw to paw at the door and slip inside when the butler, who had followed after it, scooped it up and stuffed it directly into the car that had been waiting outside the yard since early morning.
Before the car door closed, the butler’s voice sounded from outside: “It’s fine. It’s just a simple chill. There’s no need to worry.”
The little snow leopard lay against the window, leaving two little paw flowers on the glass. Tilting its head up, it stared toward the bedroom window on the second floor, those ice-blue eyes full of concern.
…
By the time Tang Rong woke up, he was already feeling a bit better.
Tang Zheng’en fed him some water and porridge, and, at Tang Rong’s insistence, obediently put on a face mask.
Afraid he might pass the illness to his family, Tang Rong issued a new rule: until he got better, anyone or any spirit form entering his room had to wear a mask.
The next day, when the little snow leopard came rushing back, it used all four paws to race upstairs in a blur and was just about to dash into the bedroom when the masked butler grabbed it in one swift motion.
Before the puzzled little snow leopard could even look up, a tiny little mask was placed over its cheeks.
The little snow leopard was simply too small. Its ears were not shaped in a way that could hold the mask in place, and its fur was sleek, so the moment the mask was put on, it slipped right off again.
The butler thought for a moment. While explaining Xiao Rong’s “new rule” to the little snow leopard, he carried it downstairs, found the bag of clips they had bought earlier, and successfully used one clip to fasten the little mask into the fur on top of the snow leopard’s head.
At that moment, the little snow leopard was too anxious to see Xiao Rong to care what exactly the butler was putting on it. Once the mask was securely fixed, it immediately sprang out of the butler’s arms and shot back upstairs.
Not long after, Tang Rong noticed the bedroom door opening and instinctively turned his head to look.
It was a little snow leopard wearing a mask.
It had sent messages to his light-brain on the way back, but he had happened to be asleep at that time and had not seen them.
He had been dozing on and off all day today, one yawn after another, but fortunately each time he woke up he felt a little lighter than before.
Being sick felt awful, and he did not want to pass his sickly air on to anyone around him. Only when he saw the little snow leopard obediently wearing a mask did he finally feel a bit reassured. His gaze locked firmly onto it.
“Meow.”
The little mask covered the snow leopard’s nose and mouth completely, revealing only those ice-blue eyes that looked like scattered gemstones. Even its meow was muffled beneath the mask.
But that was not the main point. The main point was what was on the little snow leopard’s head—
At that moment, clipped upright there was a flower hairpin.
The flower’s slender stem connected to the clip, pinning the two ends of the mask and the fur together so the mask would not slip down.
“Meow.”
As the little snow leopard came closer, the flower bobbed lightly on top of its head.
Sitting by the bed, Tang Zheng’en: “?”
This styling looked strangely familiar.
![After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar]](https://i1.wp.com/panda-translations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/20220822190944_300_420.jpg?resize=151,215 "After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar]")
