Chapter 10

[20XX July 3rd]

Today, that dominant species male who triggers negative emotions in Dan Ning visited our nest.

Dan Ning seemed quite surprised by his arrival.

“Are you stalking me?” Dan Ning leaned against the doorframe, showing no intention of allowing this dominant species male to invade his territory.

The other party didn’t answer directly, merely saying, “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

Dan Ning fell silent for a moment before stepping aside and letting him enter the nest.

—This fact displeased me. My species does not possess a strong territorial instinct, yet this male’s arrival gave me the illusion of being provoked—though strictly speaking, this nest does not belong to me.

I didn’t want to get close to that male, so I stayed close to Dan Ning the entire time.

The intruder sat down on the sofa. Dan Ning poured him a glass of water and pulled up a chair to sit beside him.

His emotions had dipped low again, but even without computer analysis, I could tell this wasn’t the right time to comfort him.

An unpleasant silence lingered for a while. Unable to properly understand the situation, I discreetly activated Telepathy from my corner.

Dan Ning’s thoughts were simple: he wanted the intruder to leave as soon as possible.

As for the intruder, for some reason, I felt an aversion to “reading his thoughts”—more precisely, I felt repulsed by any form of interaction with him.

“You… how have you been?” The intruder was the one to break the silence first. He didn’t drink the water Dan Ning had poured for him, just held the cup without putting it down.

Dan Ning smiled, his tone devoid of negative emotions: “As you can see, I’m doing quite well.”

“Ah, you’ve got a cat now.” The intruder glanced at me.

I jumped away.

“Yeah, I have a cat now.” Dan Ning beckoned to me.

Out of habit, I went over and rubbed against his leg.

The unwelcome intruder fell silent again.

Dan Ning bent down and ruffled the fur on my head: “You came all the way here… was there something you wanted?”

I allowed my Mimetic Camouflage to emit a contented purr while squinting at the intruder.

The male intruder twisted the cup in his hands, his expression unnatural: “I… Ah-Ning, about that argument the other day… it was my fault… You, why don’t you move back in?”

“Move back?” Dan Ning’s emotions fluctuated subtly.

Even with Telepathy, I couldn’t immediately discern whether he was happy or upset.

“Renting a place alone must be tough. It’d be better if we could look out for each other.” The intruder brought the cup to his lips and took a vague sip, “…I broke up with her.”

Dan Ning’s emotions abruptly stabilized.

“You really are something…” He picked me up and placed me on his lap, stroking me in a steady rhythm, “Always like this—is it fun?”

“What…” The intruder froze.

Dan Ning lowered his head to look at me, pressing a finger to the tip of my nose: “Being ambiguous, indecisive, stringing people along even when you don’t mean anything by it—is it fun?”

“What are you talking about? I never—”

“Zhao Lin, from university till now, eight years as roommates… do you really not know I like you?”

[20XX July 4th]

Dan Ning went to work today.

The dominant species male named “Zhao Lin” had not reappeared since hastily leaving yesterday.

In the evening, Dan Ning returned home and, as usual, brought me some tasty food.

I gratefully rubbed against his legs a few times, but it didn’t raise his emotional assessment score.

Dan Ning’s negative emotions had persisted for over a day, and none of my attempts at comfort had improved the situation.

This was starting to worry me.

[20XX July 5th]

As a relatively underdeveloped civilization, the complexity of the dominant species’ emotions is indeed quite challenging for me.

Today, Dan Ning’s emotional assessment was slightly better than yesterday’s, but it still fell below normal levels.

After trying every comforting method I could think of, I resorted to the most basic form of companionship for companion species—curling up beside Dan Ning and watching TV with him.

Dan Ning was watching a performance called a “TV drama,” where the characters were arguing over who loved whom.

Love, including the “liking” Dan Ning had mentioned before, exists in my species as well—perhaps even more simply and purely than on Earth: the Genetic Revolution’s modifications to reproductive impulses and instincts made us prioritize spiritual compatibility, while interstellar travel erased barriers of gender and even species.

Because of these differences, I couldn’t understand Dan Ning’s “love.”

“At first, it was just habit, then it became wishful thinking. It’s not like I never thought about giving up, but the moment someone showed me a little kindness, I’d pretend there was still hope.” Dan Ning picked me up and murmured to himself, his voice blending with the TV’s audio as if he were talking about something unrelated to him, “Even though I knew exactly what kind of person he was, I always thought the outcome would be different.”

I let out a soft “meow,” and he smiled: “After deluding myself for so long, it’s time to wake up.”

[20XX July 6th]

Dan Ning’s emotional metrics have returned to normal.

I don’t know if my Mimetic Camouflage’s companionship played any role in his recovery.

Still, as long as he’s no longer sad, that’s all that matters.