The little panther stared in a daze at the figure of the female bustling about in the kitchen, an indescribable warmth and beauty filling its heart as if it was dreaming, quietly blooming with little fireworks.
It lifted a front paw, wanting to go and help, but it had never been in a kitchen, didn’t even know how to start a fire, and was afraid of ssing things up, so it sat shyly on the sofa, waiting obediently and quietly...
Its beautiful golden eyes were still fixed on the kitchen, reluctant to blink.
Soon, Shen Tang brought over steaming hot dishes.
at buns, vegetable pancakes, fragrant fried at patties, mushroom cream soup... Not exactly a feast, but delicious enough to make one drool.
"Eat up." Shen Tang placed the little black panther on a dining room chair, tied a small bib around it, rubbed its furry head, and sat opposite it.
The little black panther swallowed hard and grabbed a at bun to stuff into its mouth.
The instant the floodgates opened, it couldn’t care about anything else, as if reincarnated from a starving ghost, stuffing its mouth full like an oversized hamster, fearing it was its last al as a beast!
Shen Tang watched, amused yet heartbroken, wondering how tough Xiao Jin’s childhood must have been...
The little panther, greedy as it was, still had manners.
It left half of the untouched food, pushing it in front of Shen Tang, and sweetly said, "Divine Sister, you eat!"
The little black panther didn’t know how to address Shen Tang, so it simply voiced its thoughts.
Shen Tang’s heart nearly lted.
How could this little panther be so innocent and cute?
Did it really see her as a savior goddess?
"Sister’s not hungry, I already ate. This is specially made for you, hurry and eat." Shen Tang ruffled its head, her overwhelming maternal instincts nearly flooding her.
As the saying goes, a man’s head can’t be touched, but grown-up Xiao Jin certainly wasn’t this well-behaved! He absolutely wouldn’t let her touch his head, so she took advantage of the opportunity to touch as much as she could!
Fortunately, the little panther was in beast form now, its black furry face hiding any blush; it obediently ate all the food, licking the soup bowl clean.
No wasting food.
Nor the goddess sister’s goodwill.
"Thank you, I’ll definitely repay you in the future!" The little panther vowed earnestly.
No one had ever treated it so kindly; once grown stronger, it would repay this kindness.
It would protect her forever!
Shen Tang hugged the little panther, wiping its mouth, and said with an amused grin, "No need to repay , I’ve already received the best gift in the world."
"Hmm, what is it?" The little black panther tilted its head curiously, thinking the sister really liked that gift, perhaps it could give her one too!
Shen Tang tapped its moist black nose lightly, "You’ll know when you grow up."
"Mmm~ okay." The little panther secretly vowed: When it grew up, it would give the sister the best gift in the world!
Shen Tang took the little panther to the bathroom and scrubbed it thoroughly for three to four hours, cleaning off its ssy fur, making the little panther look brand new, much more handso!
Of course, the fur enthusiast couldn’t resist squeezing the round leopard ears, pinching the thick paw pads, feeling the belly, and stroking the long leopard tail now and then... Was it an illusion? Even though the water wasn’t that warm, the little panther felt hotter as the bath went on.
As the sky outside darkened, the little black panther knew it had disturbed long enough; it was ti to leave.
Swallowing the slight sense of loss in its heart.
"Thank you for your hospitality today, sister, I must go now."
But Shen Tang locked the door and held it as she walked to the bedroom, "Hmm? Now that you’ve entered my den, where do you think you’re going?"
The little black panther’s fur stood on end: Could sister really be a kidnapper?!
Seeing its bewildered look, Shen Tang tapped its forehead, couldn’t help but laugh, "What are you thinking? If I wanted to capture you for money, I’d have drugged the food long ago."
She stifled her laughter, looked at it seriously, and said, "From now on, this is your ho, and I’ll take care of you."
"Stop wandering around."
The little black panther stared blankly at her, its four paws stiff.
It wasn’t sure if it had misheard or had lost its sense of reaction.
Such a kid, its character when grown so different from now, Shen Tang rarely saw Xiao Jin like this, finding it funny and endearing, leaned down to kiss its furry little face, explained, "Since you call sister, of course, I’ll take care of you~"
It took a while to co back to its senses, looking at her with wet eyes, asking dumbly, "...Why?"
"You are my family, soone I want to love and protect. From now on, my ho is your ho." Shen Tang looked at it gently, each word spoken earnestly and tenderly.
Family?
Love?
The little black panther blinked in confusion, its furry face showing a trace of perplexity.
Family, what is that?
From its earliest mories, it had been in the slums, had never seen its biological parents, never had a family.
The word seed very foreign to it.
In its mind slowly surfaced an image, when in the outskirts searching for food in a dump, it had once seen a beastman couple passing by with a child.
That young one about its age was tenderly held by the beast father, wearing brand new, clean, beautiful clothes, fur fluffy and soft, unlike its dirty self, like a sewer rat, chased away by everyone.
At that age, Xiao Jin didn’t think much.
It just unconsciously stopped and watched for a long, long ti.
Watched that family walk out of sight, a strange feeling rising inside, sowhat stifling and painful.
Growing a little older, Xiao Jin learned those emotions were envy and jealousy.
How fortunate, how happy, children with families were.
They never had to worry about starving to death.
They had warm big houses, never afraid of walls built of salvaged stones collapsing in storms. Never worried about shivering from the cold when it snowed, shrinking into cold corners on winter nights, afraid of never seeing tomorrow’s sun again.
They had family to protect them, never worried about being bullied, never feared being cooked into stew...
Now, it too had a family?
Had its own ho?
The little panther buried its head in her embrace, clawed at her chest with its front paws, rubbing frantically, soon dampening that part of her clothes.
It cried breathlessly, "I want to be your family!"
"When I grow up, I’ll always protect you, and you can’t abandon ."
"We’ll always be together, never separated."
...
In the end, the little black panther didn’t stay with Shen Tang; it had provoked many wicked stray beastn in the slums.
It feared bringing trouble to a female living alone.
It wanted to protect the beloved goddess sister, not cause her trouble.
Shen Tang felt sorry for little Xiao Jin’s situation but didn’t force it to stay.
But each morning, the little black panther still brought her a bouquet of fresh flowers, sotis seasonal wildflowers from outside the city, other tis fine bouquets from the flower shop. None of these were stolen; it specifically bought seeds to grow them itself.
The seeds were cheap; collecting garbage for a few days and exchanging it at the recycling station could buy them.
Every morning, Shen Tang also left a delicious and nutritious breakfast at the door.
This seed to beco a tacit understanding between them.
For several months, things went peacefully.
Then suddenly one day, Shen Tang opened the door in the morning, finding it empty outside.
No expected flowers received.
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