Well-versed in his teacher's temperament, Ji Xiuyun placed the warm milk in front of Yue'an and gently patted the cat's little head.

Considering Yue'an's convenience in drinking milk, Ji Xiuyun had specifically chosen a cup with a wider mouth to prevent his cat's head from getting stuck inside.

Yue'an glanced at the milk placed before him, then at Ji Xiuyun, his little paws patting the table surface.

"Meow!"

My paws were squeezed!

My paws were squeezed, and I didn't even get to drink the milk from his cup!

Yue'an's entire being radiated a capital 'D' for Discontent.

Ji Xiuyun sat down and watched him for quite a while, unable to decipher Yue'an's meaning.

Marshal Kevin sipped his milk with a smile, delighted to see his student looking slightly perplexed.

He knew Ji Xiuyun's personality all too well.

Due to his high position at such a young age, Ji Xiuyun always had to maintain a stern face and employ swift, decisive methods to ensure his authority wasn't challenged. Most of the time, he wore a cold expression, scaring people into giving him a wide berth, like some kind of living Judge of the Underworld.

Even within Ji Xiuyun's own legion, some believed the media's nonsense about him being a god of death, which was enough to show what kind of image Ji Xiuyun typically projected to the outside world.

Seeing his student relaxed and engaged like this, feeling the warmth of his humanity becoming more pronounced, was a good thing.

People are, after all, still people. Living with a bit more of life's flavor makes one more at ease.

Yue'an was still meowing at Ji Xiuyun, his voice soft and tender, melting listeners' hearts.

Marshal Kevin listened to the meowing, watching Ji Xiuyun stare intently at the little furball before him, attempting to understand his meaning through Yue'an's body language and movements.

However, the answer was obvious - he hadn't been able to comprehend.

Marshal Kevin looked again at Yue'an waving his little paws, appearing all huffed up, puzzled for a moment before his expression turned to one of sudden realization.

He thought for a moment, then extended his hand, palm up, in front of Yue'an and said, "Do you... want to squeeze back?"

Yue'an's meowing paused, and he turned his head to look at Marshal Kevin along with Ji Xiuyun.

The milk-white kitten disdainfully retreated two steps backward, plopping down onto Ji Xiuyun's hand.

Ji Xiuyun looked at his disappointed teacher, lifted the cat in his hand, placed him in the empty space to his left, then passed the milk over.

Marshal Kevin glanced at Ji Xiuyun, then at Yue'an who had lowered his head to lap at the milk in the cup, and thought to himself, "Oh ho!"

Since when did his student become so attentive to others?

Oh no, to other cats.

But it was about the same, after all, they were both sentient beings.

Yue'an buried his head in the cup full of sweet milk aroma, his ears twitching, the tail behind his bottom swaying back and forth.

When he raised his head from the cup, that adorable cat face was smeared with a bit of milk, which he licked clean with his paw. Then he stretched out his short legs, moved to a dish, and began eating earnestly.

Marshal Kevin decided to stop dwelling on the changes in his student. With lightning speed, he snatched a plate of his favorite dish from under Yue'an's paw, then with a swiftness that left no time for ears to be covered, scooped up a heaping spoonful and ate it.

Yue'an, dumbfounded, watched Marshal Kevin's slick move of snatching food right from under a cat's nose - a maneuver so quick the cat couldn't even react - and saw half the dish disappear with just one spoonful!

Yue'an immediately turned to Ji Xiuyun and wailed: "Meow!!!"

Look at what he's doing!!!

Aren't you going to do something about it!!!

Ji Xiuyun's motion of picking up food paused slightly, suddenly struck by a sense of déjà vu, as if caught in a battlefield between his partner and his mother.

He was torn for quite a while, then after rubbing Yue'an's head, he silently looked towards his teacher.

Marshal Kevin was still holding the plate, watching with great interest as Yue'an turned to tattle.

After Ji Xiuyun looked over, he quickly put down the plate in his hand and smacked his lips, "How is this any different from having a little girlfriend? One coo and you go soft?"

"..." Ji Xiuyun was silent for a good while before correcting, "Yue'an is a boy."

Marshal Kevin was shocked: "...You like boys?"

Ji Xiuyun couldn't be bothered to respond anymore.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Marshal Kevin's public image was steady and reliable, like a mountain, but in private, he was actually a chatterbox who couldn't hold his tongue.

Especially in front of Ji Xiuyun, he could prattle on about everything under the sun - military affairs, politics, family matters - his lips would start flapping and he could go on and on.

After eating and drinking his fill, Marshal Kevin still lingered at Ji Xiuyun's home, chatting away - mostly Marshal Kevin talking and asking questions, while Ji Xiuyun listened and occasionally answered.

Yue'an curled up in the crook of Ji Xiuyun's leg, swishing his tail and yawning, enjoying the skilled chin scratches.

It felt better than being an immortal.

By the time Marshal Kevin left, the sun had already set in the west. Yue'an, who cared nothing for human current affairs, had already sprawled out on his little belly next to Ji Xiuyun and enjoyed a nice nap.

"Oh, right," Marshal Kevin said to Ji Xiuyun before leaving, "When you face that Research Department guy in the second trial later, don't let the cat out of the bag."

Ji Xiuyun nodded.

Marshal Kevin paused for a moment: "I still need to play dumb with those old fogies, lest they really think I'm threatening them and try every means to throw me off the capital star."

Marshal Kevin wasn't averse to sacrificing himself for the country. When he became a soldier, he was prepared to die on the battlefield.

But being forced to go to his death by someone else's underhanded methods? That he wasn't willing to do.

Did they really think he didn't want to live anymore?

He had a family to think about!

"If anything comes up, let's coordinate with each other when the time comes. I'm off now." Marshal Kevin waved his hand, checked the surroundings of the house through the surveillance, then skillfully walked away, sticking to the blind spots of the residential area's surveillance probes.

When Yue'an woke up, he looked around and didn't see the troublesome blondie. Feeling a bit happy, he yawned, got up, and shook his fur.

Ji Xiuyun brought over the military-grade thought-sensing helmet and placed it on the white kitten, who wasn't even as big as the helmet itself.

Yue'an poked his little head out from under the helmet, shook it, his ears perked up.

His cat eyes still carried a hint of sleepy bewilderment as he looked at Ji Xiuyun, wide and round: "Meow."

"We didn't train yesterday, so we'll make up for it today," Ji Xiuyun said.

Hearing this, Yue'an retreated his head, lay down under the helmet, looking as if he was ready to go back to sleep.

The Marshal stood by, mercilessly activated the helmet, and took his now frizzy-furred cat to fight one-on-one with each of his subordinate legion commanders.

The consequence of Ji Xiuyun's actions was that for the next three whole days, Yue'an kept his bottom turned towards him.

Except for feeling a warm, fluffy bundle sneaking into the cozy blankets during sleep, the Marshal hadn't been able to pet his cat for a full three days.

Even the specially customized cat-shaped light brain didn't manage to appease his cat.

Unable to pet his cat, the Marshal was in a very bad mood.

During the second court session of the military tribunal, the bad-tempered Marshal's gaze towards the Head of the Research Department became particularly menacing.

The Research Department Head, who had been run ragged these past few days by the commotion in the black market and the blame from higher-ups, felt like he was about to be decapitated under that stare.

At the root of it all, he was a researcher. In terms of nerve and political acumen, he simply couldn't compare to Ji Xiuyun and the Empire's higher-ups. Now, caught in the middle, he had become a scapegoat disliked by both sides, with no option but to face Ji Xiuyun directly.

Taking advantage of Ji Xiuyun's busy schedule, Yue'an had been livestreaming for several hours every day, raking in a hefty profit. This sparked a tiny desire for freedom in his heart.

Not every expensive and delicious restaurant offered takeout.

Yue'an had collected a whole basket of restaurant addresses from the livestream comments and decided not to order takeout today, but to go out and eat at a restaurant instead.

The white furball quickly finished the remaining snacks, hung the small cat-shaped light brain Ji Xiuyun had given him around his neck, and trotted out of the house on his short legs.

There were still two cars parked in the Marshal's garage.

Yue'an eyed the bright red car that the Marshal never touched, thinking it was practically tailor-made for him.

From front to back, it exuded an aura of "Look at me, look at me, come and kiss me!"

Yue'an thought for a moment, touched his light brain, and sent a communication to Ji Xiuyun.

Ji Xiuyun quickly connected.

Yue'an "meowed" at Ji Xiuyun's holographic image.

The Marshal silently looked at him and the eye-catchingly red car beside him.

That car didn't look like Ji Xiuyun's taste at all - of course not, because this car was a gift from Marshal Kevin to his student, saying it would make him stop wearing all black all the time, that red would suit his complexion better.

The problem was, who needed a red car to complement their skin tone??

Was the car something to be worn??

So this car had always been left in the garage and had never been driven out.

Yue'an raised his paw and patted the car door.

He didn't have the authority for this car and needed to ask the Marshal for permission.

At this moment, Ji Xiuyun was sitting in a private room of a restaurant near the courthouse, accompanied by the First Legion Commander who had come with him for the trial, and the Seventh Legion Commander who had been thoroughly trounced by an angry Yue'an in over a dozen matches just two days ago.

Now, this young man would cower at the mere sight of Yue'an's petite figure, and even seeing the holographic projection made him dart behind the First Legion Commander in an instant.

The Marshal wanted to mention that Yue'an hadn't acknowledged him for three days, but due to the presence of his two subordinates, he had to silently swallow his words.

"You want to go out?" Ji Xiuyun asked.

Yue'an swished his tail: "Meow~"

"Be careful," Ji Xiuyun didn't ask further, directly granting Yue'an access to the car, and reminded him, "Turn on the livestream, so I'll know if anything unexpected happens."

Yue'an paused, licked his little nose, his voice suddenly becoming soft and tender: "Meow."

Ji Xiuyun halted for a moment, seemingly hearing something in that soft, tender voice.

Was this... a sign that the cold war could end?

The Marshal thought, his gloomy expression from the entire morning easing slightly.

"Do be careful," the Marshal reminded once again, "If anyone tries to harm you, don't hold back."

"Meow!" Yue'an agreed wholeheartedly.

Today, Yue'an was heading to a famous ancient Earth cuisine restaurant in the imperial capital.

He was particularly interested in this type of establishment.

The restaurant was located by a lake in the suburbs of the imperial capital, nestled against a mountain facing the water, with everything inside made of natural wood. Apart from the owner and the chefs, all the service staff were robots, maximally resolving the troubles that might arise when clients with special identities visited public places.

Yue'an scanned himself for the robot waiting at the entrance, transferred the money, and was led into a private room.

The room wasn't large, the structure entirely made of wood. There was a wooden channel beside the table with flowing water, where dishes would be placed on wooden boards and float over through the channel.

Next to the wooden channel was a mechanical arm made to look like it was made of wood, specifically designed to lift the dishes from the channel onto the table.

Yue'an looked at the menu on the table and sadly discovered that he still couldn't understand those artistic dish names.

Why couldn't they just use straightforward and delicious-sounding names like braised pork trotters, stir-fried pork with chili, potato strips in vinegar sauce, or sweet and sour spare ribs??

While pondering this, Yue'an opened his livestream to seek help from his audience.

As soon as the stream started, Yue'an ignored a group of daily cat-petting check-ins, and as usual, detected and threw the persistent 62 new masks from the Research Department into the blacklist.

Our Ji Xiuyun is in the middle of a lawsuit with your department head!

What cat-petting!

No petting allowed!