The car dropped Marshal Xiu and the two fleet commanders off at the entrance of the military residential area.

This residential area required an entry code from a resident for anyone to enter, except for registered military personnel and their families.

The secretary had no interest in escorting them to their doorstep.

After receiving Xiu Jun's response, he unceremoniously dropped them off at the entrance and promptly left.

The two fleet commanders lived in a different direction from Xiu Jun, so the three soon parted ways.

Marshal Xiu arrived at his own dark house, then pivoted and headed towards his teacher's home.

When Yue'an was at home, the corridor and entryway lights would always be left on for him. Today, with no lights on, Xiu Jun guessed the cat was still at Marshal Kevin's house.

As for why Yue'an hadn't returned yet, Xiu Jun hardly needed to think about it.

There was a ninety percent chance that Lady Ellie had cooked.

Lady Ellie was an incredibly skilled cook. During the period after his parents' passing, the meals often brought by Marshal Kevin left a deep impression on Xiu Jun. The Marshal knew without a doubt that Yue'an, with his insatiable love for good food, wouldn't miss such an opportunity.

Indeed, Yue'an had originally planned to go home, order takeout, and wait for Xiu Jun at the door.

After all, Yue'an considered himself a gentle, adorable, considerate, and kind little kitty cat.

He clearly understood that humans were defenseless against the warm feeling of having someone waiting for them. Xiu Jun was, after all, his legitimate second owner. Despite his occasionally twisted sense of humor, Yue'an thought he was a good person.

Good people deserved to receive warmth and kindness from the world.

Those who had faced hardships deserved even more careful care and gentleness; the world owed them that much.

Yue'an knew that Xiu Jun's social circle was incredibly simple. In the month since his return, not a single person besides Marshal Kevin had visited as a friend.

So this adorable little cat felt a great responsibility. Every day, around the time Xiu Jun was due to return, he would turn on the corridor lights outside the house. He would either wait in the entryway or sprawl out on top of the low cabinet next to it, napping until Xiu Jun came home.

During this period, whenever Xiu Jun returned from an outing and opened the door, he would see a small white ball of fur with beautiful azure eyes, softly meowing at him.

It was as if the cat had spent the entire day waiting for him, treating him as if he were the whole world.

Even though Xiu Jun knew very well that Yue'an spent his days roaming around outside, every time he came home to find the little cat waiting for him, this thought would grow uncontrollably.

This, perhaps, was human nature.

No matter how resilient the spirit or how strong the constitution, deep inside, everyone yearned for some gentle and warm emotions.

Marshal Xiu paused outside his teacher's house, surprised to see the corridor light on.

His teacher's family didn't have the habit of leaving the corridor light on.

Xiu Jun hesitated slightly, raised his hand to knock, but before he could, the door opened.

A soft, white bundle shot out like a small cannonball, leaping up when it was about a meter away from him.

Xiu Jun, out of habit, opened his arms and caught the little projectile securely.

"Meow!" The creamy white kitten nuzzled against him, smearing the traces of soup on its mouth onto his clothes.

The faint milky scent that always surrounded Yue'an was now masked by the aroma of food. Just as Xiu Jun had guessed, Lady Ellie had indeed cooked.

Xiu Jun scratched Yue'an's chin, glancing at a small dish placed in the entryway. The dish contained a white soup, the same as what Yue'an had smeared on him, now reduced to a shallow layer at the bottom.

Marshal Kevin poked his head out from inside, letting out an "Oh!" when he saw Xiu Jun.

Xiu Jun nodded to him, "Good evening, Teacher."

Marshal Kevin waved his hand dismissively, "I thought the little one liked to crouch at the door to eat. Turns out he was waiting for you."

Hearing this, Xiu Jun paused. He looked up at the corridor light, then down at Yue'an, who was tilting his head back, eyes narrowed in bliss as Xiu Jun scratched his chin.

The small, soft, warm bundle seemed to glow beautifully in the warm yellow light of the corridor.

"You left the light on for me?" he asked softly.

Yue'an's ears, which had been flattened in contentment, perked up slightly. He emitted a comfortable purr and lazily opened his mouth, "Mew."

Seeing Yue'an like this, Xiu Jun's earlier desire to squeeze the cat as punishment for the misunderstanding he'd faced vanished like a doused campfire.

Our little cat is so good.

It's all those drama queens' fault for overthinking things.

Marshal Xiu thought, his face expressionless, as he gently squeezed Yue'an's little paw. He looked up, ready to bid farewell to his teacher.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Marshal Kevin, seeing through his student's intentions, cut him off before he could speak: "Your teacher's wife made your share too."

Xiu Jun was silent for two seconds, then quickly surrendered.

It wasn't so much an addiction to Lady Ellie's culinary skills as it was pure gratitude for the silent support and comfort this outstanding woman had given him during that dark and obscure period of his life.

The Kevin couple had never planned to have children. Lady Ellie viewed Xiu Jun as her own child. In the past, when Kevin and Xiu Jun's relationship was clearly close, she would often select specialties from the planets where she was filming and send them back to Xiu Jun.

Now that the two men appeared to have fallen out, Lady Ellie would occasionally send Xiu Jun strange little gifts under various pretexts.

Lady Ellie was an exceptionally capable woman. Although she was quite insecure when it came to love, in other aspects, she was a very intelligent woman.

She was very clear about the relationship between Xiu Jun and Kevin.

The bonds between people, after enduring the tests of life and death, couldn't possibly be completely severed by a single reprimand.

At the very least, she knew clearly that neither her husband nor the excellent student her husband often spoke of were that type of person.

But the necessary facade still had to be maintained, so when she encountered Xiu Jun outside — even if it was just an accidental meeting in the residential area — she would put on a reserved and elegant demeanor, passing by as if they were strangers.

The white ball of fur hooked its paw on the man's collar, pointing inside the house with its other paw, meowing insistently, clearly wanting him to go in.

— Yue'an was still eagerly anticipating Lady Ellie's culinary skills!

Marshal Xiu glanced at the surveillance camera, made a detour, and then, like his teacher, skillfully dodged the camera's blind spots to enter Marshal Kevin's house through the side door.

Lady Ellie seemed somewhat surprised.

She had initially thought that when her husband asked her to prepare an extra portion for Xiu Jun, it was meant for Yue'an to take back. She never expected Xiu Jun to come directly through their side door. Judging by his familiarity, this clearly wasn't the first time.

Lady Ellie waved the kitchen utensil in her hand, her voice gentle: "It seems you've been keeping quite a few secrets from me."

The teacher and student pair in the living room simultaneously averted their gaze, leaving only Yue'an in Xiu Jun's arms, tilting his head back and meowing sweetly at Lady Ellie.

Mahjong tiles were still scattered on the low table in front of the sofa.

Marshal Kevin returned to sit on the sofa, picking up his carving knife and a piece of soft stone.

Xiu Jun watched as his teacher, after beautifying the crudely drawn mahjong tiles that Yue'an had sketched, quickly carved out a new one. He then held it up to the little cat perched on the sofa nearby, asking if the pattern was correct.

Yue'an examined it seriously, then swished the tip of his tail and let out a solemn "Meow."

Very much in the style of a grand master.

Xiu Jun thought his teacher definitely wouldn't be too idle after retirement.

Mahjong alone would keep him busy for a long time.

To be honest, it had been a very, very long time since Xiu Jun had experienced such a dinner atmosphere.

He looked up at the couple sitting across from him, then turned to look at Yue'an beside his hand. The white kitten was now reaching out with his paw, stretching his head in an attempt to taste what was in Xiu Jun's bowl.

Even though he hadn't touched his own food yet.

Even though it was the same food.

The woman's gentle voice and the man's hearty laughter seemed to fall into his ears as if through a layer of gauze, indistinct yet every word clearly audible.

The orange lamplight was impossibly warm.

Xiu Jun was reminded of the long-forgotten dinners when his parents were still alive.

Marshal Xiu felt a strange discomfort throughout his body.

Meanwhile, Yue'an's head was nearly in his bowl.

Marshal Xiu raised his hand and flipped the cat over, thoroughly kneading the soft, white ball of fur. After squeezing out the inexplicable sourness and restlessness in his heart, he let out a long sigh.

Yue'an was stunned by the sudden storm of petting.

He lay woodenly on his side on the table, one paw still stretched out, mouth slightly open revealing his small pearly fangs. His fur was a mess, and his entire cat face wore an expression of utter bewilderment.

Under Yue'an's confused gaze, Marshal Xiu very calmly used the previously extinguished campfire in his heart as an excuse, reached out to rub the cat's little belly again, and coldly passed the buck: "Little troublemaker."

Yue'an: ...

Yue'an: ????

Pinning down and rubbing a cat without warning, and not even offering food afterwards!

And then calling such an adorable little kitty cat a troublemaker!

What's wrong with you, human??

Yue'an was utterly incredulous.

After rubbing the cat, Xiu Jun was in quite a good mood. Even his steps as he dodged surveillance camera blind spots on the way home were noticeably lighter.

To avoid another unnecessary speculation caused by letting Yue'an roam freely, early the next morning, Marshal Xiu personally taught Yue'an how to put on a civilian thought-sensing helmet and enter a virtual community room. He then showed Yue'an which software to use to select and watch movies and TV shows.

Although they all required payment, the prices weren't expensive — and Yue'an had money.

By the time Yue'an had watched six or seven movies, Xiu Jun's busy day would be over and he'd be home.

There would be no chance of Yue'an livestreaming another visit to Marshal Kevin's house for dinner, causing the media and higher-ups to speculate wildly.

Nor would there be any possibility of Yue'an going out to find food and encountering strange researchers trying to capture him.

It could be said to be absolutely perfect.

The Marshal's inner abacus clicked away satisfyingly as he watched Yue'an's small body completely engulfed by the thought-sensing helmet, seemingly thoroughly immersed in the film. He left the house feeling very relaxed.

But was Yue'an the type of cat who would obediently watch movies all day?

Of course not.

It's well known that cats are creatures that easily grow tired of old things and crave novelty.

After his curiosity about the immersive holographic movies had passed, Yue'an, who had no interest in the plot, began to explore the functions of the virtual community.

The civilian virtual community was quite different from the military's virtual training room, with many more functions.

For instance, in the virtual community, everyone had their own basic property.

Within this property, if you wanted to upgrade, redecorate, or engage in other activities, you needed to spend money.

You could even try foods from planets tens or hundreds of millions of light-years away through the virtual community. The virtual community would only mimic the texture and taste, without providing a feeling of fullness.

And it required money.

Of course, the prices were much cheaper than in reality.

In simple terms, it was like a simulated home system. Your actual residence might not be spacious, but in the virtual community, you could spend a sum much cheaper than in reality to own a mansion.

Apart from the need to regularly replenish food nutrients and clean the body, the virtual community could accomplish everything else — spending much less money than in the real world to obtain a life many times more luxurious than in reality.

As a result, many people became addicted to the virtual community. Gradually, a complete industrial chain and income-expenditure system formed, with job positions and consumer groups, ultimately creating a virtual second society.

Just as Yue'an was starting to figure things out, someone came to visit this virtual property belonging to Marshal Xiu.

Yue'an opened the panel and took a look, finding it was Xiu Jun's First Fleet Commander.

Yue'an thought for a moment, figuring it wouldn't be bad if someone could take him to explore and play in the virtual community.

Yue'an opened the door.

Behind the First Fleet Commander was a string of people, including himself. Everyone except the Seventh Fleet Commander was present.

"Little Seven is responsible for accompanying the Marshal today," the First Fleet Commander explained.

Yue'an swished his tail: "Meow."

The First Fleet Commander smiled, then took out a literacy picture book and placed it in front of Yue'an, saying, "The Marshal's orders: if little Yue'an doesn't watch movies, then study hard. Complete one book and earn a catnip reward."

Yue'an: ...

Yue'an: ???

Look at me, really look at me.

Am I the type of cat who would succumb for just one catnip?

Yue'an jumped up and snatched the book from the First Fleet Commander's hand, slapping a paw on the cover.

Then he began to study earnestly.