Let Me Ruffle Your Fur a Little

Chapter 69.1

You Suit Each Other

Translated by boilpoil
Edited by boilpoil

Jing Xiaoqing is expected to go into labour soon. Bai Yao decides to go visit her, bringing her some food and necessities along the way.

Before he leaves, Bai Yao asks Mu Mu’er, who’s blowing bubbles with leaves in the garden, “Mu’er, Yaoyao is going to visit Xiaoqing-jiejie, are you coming along or staying home?”

Bai Yao would prefer if the boy would come together, since he’s not outside often. Also, he wouldn’t miss him all the time when he’s by his side.

“Together, together!” As expected, Mu’er comes running over, “Mu’er will show jiejie Rabbit.”

That’s the rabbit in Mu Mu’er’s Moon Rabbit Adventures game. He’s already accrued over 7000 carrots in wealth, and bought the Rabbit six different wallpapers to decorate its home with. He got lots of toys for it from the lottery, too.

When auntie Zhang was here a couple days ago, he showed her his phone to boast about his Moon Rabbit’s mansion that he built. Auntie Zhang, though, without her reading glasses, simply smiled along and said ‘what a cute puppy.’

Anyway, Mu Mu’er is always sharing whatever he likes. He seems to have an urge to cheer up others with what has cheered him up, to spread the cheer all round.

Like the macarons they made a few days ago. Mu Mu’er has eaten quite a few, but one whole tray is still a lot. They’re still in the fridge, and because Bai Yao doesn’t really enjoy the sweetness, and he wouldn’t let Mu Mu’er eat so much at a time, there are many left.

While Bai Yao changes upstairs, Mu Mu’er is doing his best to move the tray of macarons out of the fridge, mumbling, “sheep for jiejie.”

It’s slightly surprising for Bai Yao that Mu Mu’er, the little devouring sea otter, is willing to share his favourite snack.

On the way to Jing Xiaoqing’s place, Bai Yao makes a detour to the general store. He doesn’t exactly have a clear idea of what babies need right after birth, so he just buys some generic diapers and baby formula for the baby and fruits and vegetables for Jing Xiaoqing.

Since she’s late in her pregnancy, Jing Xiaoqing cannot sit too long in one place, which means she’s stopped sculpting new works for now. She still opens her store a few hours every day, while spending the rest of her time caring for the both of them. Reading, listening to music, watering the plants, etc.

After she hears the bell ring, she comes and sees Bai Yao and Mu Mu’er. With a big smile, she greets them, “welcome!”

Jing Xiaoqing looks much rounder than before, including on her face. She has prominent dimples while smiling now, which actually makes her look a little younger.

As she lives alone, while she doesn’t have the inconvenience of having flatmates, but she does feel lonely sometimes when she has no one to talk to.

“Long time no see, thought you might have forgotten about me,” she says, stepping aside to let the two in, winking at Mu Mu’er as he passes by.

“‘Course not sis. We’re here,” though Bai Yao does feel slightly ashamed for not coming more often when he promised to. He’s been quite busy right up until the end of the tourist season.

Inside, he borrows plates from the kitchen on which to put the food he bought. Jing Xiaoqing is heading to help when Mu Mu’er intervenes by dragging her towards the sofa, mumbling about a… rabbit?

Mu Mu’er has always been keen to share his game with someone else. Bai Yao is completely uninterested in computer games, so Mu Mu’er might be happily playing the game next to him, telling him to look, when he looks back to find a sleeping Bai Yao.

“Jiejie, jiejie look,” Mu Mu’er is enthusiastically showing Jing Xiaoqing the carrots and the Rabbit inside, and is trying to have her roll some toys from the gacha lottery.

Jing Xiaoqing obliges patiently. She’s quite taken in by how the boy would always be murmuring what he’s thinking. Ah, what a good little sea otter. She wants to see him rub his face and rub his little paws together.

If only she could glomp on him.

Mu Mu’er notices Jing Xiaoqing’s big tummy while fiddling with his game, and his attention shifts.

“Yaoyao told Mu’er there is a little baby inside,” he wonders meekly.

“Yes, a very big baby, who’s about the size of, say, a pumpkin right now. Mu’er can meet a new friend after the pumpkin grows to the size of a durian.”

Mu Mu’er has to take some time to picture a pumpkin and durian in his mind, and he asks again, “the durian can play with Mu’er?”

He is wondering if the spikes might be pokey when they play together.

“Of course,” Jing Xiaoqing smiles, and puts her hand on her tummy, “want to touch?”

Mu Mu’er certainly looks curious, but still a little hesitant. She takes his hand and puts it close to her stomach.

And a response comes. The foetus has made a little kick, right in the direction of Mu Mu’er’s palm.

“Wow~” Mu Mu’er couldn’t help but exclaim, retracting his spooked hand, “the tummy, the tummy moves!”

“Oh, but the tummy cannot move.”

Jing Xiaoqing is quite amused at a wide-eyed Mu Mu’er. Her silver earrings sway a little in her chuckle.

Mu Mu’er, meanwhile, is glaring at Jing Xiaoqing’s tummy, before finally looking away as Bai Yao enters the living room with tea, sliced fruit and macarons. Mu Mu’er puts his phone down and hops over.

When Bai Yao sits down, Mu Mu’er immediately sticks close to him like a kitty getting comfortably in their owner’s lap.

Jing Xiaoqing receives the cup of tea, while curiously gauging the nonexistent distance between the two, and asks, “are you two always this close together?”

Bai Yao answers almost instinctively, “yeah, why?”

He actually doesn’t think there’s anything odd with how close the two of them are. Mu Mu’er has always liked to stick close to him, and he has come to enjoy having a little sea otter following behind him. He hasn’t thought about the issue of closeness or private space at all.

It’s like this is exactly how the two of them should be like.

“Nervous? I didn’t mean anything by it. Just a small observation,” Jing Xiaoqing’s face curls into a smile as she speaks. Bai Yao has no idea what’s so amusing.

“I’m not; you’re just seeing things, don’t put it on me,” Bai Yao says, when he notices Mu Mu’er almost unmoving right next to him. Mu Mu’er, it turns out, isn’t tired, but currently has his eyes set on the macarons on the table, unblinking. He looks restless, like a leopard ready to pounce on an antelope.

Bai Yao doesn’t know what to say anymore. The greedy little sea otter has already ate three sheep in secret after waking up this morning, and he’s still not had enough.

“Aren’t the sheep for jiejie?” Bai Yao teases.

Mu Mu’er gulps, and forces himself to look away, “yes, for jiejie, Mu’er gives them to jiejie.”

Jing Xiaoqing really thinks fondly of the simple, pretty boy. She has no resistance when it comes to Mu Mu’er’s almost childlike innocence and frankness.

“Why not let him eat some? You big bully, you are,” she pushes the plate towards Mu Mu’er, “Mu’er, just tell jiejie when you want to eat something from now on. I’ll buy it for you.”

Jing Xiaoqing might look like a gentle lady on the outside, but Bai Yao knows better than anyone else how stubborn she can be about some things. As she’s an only child, her parents gave her their undivided attention, and nurtured and raised her well.

Orcas are matriarchal, and a pod of them are normally led by an aged, experienced female orca, who is in charge of making important decision and the hunt for food.

This is a trait dominant in them even after transforming into human.

Bai Yao already asked when Jing Xiaoqing told him about her pregnancy, about her future plans.

Without thinking, she answered, it is what it is, and she’ll raise the baby alone.

Jing Xiaoqing’s parents live in the city, in Xishi, and in fact, when they learned of her pregnancy, they immediately tried persuading her to undergo an abortion, or, even if not, then for her to move back in with them.

She refused.

While Qiaohai only has a primary school with an attached kindergarten, she believes her child would do just find growing up here. She doesn’t need help, and she stubbornly believes she can do well by herself. In fact, she didn’t even tell her parents her expected date of delivery, in case they might coerce her to move back to the city with them using the baby as their justification.

Bai Yao himself tried to moderate and mediate, but she would not listen. Jing Xiaoqing has told him that she’s undergone numerous checks already, and both she and her baby are healthy. She does not need prenatal care.

And Qiaohai is her home. She is never going to leave.

It was the first time Bai Yao knew how stubborn Jing Xiaoqing could be in the years he’s already known her. She may be four years his elder, but other than the jie term of address, Jing Xiaoqing really isn’t that much more mature than Bai Yao.

In fact, he suspects they’re about the same mental age.

When Bai Yao first met Jing Xiaoqing here, she introduced the town to him as a place where the soul can reside. It is not just a place where you have a shelter built with four walls and a roof, but an actual home.

Bai Yao has come to agree with the sentiment.

Qiaohai is their home, and is also the abode of their soul. After living here for a while, they will be most unwilling to leave.