Let Me Ruffle Your Fur a Little

Chapter 70.1

A Seaside Stroll

Translated by boilpoil
Edited by boilpoil

Along the way home, Bai Yao brought Mu Mu’er’s beloved durian egg tart and small dried fish at the market, for him to eat while walking and as an apology for taking his macarons away.

However, Mu Mu’er appears a little quieter than usual along the way.

Especially when he can see delicious food. Normally, he’d be lunging at them like a hungry little cat.

Bai Yao glances at him, wondering what he’s thinking about; Mu Mu’er’s head is hanging lower than usual. Something is on his mind.

“Yaoyao,” a few minutes later, Mu Mu’er finally calls out.

Bai Yao asks, “mmhm?”

He thought Mu Mu’er might be tired, or might be wondering what meal they’ll be having tonight, but he asks quietly, “jiejie has a really big baby in her tummy, like a pumpkin,” he wonders, “where do babies come from?”

Bai Yao is taken by complete surprise.

How is he supposed to explain?

After learning that Mu Mu’er’s intelligence wasn’t congenital, Bai Yao has wondered the degree to which he understands such matters. Does he know what boyfriends are? Does he know what couples mean when they are ‘together’?

He thinks, maybe this is a clue.

He thinks for a pretty long time before answering, in case his reply becomes inappropriate, “when two people really, really like each other, and they can be together, and they can see each other every day.”

‘Like’ is something Mu Mu’er thinks he understands very well, but it seems to be a little different this time. He asks, “how much is really, really much?”

“A lot, a lot a lot, until there can be no more possible like…” Bai Yao pauses, narrowing his eyes in thought for a moment, “then they can embrace and kiss.”

“Oh,” Mu Mu’er appears to understand a little more, or maybe not. In any case, he’s thinking.

Shortly after, he asks again, “then…. what does embrace and kiss mean?”

“It means, they plant a kiss with lips, and give big hugs with their arms,” Bai Yao chuckles, while plucking away a leaf that fell onto Mu Mu’er’s head, “does the little sea otter understand now?”

Bai Yao suddenly recalls the very first time their lessons at school touched on the biological subject. It was their teacher on physical education, who talked about the different biological structures of the different sexes with the help of an excruciatingly detailed PowerPoint presentation. His teacher’s baton poking at all the places on screen.

All the guys in the class had their jaws on the floor, while the girls just covered their heads with their hands on the table. It was a whole period of torture.

Bai Yao smiles at the recollection, and grips Mu Mu’er on the arm to get his attention, “don’t overthink it, my boy. Mu’er doesn’t have to worry about this yet. Babies come into the world when the two people I said really, really like each other, and they want to take care of the baby and become a daddy and mommy.”

Bai Yao does not know for sure who might be the lucky one to accompany the little sea otter for the rest of his life. He hopes it will be him, but he’s happy to be whomever the boy needs in his life, and be by his side supporting him.

“Then, where is jiejie‘s baby’s daddy?” Mu Mu’er completely hit the nail on the coffin, “is he not there?”

Jing Xiaoqing has severed any ties she had with him, of course. Heavens know where he might be, but it’s best he does not show up, lest he suffers the wrath of Bai Yao’s fists.

Bai Yao is thinking about how to explain it to Mu Mu’er, but Mu’er changes the topic soon enough.

“It’s ok. Mu’er will be the baby’s…” He declares loudly, “the baby’s gege!”

Bai Yao pushes Mu Mu’er’s raised head a little, “sure you don’t want to ask the baby if he wants a gege first?”

They are walking along the gravel path alone. It’s quiet around this part. Bai Yao has already moved on, but Mu Mu’er suddenly says, with a serious tone, “Mu’er, too.”

Like a child putting on an adult’s clothes and mimicking their manner of speech.

Not even Bai Yao can hazard a guess this time with so little information. He asks, “what too is Mu’er?”

Mu Mu’er does not answer, though. He’s fiddling with the bag of snack in his hand, carrying the little dried fish, looking a little distracted.

Bai Yao knows this is because he does not want to speak, but he is curious, so he pinches Mu Mu’er gently on the chin encouragingly, “well?”

“Likes Yaoyao this way, too.”

Still not quite there yet.

But Bai Yao’s deductive skills have allowed him to piece together his true meaning. His heart mellows out like an aging peach, but he says, “it is not the time yet. You should not like me like that right now.”

He spoke in a barely audible whisper, but Mu Mu’er still picked it up clearly enough to ask, “why?”

Mu Mu’er seems genuinely confused, so, when Bai Yao does not answer, he asks again, “why should Mu’er not like?”

There are multiple reasons.

Two years ago, Bai Yao came to know a sentient rabbit beastkin who moved into town. He looked really young, like, undergraduate-young. He told Bai Yao he’s in the town to gather inspiration.

They fast became a couple. They were each other’s boyfriend for half a year, and spent two months living together. Bai Yao has never had a boyfriend before, and in this very first relationship, he almost sank his entire genuine self in.

The turning point came when Bai Yao overheard Wen Yue’s argument on the phone with his father. He learned that the sentient rabbit spoke not a single truth.

Busted, Wen Yue finally confessed everything to Bai Yao.

He merely dated Bai Yao because Bai Yao was a sentient snow leopard – a fellow beastkin.

Not because he was Bai Yao. Not even because he was a snow leopard. He just needed to date a non-human, in order to threaten his father. He would not be with a human significant other if his father does not let him pursue his dream of glamour.

Wen Yue did not look the least bit remorseful when he admitted it. He packed up and left the next day without so much as saying goodbye. It’s like he was never here.

Bai Yao was none the wiser the entire time. Ever since, he thought he would never accept another sentient beastkin into his life as a significant other. He might look for a human, just like every other animal-turned-human in this world, and hide his identity, to spend the rest of his life like a normal person.

The snow leopard and the white rabbit had no future together.

Though, what about the snow leopard and the sea otter?

He’s worried he might hurt Mu Mu’er’s feelings, and that the boy does not understand the intricacies of what he’s trying to achieve, and that, perhaps, there is someone better out there more suitable for him.

He’s worried he might hurt him inadvertently because he does not understand.

Even so, just imagining someone else coming to take Mu Mu’er away from him feels like swallowing needles to Bai Yao.

He is unable to come up with an answer that Mu Mu’er can understand and be satisfied with. In the end, he just caresses the boy on the head, before continuing on their way.

Soon, there comes chittering from behind him, like a little hamster with a seed in his hand. One might have assumed a little muroid is following Bai Yao from the noise alone.

Mu Mu’er is happily chomping on his little dried fish behind Bai Yao, not at all concerned he didn’t get his answer from Bai Yao.

He does not seem to mind whether Bai Yao lets him like him or not. He can like Bai Yao as he wants, and whether Bai Yao lets him is another thing. They are not mutually exclusive.

He still likes his Yaoyao, Bai Yao’s approval or not notwithstanding.