The Cold Queen is My Exclusive Little Snack - Chapter 3

After finalizing all the arrangements, Yu Siya pulled Zuo Xingning aside for a private word before leaving.

Her instructions were brief and straightforward: “Be obedient and don’t cause any trouble for Chu Shiyin.”

This echoed the advice Zuo Xingning’s mother had given her, and after hearing it all day, her ears felt like they were about to grow calluses.

Zuo Xingning let the words pass in one ear and out the other. As soon as Chu Shiyin finished her tasks and beckoned, she eagerly followed.

After exiting the elevator, Zuo Xingning trailed Chu Shiyin to a silver SUV. She obediently climbed into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt.

Every corner of the car carried Chu Shiyin’s unique fragrance, a subtle blend of perfume that made Zuo Xingning’s limbs feel soft and heavy, as if sinking into cotton.

“Sister, where are we going now?”

“Home.”

Chu Shiyin removed her black fisherman’s hat, her slender fingers smoothing through her thick, dark hair. “You got caught in the rain, didn’t you? Let’s get you home for a shower so you don’t catch a cold.”

Hearing this, Zuo Xingning lowered her head and discreetly sniffed her clothes. Sure enough, they carried the damp, musty scent of wet fabric. She hunched down, trying to make herself less noticeable. “Okay, thank you, Sister~”

The way she said “Sister” was so sweet and soft that Chu Shiyin paused in the act of fastening her seatbelt. She started the car and said, “We’ll rest for a few days. Siya should arrange your public debut after she returns. You studied acting in college, right? You haven’t forgotten the basics, have you?”

Zuo Xingning shook her head. “I haven’t forgotten.”

Voice projection, physical expression, the seven powers, and the four senses—she had practiced them all diligently throughout the year.

“But it’s been a while since I’ve acted seriously,” she added quietly. “I’m not sure what my current level is.”

Chu Shiyin glanced at her out of the corner of her eye but offered no comfort. Instead, she changed the subject. “Siya mentioned you acted in a TV drama during college, playing a fairly significant role. Why did you suddenly disappear from the scene?”

“Ah, you mean the xianxia romance drama I filmed during my junior year?”

It was a memorable period—her first time on set, the first time her fangs grew, the first time she realized she was different…

Afterward, she suffered nightmares for half a year, unable to control her urge to bite people to death. Only after changing her environment did the nightmares gradually subside.

Zuo Xingning gripped the seatbelt tightly, her knuckles white as if she might pierce through the fabric and into her palm.

She kept her head down, but her tone remained light, almost self-deprecating. “Actually, acting was quite fun. It’s just… the director always yelled during filming. It scared me a little.”

Chu Shiyin noticed the pause in her words. The fear was real; the earlier part was just a fabricated lie.

“Did you come out without bringing anything this time?” she asked, steering the conversation away from the topic.

“…Yes, I left in a bit of a hurry.”

A bit of a hurry? She’d practically fled in a panic.

Zuo Minglan, her mother, had been locked in a battle of wits with her for over a decade and knew her temperament all too well.

To avoid raising suspicion, Zuo Minglan deliberately avoided helping her pack anything. With a simple “Let’s go grab some food,” she lured Zuo Xingning out, then floored the accelerator and drove straight to another province.

Before letting her out of the car, Zuo Minglan tossed her an ID card and, not forgetting to “exchange” her phone, took it.

If only she’d checked the weather forecast, given me an umbrella, or let me change clothes! The memory of her disheveled state that day made Zuo Xingning grind her teeth in frustration.

Chu Shiyin added, “Remember to call Auntie and Uncle to let them know you’re safe. Don’t worry them.”

“They’d be thrilled I’m gone. They’re the last people who’d worry,” Zuo Xingning muttered, her mouth moving faster than her brain.

“Still sulking?”

“……”

Zuo Xingning paused for half a second before realizing what Chu Shiyin meant. With Yu Siya present earlier, she couldn’t reveal the full story, so she’d vaguely claimed she’d argued with her family and had her phone stolen, barely managing to gloss over her disheveled appearance.

Afterward, she’d forgotten to explain the situation to Chu Shiyin privately.

Now, bringing it up felt embarrassing. Zuo Xingning mumbled defensively, “I didn’t run away from home…”

“Hmm?”

As they passed a kindergarten, it seemed an event was underway. Cars lined the road, and parents huddled under umbrellas, spilling onto the street.

Chu Shiyin carefully steered around them, responding with a noncommittal hum, as if she didn’t quite believe Zuo Xingning.

“Actually, I…”

Zuo Xingning opened her mouth to explain that she hadn’t run away from home. Her parents, exasperated by her refusal to seek a Familiar, had simply kicked her out. Her phone hadn’t been lost; she’d never even gotten it in the first place.

But then she realized Chu Shiyin was her Familiar. Wouldn’t saying that be the same as admitting she didn’t want to see her?

“Never mind,” she said, giving up on the explanation. “I just ran away from home.”

A soft chuckle reached her ears—so faint she almost missed it. For the first time, Zuo Xingning cursed her sharp hearing. If she could have mistaken it for the wind, she wouldn’t be so embarrassed.

Now, she’d definitely be seen as a childish runaway.

First impression: a complete disaster.

She pouted, staring out the window, racking her brain for ways to improve Chu Shiyin’s impression of her. Before she could come up with anything, Chu Shiyin asked a question.

Zuo Xingning instinctively replied, “No,” before the question fully registered in her mind.

“Are you allergic to cat fur?”

Cat fur? What cat fur?

Soon, Zuo Xingning met the owner of the “cat hair.”

The moment the door opened, Zuo Xingning heard a chorus of soft, sweet meows. Under this onslaught, even Chu Shiyin’s usually cool voice softened considerably.

“Alright, Tuantuan, don’t block the doorway. We have a guest coming.”

As if understanding, or perhaps sensing the stranger’s scent, the meowing abruptly ceased.

Chu Shiyin stepped aside, allowing Zuo Xingning to finally enter the room and see the cat for herself.

A white, long-haired Persian cat sat regally, its head tilted upward as it gazed at her. Its eyes were crystal-clear, the same azure blue as the sky.

The cat held its head high, its chest fur puffed out like a cloud, while its tail, resembling a feather duster, was slightly lowered—a sign of alertness.

“Is its name Tuantuan?” Zuo Xingning crouched down, slowly extending her hand for the cat to sniff, exchanging scents. “When did you get a cat, Sis?”

“Over a year ago. I found her in the neighborhood during a rainstorm and decided to keep her.”

“That’s been a while! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you post about her on Weibo?”

“Weibo?” Chu Shiyin raised an eyebrow, rolling the word on her tongue. “The staff have been posting for me for the past two years. I rarely manage it myself.”

“No wonder… I was wondering why…” Zuo Xingning’s voice suddenly caught in her throat. Realizing what she’d said, she jerked her head up, meeting Chu Shiyin’s amused gaze.

“What’s your handle? I’ll follow you back.”

“……”

Good news: After exposing yourself as a fan, your idol wants to follow you back.

Bad news: You’re face-to-face, and there’s no time to delete the embarrassing posts on your account.

Zuo Xingning closed her eyes, forcing out a weak reply: “Please… please keep your distance from your fans’ lives, Idol.”

Chu Shiyin shrugged, saying nothing.

As Zuo Xingning watched her figure disappear behind a door, she collapsed onto the floor, her fluffy tail gently brushing her cheek in a gesture of pitying comfort.

Zuo Xingning wanted to cry, but no tears came.

Great. Now I’m one of the women who’ve rejected Chu Shiyin.

After teasing her little fan, Chu Shiyin headed to the storage room.

She had a dedicated room for storing items sent by brand partners, mostly clothing.

All incoming items were first screened by Yu Siya, then stored in the storage room by the housekeeper, awaiting their chance to see the light of day.

Zuo Xingning and Chu Shiyin were similarly sized, both with slender and well-proportioned figures. Logically, finding a few unworn outfits for Zuo Xingning should have been easy, yet Chu Shiyin spent a considerable time searching.

Their fashion styles differed significantly. In Chu Shiyin’s eyes, Zuo Xingning always looked like a child, and wearing her clothes wouldn’t quite suit her.

After searching high and low, Chu Shiyin finally pulled out a tracksuit. She then returned to her bedroom and retrieved two sets of clean, unworn underwear.

In the living room, Zuo Xingning seemed to have regained her composure. She was squatting on the floor, waving a cat teaser stick clumsily through the air, trying to entertain the empty space.

Tuantuan, meanwhile, lay on the cat tree, flicking her tail intermittently. Having already assessed the two-legged creature’s threat level, she grudgingly refused to spare her even a glance.

It wasn’t until Chu Shiyin appeared that the cat finally meowed and jumped down, rubbing against her legs in a fawning manner.

Zuo Xingning put away the cat wand and watched Chu Shiyin go to the bathroom. Then she crouched down to pet the cat that was rubbing against her feet, momentarily unsure who she should envy more.

“It doesn’t let you pet it?” Chu Shiyin asked.

Zuo Xingning shook her head, then made a tiny gesture with her index finger and thumb. “Just a quick touch.”

To be precise, she had only been brushed by the tip of the cat’s tail.

Chu Shiyin’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Go take a shower first. Don’t catch a cold.”

Zuo Xingning nodded and went into the bathroom.

Her rain-soaked clothes, now dried in the shade, still carried a lingering dampness, making her feel like a salty, dripping piece of seaweed freshly pulled from the sea—a bit out of place on dry land.

Stripping off her clothes, she let the warm water from the shower cascade over her. After a quick rinse, she wrapped her dripping hair in a dry hair cap.

A stack of clothes lay on the nearby shelf, their soft, pale colors seeming to Zuo Xingning like flammable materials—as if looking at them for too long would make them explode.

She felt like she was about to explode, bursting into pink fireworks, the fragments reassembling into the words “Chu Shiyin” with a heart drawn around them.

Her cheeks flushed slightly as Zuo Xingning dried her hands until not a single drop of water remained. Only then did she cautiously reach for the clothes.

It’s perfectly normal for girls to exchange clothes, she reassured herself. Back in school, I used to borrow my roommate’s jacket all the time. What’s the big deal?

Yeah, no big deal at all.

Avoiding eye contact, she hastily checked the front and back before pulling the clothes on with her eyes closed.

After changing and drying her hair, she casually brushed the stray strands off her face and stretched her lower lip in front of the mirror.

Vampire fangs naturally possess pain-relieving and wound-healing properties. While the former had no effect on her, the latter was a lifesaver.

In just over an hour, the two puncture wounds inside her mouth had vanished, leaving only two round spots resembling canker sores. By evening, they should be completely healed.

Satisfied, Zuo Xingning washed her hands again, opened the door, and stepped out.

Chu Shiyin was sitting on the sofa, a white blanket draped over her knees. As Zuo Xingning approached, she realized the “white blanket” was actually Tuantuan.

Hearing the movement, Tuantuan lazily opened its azure eyes a slit, its gaze briefly aligning with its owner’s.

Zuo Xingning’s fair skin was perfectly complemented by light-colored clothing. Chu Shiyin subtly glanced at her before gesturing to a spot on the table.

“The brand partner sent me a phone recently, and I ended up with an extra. You can use this one for now.”

A rose-pink smartphone lay bare on the table. Zuo Xingning recognized it as the latest model from the brand Chu Shiyin endorsed, released that summer at a premium price.

“Isn’t this too expensive?” Zuo Xingning asked hesitantly.

“It was a gift from the brand partner. What’s expensive about it? Or… do you not like it?” Chu Shiyin lowered her gaze, her expression perfectly conveying a hint of disappointment. “I thought… if you were my fan, you’d be thrilled to have the same model as me.”

Zuo Xingning: “……”

She really is the worst!