Yang Qi heard him, but he kept his hands busy, pretending not to understand.

Seeing this, Huan the Second trotted over and latched onto Yang Qi’s ankle. It tilted back its fluffy little head and chittered urgently.

’Two-legged Beast! Two-legged Beast!’

’Hurry up and talk to my mom and dad!’

"What’s wrong, little fella?"

Yang Qi finally stopped pretending to clean. He looked down at the little "ornament" hanging off his ankle and said softly, "Be a good boy now. Go on and play."

With that, he bent down, picked up Huan the Second, and gently set it down on the other side of him.

Huan the Second landed on all fours, completely bewildered.

Without the link from the Basic Spirit Communication Technique, it couldn’t understand a word Yang Qi was saying.

It froze for a few seconds before it finally registered. ’Why can’t this Two-legged Beast suddenly "speak" anymore?’

Refusing to give up, it scampered back to Yang Qi’s feet and began to circle him, its chitters filled with confusion and anxiety.

’Two-legged Beast, what’s gotten into you?’

’Weren’t you just talking perfectly fine a minute ago?’

’Come on, keep talking!’

’Prove I wasn’t lying to them!’

"..."

Yang Qi continued to ignore it and went on with his work.

’Does he think my Magical Power is free?’

It was one thing to play around with the little guys, but having to hold a special "conversation" with Huan’s father and mother just to prove a point? That was too much of a luxury.

Besides, there was no need.

Huan the Second circled Yang Qi relentlessly, jumping and chittering for ages until its voice was nearly gone. Seeing that the once "magical" Two-legged Beast was now quiet as a stone, it finally gave up.

Its little shoulders slumped, and it sighed in defeat.

But then, an idea struck. It ran over to Huan University, who was playing with a ball, and pushed its clueless brother in front of their parents.

’Big bro, you tell Mom and Dad!’

Huan the Second chittered at Huan University, its tone laced with a final glimmer of hope.

’The Two-legged Beast who gives us food every day, was he speaking our language just now?’

’Hurry up and tell them!’

Huan University, looking completely lost, was shoved forward with half a toy still dangling from its mouth.

It looked from the excited Huan the Second to its calm parents, then slowly thought back to when it was caught outside earlier. ’Hmm... that was a little strange, wasn’t it?’

It gave a slow nod and let out a muffled chitter.

’Ye... yeah, I think so?’

’See? I wasn’t lying! Big bro heard it too!’ Huan the Second instantly latched onto this like a lifeline, chittering at Huan’s father and mother with its little chest puffed out proudly.

Huan’s father still showed no reaction, merely licking his paws at a leisurely pace.

Huan’s mother, on the other hand, came forward and affectionately nudged both her children’s heads with her nose, letting out a couple of soothing chirps.

’There, there. We know. Go on and play now.’

Clearly, she still wasn’t taking them seriously.

Huan University didn’t seem to mind. After getting a comforting nudge from its mother, it went back to playing with its ball.

But Huan the Second was thoroughly frustrated. It hopped up and down on the spot, its chitters a mix of anger and indignation.

’I really wasn’t lying!’

’Why don’t you believe me?!’

Seeing its parents still had that "Oh, dear, you have such a rich imagination" look, Huan the Second turned its head in a huff. It scurried to a corner of the enclosure, flopped down with its back to them, its little silhouette screaming ’I’m sulking’ and ’I’m not talking to you.’

Yang Qi, who had been "listening" to the entire exchange, almost burst out laughing.

’This little one’s got quite a bit of pride. It’s genuinely upset this time.’

Yang Qi wasn’t worried, though.

’If it got angry enough to cause any real problems, the system would’ve alerted me.’

’Once the park closes this evening, I’ll make good on my promise to take it out for a bit. That’s guaranteed to clear the air.’

...

「That afternoon.」

Yang Qi was resting in his dorm, taking the opportunity to do some training with Overlord.

Although Overlord had an arrogant streak, under Xiaojiu’s firm paw, its attitude toward learning was actually quite good.

"Come on, Overlord, I’m going to teach you a new trick."

Yang Qi placed the TV remote on the sofa and pointed to the red power button. "Use the very front of your paw, right above the pad," he said to the leopard cat crouching before him, "and press right here. Gently."

Meow?

’What is this thing?’

Overlord leaned in curiously, staring at the remote. Its gaze flicked between the red button and Yang Qi.

It tentatively extended a front paw and poked the button carefully with the very tip of its claw. Nothing happened.

"Try again," Yang Qi encouraged.

Meow~

’Okay.’

Overlord tried again, this time with a bit more force. Its paw pad landed squarely on the power button.

With a soft BEEP, the television screen flickered to life, and an image appeared.

Overlord froze for a second, then its eyes shot wide open.

Meow meow~!

’This is fun! This is fun!’

It meowed excitedly. Without any further prompting from Yang Qi, it pawed at the remote a few more times and, after three tries, successfully turned the TV off.

Then it turned it on again, then off again, finding the game endlessly amusing.

Meow meow~

’This is so much fun!’

"It’s not a toy, you know."

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Yang Qi took the remote and put it away. He pointed to the half-open bathroom door. "Alright, now for something more practical: opening the door."

"Xiaojiu, show him how it’s done."

Hearing this, Xiaojiu, who had been feigning sleep on the other end of the sofa, lazily opened its emerald eyes. It hopped off the couch and padded elegantly to the bathroom door.

First, it expertly pushed the door completely shut with its body.

Then, it backed up two steps and leaped gracefully. Its front paws latched precisely onto the round doorknob. It let its body sink, using its weight and a clever bit of leverage to pull down. Simultaneously, its hind legs gave a light push against the wall beside the door.

CLICK. The latch released, and the door swung open a crack.

Xiaojiu landed gracefully as the door swung open most of the way.

Meow meow~

’Wow!’

’That’s amazing!’

Overlord’s eyes lit up as it watched. It immediately scampered over and circled Xiaojiu, meowing obsequiously.

’Boss, you’re incredible!’

Xiaojiu gave a reserved flick of its tail and hopped to one side. Its emerald eyes turned to Overlord.

Meow~

’Your turn.’

Meow meow!

Overlord meowed, brimming with confidence.

’Watch this, Boss!’

Closing the door was the easy part. Overlord copied Xiaojiu, using its body to push, and managed it with no trouble.

Next came the hard part.

It mimicked Xiaojiu’s leap and grabbed the doorknob, but the downward force and angle were always off. Either it couldn’t budge the handle, or it pulled it open only to be flung off in the process.

After much effort, it managed to hang from the doorknob, but when it tried to push off the wall for leverage, it just couldn’t get the technique right.

It would either kick at empty air or push off in the wrong direction.

Just as Yang Qi was getting entertained by the sight, his phone, sitting off to the side, rang.

He picked it up. It was a call from Mei Ying.

"Sister Mei."

"Xiao Yang, where are you right now?" Mei Ying’s voice came through the phone.

"I’m in my dorm, just resting."

"Okay, wait there. Don’t go anywhere." Mei Ying hung up as soon as she finished speaking.

Yang Qi was a little puzzled but didn’t dwell on it.

After hanging up, he stood and called out to Overlord, who was still wrestling with the doorknob.

"Let’s take a break. We’ll continue later."

Overlord was already panting with exhaustion. Upon hearing Yang Qi, it reluctantly let go of the knob and dropped to the floor, panting with its tongue out. Still, it stubbornly meowed at Xiaojiu.

Meeeow~

’I can totally do this!’

’Just you wait and see, Boss!’

Xiaojiu paid it no mind and turned toward the door.

Yang Qi had already stepped outside into the yard.

He didn’t have to wait long before he saw a tour buggy, followed by a police car, driving steadily along the concrete path toward his dorm...