Chapter 6

Lily slipped behind the sofa in a flash, having already transformed into her werewolf form before that.

She crouched behind the sofa, cautiously poking out half of her head. Her silver hair hung down to the ground, and her furry silver-white ears twitched sensitively, ready for battle at any moment. Hao Ren saw that this mysterious creature still had a strand of noodles and some greens in her mouth, which seriously undermined her somewhat “majestic” appearance. What further undermined her dignity was Lily’s next action: she pointed at the black and white cat under Hao Ren’s feet with her chopsticks, trembling, and her voice almost on the verge of tears, “Cat… cat!”

“Meow?” The black and white cat curiously tilted its head to look at the unexpected guest, and this meow made Lily shudder again. But then the cat ignored Lily with the elegance befitting a feline.

Hao Ren watched all this with wide eyes, his brain whirring for a moment before he realized what was happening. He looked at Lily, who was facing a formidable enemy, in disbelief: “You… afraid of cats?”

“I… I’m not afraid of cats!” Lily lifted her head stubbornly, like a proud fighting dog, “I just get nervous.”

“It’s the same thing!” Hao Ren felt not only his worldview but also his brain was insufficient. He even ignored the fact that Lily was a werewolf, and a newly acquainted one at that, and pointed at her in exasperation, “Please! You’re a werewolf, okay?!”

“I am a werewolf!” Lily seemed to finally realize that her current reaction was embarrassing. Perhaps it was also due to Hao Ren’s gaze and words that this werewolf girl felt a bit stimulated. In any case, she mustered her courage and slipped out from behind the sofa, then pretended to return to the dining table, but in fact, she tiptoed along the living room wall to the other end, “Are you sure this cat is safe?”

“There’s nothing unsafe about it,” Hao Ren casually picked up the black and white cat, “I’ve never seen a cat that’s so easy to take care of, right, Roll?”

The black and white cat immediately meowed softly, looking extremely obedient. Hao Ren, seeing this, was delighted and got up to fetch the cat’s food bowl, filling it and placing it on the ground beside the table—this was the cat’s designated dining spot. At the same time, Hao Ren introduced Lily to his cat: “Her name is Liu Lily, she’s a werewolf… well, it doesn’t mean much to you, but just remember she’s our new guest. Your future food supply depends on how much rent she can pay, so be respectful to your benefactor, got it?”

The black and white cat seemed to understand human speech, nodding politely at Lily, who was still on guard a short distance away, in acknowledgment, then continued to eat.

Lily seemed to finally confirm that the black and white cat was harmless. She cautiously returned to the dining table but still held her noodles and moved to a safer spot far from the cat. Then she suddenly remembered something: “What did you call this cat just now?”

“Roll,” Hao Ren looked down at his only current “family member,” “Its name is Roll, the ‘Roll’ with the three dots and water radical.”

Lily’s silver hair and wolf ears gradually faded as her emotions calmed (to be honest, Hao Ren felt a bit disappointed), and her face showed surprise: “Why such a strange name?!”

“This cat came to my house last year,” Hao Ren chuckled, recounting the cat’s origin, “I don’t know what breed it is. This place is desolate and remote, with stray cats and dogs everywhere. It’s normal for one or two to sneak into someone’s house unnoticed, but this cat came and didn’t leave. I tried to drive it away a few times, but it didn’t work…”

“So you named it ‘Roll’ hoping it would leave soon?” Lily asked with wide eyes.

“No, it likes to jump onto the bed when I’m watching TV, and every time I yell ‘Roll’ to drive it away. At first, it worked, but over time, whenever I shouted ‘Roll,’ it would come over and rub against me—this cat thought its name was Roll. So it really became Roll.”

Lily listened with wide eyes, then quietly ate her meal. After a moment, she muttered, “I feel like I’ve come to a very strange place.”

Hao Ren rolled his eyes to the sky: Is there anyone in this house more strange than you? A completely unconventional werewolf lady!

By the time they finished eating, it was already past nine. “Roll”’s active time had arrived, and the black and white kitten strutted proudly to the second floor to patrol its territory. Hao Ren threw the dishes into the kitchen sink to soak, planning to wash them the next day. Then he lit a cigarette and sat in the living room, lost in thought—reviewing his experiences of the day and marveling at his own adaptability.

The werewolf was running around upstairs and downstairs, familiarizing herself with her new home in a way that was almost rudely casual. She would sniff the air at each place, as if memorizing the scents, even though she was currently in human form. Hao Ren couldn’t help but imagine her with a pair of pointed ears and a wagging tail. Normally, if a tenant acted so casually and wandered around, he would have said something, but now he didn’t want to say a word: it was normal for a wolf to mark its territory in a new place. He just hoped that this werewolf’s territorial awareness would align with human common sense, remembering that this was someone else’s house and she was just a tenant. Considering Lily’s current personality, this shouldn’t be too difficult.

Anyway, no matter what happened, Hao Ren was sure he couldn’t fight this werewolf.

Was it right or wrong to invite a high-combat creature, who was clearly not human, into his home?

When he calmed down again, Hao Ren couldn’t help but think about this question. But in the end, he still felt his decision was correct, and to be honest… he was quite looking forward to what would happen next.

This was a rather reckless attitude. A normal person should learn to avoid danger, not be full of curiosity and rashly interact with a mysterious new world that could potentially end their life. But Hao Ren’s boring, uneventful life had gone on long enough.

He liked reading novels, watching TV, and enjoying all sorts of strange and fantastical stories. This was a common state for an unemployed, unmarried, single, and carefree young man. Although he wasn’t so immersed in his own world that he found his boring life unbearable, and even if a “yes” or “ok” dialog box suddenly popped up on his computer, his first reaction would definitely be to unplug it, this didn’t stop him from feeling eager when faced with certain “new stimuli.” This was the most common curiosity-driven psychology, and while some people would hesitate and back away when their curiosity was satisfied, others…

Would probably react like Hao Ren.

Moreover, he still had to be wary of that strange and dangerous bat, even though he didn’t know why he was targeted by such a creature. Since the situation was already a fact, he could only face it. Hao Ren wasn’t the type to avoid reality; he would actively seek ways to increase his safety: for example, keeping the werewolf, who seemed to have strong combat skills and was also quite easy to talk to, by his side.

“By the way, landlord, here’s the rent!” Lily had run around upstairs and downstairs several times (twice she narrowly avoided “Roll,” both times resulting in screams), and finally remembered her current identity. She returned to the room with a lively spirit, took out her wallet, and counted out the rent, handing it to Hao Ren, “As you wrote in the ad, I’m prepaying three months’ rent. How much for meals?”

Oh, not only was she easy to talk to, but she was also a werewolf who would obediently pay rent—what book had ever had such a good thing?

“Meals are free,” Hao Ren noticed Lily wrinkling her nose at the smell of the cigarette (good dog nose), so he extinguished it voluntarily, “One more person won’t make much of a difference. Also, don’t keep calling me landlord; I have a name, just call me Hao Ren.”

“Got it, landlord.”

“Call me Hao Ren…”

“Okay, landlord.”

“…Forget it, I’m going to bed. Do as you please, but don’t enter the locked rooms, and you can do whatever you want with the rest.” Hao Ren sighed and got up to go back to his room. Lily also turned to leave, but halfway through, she had a new topic: “By the way, landlord, you won’t sneak into my room at night, right? There are only the two of us in this house, and it’s my first time renting from a single male landlord…”

Hao Ren almost fell to the ground, then turned to glare at this annoying werewolf, “For my own safety, I absolutely won’t sneak into your room. You can rest assured!”