My Virtual Girlfriend-Chapter 191: Qiao Qiao and Cotton Candy (8500 words update plus monthly ticket request!)

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: Qiao Qiao and Cotton Candy (8500 words update plus monthly ticket request!)

Pushing open the door, Yu Qiao Qiao found Chen Yan in the living room, "fighting" with a cat.

The cat was not small in size, with soft fur that was pure white all over, except for a gray head and ears. At that moment, it was stretching out its paws, fiddling with Chen Yan’s hand reaching towards it.

After shoving Chen Yan’s hand away, it gave him a "fierce" glare, then turned its back on him.

But... Chen Yan didn’t let it go and reached out again to pull its big tail.

The cat "meowed~" again and turned back to bat Chen Yan’s hand.

It seemed the two had repeated this action more than once. However, Chen Yan’s face was filled with an indefatigable smile.

Yu Qiao Qiao glanced at the cat on the sofa and then at Chen Yan. As she set down her bag, she curiously asked, "Chen Yan, is this your kitty?"

Hearing Yu Qiao Qiao’s voice, Chen Yan belatedly realized she had come home.

He looked towards the entrance and said with a smile to Yu Qiao Qiao, "It’s not my kitty. It’s yours."

Yu Qiao Qiao, who was changing her shoes, looked up in surprise, "Mine?"

Chen Yan nodded and said, "Didn’t you say before that you like cats? So today, I went with Sister Man Man to a pet store and picked out this cat for you."

"How about it? Do you like it?"

Hearing Chen Yan say this, Yu Qiao Qiao covered her mouth in astonishment, then joyfully looked at the beautiful cat on the sofa, nodding her head repeatedly, "I love it! I really love it!"

"Thank you, Chen Yan!"

After she spoke, she quickly changed into slippers and trotted over to the sofa.

Approaching the sofa, perhaps afraid of startling the cat, Yu Qiao Qiao slowed down, then crouched beside the cat, her large eyes gleefully gazing at it.

Cotton Candy seemed to sense Yu Qiao Qiao’s gaze, looked at her with its brilliant starry eyes in a haughty fashion, yawned, and lay down again.

Chen Yan glanced at Yu Qiao Qiao worriedly, afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle Cotton Candy’s aloof nature.

But Yu Qiao Qiao seemed unaware of this, her eyes twinkling with excitement, and her hands tentatively reached out, eager to touch Cotton Candy.

Lingering hesitantly, Yu Qiao Qiao looked pathetically at Chen Yan and asked, "Can I, can I touch it?"

Chen Yan nodded, "Yes, it’s very well-behaved."

Chen Yan wasn’t lying; Cotton Candy was aloof but indeed well-behaved. It wouldn’t have "attacked" Chen Yan if it weren’t for his compulsive tail-pulling.

Encouraged by Chen Yan’s affirmation, Yu Qiao Qiao gently caressed Cotton Candy’s body.

Perhaps fearing that she might "melt" Cotton Candy, Yu Qiao Qiao’s touch was so tender it seemed merely a brush.

But after she finished, she looked at the cat as if it were the best gift in the world, her beautiful eyes shining as she softly exclaimed, "Oh my. It’s so beautiful...."

Finally, after several gentle brushes, Yu Qiao Qiao grew bolder. She lightly placed her hand on Cotton Candy’s head and stroked its fur.

Cotton Candy felt Yu Qiao Qiao’s caress, opened its eyes, looked at her for a moment with its azure eyes, "meowed~" plaintively, shook its head, avoiding Yu Qiao Qiao’s hand, and lay down again.

Yu Qiao Qiao turned her pitiful gaze back to Chen Yan.

Chen Yan, with his extensive experience, said with a smile, "It’s alright. It’s just being itself."

After getting the reassurance, Yu Qiao Qiao resumed tentatively petting Cotton Candy.

Perhaps due to too much petting, Cotton Candy looked at Yu Qiao Qiao, its eyes as luminous as stars meeting her gaze, aloofly "meowed~".

Yu Qiao Qiao’s large, pitiful eyes looked back at the cat.

Cotton Candy kept eye contact with her.

After a moment, Cotton Candy’s eyelids drooped, then it lowered its head and gently licked Yu Qiao Qiao’s hand.

Yu Qiao Qiao’s eyes widened in surprise, and she turned to Chen Yan excitedly, saying, "Chen Yan! Chen Yan! It likes me!"

Chen Yan was also somewhat surprised by this scene.

Could this cat... actually be showing affection to Qiao Qiao?

Could it be that a little more petting was all it took for it to be persuaded?

Thinking this, Chen Yan cautiously reached out to grab Cotton Candy’s tail.

Cotton Candy, which had been licking Yu Qiao Qiao’s palm, suddenly lifted its head, turned around, and "meowed~" fiercely at Chen Yan!

Chen Yan sheepishly retracted his hand.

Pfft! This damn thing... favoring women over men...

If it weren’t a female cat, I’d have you neutered.

At that moment, hearing the noise downstairs, Lu Man, dressed in pajamas and with a face mask on, came down from upstairs.

Seeing Lu Man come down, Yu Qiao Qiao eagerly said to her, "Sister Man Man! Thank you for the cat you gave me!"

Lu Man, muffled by the face mask, waved her hands dismissively, saying, "No need for thanks. I’m glad you like it."

"How about it? Pretty, right?"

Yu Qiao Qiao vigorously nodded, her eyes radiating affection, "Yes, yes!"

Lu Man wiped at her face mask and said, "Her name is Cotton Candy, a Ragdoll cat. I knew you would like her the moment I saw her."

"Her temperament is good, not clingy, but occasionally very heart-warming. She should be a good companion for you."

Yu Qiao Qiao picked up Cotton Candy. The cat lay lazily on Yu Qiao Qiao’s somewhat rule-breaking panda top. Yu Qiao Qiao happily said to Lu Man, "Thank you, Sister Man! I really love it!"

Chen Yan glanced at Yu Qiao Qiao, who was joyously playing with the cat, and then at Lu Man.

Lu Man winked at him triumphantly, as if to say: See? I chose the right one!

Chen Yan was confused for a moment, then began to understand the purpose behind Lu Man’s choice of cat.

First, it was beautiful. Girls are visual creatures after all; beauty is everything.

Second, it wasn’t clingy. Yu Qiao Qiao was busy during the holiday and wouldn’t be able to take care of her daily after school started, so a less clingy cat would make it less miserable, and Yu Qiao Qiao could rest easy, not being preoccupied with the cat, free to work and study.

Third, it was intuitive. It knew how to respond appropriately to Yu Qiao Qiao. Combined with the second point, it would lead to a "unique" sense of achievement, ahem...

Looking at Lu Man, Chen Yan realized for the first time that her mind was actually quite sharp, so thorough in her considerations.

Even he hadn’t thought of this at the time.

But she wasn’t this smart before, right?

After a moment of thought, Chen Yan concluded: It must be because she really cares about Qiao Qiao that she was so meticulous.

It seemed that the sisters had a good relationship.

Chen Yan felt a bit happy.

Meanwhile, in Lu Man’s mind...

’See! I knew Qiao Qiao would like it! Its beautiful appearance, noble and cold personality is just like me, how could anyone not like it! Wahaha!’

...

After playing with Yu Qiao Qiao and Lu Man for a while. By the way, sneaking a few strokes of Cotton Candy.

Before Cotton Candy could "meow" in protest, Chen Yan chuckled and trotted off from the villa.

Strolling home, Chen Yan felt his day had been fulfilling.

And what was even more fulfilling was that tomorrow marked the beginning of the next month, when the store would refresh, likely offering new "photo paper." Then, he could gauge the potential of that new game.

Once this month was over, next month, "Heartbreak in 23 Days" would premiere.

By then, his net worth should officially surpass five hundred million!

Chen Yan felt that both his career and his life were getting better and better.

.....

After Chen Yan left, Yu Qiao Qiao had Cotton Candy laying on her legs. She gently stroked its fur while looking at her phone, asking Lu Man, "Sister Man Man, why is Cotton Candy different from other Ragdoll Cats?"

She looked at the online reviews of Ragdoll Cats and said with puzzlement, "Online it says Ragdoll Cats have a gentle nature, rich emotions, affectionate, enjoy company, very friendly to people, and like to be clingy."

"But Cotton Candy seems to not like interacting with people much."

Lu Man, wearing pajamas, was curled up on the sofa, engrossed in the television.

Hearing Yu Qiao Qiao’s words, she said indifferently, "Because it knows it’s different from other cats. It’s the most beautiful cat in the world. It won’t bother with you unless you’re really good to it."

Hearing what Lu Man said, Cotton Candy lifted its head from Yu Qiao Qiao’s lap and, with brilliant eyes, gave a soft "meow" toward Lu Man.

Yu Qiao Qiao looked on in amazement at this scene and then said, "Sister Man Man, it seems like you were right. Cotton Candy is responding to you!"

Lu Man waved her hand nonchalantly and said with proud coquetry, "Of course."

Yu Qiao Qiao asked curiously, "But how do you know this so clearly?"

Lu Man lifted her head proudly, snorted lightly but didn’t speak.

’Can I tell you, I’m just like that!’

....

Late at night, in Yu Qiao Qiao’s room.

Yu Qiao Qiao lay in bed, fast asleep, her pink lips slightly parted, murmuring sleepily, "Cotton... cotton candy. Tasty..."

After a moment, her bedroom door gently quivered.

Shortly after, the door was pushed open from outside.

A small white figure sauntered in.

It glanced at Yu Qiao Qiao under the moonlight and with a graceful jump, landed on her bed.

Once on the bed, it cocked its head, looked at Yu Qiao Qiao curiously, and gently licked her face with its tongue.

Yu Qiao Qiao, in her sleep, felt a tickling on her face, and her hand reached out to swat it away, murmuring, "Mmm~ Don’t eat me."

Cotton Candy looked at Yu Qiao Qiao again curiously, then after "pondering" with its tilted cat head for a moment, it snuggled into Yu Qiao Qiao’s embrace, closed its eyes, and quietly fell asleep.

Under the moonlight, its feline face was filled with tranquility....

.....

[Yu Qiao Qiao Favorability: 146] (Chen Yan’s gift is really nice +6)

[Lu Man Favorability: 171] (Chen Yan only plays with the cat, Humph! -1)

[Wealth Value: 31423] (Purchased cat +28770)

[Professional Wealth: 0]

[Cash: 89,335,000+] (Purchased cat -28770 Withdrawal +50,000,000 ’In Progress....’)

[Fixed Assets: 14,925,000]

.....

The next day, Yu Qiao Qiao woke up in the sunlight, rubbed her eyes cutely, and then felt something chubby, warm and soft in her embrace.

She lifted the blanket and was surprised to find that Cotton Candy had curled up there in her arms.

The girl who woke up early looked at the cat on her bed with joy and said, "Cotton Candy! What are you doing here?!"

Cotton Candy must have woken up early; it opened its dazzling eyes, glanced coolly at Yu Qiao Qiao, yawned, turned over, and ignored her.

It was as if... it hadn’t come into the room itself or come to accompany Yu Qiao Qiao on its own.

Yu Qiao Qiao happily hugged it, petting its cat head until Cotton Candy, slightly annoyed, pawed over her face, and then she finally stopped.

Yu Qiao Qiao giggled.

She felt that this could be the best gift she had ever received in her life.....

.....

At the same time.

Chen Yan also just got up from bed.

He didn’t wake up naturally but was woken by a phone call.

Picking up the phone, Chen Yan saw it was a call from his right-hand man: Song Chuang.

Yawning and answering the call, Chen Yan said, "Hello, President Song, what’s up?"

Song Chuang said, "President Chen, indeed there’s an issue."

"I received news last night that Xu Brothers Film Company had a test screening of a movie yesterday."

"It’s not clear which movie it was. But I’ve filtered through the ones they’re shooting or have acquired, and I’m guessing it’s either ’Eavesdropping 3’ or ’To My Youth’ or ’Lost Valley.’"

"’Eavesdropping 3’ being the most likely. The genre is right, it has a strong cast, and it’s part of a series. Based on the performance of the first two movies, it should be around 250 to 300 million."

"I suspect they’re planning to release this movie at the same time as ours to attack us and squeeze our screening slots."

Upon hearing Song Chuang’s words, Chen Yan said, "Oh," and asked, "So what do you plan to do?"

Song Chuang said, "I’m thinking of heading back to Tiandu today to meet with the heads of various cinemas and have a chat."

"To get a feel for their opinions."

"If they really do favor Xu Brothers Film Company, I’m prepared to sign a guaranteed box office agreement with them."

"Since ’Eavesdropping 3’ is estimated to bring in three hundred million at the box office, we’ll sign off on a guaranteed box office of three hundred million too!"

"If our movie’s box office is less than three hundred million, then we’ll compensate their screening fees according to a box office of three hundred million."

"If the box office is higher than three hundred million, the agreement will be automatically canceled, and we’ll proceed with the normal revenue sharing."

"That way, our terms would be on par with Xu Brothers’, and considering that the screening contract is already signed, they probably won’t breach it."

"And I’ve seen the quality of our movie yesterday; three hundred million is absolutely no issue!"

"It’s just that we don’t have a finished film yet, so we can’t hold a test screening, which is why we’re at a disadvantage..."

Hearing Song Chuang’s words, Chen Yan pondered about the troublesome Xu Brothers Film Company and the "photo paper" showing the box office range.

He weighed his words and said, "Don’t settle for three hundred million. Let’s do five hundred million!"

"We’ll give them a guarantee of five hundred million at the box office! We’ll compensate them down to the penny if it’s less."

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, Song Chuang exclaimed in surprise, "Ah?"

——————

Asking for monthly votes! I owe 3 Chapters of 9000 words, still short by 7000 words. It’s been a bit busy with the Qingming festival. After the holiday, I’ll strive to make it up!