Always Ending Up as an Animal Cub

Yun Mingchen gently patted Yu Tong's small head and introduced him to the two student council members, saying, "This is the little stray cat I adopted. His name is Xixi."

"Today, my dorm caught on fire, and one of the student council members in the Body Refining stage saved the kitten. He was planning to take him to the pet hospital."
"But perhaps due to the shock, the little kitten ran off midway."
Yun Mingchen lightly scratched Yu Tong's chin, his gaze full of affection as he continued, "When I received the message from my junior, I was really worried. After all, Xixi is so small, and the academy is so vast. Thankfully, he didn’t get hurt."

As soon as it was revealed that it was the president's cat, the male member, knowing its background, understood there was no danger. He sheathed his longsword and reached out to pet the little tabby.
To appear less threatening, Yu Tong tilted his head, preparing to let him touch him, but Yun Mingchen subtly stepped back a little, avoiding the male member’s hand.
He covered the kitten with his hands and smiled apologetically. "This little cat is shy and has a bad temper. He might scratch people."

The male member withdrew his hand, pouting as he called out, "Mimi, meow meow, Xixi meow!"
Yun Mingchen subtly blocked the kitten’s ears with his finger.
Yu Tong fell into deep thought.

The system, already confused, asked with a cute, clueless expression: 【Why doesn’t the villain want you to interact with the student council members? Is he afraid you'll harm others?】
"If he was really afraid I would harm others, he wouldn’t have asked that student council member to find me and take me to the hospital when the dorm caught on fire earlier," Yu Tong replied.
【Then what does this mean? He can’t just have such strong possessiveness that he doesn’t want anyone else to touch you, right?】

"Ah, you guessed right."
【？？？】
Not only was the system shocked, but Yu Tong also found it unbelievable.

He and the villain didn’t have a deep relationship yet—they were still in the process of getting to know each other.
Logically speaking, the villain shouldn’t have such strong possessiveness over him, which was abnormal.
But the "Heartfelt Connection" item didn’t lie, and Yun Mingchen had been sulking until now.

As Yu Tong pondered, he still didn’t forget to nudge the villain with his face, deliberately rubbing his little nose against his palm.
When he was young, every time he secretly fed meat to the family’s little black dog, the dog would happily leap onto him, nuzzling him with its nose.
That sensation was cute, and the feeling of being nuzzled was pleasant too.
He still remembered it clearly.

While nudging and humming, it didn’t take long before Yu Tong felt his irritation gradually subside. Yun Mingchen’s petting grew more gentle.
The female cultivator, with a bunch of talismans strapped to her waist, was clearly cautious.
Out of trust in Yun Mingchen, she didn’t pull out any weapons, but her finger rested on a yellow talisman at her waist.

She stared at the little tabby, "It doesn’t seem like a spiritual beast or a monster. We can’t even leave this forest; how did it get in here?"
Yun Mingchen smiled gently, "What I’m about to tell you is that I’ve found a way out of the fog."
He raised the kitten in his hand, "Xixi might have smelled something and wandered out of the restricted area. After I left the mist, he was outside meowing. I was worried he would get eaten by wild beasts, so I decided to keep him with me."

The two student council members had been trapped in the mist for too long and were eager to leave.
The male member was about to ask how to get out, but the female talismancer subtly pulled him back.
She casually asked, "President, since you’ve already left, why did you come back? How dangerous is it here?"

Yun Mingchen’s smile became even gentler, "I know it’s dangerous here, which is exactly why I came back."
The female cultivator froze for a moment, "But..."
Yun Mingchen interrupted her, "The teachers will only be out of the underground secret realm in an hour, and that’s too long. This place is filled with dangers, and I’m worried about you. I want to take you with me."

"I led you into the restricted area, so as president, I feel that now that I’ve found a way out, I absolutely cannot leave you behind."
He sheathed his longsword, offering his free hand to the female cultivator, his handsome face showing a reassuring smile.
"Let’s find the other missing companions and escape the mist together, okay?"

To emphasize the villain's contradictory nature, the author used every positive description of a gentle, handsome man they knew, piling them all onto Yun Mingchen.
At that moment, he looked as beautiful as a beam of sunlight, cutting through the fog and shining directly into the female cultivator’s heart.
Yu Tong, who had his head buried in Yun Mingchen’s hands, pried open a small gap with his nose.

He saw the female cultivator’s face suddenly flush, as though struck by his looks. She lowered her head and stammered, unable to speak.
The male cultivator beside her quickly leaned forward, grabbing Yun Mingchen’s hand and shaking it excitedly, "President, you’re so kind, I feel so safe with you! Yun ge, you’re so handsome!"
Yun Mingchen tried to pull his hand away, but the male cultivator held it tightly.

Yu Tong could clearly feel the villain’s body stiffen, and after a long pause, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) the "Heartfelt Connection" item surprisingly conveyed a sense of fear.
The male cultivator might be gay, or perhaps he had just been "bent." His eyes sparkled as he stared at Yun Mingchen, calling him "Yun ge" sweetly.
Yun Mingchen had never encountered this before and was completely unfazed.

Just as the villain was about to lose control of his image, Yu Tong slipped out of his hand and growled lowly at the male cultivator.
The male cultivator froze, and Yun Mingchen quickly withdrew his hand, hastily changing the topic.
He bent down to pick up the longsword by Su Feng’s corpse, his tone heavy as he spoke, "I’ve already seen many of our companions’ bodies along the way here. The situation is urgent. We need to find the other lost companions quickly."

The female cultivator, still not completely lost in Yun Mingchen’s charms, used her spiritual power to check Yu Tong’s body. Once she confirmed that he was just an ordinary little tabby cat, she finally relaxed her guard.
Yu Tong lay in Yun Mingchen’s arms, tilting his head to watch him perform his act.
He still couldn’t tell if the villain had other plans or if he truly didn’t want to kill the female cultivator named 'Susu.'

He found an excuse and guided them toward Susu’s location.
While the two turned their heads, Yun Mingchen held up Yu Tong and gently blew air into his cat ears, "The little dog is really clever. I’ll open a can for you when we get back."
Yu Tong raised his little paw to cover his lips.

"Lower your voice, dog man. Say those things back home. Be careful not to get heard."
With Yun Mingchen’s careful guidance, they quickly found Susu hanging from a tree.
After saving the injured, unconscious pregnant woman, the villain began his performance again for the two lucky witnesses.

The rescued Susu tearfully recounted her tragic experiences.
After both members shed tears of sympathy, the villain once again performed an emotional display.
Yu Tong’s pupils rapidly dilated, a new layer of admiration in his eyes as he looked at Yun Mingchen.

Envy, wanting to learn.
The system still hadn’t figured it out and asked seriously: 【Little Yu, did you see that female cultivator? She started doubting your presence. The villain is so smart; he must be able to predict what normal people would do when they see a kitten. Why would he pick you up without worrying that you’d be suspicious?】
Yu Tong thought for a moment, "There are three possibilities. First, he knows the little cat isn’t normal but didn’t expect it to have the intelligence of a human."

"Second, he’s not sure how smart I am and is using this method to test me, planning to observe my reaction."
【What’s the third possibility?】
"Third, he knows the kitten has the intelligence of a human, and he knows this will raise suspicions. But right now, he’s facing some trouble, and he suspects I’m on his side, which could help him. So, he chose to temporarily skip unnecessary tests and pretenses, adding a layer of security for himself."

The system was momentarily speechless.
After a long pause, it clicked its tongue and muttered, 【He’s really good at scheming. Which possibility do you think is more likely?】
"Second or third, but I hope it’s not the third. If he really wants to pull me in to help him block the disaster, then no matter how much trouble I solve for him, he’ll just think it’s part of his plan and won’t develop any affection for me."

The system felt that human hearts were incredibly complex, covering its head as it cursed and went back inside.
Yu Tong sighed.
He still didn’t know what this villain had been through, and he couldn’t afford to relax his vigilance. His mind kept spinning as he stayed alert.

While chatting with the system, Yun Mingchen had already calmed Susu down. The female cultivator picked Susu up, and the group continued on their way.
A strong sense of exhaustion passed through the "Heartfelt Connection" item.
Yun Mingchen’s face still wore a mature, reliable smile, but the fatigue in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.

The surrounding cultivators thought he was just deeply saddened by the death of his companions.
But Yu Tong knew that the villain was truly exhausted.
He had been playing three roles during the day, and at night, he either cultivated or had nightmares. He was working around the clock, and even a steel body couldn’t endure that.

Yu Tong raised his paw and gently stroked the villain’s hand.
Yun Mingchen lowered his head and saw the little tabby looking at him, its round eyes filled with concern.
The two locked eyes. The little kitten placed its paws on his chest, starting to knead.

It mewed softly as it kneaded, sounding gentle, as if trying to comfort him.
Yun Mingchen paused for a moment.
He stayed silent for a while, then suddenly cradled the little cat, burying his face in its soft body.

Yu Tong heard him sigh deeply and, in a barely audible voice, say, "I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’m fine."
Meanwhile, the system hopped out happily, 【Hey! Little Yu, the deviation value increased!】
Yu Tong opened the backend and saw a new email.

【Deviation value +2, Yun Mingchen’s current deviation value: 5/100.】
Yu Tong wagged his tail.
He knew that no matter if his guess was correct or not, he wouldn’t be pushed out to take the bullets for him.

The mission was progressing, and before Yu Tong could celebrate, his cat ears suddenly twitched.
He turned his head, scanning the surroundings, and saw a figure behind a tree two meters away.
The figure was mostly hidden, only half of its face exposed.

Yu Tong froze for a moment.
That was... Su Feng?