Lily darted behind the sofa in an instant, having already transformed into her werewolf form beforehand.
She crouched behind the sofa, cautiously sticking out half of her head, causing her silver long hair to cascade to the ground. Her fluffy silver-white ears also trembled keenly, clearly in a state of readiness for battle at any moment. Kevin saw that this mysterious creature still had half a strand of noodles and vegetables in her mouth, which severely undermined her somewhat "dignified" appearance. What further undermined her dignity was Lily's next action: She trembled as she pointed at the black-and-white cat under Kevin's feet with her chopsticks, her voice almost on the verge of tears, "Cat... cat!"
"Meow?" The black-and-white cat curiously tilted its head and glanced at the uninvited guest in the house. This "meow" caused Lily to shiver twice, but then the cat ignored Lily with the elegance befitting a feline.
Kevin stared in astonishment at everything that happened, his mind taking a while to process the situation. He looked incredulously at Lily, who was treating the situation as if facing a formidable enemy, "You... are afraid of cats?"
"I... I'm not afraid of cats!" Lily stubbornly raised her head, like a proud fighting dog, "I'm just scared."
"Isn't that the same thing?" Kevin felt like his worldview and even his brain weren't enough to comprehend this. He even forgot that the other party was a werewolf, and moreover, a werewolf he had just met. He pointed at Lily in frustration, "Come on! You are a werewolf, alright?"
"I am a werewolf!" Lily seemed to finally realize that her current reaction was a bit embarrassing, and it might also be Kevin's gaze and words that had slightly stimulated this werewolf girl. Anyway, she mustered her courage and slipped out from behind the sofa, then pretended to return to the dining table, but in reality, she tiptoed along the wall of the living room and circled around to the other side, "Are you sure this cat is safe?"
"What's not safe about it," Kevin casually picked up the black-and-white cat, "I've never seen a cat that's so easy to take care of, have I, Roll?"
The black-and-white cat immediately meowed softly, looking extremely obedient. Kevin was delighted to see this situation and got up to fetch the feeding bowl for his pet, filling it up and placing it on the ground beside the table: This was the cat's exclusive dining spot. At the same time, Kevin also introduced Lily to his cat, pointing at her, "Her name is Liu Lily, she's a werewolf... Well, it doesn't really matter to you. Just know that she's our new guest. Your future food supply directly depends on how much rent she can pay. Be respectful to your benefactor, got it?"
The black-and-white cat seemed to actually understand human speech. It looked up and gave a reserved nod of approval to Lily, who was on guard not far away, before continuing to eat.
Lily seemed to have confirmed the harmlessness of the black-and-white cat. She cautiously made her way back to the dining table, but still held her noodles and moved to a safer spot farthest from the cat. It was only then that she suddenly remembered something, "What did you call this cat just now?"
"Gun," Kevin glanced down at his current only "family member", "Its name is Gun, with the radical for water."
Lily's silver hair and wolf ears gradually receded as her emotions calmed down (to be honest, Kevin felt a bit disappointed). An expression of surprise appeared on her face, "Why such a strange name?!"
"This cat came to my house last year," Kevin chuckled and introduced the origin of his cat, "I don't know what breed it is. This place is desolate and remote, with wild cats and dogs everywhere. It's normal for one or two of them to sneak into people's houses when they're not paying attention, but this cat came and wouldn't leave. I tried to shoo it away a few times, but it didn't work..."
"So you named it 'Gun', hoping it would leave earlier?" Lily asked with wide eyes.
"No, it likes to suddenly jump onto the bed when I'm watching TV. Every time, I shout 'Gun' to scare it away. It worked at first, but over time, whenever I shouted 'Gun', it would come over and rub against me with excitement – this cat thought its name was Gun. And so, it became Gun."
Lily listened with wide eyes, lowered her head to eat silently, and only muttered after a moment, "I feel like I've come to a very strange place."
Kevin rolled his eyes heavenward: Is there anyone stranger than you in this house? A werewolf lady who completely defies common sense!
After finishing dinner, it was already past nine o'clock. Gun's activity time had arrived. The black-and-white kitten ran upstairs with great spirit to patrol its territory. Kevin threw the dishes and chopsticks into the kitchen sink to soak, intending to wash them tomorrow. Then he lit a cigarette and sat in the living room, lost in thought – continuing to sort through his experiences of the day and marveling at his own ability to accept everything.
The werewolf was running upstairs and downstairs with great energy, familiarizing herself with her new home where she would be renting for some time in an almost rudely familiar manner. Everywhere she went, she would sniff vigorously as if memorizing the scent. Although she was currently in human form, Kevin couldn't help but imagine a pair of pointed ears and a swinging tail for her. Normally, if a tenant was so familiar and running around everywhere, he would say something, but now he didn't want to say anything at all: Wolves, after coming to a new place, marking their territory is normal. Now, he only hoped that this werewolf's territorial awareness could combine with human common sense. As long as she always remembered that this was actually someone else's house and she was just a tenant, considering Lily's current personality, it shouldn't be difficult.
No matter what happened, Kevin was convinced that he couldn't defeat the werewolf.
Was it right or wrong to invite such a high-combat-capable, non-human-looking creature into his home?
After calming down again, Kevin couldn't help but think about this question. However, in the end, he still felt that his choice was right. And to be honest... he was kind of looking forward to what would happen next.
This was a very reckless mindset. A normal person should learn to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages rather than curiously and rashly engaging with a mysterious new world that might take their life. But Kevin had lived a boring life for too long.
He loved watching TV, especially those bizarre and fantastical stories. This was almost inevitable for any unemployed, unmarried, and financially secure young person living alone. Although he wasn't overly immersed in fantasy and hadn't yet found his boring life unbearable, and his first reaction to a sudden "yes" or "ok" dialog box popping up on his computer would definitely be to pull the power cord, this didn't stop him from feeling eager to try something new when confronted with certain "stimuli". This was the common curiosity of humans at work. Some people would retreat like Lord Ye who pretended to love dragons when their curiosity was satisfied, but others...
Probably would react like Kevin.
Moreover, regardless, he still had to beware of that strange and dangerous big bat. Although he didn't know why he had been targeted by such a creature, since it was a fact, he had to accept it. Kevin was not someone who escaped from reality. He would actively find ways to increase his safety factor, such as keeping the werewolf, who seemed strong and easygoing, by his side.
"Hey landlord, here's your rent!" Lily darted upstairs and downstairs several times (encountering "Gun" twice in narrow passes, with screams heard each time) before finally remembering her current identity. She went back to her room with a bouncing energy, grabbed her wallet, counted out the rent, and handed it to Kevin. "According to what you wrote in the advertisement, I'll pay three months' rent in advance. How much extra for meals?"
Oh, not only was she easygoing, but she was also a werewolf who paid rent obediently? Which book had such a good thing ever happened in?
"Forget about the meal fees," Kevin noticed that Lily frowned when she smelled the smoke (her dog nose was good), so he consciously stubbed out his cigarette. "Anyway, it won't make much difference with one more person. And don't keep calling me landlord. I have a name. You can call me Kevin."
"Got it, landlord."
"Call me Kevin..."
"Okay, landlord."
"...Never mind. I'm going back to my room to sleep. Help yourself. Just don't go into those locked rooms. You can do whatever you want with the others." Kevin sighed and stood up to go back to his room. Lily also turned around to leave, but halfway there, she had a new topic, "By the way, landlord, you won't sneak attack me at night, right? It seems like there are only the two of us in this house. This is my first time renting from a single male landlord..."
Kevin almost fell to the ground, then turned around and glared at the annoying werewolf, "For the sake of my own life, I absolutely won't sneak attack you. You can rest assured!"