Late at night, all was still and silent under the high-hanging silver moon.
Outside the hotel, an agile, cat-like figure darted silently and swiftly across the beams of the building's exterior.
Black Pardo remembered very clearly where Fu Li's room was.
Since Pardo didn't dare to express her feelings, she would have to be the one to take action.
However, as she was fantasizing about a beautiful future and crossing the final balcony to the room she remembered, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
It was already one o'clock in the morning, but a dim yellow light still shone from within Fu Li's room. It wasn't hard to tell that he was still awake.
Sigh, what a pity...
With a light leap, Black Pardo landed on the balcony. She twitched her ears and carefully peeked her head out, trying to get a clear view of the situation inside.
To her surprise, she saw Fu Li, but he wasn't awake. He was slumped over his desk, using his arms as a pillow, fast asleep.
On his desk were some needles, thread, and gemstones scattered about haphazardly. But because his body was blocking the view, Black Pardo couldn't see exactly what he was making.
But that didn't matter. He was already asleep.
Drawing on Pardo's past experience in rummaging through cabinets and chests, prying open the balcony door was not a difficult task for her.
Therefore, without making the slightest sound, she easily slipped into Fu Li's room.
Driven by curiosity, she abandoned the idea of getting straight to the point. She tiptoed over, wanting to see what Fu Li was doing up so late instead of sleeping.
As she drew closer, step by step, Black Pardo couldn't help but hold her breath.
Under the influence of an emotion that was very foreign to her, she felt her blood begin to stir. A primal desire caused her breathing to quicken and deepen.
She wanted to tear off Li's clothes. She wanted to tell him that she liked him. She wanted to mate with him.
But when Fu Li's sleeping face was presented before her, completely defenseless, the boiling desire was instantly doused as if by a basin of cold water, vanishing without a trace.
She stared at the items on the table, momentarily stunned.
What Fu Li had stayed up all night sewing was not something else, but two lifelike cats. Their bodies were adorned with gems that had not yet been inlaid. One was calico, the other was black, representing Pardo... and her?
A feeling of astonishment welled up inside her. The desire in Black Pardo's heart temporarily disappeared. She just stared blankly at the unfinished black cat.
She had the same memories as Pardo, the same experiences. She had always proclaimed that she was just another Pardo, another version of her.
But in the end, even with the same memories and experiences, she still possessed her own subjective consciousness. She was still different from Pardo.
She was Pardo, but she was also not Pardo.
She was an extension of Pardo's consciousness, but she was also a new individual, a new consciousness.
Perhaps even Black Pardo herself hadn't realized that the reason she wanted to pounce on Fu Li was not only due to Pardo's own desires, but also her own.
That desire stemmed from insecurity. An insecurity born from wanting to prove that she, too, was an independent consciousness, wanting to get Fu Li's attention.
And when she teased Pardo, calling her a coward who didn't dare to confess, wasn't she also reminding herself that if she wasn't a little more aggressive, she might never get Fu Li's attention at all?
Standing before the desk, Black Pardo pursed her lips. She didn't know what kind of mood she was in right now.
Conflicted? Happy? Confused? Doubtful? Lost?
She didn't know. She just felt that some of the anxiety in her heart had been carried away by the wind. Her eyes saw nothing but Fu Li and the two cats in front of her.
The calico cat's eyes were one blue and one green, while the black cat's eyes were one red and one white.
It turned out that Fu Li had never ignored her at all. From the moment in that black space, he had never treated her as a substitute for Pardo, but as another, brand-new individual.
He had even remembered the difference in their eye colors.
"What an idiot..."
Black Pardo bit her lip, her hands clenching and unclenching as her eyes grew moist.
This is against the rules. If he's like this, how can I possibly use my insecurity as an excuse to forcefully push him down?
What a waste of the 'decisive battle lingerie' I worked up the courage to buy.
The light in the room was turned off. A blanket was gently placed over Fu Li's shoulders.
Black Pardo, borrowing Pardo's body, closed the balcony door again and returned to her own room.
But she hadn't noticed at all that not far above, a drone was silently recording the entire scene from the air.
And as she left, the muzzle of the drone's tranquilizer gun slowly retracted.
Perhaps, on this night, both Black Pardo and Fu Li had, by a strange twist of fate, avoided a disaster.
In a certain dimly lit hotel room, two snakes watched the thieving cat depart, both wearing satisfied smiles.
And in the room next door, Aponia, who was leaning against the sofa, also slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the soundly sleeping Griseo and gently stroked her head.
The times were peaceful, yet someone was trying to steal a march. Was this a good thing? Of course not.
However, they didn't dislike the act of stealing a march. What they disliked was that the one doing it wasn't them.
---o---
The night passed without another word.
The next morning, everyone who woke up acted as if nothing had happened, greeting each other as usual.
Although they had only been on vacation for a day, their professions were special and concerned the safety of many people. Therefore, they planned to leave after one last breakfast.
As for the ingredients for breakfast, it was naturally the fresh fish from last night that hadn't been eaten, which they had asked the hotel staff to kindly keep for them.
In the middle of the snowfield, a bowl of delicious fish soup paired with the beautiful scenery was, of course, an incredibly pleasant experience.
However, as Fu Li drank his soup, he noticed that Pardo, sitting next to him, had a troubled expression on her face, even though she was also drinking her soup.
But since it was something on her mind, anyone with a bit of emotional intelligence wouldn't ask about it in front of everyone.
Therefore, it was only when they were preparing to board the helicopter back to headquarters that Fu Li finally asked with concern:
"Pardo? What's wrong?"
"Ah? N-nothing..."
Hearing Fu Li's question, Pardo jumped as if startled. Her tail began to swish back and forth much faster, betraying her anxiety.
Seeing her reaction, Fu Li subconsciously assumed that Pardo had probably gone "procuring goods" again in the middle of the night. He said helplessly:
"Oh, you... Go on, tell me. Did you go procuring goods again?"
"Ah, no, not that." Pardo shook her head, but thinking of the extra memories she had when she woke up still made her cheeks burn.
Although she really didn't want to bring this up with the person involved, since she was asked, she had no choice but to explain.
"It's just... Black Pardo woke up. I was thinking, should I let her come out and meet everyone?"
Pardo had originally thought that Fu Li would be concerned about the negative influence of a Herrscher consciousness, but to her surprise, he was completely nonchalant about it.
"Hm? She's awake? Then just let her out. Don't worry, as long as I'm here, no one will dare to say a single bad word."
(Author's Note: Tried melatonin for the first time to fix my sleep schedule, ended up falling asleep too early. Facepalm.)