Chapter 36: Leopard Pillow Deluxe

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The hillside forest was dense, its broad green leaves flashing white in the summer light. Wind often stirred a rustling wave through the canopy, but now the air carried a louder, harsher commotion.

Lu Yao’s attention shifted toward the noise from the trees. He stepped into the courtyard and looked beyond the force-field barrier. Something massive was thrashing through the distant crowns, stirring them like an ocean tide. The pounding crashes and the heavy breath of a large animal drew closer. Though his sharp eyes couldn’t yet pierce the foliage, his heart already carried a suspicion. He relaxed his brow and set Torque gently down on the ground.

A heartbeat later, a blur of silver-white stormed through the courtyard gate. The snow leopard skidded sharply, claws scrabbling, a spray of dust and leaves flying in his wake. On the holoscreen at Lu Yao’s side, the surveillance page flickered, half-open, and the snow leopard’s pupils constricted sharply. With a thunder of paws, he bounded toward Lu Yao as if chased by fire. Light on his feet yet rumbling like a tank, he bore down on him.

Lu Yao crouched halfway, bracing himself, arms outstretched. He no longer feared this great beast might slip into a hunter’s frenzy. His obedient companion had always been gentle with him.

But the snow leopard’s eyes widened, and he skidded desperately to halt three meters away. Digging in with his paws, he tried to stop, unwilling to slam into Lu Yao as he had the first time they met. Yet the smooth metal floor of the courtyard offered no purchase. His hind legs tangled into his forelegs, his tail whipped wildly overhead, and he slid helplessly forward. With a heavy thump, the snow leopard toppled sideways—straight into Lu Yao’s arms.

The great, long body of fur and muscle bore him to the ground again, though this time Lu Yao had lowered his center of gravity and the fall was softer.

“Awuu… awooo…” The snow leopard gave a sheepish, guilty cry. Lu Yao cradled him, letting the beast stretch out at his side, head pillowed in the crook of his shoulder. Warm breath and the faintest scent surrounded him. His slender fingers slid through the snowy ruff of fur at the leopard’s throat. The big cat’s breathing rumbled like an engine.

“Good boy,” Lu Yao murmured. “Were you out playing today? Up in the hills? Did you get bored at home?” The snow leopard tried to drape a paw over his shoulder.

“I should prepare enrichment toys for you as well. Torque’s toys won’t do,” Lu Yao went on.

Lying back on the courtyard floor, he gazed upward. The sky had not yet fallen fully into night. Three pale moons of New Blue Star already floated faint in the deepening rose sky, where countless stars began to prick through. The Rose System lay in the Milky Way’s Southern Cross Arm, nearer to the galactic core than ancient Earth and its sun. More stars, brighter stars, surrounded this world. Centuries ago, when snow leopards roamed high plateaus and snowy mountains, what kind of crystal skies had they seen?

Lu Yao patted the great cat’s back and lowered his head. The snow leopard’s eyes, cool gray, weren’t fixed on the stars at all, but on the line of his throat. The intimacy startled him.

“You hungry? Come on, let’s eat.” He rose, and the snow leopard followed at his heels. Lu Yao opened a tube of specialized nutrient for him, then took out fresh meat and dropped it into a pot to cook. While the water boiled, he fetched a flat comb and plucked twigs and leaves from the leopard’s thick fur, straightening it back into smooth order.

While the snow leopard ate, Lu Yao refreshed Torque’s bowl with new kibble and water, then opened a can of meat for the kitten. Torque finished the kibble quickly but ignored the meat. Instead, he nosed the can across the floor until it bumped against the snow leopard’s dish.

“Meow~” Torque lifted his face and chirped sweetly at the great cat. 

Zhou Yunchen: …?

“Meow-meow~” Torque tapped the can again with his paw, pushing it firmly into the other dish with a crisp clink. Lu Yao arched his brow. The greedy little cat had never been known to share. Why today?

“Meooow—” Torque drew out his cry and rubbed insistently against the snow leopard’s foreleg.

Torque remembered Zhou Yunchen’s scent. Though the kitten’s small mind could not understand the link between this snow leopard and the human alpha, it knew both carried the same familiar smell—the one who had once provided shelter and food for him and Lu Yao.

Zhou Yunchen, seeing this gesture, remembered the days before the divorce, when the white kitten had rubbed against his uniform trousers just the same. He had ignored it then, and Lu Yao had stepped in coldly to carry the cat away. But not this time. Lu Yao didn’t intervene. Instead, he stroked the snow leopard’s cheek and slid the offered can closer. The smell of canned meat made Zhou Yunchen flinch. To feline senses it was mouthwatering, but to him—an alpha—it was far too strange.

“Awuu—” Lu Yao scooped a spoonful of meat and offered it to the leopard’s mouth. Reflexively, Zhou Yunchen opened wide and swallowed.

“You like that flavor?” Lu Yao asked. The snow leopard licked his lips. It wasn’t bad. In fact, it tasted better than he expected. But it was far too little—gone in a single bite. He licked the already-empty spoon again, and when Lu Yao noticed, he scooped out another chunk of meat to feed the snow leopard. Zhou Yunchen feared that Lu Yao might one day discover the snow leopard’s true identity. A rational man should have restrained himself from such intimate contact, for if that day ever came, the scene would become unbearably awkward.

But faced with Lu Yao’s hand personally offering him food, Zhou Yunchen nearly lost himself. He indulged in the moment, forgetting everything else. The snow leopard ate while Lu Yao fed him, and Torque sat nearby, washing his face with his paws.

After finishing the canned food and boiled fresh meat, the snow leopard trotted off to the bathroom to wash the dust from his body and the grease from his face. By the time he returned, Lu Yao had already finished his nutrient solution. He leaned against the edge of the sofa, a white cat curled on his lap purring softly while he opened a light screen to work. The FL03 model mecha had been fully assembled and was about to undergo a field test flight. It was time to begin considering his next project.

The cat mecha could be set aside for now. What he needed was to draft a preliminary design for the NTL model mecha, to submit to the Space Planning Department for review by the council, the military, and the government, so he could secure initial funding.

The snow leopard padded to Lu Yao’s feet and lay down across them, covering them with his belly. Lu Yao sat for a while, but the sofa, though soft, had back cushions that failed to support the natural curve of his waist. After sitting too long, his lower back began to ache.

His gaze suddenly drifted from the light screen. He stared for several seconds at the large white mass sprawled across his feet.

“Wu?” The snow leopard, lying on the floor, lifted his head to look back at him. Lu Yao stretched out an arm, reached through the suspended holographic screen, and seized the snow leopard’s front paws, dragging him up onto the sofa.

The snow leopard was confused and tried to stand, but Lu Yao pressed a firm hand to his shoulder and pinned him into the corner of the couch. Lu Yao stretched the leopard’s habitually curled-up body from head to tail, forcing him into a long line. He leaned back against him, the plush pale belly exposed outward like the backrest of a giant armchair.

“Don’t move,” Lu Yao ordered, his voice cold and sharp. The snow leopard froze. With his front paws lifted, he looked as though he were surrendering. A moment later, Lu Yao settled back, exhaling as his spine pressed into the soft warmth. The leopard’s body and fur molded perfectly to his back, supporting his spine and easing his fatigue. Warmth radiated through him, pleasant in the steady sixteen-degree temperature of the room.

Adjusting the leopard’s head and hind legs into position, Lu Yao created just the right angle to rest his elbows. The snow leopard purred deeply, tail flicking a few times, allowing himself to be arranged at will.

After a while, Lu Yao suddenly rose. The soft heat vanished in an instant, and the snow leopard gave a low, questioning growl.

Lu Yao said nothing. His eyes remained fixed on the design schematics glowing on the light screen, but he shifted his body, turning and lying down directly across the snow leopard’s back. He propped his chin on the leopard’s head, pulling the screen in front of them for easier viewing.

The snow leopard felt warmth spread across his entire body. He dared not move, not with Lu Yao’s throat pressed against the nape of his neck. Each breath, each trace of scent seemed to sink past his thick fur, seeping straight into his blood.

Zhou Yunchen had always believed Lu Yao to be a statue carved of ice and jade. Perhaps he allowed soft emotions only for his cats, but at least in his work, he was supposed to remain serious, cold, and unreachable.

But perhaps Zhou Yunchen was wrong. Lu Yao could whimsically design a mecha for Torque, and he could just as casually sprawl across him while modifying a mecha blueprint.

Then, without warning, a communication came through. Lu Yao straightened, answering with a voice as cold and detached as ever, as though all the warmth from moments before had been nothing more than Zhou Yunchen’s illusion.

“Chief Engineer Lu, hello. This is Kong Yu.”

The snow leopard’s ears flicked back at the sound of a woman’s voice over the comms—an omega, by the sound of her tone.

“Hello,” Lu Yao replied. “What can I do for you?”

Zhou Yunchen recalled the name. Kong Yu was the second wife of Li Qingshan, commander of the Azure Dragon Exploration Corps, and also… Li Yan’s mother. Had she come because of him?

“Professor Lu, my child Li Yan was out of line. I’m here to apologize on his behalf.”

Lu Yao thought for a moment, finally connecting the pieces. While pursuing his doctorate at the Federation Central University, he had once supervised Kong Yu’s academic project when she was still an undergraduate in the AI department. After graduation, she entered the Federation Exploration Corps, and they had not seen each other since, exchanging only occasional technical correspondence.

She had once told him she had married Commander Li of the Azure Dragon Corps and had a son named Li Yan. Yet in his memory, she remained a young woman barely past twenty—so young she seemed even younger than her own son.

“There’s no need to apologize. He didn’t do anything,” Lu Yao said, pausing briefly. “He just… talks a lot.”

“I’m truly sorry, Professor Lu,” Kong Yu insisted. “I’m currently outside the Rose system, and I only learned today—while speaking with him—that his recent documentary partner was you.”

Li Yan had sighed to his mother about General Li’s unusual demands, but Kong Yu dared not repeat any of that to Lu Yao. She merely referred to him as a ‘work partner,’ even warning Li Yan to behave himself. Not everyone could approach the high, untouchable peak of ice and moonlight.

“This child has always been like this,” she continued. “I’ll remind him to be more careful with his words… He had an older brother, Li Mo. Silent, outstanding in his studies, he once attended Morningstar Military Academy. But he died young in an exercise. That loss changed his father, who decided to raise Li Yan differently, hoping he could live more freely and not feel forced into the military.” General Li could not endure losing a second son.

“That’s why Li Yan chose the entertainment industry for himself. It wasn’t the path Qingshan had envisioned, but we had no choice but to support him and hope he could find success.”

“He’s still young. In time, he will accomplish something,” Lu Yao replied briefly. “But for now, what is it you expect him to achieve with me?”

Kong Yu fell silent. After a long pause, she gave a bitter laugh. “Professor Lu, you’re as perceptive as ever.”

She had known him for many years. She understood that Lu Yao disliked idle chatter, nor would he offer comfort or emotional guidance. Cold and pragmatic, he was the perfect partner in collaboration. But that also meant that favors and connections rarely carried weight with him.

Author’s Note:
After considering feedback, I’ve decided to follow the original outline for the main story. There will be no pregnancy plotline. As for extras—well, we’ll see. 

{Rest of Author’s note redacted as it contains spoilers}

 

 

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