My wife is a witch princess

Chapter 42 Xia Li and Zhang Hanyu will sit at the same table from now on.

The alley was bathed in the darkness of night, and the streetlights cast a warm yellow glow.

Song Che released his grip and rushed forward to push open the creaking iron door of the apartment building. Xia Li followed behind him, her new light purple scarf wrapped slightly crookedly around her neck.

"Meow--"

A long, drawn-out meow came from a cold spot in front of the two of them.

A dark creature, a whole size larger than an ordinary stray cat, was crouching in the middle of the road. Its green eyes were fixed on Song Che.

Its mouth was turned up, revealing its sharp teeth, as if it were smiling.

Above his head was the sign: "Gold Coin Thief"

Song Che immediately pulled Xia Li back, and picked up a brick as he did so. This vixen... she's here to steal my gold coins!

The black cat had a variety of facial expressions. It approached step by step with its paw pads, and a few low growls came from its throat.

Song Che gripped the brick tightly, ready to turn around and kill it.

You can steal anything, except gold coins.

The black cat licked its tongue, its hind leg muscles tensed... Just then, it stopped, and a piercing sound came from the glass upstairs. A white object crashed to the ground, like a demon descending from the heavens, truly a god of war on earth!

Bruce rolled around on the snow a few times to steady himself, feeling a little dizzy. He turned his head and saw Song Che, and habitually grinned, letting out a soft groan.

Song Che looked at it and subconsciously pointed behind it.

Bruce turned around awkwardly, let out a muffled growl, and began to bare his teeth.

"Woof woof!"

The black cat's raised paw froze in mid-air, its head tilted slightly, and a clear look of surprise flashed in its green eyes.

Then, with a wary look in his eyes, he began to back away.

Bruce pressed closer, the "warding off evil" sign on his head almost glowing.

With a swift movement, it bit the black cat. Despite the size difference, Bruce truly acted like a dog when it came to protecting its owner.

The commotion came suddenly and went quickly.

Two cats tumbled and crashed into the bicycle area, their meows and barks echoing through the alley. After darkness and chaos, Bruce emerged from his bicycle, chest puffed out, bruised but looking like a victorious general.

The tabby cat under the moonlight is not lazy, but noble. Its fur flutters in the wind, as if it is not a cat.

Song Che picked up Bruce to check his injuries and found that only his paw had been bitten. Bruce was covered in blood, not a drop of which was his own. Song Che suddenly said in a low voice, "Well done, Bruce."

Bruce went limp as soon as he was in his arms, nuzzling his head against his palm.

Song Che suddenly realized that he had so much: the dazed Xia Li, the protective Bruce, his loving parents, and three good friends.

The black cat looked fierce, but it turned out to be all show and no substance. Bruce chased it away with a frenzied attack.

Song Che breathed a sigh of relief, but another thought weighed heavily on his mind: there really are monsters in this place.

Bruce returned to its lazy demeanor, snuggling affectionately in Song Che's arms; it needed a bath.

Song Che turned to look at Xia Li. Her face was streaked with black and white smears, and her silver hair was frizzy from the earlier fuss, with a few strands clinging to her sweaty forehead. Her scarf was askew, and her clothes were dusty and grimy, making her look exactly like a little homeless person.

Xia Li should take a shower too.

"Does your leg still hurt?" He carried the cat upstairs.

Xia Li touched her calf: "It doesn't hurt."

"That's good. You should all shower tonight; wash your hair before the injury is fully healed. You know how to shower by yourself, right?"

"……meeting."

Song Che sensed the hesitation in his voice: "What do you mean, 'know'? You can't learn just by listening. I'll teach you."

He came in, put Bruce on the bathroom floor, paused, and opened his phone to search for cat bathing tutorials. He had never owned a pet before, but Bruce looked like a stray cat, very resilient. He figured he could just wash him... he probably wouldn't die from it.

Song Che got up to test the water temperature and said casually:

"You need to change your clothes after taking a bath, and your little clothes too. I wish I had bought an extra one last time. When you take a bath later, take off your hoodie and put mine on."

With the water temperature just right, he continued watching the video.

The video begins with a cat hissing at water, then being lightly tapped on the head by its owner, which calms it down. The video then demonstrates adjusting the water temperature, wetting the cat, applying pet shampoo, rinsing, and drying it. The cat tries to hiss again, gets tapped again, and finally resigns itself to its fate.

It seems all cats behave this way.

Song Che decided to wash off the bloodstains briefly first, and let Bruce lick the rest clean himself, since only one person in the house used toiletries.

Washing a cat is not much different from washing a person. Song Che turned on the water heater, adjusted the water pressure, and Bruce obediently stayed in the basin, not panting or baring his teeth, and was almost asleep.

Song Che scooped water with his hands to wet its back, squeezed some of his own shower gel, lathered it up, and massaged its back and neck.

"Just like that, rub and knead, especially the areas that get dirty easily. It feels so good to be clean."

He turned Bruce over, letting him lie on his back in the crook of his arms, and began to wash his belly. Bruce lay flat on his soft abdomen, completely unsuspecting, letting him massage it.

Xia Li stood at the bathroom door watching.

At first, she studied diligently, but as she watched, her body unconsciously tensed up. Especially when Song Che's hand rubbed the cat's belly and then pinched its pink paw pads, she turned around and rummaged for something.

Song Che didn't pay attention and focused on rinsing Bruce. Just as he wrapped the cat in a towel, he heard footsteps behind him.

Turning around, Xia Li was back, clutching a toothbrush tightly in her hand. Her face was expressionless, but the tips of her ears were bright red. She raised the toothbrush and tapped Song Che's head with the handle: "You...you're being indecent!"

Song Che was taken aback: "I'm giving the cat a bath, what's wrong with that?!"

"You...you touched me like that..." Xia Li couldn't finish her sentence. She was still holding the toothbrush, but she didn't dare look at him, her gaze drifting to the wall beside her. "Anyway, no way!"

"Your Highness, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll really lose my temper!"

Xia Li raised the toothbrush higher, her eyes darting away, but her tone was firm: "...I want to wash it myself!"

"I told you to wash it yourself!" Song Che realized, both amused and exasperated. "Did you think I was going to help you wash it? Or wash it together?!"

"...Oh." Xia Li's hand, which was holding a toothbrush, froze. "I'll wash it myself later. I'll go wash the dishes first."

"The dishes were washed a long time ago! Hey! Did you see that?" Song Che shouted at her back.

The answer was a loud slam of the door shut.

Song Che shook his head and wiped Bruce's fur as he hummed: "Bruce doesn't even breathe, but you're the first to start breathing."

Xia Li closed the door and buried her face in the pillow.

After lying down for a while, she got up to tidy up her clothes. Before watching the movie, she had put away her little clothes on the bed, and now that she needed them, she wanted to change back into the original ones.

Xia Li looked around and found her own, then suddenly realized that she had also taken Song Che's as well.

The styles were completely different. She hesitated for a moment, then hooked her finger up, unfolded it, and leaned closer to the window to examine it closely. The fabric, the shape, the structure... she gently traced the differences with her finger, trying to understand the reason and purpose of the design.

After looking at it for a while, I came to a conclusion.

...A lot of unnecessary design.

dong dong.

The knocking startled her so much that she almost dropped her things.

"Xia Li, are you ready? Here's your hoodie." Song Che's voice came through the door.

"Not ready yet!"

"Take your time, I'm going to wash up first."

Hearing Song Che's footsteps fade into the distance, and hearing the bathroom door close and water running, Xia Li breathed a sigh of relief. She clutched Song Che's little shirt in her hand, unsure of what to do.

Return it? What should I say if Song Che asks? Say I took the wrong one? Or…?

Just then, Song Che called from outside the door again, "Xia Li, did you see the clothes I hung out to dry on the balcony? What happened to them?"

Xia Li's heart skipped a beat, but she steadied her voice: "I didn't see it. I only took mine."

"Alright... there are bath towels and hoodies on the small sofa, remember to take them." Song Che's voice was puzzled.

Hearing the water stop, Xia Li assumed Song Che had finished wiping. Without hesitation, she grabbed the small garment, along with a bath towel and a large oversized hoodie prepared on the sofa. She tiptoed and gently opened the door, intending to quickly cross the living room and throw the garment back into Song Che's room—pretending it was already there.

She had just reached the bathroom door.

Click—

The door opened.

A refreshing wave of warm air washed over her. Song Che walked out, drying his hair, wearing a simple towel draped over his upper body and loose loungewear. Water droplets rolled down his shoulders and chest.

His gaze met Xia Li's, who was frozen in place, her arms full of things.

Time seemed to stand still.

Xia Li suddenly took half a step back, and the bath towel and sweatshirt in her arms fell to the ground.

The only thing she clutched tightly in her hand was the undergarment that belonged to Song Che. Enveloped in the warm, humid air emanating from the bathroom, her silver hair was slightly damp, a few strands clinging to her cheeks and neck, her chest rising and falling slightly with each breath.

Song Che's gaze moved from her panicked eyes to her feigned composure, slid down her neck, paused for a moment on her heaving chest, and finally landed on her tightly clenched hand that held onto fate.

He raised an eyebrow and slowly shifted his gaze back to Xia Li's face, which was practically steaming.

"Your Highness, you're holding my...this...you're planning to do something strange, aren't you? You didn't smell it, did you?"

"Absolutely not!" Xia Li shoved the clothes into Song Che's arms, bent down to pick up the fallen towel and sweatshirt, turned around and quickly hid in the bathroom, saying, "Don't peek."

Song Che was amused by her embarrassed expression. "I bet you studied it carefully..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xia Li came out of the bathroom with a cold face, tapped Song Che's toothbrush, and then returned to the bathroom like a machine.

...She's angry, huh? No wonder. From now on, you and Zhang Hanyu will sit at the same table when you eat.