Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

She took the apple on the floor first, and deftly picked the little black cat up. She could not believe that she had managed such a thing. Her longstanding impression of cats was that they seemed to be particularly hard to get close to. This was especially true when they were meeting strangers for the first time, such as the first encounter between this cat and herself...

However, this little black cat seemed to be very... human. It graciously allowed itself to be scooped up into her arms, and was willing to be gently touched. It was even looking at her with those beautiful cat eyes, as if it was looking up at its own mother.

At this moment, Wang Hua had to admit that her heart had turned into a pile of mush. She truly believed that the little cutie in her arms was a lot more adorable than her Little Sloth daughter Zhao Youyue!

How many parents out there threw their children out, the moment they got themselves a pet? There were, in fact, many people like this. It was not like these parents no longer loved their children, but their children were were the ones all grown up and independent. They would have developed their individual opinions and mindset. Sometimes, they would not be as obedient as pets...’human’ pets, that is.

Of course, as the bond between pet and owner grew, the pet would pick up more and more human traits. Obviously, Wang Hua was not a patient person. The only type of pets that she could accept were those that were already human-like, to begin with.

Clearly, this was a steep hurdle for pets to overcome. Ultimately, pets were not humans. They had no sentience, no intelligence. How could they possibly be affectionate towards human beings from the start?

However, this little black cat who had been endowed with a portion of Zhao Youyue was as human as humans went, and it behaved very much like Zhao Youyue’s.

Of course, deep down in her heart, Zhao Youyue loved her mother very much. The problem lay with Wang Hua, who was a tsundere. She expressed nothing but disgust for her own daughter and teased her incessantly. It was probably how she expressed love for her daughter...

Wang Hua was like a child who could not grow up. She was just like those “Loli Mom” characters who often appeared in mangas, even if such mothers only appeared in mangas and novels.

Wang Hua had lived a sheltered, pampered life. Since birth, she had been treated like a princess. She did not have to worry about anything, and got everything she wanted. Later on in life, she got married to Zhao Jiayi, who absolutely doted on her. Hence, she retained her teenaged mindset and method of doing things. Did she think that she could retain her youth for all eternity if she acted that way?

It was true. Wang Hua was nothing but young. Whenever she was with Zhao Youyue, they were just like sisters. Um, Zhao Youyue was the elder sister, and she was the younger one...

At that moment, Wang Hua had the little kitten in her arms. She went straight into her Little Sloth’s room, where she found her lazily lying on her back. She was not sure if it was an illusion, but she felt that her daughter had suddenly turned into a huge cat.

“Meow?” When Youyue Meow saw Wang Hua come into her room, she subconsciously meowed. The meow was absolutely natural, and showed no signs of it being an deliberate act.

Wang Hua was mildly surprised. She clearly heard her Little Sloth daughter Zhao Youyue say “meow.” She did not think too much about it, as she thought that her daughter was just messing with her. She was up to another one of her odd roleplays. “Little Sloth, are you trying to imitate a cat? Do you want me to bring a kitty maid costume for you to wear?”

Wang Hua expected her Little Sloth to refuse it furiously. Her daughter was into the ACG otaku culture, but she never seemed to like it in particular. Moreover, she would never cosplay. Wang Hua loved dolling her daughter up, and found this to be absolutely regrettable. Let’s not even talk about how her daughter suddenly went crazy and chopped away her long hair, that long hair which had been an object of Wang Hua’s admiration and was so jealous of. That had left her immensely frustrated!

Our bodies — down to every follicle and epidermis — are bestowed upon us by our parents.[1] Wang Hua had already insisted that Zhao Youyue must keep her hair long. Only the long-haired Zhao Youyue was extremely dazzling and gloriously! Wang Hua truly loved to feast her eyes upon the goddess-styled Zhao Youyue...

Although Wang Hua was a university professor and a classic literature author, she was actually a senior member and audience of Bilibili. Furthermore, when she was young, she had also dabbled with doujinshi mangas. That past self of her was rather similar to a character named “Eriri[2].” Therefore, she was quite familiar with the otaku culture, but she never showed it in school. In school, she was just a “genius female elite scholar.”

“I’m not imitating a cat meow, I am a cat meow. As for the kitty maid costume, I can give it a try meow...” The rationality within Youyue Meow seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Now, she was filled with curiosity about everything. She was just like a newborn baby.

Wang Hua had been prepared to be rejected. After all, her daughter was recently becoming prouder, and more full of herself. She also seemed especially fashionable now. Her choice of attire was a lot more ladylike and exquisite. Zhao Youyue did dress excellently, and Wang Hua had to admit that her daughter’s fashion taste had already surpassed hers. Would such a mature daughter possibly agree to wear a kitty maid costume?

What did she just hear?

Her daughter actually agreed to it!

Still, when did her daughter get so good at acting cute? Now, her daughter was even talking with a “meow.” Was she trying to get on the good side of her otaku mother?

Her Little Sloth daughter was really fun to play with. She even knew how to entertain the bizarre ideas of her pathetic mother. Not bad at all!

Strangely, the little black cat in Wang Hua’s arms seemed a little ashamed. She knew that as long as she stopped using the “Hua Xiaomao” character card, Youyue Meow would revert to regular Zhao Youyue, and then her mother’s weird request would be strictly rejected. However, now, be it Zhao Xiaohei or Youyue Meow, they both sensed the joy radiating off Wang Hua. The Zhao Youyue that loved her mother so much could not bear to turn the “Hua Xiaomao” card off. Thus, she allowed her mother to do whatever she wanted.

Nobody knew how Wang Hua produced a kitty maid costume or where she got it from, but it was a perfect fit for Zhao Youyue’s body. There were also two pure white knee highs, ready to be worn by Zhao Youyue.

Of course, Youyue Meow did not know how to put on clothes. All she did was “meow and meow and meow” as Wang Hua helped her...

Wang Hua was so happy she drooled sheepishly!

A grown-up daughter was supposed to have self-respect and dignity. How could a mother still help her daughter put on some clothes in some weird roleplay?

However, her daughter was so cooperative at the moment. Although she was unhappily nagging about her “Little Sloth” out of habit, her actions were firm and decisive...

In the house, the heater was at full blast. It may be winter, but the inside of the house was as warm as it could be. Zhao Youyue was in casual attire. Wang Hua almost threw herself upon her daughter. One by one, she unbuttoned the buttons of her daughter’s top. Lady Zhao’s rosy skin was exposed in the open and, of course, her white lace bra was soon revealed. Such purity...

Then, Wang Hua skillfully took off her own daughter’s trousers. She never approved of Zhao Youyue in trousers. If only she wore a skirt more often. Zhao Youyue had a pair of perfectly slender legs, unlike her. Her legs were rather short, which was a source of her frustration.

If only this scene was being presented in an anime, there would surely be bullet curtains such as this —- —-

Good job cameraman, adding some chicken thighs for you! [3]

Translation note :

[1] Our bodies — to every hair and bit of skin — are received by us from our parents. (身体发肤,受之父母). Here, the author only inserts half of the full proverb into the story. The continuation of it is “不敢毁伤,孝之始也,” which translates into “We must not presume to injure or wound them, this is the beginning of filial piety.” The meaning of the whole proverb is that we should not injure or harm any part of our body, and if we do so, that is a form of disrespect to our parents, as they are the ones that have bestowed us with the gift of life.

[2] “Eriri” (full: Sawamura Spencer Eriri), is a character from “Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend,” also known in the short form “Saekano,” a Japanese light novel series by Fumiaki Maruto, with illustrations by Kurehito Misaki.

[3] “Adding chicken thighs” is a Chinese internet slang (加鸡腿) used the same way as “666”, to express that something is good or that someone has done a good job. However, this internet slang is usually used specifically in cases where there are fanservice scenes, and the body of the character has not been censored or covered up. On the other hand, if the body of the character has been covered up, then netizens will say “摄像师这是你的工钱,明天不用来了” instead, which means “here cameraman, this is your pay. After today, you don’t have to come to work anymore.”