Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  “Bedtime! Bedtime! I’m turning the lights off!”


  At 10 pm, when most people were enjoying their nightlife, Zhang Zian was putting the elfins to bed. To get up early every day, they had to sleep early as well. Otherwise, they were drowsy during the day, and couldn’t do anything properly.

  “Meow, meow, meow! Where’s my late night snack? Where are my roasted balls?” Snowy Lionet scratched at his pants and yelled non-stop.

  “There’s no late snack. Who’s eating a late snack anyways? Don’t you think you’re fat enough?” Zhang Zian refused, using a random reason. He couldn’t allow Snowy Lionet to develop a habit of eating roasted balls. Besides, how should he even roast them? Put two fresh eggs in a bowl, send them to Uncle and Aunt Li, and ask them to roast them? No way.

  “Hmph!” Snowy Lionet pouted unhappily. It noticed the phone in Zhang Zian’s hand and asked, “What are you looking for? What the heck is jockstrap underwear?”


  He was browsing an online shopping site on his phone, and was in the middle of the “jockstrap underwear” search results page. There were all sorts of underwear with reinforced crotches showing up on the page.

  Zhang Zian was unwilling to admit that it had traumatized him. He explained hesitantly, “Because my old underwear is worn out. I need new ones.”


  Snowy Lionet didn’t believe him at all, and carelessly asked, “Is that so? Answer me, are you a noble man or a hypocrite?”


  Zhang Zian was stunned and didn’t know why it was asking this. He thought about it and answered, “Of course I’m noble.

  “Then haven’t you heard of this expression: noble men expose their balls, while hypocrites hide their junk?” Snowy Lionet spoke with seriousness. “If you are noble, then you should show your balls.”


  Zhang Zian was nearly speechless. “Do you think I’m a self-exposing maniac? I’d be caught by the police!”


  “Stop the nonsense and go to bed. Are you always sleepy during the day time? Why are you so hyper at night?” He pulled at his pants, struggling to escape from Snowy Lionet’s claws.

  “I’m not sleepy!” Snowy Lionet was full of energy. “Oh right. How much did that guy pay you for surgery?”


  “A thousand,” replied Zhang Zian honestly. Gao Zhuo paid for the surgery generously, in order to thank him for the sterilization surgery coming out of nowhere.

  “Hm, he’s smart.” Snowy Lionet sucked on its lips and threatened him. “I made this money for My Majesty. Don’t you dare confiscate it, or I’ll castrate you!”


  “I’m not confiscating it,” said Zhang Zian without complete certainty. He knew now that Snowy Lionet was not joking. Maybe one day it would do it for real.

  Fina was just as energetic. The two cats had enough sleep during the day, and were always hyper at night. It walked around the room, going back and forth.

  “Quack! This is a good deal. Why didn’t you tell me and let me join the party?” Richard fluttered its wings and landed on Zhang Zian’s shoulder. “Don’t turn off the lights. I’m not in bed yet.”


  Like most parrots, Richard had night blindness, and couldn’t see anything when the lights were off. It would fly blindly and spread bird feathers in every corner.

  “I didn’t tell you for your own good. That serval is a famous bird hunter. Do you want to turn into cat crap?” He squinted at it. “Go to bed now. I’m turning the lights off.”


  “Quack! So lame!” Richard complained and flew to its bed. It went under the blanket and tossed its body around a few times to find a comfortable position.

  Old Time Tea watched TV all day and was sleepy. It yawned, took of its bamboo hat, and fell asleep on the blanket before everybody else. Soon, its breathing became smooth and even.

  Famous was energetic too. It had been sleeping during the day, and had a hard time falling asleep at night. It walked towards Zhang Zian and asked, “Any news about the movie lately?”


  Of course, it was referring to the move Dog Warrior.

  Ever since Zhang Zian told it that a lot of movies in China could not make it to the theater each year for all sorts of reasons, Famous had became very concerned with the post-filming production and censorship issues. To some extent, each year, the movies that could make it to the theatre with a successful box office was just a fraction of all the movies produced.

  According to news from Feng Xuan, Zhang Zian informed it that the post-filming production of the movie had been going well. As there were not many special effects, both the budget and the progress were ahead of schedule. He also received the latest news. To promote the movie before it was shown in Mainland, it would be sent to Europe to compete in a film festival. If it won an award in the European film festival, the movie would surely draw more attention.

  Feng Xuan also said that if it won an award at the festival, Zhang Zian would head to Europe for the award along with Famous.

  Of course, nobody could know if it would actually win. There were many competitors, and Chinese films were naturally disadvantaged due to the language. The future might be bright, but the road leading to it was surely difficult.

  After hearing the good news, Famous finally laid down in peace, closed its eyes, and looked forward to the day when the movie would finally arrived at the theater. Its name would be debuted to audiences all over the world.

  Galaxy, who had always been energetic during the day, yawned and laid in the crib as if it had not gotten enough sleep. It blinked and looked at the starry sky outside the window. The moon was big that night, which made the stars look less bright.

  “Meow! Good night, everyone,” it said.

  “Good night, Galaxy.”


  As Zhang Zian spoke, he walked towards the desk, and asked Pi, “Pi, are you going to sleep?”


  “Eek.”


  Pi gestured with its hands, then pointed at the word count in the Word file, suggesting that it had not finished the daily update for that day yet, and would sleep after it finished writing.

  Zhang Zian knew that due to the high number of new books, a minimum of 4000 words was needed each day in order to get the recommendation from the website. This was what the chief editor meant when it told Pi to keep updating. He didn’t say anything else, but asked, “Using the computer without any lights on is bad for the eyes. Should I keep a light on for you?”


  Pi shook its head and pointed at everybody else in bed, meaning that they couldn’t sleep well with the light on.

  Zhang Zian hesitated a little, then nodded. He reminded him, “Pi, go to bed as soon as you finish writing.”


  He didn’t close the curtains in order to get some light from the street lamps outside. He woke up each day before sunrise anyway, and it wouldn’t make much of a difference whether the curtains were closed or open.

  Pi grinned and typed, “Good night.”


  “Pi, good night to you too.” Zhang Zian smiled, then walked over to the light switch in the room. After confirming that everyone had laid down, he turned off the switch.

  The room was dark and quiet.

  After a short while, Zhang Zian suddenly sat up from bed and yelled, “Who’s poking me with their claws?”


  “Tut!”


  Snowy Lionet’s careless sound came from the darkness. “Why are you covering your crotch as you sleep?”