When Qiao Yan handed the cat over, his fingers lingered, reluctantly stroking Pipi’s furry little head.
The kitten curled up in Jiang Cai’s arms, its round little body twisting. Seemingly sensing that it was leaving someone familiar, it let out a soft, milky meow.
“Don’t worry. Although my brother is a workaholic, he’s actually quite caring,” Jiang Cai adjusted her posture holding the cat and freed up a hand to pat Qiao Yan’s shoulder. “Don’t be sad.”
Qiao Yan twitched the corner of his mouth but didn’t reply.
Although he had never met Jiang Cai’s brother, judging by the way Jiang Cai casually carried designer bags, her family’s financial situation was definitely not lacking. Entrusting the kitten to her brother meant it at least wouldn’t go hungry.
He had watched Pipi grow from the size of a palm into its current chubby, round state. Every time he went to the sports field to feed the cats, Pipi was always the first to trot over and rub its head against his pant legs.
Now, he couldn’t even keep a cat.
“Remember,” Qiao Yan spoke, his voice a bit raspy. “Remember not to feed it too much. Its stomach is sensitive. Also, it likes being scratched under the chin, and it doesn’t like being held for too long…”
“I know, I know. I’ll ask my brother to take it to get its vaccines tomorrow,” Jiang Cai interrupted with a smile. “Why do you sound like a mother marrying off her daughter? It’s not like you’ll never see it again.”
Qiao Yan forced a smile. He watched Jiang Cai turn and leave with the cat. Pipi poked its head over her shoulder and meowed at him once more.
Qiao Yan stood in place until both person and cat disappeared around the corner.
The freezing winter wind swept past, howling through his hollow sweatshirt. Shivering from the cold, Qiao Yan tucked his neck into his collar, shoved his hands into his pockets, and dragged his feet back toward the dormitory.
The road back to the dorm felt exceptionally long. Qiao Yan’s mind was a chaotic mess—one moment it was the soft texture of Pipi’s fur, the next it was Qiao Yunguang’s smug face as he clung to He Yanzhou.
He kicked a pebble by the side of the road and cursed under his breath: “Fuck.”
Why?
Why did everyone else have a home to return to, while he didn’t even have a home anymore?
His phone vibrated in his pocket.
Qiao Yan ignored it.
He wasn’t in the mood to check messages right now; it was probably just another useless notification from some group chat.
It vibrated again.
Wait, that’s not right.
That sounded like the Alipay notification tone.
Qiao Yan fished his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it, and swiped open the screen—
A notification popped up at the very top: [Alipay] Received: 10,000 RMB.
Qiao Yan blinked, wondering if the freezing cold had caused him to hallucinate.
He stopped walking, brought the screen closer to his eyes, and counted the zeros one by one.
Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands… It really was ten thousand.
The transfer note contained only two characters: Allowance.
The sender was an unfamiliar account, but the moment Qiao Yan saw the previous 5,000 RMB transfer record above it, he instantly realized who it was.
Staring at the numbers on the screen, Qiao Yan’s eyes finally lit up a bit, and the corners of his mouth curled upward uncontrollably. As he walked, he repeatedly counted the zeros. By the third count, he nearly crashed straight into a lamppost.
Qiao Yan grinned. “Guess you have a bit of a conscience after all.”
Little Tao Bites Real Hard: Thank you, Daddy!!!! (Kitty throwing confetti and spinning around.gif)Little Tao Bites Real Hard: How did Daddy know Little Taotao was running out of money? Do we have telepathy?! (Cat with starry eyes.jpg)
After sending the message, Qiao Yan stuffed his phone back into his pocket, his steps finally turning much lighter.
Ten thousand yuan! That was enough to sustain him for quite a while. Although the old guy had a sharp tongue, he was truly generous when it came to giving money.
Back in the dorm, the heating hadn’t fully kicked in yet, leaving the room chilly. Qiao Yan turned on the air conditioner, pulled a thick wool blanket from the closet to wrap himself up like a silkworm cocoon, huddled in his chair, and opened a food delivery app.
Braised pork ribs, boiled fish, milk tea… Just as he was happily selecting items, his phone vibrated again.
Yan: A reward for passing your exam.
Qiao Yan pouted. What reward? This is clearly a tip after looking at the kitty costume. The old man is quite adept at finding excuses for himself, pretending to be a proper gentleman.
“Hypocrite,” he muttered at the phone screen. “Flirting with girls and giving out money online, while protecting that little green tea bitch in real life.”
Tsk! Double-standard dog.
Yet, his fingers were incredibly honest as he typed out a reply.
Little Tao Bites Real Hard: Daddy is the best! Little Taotao will definitely keep working hard to be Daddy’s most obedient kitty (Kitty nuzzling.jpg)
After sending that sentence, Qiao Yan shuddered. It was too cringey; it gave him full-body goosebumps.
But for the sake of the money, cringey was fine. Anyway, separated by the internet, no one knew who was who. He was frantically raking in cash on this end, while He Yanzhou thought he was smoothly flirting with a girl on the other end. It was perfect—to each their own.
Once he drained most of the old man’s money, he would immediately pack up and vanish. When the old man found out that Little Taotao actually packed a rod bigger than his, his world would definitely collapse, and he’d spend his life questioning reality in front of an empty account.
Hehehe, just thinking about it feels amazing.
The winter break officially commenced, and the dormitory building emptied out by half in an instant. Qiao Yan spent his days sleeping and playing video games, and occasionally engaged in some suggestive banter with He Yanzhou at night, living quite a comfortable life.
The only issue was that his money was draining a bit too quickly.
Although He Yanzhou remained quite generous with his funds, Qiao Yan was too used to spending lavishly. The moment he saw money, he couldn’t stop himself, and the ten thousand yuan soon neared its end.
“This won’t do,” Qiao Yan woke up to reality one day while eating a French buffet, glancing at his account balance. “I’m burning through my savings without earning anything.”
He opened a part-time job group chat and scrolled through it, quickly locking onto a hiring notice: Pet clinic receptionist, daily pay, requires a love for small animals and patience.
Qiao Yan’s eyes lit up.
This is right up my alley!
The interview went absurdly smoothly.
The director was an amiable middle-aged woman. The moment she set eyes on Qiao Yan, she said with a beaming smile, “This young man looks so spirited.” After asking a few basic questions, she finalized the decision on the spot.
The job description was simple: greeting clients, registering information, answering phone calls, and occasionally helping soothe anxious pets.
The very next day, Qiao Yan started his shift.
The pet clinic was located near Ningcheng University. The storefront wasn’t large, but it was clean and cozy. Qiao Yan changed into a light blue work apron and sat behind the front desk, quickly settling into the rhythm.
The customer flow was light in the morning, so Qiao Yan took the opportunity to slack off and scroll through his phone.
There was no activity from Yan on Moyu, presumably because he was busy. Qiao Yan opened WeChat instead and saw that Jiang Cai had sent him a photo three hours ago—Pipi was curled up in a cat bed that looked wildly expensive, sleeping spread-eagled.
Cai Cai Cai: My brother said it really eats too much.QY: Being able to eat is a blessing~
Qiao Yan smiled to himself as he replied to Jiang Cai. Just as he was about to send another meme, the door chime rang.
The door was pushed open with immense brute force, slamming against the wall with a dull thud.
Qiao Yan frowned and looked up, spotting a young man in his early twenties wearing a riveted leather jacket with his hair dyed golden blonde strutting inside. His features could barely pass as handsome, but the arrogant, domineering aura between his brows completely ruined his vibe. He carried a silver pet carrier in his hand, which swung erratically along with his improper gait.
“Seeing a doctor.”
The man slammed the pet carrier onto the floor, making a loud thump.
Qiao Yan tried his best to restrain his tone. “Please be gentler, you’ll startle the pet.”
The man sneered, seemingly not caring in the slightest.
He leaned against the counter sloppily, his gaze sweeping across Qiao Yan’s face. “Have I seen you somewhere before?”
Qiao Yan didn’t take up the conversation, though he had recognized the other party long ago.
Cen Zihao—the youngest son of the Cen family, and one of Qiao Yunguang’s number-one sycophants. He had run into him a few times at the Qiao family banquets before, and every single time, this guy looked at him with an unsettling gaze.
“May I ask what’s wrong with the pet?”
“Vomiting,” Cen Zihao glanced at his watch. “Hurry up, I’m in a rush.”
Qiao Yan glanced at the pet carrier.
Through the grates of the carrier, a Ragdoll cat of exceptional quality could be seen curled up inside. Its fur was snow-white, but its spirit was incredibly withered, its eyes half-closed.
There were traces of dried vomit at the bottom of the box.
Qiao Yan pulled out a registration form. “Vomiting frequency? When did it start?”
“How should I know?” Cen Zihao’s tone grew even worse. “My sister insisted on raising this piece of crap and dumped it on me to take care of. It’s annoying as hell. Can’t you just call the vet directly?”
Qiao Yan’s good mood for the day was thoroughly ruined by the man’s deliberately antagonistic attitude. Gripping the tip of his pen tightly, he said, “This is the rule. Registration must be done first.”
Cen Zihao stared at him for a few seconds before suddenly bursting into laughter. “Qiao Yan, right? The… fake young master of the Qiao family?”
Qiao Yan’s hand paused.
Cen Zihao: “It really is you? What, after getting kicked out of the house, you’ve degenerated to working at a pet shop? Tsk tsk tsk, how pathetic.”
Qiao Yan clenched his back teeth tightly, forcing himself not to lose his temper. He pushed the form forward, his tone unfriendly: “Fill out the form.”
Cen Zihao didn’t even look at the form. Instead, he leaned closer, lowering his voice. “Hey, let me ask, does Qiao Yunguang know you’re here? He’d probably be quite delighted to see you in such a wretched state. After all, your current state perfectly matches your mistress-mother’s status.”
The moment the words “mistress-mother” left Cen Zihao’s mouth, Qiao Yan’s mind went buzzz, as if a string inside him had snapped.
“What did you just say?” Qiao Yan pressed forward step by step toward Cen Zihao, his voice trembling.
Startled by his reaction, Cen Zihao instinctively took half a step back. Feeling humiliated by his own retreat, he stepped right back up. “Did I say something wrong? Who in the entire Ningcheng doesn’t know about your mother’s scandalous affairs? A mistress climbing her way up, and the son she birthed turned out to be a fake!”
“I’ll fuck your ancestors!”
Qiao Yan grabbed the unused registration forms beside him and slammed them straight at Cen Zihao’s face.
The sheets of paper scattered with a loud rustle, plastering all over Cen Zihao’s face. He let out a yelp, frantically swatting the papers away, his face twisting with rage.
“Qiao Yan! Are you crazy!?”
“If I’m crazy, it’s because you drove me to it!” Qiao Yan’s eyes were bloodshot, his chest heaving violently. “What kind of thing are you? A useless piece of garbage who relies on his parents to eat and wait around to die, and you think you’re worthy of mentioning my mother?!”
His voice was crisp and ringing, carrying the reckless, unbridled fury unique to youth. The entire front lobby of the pet clinic fell dead silent. Several waiting clients widened their eyes, and a nurse poked her head out from a consultation room, her mouth agape, not daring to utter a word.
Qiao Yan lunged forward a couple of steps, reaching out to grab Cen Zihao’s collar. “Today, I’ll teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents—”
Halfway through his reach, the Ragdoll cat inside the pet carrier suddenly let out a faint, painful whimper.
The sound was incredibly thin and light, yet it pierced straight into Qiao Yan’s ears.
His movements froze.
His hand was only a few centimeters away from Cen Zihao’s collar. Qiao Yan abruptly squatted down and ripped open the door of the pet carrier.
Inside the box, the beautiful Ragdoll cat was curled into a ball, its eyes half-closed and its breathing rapid. Following that whimper just now, it didn’t even have the strength left to cry.
The fire in Qiao Yan’s brain instantly cooled by half.
Qiao Yan glared at Cen Zihao. “What on earth did you feed it?”
Startled by the sudden interrogation, Cen Zihao blanked for a moment. “None of your damn business.”
“Can’t you see it’s about to die?!” Qiao Yan’s voice raised again. At this point, he couldn’t care less about registration and had a nurse take the cat inside immediately.
Cen Zihao stood in place, his face flushing red and turning pale in turns. Finally, he fiercely kicked the pet carrier on the floor.
The carrier clattered and rolled a long distance away.
Right at that moment, the door to the pet clinic was pushed open.
The wind chime tinkled.
He Yanzhou intended to walk straight inside, only to have his path blocked by a large, stray pet carrier.
Qiao Yan stared open-mouthed at He Yanzhou because nestled in He Yanzhou’s arms was a familiar, round, large orange cat.
——It was none other than Pipi, who had just been gifted to Jiang Cai’s brother not long ago.