In the end, Xia Lening did not get a wheelchair installed on him. Instead, he was carefully carried away by Gu Yucheng.
The Cat Young Master was picky even while being carried, pointing around as he spoke.
“Don’t press on me, surname Gu.”
Gu Yucheng replied in a low, humbled tone, “Pai Pai, are you an emperor?”
“Talk back again and I’ll execute you.”
Gu Yucheng had already been sentenced to death, but his mouth didn’t stop either—trying to annoy the emperor before execution.
“Why don’t you want the wheelchair? Does it not match your royal bloodline?”
“You’re so annoying, Gu Yucheng.”
Gu Yucheng took out a soft cushion, placed it on the passenger seat, and gently set Xia Lening down. He then placed a plush toy into his paw.
“Hold on, don’t fall.”
Xia Lening instinctively grabbed it and turned his head—realizing it was a seatbelt shoulder cushion shaped like a long-limbed Mickey Mouse.
The fluffy little cat sat inside the cushion, confused, holding onto Mickey’s hand. He looked up at Gu Yucheng, tail swaying behind him.
Gu Yucheng couldn’t help but curl his lips slightly.
“What are you laughing at!”
“You’re cute.”
“……”
It felt like lightning had struck him. Xia Lening’s expression changed repeatedly, like he had swallowed something disgusting.
Gu Yucheng drove steadily and slowly, eventually arriving at the scene.
Because of public pressure, several police officers were already there. After entering, Gu Yucheng greeted them.
“Lawyer Gu is here!”
Gu Yucheng smiled faintly. “Mm. Thank you for your hard work.”
From the side, Xia Lening added in a mocking tone, “Mm~ thank you for your hard work~”
Gu Yucheng: “……”
This troublesome cat—what was he doing now?
Gu Yucheng took out tissues and wiped a section of the table until it gleamed, then carefully placed Xia Lening on it.
“I need to take some photos. Stay here and don’t run around.”
Xia Lening rolled his eyes so hard they nearly reached the sky. With his condition, he couldn’t run even if he wanted to.
The Cat Young Master sat in a carefree, unruly posture. Even passing officers couldn’t help but say, “So cool!”
But Gu Yucheng knew the truth: this was the only “cool pose” a cat with injured legs could manage. His front legs were probably already going numb.
“Want to change position?” Gu Yucheng asked.
“No.”
Fine. Let your cat legs go numb then.
Gu Yucheng turned his attention away temporarily, focusing on finding evidence to send the perpetrator to prison.
When he recalled following Xia Lening’s tracker and arriving at a house surrounded by sick and injured cats, he felt as though he had fallen into an ice cave. A cold sharpness flashed in his eyes.
Seeing the little cat curled in the corner with blood at the mouth made his heart feel like it had been split in two.
He could not accept losing Xia Lening again.
He absolutely could not.
If it happened again, he would die.
Xia Lening must never leave him again. Even if he found a way to turn back into a human, he would not tell him. He would make him rely on him forever.
Dark, twisted, filthy thoughts he could not control.
“Gu Yucheng! Gu Yucheng! Save meeeee!”
A bright voice pulled him back to reality.
Gu Yucheng rushed back to the table and saw Xia Lening confronting a mouse.
The cat was baring his teeth and claws, trying to look fierce—but the mouse was not scared at all.
Gu Yucheng quickly picked him up, holding him close to soothe him, while casually slapping the mouse away with a tissue.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. It ran away.”
But Xia Lening was still trembling in his arms.
Damn it.
Why was this mouse so big?
He couldn’t move, and he was so small. The mouse had already been about to leave, but seeing him frozen in fear, it had even tried to approach him again.
Nearby people laughed.
“This cat is afraid of mice? First time seeing that.”
“Isn’t this the one that distributed keys? Not afraid of humans but afraid of mice? Aren’t cats supposed to catch mice instinctively?”
Xia Lening buried his face in Gu Yucheng’s chest and muttered, “Ignorant! Haven’t you heard mice can bite cat ears? In our Cat Village, there was a cat whose ears were eaten off by mice—it became a blue cat afterward!”
Gu Yucheng’s chest shook slightly.
Xia Lening immediately lifted his head. “Are you laughing?!”
Gu Yucheng kept a serious expression, as if he had not heard anything, and explained to the others:
“He’s injured in the legs, so he can’t run. He was actually trying to intimidate the mouse.”
Xia Lening nodded solemnly. “Yes, that’s right.”
Several young police officers crouched down and praised him.
“So impressive!”
“That’s right! Who online hasn’t seen this little hero’s video? How could he be afraid of a mouse?”
All of them used a tone as if coaxing a child.
But Xia Lening loved it. He basked in the praise.
Gu Yucheng politely waited a while, then, seeing they were still praising him, exchanged a few courteous words and left.
Xia Lening: ?
He hadn’t had enough praise yet.
Gu Yucheng: 🙂
No more listening.
Why is it that when I praise you, you act like you swallowed a dead rat?
Double standards are unacceptable.
Xia Lening concluded, “Gu Yucheng, you’re jealous that I’m getting so much praise.”
Ridiculous.
“This is normal. Cats are naturally lovable.”
Oh.
Then stay a cat forever.
Xia Lening sat back down on the comfortable cushion, but this time he didn’t want to hold Mickey’s hand anymore.
Gu Yucheng didn’t force him. He removed the Mickey strap and opened the glove compartment, revealing neatly arranged colorful straps inside.
He replaced it with a teddy bear.
“Is this okay?”
This time, Xia Lening didn’t argue. He held the teddy bear’s hand.
“Gu Yucheng, I never noticed you actually have a childlike side.”
Gu Yucheng: 🙂
For whom?
You stupid cat.
“Departure! To the park! I demand fresh air!”
The car crawled forward at an extremely slow pace.
Finally, they arrived at the park, under a dim and cloudy sky.
Xia Lening stared at the sky. “Gu Yucheng, you drove too slowly!”
Gu Yucheng lifted him out. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
“You’re so stupid, you can’t even understand cat language.”
Gu Yucheng: “……”
If I actually understood it, you’d be even more annoyed.
Xia Lening was happily talking to himself. Occasionally, Gu Yucheng would accidentally guess correctly, though most of the time it made no sense at all.
He tugged at Gu Yucheng’s clothes with a mischievous tone.
“Gu Yucheng, I want to play that.”
Gu Yucheng looked over.
A row of glowing children’s ride-on toy cars lined the street—20 yuan per ride, selectable vehicles.
“That’s for kids. What are you, a cat, going to play with?”
“How can cats not play? Don’t look down on cats!”
Xia Lening yowled loudly, attracting attention from passersby.
Seeing Gu Yucheng slowly losing patience, he felt satisfied. Being crazy was surprisingly fun.
Gu Yucheng chuckled. “Fine. You can play.”
He asked the stall owner, “Do you have those ride-on cars that children sit in but can’t control themselves—only remote-controlled ones?”
“The next stall has them.”
Gu Yucheng went over and rented a remote-controlled kiddie car, then placed Xia Lening inside.
“Hold the steering wheel. Be careful.”
Xia Lening grabbed his hand. “No! Gu Yucheng, I don’t want to play anymore!”
But it was already too late.
Gu Yucheng gently pulled his hand away.
“Too late.”
He controlled the remote, and the kiddie car shot forward.
“Waaahhh!”
It was extremely thrilling.
After confirming it was safe, Xia Lening relaxed and leaned back.
“Gu Yucheng! Faster! Did you even eat today?!”
Gu Yucheng turned a corner.
Just as they were about to hit someone, Xia Lening squinted and exclaimed:
“A familiar face—this is what you call turning a corner into—”
Then the car tilted slightly.
And lightly bumped into Gu Yucheng’s foot.