Inside the Pet hospital, a miserable cat shriek echoed out.
The doctor holding the syringe twitched at the corner of his mouth. He had not even injected yet.
“Winter Melon, be good. It’ll be over soon.”
Xia Lening continued screaming.
His cries were so tragic that everyone present thought he was genuinely terrified and calling for help.
He was a little scared—but not to the point of screaming like that. It was more for effect. As long as the attitude was there, it was enough.
When the needle got closer, Xia Lening shouted in agony:
“Urgent decree as law!”
“If A then B, if B then not A! Identify the quadrant from the symbol!”
“Help! My heart rate is rising! My breathing is accelerating! My ability to cleanse smog far surpasses the rainforest! I am about to become the new lungs of Earth!”
Doctor: “……That’s some very creative cursing.”
Gu Yucheng: “Pff… cough!”
The doctor shot him a glance. “Your little pet is this scared and you’re laughing? Do something to distract it.”
Gu Yucheng complied immediately, pulling Xia Lening into his arms and coaxing him gently.
“Pai Pai, let me tell you about my failed secret crush from school.”
The doctor’s mouth twitched. Who comforts a cat like this? Do you think cats can understand that?!
Unexpectedly, the previously screaming cat immediately shut up.
He lifted his head, eyes bright, even grabbing at Gu Yucheng’s clothes as if urging him on.
“Gu Yucheng, hurry up. Don’t just pause there.”
Gu Yucheng cleared his throat.
“It was a long time ago. I met him at a banquet.”
“Mm-hm.”
“We knew each other since childhood. We grew up together. But whenever we met, our eyes would always accidentally meet in the air, and we would even unconsciously make the same gestures behind others’ backs.”
Xia Lening: “Huh?”
Since when did Gu Yucheng have a childhood sweetheart? He had no idea.
Was this just a bedtime story?
“Then what? Get to the point!”
“I always thought I didn’t like him, until middle school when I joined an English competition. After a week of training, I missed him so much I fell sick—only then did I realize my feelings.”
Xia Lening nodded. He remembered Gu Yucheng did participate in an English competition back then. At least this part didn’t sound completely fabricated.
“I hid my feelings well and secretly observed him, making sure he had no romantic entanglements.”
“Oh wow, Gu Yucheng, you even do the whole secret crush thing?”
Gu Yucheng said coolly, “Until one truth-or-dare game, he said he had already lost his first kiss.”
Xia Lening suddenly became alert. This was getting interesting—this sounded like premium emotional drama.
“I tried to subtly find out more… and then—”
The needle was done.
“Done. No crying, no fuss. Pai Pai is very good.”
Xia Lening was instantly dragged away mid-story.
“Wait—what happened?! Tell me!”
Gu Yucheng completely ignored him and turned to the doctor.
“Thank you, doctor. Can I take him home today?”
“Yes. Just don’t let the wound touch water. Come back next Friday for another injection.”
“Gu Yucheng! Finish the story! Hey!”
Gu Yucheng gently soothed him, smiling.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. No pain, no pain. I’ll reward you with something tasty when we get home.”
He really looked like a devoted pet owner.
The doctor chuckled. “The pain must’ve kicked in. You can tell him more stories—he seems to really like it.”
Xia Lening nodded eagerly.
Gu Yucheng said calmly, “I’ll continue next time he comes for an injection.”
Xia Lening: “???”
Are you a dog?
Ignoring the cat’s resentful gaze, Gu Yucheng carried him home in a very good mood.
Xia Lening had no idea what was so enjoyable about listening to his own failed emotional life.
Meanwhile, he was left hanging and frustrated the entire night, refusing to talk to Gu Yucheng.
The next day, Gu Yucheng used fragrant cat food to coax him for a long time before he finally spoke.
On the surface, he had forgiven him and dignifiedly ate his nutritional meal—but what he was actually saying was:
“I will never forgive you! You cold-hearted person!”
Gu Yucheng: “I don’t understand. You’re probably praising me. I like you too, Pai Pai.”
“…I can’t take it anymore! Hand over your draft already!”
Gu Yucheng sighed emotionally. “So lively. What a sweet burden.”
“……”
Silence.
Gu Yucheng looked moved. “So quiet. Are you being considerate of me?”
“……”
Does that girl even know what kind of person Gu Yucheng is like this?
Probably not. After all, he behaves very properly in front of others.
Unless… maybe she saw through him and left because of that?
That also made sense.
Gu Yucheng noticed the way the cat looked at him had suddenly turned sympathetic.
Before he could figure it out, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it.” Gu Yucheng patted the cat’s ear.
“Don’t touch my ears! Know your place—humans and cats are different!”
Gu Yucheng withdrew his hand and went to open the door.
Standing outside was a thin-looking man wearing black-framed glasses, smiling politely.
It was the neighbor Zhu Xiao, the owner of the Maine Coon cat.
“Hi!”
“Hello.” Gu Yucheng smiled politely.
“How is Winter Melon?”
“Pretty good. Eats well, sleeps well, and can even hit people.”
Zhu Xiao spoke quickly.
“After I posted that Pet hospital video last time, a lot of people in the comments asked for videos of Wangcai and Winter Melon playing together. Would it be possible for Winter Melon to come over and play at my place for half a day? I’ll supervise them the whole time and guarantee safety! Of course, if it’s inconvenient, that’s totally fine!”
Gu Yucheng paused slightly.
Zhu Xiao added, “Winter Melon used to play at our house a lot. We have cat-monitoring footage of him on the cat tree—do you want it?”
Without hesitation, Gu Yucheng said, “Yes.”
He let Zhu Xiao in and poured him a glass of water.
“I’ll ask the little cat about the video.”
He squatted down beside Xia Lening.
“Pai Pai…”
Xia Lening felt that Gu Yucheng was seriously a strange person.
When others asked his name, he casually called him Winter Melon. But when talking to him directly, it was always “Pai Pai.”
No idea what was going on in his head.
After listening to everything from the doorway, Xia Lening already knew what was happening.
He was willing, of course—but he needed to wait until his legs healed. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing.
So he nodded, then shook his head, pointing at his hind legs.
“Wait until my legs heal.”
No need to worry about misunderstanding—this guy always somehow understood him anyway.
Gu Yucheng blinked. “I don’t understand.”
Xia Lening: ?
Gu Yucheng pulled out the pet communication buttons.
“If you want to go now, press green…”
Xia Lening rolled his eyes and refused to engage.
This guy definitely understood.
Zhu Xiao on the side: ?
Is this really how those buttons are used?
After reaching an agreement, Zhu Xiao transferred the cat monitor footage and sent the clips involving Xia Lening to Gu Yucheng.
After Zhu Xiao left, Gu Yucheng carried Xia Lening into his arms and entered the computer password in front of him. The two of them watched the surveillance footage together.
In the video, Xia Lening treated Wangcai’s house like an adventure jungle—jumping, climbing, and even screaming for help.
After watching, Xia Lening became even more determined not to let Gu Yucheng know his identity.
Not only because his behavior was embarrassing—but also because he had cursed Gu Yucheng countless times there.
Fortunately, Gu Yucheng could not understand cat language.
“Thank God cat and human languages are different.”
There was no regret in his tone—only nostalgia.
Gu Yucheng laughed softly, his chest vibrating.
“Hey! Stop laughing! You’re acting crazy again!”
Gu Yucheng said nothing, saved the video, then opened a movie.
The sunset slanted in. The little cat curled into a warm ball on his lap. Light and shadow flowed silently across the screen as Gu Yucheng’s fingers slowly combed through his fur, golden dust-like specks rising between strands.
Xia Lening watched the movie intently, comfortably numb with relaxation, occasionally ordering:
“Left a bit more. Harder.”
Gu Yucheng complied.
Many years later, when someone asked about his ideal life, Gu Yucheng’s thoughts would drift back to this quiet afternoon.
And perhaps that was because on this day, he finally confirmed something:
Xia Lening seemed to have started trusting him—just a little.
Many years later, when Xia Lening recalled this day, he would feel extremely foolish.
He told Gu Yucheng to go left, and he really went left. He told him to press harder, and he really pressed harder.
Was that what someone who “couldn’t understand cat language” looked like?!
Only then did he realize—he had been too focused on the movie to notice anything at all.