The second injection that Xia Lening had been looking forward to finally arrived.
“Where did I leave off last time?”
His hind legs had mostly recovered, and he was already rubbing against people restlessly, anxious beyond belief. “You left off at how she had already tasted the feeling of kissing, and you were asking around everywhere!”
Gu Yucheng held him down. “It’s time for the injection. Don’t move. I forgot where I stopped, so I’ll just start over.”
Five days of waiting had earned him a full restart. A shadow fell over his young life. Anger surged from his chest. “Are you insane?! Starting over again and then stopping at the same point! You can’t continue the story, can you, you liar!”
Gu Yucheng spoke slowly. “That was a very distant day…”
Xia Lening immediately began fighting against the needle in Doctor’s hand.
The Doctor endured it for a moment.
“……”
The Doctor failed to hold back. “You already reached the part where you were secretly and openly asking about your crush’s first kiss.”
Gu Yucheng: “……”
Xia Lening: “Good job, bro!”
Gu Yucheng: “Oh, thanks.”
“Yes. I secretly and openly tried to find out who he kissed and how it happened, but no one knew. Maybe his life simply didn’t have that many observers. Anyway, he hid it very well. When I asked him, he had a strong reaction and refused to tell me.”
Xia Lening stopped struggling and lay in Gu Yucheng’s arms, commenting, “Your life also doesn’t have that many observers, but you do have a critic like me.”
“But I think he was lying, because his life actually had quite a lot of observers. It’s impossible that he kissed randomly without hiding it from everyone.”
“Look at you talking like that. Are you jealous out of your mind? Why is it impossible? Just find a corner without cameras and kiss there. You can kiss at home too—no one sees you, easy!”
Gu Yucheng’s tone turned cold. “You’re very experienced.”
Xia Lening froze, almost biting his tongue. “W-what?”
The Doctor spoke up. “Yes, I’ve been giving injections to Little Cat and Little Dog for five or six years. I’m the king of painless injections.”
Only then did Xia Lening relax. So he was talking to the Doctor.
Gu Yucheng: “Mm. Make it a bit more painful, please.”
Xia Lening: “?”
Human language?
Doctor: “Huh? You should’ve said earlier. It’s already done.”
Xia Lening: “???”
After being a cat for too long, he was gradually no longer able to understand human speech.
“In your opinion, do they understand human language?”
Inside the room, Zhu Xiao held up his phone with a kindly smile, snapping photos of the two adorable creatures, casually asking the neighbor beside him while switching to video recording.
“They probably do,” Gu Yucheng said with a smile. “Mine is very smart. He won’t even let the injection happen unless he hears a love story.”
At that moment, Xia Lening was fully focused on a raised wooden plank on the opposite wall. That was the obstacle he had failed at multiple times. Today, he was determined to conquer it.
Wangcai, already used to receiving cats, stood at the same spot. “Feral Cat Prince, go for it!”
“Just wait. Third time’s the charm. Brother Biao will clear it today!”
He crouched, then counted softly. “Three… two…”
He leapt.
Under the gaze of two humans, one cat, and a camera, he landed steadily on the wooden plank. He turned back with a smug grin at Wangcai.
“Didn’t expect that, huh? I jumped early!”
Wangcai was not angry at all. He clapped for his friend’s achievement, which made Xia Lening feel a little embarrassed.
“Ah, it’s not that hard. I just hadn’t fully mastered my limbs yet. After getting injured once, they finally realized who the real owner of this body is.”
He grew more excited as he spoke, hopping down again. “I’m going again. Clean version!”
He was full of ambition, cracking his knuckles metaphorically, and sprinted forward with determination. Suddenly, a question appeared in his mind: Now that I have four legs, if my left front leg and left hind leg move forward together, is that considered a pacing mistake? But if the left front and right hind move together, wouldn’t the right hind step on the right front?
Once he started thinking, he completely lost focus.
He collapsed at the very first obstacle—his own run-up.
“Stop! Zhu Xiao, cut that part out!” he yelled in despair.
Zhu Xiao was already laughing hysterically. Gu Yucheng recorded seriously, encouraging him: “Where you fall, you rise again, Pai Pai!”
Wangcai had never handled a situation like this before and stood frozen, confused. The scene was chaotic.
“Wangcai… I remember when I first met Zhu Xiao, he was shy, polite, and spoke gently.”
Wangcai blinked in confusion. “He still is.”
Silence.
The camera moved closer. Xia Lening lay on the ground covering his face, unwilling to accept reality.
“Stop filming… what are you enjoying about this? Are you not afraid I’ll end up costing you twenty thousand?”
Gu Yucheng snapped a few more shots of the flattened cat.
“Gu Yucheng!” Xia Lening protested weakly, sinking further into despair. “I’m not getting up today. Do what you want.”
Gu Yucheng lifted him up and coaxed him patiently. Only then did the cat reluctantly stand.
Wangcai, feeling responsible, ran over to ask what compensation was needed.
It wasn’t Wangcai’s fault at all. Xia Lening knew his personality, so he casually said, “I want that big green thing on the table.”
Wangcai immediately grabbed the sunlit grapes and ran over.
Zhu Xiao shouted, “Cats can’t eat grapes!”
Gu Yucheng casually took away the green treasure just as it reached him.
Xia Lening felt like the world had collapsed.
How could he forget cats couldn’t eat grapes?!
When he first learned that rule, he had deeply sympathized with cats, since grapes were his favorite fruit.
He wanted to become human again. He couldn’t live without grapes.
All the way home, he kept muttering, “Turn back into a human… I don’t want to be a cat anymore…”
Gu Yucheng found it both amusing and strange.
He thought: If Xia Lening wanted to become human so badly, but didn’t want him to know, would he run away?
“About that falling clip, please don’t post it online,” Gu Yucheng said before leaving. “The kid cares about his pride. If his embarrassing moment goes viral, he might get upset.”
Zhu Xiao agreed cheerfully. “Okay! Winter Melon’s dignity is safe with me!”
Xia Lening said, “Gu Yucheng, you’re a good person. You’re sensible and far-sighted. It’s okay if that girl doesn’t like you—you’ll meet someone better.”
Gu Yucheng thought, shut up.
But he had already learned how to deal with this cat.
That night, Xia Lening scoffed at the idea of sleeping together.
Gu Yucheng said, “I was going to tell you a bedtime story. About my unfinished first love.”
“Carry me to bed! I choose you tonight!” Xia Lening immediately changed his attitude.
Gu Yucheng smiled at the pacing cat at the bedside, flattered. “Pai Pai is willing?”
“Quick!” Xia Lening urged.
He worried Gu Yucheng was tricking him again, but today, there was no repetition of “Where did I leave off last time?”
Instead, Gu Yucheng said something heavy.
“I knew he hated me.”