Gu Yucheng had just returned home when he was hit by a barrage of attacks.
Xia Lening rushed forward aggressively. “You! How dare you change the password! Liar!”
Gu Yucheng lowered his gaze at the noisy, flailing cat, completely unmoved.
Why would anyone love an animal to death like this?
Why was Xia Lening willing to keep a cat that even the veterinarian had declared beyond saving, yet refused to attend his birthday?
Even for Lin Yangchun, who was returning to the country, he shouldn’t have said something like that.
A low, heavy atmosphere suddenly surrounded Gu Yucheng, and even Xia Lening’s shouting quieted down.
He muttered in disbelief, “No way… did I really insult him that badly? Is he that fragile now?”
Before he could reflect further, Gu Yucheng put the cleaning robot back in place, took out a tablet, and placed it on the coffee table.
He picked up Xia Lening and set him on the sofa, positioning the tablet directly in front of him, then opened a cat-and-mouse cartoon.
“…”
When Gu Yucheng left, Xia Lening immediately jumped onto the coffee table, exited the animation, and struggled to type on the screen with his paw pads.
Finally! The live replay of his competition was available!
He jumped back down, gathered several cat snacks, dragged them onto the sofa, and lay down comfortably.
When Gu Yucheng came out, this was what he saw.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, then ultimately said nothing, returning to his room and locking the door.
A cat’s reflexes and hearing were several times sharper than a human’s. Xia Lening turned in shock, confirming that he had indeed heard the lock click. He looked toward the balcony, and the bedding he had ignored earlier suddenly looked extremely suspicious—
Because of his life-risking “rescue” that morning, Gu Yucheng had changed the bedsheets and quilt covers, and even locked his door at night.
He guessed what Gu Yucheng had wanted to say earlier: probably something like, “The living room is yours, but you are absolutely not allowed into my room.” He likely didn’t bother explaining it because he assumed a cat wouldn’t understand.
For someone with severe cleanliness habits, this was already a huge concession—but in his mind, Xia Lening still cursed him repeatedly.
And Gu Yucheng, oblivious to all of it, even took him to a pet grooming shop early the next morning before he had fully woken up.
When Xia Lening groggily opened his eyes, he saw several smiling “older sisters” looking down at him.
Gu Yucheng said without emotion, “I’ll probably come pick him up around eight tonight.”
Xia Lening looked at the clock on the wall—barely past eight.
This insane bastard was leaving him in a pet shop for an entire day!
He sat up sharply, and under the frightened gazes of the staff and the admiring cries of other cats and dogs, he kicked hard at Gu Yucheng with all his strength.
He leapt onto him, and after being caught, immediately tried to rub his fur all over him, determined to leave cat hair behind.
While everyone else exclaimed, “Sir, your cat is so clingy,” only Xia Lening noticed Gu Yucheng’s slightly darkened expression.
Hehehe—disgust you to death.
Did he think he didn’t know? Ever since he had climbed into his pocket last time, Gu Yucheng had never worn that windbreaker again.
Now, he had successfully added another item to Gu Yucheng’s list of “clothing that must be carefully reconsidered.”
“I’ll fix your obsessive cleanliness someday!”
After threatening him, Xia Lening was carried away by a staff “older sister.”
“Alright, little Winter Melon Baby, let’s go take a bath, okay?”
“What winter melon?” Xia Lening was confused.
Perhaps his tone of confusion was too obvious, because when Gu Yucheng left, he glanced over and somehow understood.
Gu Yucheng smiled faintly and said gently to the staff, “No need to call it that. The child won’t understand. Just use its real name.”
The staff adjusted her expression, holding back laughter, and said softly, “Alright then, Short Winter Melon, let’s go bathe.”
“…?”
Xia Lening froze.
What the hell? Was he hallucinating?
He looked at the registration sheet.
There it was—Gu Yucheng’s handwriting:
Name: Gu Yucheng
Pet nickname: Short Winter Melon
His shoulders trembled as his expression twisted in pain, unable to decide which part was more outrageous.
It was the first time everyone had seen such a richly expressive cat, and they all struggled to hold back laughter.
After Gu Yucheng had already left, Xia Lening was obediently taken to bathe.
The staff’s technique was excellent. At first, he was a bit uncomfortable, but then he thought—he was a cat now. What was there to be embarrassed about?
So he squinted and enjoyed it.
“So well-behaved,” one staff member sighed. “It’s rare to see a kitten that doesn’t resist bathing.”
Another girl was struggling with a tabby cat. “Honestly, whoever named it is terrible. Its legs are a bit short, but calling it Short Winter Melon is too much.”
She laughed while saying it.
“IT’S NOT MASTER! HE’S THE SERVANT! HE’S THE SHORT WINTER MELON!” Xia Lening protested loudly.
A cold voice came from the side: “What’s the point of explaining? Humans are stupid. They won’t understand.”
He turned and saw a defeated tabby cat, looking utterly hopeless as it raised its paw.
“It doesn’t matter if they don’t understand—I still want to curse him.”
The tabby cat added, “Oh right, I forgot newly born cats are idiots too. Especially this coat pattern.”
“…”
Come at me with math problems if you dare.
The pet shop wasn’t only for cats—there were also dogs, hamsters, rabbits, even parrots. Most were picked up quickly after grooming.
Because of his friendly personality, Xia Lening quickly made friends with many animals.
Two parrots even tried to grab his arm to teach him what flying felt like.
“Thanks, no,” he said. “I’ve already experienced partial flight during bungee jumping.”
The animals gathered around him and asked in unison, “What is bungee jumping?”
He enthusiastically explained it, flailing his paws while describing bungee jumping and roller coasters.
Then the door chimed.
Someone new entered.
It was a familiar face—his good friend Li Zheng.
Li Zheng walked in with a dog when an orange cat suddenly rushed to his feet, hands on hips, chattering nonstop.
A staff member hurried over, picking up the orange cat. “Winter Melon Baby, don’t run around.”
Li Zheng stared at the cat.
Then enlightenment struck him. “Holy shit—this cat looks like my son!”
“Missed your dad, just say it directly,” Xia Lening rolled his eyes.
Li Zheng clutched his chest. “That eye roll is exactly the vibe! Can I take a few photos to burn to my son?”
“No need,” Xia Lening said. “Burn me a game console and phone instead.”
Staff: “We can’t decide that. You need to ask the owner.”
Li Zheng didn’t care and started filling out the register, rambling, “When is its owner coming? I can wait. My son must be lonely down there… wait—Gu Yucheng?! This cat belongs to Gu Yucheng?”
“Not at all,” Xia Lening quickly denied.
Li Zheng immediately backed away, slapping himself. “This cat cannot possibly resemble my son. It’s sacrilege. My dear Chen’er, rest in peace—I didn’t mean it! Who knew that clean freak Gu Yucheng would even keep a cat!”
“…”
My foolish son is loyal, at least.
Maybe I should tell Li Zheng my identity so he can help me escape. After all, I need a way to turn back into a human.
I definitely can’t let Gu Yucheng know. Otherwise, he’d probably play with me for who knows how long before reluctantly helping.
Compared to that, Li Zheng was a better option.
Unfortunately, Li Zheng was now standing far away.
So Xia Lening shifted his target to Li Zheng’s husky.
“Emperor, do you remember me?”
“No.”
“I’m Li Zheng’s friend. I even gave you beef jerky before, remember?”
The husky suddenly realized. “You’re Li Zheng’s son! You were the one who fed me chocolate last time! Why are you a cat now?”
“Wrong relationship entirely! The chocolate incident was an accident!”
“You’ve got the wrong dog. I wouldn’t do that.”
“Wasn’t it you who smashed his computer screen last time? And you who threw my phone into the pool before?”
The husky looked horrified. “Wait—are you really his son?!”
“You never believed me at all!”
He jumped up and kicked the dog.
“Go steal Li Zheng’s phone. I need to message him!”
The husky ran off immediately and succeeded in grabbing the phone.
But before anything could continue—
“Pick him up. Go home and use your tablet.”
“…!”
Hope shattered.
Li Zheng also punched the husky. “Try touching my phone again and you’re banned from beef jerky for a month.”
And just like that, Xia Lening was stuffed into a cat carrier.
The chaos ended under the husky’s resentful gaze.