He Zhichiu was still shaking off the cat hair on his body, casting sharp, glaring looks at Cen Nian with every glance. How could Brother Shen suddenly start keeping a pet, and a cat at that?
In the future, when he managed to get together with Brother Shen, he would have to find a way to get rid of this damned cat.
As a little kitten, and one carrying an outsider’s soul, Cen Nian did not have particularly good control over his feline body. As evident from his earlier performance, he lacked agility and did not know how to better use his body to protect himself upon landing. Dropped from such a height, he had taken a very hard spill.
It hurt so much that he had to try several times before finally crawling up.
The sound of footsteps echoed from upstairs, heard by both of them. He Zhichiu reached out, intending to grab Cen Nian back to continue putting on a show, but Cen Nian dodged away a step ahead of him.
“Meow.” (Get lost, don’t touch me!)
Yu Shen appeared at the head of the stairs. He Zhichiu couldn’t very well forcefully pull Cen Nian back, so he merely looked at Cen Nian with a gentle expression, while Cen Nian waited eagerly for Yu Shen to come down.
“Meow!” (Hurry over, I’m being bullied!)
“Meow meow meow…” (This guy is not a good person! He dropped me, and it hurt so bad!)
When Yu Shen reached the bottom floor, he looked down at the little kitten running over hilariously. The cat directly grabbed onto his pant leg to stand up, gazing up at him with big eyes while whimpering and meowing nonstop.
“Meow meow.” (You don’t know, the moment you walked away just now, he immediately changed his face! He picked me up and threw me down; he was trying to break me!)
“Wuu wuu meow…” (I’m just a harmless little kitten. He hurt my fragile little heart; you have to stand up for me!)
His little paws clutched Yu Shen’s trousers, lifting and dropping, lifting and dropping. The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he felt. Seeing his backing arrive, tears finally welled up and spilled over, wetting the fur around his eyes.
“Meow meow… wuu wuu…” (Wuu wuu wuu, the fall hurt so much, hurry up and rub it for me.)
Yu Shen bent down and scooped Cen Nian up into his arms, looking at the tearful little thing. “What happened to it?”
This question was directed at He Zhichiu; a little kitten couldn’t answer him, and only He Zhichiu had been with it just now.
He Zhichiu roughly guessed that this annoying cat was snitching on him. He hadn’t expected this stupid cat to actually be quite clever.
A sneer flashed across the depths of his eyes. What was the use of snitching? Brother Shen couldn’t understand it anyway. “Maybe it missed you, Brother Shen. Kittens this small are very attached to their owners.”
Cen Nian was so furious at his explanation that he turned around and hissed at He Zhichiu in a fiercely adorable way. Just you wait until I grow up! If you dare come back again, see if I don’t scratch you to pieces!
If he didn’t avenge this insult, he wouldn’t be a cat!
He Zhichiu merely smiled. “Besides, a cat’s temperament is the most fickle. It’s very hard to guess.”
Yu Shen seemed to accept his explanation and sat down while holding Cen Nian.
Cen Nian was still meowing at him. You dummy, you just got fooled by him like that! Hmph, I’m ignoring you, you useless owner.
Fuming with anger, Cen Nian flipped over on Yu Shen’s lap, but unexpectedly caught sight of He Zhichiu looking at him with intense envy and jealousy. Yet when He Zhichiu’s gaze shifted to Yu Shen, it was filled with… admiration?
With a quick spin of his little brain, a trace of slyness appeared on the kitten’s face.
He Zhichiu spoke up: “Brother Shen, you’ve really worked hard this time. We haven’t seen each other for a whole year. By the way, I’ve started an internship.”
“Meow!” A soft kitten cry interrupted his words. The little cat that had been lying angrily on Yu Shen’s lap suddenly twisted around, flipping belly-up. Then, with another twist of its head, it snuggled against the side of Yu Shen’s waist, its little paws kicking and paddling.
It was being excessively pampered and spoiled.
In an instant, Yu Shen’s attention was completely drawn away.
Cen Nian: Ehehe, I’m lying on the lap of the person you like, and you can’t. I’ll infuriate you to death!
He Zhichiu took a deep breath and continued speaking, “…ship at the family company.”
“Meow meow, ”
Interrupted once again, Cen Nian used those big blue eyes, still wet from crying, to stare unblinkingly at Yu Shen, squirming and twisting about endlessly. His little tail even poked out from between his hind legs, covering his private area.
He was, after all, a kitten with cat virtues.
Yu Shen leaned back in a casual posture, resting his elbow on the back of the sofa, his solid arm propping up his head. His expression was calm to the point of being indifferent, like a high-level boss who saw through everything, watching a little lover trying every trick in the book to seduce him.
Cen Nian scrambled up, his little paws kneading step-by-step from Yu Shen’s abs up to his chest muscles, raising his tiny head to meow up at him.
Cen Nian: I can even roll around in the arms of the person you like! Eat your heart out!
Inside his sleeve, He Zhichiu clenched his fist tight. Every single time he tried to speak, that damned cat would make a noise to interrupt him, resulting in Brother Shen not glancing at him even once up until now.
He, a living human being, couldn’t even match the appeal of a cat. This was an absolute insult to him.
Suppressing his anger, he reached out toward Cen Nian. “It really knows how to act spoiled. Brother Shen, let me hold it.”
Cen Nian immediately grew nervous. Oh no, I can’t escape!
Just as he thought he was about to fall back into the devil’s clutches, Yu Shen, who had remained as still as a mountain, placed his large hand over the kitten’s small head, blocking He Zhichiu.
“It’s mine. Don’t touch it.”
He Zhichiu’s hand froze mid-air.
Cen Nian froze as well, settling down honestly while staring at this man radiating overbearing authority. As expected of a tyrannical serial killer, his desire for possession was truly strong.
He felt a little scared now.
The large hand on his head gently stroked him. Paying no mind to He Zhichiu’s unsightly face, Yu Shen continued, “I will arrange a time to visit Grandmother. I still have things to attend to later, so I won’t keep you.”
This was an explicit request for the guest to leave.
Unwilling to depart just like this, He Zhichiu awkwardly pulled back his hand. “Brother Shen, it’s almost noon. Why don’t we have…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he was crushed into silence by the gaze Yu Shen cast toward him. Over the past year or so, he hadn’t known where Brother Shen had gone; he could only guess based on his profession that Brother Shen might have been undercover.
Originally, Brother Shen was already so icy cold that people hardly dared to approach him.
Now, besides being icy cold, Brother Shen carried an aura of bloodthirstiness that terrified him.
He Zhichiu left feeling rather discomfited and crestfallen. Turning back, he saw that cat perched on Brother Shen’s shoulder in the posture of a victor, tilting its head as it watched him.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt those blue eyes were filled with provocation.
The moment the enemy He Zhichiu left, Cen Nian immediately climbed down from Yu Shen and stayed far away from him, retreating back to his own cat bed.
This useless human, venting anger, still relied on himself in the end.
Yu Shen stood beside the cat bed, watching the little cat that had changed its mood in an instant, leaving him with nothing but a backside view. He didn’t say anything; he simply went to the kitchen to warm up some goat’s milk, then poured it with a sloshing sound into Cen Nian’s food bowl.
Cen Nian, who hadn’t eaten yet, turned his head back, only to meet Yu Shen’s waiting eyes.
He understood now: this guy was intentionally luring him!
The freshly warmed goat’s milk powder sent up a rich fragrance along with the steam.
Cen Nian’s three-part lip smacked twice from craving, but right now he felt very disappointed in him, very angry, the kind that couldn’t be coaxed easily. Even though he was so tempted he couldn’t shift his eyes away, he stubbornly refused to budge.
The man and the cat fell into a stalemate.
Yu Shen assessed the suddenly angry kitten with great patience. Raising his hand, he fanned the air next to the food bowl, sending the breeze carrying the aroma straight toward Cen Nian’s side.
Cen Nian’s eyes widened even more. This guy is so wicked!
His belly rumbled and grumbled.
Cen Nian’s little pink tongue poked out, licking at his mouth as if drool were about to leak out. Suddenly, Yu Shen moved again, turning his head to pinch the food bowl as if he were going to carry it away.
Before Cen Nian’s brain could even react, his body had already dashed out from the cat bed. Still stopping with a face-brake, he slid straight to Yu Shen’s feet before coming to a halt.
Yu Shen shifted his position, looking at the sprawling, splayed-out little fellow, and concluded: The kitten is very stupid, but it has a big temper.
After Cen Nian scrambled up, he held his head high with pride, walking toward his food bowl without giving Yu Shen so much as a glance. This wasn’t backing down! He bought me home, so feeding me meals is his duty! Sticking up for me and protecting me are also his duties! Therefore, my being angry with him is entirely justified!
Thinking this, Cen Nian lowered his head and finally drank the milk. All grievances were instantly tossed behind him: So delicious!
A little cat couldn’t control itself while drinking milk, leaving half its face covered in it when finished. Yu Shen immediately wiped it clean with a paper tissue, during which Cen Nian maintained the posture of a demanding master the entire time.
Afterwards, Yu Shen set him down to let him play on his own.
Having eaten his fill, Cen Nian didn’t want to move a single muscle, flattening himself into a furry cat rug. After a while, the doorbell rang again. Too lazy to lift his head off the floor, he tilted it straight backward to look toward the doorway.
After Yu Shen let the people in, he picked the cat up off the floor and placed him onto the sofa.
Four people wearing blue uniforms entered. After coming in, they began negotiating with Yu Shen. Yu Shen concisely stated his requirements: “The kitchen, the storage room, the laundry room, and all other usable areas, cover them all.”
Cen Nian: Cover what?
Very soon, he found out it turned out to be carpeting. The workers expertly laid down the light gray carpet flat and smooth across the floor.
When one of the workers was laying the carpet near the sofa, he noticed Cen Nian on it.
Such an adorable little thing instantly caused him to show a kind smile. He reached out intending to pet it, but before he could touch it, an unfluctuating yet unquestionable voice sounded out:
“Don’t touch it.”
Cen Nian blinked, looking toward Yu Shen, who had just walked out of the kitchen. Holding several bottles of beverages in his hands, Yu Shen walked over and handed them to the worker who had wanted to touch Cen Nian.
“Have some water. No offense intended; the kitten is too small and easily gets frightened by stress.”
The awkwardness on the worker’s face relaxed. He took the drinks and said thank you, after which Yu Shen went over to give drinks to the other workers.
Cen Nian kept watching him. He didn’t seem completely devoid of human warmth. However, Cen Nian suspected Yu Shen wasn’t actually afraid of him getting stressed; he just didn’t want others touching him because, as Yu Shen had said, he was his.
Cen Nian felt a subtle emotion.
He was a male high school student, definitely not his.
The carpet was laid very quickly, taking only about half an hour to finish. When Cen Nian jumped down from the sofa and could walk properly without stumbling or tripping anymore, he finally understood why the carpet was being installed.
He turned his head to look at Yu Shen, who had just sent the workers off. After a moment’s hesitation: Fine, regarding your failure to stand up for me earlier, I’ll forgive you.
Thus, as Yu Shen passed by him, he sent out a reconciliation signal: “Meow.”
A small cat paw was also raised, resting on Yu Shen’s foot.
Yu Shen stopped, lowering his eyes to look at this little thing that seemed to understand what he had been doing, then suddenly squatted down.
From Cen Nian’s perspective, it was like a colossal giant approaching, frightening him into taking two steps back.
Before he could react, Yu Shen’s hand had already reached beneath his chin, scratching it rhythmically. Ever since he was brought back, Yu Shen had hardly petted him at all.
This was the very first time.
After two seconds of unadaptability, Cen Nian succumbed to the sheer comfort of the chin scratches. His big eyes squeezed shut in delight, and he sat down, unable to even hold himself upright.
Yes, exactly, that’s the pressure! A little more…
The hand at his chin suddenly left. Deprived of support, Cen Nian collapsed onto the floor, staring blankly at Yu Shen, who was heading upstairs. He was right in the middle of enjoying it, and this guy actually abandoned him and left?
Now he was stuck in an uncomfortable state, pleased, but not fully satisfied. Yet he held back and didn’t call out; he would absolutely never submit just for chin scratches!
Lying on the floor in frustration, he caught sight of a bird flying past outside. He instantly revived with full energy, trotting step-by-step toward the courtyard with his little tail held high up in the sky.
Yu Shen sat behind the desk. On his computer screen was the security footage playback; the progress bar had been dragged by him to the time after he went upstairs earlier, where the scene of He Zhichiu dropping the cat was crystal clear!