“I want to put them on, too.”
The next morning, when Du Jinchen checked Jiang Chu’s temperature again, it had dropped significantly. Hearing that Jiang Chu had caught a cold, Bai Meng bounced over like a little rabbit to fuss over him and shower him with care. Only after getting Jiang Chu’s firm assurance that he was fine did he finally relax.
The weather today was not very good. A light drizzle was falling outside with no sign of stopping, forcing the group to cancel their scheduled itinerary and stay inside the guesthouse.
The scenery of the guesthouse was also quite nice, preserving local architectural charm alongside a delicate and pretty landscaped courtyard. An old-fashioned waterwheel slowly turned in the stream, occasionally splashing droplets of water that blended into the fine rain.
From somewhere, Bai Meng dug out a box of Monopoly, dragging Xu Jiqi, Yang Qian, and He Qing to play, while also enthusiastically inviting Du Jinchen to join.
Du Jinchen had just come downstairs carrying Jiang Chu’s water glass. Hearing their invitation, he raised the glass slightly and said, “Alright, let me go pour a glass of water for Jiang Chu and I’ll be right there.”
Taking advantage of the overcast weather, the group spent the entire morning playing Monopoly in the guesthouse.
At two in the afternoon, Jiang Chu came out of his room.
Bursts of laughter continually drifted from downstairs, along with Bai Meng’s distressed voice. “How are you even supposed to play this? Why does every single step I take land on Jinchen’s properties? If we keep going like this, I’m going to go bankrupt!”
Du Jinchen was twirling a yellow plastic house between his fingertips, looking completely in control as he raised an eyebrow and smiled.
Bai Meng threw himself into Xu Jiqi’s arms and feigned weakness, whining, “Aiyah, Xu-gege, look at him!”
Xu Jiqi wrapped one arm tightly around Bai Meng’s waist while steadily rolling the dice with the other hand. He rolled a six, and his game piece landed right on Bai Meng’s property. He patted Bai Meng’s backside and said in a deep voice, “I landed on your property. Time to collect rent.”
“Haha!” Bai Meng cupped Xu Jiqi’s face, planted a heavy kiss on it, and laughed loudly, “You really are my dearest husband.”
Happily accepting the money from Xu Jiqi, Bai Meng clamored to keep going. Xu Jiqi kept a calm expression, though the tips of his ears had quietly turned beet red, and his hand never left Bai Meng’s waist.
Yang Qian clicked her tongue and turned her head away, loudly muttering about the sickening sweetness of couples while skillfully tossing the dice again.
Du Jinchen sat lazily with one leg bent and leaning against the sofa, his right arm resting on his knee. His sharp brow bone currently looked composed, and his dark eyes stared at the game pieces on the board as if deep in thought.
It was not until he felt the sofa behind him sink slightly and a slender figure entered his field of vision that Du Jinchen snapped out of it. He turned his head and saw that Jiang Chu had sat down cross-legged beside him.
Jiang Chu looked like he had just woken up. His cheeks and neck were flushed red, his round eyes were half-drooped, and his soft pink hair hung down to obscure his brows and eyes, making him look even younger and more delicate.
Du Jinchen turned his head to ask, “Are you still feeling uncomfortable?”
Jiang Chu lifted his gaze to look at Du Jinchen, his attitude toward him much softer now. He shook his head and said, “It’s not uncomfortable.”
After a pause, he added, “Much better. Thank you.”
Hearing Jiang Chu’s words, Du Jinchen finally set his mind at ease. He smiled and said, “Don’t mention it.”
Seeing that Jiang Chu had arrived, Yang Qian spoke up, “Xiao Chu, do you want to join us and play?”
Jiang Chu shook his head again. “You guys play. I’ll just watch for a little while.”
The owner of this guesthouse was a cat lover. Cat toys and decorations could be seen everywhere throughout the property. A very aloof white cat lived here, acting coldly toward everyone. As long as anyone was in the living room, it would always stay perched high up on the cat tree, coldly watching the human activities.
Even extreme cat lovers like Bai Meng and He Qing never had the chance to win the white cat’s favor, and over the past few days, they hadn’t even managed to hold it once.
Yet, just moments after Jiang Chu came downstairs, that arrogant white cat silently leaped down from the cat tree. Without catching the attention of any humans, it then silently hopped onto the sofa.
Walking with an air of aristocratic elegance, the white cat looked around as if patrolling its territory. Its pink little nose twitched gently, searching for a wisp of an elusive fragrance.
Jiang Chu sat quietly beside Du Jinchen, watching him masterfully command the game. He was the calmest, most composed person present, unfazed by honor or disgrace. The chips in his hands kept multiplying, with money and houses piled up into small mounds. Almost every time someone rolled the dice, the money ended up in Du Jinchen’s pocket.
Yet Du Jinchen didn’t show any airs of a wealthy tycoon. He remained in his lazy posture with a smile curving the corners of his lips, occasionally turning his head to chat casually with Jiang Chu.
Seeing him play with effortless ease, Jiang Chu silently prayed for the others not to lose too miserably.
Just as Jiang Chu’s attention drifted, he abruptly felt a heaviness on his neck. A soft, fluffy heat source seemed to pounce onto the back of his neck like a furry scarf wrapped around it.
Jiang Chu’s pupils dilated in shock, and in his panic, he grabbed the wrist of the person next to him. That wrist was lean and powerful, with faint bluish veins running along the forearm and disappearing into the sleeve.
Du Jinchen was startled. As he looked up, he collided with Jiang Chu’s flustered eyes. Before Jiang Chu could even open his mouth for help, the heat source on his neck let out a soft meow.
“Meow.”
Jiang Chu instantly froze, sitting there stiffly as if he were turning to stone.
Du Jinchen glanced sideways and realized it was that arrogant, indifferent white cat. At the moment, it was curled up against Jiang Chu’s neck like a neck pillow, securely wrapping around it. Its pink paw pads pressed against his fair skin, and its head rubbed affectionately against Jiang Chu’s ear, acting as friendly as if they were old acquaintances.
Feeling Jiang Chu’s fingers suddenly tighten their grip on his wrist, applying a bit more pressure with every movement of the cat as if trying to make Du Jinchen share the experience, he met Jiang Chu’s pleading gaze. He patted Jiang Chu’s hand reassuringly and said in a low voice, “It’s fine. It’s just that little white cat. It must really like you.”
“I…” Jiang Chu remained stiff. He could feel the cat’s soft belly brushing against the back of his neck, right where his scent patch was placed, and though the slight warmth made him a bit unused to it, he forced himself to stay still.
Du Jinchen reached out and picked up the white cat, lifting it effortlessly with both large hands. The cat was as boneless and fluid as liquid, stretching out long. Its two round, innocent eyes stared right at Jiang Chu with zero sense of guilt.
The moment Du Jinchen placed the white cat back on the ground, it leaped straight back onto Jiang Chu’s lap, refusing to leave. It rolled around, acted spoiled, twisted its body, and lay flat on its back looking up at Jiang Chu with an expression that screamed, “Pet me, hurry up and pet me.”
Its tail even shamelessly hooked around Jiang Chu’s wrist.
Recovering from his initial stiffness, Jiang Chu lowered his gaze to look at the white cat in his lap. The enthusiastic feline seemed to know how to win its master’s heart, raising its four pink paws while staring up at Jiang Chu with bright, delicate eyes without blinking.
Jiang Chu cautiously extended a hand and gently stroked the cat’s belly. Hearing the white cat let out a deep purr in its throat, squinting its eyes in pure comfort and placing its front paws onto Jiang Chu’s chest as tacit approval to continue.
The texture in his hands was truly wonderful, so good that Jiang Chu couldn’t help petting it again, and again, and again.
The boy and the cat were having a wonderfully happy time together.
With sharp eyes, Yang Qian spotted the cat in Jiang Chu’s arms and exclaimed in surprise, “This little cat actually lets people hold it? I thought it was always so cold and heartless!”
Circumventing Xu Jiqi, Bai Meng also caught sight of the cat and said sourly, “I’ve been trying to lure it with sausages for two days, and it wouldn’t even spare me a glance.”
“That’s because cats don’t like eating sausages,” Xu Jiqi said, patting Bai Meng’s waist.
Bai Meng acted spoiled. “I want to hold the cat so badly. Xiao Chu, let me hold it.”
Jiang Chu handed the white cat over to Bai Meng, but before Bai Meng could hold it for even two seconds, the cat began to wriggle, slipped out of Bai Meng’s grasp, and zipped right back into Jiang Chu’s arms.
Bai Meng’s heart shattered. “Little white cat, are you really this heartless? We both share the family name Bai, won’t you even let me hold you for the sake of kinship?”
The little white cat let out a meow, turned around completely to bury itself in Jiang Chu’s arms, leaving only its back facing everyone else.
“I think it might be due to the scent of his pheromones,” He Qing slowly offered. “Xiao Chu smells nice, and the white cat likes it.”
“But don’t I smell nice?” Bai Meng questioned incredulously, wearing his Hawthorn Wine scent. “Xiaoqi, do I smell good?!”
Hawthorn Wine certainly smelled pleasant, sweet and tangy upon the first taste, with a slightly bitter aftertaste trailing at the end.
Without a moment of hesitation, Xu Jiqi replied, “Good.”
Watching the white cat lounging comfortably in Jiang Chu’s arms while those slender, fair fingers stroked the cat’s sleek and soft back, Du Jinchen couldn’t help saying, “I have a cat, too. Her name is Feifei.”
Jiang Chu raised his gaze to look at him, revealing an envious look in his eyes. “That’s wonderful.”
Du Jinchen smiled and said, “You’ll have a chance to pet Feifei sometime. She loves being petted by people the most.”
Jiang Chu’s fingertips paused slightly as he gave a soft nod.
Sometime.
Would there really be a chance?
The ultimate winner of the Monopoly game was undoubtedly Du Jinchen. Mortified, Bai Meng packed things away while grumbling, “I’m definitely going to win next time. Don’t get too smug, Jinchen.”
Du Jinchen crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow. “I’ll be waiting to see you win.”
The white cat kept lingering on Jiang Chu, making Jiang Chu feel a bit warm. He rolled his shirt sleeves up slightly to his elbows, revealing his fair and slender forearms.
On Jiang Chu’s exposed arms, several flutter-ready butterfly stickers caught the light. Their hollow-cut designs looked as though they were about to take flight, standing out vividly against his pale skin as if they were alive.
He Qing noticed the butterflies on Jiang Chu’s arm. “Wow, Xiao Chu, you’re so stylish.”
Turning her head to look, Yang Qian chimed in happily, “That’s right! All the stickers on Xiao Chu look amazing!”
“Yeah, yeah, I want to put them on too, I love them so much!”
Jiang Chu bit his lip and smiled slightly. “Want some? I have plenty more.”
Handing the cat back to Du Jinchen, Jiang Chu went upstairs to fetch the stickers for them, patiently teaching them how to apply them. After thanking Jiang Chu, the two girls began applying the stickers to each other.
Just as he took the cat back from Du Jinchen’s hands, he met that probing gaze. Thinking Du Jinchen might ask something, Jiang Chu bit his lower lip, feeling conflicted inside.
Then Jiang Chu lowered his eyelids, silently thinking to himself that if Du Jinchen wanted to ask for the reason, he would tell him.
Yet Du Jinchen asked nothing at all. Jiang Chu only heard him say:
“I want to put them on, too.”