Fu Yu’s face was a mask of coldness as he sat in the car. He had just checked the health monitoring app on his phone and found that Ruan Luo’s fitness watch was offline.
Fu Yu’s eyes darkened with unreadable emotions. He glanced at the black-framed Graf watch on his wrist every few seconds. “Hurry up,” he urged.
The driver didn’t know what Fu Yu was so anxious about, but the cold expression on Fu Yu’s face had broken him into a cold sweat. He floored the accelerator, sending the car hurtling forward so fast he suspected the tires were sparking against the asphalt.
Leaning back in the executive seat, Fu Yu rubbed his brow, his mind filled with images of Ruan Luo’s pale face and panicked eyes. He didn’t notice his own breath growing hot, his body simmering with a violent energy like airborne gunpowder, ready to ignite at the slightest spark.
He was simply wondering: what would that fragile child look like when he was terrified?
Fortunately, the thunder was just a distant rumble, never breaking into a full-blown storm.
After a while, raindrops the size of beans began to pelt the window.
Unlike the persistent drizzle of the past few days, this was a passing squall, one that wouldn’t last long.
When Fu Yu returned to the villa and saw that Ruan Luo wasn’t on the first floor, he breathed a sigh of relief. It meant the boy hadn’t been startled awake.
Fu Yu went up to the third floor and stopped outside Ruan Luo’s door. He planned to listen for any sound. If he heard something, he would knock; if not, he would slip in quietly.
Either way, he had to know if Ruan Luo was alright.
But sometimes, the world just works out that way. He had just leaned his tall frame toward the door, straining his ears, when he heard the sliding door open right beside him.
The next second.
Both he and Ruan Luo, who had just opened the door wearing fluffy slippers, froze.
One tall, one short. One looking up, one looking down.
They stared at each other, wide-eyed.
Fu Yu’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he stepped back half a meter. “…I was going to knock, but I hadn’t even reached out my hand yet. Don’t misunderstand.”
Ruan Luo tugged at the fabric of his pants. “Mm.”
Fu Yu glanced around, trying to distract Ruan Luo, but he couldn’t see the stray cat. It must still be on the first floor, being watched by someone.
Fortunately, Ruan Luo didn’t dwell on the incident.
Still groggy from sleep, his voice was soft and barely audible. “I fell asleep in the car again. Thanks for carrying me back.”
Outside, it was raining, and a damp breeze drifted through the hallway.
Seeing Ruan Luo dressed so lightly, Fu Yu hesitated to enter his room to get a jacket. Instead, he took off his own and handed it to him. “It’s no trouble. You’re not heavy.”
As he spoke, Fu Yu’s gaze darkened. Not just not heavy, he thought, you’re far too light.
He had carried Ruan Luo so many times, yet it always felt as if he were holding nothing at all. He had to hold him tight just to feel his presence, lest a sudden gust of wind might blow him away.
Ruan Luo pinched his pants again, then accepted the coat under Fu Yu’s gaze. After a moment’s hesitation, he draped it over his shoulders.
His voice grew even softer. “Next time I’m like this, you can just wake me up.”
“Mm,” Fu Yu hummed. “Okay.”
But, he thought, I’m still going to carry him next time.
As Fu Yu spoke, Ruan Luo kept his head down, staring at his own fluffy slippers.
Fu Yu, meanwhile, was staring at the top of Ruan Luo’s head, watching a few stray hairs standing on end. He had to clench his fists, digging his nails into his palms to stop his hand from reaching out to smooth them down.
“Did the thunder wake you?” Fu Yu asked.
Ruan Luo looked up, his eyes a little hazy. “Was there thunder?”
His question reminded Fu Yu that his apartment was soundproofed, the walls, the doors, the windows. Muffled thunder like this wouldn’t be heard inside unless the windows were open, or if it was a massive, earth-shaking clap.
“Yeah.” As long as it didn’t scare you.
Ruan Luo had woken up at the perfect time; dinner had just been laid out in the dining area.
Perhaps it was because he was physically exhausted from the past few days but mentally relaxed, but Ruan Luo’s appetite had clearly improved.
He ate more rice and side dishes than usual. Even the milk, which he normally left half-finished, was drained to the last drop.
After dinner, Ruan Luo seemed completely lost in thought. He wandered all over the first floor, now bending down to peer into the corners of the stairs, then scratching at the edges of the walls.
Fu Yu knew Ruan Luo was looking for the cat.
By now, Fu Yu understood Ruan Luo very well. Ruan Luo wasn’t the type to beat around the bush. He had his own thoughts and calculations, and he always considered things carefully, keeping some secrets to himself. But for something as simple as asking, “Fu Yu, where’s our cat?” he would have asked directly.
The only reason he wasn’t asking was likely because he’d just woken up and still wasn’t sure if adopting a cat was real or just a dream.
Taking advantage of Ruan Luo’s wandering, Fu Yu walked over to Butler Ji, who was standing stiffly in the living room. He spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. “Bring it in. Let him find it.”
Ruan Luo wandered from the first floor to the second, then up to the third, and back down again.
The glimmer of hope in his eyes grew dimmer and dimmer.
Just as he was about to collapse onto the sofa in despair, he saw a fluffy little figure outside the door, waddling and swaying as it made its way toward him.
“Meow~”
Ruan Luo’s eyes widened as he crouched down. “It’s real!”
He scooped up the kitten and turned to Fu Yu, his eyes sparkling. A small, snow-white tiger tooth peeked out as he beamed. “Fu Yu, a kitty!”
Fu Yu froze.
He had seen Ruan Luo smile before, but those smiles had never reached his eyes.
But now, as Ruan Luo cradled the kitten, pressing his soft cheek against its fluffy face, his eyes crinkled into crescents.
Fu Yu studied Ruan Luo for a full half-minute. “We need to give it a bath.”
“Okay!”
The butler had already prepared a dedicated cat room on the second floor, even drawing a bath knowing the kitten would need one. He had informed Fu Yu of this, yet Fu Yu seemed to have completely forgotten his efforts, ignoring the gesture entirely.
Instead, he led Ruan Luo straight to his own bedroom.
The butler stood there, muttering to himself, “This cat… is it another one of those high-maintenance types?”
His President Fu suffered from severe germaphobia! Once, a single mosquito had died in his Baroque-style bathtub, forcing him to have his staff disinfect and scrub the entire thing with high-temperature steam for a full hour!
And now, an animal this big, absolutely filthy, was being led straight into his room.
It seemed this cat’s status was not to be underestimated. Butler Ji had already mentally prepared a hundred ways to curry favor with it.
Ruan Luo carried the cat and followed Fu Yu to give it a bath, inadvertently ending up inside Fu Yu’s room.
Ruan Luo hesitated at the doorway to Fu Yu’s bedroom.
Fu Yu, assuming he was reluctant to enter, sighed softly and was about to lead him to the second floor when Ruan Luo said, “But it will get your bathroom dirty.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Fu Yu replied softly, his tension easing.
They had agreed to bathe the kitten together, but when it came to the actual washing, Fu Yu wouldn’t even let Ruan Luo’s hands touch the water.
Ruan Luo could only crouch on the floor, waiting expectantly. He’d reach out to take the cat shampoo Butler Ji brought up, then obediently hand Fu Yu the brush.
Even when it came to brushing the kitten’s fur, Fu Yu insisted on doing it himself, refusing to give Ruan Luo the brush.
Finally, Ruan Luo couldn’t hold back any longer. He said softly, his voice tinged with complaint, “Let me brush it too…”
Fu Yu almost softened his heart and gave him the brush, but he still didn’t. His voice was very low and gentle, coaxing, “Ruan Luo, can you hold out both your hands for me to see?”
Ruan Luo obediently held out his hands, closing and then opening his five fingers, his voice sounding muffled. “I’m holding them out.”
Fu Yu continued brushing the cat, smiling softly. “Have the injuries under your fingernails healed yet, hmm?”
Ruan Luo said in a low, annoyed voice, “Not yet. But they don’t hurt at all.”
Fu Yu looked at Ruan Luo. “Since they aren’t completely healed, you can’t let them get too wet. Once they’re fully healed, the task of bathing the cat will be handed over to you, okay?”
Ruan Luo picked at his fingers. “Okay.”
His tone was very disappointed.
Fu Yu looked at him, thinking that if he had a pair of cat ears, they would definitely be drooping down by now.
Fu Yu cooed, “Very good. But it’s not like you didn’t participate. You got the shampoo and the brush. Later, you’ll still need to blow-dry it. I’ll smooth its fur, and you hold the hairdryer, alright?”
Ruan Luo lifted his eyes, his gaze sparkling. “Okay!”
As Ruan Luo spoke, his feet unconsciously drew closer to Fu Yu. So close that only the small cat separated them.
Fu Yu quietly observed the subtle expressions on Ruan Luo’s face.
An impractical thought surfaced in his mind; Ruan Luo seemed to be a “love-brain” when it came to the kitten.
He was so completely focused on the cat, his senses and nerves following its every move, that his body had become sluggish, forgetting even the fear that usually made him avoid Fu Yu like a wolf avoids a tiger.
To test this theory, Fu Yu spoke unexpectedly, yet with great care: “You have a stray hair sticking up on your head.”
But Ruan Luo paid no attention to his hair, his eyes still fixed on the cat: “After it’s dry, can I brush its fur?”
Fu Yu stared at the top of Ruan Luo’s head, his throat bobbing slightly. He tentatively reached out his hand, hesitating like a gardener leaning in to tend to a cherishedly guarded mimosa plant: “Of course you can… This stray hair on your head… Can I… smooth it down for you?”