Chapter 86: The Orange Cat Comes to Visit Part 1

Huang Li gripped Jiang Xiaoyu’s wrist for a moment before letting go, then handed him his phone. “How come you didn’t even bring a phone case? What if such an expensive phone gets damaged?”

Jiang Xiaoyu took the phone and curved the corners of his eyes without saying a word. Huang Li was stunned for a second, then smiled too as she wheeled herself into the room.

Jiang Xiaoyu didn’t realize that the way he’d just curved his eyes already carried a hint of Ye Lianzhi’s vibe.

“Interesting.” Huang Li pulled back the white sheet covering the corpse and picked up her needle, thread, and knife.

Jiang Xiaoyu stepped out of the funeral home door and rubbed the wrist Huang Li had just grabbed. She looked so slim, but her grip was surprisingly strong. Jiang Xiaoyu’s skin was already fair, and now there was a clear ring of red marks around his wrist that stood out glaringly. He’d deliberately let the phone slip earlier to check on Huang Li’s legs, but unfortunately, he hadn’t managed to touch them.

Still, she was a girl, and it really wasn’t right for him to reach out and touch her thighs like that. Jiang Xiaoyu scratched his reddened ear tip, belatedly realizing how rude his actions had been. He pulled out his phone and texted Huang Li: Sorry, my phone just fell on you, and I subconsciously reached for it.

Huang Li was probably busy, since Jiang Xiaoyu didn’t get her reply until he was back at the Case Handling Office: No worries, I was sewing up a corpse and just got a chance to reply.

She attached a photo taken from her wheelchair toward the body on the worktable. She must have some knack for composition—the shot split her and the corpse diagonally down the middle, capturing half of her in a red knit sweater hem and her thin, atrophied legs clad in jeans.

—

Jiang Xiaoyu had recently switched cars because he’d scraped his old little blue car while parking. He’d taken it to the repair shop himself, only to be told they couldn’t fix it here and had to hand it over to Wan Keyao.

The new car was a sleek little black one with a super cool scissor-door design full of sci-fi vibes. In his cat form, Jiang Xiaoyu could practically blend right into it.

“A living Koenigsegg!” Zhang Pangpang exclaimed. Once seated, he gawked with his beady little eyes, poking around everywhere, which made Jiang Xiaoyu a bit nervous.

“Don’t mess around. My driving skills aren’t great…”

Zhang Pangpang got nervous too at his words. His chubby face tensed up, those dragon-eye-sized peepers round as saucers, as he watched Jiang Xiaoyu crawl along the road at his usual 30 km/h pace.

When they got to the house, Ye Qingxu had just returned from walking the dogs. Seeing these two kids—one driving, one riding—with expressions more solemn than a funeral, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

He unclipped the leash to let the dogs go in first, then directed Jiang Xiaoyu’s parking. Once the kid was out, he said, “You’ve been driving for so long and you’re still this nervous?”

Jiang Xiaoyu handed Ye Qingxu the bento bag and mumbled in rebuttal, “But I hardly ever carry anyone else.” Dad and Wife Cat don’t count!

Ye Qingxu suppressed a smile, not wanting to dent the kid’s confidence. He straightened up and said to Zhang Pangpang, “Welcome, welcome! You and Little Yu go play for a bit first. If you’d feel more comfortable as a cat, go ahead and shift. Dinner’s cooking and will be ready soon.”

Jiang Xiaoyu was still puzzled about who was “making” dinner—after all, not to disparage his dad, but Ye Qingxu’s cooking was really not table-ready… But the moment they entered, he saw the tall, burly Wan Keyao wearing an apron, wielding a spatula as naturally as could be: “Baby’s home from work?”

Jiang Xiaoyu’s face flushed red. He whipped around to check on Zhang Pangpang, who was staring at the Ragdoll cat named Sesame and hadn’t noticed. Only then did he relax a little. He glanced at Wan Keyao, then at Ye Qingxu, his expression all conflicted.

Ye Qingxu shot Wan Keyao a glare, then smilingly pulled Jiang Xiaoyu inside: “Ignore him. He’s just the cook.”

Coaxed into shifting back to cat form, Jiang Xiaoyu had a bib put on by Ye Qingxu. His little mind was a whirlwind of confusion. From the looks of Dad and Wan Keyao, they hadn’t made up? But Wan Keyao kept popping up at home, cooking and doing chores—what was that about? Should I call Wan Keyao Dad…?

Ye Qingxu found his solemn furry face hilarious. He lifted the little black cat up and planted two big smooches on his cat belly before setting him down: “Take your friend for a stroll in the yard. He’s a guest, after all.”

Jiang Xiaoyu meowed in acknowledgment, shook out his ears, and trotted lightly toward the yard. “Pangpang, wanna shift back to cat form? We have cat-friendly chairs at home, and it’s super convenient for eating.”

Zhang Pangpang hadn’t seen Sesame in ages and was chatting with the Ragdoll cat when he heard the meow and turned. He spotted a black cat in a rosy pink cat skirt and matching bib charging toward him. In that instant, he blushed and quickly looked away.

Everyone around Jiang Xiaoyu treated him like a little kid or kitten, so no one saw an issue with the outfit. But to Zhang Pangpang, this burly peer-cat, seeing such a pretty kitty dressed so temptingly was visually overwhelming…

Feeling awkward, he backed up a few steps. Seeing Jiang Xiaoyu’s puzzled look, he hurriedly said, “Th-then I’ll shift in the bathroom.”

Jiang Xiaoyu nodded and led the way with his round tail held high to the new cat-and-dog washroom in the yard.

At dinner, the orange cat cub and black cat cub sat side by side. Wan Keyao served Jiang Xiaoyu a beautifully plated bowl of fruit. Eyeing the orange cat’s stout, chunky build, then his own cub’s tiny paws, his sword brows furrowed. He turned and piled a few plates of meat onto the baby chair for Jiang Xiaoyu, urging, “Eat more.”

Ye Qingxu also served Zhang Pangpang some food: “Tell Uncle Ye if you need more.”

Zhang Pangpang nodded busily and meowed: “Plenty! I’m dieting, can’t eat too much—this is perfect.”

His meow was drawn out long. Wan Keyao couldn’t understand him—only his own cub—so he grinned and asked Jiang Xiaoyu as if finding a topic: “What’d your coworker say?”

Jiang Xiaoyu struggled to swallow a shrimp bigger than his cat face and replied, “He says he can’t eat any more, he’s gotta diet.”

Ye Qingxu joined in, smiling as he peeled shrimp for Jiang Xiaoyu and said to the orange cat, “Pangpang, you’re still young. Besides, you’re not even fat.”

This was classic Ginkgo Country parenting flattery—even after years abroad without coaching, Ye Qingxu had it down pat.

Zhang Pangpang was used to it and knew they were just softening him up. He grimaced: “I’m almost two hundred pounds. My mom says if I keep this up, I’ll never find a wife. Got blind dates lined up for New Year’s.”

Jiang Xiaoyu translated word-for-word, straight-faced.

Wan Keyao’s eyes gleamed. He smiled warmly at Zhang Pangpang: “Fair point. You’re not that old, but it’s about time to start dating. A few more years and you’ll be settling down.”

Ye Qingxu stayed silent, wondering what scheme this guy was cooking up.

Seeing the orange cat nod obediently in agreement, Wan Keyao leaned back casually in his chair and launched into a lecture: “Listen up, Uncle Wan says the rest doesn’t matter, but when picking a partner, go for someone honest and real. Skip the fake, flowery types—pretty like a vixen fox spirit, what’s the point? Anyone who can’t do housework is a no-go.”

He was obviously shading that old codger Ye Lianzhi.

Then, with a smug grin: “Find someone tall and sturdy who can cook, do chores, and take care of you.”

Thick-skinned as ever, straight-up gold-starred self-promo.

Ye Qingxu, who couldn’t cook, sneered coldly: “What’s wrong with not cooking? Can’t order takeout? Listen to Uncle Ye, Pangpang—looks and all that don’t matter for a partner, but personality has to be good, mature. Skip the loudmouth hotheads, and smokers or drinkers? Hard pass.”

Zhang Pangpang was utterly baffled… Were these two even talking to him?

Jiang Xiaoyu had been silently battling his shrimp when he noticed Wan Keyao’s face slowly darkening at Ye Qingxu’s words. The black cat cub snickered mischievously and burst out laughing for no reason.

Wan Keyao hunched over ingratiatingly: “Hey now, not talking about you! One cook in the house is enough, right? Not what I meant at all. Besides, I’m quitting smoking and drinking—see? Haven’t had a cig in days.”

Ye Qingxu ignored him and stood. “Pangpang, I’ll pack some fruit for you to take home.”

After dinner, Zhang Pangpang, back in clothes, insisted he could cab it home alone. Ye Qingxu said, “Let Mr. Wan drive you. He’s got nothing better to do after stuffing himself.”

Tamed by the roast, Wan Keyao had zero comeback. He grabbed his coat from the rack and said to Zhang Pangpang, “C’mon, little comrade. Uncle Wan’ll give you a ride.”

Ye Qingxu carried Jiang Xiaoyu out to see them off at the roadside. The moment Wan Keyao started the engine, that Ye White Lotus popped up out of nowhere, all cheeky as he scooped up his own kid.

“Hands off! What the hell are you doing?” Wan Keyao’s temper flared. He didn’t even turn the key properly, flung the door open, nostrils flaring as he lunged to snatch.

Ye Lianzhi looked innocent, curving his eyes as he pinched Jiang Xiaoyu’s cat paw and waved it at Wan Keyao. “What’d I do? What’s wrong with you, Mr. Wan?”

“What’s wrong? Let go! You’ve got some nerve, putting hands on my kid!”

Ye Qingxu was done with this guy’s filter-free mouth. He elbowed his waist and dragged him aside: “Shut your yap! Little Yu’s coworker is right there!”

Zhang Pangpang awkwardly scratched his head. Seeing Ye Lianzhi curve his eyes at him made him fidgety. His gaze dropped to Jiang Xiaoyu happily nestled in the man’s arms, and he felt inexplicably downcast.

Especially hearing Jiang Xiaoyu introduce: “This is my Wife Cat. He can understand cat speech.”

Ye Lian lightly chuckled and greeted the dazed Zhang Pangpang: “Hello, thanks for taking care of my Little Yu at work.”

Zhang Pangpang forced a smile: “We’re friends, it’s what I should do.”

Nearby, Wan Keyao had just been dragged aside by Ye Qingxu for a lecture. Upon returning, he heard Ye Lian’s words, and the anger he’d just suppressed flared up again: “What do you mean ‘your’?”

Ye Qingxu’s voice turned cold: “Have you caused enough trouble? If you won’t leave, I’ll go send him off.” He made as if to get in the car. Wan Keyao quickly backed down: “Fine, fine, I’ll go send him. Ancestor, you rest. I’ll come back after dropping him off.”

“You—” Ye Qingxu wanted to curse, but glancing at the kid and his wife nearby, he held back and gave a reluctant “Mm.”

Seeing that he hadn’t refused letting him return, Wan Keyao forgot all about Ye Lian. Thrilled at the approval, he slammed on the accelerator and drove off, planning to hurry back right away.

—

Though the house at the foot of the mountain could be used for cooking, the soft furnishings weren’t finished yet, so Jiang Xiaoyu was still staying in the Cat House at the Ye Residence.

Cat Grandpa had been picked up by Jiang Fenghua these past few days, and Jiang Xiaoyu, lying alone on the cat bed as a single cat, felt a bit unaccustomed.

Because being with Ye Lian always distracted him into staring at the man, he’d righteously drawn a line and insisted on returning to the Cat House alone to study. But now that he was by himself, he couldn’t focus on the book anymore.