Pine City was in the south, so even when it snowed, the snow didn’t stick around for long. By noon, the sun had melted most of the snow in the courtyard, leaving only a thin, even layer in the shaded spots.
Jiang Xiaoyu stepped on the snow, the crunching sound and soft sensation making him so carried away that he started frolicking around. But it was cold, and he’d just gotten out of the warm car, so after stepping around for just a bit, Ye Qingxu worriedly picked him up and said, “It’s too cold. Go back inside, put on some clothes, and then come out to play.”
Jiang Fenghua, who had waited many years for a grandson and finally had one, wanted to handle every little thing involving the child herself. She held up a set of cat clothes and called out, “Come here, let Grandma put these on you.”
Jiang Xiaoyu felt a bit embarrassed inside, but his naturally outstretched paws told a different story. After all, having been cared for like this for so long, he’d developed a conditioned reflex to these situations and was even starting to get used to others’ care and affection.
Once he was dressed in the thick cat clothes and fitted with waterproof little boots, he was finally set back down on the ground. Jiang Fenghua circled around Jiang Xiaoyu’s now plump, round cat body in the outfit and said, “Go play. We’ll eat once your dad finishes cooking.”
When Jiang Xiaoyu returned to the courtyard, a bunch of cold-resistant cats and dogs immediately gathered around.
They were all wearing knitted sweaters, ones Liu Qingqing had made early on when the weather wasn’t so cold yet. Since they weren’t custom-made like the ones on Jiang Xiaoyu, the sweaters were a bit ill-fitting in size, giving them a cute, comical look.
“Boss! Are you better now?” The Half-Ear Civet called out enthusiastically, trotting over by picking sun-dried patches of ground, then rubbing its cheek glands hard against Jiang Xiaoyu’s clothes. “Cat missed you so much.”
To the adults, the dazed little kitten was certainly cute, but to the fluffballs, the alert Little Cat Cop was obviously more reliable.
“Cat’s better.” Jiang Xiaoyu rubbed back against each one in turn. When he got to the Milk Cow Cat Mighty, he asked, “Mighty, how are you doing?”
The sweater on Mighty only had three leg holes, clearly something Liu Qingqing had specially knitted later.
“Cat is super strong!” Mighty meowed loudly.
Jiang Xiaoyu used his teeth to lift up the sweater on Mighty’s back, revealing a very thick, deep scar there, bald and exposed, never to grow fur again. He carefully smoothed the sweater back into place, rubbed against it, and said, “You’re a truly amazing little cat.”
It had shouted with such effort to earn itself a sliver of hope for survival, such a mighty will to live that it could run freely on just three legs.
Mighty didn’t understand the deeper meaning but knew Jiang Xiaoyu was praising him. It purred and rubbed against Jiang Xiaoyu. “Boss is the amazing one.”
Love and kindness could make flesh and blood grow wildly. If they understood more, they would say the same about Jiang Xiaoyu.
—
Jiang Xiaoyu had just woken up that morning and, after eating, called Jin Ge. The phone rang several times with no answer. Just as he wondered if his master was napping and prepared to hang up, the call connected.
“Hello?” The voice also carried a smoky tinge but was clearly younger—that was Lu Wanhui.
Jiang Xiaoyu subconsciously asked, “Where’s Master?”
It was a meow. There was a second of silence on the other end, and Jiang Xiaoyu realized, panicking as he tried to hang up.
“Jiang Xiaoyu?” Lu Wanhui said. “Wait a sec, I’ll go call Master over.”
After about two minutes, someone finally picked up the phone. “Hello? Little Cat Cub, you feeling better?”
Jiang Xiaoyu explained the situation to him, then asked, “Master, does Lu Wanhui know about the shapeshifters now?”
“Of course. That incident was such a big deal, everyone from Criminal Investigation who responded knows.”
Jiang Xiaoyu shrank back sheepishly, ears drooping as he listened to Jin Ge scold him. “What kinda brain you got, made of tofu? You get kidnapped just eating a meal, and you’re supposed to be a cop? People would laugh their asses off!”
He ranted on for a good seven or eight minutes before catching his breath. “Anyway, if you’re fine, just rest up good at home. You’ve got long-term sick leave, so recover fully before coming back to work. No big cases lately anyway.”
Jiang Xiaoyu hurriedly asked, “What about the Huang Li and Huang Lu sisters?”
“Huang Li was caught on the spot. Huang Lu hid in the mountains in dog form and wasn’t nabbed until over a week later. End of the year, busy clearing cases, so their sentences won’t come till next year.” There was the sound of a thermos lid as Jin Ge seemed to take a sip of water. “But I reckon death penalty’s unavoidable.”
“Aren’t shapeshifters usually not given the death penalty?” Jiang Xiaoyu asked.
In the last case, Luo Xi and Abu’s actions weren’t even close to jail time—just a slap on the wrist with criticism and education.
“Depends on the situation. Their crime was way too heinous. Even with the rare shapeshifter label, they can’t escape blame.”
Not to mention they’d hurt Jiang Xiaoyu. Old General Wan flew into a rage—ten thousand couldn’t stop him. He’d demanded harsh sentences, and since they were guilty anyway, death was inevitable.
Hearing this, Jiang Xiaoyu felt a complicated mix of emotions. Perhaps because they were fellow shapeshifters, he felt a bit sorry they’d gone down the wrong path. But criminals didn’t deserve sympathy. Getting wet himself wasn’t a reason to shred someone else’s umbrella—they’d earned their fate.
“Master, did you go sweep Master’s Wife’s grave for Winter Solstice too?” Jiang Xiaoyu set aside the Huang sisters and turned to asking after Jin Ge.
“Hey, what’s this? You wanna go weed Master’s Wife’s grave too?”
He always spoke so irreverently. Jiang Xiaoyu chided him, “Can’t you talk properly? I’m worried you’re always by yourself…”
The tone was just like Jiang Fenghua’s. After all, when he was a dazed little kitten, he was curious about everything and loved mimicking the adults.
Jin Ge shuddered off his goosebumps. “Cut that out. I’m not your dad or your pa—cutesy talk don’t work on me! Sort out your own stuff. Last time I saw you, you were like a little dementia case needing your daddy to feed you!”
Jiang Xiaoyu stopped bothering with him, smacking his paw down in frustration to hang up.
After hanging up, he felt a bit melancholic. Truth was, he’d only met Master’s Wife a few times.
Back then, he was still living at the Welfare Institute. On occasional weekends, Jin Ge would bring a very gentle woman to visit. Jin Ge only called her “sister” and never mentioned they were lovers. She had a big belly, seemed like an open-hearted person, yet for some reason chose suicide.
He’d never met that child either, only seen the name on the tombstone: Jin Ling.
Jin Ge seemed like a rough, unkempt guy, but he actually carried heavy burdens, even more reluctant than the old Jiang Xiaoyu to bare his inner thoughts.
He was great at masking and fooling others, so even after all these years, Jiang Xiaoyu still didn’t know what had happened back then to make Jin Ge lose his wife and child overnight.
Lu Wanhui stood by, listening to their long chat, amazed that Jin Ge could converse so fluidly even with cat meows.
“Is this a shapeshifter ability?”
Jin Ge lit a cigarette, irritably replying, “Yeah, I’m a feline shapeshifter, so I can understand cat speech.”
Lu Wanhui felt aggrieved. “Why are you always so cold to me?”
“What’d I do? Did I ignore your question or what?”
True enough, but Lu Wanhui felt even more wronged. “You told me to ask my dad, but he won’t tell me. He said since I don’t have shapeshifter genes, I don’t need to know about shapeshifters…”
After over twenty years of living, Lu Wanhui had just learned for the first time that his father was actually a leopard.
Hearing Lu Fengyan’s name, Jin Ge’s expression grew even colder. He tapped his cigarette ash and stopped paying attention.
—
Christmas Eve was three days after Winter Solstice.
Having applied for the flight path in advance, Ye Lian landed that morning. As he stepped off the private plane, he asked his waiting assistant, “Got the stuff?”
“Got it, all wrapped up and in the car for you.”
Ye Lian nodded. On the way to the company, he called Jiang Xiaoyu. “You up yet?”
Jiang Xiaoyu was groggy and checked the time. “Not yet.” He crawled out of Curly-Haired Old Cat’s arms, stretched lazily with a yawn, and asked, “You back? Cat misses you.”
Ye Lian was delighted by his straightforward words, chuckling softly. “Uncle misses our Little Yu too. I just got off the plane and have to head to the company for some work. See you tonight, okay?”
Jiang Xiaoyu naturally agreed, nodding repeatedly. “Cat has a gift for you!”
“Uncle’s looking forward to it.”
The gift Jiang Xiaoyu mentioned was inspired by the knitted sweaters. He’d learned to knit scarves from Jiang Fenghua.
He was smart and picked it up quickly, choosing soft, thick yarn with a simple pattern. In one day and half a night, he’d knitted scarves for Wife Cat and the family.
He hadn’t hidden it while learning, so both dads knew. Wan Keyao had been humming tunes all morning, smugly boasting to Ye Qingxu by the stove, “The kid knitted me a scarf.”
His smug look was really grating. Ye Qingxu ignored him, grabbing his coat to head out. “I’ll go buy some breakfast.”
“Don’t, I’m making it.”
“You do yours, I’ll grab some extras.”
Wan Keyao’s cooking was wonderfully homey despite his status, but eating homestyle every day got a bit bland. Ye Qingxu wanted to get some snacks for the kid to vary the flavors.
Winter’s wind and snow carried a chill, but the courtyard full of sunlight felt leisurely and warm.
Yan Feilang and Liu Qingqing were both Shapeshifters from the north who loved frolicking in the snow. Around the New Year, they had all returned north to reunite with their families and enjoy the snow, leaving only the old butler behind. So he came to the Ye household to keep several of the parents company.
A brazier burned under the small table in the courtyard, and four people sat around it playing Long Cards. Jiang Xiaoyu lay in Ye Qingxu’s arms, his two paws resting on the table as he stared seriously at the unfamiliar cards.
Chen Yiqu said, “Young people these days basically haven’t seen these kinds of cards. Little Ye isn’t that old, but he actually knows how to play.”
Jiang Fenghua chimed in, “Yeah, I haven’t played in nearly twenty years myself. A-Yao played a few times a long time ago when I dragged him into it. How did you learn, Qingxu?” The more she interacted with him, the more she felt Ye Qingxu was an exceptionally outstanding person. She truly didn’t know how she had been so blind before.
Ye Qingxu held Jiang Xiaoyu’s paw and taught him to play a card, smiling as he said, “My grandparents both loved playing Long Cards. When I was a kid, I often kept them company.”
Jiang Xiaoyu was purely there for the fun of it. After a few rounds, he still had no idea what the game was about. Glancing at the Curly-Haired Old Cat, who was bundled up thickly and dozing on the swing, he patted Ye Qingxu’s arm twice to signal he wanted down.
“There’s freshly baked butter cookies in the house. Grab some and bring Grandpa along to eat.” Wan Keyao’s nicotine craving had flared up again. He had a cigarette dangling from his mouth and dry-chewed on it as he spoke to the little cat.
Jiang Xiaoyu fetched the snacks and shared them with the cats and dogs scattered around the courtyard three or two at a time, then carried a few pieces as he climbed onto the swing to find Cat Grandpa.
In the lingering warmth of the afternoon, with the sounds of the parents chatting and playing cards nearby, he curled up in Curly-Haired Old Cat’s arms and dozed off.
He woke to the clamor in the courtyard. Wan Keyao had somehow procured a very large Norway spruce and set it up in the yard, where he was now hanging light strings on it. Ye Qingxu was wrapping long, thick ropes around the trunk.
Seeing Little Black Cat’s eyes sparkling as he watched, Wan Keyao bragged smugly, “Never seen one before, huh? Daddy specially prepared it for you.” Though it was a foreign holiday, it had recently become all the rage among young people. He didn’t know if the kid liked it or not, but preparing it couldn’t hurt.
Jiang Xiaoyu had never celebrated any of these holidays before. After all, he’d been on his own with a bunch of clueless cats and dogs—none of the hustle and bustle or crowds had anything to do with him.
Without experiencing it, there were no real feelings attached. It didn’t matter if he celebrated or not. But now things were different. The parents had created a holiday atmosphere for him, just waiting for him to sharpen his claws on the trunk wrapped in thick ropes.
Ye Qingxu hung a sports camera around Jiang Xiaoyu’s neck. “It’s been a while since we recorded any video material. Now that your body’s better, let’s record some and send it to Zhao Xiaoting.”
And so Jiang Xiaoyu wore the sports camera, scratching vigorously at the trunk with both paws. The camera captured a cat’s-eye-view of cat claws shredding a tree. He didn’t think there was anything special about it himself, but once the video hit the internet, it immediately shot to the top of the hot searches.
After all, not everyone got to see such an ultra-low camera angle with a first-person fluffy cat paw view.
By the time the moon rose over the eaves and the warm yellow lights came on, a big pot was set over the courtyard brazier, and dinner was about to begin.
Ye Lian arrived fashionably late, just finished handling matters at the company.
Wan Keyao didn’t even want to open the gate for him, but seeing the kid already scrambling out through the fence to pounce on the man, he could only scowl darkly and open the courtyard gate.
Ye Lian held the warm cat in his arms and curved his eyes in a smile. “Mr. Wan, Lian Zhi has come to intrude.”
Wan Keyao grumbled inwardly—You know you’re intruding and you still come? Shameless bastard.
But the guy had brought gifts and wore such a springlike smile. With wife and child already defecting, what could he do?
Wan Keyao shut the courtyard gate, fuming inside.
Ye Lian had come well-prepared; each parent received an appropriate gift. Wan Keyao placed the items one by one under the tree, putting on a fake smile. “Aiya, you shouldn’t have. I didn’t prepare a return gift.”
Ye Lian curved his eyes. “You and Mr. Ye have prepared such a sumptuous dinner—that’s the best return gift.”
His words were skillfully chosen, treating Wan Keyao and Ye Qingxu as a unit. Wan Keyao couldn’t keep scowling. He pulled out a chair and gestured with a palm. “Please, have a seat.”
Jiang Xiaoyu lay contentedly in Wife Cat’s arms, happily accepting bites fed to him—his paw pads splayed out in bliss.
He hadn’t opened his gift yet. Chewing with his mouth full, he meowed indistinctly, “What’d you get the cat?”
“You’ll see later.” Ye Lian teased in a low voice.
Jiang Xiaoyu’s curiosity was piqued; he couldn’t even eat anymore and just crouched on the man’s thigh, staring eagerly.
Ye Lian pinched the drool bib around Jiang Xiaoyu’s neck with his fingertips and wiped his mouth, then said to the group eating enthusiastically, “Excuse me, where’s the bathroom? I’ll step away for a moment.”
Ye Qingxu’s heart was split in two—one half busy greeting people, the other on Jiang Xiaoyu. He naturally knew the little cat actually wanted to open his gift. Smiling, he said, “Go inside. There are disposable slippers by the veranda.”
Jiang Xiaoyu slipped down from Ye Lian’s thigh and sneaked over to the base of the Norway spruce, where the gifts sat. Like a thief, he glanced at the adults with big eyes, found the box with a sticker of his own likeness, snatched it in his mouth, and bolted into the house.
He thought he’d been stealthy, but which adult hadn’t noticed? Their gazes met, and they all just smiled and shook their heads.
The gift was wrapped securely—cat form couldn’t manage it. Jiang Xiaoyu hesitated for a few seconds, then carried the gift back to the bedroom and shifted to human form.
Ye Lian washed his hands and emerged from the bathroom, looking around. “Little Yu?”
“In the room,” Jiang Xiaoyu called back.
Ye Lian leaned against the doorframe, raising a brow. “Ears?”
The youth was dressed simply in a t-shirt and shorts, sitting cross-legged on the bed unpacking the gift. Hearing the sound, he looked up, cheeks a bit flushed. “Forgot to tell you… the ears won’t change back…”
Ye Lian’s eyes held a smile as he sauntered over and sat beside him, drawing out his words. “Our Little Yu, how are you so good at this?” Self-taught seduction.
Jiang Xiaoyu didn’t get the implication, but his instincts screamed danger. He quickly changed the subject. “What exactly is it? Wrapped so securely?” Before opening it, he’d guessed it might be yummy chocolate or that cute short-legged cat doll. But when he saw the plush ornament inside the box, he froze.
“It’s the Colorful Civet Old Cat…”
Ye Lian placed a palm on the back of Jiang Xiaoyu’s head and pulled him close. He kissed his forehead. “The fur is specially made, done to the best restoration possible. That little diamond pendant around its neck was made from Old Cat’s ashes.”
Jiang Xiaoyu’s eyes reddened, tears welling up.
He gently rubbed his cheek against the ornament, his own warmth seeping into the cool plush, warming it—as if it were the lingering body heat of Colorful Civet Old Cat alive.
Tears spilled uncontrollably. He wanted to thank Ye Lian, but choked sobs prevented him.
Ye Lian pressed his head to his chest and kissed his hair, softly coaxing, “Cry it out.”
A long while later, Jiang Xiaoyu’s trembling back finally stilled. He hitched with sobs as he left Ye Lian’s embrace, took the tissue handed to him, and wiped his messy face.
He buried his face in the tissue. Once his emotions settled, the room fell quiet for a long time. He looked up to find Ye Lian gazing at him steadily, eyes deep with affection.
“What are you looking at…” He felt embarrassed being stared at—ashamed of always crying in front of Ye Lian, and the mutual awareness of their intimate feelings.
Ye Lian rose and sat in a nearby chair, his voice like fine liquor weaving sweet words. “I’m sitting by your side, looking at the moon and at you. Moonlight passes through your tears, leaving flecks of soft glow.”
His long legs spread wide, arms open in invitation, he said to Jiang Xiaoyu, “And I beg: come here quickly, let me hold you—you who light up this dark night.”
Jiang Xiaoyu thought, This is lethal.
He was bewitched by this demon, willingly falling into the trap, offering his pair of flushed cat ears for the monster to suckle.
