Chapter 50
As soon as Jiang Heng finished speaking, he was suddenly lifted into the air.
Startled, he instinctively closed his eyes and let out a short, sharp cry.
“Meow!”
The Divine Cat Lord has appeared!
He waited with his eyes closed, anticipating the unknown, but one second, two seconds… nothing happened.
Jiang Heng cautiously opened his eyes.
The grip on his scruff tightened slightly. He looked up and met a pair of dark eyes.
Jiang Heng froze. “…Lu Yichuan?”
The man lowered his eyes. “Little Jiang Heng, should I praise you for being brave, or for being timid?”
Jiang Heng flicked his tail over his belly, his front paws holding it protectively. “What are you doing here?”
Lu Yichuan placed a hand under the kitten’s bottom, his tall figure casting a long shadow in the moonlight. “You’re here, why can’t I be here?”
Jiang Heng wiggled his butt and glanced at the wooden cat statue. “But…”
The man followed his gaze. “That curious?”
“Not really.” Jiang Heng admitted honestly. “I’m just afraid you’ll do something…foolish.”
“You’ve done enough for me. I don’t want to be a burden to you even after I’m dead.”
Lu Yichuan stroked his ear, his hand pausing at his words, then he gently pinched the tip of the kitten’s ear, a playful punishment.
“Rongrong is never a burden.”
He said softly, his voice sincere, “Never in the past, not now. I’ve never considered you a burden.”
Jiang Heng hesitated. “But before…”
Lu Yichuan knew what he wanted to say without him saying it.
“But before, Rongrong was a silly boy, leaving me without a word, making me so sad.”
Jiang Heng nuzzled against him, his voice muffled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. We were just…not that close anymore. It’s not like we stopped being friends.”
“Hmm…” The man agreed. “Indeed, not that close. Someone even set strict rules, only allowing contact once a week.”
Jiang Heng flattened his ears, embarrassed by the reminder of his past actions, and heard the man above him chuckle. “And who was the one suffering?”
The kitten pouted.
In the quiet night, Lu Yichuan chuckled softly. “In the end, it was still me who was heartbroken.”
“You knew…”
“My mother’s methods aren’t exactly subtle. It was hard not to know.”
At first, she had simply thought that Lu Yichuan was young and foolish. Later, she had introduced him to many girls, and only when she realized he was serious did she start to panic. When Lu Yichuan refused to give in, she had no choice but to target Jiang Heng.
The man’s fingers stroked the kitten’s head, then moved down its back, his voice calm and unhurried. “I know Rongrong did it for my own good. Why would I be angry with you?”
He smiled in the darkness.
He knew the pain of withdrawal, he was suffering, and he knew Jiang Heng was also suffering.
A pampered kitten, only after experiencing the true pain of loss, would learn fear, would learn to cling to safety, would be afraid to leave.
Only he could offer him the safest, warmest haven.
Feeling the kitten’s unconscious dependence on him, Lu Yichuan’s smile softened. “In the end, it’s my fault. If I hadn’t been born into such a family, Rongrong wouldn’t have had to make such a sacrifice.”
His words only made Jiang Heng feel more guilty.
“Meow…it’s my fault. I couldn’t even help you, and I even made you…”
“Don’t say that…” The man’s gentle strokes lulled the kitten into a sense of comfort and security. “After all that, Rongrong still came back to me, that’s already a great blessing.”
Jiang Heng, sinking into the warmth of his embrace, asked, “So, we’re still best, best friends, right?”
“Friends…” Lu Yichuan repeated the word, his eyes darkening. “If Rongrong says so, then we are.”
Jiang Heng was dissatisfied. He clung to his shirt and climbed up, looking up at him. “What do you mean ‘if I say so’?”
Under the moonlight, the kitten’s eyes were bright, its round face framed by its slightly longer fur, like a small, fluffy dumpling.
Still just a little kitten.
Lu Yichuan tapped its forehead, sighing softly, like a father patiently waiting for his child to grow up. “Yes, we’re best, best friends, Rongrong.”
Jiang Heng was easily satisfied. Having received his verbal confirmation, he didn’t question its sincerity and, rubbing his forehead against Lu Yichuan’s chin, chuckled happily, bringing the conversation back on track. “So, how did you find out?”
Lu Yichuan, holding the cat, glanced towards the dilapidated shrine. A faint green glow emanated from it, like fireflies, barely visible in the darkness.
He looked away and started down the mountain, carrying the cat.
Seeing him leave, Jiang Heng cried out, “Just like that? I haven’t received any guidance from the Divine Cat Lord yet!”
“The Divine Cat Lord needs to sleep too. Be careful, or He might throw you out for disturbing Him in the middle of the night.”
Jiang Heng: “…”
Lu Yichuan added, “And someone was so clumsy, they spilled the sleeping powder all over the cup, afraid I wouldn’t notice. So silly.”
Jiang Heng: “…”
After a moment of silence, he protested, “I’m just a little kitten! Cat paws are different from human hands!”
So it was the tools, not his clumsiness.
Lu Yichuan’s voice was cool. “More than the sleeping powder, I’m curious, where did you get those…tools?”
Jiang Heng immediately clammed up.
The black cat, which had been following them at a distance, silently disappeared into the shadows.
There were only a few cats around; Lu Yichuan didn’t need to guess who was responsible. “What is this? Cats forming a gang?”
Jiang Heng mumbled, “We have a name. We’re the Cat Crusaders.”
“…”
Boop!
Jiang Heng clutched his forehead. “Lu Yichuan, you’re going to knock me stupid one day!”
“Being stupid is good. Better than being half-witted and annoying.”
Jiang Heng angrily tried to bite him.
Going down the mountain was much faster than going up, and they reached the bottom in no time. Jiang Heng, having been up all night, was exhausted. He nestled in Lu Yichuan’s arms, about to fall asleep, then struggled to sit up. “You still haven’t told me if you saw the Divine Cat Lord!”
The man covered his head with his hand. “I saw Him. Go to sleep, I’ll tell you when you wake up.”
Jiang Heng clung to his fingers. “Really? You’re not lying to me?”
Lu Yichuan gently pressed the pink paw pads beneath his fingers. “When have I ever lied to you?”
Jiang Heng, drowsy, thought for a moment, then slowly released his grip, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
…
When he woke up again, it was almost noon. The sun was shining brightly, and the Chinese roses outside the window were in full bloom.
Jiang Heng got up and found Lu Yichuan in the gym.
The man had just gotten off the treadmill. Seeing Jiang Heng peeking in from the doorway, he bent down and picked him up.
Jiang Heng was face to face with the man’s still heaving chest, his thin workout clothes damp with sweat, his muscles clearly defined. He felt the warmth of the man’s palm against his paws, the heat almost burning his eyes.
He looked away and up at Lu Yichuan’s face, watching as his Adam’s apple bobbed, a drop of sweat trickling down his jaw and landing on Jiang Heng’s eyelid.
He flinched and closed his eyes.
Lu Yichuan wiped the sweat away from the kitten’s eyelid with his fingertip, his breath slightly uneven from his workout. “Rongrong’s awake? Hungry?”
Jiang Heng kneaded his arm but didn’t speak.
Lu Yichuan raised an eyebrow, placed the clean kitten on the floor, and said, “Go play for a while, I’m going to take a shower.”
Jiang Heng watched him go into the bathroom.
He squatted by the door and touched his chest with his paw.
Something’s not right…not right… Little Jiang Heng, something is very wrong with you. Why is your heart racing when you look at Lu Yichuan?
He rubbed his face with his paws.
They had grown up together; he had seen Lu Yichuan in every state imaginable, why would his heart be racing now?
Jiang Heng paced back and forth, then chased his toy mouse around the room, and finally attacked the scratching post with gusto, finally calming himself down.
Good, it had been just his imagination. He shouldn’t stay up so late.
…
By the time Lu Yichuan emerged from the bathroom, the kitten had regained its usual energy and immediately started meowing at his feet.
“Lu Yichuan, can you tell me now?”
Lu Yichuan carried the cat to the garden to bask in the sun.
The sunlight was warm, the deck chair swaying gently, time seeming to slow down.
Jiang Heng kneaded the man’s abs, his paws flexing rhythmically, curiosity and anticipation in his voice. “Did you really see the legendary Divine Cat Lord?”
Lu Yichuan closed his eyes, his entire body relaxed. “I saw Him. Very majestic, indeed, as expected of the Divine Cat Lord.”
“Whoa~” Jiang Heng’s eyes widened. “So He’s a cat?”
“Mm-hmm.” Lu Yichuan said casually. “A very imposing cat, as big as a small mountain, with long, flowing fur, incredibly majestic, the ground trembles when He speaks. But the Divine Cat Lord’s powers are limited, and He can only appear once in a very long time. I was lucky to encounter Him. No one knows when He will appear again.”
He spoke seriously, and Jiang Heng listened attentively. “No wonder He ignored me.”
A smile flickered in Lu Yichuan’s eyes.
Jiang Heng, after a moment of awe, asked, “Did He tell you that I can turn human?”
“He did,” Lu Yichuan sighed softly. “But Rongrong knows, becoming human isn’t easy, right?”
Jiang Heng spread his paws, then clenched them. “Actually, it doesn’t matter whether I can become human or not. I don’t really mind.”
“The Divine Cat Lord said you have a special connection with Him, He only chooses those with a connection, like the white cat and the black cat. But you’re still small now, your bones are too fragile to withstand the transformation, so you have to take care of your health, grow stronger, and when the time is right, the Divine Cat Lord will bestow his blessings upon you.”
“Ah…” Jiang Heng paused. “That sounds like a scam.”
He looked at the man suspiciously. “Are you sure that’s what He said? No conditions? No price to pay?”
“There’s always a price,” Lu Yichuan said without changing his expression. “The transformation process is very, very painful. Rongrong has to be prepared.”
Jiang Heng was about to say something when Lu Yichuan’s phone rang.
His food delivery had arrived.
The man carried the cat to the door to get the food.
Jiang Heng pawed at his arm. “Lu Yichuan…”
Lu Yichuan tapped his forehead. “Don’t worry about it, it’s still early. We’ll talk about it when Rongrong is a big cat. Your most important task now is to eat well and grow up quickly.”
Jiang Heng bit his hand, then noticed the bag of food in his other hand.
The kitten’s sensitive nose twitched. “I smell Maoxuewang.”
“I think Rongrong is a puppy, not a kitty.”
“Lu Yichuan!”
Lu Yichuan immediately apologized. “I’m sorry, I was wrong.”
Jiang Heng huffed, then asked, “I thought you didn’t like Maoxuewang?”
The man said lazily, “I’m feeling a bit weak lately, need to replenish my blood.”
He flexed his fingers, the red string visible beneath his loose-fitting home clothes, a faint red glow emanating from his chest.
