Chapter 13
FIP not only required special medication injections, but also daily oral medication. If the cat had a poor appetite, it even had to be force-fed.
Fortunately, Jiang Heng wasn’t a real cat. He knew that the injections and medication were to treat his illness, so he was exceptionally cooperative.
The assistant was usually responsible for taking care of the cats and dogs, and she had never seen a cat as well-behaved as Jiang Heng. But the easier he was to care for, the more distressed she felt, and the more distressed she felt, the more she couldn’t help but spend her own money to give him cat treats and canned food.
Generally, cats with FIP would have a decreased appetite, but Jiang Heng was different. He was ready to eat the moment he opened his eyes.
He wasn’t actually that hungry, but his time as a stray had traumatized him. After all, the cure rate for FIP wasn’t 100%, and he didn’t know if he would recover, so he could only eat his fill every day. Even if he died, he would die a full-bellied cat.
His days in the hospital were monotonous. He would fall into a deep sleep after his daily injection. By the time the wound on his back had scabbed over, Jiang Heng realized he hadn’t seen Lu Yichuan for many days.
Recently, the number of cats and dogs at the pet hospital had increased, and Jiang Heng’s luxurious private room had gained a roommate.
It was an American Shorthair, also diagnosed with FIP. It had received its injection around the same time as Jiang Heng that morning and was currently roaring furiously in its cage.
Since FIP wasn’t contagious, the doctor placed their cages in the same room.
While Jiang Heng was eating, the shorthair was scratching its cage. While Jiang Heng was drinking, the shorthair was yowling loudly. When Jiang Heng woke up from a nap, the shorthair was scratching its cage and yowling loudly.
“…”
He couldn’t take it anymore and yelled, “Shut up!”
The American Shorthair turned and stared at him, seemingly incredulous that this little kitten with barely any fur dared to yell at it, and hissed at him.
Separated by the cage, Jiang Heng wasn’t afraid of it. He raised his head and hissed back, then raised a paw, giving it a middle finger that only he could see.
The shorthair became even angrier. “Are you challenging me?”
Jiang Heng said innocently, “I’m just advising you to be quiet.”
The shorthair looked even more agitated. “Those damned two-legged creatures are trying to kill me! When I get out of here, I’ll scratch their faces off!”
Jiang Heng patiently explained to the illiterate cat, “You’re sick. They’re giving you injections to save you. Otherwise, you’d be dead already.”
“That needle hurts so much, how could it be saving me? They’re trying to kill me!”
Jiang Heng found a comfortable position and lay down.
“Although the needle hurts, think about it, don’t you feel much better after the injection? Besides, your owner brought you here, right? If they wanted to harm you, why would your owner leave you here?”
The shorthair was skeptical. “Really?”
“Why would I lie to you?” Jiang Heng yawned. “I get injections every day just like you.”
The shorthair paced around its cage. Whether it believed Jiang Heng or not, it thankfully stopped yowling.
In the afternoon, a woman carrying a bag entered the pet hospital and went straight to the American Shorthair’s cage.
Jiang Heng was playing with a ribbon hanging from his cage with his paws. He listened to the woman talking to the shorthair, his movements gradually slowing down until they finally stopped.
“Baby, Mommy was so worried about you. I missed you so much! I came to see you as soon as I got off work. Be good and get your treatment in the hospital, and when you’re better, Mommy will buy you canned food…”
The assistant came in with cat food and medicine and chuckled when she heard the woman’s words. “The little guy is recovering well. Before, it was always listless after the injections, now it’s arguing with the doctor.”
“That’s good…” The woman breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ve been so worried every day at work. If anything happened to it, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
The assistant mixed the medicine into the cat food and comforted her, “Don’t worry, the doctors here are professionals. As long as it’s not late-stage, the cure rate is quite high. But I heard you say your workplace is an hour’s bus ride away. Isn’t it troublesome to come here every day?”
The woman took a sip of water from her bag. “There’s no other way. As a parent, I can’t help but worry. Even though you send videos every day, I don’t feel at ease unless I see it myself.”
“It seems you love your fur baby very much.”
The woman smiled and reached into the cage to pet the cat.
And received a swat.
The woman took the shorthair’s food bowl, and the assistant brought Jiang Heng’s portion to his cage. “Little guy, it’s time to eat.”
The usually enthusiastic kitten was slow today, glancing at the shorthair after every bite.
The assistant stroked his prickly head. “Your owner cares about you very much too. He asks the doctor about you every day.”
The kitten’s ears twitched, as if embarrassed, but it started eating a little faster.
The assistant sighed softly.
Actually, she had never received a single reply to the pictures and videos she sent.
It was a cloudy Sunday when Zhao Shuo excitedly knocked on Lu Yichuan’s dormitory door.
“It’s a nice day today, not too hot, not too cold. We’re planning to go hiking and then have a barbecue. Do you want to come?”
Lu Yichuan was just putting on his jacket, ready to leave. He smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I have something to do today, I probably can’t go.”
Zhao Shuo’s sharp eyes noticed the gift box on the table. “Prepared a gift? Going on a date?”
Lu Yichuan picked up the gift. “No, it’s a birthday present for a younger brother.”
“Oh…” Zhao Shuo said knowingly, “That…Jiang Xingbai, right? I’ve seen him come looking for you several times. You two have a good relationship. You go to his birthday celebration every year, rain or shine, even taking time off if you have to.”
The man in front of him chuckled, neither confirming nor denying, and just said, “It’s getting late, I have to go.”
…
It was already three in the afternoon when Lu Yichuan arrived at the Jiang residence.
He could hear the noise coming from inside the villa before he even reached the door. The Jiang family’s young master was celebrating his birthday, and the atmosphere was lively.
As Lu Yichuan reached the entrance, a sharp-eyed maid carrying something spotted him.
The Jiang and Lu families were on friendly terms, and the maid was familiar with Lu Yichuan. She greeted him with a smile and opened the door for him.
“Young Master Lu, you’re here.”
Lu Yichuan responded politely with a smile. Before he could step inside, a woman in her forties rushed out to greet him.
“Yichuan, you’re finally here! Xingbai has been talking about you all morning, waiting eagerly for you to arrive.”
Lu Yichuan lowered his eyes and subtly moved away from her hand on his arm, smiling as he handed her the gift. “Something held me up. Happy birthday to the little birthday boy.”
Zhao Huailan pushed the gift back. “Why give it to me? You should give it to him yourself.”
Lu Yichuan didn’t insist and placed the gift on the table in the foyer, where it blended in with the numerous other presents.
Jiang Xingbai had just been discharged from the hospital, so his birthday celebration was a small affair. Only Jiang family relatives and Jiang Xingbai’s friends were invited.
Even so, the living room was bustling with people.
Lu Yichuan’s arrival attracted everyone’s attention. Even though he had had some undisclosed conflict with the Lu family a few years ago, he was still the Lu family’s young master, and naturally, many people wanted to curry favor with him.
As soon as he entered, he was surrounded by people exchanging pleasantries.
Before he could even take a sip of water, Lu Yichuan was swept into the social vortex, smiling at everyone, his underlying annoyance hidden.
Fortunately, after only a few words, a surprised voice came from the top of the stairs.
“Yichuan-ge!”
Lu Yichuan looked up and saw Jiang Xingbai standing at the top of the stairs.
He had probably just woken up from his nap. He wore beige home clothes, his figure thin, his face pale, his features resembling Zhao Huailan’s, delicate and refined.
He was delighted to see Lu Yichuan and hurried down the stairs, the housekeeper calling after him, “Young Master, slow down, slow down.”
Jiang Xingbai ignored him. He ran to Lu Yichuan, catching his breath before speaking. “I thought you weren’t coming. I sent you messages, but you didn’t reply.”
The corners of Lu Yichuan’s lips curled into a gentle smile. “Sorry, I’ve been busy writing my thesis lately, I haven’t had much time.”
“I know…” Jiang Xingbai’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “I saw the news on campus. Your paper was published in a C-ranked journal! That’s amazing!”
Zhao Huailan draped a jacket over his shoulders. “You’re such a grown-up now, why don’t you take better care of yourself? It’s only March, and it’s still cold. What if you catch a cold?”
Jiang Xingbai made a face at her. “Mom, I’m fine. You’re just overreacting.”
“Fine, my foot!” Zhao Huailan glared at him. “You just got discharged from the hospital! The doctor said you have to be careful…”
Lu Yichuan watched quietly from the side.
Watching them, as close as any mother and son, so close that there seemed to be no room for anyone else in their bond.
As if they had been by each other’s side for the past twenty years.
Under Lu Yichuan’s dark gaze, Zhao Huailan flinched and nervously loosened her grip on Jiang Xingbai, saying, either in explanation or something else, “You know about Xingbai’s illness. He wasn’t with me for so many years, and I don’t know how much he suffered. It’s my responsibility that he’s like this now, so I can’t help but be worried.”
Lu Yichuan adjusted his watch strap, a smile appearing on his lips out of habit. “I understand. He’s different from others, naturally you have to be more careful.”
Zhao Huailan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, not daring to meet his eyes again.
Jiang Xingbai, oblivious, pulled Lu Yichuan to sit on the sofa and looked around. “Yichuan-ge, where’s my present?”
Someone teased, “It’s on the table in the foyer. You don’t care about the presents we gave you, you only care about your Yichuan-ge, huh?”
Jiang Xingbai smiled shyly and went to the foyer to get Lu Yichuan’s gift, just as Jiang Zhuo was returning.
Jiang Zhuo raised an eyebrow, seeing his hurried manner. “What are you doing?”
Jiang Xingbai clutched the box in his arms. “I’m looking for the present Yichuan-ge gave me.”
Jiang Zhuo glanced inside and saw Lu Yichuan sitting on the sofa.
With the gift in hand, Jiang Xingbai ignored his brother and returned to Lu Yichuan’s side.
He eagerly tore open the gift. Seeing the watch inside, a smile bloomed on his face. He took the watch out and tried it on his wrist. “This watch is so beautiful! It must be very expensive, right?”
Lu Yichuan glanced at it, as if he had just realized what was inside. “It’s alright.”
Jiang Xingbai’s friend came over and looked at it enviously. “I’ve seen this watch before. It must be at least six figures. And you say ‘it’s alright’?”
Jiang Xingbai beamed even wider. He glanced at the watch on Lu Yichuan’s left wrist and asked, “Yichuan-ge, what brand is the watch on your wrist?”
Lu Yichuan touched the watch face, his expression indifferent. “It’s not an expensive brand, just something I bought randomly.”
“Oh…” Jiang Xingbai put down the watch in his hand and stared at his left wrist. “I think the watch on your wrist is very nice. Can I have…”
Before he could finish, Jiang Zhuo, who had just taken off his jacket, suddenly changed his expression. “Shut up!”
Jiang Xingbai was startled. He looked at his brother’s grim face, then at the expressions of his relatives, and finally realized something.
“Sorry, I…”
Jiang Zhuo looked at Lu Yichuan. The man picked up an orange and quietly peeled it.
He grabbed Jiang Xingbai’s hand and pulled him up from the sofa. “I think you’ve become stupid from staying home all day. Wearing pajamas with so many guests, what are you thinking? Go change your clothes and come back down.”
Jiang Xingbai looked confused and instinctively glanced at Lu Yichuan. “But…”
“But what?” Jiang Zhuo said. “Do you think he’s going to run away?”
Watching Jiang Xingbai disappear up the stairs, Jiang Zhuo sat down where he had been sitting and put the watch back in the gift box with a sigh.
“He didn’t mean it. He didn’t know…”
Lu Yichuan finished peeling the orange, revealing the juicy segments inside.
He started removing the white pith, glancing casually towards the kitchen. “Making a cake?”
Jiang Zhuo paused and explained, “He just got out of the hospital, and my mom feels sorry for him, so she wanted to bake him a birthday cake herself…”
He stopped mid-sentence, unable to speak.
Because he suddenly realized that in eighteen years, Zhao Huailan had never once baked a birthday cake for Jiang Heng.
