After Death, I Became My Childhood Friend’s Cat 19

Chapter 19

Thud! Jiang Heng swung in the air, his bottom making intimate contact with the cabinet door, but the cabinet remained stubbornly closed, not even a crack appeared.

Jiang Heng: “…”

Dejected, he let go, collapsing onto the floor like a flattened pancake, motionless, seemingly dead, but not really alive either.

It seemed to be noon, judging by the loud voices in the corridor.

Jiang Heng’s eyes brightened, and he turned to stare at the door.

But even by three in the afternoon, Lu Yichuan hadn’t returned.

He mentally added another mark against Lu Yichuan.

Since a certain someone was unreliable, Jiang Heng could only rely on himself. He circled the dormitory again. There wasn’t a speck of food, the entire room spotlessly clean, not even a stray hair. Finally, in desperation, he turned his attention to the balcony.

The dormitory was on the second floor, overlooking the parking lot. It wasn’t high. Tall plane trees were planted outside, their newly sprouted broad leaves swaying gently in the wind, their branches just reaching the balcony.

Jiang Heng stood by the railing and assessed the situation. He realized that if he walked along the branches to the tree trunk and then climbed down, he could reach the ground.

This was an easy feat for a cat, but for a human turned cat…

Jiang Heng looked at the branches in front of him, unsure if his legs would turn to jelly when he stepped on them.

His stomach growled. Lu Yichuan still hadn’t returned. Jiang Heng gritted his teeth and cautiously stepped onto a branch.

A cat’s body is light, and he felt no strain.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and slowly edged forward.

The moment his paws touched the ground, Jiang Heng’s anxiety dissipated, and he mentally gave himself a thumbs-up.

Way to go, Little Jiang Heng! A true tree-climbing master among cats!

He stretched his stiff limbs and trotted away.

The afternoon temperature was pleasant, and many students were strolling on the campus grounds. Jiang Heng found a crowded area and dramatically collapsed onto the ground, motionless.

His actions attracted the attention of several students, and soon a crowd gathered around him.

“Why is there a cat here? It’s completely shaved.”

“Someone’s pet, probably? It doesn’t look like one of the campus strays.”

“Take a picture and ask around online. Maybe someone’s cat escaped.”

His unique appearance attracted a lot of attention, and everyone started taking pictures of him with their phones.

Jiang Heng buried his face in his paws, not liking being photographed, but as a cat, he had no rights, so he could only endure it silently.

He waited, and seeing that the people around him were only taking pictures, he became annoyed.

At least give him some food!

“Meow~”

He lay weakly on the ground, his stomach growling on cue.

“So it’s hungry. Does anyone have cat food? Give it something to eat.”

A girl took out a bag of loose cat food from her backpack, spread a piece of paper on the ground, and poured the food onto it.

“I was going to feed Big Orange, but I guess you get to eat it first.”

Jiang Heng narrowed his eyes and took a bite. It was crunchy, but not as tasty as the food Lu Yichuan bought him.

Even as a cat, Jiang Heng’s taste still leaned towards human food. Although the cat food wasn’t fishy, it didn’t have much flavor, like eating dry biscuits.

The most delicious thing he had eaten in all his days as a cat was the fried rice from before.

Jiang Heng ate slowly, small bite by small bite, strangely elegant for a cat. Despite his hairless, unappealing appearance, he still captivated the onlookers.

Eating under the watchful eyes of so many people, Jiang Heng…Jiang Heng became even more refined in his eating habits.

After eating his fill, he slipped away, planning to climb back up the tree he had come down from and wait for Lu Yichuan to return.

However…

Jiang Heng looked up at the sky, then down at the grass beneath his paws. The wind rustled the willow branches in the distance.

The bald kitten, facing the wind, slowly realized something was wrong.

Where was this? Where was he? Hadn’t he come from that direction? Why was he by a lake?

The artificial lake might not be large for humans, but for a cat, it was as vast as an ocean.

Jiang Heng could only choose a direction at random and keep going.

The further he walked, the lake disappeared from view, replaced by more and more trees. It was getting late, and the woods were deserted, dark and silent, only the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Jiang Heng was about to cry. Why did a perfectly good university need to be so big?

The jungle might be a haven for animals, but it definitely wasn’t for him. His haven was a soft sofa and a phone with Wi-Fi.

Going forward was out of the question. Jiang Heng could only turn back.

Rustle—

The leaves behind him swayed, and in the dappled shadows, Jiang Heng felt like something was watching him.

He flattened his ears, fixed his eyes on the path ahead, refusing to look back, and ran.

But as he ran, he seemed to hear footsteps behind him.

“!!”

H-help!

Jiang Heng had been a staunch atheist, but now that he had been reborn, what was impossible?

He had already died once, so his yin energy must be stronger than anyone else’s. Alone in the dark woods at night…

He flattened his ears even further, his short legs a blur as he ran.

But as he sped up, the footsteps behind him also quickened.

Jiang Heng’s scalp tingled.

Suddenly, he felt a gust of wind behind him, and something pounced on him.

“Meow!!”

Jiang Heng closed his eyes and fell to the ground, letting out a sharp cry.

“Meow?”

A soft, questioning meow sounded above him.

Jiang Heng paused and cautiously opened one eye, meeting a furry face.

He: “…”

Why was awkwardness always following him?

Seeing him open his eyes, the cat that had pounced on him retracted its paw and sat beside him, elegantly licking its paw.

“Meow…”

I caught you! Now it’s your turn to chase me!

Jiang Heng got up, but before he could say anything, the cat nimbly jumped onto a tree and disappeared.

“??”

Wait…hold on…

“Meow!”

I didn’t agree to play!

The only response was the rustling of leaves.

Jiang Heng calmed his racing heart and looked around woodenly.

Good. Nothing there.

He shook off the leaves that had clung to him, not wanting to participate in this game of hide-and-seek, focused only on finding his way out.

But in his panicked flight, he had lost his way, and now it seemed he was getting further and further away from the exit.

He could only change direction again.

After walking for a while, he heard rustling sounds behind him again.

This time, Jiang Heng wasn’t as scared. He discreetly glanced back and saw a large, furry tail, not very well hidden.

“…”

He stopped.

Although he wanted to just leave, the tail swaying in front of him was too tempting.

Jiang Heng cautiously took a few steps forward, then abruptly turned and ran towards the tree.

“Don’t move! I found you!”

The swaying tail froze. A few seconds later, a cat emerged from the dense foliage.

It was a beautiful calico cat.

Its smoky gray eyes shone brightly in the darkness, completely absorbed in the game. “Now it’s my turn to find you.”

This time, Jiang Heng spoke before it could leave. “I’m not playing this game with you.”

The calico cat looked at him, puzzled. “Then why did you run just now?”

Jiang Heng: “…”

Jiang Heng refused to answer this question.

“Anyway, I’m not playing anymore. I’m going back.”

The calico cat walked gracefully beside him. “Where are you going?”

Since humans couldn’t understand him, Jiang Heng focused on the calico cat, which he could communicate with. “Do you know the dormitory with the plane tree by the balcony?”

The calico cat asked, “What’s a plane tree?”

“…”

Jiang Heng sighed sadly and continued walking with his head down.

As a great beauty of the cat world, it was the first time the calico had been so blatantly ignored by another cat. It let out a small huff, but its paws dutifully followed Jiang Heng.

“If you don’t tell me what a plane tree is, how can I help you?”

Jiang Heng thought about it and realized it made sense. So he tried to describe a plane tree with his limited vocabulary. “It’s this thick, this big, with green leaves, broad leaves, and…the leaves are divided like a palm…”

Strangely, the calico cat seemed to understand.

It let out a haughty meow. “Follow me.”

Jiang Heng’s eyes lit up and he followed the calico.

He hadn’t expected it to actually find it! Jiang Heng circled the wall before finding the balcony of Lu Yichuan’s dormitory.

He stood under the tree and thanked the calico cat. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have found my way back without you.”

The calico cat squatted on the ground and looked up at the balcony. “You live there?”

“Mm-hmm.” Jiang Heng replied cheerfully. “I’m up there. I’ll invite you over sometime.”

Since there wasn’t a single kibble of cat food in his house now, Jiang Heng couldn’t offer any hospitality.

The calico cat didn’t seem very interested in going up. It said disdainfully, “That room looks small. I don’t want to go.”

Beauties were always so straightforward.

Jiang Heng was speechless and could only bid it farewell. “Then I’ll go back now.”

“Wait…” the calico cat called out to him. “I helped you, how are you going to repay me?”

Jiang Heng hadn’t expected cats to ask for favors in return. “How do you want me to repay you?”

The calico cat flicked its fluffy tail. “You have to play with me in the future, just like we did just now.”

“Hide-and-seek?”

The calico cat’s eyes lit up, seemingly pleased with this description. “Yes, hide-and-seek!”

Jiang Heng hadn’t played such childish games since he was five. He said tactfully, “Doesn’t anyone usually play with you?”

“Yes,” the calico cat said honestly, “There are many, but they find me too quickly. It’s boring.”

“You’re different. You’re so stupid, you can’t even see me. It’s much more fun.”

Jiang Heng: “…”

Thanks a lot.