Chapter 21
Jiang Heng ate while Song Zhang, with a mischievous grin, squatted beside him, taking pictures with his phone.
Jiang Heng froze mid-bite. Being photographed by strangers and by someone he knew was completely different. Strangers’ photos were just photos; they might never meet again, and they wouldn’t know who he was. But it was different with someone familiar.
This was pure blackmail material.
He stopped eating and glared at Song Zhang, hoping he would realize he was violating a cat’s portrait rights.
But Song Zhang only took more pictures, even more enthusiastically. “Yes, hold that pose! Come on, smile!”
Jiang Heng couldn’t take it anymore and swatted him with his paw.
Song Zhang said, “This little guy has quite the temper. Come on, scratch me again, I’ll record it.”
Jiang Heng: “…”
Had Song Zhang been possessed?
…
Song Zhang was still crouching on the floor, phone in hand, when Lu Yichuan emerged from the bathroom. Seeing his strange posture, he paused. “What are you doing?”
Song Zhang twisted his head around at an improbable angle and waved his phone. “Taking pictures of your cat. It’s quite shy, it ran and hid under the bed.”
Lu Yichuan was silent for a moment. “W-why are you taking pictures of my cat?”
Song Zhang stood up and brushed the dust off his knees. “I think it looks quite unique. Was its fur always like this, or was it shaved? If you hadn’t said it was a cat, I would have thought it was a rat.”
Lu Yichuan explained briefly, “It was sick, so I had it shaved.”
“Oh.” Song Zhang said. “Then you should definitely take pictures. When it grows up and starts a family, you can show it these pictures.”
Lu Yichuan took a sip of water and paused slightly. “You think quite far ahead.”
Song Zhang took it as a compliment. He wanted to take a few more unflattering photos, but the food delivery call came.
He regretfully put away his phone and went downstairs to get the takeout.
As soon as Song Zhang left, Jiang Heng crawled out from under the bed.
The area under the bed was rarely cleaned, and it had accumulated a lot of dust. The kitten emerged covered in gray smudges, a true calico now.
After his shower, Lu Yichuan seemed strangely calm. Despite his pale complexion, his eyes were bright, like a candle emitting its brightest light just before burning out.
He bent down, picked up the dirty kitten, and placed it on the table, meticulously wiping its smudged face with a disinfectant wipe. “Song Zhang is so mean, making Mimi so dirty. Next time he does this, bite him, okay?”
The man smelled of shower gel, his voice low and gentle, his damp hair falling over his forehead, a moist warmth surrounding him.
Jiang Heng sat stiffly, letting Lu Yichuan clean him.
“Did he scare you? I’ll make him apologize to you when he comes back, okay?”
Lu Yichuan was still smiling, his voice as gentle as if coaxing a child, but what Jiang Heng saw were his bloodshot eyes.
Jiang Heng felt an inexplicable fear.
“Meow…”
Lu Yichuan, what’s wrong with you?
“You think he should apologize too? Then I’ll make him apologize to you when he gets back.”
“Meow?”
Lu Yichuan?
“Hmm? Is an apology not enough?”
Jiang Heng bit his hand. He didn’t bite hard, but the slight sting brought Lu Yichuan back to his senses.
He blinked.
“Sorry, are you blaming me? Blaming me for leaving you in the dormitory and letting you go hungry for two days?”
“Meow?”
Lu Yichuan, what’s wrong? You’re acting so strange.
But how could a human understand what a cat was saying?
Lu Yichuan looked into his eyes, as if entranced. He threw away the wet wipe and touched Jiang Heng’s eyes with his slightly alcohol-scented fingertips.
“Your eyes are so beautiful, more beautiful than any other cat I’ve ever seen…” he murmured, as if asking for Jiang Heng’s permission, “Can I have them?”
Jiang Heng froze.
Lu Yichuan looked at him quietly, as if waiting for his answer.
Silence filled the room.
Song Zhang returned, breaking the silence, carrying the takeout and closing the door with a thud. “Lu Yichuan, come and eat. You need to rest after you eat.”
Lu Yichuan glanced at Jiang Heng and slowly withdrew his hand, taking the takeout container from Song Zhang.
The congee from a late-night takeout place wasn’t likely to be delicious, but Lu Yichuan finished it anyway.
Song Zhang watched him eat, then watched him take his medicine, before finally leaving the dormitory with the trash.
After eating, Lu Yichuan went to bed without looking at Jiang Heng, as if the words he had just spoken were just Jiang Heng’s imagination.
The previously lively room fell silent again. The light from the streetlamp outside slanted in, and the man’s breathing was slow and steady.
Jiang Heng hesitated, then jumped onto the bed.
Just like the first night he had come to Lu Yichuan’s dormitory, he snuggled close to him. Only when their skin touched did the fear and anxiety in his heart dissipate.
Only Lu Yichuan could give Jiang Heng a sense of security.
Even if the danger came from him.
…
Lu Yichuan slept soundly, dreamlessly, and didn’t wake up until noon.
He felt a warm weight against his neck and turned his head to see a bald kitten.
The kitten was sleeping soundly, undisturbed even after he woke up, curled up beside him, its belly rumbling softly.
There were several distinct paw prints on his clean blanket, and not just the blanket, but also some gray smudges on his light-colored pajamas.
Lu Yichuan didn’t need to guess who was responsible.
He rubbed his forehead. The fragmented memories of last night flooded back, and remembering the things he had said to the kitten, his initial annoyance at the dirty paw prints on his bedding vanished.
He got out of bed, leaving the sleeping cat undisturbed, and went to the balcony to wash up.
The sunlight outside was bright, and in the distance, the cherry blossoms around the library were in full bloom.
Lu Yichuan, toothbrush in his mouth, lowered his eyes and thought absently.
Qingming Festival is approaching…
When he returned after washing up, the cat on the bed seemed to have just woken up. Although its body was awake, its eyes were still closed, and it pawed at the bed in a very human-like way, as if searching for something.
Finally, seemingly not finding what it was looking for, it groggily opened its eyes.
Lu Yichuan stood by the bed, looking down at Jiang Heng.
Jiang Heng: “…”
Jiang Heng hadn’t expected to wake up to this scene. He waved a paw, giving Lu Yichuan a smile he couldn’t see.
“Meow!”
Hey! Good morning!
His greeting wasn’t acknowledged.
Lu Yichuan bent down, picked him up, placed him on the floor, and began stripping the bedsheets.
Jiang Heng watched him in confusion. After a moment, he noticed the paw prints he had left on the blanket.
He looked down at himself, covered in patches of gray and white.
Jiang Heng was silent.
After a moment of silence, he decided it wasn’t his fault at all.
It was Lu Yichuan’s fault. He had only wiped his face last night, not his body. How was he supposed to know he was still so dirty?
Lu Yichuan tossed the bedding into the washing machine on the balcony and came back to pour cat food, but seeing the still-full bowl, he opened a bag of freeze-dried treats instead.
He squatted down and tapped the kitten’s head. “Stay home. I have to go see my tutor. Don’t…” he looked at Jiang Heng, unsure if he could understand, “don’t get on the bed. I’ll take you for a bath when I get back tonight.”
“And…I was drunk last night, I didn’t mean the things I said. I’m sorry.”
Jiang Heng nuzzled his head against his palm.
Since your apology is so sincere, I, Your Majesty the Cat, shall forgive you!
For some reason, Lu Yichuan seemed to understand his expression. A smile appeared in his eyes, but a few seconds later, as if remembering something, the smile vanished, and he withdrew his hand indifferently.
Jiang Heng didn’t notice the change.
After finishing his breakfast, he looked around the empty dormitory, chose a suitable angle, and jumped onto a chair.
Then, using the chair as a springboard, he jumped onto the desk.
Two paw prints appeared on the desk.
He guiltily rubbed at them with his paw, then turned his attention to the desk.
A laptop sat there, surrounded by books. Jiang Heng glanced at the titles and realized they were all about philosophy.
He bent down and used his paws to try and open the drawer under the desk. Fortunately, the drawer was much easier to open than the cabinet door, and soon he managed to pry it open a crack.
He slipped his paw into the crack and pulled, opening the drawer.
There wasn’t much inside, just a few pens and two notebooks. What caught Jiang Heng’s attention was the student ID card on top.
He froze when he saw the words on it.
Graduate student, Department of Philosophy…
So that was why Lu Yichuan was still at the university after four years; he was doing his postgraduate studies.
But hadn’t Lu Yichuan studied economics? Why was he studying philosophy now?
For a moment, Jiang Heng even wondered if he had transmigrated to a parallel universe.
He quickly dismissed the idea.
He knew Lu Yichuan, just as Lu Yichuan knew him. Even though Lu Yichuan had been acting hot and cold towards him these past two days, he knew this was the same Lu Yichuan.
The Lu Yichuan he grew up with.
But why had he suddenly changed majors and gone to graduate school?
Jiang Heng was completely clueless, and in his current state, he couldn’t even ask.
He couldn’t just tell Lu Yichuan that he was Jiang Heng. Even if Lu Yichuan could accept it, what if his resurrection was just temporary?
His soul had somehow entered this cat’s body, and it could just as easily disappear.
He didn’t dare to gamble, to gamble that he wouldn’t suddenly die again after being resurrected.
If he had to make Lu Yichuan face the pain of losing him again, he would rather just be a cat.
Jiang Heng paced anxiously, unable to come up with a solution. His attention was drawn to a meow from outside the window.
He jumped off the desk and went to the balcony, where he saw a calico cat lurking in the dense foliage of the plane tree.
Seeing Jiang Heng, the calico cat poked its head out and meowed.
“Meow, want to play hide-and-seek?”
Jiang Heng: “…”
