Chapter 46
“Meow!”
The white cat’s shriek pierced the night.
When Jiang Heng looked down, the two cats below were already fighting, or rather, the white cat was being unilaterally beaten up.
Its attacker was a black cat. Pure black, without a single spot of another color, its eyes a pale, eerie green. Compared to the plump white cat, it was lean and agile, its paws raining blows on the white cat’s face, each strike echoing in the stillness.
The white cat lay on the ground, yowling dramatically, its fur flying everywhere, but without a single visible injury.
Seeing this, the black cat delivered two more blows. “You idiot! Look what you’ve done!”
The white cat whined, not understanding why it was being beaten.
Jiang Heng couldn’t bear to watch any longer and said, “Sorry, I tricked him into bringing us here.”
The black cat jumped off the white cat, crouched down, and licked its paws, its green eyes fixed on Jiang Heng. “Foolish cat, trusting a human.”
Jiang Heng, nestled in Lu Yichuan’s arms, defended him. “He’s a good person, he wouldn’t hurt a cat.”
As if on cue, the man holding him smiled gently, looking completely harmless.
The black cat hesitated, while the white cat cowered, not daring to speak.
Lu Yichuan couldn’t understand what the black cat was saying, but he could guess the gist of it from Jiang Heng’s words.
He looked around the dilapidated building, at the furry heads peeking out from the shadows, his eyes curving into a smile. “Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you. I think…you might need our help more than we need yours?”
Five minutes later…
A teenager with black hair and green eyes, wearing Lu Yichuan’s black jacket, led them into the best-preserved room in the abandoned building. It was relatively clean, with a few worn-out cat beds in the corner.
Unlike the nonchalant white cat, the teenager, his ears flushed red, looked uncomfortable in just a jacket. He pulled out a brick from the corner and said coldly, “Sit.”
Lu Yichuan looked at the dust-covered brick, took a step back, and chose to stand instead.
The teenager didn’t insist. He pulled a cat bed over, sat down, placed the cowering white cat on his lap, and instinctively stroked its fur.
The next moment, a cloud of dust erupted.
Teenager: “…”
He coughed, trying to maintain his composure. “What do you want?”
Several cats had gathered at the doorway.
Little Jiang Heng, eager to join them, was held firmly in Lu Yichuan’s arms. He held the cat by the scruff of its neck, unfazed by the feline audience, his demeanor calm and collected.
“I should be the one asking you that. Why did you try so hard to take my cat?”
The black-haired, green-eyed teenager glared at the white cat on his lap. The white cat closed its eyes and played dead.
Knowing his secret was out, the teenager no longer bothered hiding anything. “He’s not an ordinary cat. Staying with you would be…dangerous for him.”
Although it didn’t seem that way.
Lu Yichuan was silent for a long moment, once again concerned about the intelligence of these cats.
Jiang Heng spoke hesitantly, “Then do you know that before I became a cat, I was actually a human?”
The teenager responded instinctively, “Of course we know you’ll become a…” His expression changed, and he jumped to his feet. “What? You were a human?!”
The white cat rolled off his lap and onto the floor, then settled into a comfortable position and continued to play dead.
The teenager’s face was full of disbelief. “How could a cat be a human before it becomes a human?”
This complex relationship was clearly confusing for the cat.
Jiang Heng was even more confused. “Then how did you know I would become human?”
In the dim light, the teenager’s pale green eyes glowed eerily. “The Divine Cat Lord guides his followers.”
Lu Yichuan twitched his lips.
Jiang Heng said, “Speak human language.”
“I saw it in a dream. The dream showed me that you are a cat like me, so I asked White Cat to bring you here. It’s very dangerous for you to be with humans.”
Lu Yichuan’s grip on Jiang Heng’s scruff tightened, and he took a step forward. “So, you’re saying he will become human, like you?”
“Probably…” The black cat wasn’t very certain.
The man in front of him was tall, and the teenager had to look up to see his face. In just a few short sentences, he noticed that the man’s initial friendliness had vanished, replaced by an oppressive scrutiny.
Under his gaze, the teenager felt all his secrets exposed.
His green eyes narrowed, and something stirred beneath the jacket covering his lower body.
The teenager quickly tucked his tail back in, and when he looked up, the man’s expression had returned to normal, as if it had all been his imagination.
He saw Lu Yichuan smiling gently again. “What about the red string? How did you know about that?”
The teenager suddenly didn’t dare to lie. “Also a dream. He told me in the dream to give you a red string.”
He blinked nervously. “I didn’t mean to deceive you, it was Him who told me to do it. He instructed me, he said that if I followed the script, you would definitely believe me…”
So the material of the string wasn’t the key, nor was the talisman. The key was his blood and the finger bone.
Lu Yichuan instinctively touched his chest, the usually cold bone warm against his skin beneath his shirt. In his other hand, the kitten’s belly pressed against his palm, its warmth seeping into his skin.
The contrasting sensations created a sense of dissonance, until a soft voice echoed in his ears.
“Lu Yichuan?”
Lu Yichuan closed his eyes, then opened them, his expression returning to normal. He removed his hand from his chest, his fingertips clenching as he lowered his hand, his face impassive.
“Who appeared in your dream?”
“I told you, it was the Divine Cat Lord, meow.”
“And where is this…Divine Cat Lord?”
“In the back hills.”
…
It was completely dark when Lu Yichuan emerged from the abandoned building, carrying the cat.
Jiang Heng climbed up his arm and settled on his shoulder.
Lu Yichuan had been unusually quiet during the latter part of his conversation with the black cat, not saying a word even after they left.
He turned his head slightly, looking at the kitten’s furry face in the dim streetlight. “What is it?”
Jiang Heng pawed at his shoulder, hesitating. “Lu Yichuan, are you hiding something from me?”
In the dim light, the man’s expression was unreadable. “Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know, it’s just a feeling.”
A cat’s eyesight was excellent. Jiang Heng looked at the red string around the man’s neck and asked, “I saw you touch your chest earlier. What are you wearing under your shirt?”
The man’s footsteps were steady, his voice soft and warm in the night breeze.
“Rongrong is so curious.”
Jiang Heng shifted his position. “Can I see it?”
Lu Yichuan, however, changed the subject. “Do you want to know how I found you thanks to this red string?”
Jiang Heng was momentarily distracted. “How?”
“Through a dream.”
Jiang Heng froze, then suddenly remembered the strange dream he had had the night Big Orange disappeared.
“It was really you in my dream?!”
Lu Yichuan nuzzled the kitten affectionately. “It was me, and it wasn’t me.”
“It was your dream. I could only watch, I couldn’t do anything.”
“Ah…so it was my complaining in the dream that gave me away?”
A chuckle came from beside his ear, a lazy, amused sound. “Yes, Rongrong is so clumsy, even scolding me in your dreams. It was hard not to notice.”
Jiang Heng gently nibbled on his earlobe.
“Lu Yichuan, you’re really annoying.”
“How annoying?”
“This…” Jiang Heng spread his paws wide. “…much annoying.”
Lu Yichuan glanced at his outstretched paws and then pinched them together. “I can’t see.”
Jiang Heng struggled to free his paws, but instead lost his balance and tumbled from Lu Yichuan’s shoulder, only to be caught by the man’s hand.
“Jiang Heng is such a klutz.”
Jiang Heng: “…”
The streetlight elongated the man’s shadow. Stars twinkled in the distance, and the wind carried the scent of summer.
Lu Yichuan looked at the indignant kitten, a smile curving his lips.
When had he realized something wasn’t right? Probably when Jiang Heng told him to live a good life, to be happy.
The Jiang Heng in his dreams would never say that. He was selfish, and his dreams were also selfish. In his dreams, Jiang Heng would only drag him down to hell with him.
The kind, gentle Rongrong couldn’t be the Rongrong in his dreams.
So it was the real Jiang Heng.
…
Jiang Heng played with his tail for a while, then, as the wind blew past, said sadly, “I miss my friends.”
Lu Yichuan’s footsteps faltered slightly.
Jiang Heng gestured with his paws. “You know, when I was being bullied, it was an orange cat that saved me. Its fur was so shiny and golden. It even broke its leg for me. I also had a little brother, a white cat, but not as fat as that gas canister.”
“I told them to go to the orphanage when I left, but I don’t know how they’re doing now…”
Lu Yichuan asked him, “Do you want to go see them?”
The short-haired kitten looked up at him. “Really? Can I?”
His hopeful expression made Lu Yichuan’s throat tighten. After a few seconds, he covered Jiang Heng’s eyes with his hand.
“As long as you want to, you can do anything you want.”
“You don’t have to ask for my permission…” he said softly. “I’m taking care of you, but that doesn’t mean I’m controlling you.”
“Rongrong, I care about you very much, but I also want you to be free, both in body and mind.”
Jiang Heng paused. “But before…”
He was lifted into Lu Yichuan’s palm, their faces close.
The close proximity made Jiang Heng uncomfortable. He flicked his tail and heard Lu Yichuan say,
“I’m sorry.”
He said, “I apologize for my behavior before. I was afraid you would leave, afraid that it was all a dream, so I unconsciously did things that hurt you.”
It was almost May, and the locust trees behind them were budding, clusters of soft white flowers appearing on the branches.
Beneath the trees, the man, in a simple T-shirt, looked gentle in the warm light.
“But I forgot one thing.”
“I was afraid Rongrong would leave, but I never considered whether Rongrong wanted to leave.”
He lifted the kitten higher, looking into its clear, almost transparent eyes.
“I think, just as I can’t live without Rongrong, Rongrong also can’t live without me.”
“I don’t even need to do anything; my cat will naturally come to me, won’t he?”
Under Lu Yichuan’s intense gaze, Jiang Heng remained silent for a long time. After a few seconds, the kitten seemed to finally react and slowly lowered its head, burying its face in its paws.
The wind ruffled Jiang Heng’s fur, his ears twitching slightly, and then, softly,
“Meow~”
The red string didn’t translate the meow, it was just a simple cat sound.
Like a kitten’s soft purr.
…
Lu Yichuan carried the ball of fluff, its head hidden, back to the villa.
As they approached the house, the little ball of fluff pulled its head out.
“Lu Yichuan, you said I’m free, does that mean you won’t control what I do anymore?”
His eyes were bright.
“Then this free cat wants a cat treat tomorrow!”
“No.”
“Why not? You said you wouldn’t control me!”
“I said I wouldn’t control you. Your soul and your body are free, but your mouth is not.”
“Some cats have terrible mouths; if I’m not careful, they’ll fill them with all sorts of junk food filled with additives.”
“…”
“Lu Yichuan, you’re truly annoying.”
Jiang Heng: Very annoying (affectionate)