Chapter 20: The Cat’s Candid Encounter

Li Ye still took the medicine. Just one small bottle.

Before leaving, Doctor Kavasha reminded him once more to take it sparingly.

On the way back, Li You lay quietly in the passenger seat, his eyes fixed on the pocket of his brother’s clothes where the medicine was stored.

After arriving at the rear hall of the Imperial Palace, his brother picked him up with one hand, and he sneaked a peek into the pocket.

It really was a very small bottle of medicine.

Kavasha was a psychologist, and his brother had a psychological illness severe enough to require medication.

Li You fell silent, his paws clinging tightly to his brother’s arm. He made no sound from the road all the way home.

Li Ye set the cat down and looked at the silent cat. He bent down to remove the Elizabethan Collar from its neck, then stood up. “Kairien.”

A young man in a tailcoat with white hair tied in a braid walked slowly into the inner hall. He approached and bowed respectfully. “Yes, Your Highness. The cat’s food, supplies, and toys are all prepared.”

Li Ye grunted in acknowledgment. His gaze fell on the motionless cat, then he turned and left. “Watch it.”

“Shall I prepare dinner for you?”

“No need.” Li Ye did not stop. “Prepare it for him.”

“Understood.”

Li Ye left, leaving one cat and one intelligent butler in the vast front hall.

Li You huddled in the booth seat, watching the tailcoated butler bustle about preparing cat food for him, then setting up the cat bed.

The butler hummed a little tune, seeming in a very good mood. If intelligent robots could have moods, that was…

Li You glanced at the steaming cat food, flicked his tail, got up, and went over to sit elegantly.

He had just eaten a small snack and had no appetite, so he only took two casual bites. Then he got up and strolled slowly through this environment that was both strange and familiar.

This was the rearmost palace in the Imperial Palace. Many years ago, no one lived here; it had been a sunlit flower conservatory for storing flowers, with the Imperial Palace’s rear garden just outside.

That garden had been young Li You’s secret base. Whenever he was in a bad mood, he would hide there.

Li You did not only like tulips; he liked countless flowers and had seen innumerable ones.

So he was somewhat puzzled as to why, ten years later, everyone thought he had loved tulips and used them as a symbol to commemorate him.

It was very strange.

Of course, there were too many strange things.

Like now, he still could not figure it out. He was clearly dead, so why had everyone started commemorating him?

Li You thought of Little Wan Sis, and his steps suddenly halted. He stopped in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass window and gazed out at the garden.

Artificial moonlight sprinkled a layer of pale gray-blue over the boundless garden, like a galaxy plated in blue, very dreamlike.

The wind blew the petals, and the flowers swayed rustlingly, like a girl’s skirt hem.

In a daze, a scene flashed before Li You’s eyes.

Little Wan Sis with her long black hair loose soaked in a massive green medicinal liquid tank, wearing a holy white gown, her arms and body pierced with detection needles.

The medicinal tank stood in the center of a white space, surrounded by complex instruments. Little Wan Sis lay peacefully with her eyes closed, encircled by people in white coats. In the center of the crowd was Yulian, whom Li You recognized.

The scene flashed by in an instant.

Li You’s eyes snapped wide open.

His breathing quickened for a moment, and he lowered his head in a daze, staring blankly at his paw pads.

That just now was…

Li You had the ability of future premonition, but that was in his previous life. Back then, he had relied on this ability that suddenly appeared one day to glimpse the future and find a way to avert the great catastrophe.

After rebirth, he had thought his ability was gone. He saw initial signs on Kara Planet and realized a little might remain, but he was not certain.

And now, this ability had appeared again.

His precognition was still there.

But unlike before, it did not appear frequently, and the information it provided was not much.

Those scenes just now…

Little Wan Sis, laboratory, Yulian.

Li You jerked his head up, a bold guess forming in his mind.

Little Wan Sis was not dead. She was at the Central Experimental Institute, under observation by Yulian’s team.

Li You’s heart pounded. He felt happy about this guess that was nine parts out of ten.

Little Wan Sis was fine; she was still alive!

The little cat bounced on all fours, pacing briskly through the front hall. He proudly held his big tail high as he passed Kairien, who was setting up the cat bed, then stopped and looked up. “Meow~”

“Oh, are you greeting me?” Kairien politely bent down, his silicone face smiling. “Pleased to meet you, cute little cat.”

Li You raised a paw, and Kairien extended his hand in perfect sync.

The intelligent robot and the cat amiably shook hands.

“Wait a moment; I’m building your little nest for you.” Kairien stood up and showed the cat the giant cat tree nearby. “Look here; this will be your entertainment area from now on. I think you’ll like it.”

“Meow~” Li You was very cooperative.

He was in a good mood now, and his body felt much lighter. After a couple rounds of parkour on the cat tree, he stood at the highest point, eyes fixed intently on the door leading to the rear hall.

Kairien below clapped appreciatively. “You are one amazing little cat.”

Li You leaped flexibly from the height, went to the rear hall door, and sat guarding in front of the tightly shut door. Moments later, he turned his head to look back at Kairien setting up the cat bed. “Meow—”

Kairien straightened up and looked over, a hint of distress on his face. “You want to go to the back?”

“Meow~”

“This is tricky. His Highness does not allow anyone into his private space.” Kairien said, “Not even I can go.”

“Meow…”

“But…” Kairien’s eyes curved as he looked at the little cat, walked over, squatted down, and gently stroked its head. “You are a little cat; perhaps you can try.”

“His private space bars people, but it did not say no cats.” Kairien exploited the loophole, then revealed true emotion. “Little cutie, I truly hope your presence can make His Highness a bit happier. Kairien has selfish motives; His Highness really needs some psychological guidance.”

The intelligent butler made the decision on his own and opened the door to the rear hall, letting the cat in.

“Go on; Little En Butler has your back.”

Li You took three steps back for every two forward, his mood a bit complicated.

The door behind him closed, leaving no grass to turn back to; he could only press forward.

He passed through the silver-blue glowing corridor and arrived at the rear hall.

The light here was no longer bright; he could not even see his own paws.

Li You could not see the path clearly and could only crawl along, padding stealthily through the rear hall.

Fortunately, a cat’s night vision was fairly sharp, and he successfully avoided quite a few obstacles.

After several twists and turns, he suddenly spotted a hazy glimmer. Li You’s eyes lit up, and he bounded toward that light.

He squeezed through the door crack and was immediately hit full in the face by billowing steam.

The sudden brightness made him squint urgently. His four legs kept moving forward by inertia for two more steps, and then he was drenched by the pouring water.

Li You snapped his eyes open and crashed headfirst into glass right in front of him. With a muffled “thump,” the cat staggered back several big steps and plopped onto the wet floor.

Li You was dazed for several seconds. He looked up and met the gaze of Li Ye, who was looking down at him through the swirling mist.

A staring contest lasting dozens of seconds.

Li You’s stunned eyes flickered, and his gaze slowly shifted downward, taking in his brother’s naked body through the hot mist. For a moment, he forgot even how to react.

Li Ye was bathing.

More precisely, cleansing his half-body.

In the steam, that visibly robust male physique had a deep black totem slowly coiling across his back skin. Li Ye’s black hair was wetted by hot water and slicked back, revealing his forehead. At the ends of his forehead were two deep red devil horns tipped in black, with fine cracked lines densely climbing the horns like mysterious ancient script.

His wet hair dripped water, and in his red, narrow eyes, the pupils were vertical slits that slowly expanded.

The eerie totems wound from his back up his arms, extending to his waist and abdomen, slithering like black pythons over every inch, leaving faint glimpses of scales. When the scale traces faded, the raised veins became even more prominent.

In the misty space, Li Ye’s face was expressionless and still, yet it felt as if an invisible monster was breathing lowly.

Li You shrank his neck as he gazed at his brother and inadvertently glanced at a certain part of him.

One look, and he froze, eyes widening instantly.

He blinked uncertainly, then looked again.

The “skin” under his fur flushed hot.

N-no way??

What was that thing???

To clarify beforehand, Li You had no fetish for peeking at others’ private parts, but he really could not help stealing another glance.

Shock, disbelief, horror, bewilderment—all messy emotions gathered in the cat’s eyes.

The size was not even within Li You’s range of surprise.

What had he seen?

He had seen that his brother had two!!!

Li You stared woodenly with wide eyes, stood up, turned mechanically, and bumped into the glass again.

He hugged his head with his front paws, utterly unable to recover from the shock.

The cat’s fur was completely soaked by the shower water, matted into clumps, making his body heavy and movement inconvenient.

Li You froze in place, paws at a loss, wanting to find a hole to crawl into.

He had bathed with his brother as a child, and there had clearly been only one back then.

How had it become two now?

What exactly was Li Ye?

Li You dragged his waterlogged fur toward the outside when he was suddenly scooped up the next moment.

His body tensed, and his four airborne paws pedaled the air.

Li Ye picked up the cat, cradled it in his palm, retracted his exposed half-body, glanced at the drenched cat, turned to the sink, and placed the cat in the basin.

Li You huddled in the white basin and twisted his head to look at himself in the mirror.

He had been scared ugly.

He immediately stood up and shook the water madly from his body. After a spin and shake, his fur fluffed up considerably.

He looked back to see Li Ye, who had brought a dry towel, staring at him expressionlessly.

Li You: “…”

He let out a “meow” of apology. His brother remained poker-faced and silently toweled his fur.

Li You’s mind was a mess, full of the scene he had just seen. Unable to resist again, he sneaked a peek down at his brother’s lower body.

Li Ye had already wrapped a bath towel around himself.

Li You froze abruptly, realizing his action was too perverted. He frantically shook his head, trying to banish the image from his mind.

But his brother held him steady with technique, so he could not move and had to stand obediently for the toweling.

The human did not speak.

The cat did not meow.

The shower room was so quiet that Li You felt a bit awkward.

Subconsciously, he started kneading, smacking his lips softly, gazing quietly at his brother.

The horns were gone now, and so were the totems. Li Ye had returned to normal, even his pupils human-normal.

Li You could not resist again and glanced downward.

He quickly lowered his head and slapped himself with a paw.

【What are you doing, Li You!!】

【Not embarrassed enough!!】

Li Ye’s movements paused as he toweled the cat. He gazed quietly at the ragdoll cat blinking nonstop. After a moment, he set down the towel, picked up the cat, and turned to walk outside.

Li You’s paws pressed on his brother’s chest, not daring to move.

But why did kneading feel so comfortable?

He stared nervously at his brother’s pecs.

One glance, then another.

Unable to resist once more, he lightly pressed both paws downward, carefully kneading and pawing. He looked up and met his brother’s gaze.

“…” Li You shifted his paw pads and saw two faint cat paw prints like plum blossoms on Li Ye’s chest.

No matter where he shifted, he could not avoid skin contact, so Li You simply stayed still. He held out until his brother set him down, finally feeling more at ease.

Li Ye put on a bathrobe, went out briefly, and returned with a cat dryer. He put the cat inside, went to the island counter to mix an iced drink, returned to the booth seat, and opened the light brain to handle work.

In the dryer beside him, Li You sat primly amid flying fur, staring blankly at his brother.

He spaced out for a long time and finally, with his scant biological knowledge, retrieved a conclusion.

【Hmm…】

【Snakes seem to have two, right?】

Meanwhile, Li Ye paused in flipping through work files. He turned his head, narrowed his eyes at the cat spacing out in the dryer.