Chapter 49

Lu Ping held onto the belief that “a real man must bravely face his own mistakes” and proposed letting Shen Yuze get his revenge harshly. Little did he know that his suggestion would deliver such a powerful blow to Shen Yuze’s psyche.

After a long pause, Shen Yuze looked away. “…Don’t talk nonsense.”

“How is this nonsense?” Lu Ping puffed out his chest and pointed at his lower abdomen, his face dead serious. “Come on, Shen Yuze. I absolutely won’t dodge!”

Shen Yuze’s gaze fell on the boy’s loose school pants and lingered for a few seconds. In that moment, a whirlwind of thoughts raced through his mind. But when he lifted his eyes to meet Lu Ping’s, the taut string in Shen Yuze’s heart suddenly relaxed. Lu Ping’s face showed anxiety and tension, but it was only about the impending “revenge”—completely different from the anxiety and tension swirling in Shen Yuze’s own heart.

This feeling couldn’t even be described as “punching cotton.”

It was more like “punching cotton candy.”

You wouldn’t even want to hit it too hard. You just wanted to let this puff of cotton candy stay white, sweet, and soft forever.

Shen Yuze said, “There are cameras in the hospital. What would it look like if someone saw?”

Lu Ping replied, “Then let’s go somewhere without cameras.”

“…” Shen Yuze was both exasperated and amused. “You really want me to do it that badly?” He paused for several seconds before saying meaningfully, “Actually, if you want to make it up to me, there’s no need for me to ‘get revenge.’ There’s obviously another way to solve it.”

Lu Ping was predictably curious. “What way?”

Shen Yuze put on a straight face. “When little kids get hurt, everyone knows to rub the injury and blow on it. So, for a big kid like me who’s hurt, couldn’t we use the same method?”

Rub where? How to rub? Who rubs? Rub whom???

All the blood in Lu Ping’s body rushed to his face. He was so embarrassed that steam practically rose from his head. “Shen Yuze, y-y-you don’t say that kind of dirty joke in public!”

“What dirty joke is this?” Shen Yuze said leisurely. “You’re the one who sexually harassed me first.”

Lu Ping: “???”

Shen Yuze feigned confusion. “You touched me there first, then asked me to touch you there. Doesn’t that count as sexual harassment?”

“You’re twisting it around!”

“I’m just stating facts. How is that twisting it? How about we find someone to judge who’s in the wrong… But who?” Shen Yuze pretended to think. “How about Teacher Wu?”

Lu Ping had never seen such a shameless person. He asked in shock, “Shen Yuze, how old are you? You actually want to tattle to the teacher!”

Shen Yuze: “Seventeen, same as you.”

“…” Lu Ping conceded defeat. He muttered, “I really wish I could turn back time to when we first met.”

Shen Yuze asked what he meant by that.

Lu Ping pouted. “Back then, you had your idol image to uphold. You acted cool in front of me, all aloof male god vibes. Not like now—you’ve got nothing left of ‘aloof male god’ except the ‘male’ part…”

Hearing this evaluation, Shen Yuze didn’t get angry. Instead, he raised his hand, patted Lu Ping’s head, then slowly slid his palm down to his own nose level… Shen Yuze chuckled softly and looked down at the boy who was quite a bit shorter than him. “Doesn’t it still have the ‘tall’ part?”

Lu Ping: Little mouse clenching its fists in rage.gif

Damn northerners! He wasn’t an adult yet—he could still grow taller!!!

…

They waited a full twenty minutes in the hospital lobby before the nurse finally reappeared, holding Zhaocai.

Zhaocai was wrapped in a restraint blanket like a little baby, meowing nonstop as if cursing up a storm. Shen Yuze quickly tore off a cat strip and stuffed it in its mouth, finally getting it to quiet down.

The nurse said, “The X-ray is done. Now, there are two pieces of news.”

Lu Ping was on edge. “I want to hear the bad news first.”

The nurse replied, “The bad news is that the rat trap did injure the bone in its tail. But because cats’ and dogs’ tails are in a special position, fractures there can’t be fixed with pins like other areas. It has to heal on its own. However, cats have five times the metabolism of humans, and the injury isn’t severe, so it could be as quick as a week or as long as one or two months before the tail heals.”

The word “fracture” made Lu Ping’s heart tremble. He’d personally experienced a tailbone injury (though his had already regressed), and he never imagined the little cat he’d been feeding would suffer the same pain.

His voice shaking, he asked, “And the good news?”

The nurse looked awkward. “Uh… Little classmate, there’s no good news. The second one is also bad.”

Even though Shen Yuze knew it wasn’t the time to laugh, he couldn’t help turning his head and chuckling softly under the cover of a cough.

Lu Ping elbowed him hard and turned back to the nurse. “Then just tell me the second bad news.”

Next, the nurse explained that besides the fracture, the black kitten’s tail skin and flesh were also mangled. To apply medicine, they had to shave all the fur off its tail.

With that, the nurse carefully unfolded the restraint blanket, revealing its fluffy, round body—and a bald, ugly, fleshy pink tail.

Lu Ping: “…”

Shen Yuze: “…”

Zhaocai was just a mongrel cat, but it was truly beautiful, with sleek black long fur like satin. It looked so majestic leaping through branches. In the eyes of mice, it was a god of war, slaying without mercy… But even a war god with a “bald as a cue ball” tail would look embarrassing!

The black cat’s tail was slathered in red and white ointment, the tip drooping limply. It looked utterly pitiful, yet somehow hilariously so.

Shen Yuze really couldn’t hold back. He whispered to Lu Ping, “Excuse me, can I laugh now?”

Lu Ping punched him in fury. “No laughing! Don’t you have any sympathy?”

Shen Yuze shrugged. “But it looks so ugly like this…”

Before the last word left his mouth, Zhaocai, which had been peacefully eating its cat strip, suddenly launched itself at Shen Yuze, sharp claws flailing!

Luckily, Shen Yuze reacted quickly and dodged sideways. Otherwise, a solid scratch would have left him marked.

Lu Ping freaked out. “Aaaah, I told you not to say random stuff! Zhaocai understands human speech!!!”

…

In the end, the human-cat battle concluded with the cat locked in a cage.

Zhaocai was left at the pet hospital. Once its tail healed, they’d schedule neutering surgery. After that, whether to release it or find it an adopter would be decided later.

Shen Yuze snorted coldly. “Who would adopt a cat with such a bad temper?”

Lu Ping mimicked him with a hum. “Who would keep a person with such a foul mouth around?”

If his family had the conditions to keep a cat, Lu Ping actually wanted to adopt Zhaocai… Not to mention anything else, the name was so meaningful! Which small business owner wouldn’t want a beckoning cat?

The costs for Zhaocai’s exam, hospitalization, meds, vaccines, deworming, bath, and eventual neutering added up to a hefty sum. The nurse quickly listed a long bill. Shen Yuze didn’t even glance at it before pulling out his card to pay.

Lu Ping hurriedly pressed his hand on the bill.

“A’jia~” Lu Ping blinked pitifully at the nurse. “Look, we’re both in school uniforms. We’re students from No. 1 High School and don’t have much pocket money. This cat’s a stray from school. We felt sorry for it and brought it in… Could you give us a discount, A’jia?”

The nurse looked troubled. “Little brother, we’re a business too. Since you’re students who kindly picked up a stray, we’ve already discounted the treatment fees.”

Even with discounts, the miscellaneous costs added up to several thousand yuan. Treatment could be reduced, but food, vaccines, deworming, and meds during the stay couldn’t.

Lu Ping knew keeping a cat was expensive, but he hadn’t realized a single vet visit would cost this much. Without Shen Yuze, he’d have to sell himself to cover it.

Of course, for Shen Yuze, this was pocket change. The daily boarding and feed for his horse in the Capital cost more than that. Exchanging it for a kitten’s health was well worth it in his eyes.

Shen Yuze said, “It’s fine, I’ll pay…”

Before he finished, Lu Ping stomped on his foot behind the counter’s cover.

Shen Yuze: “…”

Lu Ping’s smile didn’t falter. “A’jia, there must be other ways to discount, right? Look, our school has so many students. We’ll definitely promote your hospital there!”

“Um…” The nurse thought. “Right, I remember the director mentioning a special on neutering. If you share it on social media, we can give the special price!”

“Social media? Can I post it on WeChat Moments?” Lu Ping’s eyes lit up.

“Moments won’t work… It has to be more public social media, like Weibo, short video sites, or—” The nurse said, “—or Partner! Isn’t that the most popular social media among high schoolers? Post it on Partner, and you get the discount!”

Partner???

Lu Ping: “…”

Shen Yuze: “…”

All the hairs on Lu Ping’s body stood up.

Shen Yuze, standing beside him, fell into a long silence.

He gave an awkward laugh. “What’s Partner?”

Shen Yuze played dumb too. “Seems like some social media app. I tried it before, wasn’t fun, so I uninstalled.”

Lu Ping: “Oh, so you don’t have an account?”

Shen Yuze: “…No. Do you?”

Lu Ping: “…I don’t either.”

Shen Yuze: “…”

Lu Ping: “…”

Shen Yuze slapped his credit card on the counter and pushed it to the nurse, saying firmly, “Check out.”