The Cub Comes from Planet Meow 18p1

Chapter 18: Meow p1

Jing Zhi didn’t have severe OCD. He would clear the red notification dots on his phone when he remembered, and if he didn’t, he would just let them be, too lazy to care.

Therefore, his SMS inbox was perpetually occupied by various advertisements, and the red dot almost never disappeared.

Precisely for this reason, he hadn’t noticed the extra text message all day today.

Jing Zhi vaguely remembered something and quickly switched to the call log. As expected, he saw a rejected call from an unsaved number.

It had called him in the morning when he was in the car taking Mimi to the hospital.

At that time, his mind was entirely on the little guy, worried sick. Seeing it was an unsaved number, he hung up directly, having no time to deal with it.

It was the same number that Jiang Suifeng used to text him.

Perhaps because he rejected the call instantly in the morning and hadn’t replied to the text message, Jiang Suifeng didn’t dare call again, only tentatively sending another text message.

Why did he come back so soon?

I thought it would take about another week.

Jing Zhi’s gaze returned to Jing Mimi, and he negotiated with him: “Mimi, Papa has something to deal with. Can I let you play with the phone later?”

Jing Mimi nodded his little head obediently.

He knew very few characters and didn’t understand the content of the text message. He just thought it was like when Uncle Fang Yuan sent messages to Papa before, receiving messages from others. Plus, his attention was on the content of the message, so he didn’t notice the familiar number of the sender at the top and didn’t take it to heart.

With Bai Ying looking after Mimi, Jing Zhi got up and went to the bathroom. Leaning against the door, he replied to Jiang Suifeng’s text message.

[I’m at the hospital. Let’s set a time to meet at the hospital.]

Jiang Suifeng called immediately.

Jing Zhi hesitated for a moment but answered. While answering, he walked further into the bathroom, pressing the phone tightly against his ear, afraid the little cub outside would hear something.

He didn’t leave the ward directly but went into the bathroom because he was afraid the little cub would worry if he left for too long. The cub was still sick, and fluctuating emotions would only worsen his condition.

“…Hello? Little Jing.” Jiang Suifeng’s voice sounded pleasantly surprised.

After being separated for so many days, this was their first phone call.

Facing the tiles on the wall, Jing Zhi gave a soft “Mmhmm.”

The tiles were slightly yellowed, and the ones near the ground even had some spreading black spots, just like his current mood, dotted with damp mold spots.

The brief separation didn’t calm him down. Instead, like the calm sea before a storm, the intrusion of a familiar voice could trigger a raging tsunami.

The tsunami wasn’t a tsunami; it was his intense longing that he couldn’t let go of.

He missed Jiang Suifeng.

Not a bit less than Mimi missed him.

Before his emotions could ferment further, Jiang Suifeng’s eager voice vibrated against his ear again: “Why are you in the hospital? Are you sick? How are you now?”

It was undisguised concern for him.

Jing Zhi swallowed, cleared his throat, and then answered, “I’m not the one sick.”

Jiang Suifeng: “Then who is it? Fang Yuan? Or Auntie Jing?”

“Neither. Are you free tomorrow? Come to the hospital to meet.” Jing Zhi changed the subject, not planning to tell him about Mimi over the phone. He was afraid he couldn’t explain it clearly, and also afraid that Jiang Suifeng would rush to the hospital right now after knowing. It was getting late, and Mimi was still sick and needed rest.

Sure enough, Jiang Suifeng’s next sentence was: “I’m free right now, I can come over.”

Jing Zhi refused: “It’s too late. Tomorrow. I’m going to rest.”

Jiang Suifeng had also just gotten off the plane and needed rest.

Jiang Suifeng was silent for a few seconds on the other end, but still compromised. “Okay, what time tomorrow? I’m free all day tomorrow.”

Jing Zhi didn’t give a direct answer but said, “I’ll tell you then.”

He didn’t know how much Mimi’s condition would improve tomorrow. He had to decide based on Mimi’s physical condition. If Mimi still had diarrhea and felt uncomfortable in the morning, he would postpone it.

Seeing Jiang Suifeng, Mimi would definitely be very excited. Again—mood swings were not good for his recovery.

“Okay,” Jiang Suifeng could only follow his lead. “I’m in the car going home now. Did you change the door lock password?”

Jing Zhi: “…”

Jing Zhi: “Didn’t change it.”

He took some of his daily necessities to the welfare institute, but many things remained at home. He had planned to move out before Jiang Suifeng returned, but unexpected things happened. Fortunately, the lease hadn’t expired yet, so there was still plenty of time to move.

But now that Jiang Suifeng was back, moving might not be so smooth.

He knew well how stubborn and clingy Jiang Suifeng was, like a stubborn dog.

Before Jiang Suifeng could be happy for too long about the password not being changed, he heard Jing Zhi add immediately: “Go back and pack up. Move all your things out.”

Jiang Suifeng’s heart sank instantly, but knowing he couldn’t explain clearly over the phone, he could only pin his hopes on tomorrow’s meeting, coaxing him: “Don’t say angry words, Little Jing. Let’s talk properly when we meet tomorrow.”

“Not angry words.” Jing Zhi lifted his foot and gently rubbed the dark mold spot in the corner with the tip of his shoe. The mold spot had penetrated into the tile and couldn’t be easily scraped off.

He wasn’t angry anymore.

Or rather, he had never been angry with Jiang Suifeng. Even with that blind date text message, he didn’t blame Jiang Suifeng.

He just felt too powerless. His sexual orientation wasn’t accepted by conventional elders, and he dragged the person he loved deeply into the water.

Underwater, it wasn’t as simple as kissing to pass a breath to each other. Air would run out eventually, and the outcome would likely be both drowning.

Jiang Suifeng still used a coaxing tone, not arguing with him: “Okay, okay, we’ll talk when we meet tomorrow… I miss you so much.”

Jing Zhi gave a “Mmhmm,” cut off the uncontrollable romantic words in time, and said ruthlessly, “Hanging up now.”

“Okay, rest well. Goodnight.”

“Mmhmm.” Jing Zhi hung up the phone quickly and secretly replied “Goodnight” in his heart.

He turned and walked to the mirror in the bathroom, finding his eyes a bit moist. He took a deep breath and adjusted his state for a long time before walking out of the bathroom.

The little cub was still leaning against the propped-up pillow in the posture he left him in, waiting for him, but had already closed his eyes groggily.

Although the call wasn’t long, he took too long to adjust his state, making the little guy wait too long.

Bai Ying was looking at her phone. Seeing Jing Zhi come out of the bathroom, she lowered her voice and said to him, “Mimi fell asleep.”

Jing Zhi nodded, walked lightly to the bedside, adjusted the little cub’s posture, and let him lie flat on the lowered pillow.

Perhaps exhausted from the checkups all day, coupled with his weak body, the little guy slept very soundly and wasn’t woken up by the movement.

Looking at his small face, Jiang Suifeng’s face uncontrollably appeared in Jing Zhi’s mind.

Soon, he also pulled the curtain around the bed and lay down, but didn’t sleep immediately. Instead, he played with his phone for a while.

On the phone screen was his chat interface with Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan sent him a message in the evening saying he had left the welfare institute and asked about Mimi’s condition. Jing Zhi replied to everything when he had time.

Fang Yuan was quite disappointed, saying he would come to the welfare institute again next Saturday. Because Mimi ignored him last week due to the puppy pattern on his clothes, he specially bought clothes with a kitten pattern to wear to the welfare institute this week, but Mimi didn’t even see it.

Fang Yuan added: [It’s good that Mimi is fine. You must go see the psychiatrist with me tomorrow. No more delays. Just register at the psychology department of your current hospital. Anyway, there are people from the welfare institute taking care of Mimi, it doesn’t matter if you leave for a while.]

After all, Jing Zhi wasn’t a formal employee of the welfare institute. Bai Ying also stayed in the ward tonight to accompany Mimi, sleeping on a folding bed Jing Zhi rented from the hospital, letting Jing Zhi sleep with the little guy since he was more familiar with him.

Sleeping alone on a folding bed was also more comfortable.

Jing Zhi replied to Fang Yuan: [Tomorrow probably won’t work.]

Fang Yuan: [?]

Fang Yuan: [You’d better give me an acceptable reason, or I’ll squat at the hospital tonight to catch you, and drag you there as soon as the psychology doctor starts work tomorrow.]

Jing Zhi: [Jiang Suifeng is back. I’m meeting him tomorrow.]

Fang Yuan replied after a while: […Fine, I accept this reason.]

Jing Zhi thought for a moment and sent the photos of Mimi and Jiang Suifeng in his phone to Fang Yuan, asking: [Do you think Mimi looks a bit like Jiang Suifeng? Look, this is Jiang Suifeng when he was little. The eyes and nose look quite like Mimi’s. Also, someone said tonight that Mimi’s eyebrows and mouth look like mine.]

He was afraid it was his psychological factors at play, so he wanted to ask for others’ opinions. Often, bystanders see clearer than those involved.

Fang Yuan was silent for even longer this time.

Either explode in silence or perish in silence. Fang Yuan chose to explode: [You’d better repeat these words directly to Jiang Suifeng tomorrow. He’ll be more anxious than me to take you to see a psychiatrist.]

Jing Zhi: […]

Forget it, can’t get through to this bro. He’s dead set on thinking I have mental problems. No matter how I ask, he’ll deny it.

I’ll just tell Jiang Suifeng directly tomorrow.

Ending the chat with Fang Yuan, Jing Zhi turned off his phone, gently hugged the little cub in his arms, and closed his eyes.

In the middle of the night, Jing Mimi woke up groggily, burrowed into Jing Zhi’s arms, and fell asleep again.

…