The Cub Comes from Planet Meow 3

Chapter 3: Meow

The apartment building was designed with two units per floor, and the window facing the elevator was open for ventilation.

The winter wind was like a knife, cutting into exposed skin. Jing Zhi, thinking he would just go downstairs to throw out the trash and come right back, hadn’t worn much and shivered from the sudden chill.

But he ignored his physical discomfort, his attention entirely captured by the little cub at his feet.

The little cub looked about three or four years old, a boy, dressed in thick, old clothes, wrapped up like a little zongzi (sticky rice dumpling).

Despite his young age, one could see that his facial features were exquisitely beautiful, the kind of looks that could totally make him a child model. His hair was a light yellow, mostly covered by a hat, with only a few soft strands visible. He didn’t look mixed-race; instead, he looked a bit malnourished.

His cheeks were flushed red, like a ripe peach, but there wasn’t much flesh on them. His eyes were tightly closed, long eyelashes drooping, and he showed no reaction.

There were quite a few children in the residential complex, usually playing in groups in the activity area during the evening, but Jing Zhi had no recollection of this beautiful little cub before him.

Although surprised, he didn’t find it too strange. He assumed the child had wandered out to play, got lost because he was too young.

But the temperature outside was so low right now. Even with thick clothes, he could still get sick.

Jing Zhi immediately placed the box in his hand on the entryway shelf, bent down, and touched the motionless little zongzi. His fingertips were instantly seared by the child’s burning body temperature.

The situation was a bit bad.

This little guy was sick; he had a fever.

Jing Zhi subconsciously looked up at the bare door opposite his.

A middle-aged man with a scar on his face lived across the hall. He always left early and returned late. Rumor had it he had been to prison, and no relatives ever visited. He looked like someone not to be trifled with. Not long ago, someone in the homeowners’ group chat had even posted photos claiming he abused animals. It was highly unlikely this was his child.

But Jing Zhi, still worried, went over and knocked on the door anyway.

Just in case.

He wasn’t familiar with his neighbor and hadn’t met him many times. Everything he knew was hearsay, and he couldn’t confirm the truth.

After knocking for a while with no answer, he guessed no one was home.

It probably wasn’t his child.

Jing Zhi had no choice but to turn back to his own door and carry the feverish little cub into his home.

The little guy was young and frail, already delirious from the fever, unresponsive to the outside world. He had to be taken to the hospital immediately.

The property management office was already closed at this hour. He took a clear photo of the little guy and sent it to the homeowners’ group chat to look for his parents. At the same time, he put on a thick coat and called a ride-share to the nearest hospital, planning to call the police directly if no one contacted him after getting to the hospital.

Although it was a bit troublesome, humans are flesh and blood; it was hard to stand by and do nothing in such a situation.

Besides, this little cub inexplicably reminded him of the scene when he found Mimi.

It was also on a snowy night like this.

The kitten was injured, sick, covered in dust, struggling to chew on garbage to fill its stomach. If he had ignored it, it was hard to say if it would have survived the snow that night.

Seeing Jing Zhi put on clothes, pick up Mimi, go downstairs, and get into the ride-share to the hospital, the Cat God, from an unseen place, finally let out a huge sigh of relief.

Mimi had found a comfortable position to curl up at the door at that time, and not long after, he fell asleep due to drowsiness.

The human child body it had created was only four years old and naturally needed sleep. Combined with the kitten’s instinct to take catnaps, the Cat God hadn’t thought much of it initially.

There happened to be a litter of stray cats nearby that had frozen to death in the snow, so it got distracted bringing them back to Planet Meow.

When it finished everything and returned, it discovered that the sleeping cub’s breathing had become heavy and rapid at some point, and his exposed skin was slightly flushed. He had obviously caught a cold while sleeping.

Its understanding of humans was still too shallow. It thought that wearing thick clothes would prevent catching a cold and getting sick. It didn’t expect the human body to be so fragile.

Its power couldn’t interfere with the energy of living beings on Earth. It could only hurriedly and secretly add a few more layers of old, tattered clothes to the little cub, wrapping him completely into an airtight little zongzi.

As for why tattered clothes—it had to disguise Mimi as a homeless stray child so that his Papa would be more likely to adopt him, and there would be less suspicion about his origins.

But the little cub’s condition was still not optimistic. His fever was very high, and his consciousness was hazy.

Fortunately, the person inside finally woke up.

The ride-share drove straight to the nearest Second People’s Hospital. On the way, Jing Zhi kept an eye on the messages in the homeowners’ group chat.

People in the group were discussing the photo he sent, and kind-hearted people forwarded it to various offline groups in the surrounding area.

But until the car stopped at the hospital entrance, no one had claimed this little cub.

Jing Zhi had no choice but to put away his phone, pick up the feverish child, get out of the car, and register.

The little cub in his arms was like a small heater; holding him, Jing Zhi didn’t feel cold at all.

He had no experience taking care of sick children, so he had to ask the nurse at the service desk. Following instructions, he stumbled through a series of checkups and finally completed the hospitalization procedures smoothly.

There shouldn’t be any major problems. Hospitalization for observation for a period of time and successfully bringing down the fever should be enough.

The ward was a three-bed room. One bed was empty, and in another lay a little girl with a fever patch on her forehead, reading a fairy tale book in her hand. Her parents were both accompanying her.

Seeing Jing Zhi appear with the little cub, they subconsciously assumed it was a similar situation to theirs.

This clean-cut, handsome man looked only about twenty-five. He seemed a bit young to be the little cub’s father; perhaps he was an older brother or something similar. The black hair on his forehead was mixed with a bit of white, though it was unclear if it was a deliberate highlight.

But after waiting for a while, no new family members appeared, and the man didn’t make any phone calls to anyone who might be family. He just sat by the bed looking at his phone, occasionally glancing up at the glucose drip the little cub was receiving.

He also smelled faintly of alcohol.

The little girl’s parents, having nothing to do, secretly discussed it on WeChat.

[Do you think he’s the sick baby’s dad or brother?]

[Feels like the dad, the kind with a colorful romantic history. That face looks like it attracts bees and butterflies. And the baby’s hair color is so unique, could he be mixed-race?]

[I feel that way too, but the features look quite Chinese.]

[Tsk, the kid is so big, yet he’s maintained himself so well. Our daughter is about the same age as his kid, how come you, as a dad, have gotten fat?]

[…]

The little girl’s father got up and walked outside, putting an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

Boo hoo hoo, wifey has already started to despise her old husband.

Jing Zhi was completely unaware of this.

He was monitoring the messages in the WeChat group while telling his childhood friend about his encounter.

His childhood friend was named Fang Yuan. They had known each other since they were little and were best buddies. Fang Yuan was now a high school Chinese teacher.

He had just finished evening self-study and received Jing Zhi’s message as soon as he got home.

Fang Yuan said: [Getting scammed right at your doorstep… The kid is quite good-looking, and with that mixed hair color, his family must be worried sick. Let Jiang Suifeng take care of him; isn’t he good with kids?]

Jing Zhi’s Adam’s apple bobbed quickly. He pursed his lips and typed: [We broke up.]

Fang Yuan fell silent for a while, tactfully not mentioning Jiang Suifeng’s name again, and changed the subject: [What do you plan to do with the kid now?]

As a childhood friend, Fang Yuan probably understood Jing Zhi and Jiang Suifeng’s relationship better than anyone else in the world. Occasionally, he would act as a listener.

In his opinion—it was impossible for these two to break up.

Bickering, arguing, and even threatening to break up were inevitable experiences for lovers. As an outsider, it was better for him not to intervene too much.

Moreover, Mimi had left recently, and Jing Zhi was already feeling terrible. It was better not to bring up sad things.

Jing Zhi looked up at the sleeping little cub on the hospital bed and lowered his head to reply: [Actually, I don’t really want to go home right now anyway. I’ll just stay with him at the hospital until his parents are found.]

Fang Yuan: [That works too. They should be found soon.]

Jing Zhi thought so too.

After all, this kid was exquisitely beautiful. Although dressed a bit shabbily, he was wrapped up tightly, so there must be adults taking care of him.

But until he woke up the next morning, Jing Zhi hadn’t received any news from the little cub’s parents.

Because the other empty bed in the ward had no sheets and had been used by the little girl’s parents to place some items, Jing Zhi had made do and slept on the same bed as the little cub last night.

The little cub was small and didn’t take up much space. The glucose drip had finished, and he slept soundly, hardly tossing or turning, so he didn’t crush Jing Zhi.

Before sleeping, the parent from the next bed saw that he hadn’t brought anything and proactively lent him some disposable face towels.

After thanking them, he used the face towel to simply wipe the face and small hands of the comatose little cub.

That night, accompanied by the faint smell of hospital disinfectant and listening to the shallow breathing of the little cub beside him, Jing Zhi actually slept the best he had in a while.

Perhaps it was because when Mimi was still around, there used to be such a warm, soft lump snuggled up beside him too.

He woke up the next day because he felt something gently nudging his body.

Opening his eyes, he met a pair of clear, bright amber eyes.

The little cub had woken up at some point and was nudging around beside him, not looking afraid of strangers at all.

Their eyes met, and the amber eyes instantly lit up. Then, clumsily controlling his body, which was still weak from illness, he crawled on the bed and slowly stuck his little bottom up in the air.

Jing Zhi: “…?”

***

Author’s Note:

Mimi: (Happy) (Sticks up little butt) (Happy) (Raises non-existent tail) (Happy) The highest etiquette for seeing Papa!