Chapter 17

The day after Jiang Heng’s birthday, Lu Yichuan came to the hospital to see him, just as he had promised.

Though he called it a visit, he was actually there to discharge the kitten.

The wound on its back had scabbed over and fallen off, leaving only a faint pink mark. In the near future, this long scar would be covered by soft, delicate fur, and no one would ever know the little cat had suffered such an injury.

As Lu Yichuan listened to the doctor’s instructions, Jiang Heng stood in his cage, watching his own reflection in the glass mirror opposite.

Left side: bald.
Right side: also bald.
Below...
Below was not suitable for viewing.

He sighed sorrowfully. A week was enough for his wounds to heal, but nowhere near enough for his shaved fur to grow back. Perhaps it was a tiny bit longer than before, but in Jiang Heng’s eyes, this change was equivalent to nothing.

He thought to himself that in ten minutes, he would have to leave the hospital with Lu Yichuan looking like this. And he would have to face Lu Yichuan’s friends in this state... Just thinking about it made Jiang Heng feel suffocated.

A warm, large hand cradled his belly, lifting him up. Lu Yichuan rubbed the kitten’s drooping ears and asked the doctor, "Why does he look so unhappy?"

The doctor glanced at the cat in his hands. "Although he is ready for discharge, the little guy hasn't fully recovered yet. It’s normal for him to be a bit down."

"Remember to feed him the medicine I prescribed and bring him in once a week for his injection. Technically, he needs to have these injections for twelve weeks, so the cost..."

He paused, not finishing the sentence. Seeing Lu Yichuan walking toward the door with the cat, the doctor couldn't help but offer a piece of advice. "Mr. Lu, this little cat is very well-behaved and intelligent. Since you're willing to pay for such expensive treatment, raising a small cat really won't cost you that much."

"But cats are spiritual creatures. If you don't intend to keep him, it's better to let him go now. Don't adopt him for a couple of days only to abandon him when you realize it’s not a good fit—that would be a true sin."

The man stopped at the door, replied with a simple "I know," and left the pet hospital without looking back.

The doctor watched his retreating figure, struck by his somewhat indifferent demeanor. Unable to gauge what the man was thinking, he sighed softly and returned to his work.

Jiang Heng was placed in the back seat of Lu Yichuan’s car. The box he had arrived in was still there, though the black notebook inside had been replaced with a gray soft cushion.

He stepped on the cushion with his hind legs and gripped the edge of the box with his front paws, laboriously poking his bumpy little head out. The box tilted under the kitten's weight, but the culprit seemed completely unaware, staring at Lu Yichuan in the front with glass-like eyes.

The man adjusted his cuffs, revealing his slender wrists, and reached over to buckle his seatbelt. It was a simple action, yet there was an inexplicable elegance and nobility to it. Jiang Heng couldn't decipher anything from the movement, so he peered at his expression through the rearview mirror.

His expression remained consistently cool—so cool that Jiang Heng couldn't tell if he liked him or not.

*Scritch.*

A claw mark appeared on the pristine box.

For the past two days, he had been too happy to consider the question of whether Lu Yichuan would actually keep him. Jiang Heng tried to recall, but it seemed Lu Yichuan had never shown any interest in small animals.

Jiang Heng, however, had always loved them. But because Zhao Huailan was allergic to pet fur, they were never allowed to have pets at home, so Jiang Heng could only sneakily pet stray cats and dogs outside.

The cat strips and canned food Lu Yichuan carried in his bag were all prepared for him. Sometimes, Jiang Heng would ask him why he didn't keep a pet. Back then, Lu Yichuan had already grown into the person everyone knew: excellent, introverted, and carrying the inherent grace and distance expected of a successor to the Lu family. Only when he was with Jiang Heng would he become relaxed and lazy, sprawling in a chair without any pretense, watching quietly as Jiang Heng played with cats.

"Taking care of Rongrong is already enough trouble; where would I find the time to raise cats or dogs?"

Thinking of this, Jiang Heng felt both sad and bitter.

He thought that Lu Yichuan probably wouldn't keep him.

While he was lost in his thoughts, the box he was leaning on suddenly wobbled and tipped over.

Jiang Heng: "!!"

He let out a short cry, scrambling backward in a panic, trying to right the falling box. But the cursed box wouldn't listen to a cat; even as he retracted his claws, it insisted on abandoning the comfortable cushion. Just as it was about to tip over, a hand reached out at the critical moment and pushed it back into place.

Jiang Heng did a somersault inside as the box was pushed back. A few seconds later, he pulled his head out from his belly, looking at the hand resting on the edge of the cardboard with a bewildered expression.

Lu Yichuan glanced at him. "Behave."

Jiang Heng: "..."

He scrambled up, feeling somewhat aggrieved.

"Meow!"

It wasn't me! The box moved first!

The only answer he got was the sound of the car starting.

They drove to the largest pet store in the vicinity. Lu Yichuan carried the hairless kitten, box and all, out of the car. The shop assistant, seeing the car, hurried over eagerly. "Hello, sir. What can I help you with?"

Lu Yichuan held up the kitten. "What do I need to keep him?"

The assistant looked down, meeting Jiang Heng’s innocent, hazy eyes. He brightened, immediately realizing this was a novice cat owner. "You need a lot of things. We have everything here. Let me introduce them to you..."

Lu Yichuan lacked patience. "Just pick out what's needed."

The assistant brought over a chair for him to sit in and poured him a cup of hot tea. "Of course. I’ll select the best for you, don’t worry."

And of course, the most expensive.

Lu Yichuan set the cat on the table beside him. Just as he was about to agree, a short meow sounded from beside him. He turned his head to meet Jiang Heng’s gaze. Even though he couldn't understand what the cat was saying, he could see a trace of disapproval in its eyes.

The word "Okay" got stuck in his throat.

Seeing that he didn't answer, the assistant probed, "If you have no objections, shall I go ahead and get these for you?"

Lu Yichuan picked up the cat and stood up. "Let me look around first."

The assistant felt a bit disappointed but continued to introduce products with enthusiasm. "How about this cat bed? It’s spacious and soft; it will definitely give your cat a comfortable sleep."

To Lu Yichuan, a cat bed was just a cat bed. He couldn't tell the difference, so he tilted the box so Jiang Heng could see what the assistant was pointing at.

"Do you like it?"

Jiang Heng’s body jolted unexpectedly. He dug his claws into the cardboard to steady himself before realizing Lu Yichuan was talking to him.

Was he asking for his opinion? Did that mean he intended to keep him?

Seeing him remain silent, Lu Yichuan closed his eyes. "Let's try another one."

The assistant regretfully put away the most expensive bed and tried to introduce other products, attempting to pique the kitten's curiosity. "How about this one? It has feathers hanging from the top, so the kitten can play with them when he's bored."

As he spoke, he flicked the feathers, which swayed back and forth in front of Jiang Heng. He couldn't help but reach out a paw to bat at them.

As soon as his soft, pink paw pad touched the feathers, Lu Yichuan made his decision. "We'll take this one."

Before Jiang Heng could react, his future bed had been bought just like that.

...

On the way back, Jiang Heng was no longer sleeping in a crude cardboard box, but in the new cat bed. As the car moved, the feathers above swayed back and forth.

However, Jiang Heng wasn't in the mood to play.

The previous box had been high, and he couldn't see anything from inside. Now, in the cat bed, as the car moved, the scenery outside flooded into his view, including the cars passing by.

The psychological trauma caused by the car accident wouldn't fade in a day or two, but as long as he was with Lu Yichuan, he didn't seem so afraid anymore. Jiang Heng realized that as long as he was with him, even death didn't seem so daunting.

Lu Yichuan didn't know what the little cat in the back seat was thinking. He parked the car under the dormitory building and carried the cat, along with its bed, upstairs.

Back in the room, he placed the cat on the floor near the window and reached out to rub its head. "I’m going downstairs to move some things. Be a good boy."

Jiang Heng watched him leave before he started to survey the room. There was only one bed, kept neat and tidy, and a faint scent of jasmine drifted through the air.

Jiang Heng tentatively stepped out of the bed, then crawled out entirely, observing this place he had never stepped foot in before with a mix of caution and curiosity.

Voices of students drifted in from the hallway. It was clearly a student dormitory. On the table lay books Jiang Heng hadn't seen before—vaguely philosophical—and on the windowsill sat a potted jasmine plant with buds about to bloom.

When Lu Yichuan returned, the kitten was squatting on the floor, looking up at the jasmine on the windowsill.

He put down the things he had brought, moved the jasmine to the balcony to get some sun, and meticulously wiped the dust from the rim of the pot.

Only after finishing everything did he notice the cat in the room. After a moment of thought, he said to the cat, "You cannot touch that jasmine."

The kitten tilted its head at him and meowed obediently.

Lu Yichuan kneaded his knuckles, his brow, which had been furrowed along the way, finally relaxing.

His reason told him that he shouldn't be keeping this cat, but every time he thought about leaving it to someone else, he remembered how the kitten had curled up and fallen asleep on his lap the night before. So small, shrinking cautiously into his arms, its breathing so light as if it were afraid of disturbing him.

He had never considered himself a good person, but in the face of this creature, he always felt an untimely softness. By the time he regained his senses, he had already brought the cat back.

He hadn't slept at all the night before, and his eyes were rimmed with dark circles, his lips pale. He bent down to pour a bowl of cat food for Jiang Heng, added some freeze-dried treats, and once he felt it was enough, he went to the bathroom to shower.

Jiang Heng was quiet and didn't make a fuss, so Lu Yichuan didn't feel there was any problem with raising a cat this way.

Jiang Heng didn't think there was any problem either. He had no idea that most cats would feel anxious in a new environment. Not only was he not anxious, but he seemed even more at ease than he had been at the hospital.

He bit into a piece of freeze-dried treat—crunchy and fragrant—while glancing toward the bathroom.

Lu Yichuan came out quickly, though not in the "handsome man emerging from a bath" scene Jiang Heng had imagined. He was dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and trousers, with only the top two buttons undone, revealing his cool, pale skin and the subtle texture of his firm muscles underneath.

By the time Lu Yichuan had dried his hair and come out, Jiang Heng had already finished half the bowl, his belly visibly rounder.

The man didn't spare it much attention, as if there wasn't a new member in the room at all. He reached up to press his temples. His eyelids felt heavy, yet his mind was restless, his heart thumping against his eardrums, one beat louder than the last.

Where Jiang Heng couldn't see, he let out a slow, steadying breath, rubbed his knuckles, and once his emotions had stabilized, he bent down to pull open a drawer and take out the sleeping pills kept in his vitamin box.

Lu Yichuan put the pill in his mouth and swallowed it with a sip of water. In his peripheral vision, he caught sight of the hairless cat sneaking a paw out to hook the long cloth draped over the desk.

The tension in his mind suddenly eased. A smile, one he wasn't even aware of, reached his eyes. He set the water glass down, making an unavoidable clatter.

Sure enough, upon hearing the sound, the kitten quickly dropped its paw and began looking around as if nothing had happened.

*Wow! This book is really book-like!*