Chapter 18

Lu Yichuan said nothing. After watching the kitten look around for a while, he turned off the light and went to bed.

The sudden darkness left Jiang Heng stunned. He turned his head to look at the man who had already pulled the quilt over himself, feeling a sense of disbelief. How could it be bedtime already? He remembered it having only just turned dark.

A cat’s vision is excellent; the darkness did not hinder him at all. Jiang Heng circled the bed, finally finding an angle from which he could see Lu Yichuan. The man’s eyes were closed quietly. The dark circles under his eyes were not very prominent, but despite sleeping so early, his brow was etched with a deep, heavy exhaustion.

Jiang Heng crouched on the floor, watching him for a long while. Then, he trotted to the foot of the bed and leapt up with a gentle spring.

The night breeze was soft, and the sounds of boys horsing around drifted in from the hallway. Jiang Heng extended his paws, leaving shallow plum-blossom prints on the soft bedding. He walked, stepping lightly and unevenly, until he reached the side of Lu Yichuan’s face. His hairless little head brushed softly against the man’s cheek, and his tender, youthful mewing was barely audible in the night.

"Meow..."

Lu Yichuan, if you don't object, I’ll take that as your consent.

The only answer was the man’s steady, rhythmic breathing.

Jiang Heng was satisfied. He stepped onto the man’s shoulder, his cool paw pads stiffening slightly when they touched the warmth radiating from the man’s skin. He retracted his claws as if nothing had happened and curled up in the hollow of Lu Yichuan’s neck.

The two were pressed close together, their once-out-of-sync breathing gradually intertwining until they were inseparable. Jiang Heng listened to the heartbeat resonating from Lu Yichuan’s chest and nestled even closer.

*Goodnight, Lu Yichuan.*

He whispered in his heart.

***

When Lu Yichuan opened his eyes, he found himself sitting in a car.

It was the height of summer in August; the sun was so bright it was impossible to keep one’s eyes open, and waves of heat were carried into the car by the wind. Lu Yichuan, originally on vacation, had made a special trip to A City.

The entrance to the First High School was bustling with students. Before he even got out of the car, he saw Jiang Heng in the crowd. Having not seen him for only a few days, the boy holding his admission letter seemed thinner. Compared to before, his features had shed their childishness, revealing a face that was both beautiful and striking.

Standing in the crowd, he was as dazzling as the sun.

Lu Yichuan reached out to unlatch the door and stepped out. He was in a strange state of detachment from his own body. On one hand, there was a growing sense of panic; on the other, the joy radiating from within his physical form. He was half-inside his body and half-floating in mid-air, watching everything that was about to happen. He could say nothing and stop nothing; he could only watch helplessly as he walked toward the boy standing at the gate.

"Lu Yichuan..."

When the boy called his name, his tone always dragged slightly, sticky and sweet, as if he were holding honey in his mouth. "Why did you come here?"

"I was worried about you, so I came to see."

Jiang Heng kicked a stone at his feet, his smile fading, his expression somewhat sullen. "I’m so useless. I even had to make you come all this way for something like this."

"Rongrong..."

Lu Yichuan heard himself call him that. He reached out to touch his face, but restrained himself at the last moment, his fingertips brushing the boy’s shoulder and falling away, carrying the lingering heat of summer. "How could your affairs be trivial? You’re blaming me for only coming today, aren't you?"

Under the sunlight, the boy’s smile was stunning.

"I didn't think that at all." The boy’s cat-like eyes stared at him. "Do you also think I'm a bad person?"

Lu Yichuan’s brow furrowed slowly. "Why would you think that?"

"Everyone says so."

"Don't worry about others." Lu Yichuan ruffled Jiang Heng’s hair. "It had nothing to do with you in the first place."

Hearing this, Jiang Heng’s stiff shoulders slumped, and he leaned against him as if he had no bones. "But the way those people look at me is so strange. It wasn't what I wanted, but their eyes make it seem like it's all my fault. I don't even dare to go home now. I... I don't know what to do."

Lu Yichuan cupped his face, using his fingertips to nudge the boy’s drooping corners of his mouth upward. "Rongrong doesn't need to worry about what to do. If you don't want to go home, go to the villa I bought. Ignore those strange looks; leave the rest to me."

The summer heat was intense, and before long, the spot where they leaned against each other became sweltering. Jiang Heng was amused by his words and pushed off his shoulders to create some distance. "Lu Yichuan, the way you say that, it’s like you’re omnipotent."

Lu Yichuan simply closed his eyes quietly. "Not omnipotent. It’s just that when it comes to you, I always have to be more attentive."

Jiang Heng picked at the hard cover of his admission letter and mumbled, "I didn't do anything to apologize to him. I’m not even raised by the Jiang family."

"Mm," Lu Yichuan agreed. "You're raised by me."

Under the sun, the man bent down, his tall frame overshadowing Jiang Heng. "Don't be angry anymore, okay? I'll take you for hot pot tonight."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his phone rang.

The sound pierced Lu Yichuan’s eardrums, and boundless panic spread alongside the ringtone.

*No...*

He opened his mouth in vain within the dream. *Don't! Don't answer it!*

But no one could hear his screams. He could only watch helplessly as he answered the phone.

"Sorry, Song Zhang has something to discuss with me. Rongrong, do you want to go back first, or come with me?"

"I'll head back," Jiang Heng said. "The sun is so bright; I don't want to run around with you."

In the dream, Lu Yichuan could change nothing. He could only watch himself say "all right."

The sun that day was too blinding. His Rongrong stood by the roadside, waving goodbye with his eyes crinkled, the dimples on his cheeks appearing and disappearing as he smiled. It was like any other ordinary afternoon—the cicadas were noisy in the trees, the sky was deep, the camphor leaves curled under the heat, and even the white car seemed to move slower than usual.

And then...

*Bang—*

Blood drowned everything.

The world stopped in that endless summer of cicada songs.

***

Lu Yichuan sat bolt upright with a start.

As he rose, something rolled down his neck, but he didn't notice. His entire body was convulsing, his face covered in cold sweat. The blood-red mist in his eyes had not yet dissipated; everywhere he looked, it was a vast, bloody haze.

Blood. Blood everywhere.

He was submerged in a world of crimson, filled with scattered fragments that he couldn't grasp no matter how he tried, unable to piece them back together...

The taste of blood rose from his throat, causing him to cough uncontrollably. His voice was hoarse and raspy, like a snapped string.

Lu Yichuan’s legs trembled as he staggered off the bed. He didn't turn on the light; his knee hit the corner of the table with a dull thud. He didn't seem to feel it, bracing himself against the table as he stepped onto the balcony.

He tremblingly turned on the faucet and scrubbed his hands thoroughly. Only after confirming they were clean did he touch his fingertips—still shaking—to his chest.

The cold, hard sensation felt like a sharp blade plunged into his heart, causing an agony as if he were being gutted, a pain so intense he could barely breathe.

Yet, only this pain reminded him that he was still alive.

Alive, in a way worse than death.

***

It was unknown how much time had passed before Lu Yichuan straightened his back.

Moonlight slipped through the gaps in the phoenix tree leaves, dimly illuminating the balcony. In the mirror, the man’s face was as pale as paper, devoid of even a hint of color; his eyes were pitch-black. At first glance, he looked like a demon crawling up from the underworld.

He stared at himself in the mirror and pulled the corners of his mouth into a ragged, wretched smirk.

***

Jiang Heng was awakened by the acrid smell of cigarette smoke.

He turned over in a daze, habitually stretching out his paws to feel around, but he only touched the cold, empty bedding.

He suddenly snapped awake.

Seeing the bed still there as he opened his eyes, he let out a sigh of relief. *Thank goodness... it wasn't a dream. I haven't returned to the alley.*

But where was Lu Yichuan?

Jiang Heng climbed up and saw the man sitting on the balcony, exhaling smoke. He was leaning back against a chair, his head bowed and legs bent, his profile obscured by the leaves of the phoenix tree. A lit cigarette was pinched between his fingers.

This was the first time Jiang Heng had ever seen Lu Yichuan smoke. In his impression, Lu Yichuan didn't even smoke at all. He was exceptional, and as the heir to the Lu family, Jiang Heng knew exactly what kind of education he had received. In that upbringing, such a vice would never have been tolerated.

So how had he learned to do this? What exactly had happened during the four years he had lost his memory?

Jiang Heng didn't dare to think. The more he thought, the more terrified he felt.

He jumped off the bed and walked over to Lu Yichuan.

The man didn't notice his approach. He bit down on the cigarette butt and took a deep drag, his expression listless, radiating a sense of decadence from the inside out.

"Meow-oo~"

A soft, gentle voice rang out in the night.

Lu Yichuan froze. He looked down and found a cat crouching at his feet.

The kitten was looking up at him, its pupils glowing with a clear, shallow color in the moonlight, its gaze rippling like water, just like...

Just like the look in the boy’s eyes on that ordinary afternoon as he stood by the car, waving goodbye with a smile.

Lu Yichuan was caught off guard and began to cough deeply. It grew more and more violent, his chest heaving with a heart-wrenching intensity.

Jiang Heng was startled. He hooked his claws into Lu Yichuan’s pant leg, pulled himself up onto his knee, and stretched his head toward him.

"Meow!"

*Lu Yichuan, what's wrong?*

Before his question could be answered, the entire cat was pushed away. The force was quite strong; Jiang Heng stumbled back several steps and, failing to keep his balance, landed on his bottom.

In the moonlight, Lu Yichuan’s face looked terrifyingly grim.

The cigarette burned down, and only when the scarlet ember scorched his fingertips did he snap out of it. He stubbed out the cigarette and turned his face away, refusing to look at the cat on the floor.

A few seconds later, he stood up abruptly, grabbed the jacket from the bed, and walked out of the dormitory without looking back.

"..."

Jiang Heng stared at the closed dormitory door and opened his mouth, closing it again a few seconds later.

***

Once Lu Yichuan left, he didn't return for two days.

Jiang Heng ate and slept, though he didn't feel bored. However, after a day, he discovered a tricky problem for a cat.

The cat food was gone, and the water was empty.

Jiang Heng: "..."

He dug through the cat bowl, unwilling to give up, but other than one stray piece of food at the bottom, it was empty—the bowl was cleaner than his own face.

*Wait, where did my rations go? I clearly saw Lu Yichuan buy a big bag. How is it all gone?*

Jiang Heng circled the dormitory several times and indeed found no trace of the cat food. He could only turn his gaze to the closed cabinet door.

The size was right, the height was right; if nothing went wrong, his food was likely inside. But the problem was, how could a tiny cat like him pull open a cabinet door?

Jiang Heng had thought being adopted by Lu Yichuan was the beginning of his good life, but he never expected that this blessing would be so short-lived.

However, a brave cat fears no difficulties.

Jiang Heng took a deep breath, ate the last remaining piece of kibble, walked to the cabinet, and placed his paws on the door.

*I’ll open it... I’ll...*

*I can't open it!* (QAQ)

He refused to believe it and pulled harder. The cabinet door remained unmoved before him, and the two white scratches he had gouged into it seemed to mock his weakness.

"..."

The hairless kitten stepped back twice, narrowing his eyes at the cabinet with a look of three parts disdain, five parts defiance, and two parts determination. He suddenly leapt forward, opened his mouth, and bit down on the round handle of the cabinet door.

*Open up for me!*