After Turning Into a Kitten, I Was Adopted by My Father-Figure Childhood Friend - Chapter 17

“Youyou.”

The man was clad in a bathrobe. The rugged contours of his chest faintly cast shadows through the loosely draped collar. His hair was messy, and standing against the light, his features remained obscured. This made his gloomy yet striking brows appear even more cold and profound.

“Where did you go?”

He crossed his arms. His low, hoarse voice was laced with displeasure and scrutiny. However, his gaze swept rapidly over the kitten from head to tail, taking in its condition. His shrewd dark eyes narrowed slightly at the sight.

Before he had fallen asleep, the kitten was clean and beautiful. Now, after a trip outside, its fur was a mess, and dark ashy paw prints were left trailing across the floor. It had transformed from a beautiful, soft cloud of marshmallow into a wind-blown dandelion, with disheveled fur sticking out everywhere. It had left soft and returned looking “explosive.”

The only positive sign was its tail, which was cocked up happily. Its soft muzzle hummed and meowed rhythmically, as if it were singing a song. If Lu Jingchuan spent more time online, he might have recognized that the kitten was humming a certain viral tune about “North-South Mung Beans.”

But Lu Jingchuan did not surf the web. He only felt that the kitten’s immature voice was very soft—too soft to intimidate or curse anyone. Suddenly, a wave of worry washed over him. A tiny, delicate kitten was far more fragile than the small animals he had encountered abroad. At the very least, it definitely could not win a fight against the rats in the school sewers.

His expression grew increasingly stern. He furrowed his brows, watching the kitten with a look of disapproval and extreme gravity. Song Xingyou was completely unaffected by this cold, fierce expression. He looked up innocently, and the moment he was caught in the act, his mind was filled with nothing but a sense of grievance.

He suddenly lunged forward, meowing loudly as he crashed right against the man’s feet. “Meow meow meow!”

Bastard, bastard, bastard! I was being bullied by cats outside while you were actually sleeping! Being a cat is not fun at all! I do not want to be a cat anymore! Those cats are so mean! I offered them cat treats and they actually hit me! Look, look over here, my tail!

Song the cat meowed incessantly, his voice stretching into aggrieved trills as if he had suffered a monumental injustice. His voice grew smaller and smaller as his little paws slid down the man’s calf. He sat back on his haunches and tilted his small head up. His round cat eyes were brimming with moisture as he pitifully cradled the tip of his tail, which was missing a few tufts of fur. His ears drooped, and he rubbed his tail against the man’s leg, begging for a pat.

The tip of the tail poked into the man’s palm. Lu Jingchuan’s hand was large—large enough to lift the kitten with one palm—yet he cupped the tiny tail with immense care, hardly daring to apply any pressure.

Lu Jingchuan’s frown deepened. He scooped up the little calico, carefully cradling the light, fluffy bundle in his palms like he was holding a child.

“Are you hurt anywhere else besides your tail?”

He pulled out the household medical emergency kit and took out a roll of medical bandage. The house was stocked with cat medications bought during checkups. Everything from deworming medicine to treatments for diarrhea and fever was ready. The man rummaged through and found a spray for bruises, his expression solemn as he inspected the kitten from head to toe.

Song the cat was exceptionally cooperative. He even proactively rubbed his nape and back against the man’s hand, meowing for more touches. That mean Maine Coon was way too heavy. Even though it had held back its strength, being pinned under it felt like being crushed by Mount Tai. Song Xingyou had nearly been suffocated.

He grabbed the man’s hand, unhappily pulling it toward his chest and burying it in his fur, signaling for the man to give him a rubdown. The gentle pressure felt like someone stroking a precious treasure. The rhythmic movement brought a sense of security. After finishing his meowed accusations, Song Xingyou’s temper vanished instantly. A delayed wave of sleepiness hit him. He could not help but squint his eyes, comfortably rolling over on the spot to expose his belly.

Other cats would never let anyone touch their bellies, but Song Xingyou was not a real cat. He did not realize how suggestive or dangerous this posture would be if he were in human form.

Compared to Lu Jingchuan, who began hitting his growth spurt in middle school, Song Xingyou was a child born via a late-term C-section. He did not start growing tall until high school, and even then, he remained a head shorter than “Little Lu.” That was fine, of course. Since he hated exercise anyway, he simply relied on Lu Jingchuan for everything. He would shamelessly loll about on Lu Jingchuan, ordering him to do this and that, even making the guy carry him on his back to the restroom during long breaks between classes.

Perhaps it was during that time that “Little Lu” was trained into a nagging “mother hen.” Every time they finished a meal, this guy would rub Song’s stomach to make sure he was full. Song would naturally reciprocate by giving Lu’s firm abs a hard rub. This was just normal interaction between childhood friends. And of course, he only did it because he really, really hated Lu Jingchuan!

That was right! He was ordering him around on purpose because he was just that wicked!

The evil cat lifted its head, looking quite smug as it commanded the man to spray medicine on its wounds, which had not even broken the skin. The medicine had a pungent smell, making him sneeze. As the kitten’s pink nose twitched like jelly from the itch, Lu Jingchuan calmly pulled out a tissue to help it blow its nose.

After finishing, the kitten nuzzled its head forward, burrowing into the bathrobe. Its dusty paw prints were glaringly obvious on the solid-colored fabric. The room was filled with a fragrance carrying the fresh scent of moss from the incense, which had clung to the man’s clothes. Song Xingyou disdainfully flicked his tail out of the robe, snuggled into the man’s chest to knead a little nest, and stopped moving.

Lu Jingchuan was silent. “Dirty cat.”

He tapped the kitten’s head but dutifully used a wet wipe to clean the dark ash off its body. The kitten grunted twice and covered its ears, rolling over to forbid him from speaking further.

The kitten fell fast asleep, but Lu Jingchuan had not forgotten the little fellow’s anxious, complaining cries. The unhappy meows seemed to still echo in his ears. Lu Jingchuan never interfered in conflicts between animals; it was natural behavior that humans should not meddle with. However, the many bullying the few or the big bullying the small was unfair.

Moreover, thinking of the watery amber eyes the kitten, Youyou, had when it rushed to his feet, Lu Jingchuan’s gaze darkened. His fingers moved as he connected his laptop to the security cameras. Using the GPS tracking route from the kitten, he shifted the surveillance footage several times. He perfectly pieced together a path and captured the figures of several cats on screen.

Lu Jingchuan tapped the desk thoughtfully. They all seem to be pet cats?

This residential complex had a chat group for cat parents. Lu Jingchuan pulled out his phone. After a brief search, he pinpointed the community cat group. He sent a request to join while also adding the group administrator. At the same time, a friend in a different time zone sent an excited string of messages.

“Ah! I only just saw your message! Why am I still working overtime on academic research!”

“Old Lu, you just perfected the drone compilation program and signed contracts with so many big companies. You are entrusting the company to me and only taking dividends. Are you really okay with that?”

“Bro, it is not that I do not have confidence, but I thought you worked so hard these past few years just to prove yourself to your family? Are you really willing to go home and inherit the family business?”

Lu Jingchuan replied, “Yes, it was decided by the family. I will not have time to manage the company later, and I do not plan on staying abroad long-term.”

The friend replied, “Oh, because of Xing-zai, right? That explains it then. Bro, tell me honestly, how exactly did you wrong Xing-zai? He has been throwing a tantrum at you for three years. Wait! It is 8 PM here, which means it is almost 3 AM back home. Why are you still awake? Do you not usually have that old man schedule where you sleep at 10 PM? Did Xing-zai call you in the middle of the night to go pick up trash again?”

As the string of messages popped up, Lu Jingchuan frowned slightly.

“Xingxing did not ask me to pick up trash. We went out to collect inspiration.”

Xingxing just had a sudden burst of inspiration late at night and asked him to go out together. Along the way, they just picked up some natural decorations they liked. Lu Jingchuan corrected the terminology very precisely.

The friend could not help but mock how he was always strangely pedantic when it came to Xingxing’s affairs. As they said their goodbyes, the friend sent Lu Jingchuan a panoramic photo of an expensive Stradivarius cello. Despite having gone through the fires of war, it had been well-protected by collectors. The clean varnish still radiated the charm of ultimate craftsmanship.

Lu Jingchuan felt satisfied and a brief sense of anticipation. He and Xingxing had been at odds for far too long. He could not tolerate Song Xingyou, who was once inseparable from him, suddenly changing his attitude. Nor could he bear Song Xingyou’s coldness and neglect.

As his friend said, everything he worked for was to prove himself to his family, not to prove his entrepreneurial ability as a “second-gen” or because he had a vision different from his family’s. His parents had held a family meeting regarding their expectations for him to inherit the business and had set a study-abroad plan. He had no objections. He simply should not have wasted seven whole years specialized abroad when he knew his relationship with Xingxing was drifting. He needed to achieve results and return home as quickly as possible.

Lu Jingchuan opened his Moments feed again. He had blocked most people, leaving only Song Xingyou and most of Song’s friends. He checked it daily, searching for traces of Song Xingyou through other people’s accounts. This time, he learned that Xingxing and his roommates had gone to a famous tourist street and visited the God of Wealth Tower. And Xingxing still had not replied to his message.

Lu Jingchuan pinched the bridge of his nose. He stood up, and as his bathrobe shifted, he pulled a small kitten out from the folds of the fabric. The furry little ball was curled up, snoring away while hugging its tail. Its cloud-like cheeks puffed slightly, making its whiskers tickle the man’s palm.

Lu Jingchuan’s mood suddenly eased. His pressed lips softened, and he let out a helpless sigh. “You really know how to torture me.”

It was unclear if he was speaking to the cat or the distant Song Xingyou. But in his heart, he knew the truth: I am willing to be tortured by you.

“Haa.” Without being woken up at 6 AM, the sunlight finally lazily hit Song Xingyou’s backside.

The kitten was lured awake by a delicious aroma in the air. He moved his pink nose, kicked his legs groggily, and nearly tumbled out of the cat bed when he rolled over. In the sizable cat bed, besides himself, there was a pile consisting of a gray bathrobe. Song Xingyou flailed his claws and pulled it out, spotting several cat paw prints on it.

He narrowed his eyes and dangerously touched his chin with a paw. “Meow meow meow!”

That hateful Little Lu! How dare he try to fool me with a bathrobe! Making me sleep in a cat bed—that is an extra offense! Prepare to die!

The cat-man decided to teach Little Lu a lesson. He strode majestically, sprinting down from the second floor. He spread his arms like a “Bat-cat” and lunged straight at the man’s face. Hearing the commotion, Lu Jingchuan turned around. His indifferent dark eyes clearly reflected the growing black shadow until it landed right on his face.

“Meow meow meow!” Song Xingyou cocked his tail triumphantly, swaying the man’s head back and forth as a severe punishment.

Lu Jingchuan said, “Youyou.”

He plucked the kitten from the top of his head and set aside the homemade canned meat he had been cooking. The aroma wafting from the opened lid made the kitten crane its neck and wiggle its tail toward the food. A hand pressed down on its back. Song the cat turned back indignantly, only to see the light above him dim as Lu Jingchuan leaned down. Looking him over with the calm, inquisitive tone of an academic, Lu asked:

“Youyou, were you humming a song last night?”

Do kittens sing too? He tapped a few times on the glass jar with a chopstick, playing a few imprecise musical notes.

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