After Turning Into a Kitten, I Was Adopted by My Father-Figure Childhood Friend - Chapter 22

“Mother, please do not do this.”

A pair of hands scooped Song the Cat up. With nowhere else to go, his tail immediately coiled around the man’s wrist, circling the bone several times before rubbing fluffily against his palm. He flopped down right there, revealing a cute, round little face.

Lu Jingchuan rubbed the kitten’s soft cheeks and explained softly to his mother, “This is Youyou. He is the kitten I adopted. He is very healthy and has already completed his first round of vaccinations.”

“Youyou?” Ms. Qi’s expression was peculiar. “Fine, I apologize. Just do not let him get near me.”

Ms. Qi instantly ducked behind her husband, keeping the distance of a full person between herself and the kitten. This could not be blamed on her. During her years studying abroad, she had lived in a dilapidated apartment because she was short on money. Rats had even crawled onto her bed at night. Consequently, she loathed small animals, and neither cats nor dogs were welcome.

This was the first time Song the Cat had been disliked since becoming a feline. He let out an indignant huff, refusing to believe that his invincible beauty had failed him. He jumped onto the sofa and deliberately paced across the coffee table until he was directly in front of Mr. Lu. He used a paw to groom his ears and whiskers. His whiskers trembled with every breath, looking as lovely as falling snow.

“Meow, meow!” The kitten’s voice was sweet, like sugary cotton candy floating by the ear or a cool, sweet rain tapping at the heartstrings. He clearly knew he was attractive, as his round eyes blinked innocently.

“Please stop there,” Mr. Lu said politely. He prevented the cat from coming closer to protect his poor wife shrinking behind him. “Do not come any closer, Sir.”

However, cats are inherently unreasonable. They always manage to find the one person in a crowd who is most afraid of them and then insist on being affectionate. Just as Ms. Qi was about to be driven to her wit’s end, Lu Jingchuan intervened. He scooped the cute kitten up like he was flipping a soufflé, sliding his hand under the kitten’s belly. Four white paws instantly pointed toward the sky, exposing a snowy, fluffy tummy.

Song the Cat’s eyes widened. His pointed ears folded down as if he could not process the fact that he had been neutralized. He meowed loudly, hugging the man’s hand while kicking and biting in protest. He managed several indignant kicks before the man deftly stuffed a piece of shrimp into his mouth. Only then did he call a temporary truce, huffing as he began to munch on the shrimp meat, which was nearly half the size of his body.

Noticing someone watching him, he deliberately chewed slowly and made adorable little grunting sounds. His tail swayed enticingly in the air, curling with calculated charm.

Ms. Qi whispered to Mr. Lu, “Why did Jingchuan adopt a cat and name it Youyou?”

Mr. Lu speculated, “He was probably dumped by Xingyu.”

“That makes sense,” Ms. Qi agreed, convinced.

The Lu family appeared strict, but they did not follow the rule of silence at the table. Many matters were discussed and decided over dinner. Mr. Lu once again mentioned having Lu Jingchuan participate in company affairs and had already arranged the details. “Regarding all of the above, I have sent them to your email. If you have any objections, please reply with a formal written email.”

Lu Jingchuan nodded and said, “Understood. I will give you a reply later.”

“There is time to learn about those partnerships once you formally enter the company,” Ms. Qi said. She placed half of the braised beef onto her son’s plate and gave a piece of cucumber to the kitten. “You should come down to the grassroots workshops with me first.”

Lu Jingchuan replied, “Youyou does not eat cucumber. I will visit the workshops with you, but I will give you a reply after I have finalized the other matters.”

Song the Cat looked from one to the other and realized that two robots had given birth to a little robot. His ears flicked as he fastidiously kicked the cucumber away, pawing at the man’s hand for meat. Lu Jingchuan did not let him eat the braised beef, but instead peeled a mantis shrimp for him.

Song the Cat was instantly unhappy and thought that he was being patronized. He took the shrimp meat and turned his back, pointing his round bottom at Lu Xiaochuan as he grumbled through his meal.

Suddenly, his ears twitched. They stood high and sharp, swiveling toward the conversation behind him. Ms. Qi’s voice was calm and clear as she said, “I managed to get two tickets for Mr. Deng’s farewell concert. You should take Xingxing with you.”

Song Xingyu’s ears quivered. Was it the legendary cello master Vidal Deng? The one who was over ninety years old and hailed as a living legend? Was it the farewell concert happening in a month? Rumor had it this would be his final solo performance before retiring from the stage forever. There were even rumors that he would showcase his world-renowned cello, a masterpiece passed down from the 17th century. The concert would feature Mr. Deng’s signature piece, a full performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E Minor. That was the Bible of the Cello and the spiritual touchstone for every cellist. If he could hear the final notes played by the master in his twilight years, he could die with no regrets.

Song Xingyu meowed with excitement. He dropped the shrimp and lunged forward. The tickets flashed before him but were quickly tucked away by Ms. Qi.

“Meow, meow!”

Song the Cat rested his small paws under his chin and blinked his shining, round eyes. His innocent face was full of anticipation and obedience. Song the Cat pressed his paws together as if giving a New Year’s greeting, his amber eyes melting with sweetness.

“Xingxing went traveling,” Lu Jingchuan said in a low voice. His calm expression shifted slightly and he seemed embarrassed. He covered the kitten’s eyes with his large hand and unconsciously rubbed its flattened ears. “He will not go with me.”

Song the Cat pushed and shoved but could not break free. He meowed frantically, almost speaking human words. “Meow meow meow!”

“I did not go traveling! I am not traveling! I want to go! I want to go!” Song Xingyu spun in circles with anxiety, his small claws constantly scratching at the man’s hand. But that hand was like a mountain, keeping him trapped no matter how he struggled. He was both angry and anxious, biting the man’s hand.

Mr. Lu spoke up and asked, “How do you know he will not go if you have not asked him?”

Song the Cat agreed fervently.

“What if he just does not want to go with you?”

Song the Cat nodded vigorously. Halfway through the nod, he paused. He wondered why that felt a bit insulting.

Under the pressure of his parents’ persuasion, Lu Jingchuan eventually tucked the two tickets neatly into his wallet. He had lived abroad for so long that his habits were quite old-fashioned. They were so old-fashioned that even though Song Xingyu wanted to claw the tickets out, he could not open the wallet. He chewed on the leather for ages, but his baby teeth only left a few faint marks.

“Damn this high-quality leather!”

Lu Jingchuan patted the head of the restless kitten. In the dim car, the darkness blurred his features, save for the flickering streetlights that cast an unreadable, dangerous shadow across his face.

“Why have you still not replied to my messages?” he murmured. His expression momentarily turned dark and terrifying. Did he really have to walk up to Xingxing and ask him directly why he was not replying? Was it because he had found a new best friend? He had researched everyone who appeared around Xingxing, and it was impossible for anyone to be closer to him than Lu Jingchuan was. Who was that person? How far had they gone? Were they already more important to Xingxing than he was?

Lu Jingchuan took out the tickets, snapped a photo, and sent it to Xingxing. He hesitated for a long time before typing a few words into the chat box.

Lu Jingchuan: “Do you want to go to Mr. Deng’s concert?”

His gaze was unfocused, as if the effort was draining him. Usually calm, his fingers trembled as he finished the thought.

Lu Jingchuan: “You do not have to go with me. I can just give you the tickets.”

He would go anyway, just to see exactly who had taken his place. Lu Jingchuan memorized the seat numbers on the tickets one by one. His face was half-hidden in the shadows. For him, getting another nearby ticket was not difficult. It certainly would not be more difficult than trying to decipher Xingxing’s thoughts.

The man closed his wallet again. Song Xingyu, who had been frantically clawing at the man’s arm, spun in circles with rage. He was eventually buckled into his seat like a cat stick. He clenched his paws and thought desperately about what to do.

“That jerk Lu Xiaochuan! This musical illiterate will absolutely not go to the concert alone!” Song Xingyu thought. Unless the human Song Xingyu made a grand appearance and ordered Lu Xiaochuan to take him, he would not be able to attend. He wondered how on earth he was supposed to conjure a human version of himself.

Song the Cat kicked his legs in frustration. He still had not found an answer by the time he got home, took a bath, and was stuffed into the drying box. As the gentle hum of the warm air blew past his ears, perhaps the heat cleared his senses. Song the Cat rested his chin on a paw with a solemn expression and came to a conclusion. What was more important: being laughed at by that dog Lu Xiaochuan, or seeing a once-in-a-lifetime performance by a legendary artist?

“Let us do it!”

When the drying was finished, Song the Cat pushed open the door of the dryer. He shook out his long fur, elegantly groomed his chest hair and whiskers, and narrowed his eyes. He paced toward the study with a composed cat gait. Lu Jingchuan was wearing a robe, his damp hair falling over his eyes. His dark eyes were deep, reflecting only the faint glow of the computer screen.

Song the Cat leaped onto the desk, his soft fur lightly brushing the back of the man’s hand. The man remained focused on the screen, only lightly patting the kitten’s head. “Youyou, go back to your room,” he said.

Song the Cat turned a deaf ear. He nimbly ducked under the man’s raised arm, his pointed ears standing stubbornly. When the man moved his hand left, the cat tilted his ears left. When the man tried to push him right, the cat flicked his tail, sweeping it across the man’s jaw and cheek.

“Meow, meow!”

Song Xingyu was full of joy. He felt as if he could already hear the legendary music dancing in his ears and see the beautiful notes flying through the halls of his imagination. He was so excited he began to bounce, rolling across the laptop keyboard while meowing a cello suite.

Lu Jingchuan endured this for several seconds before he picked the kitten up and gently set him on the floor. “Youyou, go back to your room.”

His tone was stern, and his deep voice even betrayed a rare hint of displeasure. The kitten acted as if he could not hear him. He quickly jumped back onto the desk and pitter-pattered across the surface.

Lu Jingchuan frowned and said, “Youyou!” He paused mid-sentence, his gaze freezing on the computer screen. The kitten’s tail was tapping restlessly against the display, and his bright eyes flicked between the screen and the man.

The random characters typed by the cat were arranged in a bizarrely logical pattern. Because Xingxing had loved detective novels in middle school, Lu Jingchuan had specifically learned Morse code. In that moment, his instincts translated the characters.

*– ** — * = WO S *…. * I = SHI

WO / SHI…

“I am?”

Support