After Turning Into a Kitten, I Was Adopted by My Father-Figure Childhood Friend - Chapter 31

“Youyou.”

The man lowered his head and buried his face in the kitten’s belly. The little calico waved its paws and generously puffed out its chest for him to lean on.

He looked exactly like a cat whose internal monologue said, “Human, you may lean against the broad chest of a cat.”

The little calico patted the man’s shoulder with a human-like touch. He let out soft, comforting meows and magnanimously allowed the man to dampen his underbelly fur. The man’s sorrowful breaths were absorbed by the fluffy kitten belly, making him feel as though he were embraced by the gentlest thing in the world.

“Meow-wuu.” Two pointed ears flickered uncomfortably in the air. Song the Cat shyly curled his long tail and tried to stretch his paws to rest them on the back of the man’s neck.

Between breaths, Lu Jingchuan slowly raised his head. His movements were sluggish and his hands were buried deep in the kitten’s fluffy fur as if he found it incredibly hard to let go.

“About Xingxing’s matters,” he began in a low voice after a long pause, his fingers lightly stroking the kitten’s back as his arms tightened slightly. He kept the kitten protected in the crook of his arm, his slender knuckles peeking through the snowy fur. He exhaled slowly before continuing, “Do not tell Xingxing.”

Gu Yingming was taken aback. “Are you going to act as if you know nothing?”

Surprise was written all over his face. He widened his eyes for a moment and scanned Lu Jingchuan with a look typically reserved for a scoundrel. His expression bordered on irritation. He wondered how Lu Jingchuan could know everything and still choose to play dumb.

Lu Jingchuan remained silent. His large hand covered the kitten’s curious, upright ears, and his deep black eyes were filled with fragments of sorrow. “Xingxing probably does not want me to know,” he said. “If he did not tell me himself, then I should not know. As for the rest, I respect Xingxing’s choices.”

Lu Jingchuan spoke with calm fairness, but his tone suddenly turned cold. “If he wants to distance himself from the Song family, then I will be the one to raise him.”

Slap! Two mangosteen-like paws ruthlessly struck the man’s face, interrupting his increasingly strange state of mind. “What on earth are you thinking, you big idiot?”

The little calico meowed loudly and his cat eyes were wide. He could not help but grind his teeth and unceremoniously gave the man another slap. He thought that Lu Jingchuan should not act like an overbearing CEO who destroys families. He decided that the dark transformation must stop immediately.

Although Lu Jingchuan had not officially entered the company yet, he had been raised as an elite by his parents since childhood. He had been learning to manage the family business since he was twelve. Upon reaching adulthood, the Lu family’s assets had gradually shifted into his hands, and those industries had grown more powerful each year. Furthermore, his primary purpose for studying abroad was to maintain ties with the main Lu branch, which had operated overseas for over a century. If he wanted to do something, he certainly could. However, those were tactics meant for business rivals. Song Xingyu’s issues were for Song Xingyu himself to solve.

Whenever Song Xingyu was involved, Lu Jingchuan always had thoughts of overstepping boundaries. Interrupted by the kitten’s slap, Lu Jingchuan swallowed those unmentionable thoughts and turned back to Gu Yingming. “When are you leaving?” he asked.

“I have not even had a drop of water yet!” Gu Yingming complained. Watching the way Lu Jingchuan held the cat like a precious treasure, he could not help but click his tongue. “You are really not suited for dating. Once you fall in love, your life is over.”

He was clearly a person who prioritized romance over everything else. If he actually got into a relationship, he would be a total slave to his partner. However, Gu Yingming had known since the day they met that Lu Jingchuan was obsessed with Xingxing. After a few more complaints, he shook his head proudly. “I told you things that no one else would. As your brother, do I get any benefits?”

He gave a cunning smile and winked at Lu Jingchuan playfully. It was true that Gu Yingming had taken the initiative to inform him, preventing Lu Jingchuan from blindly stepping on a landmine in front of Song Xingyu in the future.

Lu Jingchuan’s indifferent eyes looked at him. Acknowledging the merit, he said coolly, “I will credit you for this. What do you want?”

“That is all I needed to hear!” Gu Yingming’s eyes lit up. He slapped his thigh in excitement and spoke with ambition. “I heard your company recently upgraded its drone compiler system. No one in the country has conquered that direction yet.”

Having started the topic, the smile on Gu Yingming’s face turned fawning. He leaned in toward Lu Jingchuan with a grin. “Lu Xiaochuan, instead of cooperating with foreign companies, why not support domestic goods and cooperate with me?”

Boarding the great ship of AI drone technology was far more valuable than simply making appliances. Song Xingyu could not help but glare at Gu Yingming. That was the second reason he hated Gu Yingming. Both Lu Jingchuan and Gu Yingming were set to inherit their family businesses, while he was just a wealthy playboy. In their circle, heirs played with heirs, but Song Xingyu had always looked down on such conventional rules. He played with whoever he wanted. If Lu Xiaochuan dared to distance himself because of this, he would be in trouble.

Gu Yingming was an annoying overachiever, and even more annoying was that he and Lu Jingchuan were overachieving together. Song Xingyu could not understand a word of what they were discussing. He watched them chatting happily and meowed loudly to interrupt.

“Meow, meow! Stop talking right now!”

Song the Cat hammered the man’s hand with his head. His ears folded down unhappily as he huffed and scratched at him.

“Are you bored?” Lu Jingchuan asked. He scratched the kitten’s chin. Facing the kitten’s fierce eyes and hissing, he quickly tried to please him by opening a cat stick and squeezing it near the kitten’s mouth.

The little calico braced his arms and his back paws rested on the kitchen island as he clung to the man’s clothes. His tail swept across the counter imperiously as he lapped up the snack. Only his charming little face and two ears were mismatched colors. Large swathes of snowy white covered his chest and back like a beautiful sunset cloud. Clinging to the man, the white cat fur flowed with a brilliant luster under the sunlight. He was unimaginably beautiful.

Lu Jingchuan’s gaze fixed on the kitten. From his cute face to his well-proportioned body, he took it all in. He scratched the kitten’s rounded cheeks and reached for his phone to take another photo.

Song Xingyu was already used to this. Considering the man had just shed tears, he did not slap the phone away. However, he still could not help but roll his eyes and take a large bite of the cat stick. His tiny pink tongue flicked in and out of his mouth, nimbly licking his lips and nose. When the man failed to squeeze the snack fast enough, the kitten curled his tongue around the man’s finger and gave it a hearty lick.

The fine barbs on the tongue acted like a reminder, scraping against the fingertip and causing a slight itch. Lu Jingchuan’s attention was completely captured. He could no longer talk about business and could only diligently squeeze the cat stick for the kitten.

When little Youyou was eating, no one else was allowed to talk. The moment Gu Yingming spoke, the temperamental kitten’s ears pricked up and he turned to glare at him. Lu Jingchuan also wore a look of extreme disapproval. Stared at by both a man and a cat, Gu Yingming raised his hands in surrender.

“Fine, I will stop talking. I am leaving. We will chat on the phone, okay?”

“Who wants to chat with you!” Song the Cat thought.

Song the Cat watched unhappily as Gu Yingming waved his phone to confirm they would talk later. He deliberately clung to Lu Jingchuan’s hand and let out a long, sweet meow. Lu Jingchuan’s attention was entirely held by him. He did not even have a spare glance for Gu Yingming. The man leaned down and stroked the kitten’s belly and head from a level perspective.

The fluffy sensation under his hand was as light as a cloud. The weightless feeling made everything seem surreal. He had to apply a bit of pressure to feel the kitten’s body temperature, yet he was afraid of crushing him, so his movements were exceptionally careful.

“Are you full, Youyou?”

The kitten slumped over on the spot and flicked his tail onto the man’s arm. When the man tried to touch it, the enticing tail immediately curled into a U shape to dodge away. Song the Cat grumbled and refused to let the man have his way. He bit down on the cat stick packaging and refused to let go, baring his teeth and letting out a low growl.

“Meow, meow! Do not talk to that guy!”

He tilted his head and shook his ears while his small paws lightly scratched the man’s hand. Lu Jingchuan opened his hand to let the kitten press his paw into his palm, then wrapped his fingers around the paw and gave it a shake. “Good boy,” he said.

“Hmph!”

Lu Jingchuan clearly did not realize he had just missed a great opportunity to rub a belly. Song the Cat yawned and shook his head. He was very dismissive of Lu Xiaochuan’s comprehension skills and began to think about revealing his identity. Earlier, in a moment of excitement, he had really wanted to drop his cover. Now that he had calmed down, he recalled his actions as a cat and was hit by a sense of shame. He had actually acted spoiled in front of Lu Xiaochuan. He had let this guy touch his belly and he had even been caught sneaking out to fight.

He realized the other man was not much better. Lu Jingchuan was secretly being a devotee, crying like a child, and wanting to gift him a twenty million dollar cello. Song the Cat shrewdly calculated who between the two of them was more embarrassed. He narrowed his eyes and rested a paw on his chin. He decided it had to be Lu Xiaochuan who was more embarrassed.

He wondered if the man would even dare to laugh at him. Song Xingyu could not help but huff. He did not want his cover anymore; he wanted to reveal himself. He wanted to attend the concert and he wanted to be the first to appreciate that cello. If he failed to do either, he would remember it for the rest of his life.

The question was how he could reveal his cat identity in a way that was elegant and sophisticated. He wanted to make Lu Xiaochuan bow down to him and willingly serve him for the rest of his life. Song the Cat narrowed his eyes, his gaze full of shrewdness.

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