After Turning Into a Kitten, I Was Adopted by My Father-Figure Childhood Friend - Chapter 4

Meow Meow Meow Meow. The glass water cup fell…

The glass water cup fell toward the floor in an irreversible trajectory, shattering with a loud crash. Shards flew everywhere, reflecting the man’s tall, upright figure, his expression blurred in the fleeting refraction of the breaking glass.

As the light shifted, Lu Jingchuan’s gaze followed, slowly returning to the kitten.

The kitten sat primly, its tail flicking proudly. Though its head peeked about, its pointed ears instinctively folded forward for a moment, startled by the sound of the explosion.

It patted its own chest and, facing the man’s stare, let out a soft, flirtatious meow: “Meow~”

The sweet, sugary end-note trailed upward, circling in the air. Its ears drooped, and its large eyes blinked watery and bright, emitting a thin, delicate cry.

Innocent, harmless, and pure.

Extremely enticing for someone to approach and comfort it.

Lu Jingchuan felt, for some reason, that it had done it on purpose.

His gaze lingered on the kitten for three seconds, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Bad cat.”

A bad-tempered, willful, innocent bad cat.

No, there is no such thing as “good” or “bad” with cats; their brain capacity doesn’t allow them to realize whether their actions are good or bad for humans.

Teaching it was like whispering to the wind, scolding it achieved nothing, and hitting it would only make it hold a grudge.

This was exactly why he disliked these small, incommunicable animals.

“Meow?” The moment he was picked up by the armpits, the little calico tilted its head in confusion, wearing a look of “What are you talking about? I’m just a little kitty.”

Shedding its previous fierce dominance, the cat proactively leaned in to rub its head against Lu Jingchuan’s hand.

Lu Jingchuan’s gaze was scrutinizing. The little calico let out an innocent yawn, its tail swaying in the air and curling upward like a hook.

At that exact moment, Song Xingyou suddenly lowered his head and gave Lu Jingchuan a hard bite.

Like a swift and agile swordsman, he landed on the ground, dashed up the stairs in a few steps, and proudly flicked his tail. He left behind a look of disdain and mischievously stuck his tongue out at Lu Jingchuan.

Hmph!

Revenge for being stood up: Achieved.

Song Xingyou flicked his tail, his little paws pitter-pattering away.

Lu Jingchuan was left staring at the back of the cat as it expertly ran upstairs until it vanished from sight.

Only then did the man lean over. With his fingertips, he extremely carefully as if handling an excavated relic, cleaned up the shattered glass. He placed the shards in a separate bag, wrapped it in thick tape, and wrote “broken glass” on it.

He took out a leather notebook and a fountain pen, appearing old-fashioned, like a pre-modern person rarely contaminated by technology.

As Lu Jingchuan had predicted, this cat was innocent, young, and untrainable; bringing it home was bound to cause trouble.

But after some thought, he simply added “durable cups with lids” to his shopping list.

Since he had decided to raise it, Lu Jingchuan was not the type to shirk responsibility or fear trouble. He had seen the signs that it was wild and hard to tame, so he would have to take on more responsibility during the adjustment period.

This was very logical.

Moreover, this kitten wasn’t only good for causing trouble; it had other uses.

Lu Jingchuan looked thoughtfully at the unreplied chat box, his eyes momentarily clouding with a dark, focused intensity.

Why won’t you reply to my messages?

Song Xingyou had bitten the man and fled, perfectly avenging the “standing up” incident. He felt secretly triumphant, unable to resist throwing a flurry of “cat punches” into the empty air while balancing on his hind legs.

Ha! Bullying Lu Jingchuan isn’t that hard after all!

Song Xingyou was incredibly smug, as if he had completed a major life transformation. He wandered around the second floor, looking down from the mezzanine at the man below.

The man’s expression remained unchanged. After cleaning up the glass, he sat to one side writing something.

It’s definitely another boring shopping list!

Song Xingyou couldn’t help but let out a cold snort of disdain through his nose.

If Song Xingyou was a free and loose musical note, then Lu Jingchuan was a piece of dry, annoying bread.

One was loose, willful, and pampered, never thinking of the long-term future or making plans; the other was steady, reserved, and brilliant, always driven by plans and a visible future.

He was excellent, stable, and capable with a good personality—the preordained successor of his family.

Song Xingyou was immature and willful; everyone said he just needed to be a well-behaved second-generation playboy.

They were practically different species from different planets—one from Mars and one from Venus—two parallel lines that should never have intersected.

But as it happened, they were close in age and grew up together. They were neighbors, and naturally, in everyone’s eyes, they were childhood playmates, classmates, and best friends.

Everyone talked about how well Lu Jingchuan treated him and how good their relationship was; Song Xingyou couldn’t even openly say he hated the guy.

But Song Xingyou did hate him!

He hated his excellence, his plans, the dry formulas he recited when meteor showers fell, the medical knowledge he used to urge sleep when Song was waiting for late-night inspiration, and the physics corrections he offered amidst romantic falling leaves…

He hated every bit of his unromantic, non-spontaneous, non-indulgent rationality.

He hated how the guy was always talking about Xing-xing (the stars/Song Xingyou)—

“Xing-xing.”

The man’s call spiraled up from below, accompanied by the sound of footsteps. His cold, deep voice held a rare trace of softness.

Meow?!

A heavy shadow fell from above. Song Xingyou looked up to see Lu Jingchuan’s deep gaze; there seemed to be a hint of inquiry in those dark eyes.

Are you calling me? How do you know I’m Song Xingyou? Can you read minds? Can you speak cat? What do you mean by bringing me back…

Song Xingyou’s eyes widened in disbelief. He suddenly let out a sharp cry, his fur exploding in terror. Like a cat seeing a cucumber, he “took flight” in fright, but the moment he went airborne, a pair of hands pulled him back down to earth.

Song Xingyou’s eyes went nearly blank. His paws kicked aimlessly in the air as his world turned upside down. His four paws were suddenly pressed against a set of undulating lines.

Oh my! Oh my!

As the man stood up, the muscle lines slightly tensing beneath his black sweater revealed an indescribable, dangerous ripple of power.

Song Xingyou’s gaze was glued to them. The body heat transferring from the man was so high it felt like his cat paws were being scorched. He was dazed as the man tucked him into his embrace, pressing him firmly against his rising and falling chest muscles.

The undulating muscles hid great strength, mingled with a steady, clear scent of cold wood. Warmed by body heat, the sensation crashed into Song Xingyou’s perception like a comet hitting Earth sparks and lightning everywhere.

He was struck with horror. His pupils dilated, his ears stood high, and his entire body turned to stone. His tail went stiff, losing all control.

Ahhh! Annoying Lu Jingchuan!

“Meow meow meow!”

Song the Cat struggled madly, shrieking at Lu Jingchuan’s shameless behavior.

How, how can they be so big?

Hate you! Hate you! Hate you!

Don’t hold me!

The tips of his burning-red ears brushed against Lu Jingchuan’s chin. His four paws raked and scratched frantically against the man, but Song Xingyou’s head was bobbing as the man firmly stuffed him inside his sweater.

He went quiet.

He was pressed silently against the man’s chest. Through the thin base layer, the other’s strong heartbeat was thumping wildly, and the movement of his chest felt like vibrating mountains.

Wow… so… so big…

Song Xingyou was shocked.

Dazed by the vibrations, he poked his head out from the neckline, his ears folded back in fear. Perched on the outside of the sweater, he couldn’t help but rub his ears with a paw.

The man cooperated and helped him rub them. His long knuckles tapped the center of the cat’s forehead as he spoke slowly: “You-you?”

Song Xingyou: ?

Lu Jingchuan stared at Song the Cat, then slowly corrected himself: “Song-song.”

Ahhh! Do you really have to use my name to name the cat?!

Song Xingyou was furious and gave this stupid man two slaps with his cat paws.

The two slaps, delivered without claws, were as light as a breeze. The man narrowed his eyes. Instead of backing away, he leaned in toward Song Xingyou. His curled eyelashes flickered twice, casting an ambiguous shadow over his already deep eyes.

He stroked Song the Cat’s head fur and said slowly: “Everything depends on you, You-you.”

Lu Jingchuan took out his phone and snapped a perfect, beautiful photo of Song the Cat’s face.

His specially practiced technique was very skillful. With a click, the big-eyed cutie looking up was frozen in time.

Resting against the neckline of the man’s sweater, the cat’s weight pulled the fabric down to reveal the man’s sharp collarbone and a glimpse of his superior muscle lines. The black clothes and white skin complemented each other, making him appear even more abstinent and cold, yet the arrogant-looking calico cat with its tail held high broke that taboo.

The little calico’s pointed ears were half-folded and half-upright. It was covering its small mouth, but its amber eyes were wide and round. The three colors of its fur blended like a sunset, creating a unique, pure cuteness. Spread across the snowy-white “canvas” of the man’s skin, it added a touch of delicate charm.

Good.

He had captured both the chest muscles and the cat that Xing-xing liked.

Surely he would reply now?

Lu Jingchuan lowered his eyes, avoiding the cat’s clear pupils. He pressed the send button, then retracted it, finally leaving three short, spaced-out messages:

: [Photo] : I picked up a kitten. : Want to come see it? : Xing-xing, remember to wear more clothes while traveling, and reply to messages.

…

Seriously, what is wrong with him! Using my name for a cat!

Song the Cat bared his teeth and his fur stood on end. His tail snaked out from the neckline, the thin, long thing tapping Lu Jingchuan’s arm impatiently, then unconsciously hooking around it.

Lu Jingchuan didn’t move, his eyes fixed on the phone, waiting persistently for something.

“Meow!” What the hell are you doing, you bastard?

Song the Cat poked around, his head constantly burrowing into the man’s arm, impatiently bumping the man’s hand while grumbling a bunch of angry cat-insults.

What is there that I’m not allowed to see!

He pushed the man’s hand down with a paw. The man reacted quickly and exited the chat. Song Xingyou only saw a fleeting glimpse of the chat box.

Who did Lu Jingchuan send my photo to?!

Meow-my-god! You’re actually using my photo as bait to catch people!

Busy, busy, busy. Are you busy studying abroad or busy falling in love!

Song Xingyou was seething. He unleashed a “Cat Eighteen Palms” flurry of slaps directly at Lu Jingchuan’s face, all of which were caught by the “overseas student” who had been well-tested by raccoons.

In a fit of rage, he unceremoniously bared his four sharp fangs and took a bite out of Lu Jingchuan’s hand.

I’ll bite you to death!

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