After Turning Into a Kitten, I Was Adopted by My Father-Figure Childhood Friend - Chapter 8

Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow. Tap.

Tap.

As the final character was struck, the email was sent; it was already two in the afternoon.

Lu Jingchuan had long been accustomed to missing meals due to excessive busyness. He lifted his tired eyes and removed the blue-light-blocking glasses from the bridge of his nose. He felt a momentary discomfort, causing him to narrow his eyes slightly.

The afternoon sun brought no warmth, only a bright light that glinted off metal, vaguely reflecting the playful ball of fur perched atop his head.

The kitten swished its tail. Though it was a ball of fluff itself, its little paws were restlessly kneading a plush toy.

The handsome little police outfit gave it an air of authority. With a smug expression and stubborn ears twitching like radar, it lowered its head, burying its furry face into the toy with a series of soft meows. It instinctively performed a “rabbit kick,” its hind legs thumping rapidly.

Truly cute.

Lu Jingchuan’s fingers twitched; he wanted to take a photo to show Xing-xing.

Through the metal pendant, he watched the kitten kick the bear for another two seconds. The captured teddy bear waved its cotton arms, its ears being bitten amidst the kitten’s tiny, threatening meows, inadvertently revealing the black suit the bear was wearing.

Lu Jingchuan clearly didn’t have nearsightedness, yet he placed the glasses back on his nose. In the next second, he stood up abruptly.

The chair behind him let out a heavy, screeching sound against the floor.

As a successor carefully cultivated by the Lu family, Lu Jingchuan’s public image had always been one of steady calm and noble composure.

He came from a prominent family, and more importantly, he was exceptionally handsome. With deep-set eyes and sharp features, he was like a steadfast cedar tree. No matter the situation, he remained a polite and reliable figure; nothing seemed capable of making him lose his poise.

Yet now, his expression changed because of a teddy bear.

Song Xingyou was using both paws to claw at the bear’s clothes. After kicking with his hind legs for a while, he had stripped the bear to its chest, only for a hand to snatch it from beneath his mouth and primly restore it to its original state.

Song Xingyou: ?

He stared with wide, bewildered amber eyes that shimmered with light. As the teddy bear ascended into the air, he foolishly tilted his small head up, making his round face look even more innocent and confused.

His pink nose twitched. Song Xingyou licked his mouth in confusion, watching those hands that had just been typing on a keyboard methodically straighten the bear’s clothes.

Lu Jingchuan looked down, a frown slowly forming between his brows. The veins on his fair hands wound about as he moved, exuding a refined yet forbidden sort of sensuality.

“You-you,” the man finally spoke. His expression was serious; even when talking to a cat, there was a cold sense of order. “Do not bully Mr. Bear.”

“This is a very important treasure of mine.”

The man’s voice was deep. The vibration in his throat felt like cello strings humming against Song Xingyou’s ear, making the tips of his ears tremble. The fuzzy, tingling sensation felt like an act of intimacy and solemnity that was hard to overcome.

The twenty-centimeter doll looked like a child’s toy in the man’s large hand. This toy bear, familiar to Song Xingyou, wore a neat black suit. Its soft fur had faded from its original dark brown over the years, taking on a reddish hue that spoke of being cherished.

Song Xingyou let out a “ha” and scratched his ear in disbelief, almost failing to realize who “Mr. Bear” was.

Rat-bastard, is there really something in this house I’m not allowed to play with!

Wait. Mr. Bear?

The man stood up. Song Xingyou hurriedly waved his paws, agilely leaping onto the man’s knee and scrambling into his embrace. The man reached out to support him, but Song Xingyou swiped a paw and unceremoniously pulled back the bear’s rear collar.

The flipped collar revealed half of a very neatly written character: “You.” It flashed before Song the Cat’s eyes before being quickly covered by the man’s straightening hand.

However, he didn’t need to see it to know what was written there.

“Song Xingyou.”

Writing one’s name on personal items like that was something from kindergarten.

Song Xingyou finally remembered why he liked this particular teddy bear so much.

This was Mr. Bear, his companion who had slept with him in kindergarten.

Upon graduating kindergarten, he had exchanged it as a gift with Lu Jingchuan, his deskmate of three years, in return for a beautiful mechanical bird.

However, that mechanical bird had long since been lost by the fickle Song Xingyou; he had no idea where it went.

He actually still kept this thing?

This realization made Song Xingyou’s heart skip a beat. An unknown emotion pricked at his skin like a needle. The tips of his ears felt hot, and he twitched them uncomfortably. His usually stubborn, upright ears went soft and droopy, revealing a hint of helplessness and an indescribable sentiment.

“Meow meow!” So childish!

He meowed loudly, wantonly mocking Lu Jingchuan’s childishness, yet the high-pitched, hurried cries betrayed his internal vulnerability.

The fluffy kitten followed at the man’s feet, several times attempting to use a paw to stop Lu Jingchuan’s steps and snatch back that aged bear. His tail, however, consciously or unconsciously brushed against the man’s ankle.

The man didn’t stop. From a box that had been rummaged through, he found Mr. Bear’s small display case. He placed the bear inside the transparent protection and set it on a high shelf.

The rescued calico crouched behind him, its edges warmed by the sunlight. Against the light, its fur looked light and ethereal, like a cloud built of sunshine. Only its amber-gold eyes remained bright and bold.

Its eyes swiveled, moving between the high-up Mr. Bear and the man with an incomprehensible mix of curiosity, shame, and annoyance.

The man took out a soothing ball bought at the pet hospital. “You-you, why don’t you play with this?”

He tossed the ball gently toward You-you.

The ball sailed low over Song the Cat’s head. Song the Cat let out a disdainful snort, yet his eyes precisely tracked the parabola, his pupils constricting tighter and tighter.

The moment it cleared his head, he could no longer stand the rattling of the ball. With a “mighty tiger” roar, he lunged forward.

Dammit! Stay right there!

He let out a meow and swiped at the ball. The ball was extremely agile, rolling away from his paw. The Cat Sheriff instantly narrowed his eyes and held his breath, wiggling his round butt before charging again.

Witness my cat-paw!

The ball rolled across the floor. The little calico melted into the sunlight, his paws pitter-pattering on the floor. Jumping down from a height, he lunged and captured the ball, the two of them rolling into a heap on the floor.

He let out a triumphant hum, hugging the ball and delivering a few rabbit kicks. His whiskers twitched as he grabbed at the ball with a paw, looking both clever and adorably mischievous.

Wait! Why am I actually playing like a real cat?

His upright ears drooped instantly. Song the Cat, humiliated and angry, kicked the ball away and scrambled up from his flat-backed position.

He shook out his fur, his eyes darting around a few times. He held his tail high and trotted over to cause trouble for Lu Jingchuan.

“Meow-uuu!” Song the Cat has arrived!

As Lu Jingchuan was tidying a box, a kitten descended from above, leaping lightly onto the cardboard and pressing down one of the flaps.

“You-you.”

The man skillfully popped the tab on a can and waved the King Salmon food in front of Song the Cat.

The kitten, who had been bobbing its head in preparation to cause trouble, instantly went wide-eyed. Its nose twitched, and its small pink snout almost buried itself in the man’s palm.

“Meow!” Oh, this smells good.

Song Xingyou felt a chill from the edge of the can and couldn’t help but sneeze. He daintily buried his face into the man’s warm palm, rubbing against it with his soft fur.

The little cloud first buried its face in the palm, then shook its head to rub left and right until the fur on its cheeks was warmed by the man’s body heat. Only then did he lift his head, wearing a small, unhappy expression. He patted the man’s hand and looked back meaningfully as he jumped to the floor.

“Meow-uuu!”

The little calico walked with an elegant gait, leading the man to the kitchen. He jumped onto the mirror-like countertop and meowed as he patted the microwave.

Lu Jingchuan: “You want it hot?”

“Meow!” Song Xingyou straightened his fur and nodded approvingly.

The rescued cat not only used the piano to insult people but also chose between cold and hot food.

Lu Jingchuan’s gaze turned extremely dark for a moment. He stared fixedly at the kitten. The kitten twitched its ears and impatiently patted the microwave again.

What would a three-month-old stray know about microwaves?

Lu Jingchuan lowered his eyelashes, thick shadows obscuring the emotions in his eyes. He emptied the can onto a plate and put it in the microwave. While waiting for it to heat, he murmured thoughtfully.

“Xing-xing doesn’t like cold food either.”

When Xing-xing was little, he had a weak stomach. If he ate too much raw or cold food; even fruit; he would get an upset stomach.

Later, as he grew up and his digestion improved, Xing-xing still didn’t like raw or cold things. Even getting him to eat fruit required a lot of coaxing.

In kindergarten, Lu Jingchuan helped Xing-xing deal with excess fruit. By middle school, it became his job to find ways to trick Xing-xing into eating a few extra bites of fruit.

“Is it because I gave the kitten Xing-xing’s name?”

I should just make cat food for You-you from now on.

Those two murmured sentences almost made Song Xingyou explode. He stopped grooming himself and whipped his head around, his eyes scanning the man’s face up and down.

The man pulled out two slices of toast, opened the package, and used a table knife to spread peanut butter. The silver-white knife shimmered, clearly reflecting the kitten’s guilt.

Song Xingyou meowed loudly, his entire fluffy self puffing up like a fuming rice ball.

I told you, this habit of naming a pet after someone else is unacceptable.

What is wrong with you!

When I get back, I’m going to raise a stupid dog and name it Lu Xiao Chuan.

And this behavior of skipping lunch and just eating two slices of toast with peanut butter; is this some kind of performance art to remember past hardships?

Song Xingyou unleashed a “Cat Eighteen Palms” into the air, delivering several slaps toward the man’s head. While complaining fiercely in his mind, he used his tail to pull the heated can toward himself and buried his head to eat greedily.

Delicious!

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Song Xingyou couldn’t help but let out a yawn in the sun. He instinctively lay down in a sunlit patch, pulled a small blanket over himself, and basked.

Though the April sun was bright, it wasn’t warm when the cold wind blew. Only the tricolor fur, which transitioned like a dapple of sunset orange, glowed with a warm yellow light in the sun.

Song Xingyou was truly getting sleepy. He let out another yawn, ignoring the sound of the “annoying person” walking around behind him. Suddenly, his peripheral vision caught a shadow, and he was nearly startled enough to let out a tear.

With moist, shimmering eyes, he stared blankly out the window. His cat eyes were wide and round, and he hissed uneasily, revealing four small fangs.

What is that?

“You-you.”

A pair of hands picked up the sun-basking kitten from behind. The man had changed his clothes; his muscle lines looked excellent and beautiful beneath a light gray tight-fitting sweater.

He held a harness for going out and the little outfit that went with it. He said deeply, “It’s time to go out and exercise.”

Song the Cat: Meow meow meow?

So it was you, you filthy thing!

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