Doctor Gu’s Orange Cat Boyfriend - Chapter 10

“Hurry up and come greet me!!”

Yet, all that greeted him was the cold, dark emptiness of the room.

Where was everyone?

Zhou Yang flipped on the light and scanned the room, not spotting a single soul.

He pulled out his phone to call Lin Mucí. Phone off. Texted him. No reply.

“Damn it! Is this bastard messing with me?”

Zhou Yang sat on the sofa, utterly baffled. He glanced at the equally confused-looking orange cat in the cage beside him and fell deep in thought.

Where the hell did he go in the middle of the night? And turning off his phone?

He thought for a moment and decided to wait. What if the kid really had an emergency?

But as he waited, he ended up leaning against the sofa and falling asleep.

…

The next morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

His biological clock woke Gu Chaoyu punctually at six o’clock.

Lin Xiaomiao also opened his sleepy eyes. Hearing the rustling sounds of clothes being put on in the bedroom, he knew Gu Chaoyu was getting ready for his morning run.

The chance had come!

He pricked up his ears, listening intently for the door’s movements.

The moment a faint click sounded from the front door, Lin Mucí leaped off the sofa and dashed toward the balcony like lightning.

Back in his own home, he had barely transformed back from cat to human when the sight in the living room startled him.

There lay Zhou Yang, sprawled out on his sofa, fast asleep. Beside him sat a cat carrier, its plump orange occupant eyeing him warily.

He walked over and nudged Zhou Yang. “Hey! Zhou Yang! Wake up!”

Shaken awake, Zhou Yang sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Huh? You’re back? Where the hell were you last night?“

”Long story,“ Lin Mucí gestured toward the cat carrier. ”Thanks, bro. Just getting the cat sorted.“

”You still haven’t told me what you’re actually up to,“ Zhou Yang yawned, giving him a look that screamed ”Are you nuts?”

Lin Mucí swiftly delivered the orange cat to Gu Chaoyu’s place via the balcony,

then took a deep breath, realizing he couldn’t hide this from his best friend any longer.

Lowering his voice with utmost seriousness, he said, “Zhou Yang, what I’m about to tell you might sound absurd, but please believe me.”

Zhou Yang chuckled at his solemn demeanor: “What? Finally admitting you’ve got a crush on Dr. Gu next door and bought an expensive cat just to drop it off at his place?”

“Way more explosive than that!” Lin Mucí clenched his jaw. “Remember that urban legend you mentioned? The one about being single since birth until age twenty-five granting you superpowers?”

Zhou Yang’s expression turned peculiar: “…Yeah, I remember. What about it? You’re not going to say… you…”

“Exactly,” Lin Mucí nodded solemnly. “That legend is true.”

The air hung heavy for three seconds.

“HAHAHAHAHA!” Zhou Yang burst out laughing. “Lin Mucí, have you gone mad writing your novels? Running out of ideas lately and taking it out on me? Alright then, what superpower did you get? Can you charge ten thousand bucks per character now? Or make your demanding editor vanish on the spot?”

Seeing Zhou Yang’s utterly skeptical expression, Lin Mucí grew impatient.

“I’m telling the truth!”

“Alright then, prove it to me!” Zhou Yang shrugged, adopting a look of eager anticipation. “If you really have superpowers, show me one right now! If you can pull it off, I… I’ll call you Dad on the spot!”

“You’re the one who said it!”

Lin Mucí steeled himself, took two steps back, and stood firmly before Zhou Yang.

“Watch closely!”

He closed his eyes and focused his mind.

Zhou Yang was about to mock him further when he saw a faint halo appear around Lin Mucí’s body. Instantly, a six-foot-tall adult male before his eyes began shrinking and transforming at a speed defying the laws of physics…

A soft “pop” echoed.

Where a living man had stood moments ago, now sat only a plump orange cat. It tilted its head, its round feline eyes fixed on Zhou Yang.

The smile froze on Zhou Yang’s face.

His mouth slowly gaped open, wide enough to swallow an egg.

He reached out, trembling as he pointed at the orange cat on the floor, then at himself, his throat making “huh huh” sounds, unable to utter a single word.

The orange cat on the floor seemed thoroughly amused by his wide-eyed, unworldly reaction. It elegantly licked its paw, then carried the clothes into the room. In a flash of light, it transformed back into human form.

“Now, do you believe me?” Lin Mucí stepped out of the room, addressing the dumbfounded figure on the sofa.

Zhou Yang was completely dumbfounded.

He sprang up from the couch, rushed to Lin Mucí, and examined him from head to toe as if studying a freak of nature.

“Holy… holy shit?! It’s real! It’s actually real!”

“What the hell… what did I just witness? A human transformation trick? No, a cat transformation trick?!”

He rambled incoherently, pacing back and forth before finally plopping back onto the sofa.

“I’m screwed!” Zhou Yang clutched his head, letting out a despairing wail. “Why did I have to fall for that damn relationship at twenty-three?! It only lasted three months! Total loss!”

He grabbed Lin Mucí’s shoulders and shook him hard, his face etched with regret.

“If I’d known this legend was real, I’d never have dated her! I’m staying pure until twenty-five! What if… what if I could turn into Ultraman or a Gundam?!”

Lin Mucí was dizzy from the shaking. “Alright, alright! Stop it!”

Just then, “Ding-dong—”

The doorbell rang.

【Who?!】

【So early! Could it be Dr. Gu?! Didn’t he go for his morning workout?!】

He tiptoed to the peephole and peered out.

Under the hallway light stood none other than Gu Chaoyu, returning from his morning workout.

Gu Chaoyu wore a black tracksuit, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. In his hand… he held a familiar insulated container.

【It really is Dr. Gu! Why is he here so early?! And bringing porridge?!】

【There… there’s another man in my room!】

Before he could decide whether to open the door, Zhou Yang had already sauntered over, ready to unlock it.

“Who is it this early in the morning…”

“Don’t open it!” Lin Mucí grabbed his arm, but it was too late.

The door swung open.

Gu Chaoyu still wore the refreshing smile of a morning workout, his voice so gentle it could melt butter: “Mucí, I saw your stomach was upset yesterday. I brought you some millet porridge this morning. While it’s still hot…”

His words trailed off abruptly as he took in the scene inside.

His gaze swept past Lin Mucí at the doorway, landing precisely on the unfamiliar man behind him, clothes askew, hair disheveled, barefoot on the floor.

The temperature in the air seemed to plummet several degrees in that instant.

The smile on Gu Chaoyu’s face didn’t waver. He raised the thermos in his hand, the “moisture” in his voice seemingly evaporating. It lost its warmth, gaining instead an elusive, unreadable edge.

“And who might this be?”