I Am Being Raised by a Cat - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When Cheng Shang returned to the first-floor living room, the youth had already curled up on the sofa and fallen asleep. The robot was laboriously dragging a small blanket, trying to cover him.

The man strode over, took the blanket, and draped it over the youth. His movements were light, but the youth was not in a deep sleep; with a shudder, he quickly woke up, staring at Cheng Shang with round eyes full of wariness.

He had likely been terrified.

A surge of violence rose in the man’s heart, feeling that he had been too lenient earlier. But facing Cheng Yue, he couldn’t help but soften his voice. “Go eat something before you sleep.”

Cheng Yue pulled the blanket tight and shrunk back, pursing his lips without a word.

Seeing the youth wake up, the little robot squeezed its head forward, wanting to approach and talk to him. The man gave it a light kick with his foot, and the robot immediately tucked its head in, shouting in an exaggerated electronic voice, [It hurts, it hurts!]

Cheng Yue hurried forward, wanting to check on the robot, but seeming somewhat afraid of the man, he eventually could only say in a small voice, “Don’t hit Xiao Xiao.”

Xiao Xiao?

In such a short time, he had even given it a name.

A hint of displeasure stirred in the depths of Cheng Shang’s heart.

Was he treating this scrap metal as a pet?

That would not do.

He was Cheng Yue’s only pet.

The man lowered his voice slightly. “Go eat, or I’ll carry you there.”

Hearing this, Cheng Yue’s eyes widened slightly. Seeing that the man really looked like he was about to reach out for him, he hurriedly stood up. “I’ll go eat!”

Cheng Shang gave a faint “Mm,” but his lips curled up in an imperceptible twitch.

Not bad.

At least he was talking to him now.

…

On the living room table were the freshly delivered meals, still steaming hot. With one glance, Cheng Yue knew they were all things he usually loved to eat.

He felt a bit surprised.

To him, he had only stepped out to buy cat food. It had been a mere half hour. But to the man, it had been a full twenty years.

Cheng Shang actually still knew what he liked to eat.

Unaware of the youth’s thoughts, the man stood to the side and naturally ladled a bowl of soup, placing it by his hand.

Cheng Yue paused and whispered a thank you.

He was indeed starving. Having not eaten for nearly a whole day, he was famished. Since everything in front of him was food he enjoyed, he didn’t care that the man was staring at him from the side; he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat in large mouthfuls.

However, even in this situation, the youth still ate very gracefully, making no noise. It was just that his cheeks puffed out as he chewed, looking very cute.

Cheng Shang didn’t speak again from start to finish. He just sat quietly to the side, his gaze never leaving the youth for a single second.

His heart, which had been parched for twenty years, was boiling and surging at this moment, thumping anew in his chest. He could almost hear the sound of his blood flowing, like a withered corpse coming back to life and warming up.

His gaze greedily scanned every inch of the youth.

The slightly curly hair was exactly the same as in his memories; the eyelashes were long, making him look very well-behaved when his eyes were downcast. When he bowed his head to eat, his slender, fair neck was exposed, looking so fragile.

It could be snapped with a single bite, or lightly rubbed with the tips of his teeth to feel the trembling coming from there.

Back when he was a cat, he felt that Cheng Yue was tall enough to be the one who rescued him from a truck on that rainy, thundering night, gave him a name, and brought him home.

But looking at him now, he felt the youth was too thin and weak, a tiny thing that could be held up by the buttocks with just one of his hands.

If he sat in his lap and he lowered his head, his chin would perfectly reach the youth’s fluffy crown.

For the first time, the man was lost in thought, not noticing that Cheng Yue had put down his chopsticks and was glaring at him with displeasure.

It wasn’t until Cheng Yue intentionally coughed twice that Cheng Shang snapped back to reality.

“Why do you keep looking at me?” the youth asked, intentionally using a fierce tone.

Instead of feeling guilty, Cheng Shang simply asked back, “Am I not allowed to look?”

Cheng Yue bit his lip, then turned his head away. “I’m just staying for one night. I’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

Almost instantly, the man’s expression turned dark and gloomy.

“Leaving?” he asked in a deep voice. “Where are you going?”

Cheng Yue felt terribly frustrated.

Where could he go? Having mysteriously traveled twenty years into the future, he had nowhere to go at all.

But he didn’t want to stay here either.

His logic knew that the man before him was A-Shang.

But Cheng Yue really couldn’t associate this tall, cold man with a soft little cat.

He said in a low voice, “It has nothing to do with you.”

Cheng Yue stood up, wanting to leave, but his wrist was gripped very tightly by the man.

He was a bit angry. “What are you doing?”

The youth didn’t know that Cheng Shang was doing everything in his power to suppress the violence in his heart and struggle to maintain a surface level of peace.

“Stay here,” the man said word by word. “This is your home.”

Cheng Shang didn’t know what had happened during those years, but since the youth was still wearing the clothes he wore when he left in his memory, he could guess a thing or two.

Not wanting to pressure the youth too much, Cheng Shang spoke in as gentle a tone as possible. “I know many things happened today and your mind is a mess. There are rooms upstairs; go and have a good rest. We will talk about everything tomorrow.”

Cheng Yue’s lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing more.

The man didn’t let go of his hand. He even maintained that posture, leading the youth all the way upstairs.

When he pushed open the bedroom door and saw the inside of the room, Cheng Yue was stunned.

The decoration and layout of the room were exactly the same as his former room.

The small wood-colored cabinet, the pale yellow rug by the bed, the fluffy round ball pillows…

The man explained in a low voice, “There was an earthquake after the Great Evolution, and many things were damaged. I had people recreate these one-to-one. If you think anything isn’t right, I’ll have them redo it.”

Cheng Yue felt his throat go dry, making it difficult for him to utter even half a word.

What did the man mean by this?

Why did he do all this?

Cheng Yue didn’t want to think about it anymore.

He looked down at his toes, gave a soft “Mm,” and then intentionally said, “There’s no need for all this. I’m only staying for one night.”

Cheng Shang’s eyes were pitch black, with countless emotions swirling within.

But he said nothing. He only told Cheng Yue to take a bath and rest early, then turned and went out.

Too much had happened today.

Cheng Yue originally thought he would have insomnia, but perhaps because the room layout was familiar, he tossed and turned twice before falling into a deep sleep.

…

In the early hours of the morning, the bedroom door that had been tightly closed suddenly creaked open a crack.

Anyone seeing this scene would have been unable to stop a scream of terror.

Under the moonlight, a massive leopard actually walked into the room in an open and dignified manner.

Compared to an average leopard, it was clearly much taller. Its golden beast-like pupils faintly exuded danger, and its claws and teeth carried a chill.

But it deliberately retracted its sharp claws into its paw pads, walking soundlessly, its thick tail flicking behind it.

It approached the bedside.

The youth’s sleeping posture was not very orderly. His calf had kicked out from under the quilt; the exposed skin was milky white, his ankle showed a faint pinkish tint, and each of his toes was rounded and cute.

The leopard stared blankly.

After a long while, as if it couldn’t hold back anymore…

It stuck out its tongue and licked the youth’s toe.