I Am Being Raised by a Cat - Chapter 9.2

Chapter 9.2

The temperature outside at night would drop very low. Conveniently, the custom-made clothes had been delivered. Cheng Yue wore a light-colored sweater; he had pale skin, which suited his complexion well and made him look very obedient.

The man’s gaze never moved once it landed on him.

He didn’t expect there to be so many people on the street at night.

Cheng Yue leaned against the car window, looking around curiously. Suddenly, he remembered something. “Can New Humans have half-human, half-animal forms? I see many people outside showing their ears and tails.”

“They can,” the man explained. “Because New Humans have high status, many people are willing to display their animal traits as a point of pride.”

Cheng Yue blinked and looked at the man sideways. “I heard your original form evolved back into a leopard?”

Cheng Shang hesitated before giving an “mm” in response.

He knew the youth was generally not very brave. He wondered if a cheetah or leopard would scare him.

To his surprise, Cheng Yue asked him with some excitement, “Then why haven’t I seen you show your original form?”

The man’s eyes darkened. He paused for a few seconds and asked quietly, “Do you want to see?”

Cheng Yue blinked. “I’m a bit curious.”

The man’s lips curled. “Alright. I’ll show you when we get home.”

The words themselves were fine, but in the youth’s ears, they sounded somehow wrong. He gave a low cough and turned his head away, choosing not to speak.

The man stared at the back of his head, thinking it was so round and cute.

They soon arrived outside the entrance of the art museum.

He didn’t expect there to be so many people at night. Cheng Yue was a bit surprised. Two people squeezed past him; before Cheng Yue could react, the man stepped in front to block them, putting his arm around the youth’s shoulder and bringing him close.

The man said in a low voice, “Slow down. Stay close to me.”

The youth’s hand was gripped tightly by him.

The man held his hand, passing through the somewhat crowded masses, and entered through a side passage by swiping a card.

Cheng Yue tried to pull his hand away several times, but it was held even tighter by the man.

Until they entered the venue where there were fewer people around, Cheng Yue didn’t feel comfortable pulling his hand away anymore, and let the man continue to lead him.

Every painting was a holographic projection. Cheng Yue had never seen this before and was quickly captivated.

In front of him was a sketch of a man. After being projected, it seemed as if a man were actually sitting in front of him.

Curious, Cheng Yue reached out to touch it, but the moment he made contact, his wrist was seized by the man.

“Don’t touch.” The man’s face was very serious.

Cheng Yue was startled by his appearance. “What’s wrong? Is there an electric current?”

Cheng Shang said coldly, “Don’t touch other men.”

“…”

Cheng Yue angrily shook off his hand. “What are you talking about? This is art. Art academies frequently hire figure models.”

The man narrowed his eyes. “You’ve painted them too?”

“Guess.”

The man was in an unpleasant mood, but couldn’t vent his anger on Cheng Yue. He could only speak coldly from the side, “You saw my abs last time. Aren’t they better than the ones you look at?”

He didn’t know why the man wanted to discuss these issues in this kind of setting.

Cheng Yue said indignantly, “I told you I didn’t look!”

Cheng Shang pushed further. “Then next time, you paint my figure.”

Cheng Yue turned his head away, not bothered to speak to him anymore.

Continuing further inside, there were various holographically projected paintings. Looking at them, Cheng Yue couldn’t help but think that if his paintings of the little leopard cat were still around, they could also be projected here.

But then he thought that wasn’t right.

The man was right beside him; why would he need to look at a projection?

Midway through, Cheng Shang took a phone call. Cheng Yue was so absorbed he didn’t notice, walking forward on his own until he suddenly heard someone call his name from the side.

“Cheng Yue!”

He turned around and saw someone somewhat familiar, and was momentarily dazed.

The person appeared very surprised as well, looking Cheng Yue up and down. “It really is you. You… how… after so many years, you’re still so young.”

Cheng Yue bit his lip. He couldn’t exactly explain the absurd story of his time-slip.

He said vaguely, “Yeah, I just look young.”

the person smiled and patted Cheng Yue’s shoulder. “What about me? Have I aged a lot? You can’t recognize me, can you?”

Cheng Yue smiled. “How could that be, Senior?”

This was a senior from the same academy. Liu Cheng had looked after him a lot; he was one of the few people he knew well at school.

“I really didn’t expect to see you again,” Liu Cheng sighed. “After that incident, it’s been twenty years, right? Why haven’t I heard any news about you?”

“Mm, I went to another city. I just got back.”

Cheng Yue quickly asked, “What about you, Senior? How are things now?”

Liu Cheng smiled bitterly. “Just drifting along as an ordinary person.”

His shoulder suddenly felt heavy. The man had returned from his call at some unknown time and put his arm around Cheng Yue’s shoulder in an intimate, possessive posture. “Yue Yue, your friend?”

When he looked down to speak to Cheng Yue, his voice was gentle, but when he looked up at Liu Cheng, his attitude was entirely different, his eyes were full of coldness and his face darkened.

The moment he saw Cheng Shang, Liu Cheng froze, his expression shifting.

But the youth clearly didn’t notice any of this, still introducing him, “This is my senior from university.”

“Senior, this is my…”

Cheng Yue suddenly got stuck.

How should he introduce him?

This is the cat I raised?

That didn’t seem right.

Fortunately, Liu Cheng was good at reading expressions and picked up the conversation naturally. “I know, I know. Governor Cheng, hello, hello. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Liu Cheng quickly extended his hand.

But the man gave a cold glance and didn’t shake it, instead looking down again and saying warmly, “Yue Yue, there’s a particularly interesting painting up ahead. Shall we go see it?”

Cheng Yue looked hesitantly at Liu Cheng.

Liu Cheng quickly withdrew his hand and said tactfully, “You two go ahead. I’ll take a look over there.”

Cheng Yue could only nod. “Alright then. Goodbye, Senior.”

After walking some distance, Cheng Yue shook off the man’s hand and frowned. “What was that for? He just said hello to you, and your attitude was so bad.”

The man snorted coldly. “I know him. He’s the one who brought you home when you were drunk during the summer of your sophomore year.”

Cheng Yue was stunned; he didn’t even remember such a thing.

Is a cat’s memory this good?

“So what? Is it not okay that he brought me home when I was drunk?”

Cheng Shang said in a deep voice, “Do you think he just brought you home?”

Cheng Yue’s eyes widened. “What else did he do?!!”

“He helped you onto the sofa at home, took off your coat, and even poured water for you.” The man’s voice was cold. “Up to no good.”

Cheng Yue was shocked.

From those actions, none of them looked like he was “up to no good.”

But being told this by Cheng Shang, he seemed to have a bit of an impression.

It was a club gathering. Cheng Yue hadn’t intended to go, but couldn’t resist the repeated invitations from a senior sister. He had a poor tolerance for alcohol; after being urged by the senior sister to drink two glasses, he became unconscious. He only remembered that Liu Cheng brought him home.

The next day at school when he ran into Liu Cheng, he saw two red scratches on his neck. Liu Cheng had explained they were scratched by a tree branch.

Now Cheng Yue glared at the man. “Did you scratch him?”

The man said indifferently, “Just touched him a bit.”

“…”

“You… you really are…” Cheng Yue was so angry he couldn’t say anything else.

He just thought it was lucky Liu Cheng didn’t know Cheng Shang was his cat, otherwise it would be so embarrassing.

He muttered small insults at Cheng Shang, repeating the same few phrases: “Stingy cat, stinky cat…”

Cheng Shang was quite happy to be scolded by him, the corners of his lips curving up.

…

It was very late by the time they left the art museum.

The youth covered his mouth and yawned twice.

“Tired?” Cheng Shang stared at him.

Cheng Yue rubbed his eyes. “I am tired. It’s almost dawn, right?”

“Not quite. The nights are longer now.”

Despite saying that, seeing the youth yawn one after another, he still drove the car as fast as possible.

But drowsiness comes in waves.

In the car, the youth was so tired he couldn’t keep his eyes open, but back home, he wasn’t tired anymore. After coming out in his pajamas, he felt a bit hungry and secretly made his way to the kitchen, planning to cook a bowl of noodles.

Although he had always lived alone and had strong self-care abilities, his cooking skills were truly average and barely edible. Fortunately, cooking noodles was simple and didn’t take much effort.

Having seen a holographic art museum he’d never seen before and running into a senior he hadn’t seen for a long time today, Cheng Yue was in a great mood. He even hummed a little tune while cooking noodles, to the point that he didn’t notice the figure walking slowly behind him.

A leopard is an animal very good at hunting, especially when hiding; its paw pads on the ground made almost no sound.

At this moment, the leopard stood behind the youth, slightly arching its back, as if ready to pounce at any moment, pin the youth down, and then lower its head to bite through his throat in one go.

The noodles were almost done. After turning off the heat, Cheng Yue was about to turn around to get a bowl, but unexpectedly, when he turned, he almost passed out from shock.

Anyone would be terrified seeing this scene.

When you’re focused on doing something, danger has quietly arrived. Suddenly turning around, only to see a beast has already laid an ambush behind you, preparing for a lethal strike.

The scream was stuck in his throat. Fortunately, in the next second, Cheng Yue saw the familiar golden eyes, and his heart, which had jumped into his throat, drifted back down.

It was Ah Shang.

Only then did Cheng Yue remember he’d said he wanted to see the man’s original form. But why didn’t he give any warning? Appearing so suddenly would scare anyone to death.

The youth leaned over slightly and took a very careful look at the leopard before him.

Mm.

Aside from the eyes being similar, no other part was the same as the little leopard cat.

The fur seemed darker, and the claws and teeth were sharp. The youth had no doubt that one swipe could disembowel him.

But he hesitated for a moment, and still couldn’t resist reaching out to squeeze the leopard’s ear.

Whoa, it’s still soft!!

The fierce leopard behaved exceptionally obediently in front of the youth. When the youth wanted to squeeze an ear, he offered his whole large head, even hoping the youth would squeeze the other side too.

After squeezing the ears, Cheng Yue patted his head again. His hand slid all the way down the smooth fur until it stopped at the base of the tail.

An animal’s tail is very sensitive.

Cheng Yue didn’t actively touch it. Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, the tail seemed to have eyes of its own, actively curving up to hook around the youth’s wrist.

This movement was not unfamiliar; it was something Ah Shang did often.

But by comparison, the leopard’s tail was much thicker. When it wrapped around his wrist, Cheng Yue almost had the illusion of being tied up with a rope.

Suddenly, the youth’s nose sniffed.

What’s that smell? It’s a bit fragrant.

!!!! His noodles!!!

Cheng Yue remembered belatedly and quickly turned to the stove.

Fortunately, the heat was off, but the noodles had soaked a bit soft. Still, the youth wasn’t picky and scooped them into a bowl to carry to the dining table.

Cheng Yue sat in a chair, and the leopard lay at his feet.

The fragrant-smelling noodles had little taste in his mouth. Cheng Yue couldn’t help but think of things from Ah Shang’s past.

The little leopard cat would eat at the table with him; Ah Shang even ate more politely than humans, making almost no sound.

Thinking dazedly, he suddenly felt his ankle was a bit wet. Cheng Yue snapped back to reality, looked down, and immediately cried out in alarm, “Cheng Shang, what are you doing?!”

After the youth sat down, a section of his pure white ankle was exposed, vividly right there. How could the leopard resist such a temptation? He immediately extended his tongue to lean in.

It was nothing when the kitten licked him.

But on such a large leopard, something felt wrong.

Moreover, he knew this leopard was Cheng Shang!!

Cheng Yue didn’t even finish the noodles. He stood up and glared at Cheng Shang. “Change back quickly.”

The leopard gave him a lazy look, raised a paw to lick it, and acted as if he couldn’t hear.

The youth had no choice and could only threaten him, “If you lick me again, I’ll never speak to you again.”

After thinking, he added another sentence, “Or else I’ll move out tomorrow.”

As expected, this sentence was extremely effective.

The leopard stopped pretending to lick his paw, raised its eyes, and fixed its golden beast pupils coldly on Cheng Yue.

Cheng Yue wasn’t as scared now as when he first saw it.

He sat back down, quickly finished the remaining noodles, and was just about to get up to clean up when Xiao Xiao arrived at the right time. “I’ll clean up. Yue Yue, go rest.”

Cheng Yue was greatly moved. “Thank you, Xiao Xiao.”

The leopard beside him was unhappy and flicked its tail, which happened to whip right across Xiao Xiao, making a “bang-bang” sound against the robot’s body.

The youth quickly bent down to grab the leopard’s tail. “What are you doing? Why do you always bully Xiao Xiao?”

Cheng Shang’s possessiveness was very strong; he could never stand Cheng Yue’s attention being on anything else. He moved closer, nudged the youth’s leg with his head, and looked back.

The tacit understanding between the youth and Ah Shang always existed in these strange places.

Cheng Yue hesitated. “Do you want me to ride on your back?”

The leopard nodded.

That’s not good…

After all, he knew in his heart the leopard was Cheng Shang.

But looking at the glossy fur of the leopard before him, the youth felt his heart itch again.

Who wouldn’t want to ride such a majestic leopard?

After debating for a moment, until the leopard bit his clothes again, the youth finally made up his mind. “Alright then, I’ll ride for a bit. If I’m too heavy, put me down immediately, okay?”

Cheng Yue was afraid of crushing him.

The leopard crouched down. The youth cautiously straddled its back. Just as he was sitting steady, the leopard suddenly stood up and ran very fast toward Cheng Yue’s room on the second floor.

The youth suddenly realized something and spoke in a panic, “Don’t! A leopard can’t go on my bed!!”