Rebirth: Using Love as an Excuse for Cruelty - Chapter 13

When Yu Linfei took Wen Cheng home, He Yi had warned him that since Wen Cheng was not yet three months old, his body was still weak. He couldn’t be given a bath and should not be allowed to catch a cold.

Although Yu Linfei had never raised a cat, he knew He Yi’s warnings were not a joke. Thinking about how Baiqing Meng had treated Wen Cheng, and seeing the kitten looking so sick, he panicked. He hurried forward to pick him up but was afraid that lifting him directly might cause him to choke on the milk he had thrown up.

“Hey, He Yi, Blacky seems sick. He just vomited all the milk he drank.” Seeing that Wen Cheng seemed to have finished vomiting, Yu Linfei finally pulled the shaking kitten into his arms. He let the cat lie on his lap, using one hand to comfort him while the other dialed He Yi’s number.

“What?” He Yi’s voice sounded very surprised. He felt a bit helpless about Yu Linfei’s frequent calls. “How long has it been since you took him back? How did something happen again?”

“…” Yu Linfei was silent for a moment. He eventually told He Yi everything Baiqing Meng had done to Wen Cheng that afternoon. Of course, he automatically left out the part about Wen Cheng making the phone call.

After hearing this, He Yi completely lost his temper. His voice was shockingly high-pitched: “How dare that jerk Baiqing Meng treat my Er Mao like that! Yu Linfei, you just watched my son get bullied? I’m telling you! If you don’t give me an explanation, I’m taking Er Mao back! He’s so small and had to face this! If anything happens to him, I’m not done with you! Hey, are you listening?? Yu Linfei!”

The anger of a cat lover is a scary thing. Yu Linfei wisely chose not to argue and quietly changed the subject: “Get angry later. First, tell me what to do with Blacky?”

He Yi didn’t keep attacking him. He thought for a moment and asked, “Did you feed him cow’s milk?”

“Yes.” Yu Linfei looked at Wen Cheng’s pitiful face. “Is milk not okay?”

“Of course not!” He Yi’s voice was full of frustration. “Most cats are lactose intolerant. They don’t have the enzymes to digest the lactose in cow’s milk, so it easily gives them diarrhea. Especially kittens—their stomachs are even more fragile. One mistake can cost a life. Yu Linfei, are you even trying to raise this cat properly?”

“…” Yu Linfei knew he was wrong and didn’t argue. Indeed, he had been too careless. Blacky’s human-like actions had given him the wrong idea… making him think Blacky wasn’t much different from a person.

But after treating Blacky like a human, he realized that no matter how smart Blacky was, he was still just a cat. However, how Blacky knew his phone number was still something Yu Linfei was curious about.

Without giving Yu Linfei much time to daydream, He Yi continued: “What else did you give him that he shouldn’t eat?”

“…No…” The word was in his mouth, but Yu Linfei stopped. He suddenly remembered the security footage of Wen Cheng sneaking into the fridge for food. Looking at the poor kitten curled up in his arms, Yu Linfei felt both annoyed and amused. “Wait a second, let me check the trash can.”

…Check the trash can? On the other end of the phone, He Yi was stunned. He felt Yu Linfei was even more unreliable now—he didn’t even know what he had fed the cat and had to check the trash to find out…

Yu Linfei didn’t realize He Yi was judging him again. After seeing the empty yogurt container and the dried squid wrapper in the trash, he got worried. “He seems to have eaten dried squid and yogurt. Is it serious?”

“Yogurt and dried squid are mostly okay.” He Yi frowned. “But you should still take Blacky to the hospital. A kitten this small cannot have a bath, and Baiqing Meng poured cold water on him and he was cold for a long time.”

“Okay, where is the nearest pet hospital?” Yu Linfei checked his watch and sighed. “I’ll drive there right now.”

“Okay, I’ll text you the address in a bit,” He Yi said. “Once he is better, get his vaccines done.”

“Fine,” Yu Linfei replied, then hung up.

He put on his coat and found the basket He Yi used to bring Wen Cheng over. He put a soft blanket inside and gently placed Wen Cheng in it.

Wen Cheng, having just vomited, had no strength at all. He lay weakly in the basket, watching Yu Linfei carry him out the door with a worried face.

Wen Cheng knew where Yu Linfei was taking him. From the conversation, he knew they were going to the hospital. His head felt heavy, and he felt a bit uneasy. The reason for his unease was actually quite funny. He was very worried about Yu Linfei finding out he had sneaked into the fridge..

It would be very strange for a pet cat to open a refrigerator. Putting his paws over his eyes, Wen Cheng sniffed sadly. He was almost killed by Qin Xin as soon as he arrived, and after escaping her, he met the crazy Baiqing Meng. Nothing good ever happens when Yu Linfei is involved!!!

Hearing the sound of the car door opening, Wen Cheng wrapped tightly in the blanket fell back into a blurry sleep inside the swaying basket.

Just as Yu Linfei was about to start the car, he was interrupted by another call from He Yi.

“What is it?” Yu Linfei thought He Yi was worried about Blacky. He comforted him: “Why haven’t you sent the address? I’m taking him to the hospital now.”

“I just remembered that Su Weixi opened a pet hospital recently. You should go there instead.” He Yi’s voice had a hint of hesitation. “While you’re at it, you should ask him to talk. You’ve been friends for so long, why bother staying angry?”

“…” Yu Linfei went silent. He didn’t expect Su Weixi to suddenly appear at a time like this.

“Forget it! If you don’t want to, just act like I didn’t say anything.” He Yi laughed at himself, feeling like he was being too nosy. Actually, he didn’t want to get involved in the drama between Yu Linfei and Su Weixi, but he happened to see Su Weixi who had just returned from abroad looking exhausted a couple of days ago. Since this happened today, he thought he would try to help them reconnect.

However, He Yi didn’t use lies to trick Yu Linfei into meeting Su Weixi. He knew Yu Linfei’s personality; if he did that, they might not even be friends anymore.

“Tell me,” Yu Linfei said, a flash of annoyance in his eyes. He held the steering wheel with one hand and the phone with the other, speaking blankly. “What is the address?”

“Um… it’s near the big supermarket on C Street… very close. Linfei, you’re not mad at me for being nosy, right?” He Yi felt like Yu Linfei’s mood was a bit off.

“It’s fine. We have to make things clear sooner or later anyway.” Yu Linfei’s face was cold. “I’m heading there now. I’ll call you later.”

“Okay,” He Yi said, then heard the busy signal. He pulled his own very active kitten, Baozi, into his arms. Seeing the kitten so lively, he gave a tiny sigh. “It’s better to just talk it out, why hold on to it…”

Wen Cheng didn’t know how long he had slept, but when he woke up, he heard blurry voices talking.

His head was still dizzy, so he stood up shakily, wanting to poke his head out of the basket for some fresh air.

But before he could lift the blanket, he heard a voice that shocked him.

A voice Wen Cheng could never forget was calling Yu Linfei’s name: “Linfei.”

The moment he heard that voice, Wen Cheng was completely stunned. Then, he shivered as he used his small paw to lift the blanket. When he saw the person in front of him, Wen Cheng felt like he was going crazy—he saw someone who was supposed to be dead: Su Weixi.

Su Weixi was a name that no one wanted to mention.

Yu Linfei didn’t want to mention it because Su Weixi was the person he felt most guilty toward. Wen Cheng didn’t want to mention it because he didn’t know Su Weixi well and didn’t want to make Yu Linfei’s pain worse.

Ever since that incident happened, this name became a forbidden topic between Wen Cheng and Yu Linfei. They never spoke of it.

But how could someone who was supposed to have died in front of him be standing here arguing with Yu Linfei? Wen Cheng watched with wide eyes, his gaze full of confusion and terror.

Yes, terror.

When he first turned into a cat, he could tell himself that even as a cat, he could live peacefully. When he was adopted by Yu Linfei, he told himself it was to find out how he died.

But now? Someone who should have been dead long ago appeared right in front of him. What did this mean? Wen Cheng felt his body temperature dropping slowly. At this moment, he finally understood why there were no traces of him in Yu Linfei’s house, why Baiqing Meng was looking for Yu Linfei again, and why Su Weixi was standing here—the reason was simple: the world where he became a cat was not the world where he died.

In this world, there might not even be a person named Wen Cheng. Yu Linfei never killed him. So, what was he? Was he actually a cat from the very beginning? Was everything else just a strange dream, like a butterfly dreaming it was a man? Doubting his own existence, Wen Cheng’s weak body shook… finally, his legs gave out, and he collapsed back into the basket.

To put it simply, if even your existence is denied, what is the point of living? Thinking this, Wen Cheng closed his eyes in a daze.