Rebirth: Using Love as an Excuse for Cruelty - Chapter 2

Wen Cheng spent a long time wondering why Yu Linfei had killed him.

Even though it had already happened, and even though Wen Cheng was the victim, he still could not believe that Yu Linfei had done it.

Was all that love and gentleness just a mask? Wen Cheng wagged his tail, feeling extremely depressed. He could still clearly remember the pain of the knife piercing his chest.

He remembered the feeling of his body turning cold, the black spots appearing before his eyes, and the struggle to breathe… Wen Cheng suddenly shivered. He remembered the look in Yu Linfei’s eyes when he killed him.

It was not the usual calm or gentle look. It was a cold gaze, filled with deep hatred.

If he only looked at those eyes, Wen Cheng would never believe that the person killing him was his lover, Yu Linfei.

But the facts forced him to believe it. There was no one else who could have been the killer.

Fine! He was killed by Yu Linfei. But can someone tell him what is going on with his body now?! Did he forget to drink the “Soup of Forgetfulness” before reincarnating? Did he really turn into a cat with human memories?! This is such a scam! Filled with grief, Wen Cheng used his furry paw to wipe his face.

But before he could finish feeling sad, he realized his troubles were coming back…

“You lied to me, lied to me, lied to me!” A little yellow kitten had discovered Wen Cheng’s “trick.” It stared with watery blue eyes, its fur standing on end: “Bad Blackie!!!”

“…” Wen Cheng reached out a paw and patted the yellow kitten’s head.

“Don’t touch my head!!!” The yellow kitten sat next to the lying Wen Cheng, looking very angry: “You lied to me!!!”

“How did I lie to you?” Wen Cheng asked calmly.

“You told me to go hide! But you didn’t come find me!!” The yellow kitten meowed loudly. It looked like it was about to cry.

“I didn’t,” Wen Cheng explained. “I looked for you for a long time but couldn’t find you. So I just came back.”

“Really?” the yellow kitten asked seriously. “Lying cats are not good cats.”

“Really,” Wen Cheng answered firmly. He wasn’t actually a cat, anyway.

“Meow~” Accepting the explanation happily, the yellow kitten began to lick Wen Cheng’s face. “Since you found me, it’s my turn to find you.”

…Are we still playing? Wen Cheng’s face froze.

“Go, go!” Using its head to push Wen Cheng away from the mother cat’s belly, the yellow kitten said happily, “Hurry up!”

“…” Wen Cheng cried silently.

It seemed that if he didn’t play with this yellow kitten today, he wouldn’t be able to rest. Realizing this, Wen Cheng reluctantly moved his feet and walked slowly toward the living room.

“Oh, Er Mao, why did you run into the living room?” Before Wen Cheng could react, a hand came down from above and picked him up.

“Meow!” Being held tightly, Wen Cheng looked up at the person who suddenly appeared.

“Er Mao, Er Mao~” Stroking Wen Cheng’s back with one hand and holding the tiny kitten with the other, the young man looked very happy. “Come on, say something! Call me big brother~”

…Call your sister! Wen Cheng looked at the strange man in front of him, feeling very annoyed. Someone tell him why he is named “Er Mao” (Second Hair)!!! Why does he have such a weird name… even “Blackie” is better than “Er Mao”!!!

The man holding Wen Cheng obviously didn’t know the cat had a human soul. He kissed Er Mao’s little nose and smiled. “Weren’t you refusing to come out? Why did you run out on your own now?”

“Meow.” Wen Cheng looked like he had given up on life.

“Are you sad because Da Mao (First Hair) was sent away?” Holding Wen Cheng’s front paws and lifting him up, the man looked a bit worried. “Er Mao, you are going to be sent away in a few days too. Will you be even sadder when you have to leave your mom and Baozi (Bun)?”

…Huh? Baozi? Wen Cheng was stunned. Then he thought, why isn’t the other sibling named San Mao (Third Hair)? Is this like that old joke where the first son is Jinzha, the second is Muzha, and the third is suddenly named “Li Two-Dog”?

“Come, big brother will give you something tasty.” Seeing the cat looking lifeless, He Yi smiled helplessly. Although Chinchilla cats usually look a bit silly, he had never seen one this dazed.

“Meow.” Wen Cheng lay quietly in He Yi’s arms, letting him brush his fur. Although being a cat was awkward, the brushing felt so good. A little harder~~ Yes, right there!

Without realizing he was losing his dignity, Wen Cheng happily lifted his chin, wanting his master to scratch it.

“Haha…” Seeing Er Mao (Wen Cheng: “…”) acting cute, He Yi’s smile grew brighter. He loved cats. Even if they weren’t as clingy as dogs, they were experts at acting cute. Even when they did something wrong, those watery eyes made it impossible to stay mad.

He Yi used to have a female silver Chinchilla named Fil. She was very gentle, loved people, and was very clean. He Yi treated her like his own daughter.

This year, Fil had her first litter: three kittens. One was black and white, one was gold and white… and one was pure black.

Pure black… Looking at Er Mao, who was purring in his arms, He Yi felt a bit helpless. Fil’s bloodline was pure, and the father was a golden Chinchilla. He Yi still didn’t understand why Er Mao’s fur ended up this color. Was it a mutation? Oh well… black isn’t bad. It’s quite cute.

“Here, Er Mao, a dried fish snack.” Tearing open the wrapper, He Yi waved a small dried fish in front of the kitten.

“Eh?” He Yi was surprised that Er Mao didn’t rush to grab the fish like usual. He patted the pet’s head. “Why aren’t you eating?” Is he sick?

He Yi had no idea about the struggle inside Wen Cheng’s mind. Wen Cheng stared at the dried fish with his golden eyes, feeling conflicted. As a human inside, he should resist this insulting behavior!! But that fish smelled so good. One bite won’t hurt, right… just one… “Chomp.”

He took a bite decisively.

When Wen Cheng tasted the fish, he felt like he was surrounded by happy pink bubbles. He crunched and chewed the delicious snack, then immediately looked at the small bag in the man’s hand.

“Hahaha…” Seeing the sparkle in Wen Cheng’s eyes, He Yi laughed. He took out another piece and gave it to him.

“Meow~” Eating another bite, Wen Cheng instinctively started licking the fish flavor off He Yi’s fingers…

“Stop licking, there’s more.” Seeing the kitten was energetic again, He Yi said, “This is the last of the bag. Kittens can’t eat too much, or you’ll get an upset stomach.”

Wen Cheng didn’t care. After finishing the bag happily, his mood suddenly crashed. Was that cat, who was just acting cute for a fish, really him?!! No!! Impossible!!! Why couldn’t he control himself just because he became a cat? It was just a bag of fish though it was really tasty).

“Oh, don’t act cute with me, you can’t have any more.” Seeing the stars in Wen Cheng’s eyes, He Yi tapped his nose. “When Er Mao grows up, big brother will buy you lots of fish. So, when you go to Big Brother Yu Linfei’s house, you have to eat well, or you won’t grow up and get more fish!”

Okay! I have to grow up to get fish. Wait!! Did he hear a keyword? Wen Cheng’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at the man. “Meow?”

“What’s wrong?” He Yi looked at him as if he understood the confusion. “Big Brother Yu Linfei is very nice. But when you get there, you can’t be as naughty as you are at home, or you’ll get a spanking!”

…Is he hallucinating? Wen Cheng thought blankly. Yu Linfei… brother? New master being sent away… what?? Finally understanding, Wen Cheng’s fur stood on end. With a loud meow, he jumped off He Yi and stumbled back to his cat bed!

He was being sent to Yu Linfei!!! This realization made every hair on his body crawl. Is this fate? Can he not escape Yu Linfei even after dying and becoming a cat???

“Er Mao!!” Scared by the sudden move, He Yi chased after him. He saw Wen Cheng hiding his head under the mother cat’s belly, shivering as if he was terrified.

…Can he actually understand me? The thought popped into He Yi’s head. Looking at the sleeping Fil and the trembling Er Mao, He Yi said helplessly, “Er Mao, do you really not want to go to the new master?”

“Meow meow!!” Hearing this, Wen Cheng poked his head out and meowed urgently.

…He really can understand me?? He Yi opened his eyes wide in surprise. “Er Mao, you know what I’m saying??”

…Duh. Wen Cheng lowered his head weakly.

“Alright, alright.” Seeing his kitten look so miserable, He Yi felt bad. He picked Wen Cheng up to comfort him. “We’ll send Baozi instead and keep you here, okay?”

“Meow…” Wen Cheng almost wanted to wag his tail in joy.

…What a strange cat, He Yi thought, stroking Er Mao’s back. He thought he shouldn’t have been so quick to find owners for the kittens.