Rebirth: Using Love as an Excuse for Cruelty - Chapter 4

Yu Linfei did not quite understand why he was so interested in this little black kitten named Er Mao. He was rarely interested in pets. His only hobbies were playing golf with friends or watching documentaries at home.

Spending a lot of time on a cat that didn’t like him? This was something Yu Linfei had never even thought about.

But as he carried Er Mao who was meowing anxiously in a basket into his car, his mood unexpectedly improved.

“What are you crying about?” He stroked the little black cat’s back. When the kitten tried to scratch him, he quickly pulled his hand back. Yu Linfei teased the angry kitten with a playful tone.

“Meow!” Wen Cheng gave Yu Linfei a look of disdain. He turned his bottom toward the man who made his feelings so complicated.

“…Wow, you have quite a temper.” Seeing Wen Cheng’s proud attitude, Yu Linfei smiled again. His smile was elegant and gentle, like a lover in a deep romance. “Are you a little boy or a little girl?”

Before Wen Cheng could react, Yu Linfei picked him up by his upper body and held him close.

“Oh, it’s a boy.” Yu Linfei stared at Wen Cheng’s belly with a sly smile.

“Meow meow meow!!!” Forget “boy”! Wen Cheng’s pride was deeply hurt by Yu Linfei’s actions. He became even angrier. He didn’t just meow; he tried his best to scratch Yu Linfei with his claws.

“…Aw, are you shy?” As if he knew what Wen Cheng meant, Yu Linfei’s smile became a bit wicked. He actually reached out and touched Wen Cheng’s private area.

“MEOW!!!!” Wen Cheng was completely furious! He knew nothing good would happen if he followed Yu Linfei! In his past life, he was killed by him, and now in this life, he was a cat being touched randomly! Where was his dignity?! He wanted to take Yu Linfei down!

Of course, Wen Cheng was so angry he forgot that as a tiny kitten, the only way he could “kill” Yu Linfei was by being so cute that Yu Linfei’s heart stopped.

“Don’t be angry, be good. I was just joking.” Seeing that Wen Cheng was truly upset, Yu Linfei started to comfort him. Looking at the little black cat struggling in his hands, he felt for the first time that bringing him home was the right choice. With this kitten, the house wouldn’t feel so lonely.

Yu Linfei put Wen Cheng back in the basket. He covered it with a blanket he got from He Yi and then started the car.

Seeing his anger ignored so heartlessly, Wen Cheng forced himself to calm down. He began to think seriously about how to survive from now on.

First, he absolutely did not want Yu Linfei to raise him. Seeing him once was fine, but living every day with the person who killed him was unbearable. Every time he saw Yu Linfei’s smile, Wen Cheng remembered the very last smile Yu Linfei gave him before he died.

It was warm and elegant as always, but the love in his eyes had turned into cold hatred. When he pushed the knife into Wen Cheng’s chest, his hand didn’t even shake.

Wen Cheng had lived with Yu Linfei for three years, so he understood this “gentle” man. Wen Cheng knew Yu Linfei only looked kind; deep down, he was cold and proud. He could give a gentle smile to anyone, but his heart remained completely still.

Wen Cheng once thought he was special to Yu Linfei. But at the moment of his death, he realized that no one including himself had ever truly entered Yu Linfei’s heart.

Now Wen Cheng was sure: even though he was a kitten given by a friend, if he truly angered Yu Linfei, his end would be terrible.

So, should he run away?

Wen Cheng carefully peeked out from under the blanket. He looked at the snow-covered streets outside the car window and silently gave up the idea of being a stray cat. Even if he could escape Yu Linfei, could he really live like a cat? Looking for food in trash cans? Eating rats from the sewer?

Impossible. Wen Cheng knew himself well. Between living painfully with Yu Linfei and begging for food as a stray, he would choose the former.

“Do you want to be a stray cat?” A voice filled with laughter suddenly asked. Wen Cheng froze and turned his head. He saw Yu Linfei driving with an expressionless face and thought he was hallucinating.

“Do you want to be a stray, little black cat?” It wasn’t an illusion. Wen Cheng watched in horror as Yu Linfei tilted his head slightly with his usual smile. “Hmm?”

…Is Yu Linfei a monster? How did he know what I was thinking? Wen Cheng was terrified by that smile. He gave a weak meow and looked down, not daring to look at Yu Linfei again.

“It’s very cold outside.” Yu Linfei stopped looking at Wen Cheng and watched the red light. His tone was casual, but his words made Wen Cheng feel cold to the bone. “And if you try to run away and I catch you, it will be very bad for you.”

“…” Wen Cheng didn’t dare to reply. He shrank back into the basket and buried his head between his furry paws. For the first time, he really felt Yu Linfei was a creep.

“I will be very nice to the kitty.” Yu Linfei’s face was blank; he rarely smiled when no one else was around. “The kitty can have whatever food he wants, and a nice place to live. But the kitty must listen to me, okay?”

Wen Cheng still didn’t answer.

“Little cat?” Yu Linfei called softly, making Wen Cheng shiver.

“Meow,” Wen Cheng cried hoarsely. He felt like he was going crazy. He didn’t realize that this “meow” totally proved he understood Yu Linfei’s words.

What a strange cat, actually understanding me. Yu Linfei drove seriously, thinking coldly. It was so lucky to find something so interesting during such a boring time.

After a thirty-minute drive, they arrived. Yu Linfei put on his scarf and gloves, held the basket in his arms, and got out of the car.

Wen Cheng was almost asleep in the basket. Curled up in the soft basket He Yi made, he looked like a little black ball of fur. His little belly moving up and down as he breathed looked adorable. When Yu Linfei peeked under the blanket, he had to stop himself from poking the kitten.

“Truly…” So cute. Yu Linfei didn’t finish his sentence. Actually, he felt his own state of mind was quite strange. It was just a kitten. Why was he so interested?

“What should I name you?” He didn’t think too much about his interest. He tapped the edge of the basket and talked to himself. “Let’s call you Xiao Hei (Little Black).”

Wen Cheng, still dreaming, didn’t have time to celebrate escaping the name “Er Mao” before falling into the trap of “Xiao Hei.” Wen Cheng used to wonder: if a white cat is called Xiao Bai and a black cat is called Xiao Hei, what do you call a black-and-white cat? Of course, that big question was solved when he met a cat named “Zebra”…

Yu Linfei put the sleeping Xiao Hei on the living room sofa. He thought about letting the kitten sleep in the basket for one night, since the pet supplies from his assistant wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow.

“You probably ate enough at home, so you don’t need food for now.” He replaced the wet blanket with a dry one. Yu Linfei sat on the sofa and watched the little black cat sleeping still in the basket.

The body was only a few months old and hadn’t grown yet. The bones looked soft and thin, as if they would break with one pinch. The black fur wasn’t very long but felt great to touch. Hearing that weak meowing sound, Yu Linfei couldn’t help but reach out and touch Xiao Hei’s wet nose.

Wen Cheng, his dream disturbed, wrinkled his eyes. He instinctively rubbed his nose with his little paw and went back to sleep.

“He sleeps so deeply.” Yu Linfei picked up one of Xiao Hei’s paws. He pressed the small pink pad in the middle, forcing the claws to come out.

“I’ll take you to get your claws trimmed when I have time,” Yu Linfei said to the sleeping cat. “Just in case you scratch me. If I get angry…”

What would happen if he got angry? Yu Linfei didn’t even know. He only knew that if he truly got angry, it wouldn’t be a pleasant thing. After all, everyone who had seen him angry never wanted to see it again.

“Well then, little cat, goodnight.” He gave the cat’s paw a tiny kiss and stood up. He covered the basket with the blanket and tucked it into the corner of the sofa. He was a little afraid the cat might wake up, climb out, and fall.

The more he thought about the danger, the more worried he got. After a moment, Yu Linfei picked up the basket and walked into his bedroom.

He looked at his king-size bed and placed the basket on his bedside table. If the little cat woke up and tried to climb out, he would notice immediately. Yu Linfei thought it was time to go take a shower.