Rebirth: Using Love as an Excuse for Cruelty - Chapter 9

After eating, I squatted on the sofa for a short nap.

Wen Cheng rested his head on his front paws and squinted his eyes to doze off.

After Yu Linfei finished washing the dishes, he sat down next to Wen Cheng. He picked him up, holding him in his arms, and scratched his fluffy chin.

Wen Cheng squinted his eyes until they were just lines, feeling very comfortable. He made a purring sound, which made Yu Linfei’s heart feel very soft.

“Gosh, where you are going to sleep tonight is a real problem.” Yu Linfei glanced at the failed cat bed in the corner. He couldn’t hide the smile in his eyes. “Do you want to sleep with me?”

“Meow-woo.” When he heard this, Wen Cheng’s relaxed nerves suddenly became tight. His body went stiff. He looked like he was terrified of sleeping with Yu Linfei.

Yu Linfei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this strong reaction. For the first time, he doubted his own charm. What exactly did he do to make his cat hate him so much?

“Do you really hate me that much?” He couldn’t help lifting the cat up to his face, staring into those watery golden eyes. “What did I even do…?”

Wen Cheng silently moved his eyes away. He thought: You killed me.

“…Hey, say something, Blacky.” Seeing that his cat was staring sideways and refused to look him in the eye, Yu Linfei actually wondered for a second if he had met a cat demon. “You won’t look at me? Do you have a guilty conscience?”

“Meow meow meow!” A string of soft, tiny meows came out of Wen Cheng’s mouth. Yu Linfei admitted… he was being stupid. Trying to argue with a cat that can’t speak human language… was he possessed?

“Alright, alright!” Yu Linfei pulled Wen Cheng into his arms and gave up on talking to him. “If you won’t sleep with me, sleep on the sofa. Choose for yourself.”

Hmph, I’d rather sleep on the floor than with you! Wen Cheng raised his head proudly.

“I don’t want to sleep with you anyway.” Since the cat rejected him, Yu Linfei started making excuses to reject the cat. “A dirty cat like you probably has parasites or even fleas!”

“…MEOW MEOW!!” His pride challenged again, Wen Cheng lost his temper. He used all his strength to jump from Yu Linfei’s hands and lunged at him. And then…

And then he got stuck on Yu Linfei’s sweater.

Because he wasn’t strong enough, Wen Cheng only reached Yu Linfei’s chest. Unfortunately, he was “stuck” to the wool of the sweater and couldn’t move at all.

“Hahaha…” Yu Linfei burst out laughing at this silly sight. He didn’t look like an elegant gentleman at all. He pulled Wen Cheng off the sweater, stood up, and started spinning around while holding the cat…

Only a very childish person would do this, Wen Cheng thought. As Yu Linfei laughed loudly, a dizzy Wen Cheng was put back on the ground. His legs felt completely soft. He stumbled with every step, seeing colorful stars in front of his eyes. He couldn’t help making strange “meow~ meow~” sounds.

“Stop, I’m going to die laughing, hahaha…” Yu Linfei laughed until he had tears in his eyes. He sat directly on the floor, pulled Wen Cheng close, and gave him a big kiss on the forehead. “Blacky, you are too cute!!”

“Meow meow! (You’re the cute one! Your whole family is cute!)” Wen Cheng was truly angry!!

“Hmm, what should we have for dinner?” Yu Linfei lay back on the carpeted floor and looked at the ceiling, talking to himself. “How about we eat fish?”

There was no answer, of course.

Wen Cheng had decided!! Instead of being tortured to death by Yu Linfei, he was going to run away from home!! Run away, aaaaaah!!!

Just as Yu Linfei was about to keep playing with Wen Cheng, a phone call broke the happy mood. The smile left Yu Linfei’s face the moment he saw the caller ID. He returned to his usual elegant… or rather, cold self.

“Hello.” He picked up the phone. He looked at Wen Cheng, who was pouting in the corner of the sofa, and his mouth curved up slightly.

“I know.” No matter what the person on the other end said, Yu Linfei’s voice suddenly became very cold. “I’ll try.”

“I don’t want to argue with you, really.” Wen Cheng was surprised to hear Yu Linfei speak this way. He looked up. The smile on Yu Linfei’s face had turned into a blank expression. “It’s no use telling me this now. I can only say I’ll try. I don’t want to fight with you. Fighting only makes us believe we are right even more, doesn’t it?”

…Hearing this, a thought popped into Wen Cheng’s head that he couldn’t believe.

“Baiqing Meng.” Yu Linfei seemed to lose his last bit of patience. He was almost laughing coldly. “Do you think I’m the kind of fool who lets people cheat on me? I spoiled you because I liked you. Now I don’t like you anymore. What right do you have to ask me to be kind to you?”

Baiqing Meng! Those three words hit Wen Cheng’s head like a bolt of lightning. His eyes showed disbelief as he continued to listen to the conversation in shock.

“Baiqing Meng.” Seeming disgusted by the other person’s nagging, Yu Linfei said each word slowly: “We. Are. Broken. Up. Understand? Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me. So, please don’t call me again.”

Then, Yu Linfei hung up the phone.

Wen Cheng’s mind felt like it snapped along with the phone call. He heard that name clearly: Baiqing Meng.

Who was Baiqing Meng? If Wen Cheng were still alive, he would hate hearing that name. The reason was simple: Baiqing Meng was Yu Linfei’s ex-lover.

He was a young man with a delicate face and a smile sweeter than honey.

To put it simply, Wen Cheng felt very insecure in front of Baiqing Meng. Even though Wen Cheng had a good family and a personality that people praised, he didn’t have many other special qualities.

He didn’t have Baiqing Meng’s beautiful face or his charming style. He also didn’t know how to be clever like him. Looking only at appearance, Wen Cheng and Baiqing Meng weren’t even on the same level.

Even though Baiqing Meng’s family wasn’t as rich as Wen Cheng’s, it wasn’t bad. Comparing the two, Wen Cheng could only smile bitterly.

Wen Cheng never understood why Yu Linfei chose him and left Baiqing Meng. But later, he stopped thinking about it. Wen Cheng, who was always a bit simple-minded, felt that as long as Yu Linfei was with him, that was enough. Why think so much? Even if he did, it wouldn’t change anything. If he had him, he was lucky; if he lost him, it was fate.

But today, hearing that name made Wen Cheng break into a cold sweat because he thought of a scary possibility. Was his death related to Baiqing Meng?

But listening to Yu Linfei’s tone, it didn’t sound like he wanted to get back together with Baiqing Meng. And then there was that woman Qin Xin who came over today. Wen Cheng felt like he was missing something very important.

“So disgusting!” Yu Linfei muttered after hanging up. He laughed coldly to himself. “I don’t have the habit of picking up things that other people have already chewed on.”

“Right, Blacky?” He looked back at Wen Cheng in the corner of the sofa. Yu Linfei smiled gently again. “Wouldn’t it be great if you were a person? Everything about you would be mine, and I could give you everything. Wouldn’t two people be very happy that way? Tell me, how disgusting would it be to touch something others have already touched?”

Wen Cheng listened and stayed silent. He realized that from the beginning, he had underestimated Yu Linfei’s desires and methods. He had been spoiled so much by this man that he forgot who he was. By the time he remembered, it was time to pay the price. Yu Linfei was a wild wolf that could never be tamed, and he was, at most, a kitten that hadn’t finished nursing.

“Blacky, should I make fish for you tonight?” Yu Linfei leaned his chin on his hand. He seemed to be talking to himself more than to Wen Cheng. “Do you like it spicy? Hmm… I should put in less salt.”

Wen Cheng couldn’t answer the question. He lazily moved his tail and looked at Yu Linfei’s face, licking his lips.

He was surprised that when he looked at Yu Linfei, he didn’t feel as much hate as he expected. It was as if he already knew this would be their ending. Or rather, Wen Cheng knew deep down that Yu Linfei never really belonged to him.

How could a man like this—who stood out even when he was silent—be a lifelong partner for someone ordinary like him? What power did he have to keep Yu Linfei? What right did he have to enjoy his endless love? Wen Cheng had felt hate and anger when he was killed, but now, that anger had unexpectedly turned into calm.

Because deep down, Wen Cheng still loved Yu Linfei. Even when the man killed him, he made excuses for him. One moment of evil wasn’t enough to erase all the kindness Yu Linfei had shown him. Wen Cheng thought: In some ways, I’m really pathetic!

“Is Blacky in a bad mood?” Seeing his cat suddenly go quiet, Yu Linfei asked.

Wen Cheng didn’t answer. He jumped off the sofa.

“Are you showing me that you’re unhappy?” Yu Linfei watched as Wen Cheng wiggled his round little butt and walked into the bedroom. Then, the cat closed the bedroom door.

“He Yi, did you really give me a cat demon?” Seeing this, Yu Linfei was completely speechless.