Chapter 7: So Fierce

As the drowsiness drained away, Lu Nan took in his surroundings and slowly came back to himself. So they were all café cats—fellow workers, brothers and sisters in fur. He stretched, then tilted his head and rubbed up against the ragdoll girl grooming herself beside him. Who could resist a fluffy little thing? Nobody. Even as a cat now, he couldn't fight the human instinct to pet.

He enjoyed the rub; the little ragdoll did not. She whipped her head around and chomped down on him. Lu Nan yowled and sprang away, then heard her cursing him out at length. He couldn't understand cat, though. He licked his fur—a little self-medicating—and sighed inwardly. No need to guess: the little lady was calling him a disgusting pervert, wasn't she.

"Tsk. Pretty foul language, too." Xu Zhiyang smiled faintly and came over to help Liang Zhecheng pull the two cats apart.

"How are you this quarrelsome, huh?" Liang Zhecheng, Lu Nan in his arms, couldn't help planting a kiss on him—and got bitten on the spot, no surprise there. The little hothead had been looking for an outlet anyway.

Held in Liang Zhecheng's arms, Lu Nan's face kept drifting toward Xu Zhiyang. However he looked at it, Xu Zhiyang was simply too beautiful, and since he rarely smiled, he carried a certain cold aloofness—like some god who'd never tasted mortal food.

Liang Zhecheng stuffed his head back against his chest, a little jealous. "Stop eyeing him. He's spoken for. And he has a whole roomful of cats—didn't you see? You've got me to ogle. I only have one treasure, and it's you."

Lu Nan sucked in a breath. Where did this guy even learn these corny pickup lines? How was he not embarrassed?

The store they were headed to was a big pet supplies shop. Two humans and one cat, driving: Liang Zhecheng at the wheel, Xu Zhiyang in the back with Lu Nan on his lap. Downtown, a red light every thirty seconds, traffic crawling. Lu Nan poked his little head out to watch the street life, occasionally ducking into Xu Zhiyang's arms when a horn blared, occasionally sneaking peeks at Liang Zhecheng's back as he drove. Mulling over the past couple of days, he decided Liang Zhecheng was actually a pretty decent guy.

The trip ate up most of the afternoon. Lu Nan couldn't help thinking: if Liang Zhecheng ever got married and had kids, he'd absolutely be the doting type.

Anything Lu Nan showed the slightest liking for, Liang Zhecheng bought without exception. By the time they left, the trunk was stuffed full. Xu Zhiyang gave a rather helpless smile. "You really don't need this much. How long would it take him to eat through all this? Play through it?"

"It's fine. If he likes it, let him have it. Whatever my boy wants, Daddy provides. My son may lack a lot of things, but money isn't one of them. He's got to be raised rich!"

Lu Nan's big eyes blinked and shone. The look he gave Liang Zhecheng now carried an extra layer of awe. The sudden wealth he'd been wishing for had come true in the weirdest possible form. He wanted to ask heaven and earth: who could resist hearing that? So gutsy. So magnetic.

And so, for once in his life, Lu Nan tilted his head up, narrowed his eyes, and comfortably rubbed his cheek against Liang Zhecheng's hand, thinking: if I were a woman, I'd seriously consider marrying you.

"All right, rich upbringing it is." Xu Zhiyang nodded, respectful and understanding.

"When's your Yan coming?" Liang Zhecheng crouched on the floor, petting the little cat he'd dolled up till he looked extra pretty. He was a little tomcat, but as of right now...

A pink bow was tied around his neck, another on his tail, both trimmed with white lace. Very pretty. All because Lu Nan had glanced at the bows one extra time, and Liang Zhecheng had somehow taken that as proof he loved them. At first Lu Nan had refused—shameful! He was a grown man; what kind of man wore a pink bow? But the moment he saw the price tag: wear it. He was wearing the pink bow. Several thousand yuan, and he was going to be picky? From now on he'd walk with his chest out and chin up, his whole bearing shouting one thing: your grandpa is rich.

"Soon. Give it three or four minutes." Xu Zhiyang checked his phone again. Lu Nan had noticed that whenever Yan Anqing came up, that keep-away-from-me frostiness on Xu Zhiyang seemed to thaw quite a bit; he became easier to approach, and even his gaze went gentle.

Yan Anqing arrived a minute earlier than he'd said. Plain white shirt, black trousers, hair combed back with a little product—the very picture of a grown man's charm.

Lu Nan smacked his lips watching him. He looked at Yan Anqing, then Xu Zhiyang, then Liang Zhecheng, and couldn't help marveling: you city folks even screen your friends by face? Everyone this good-looking—were you all about to debut as idols?

"What a pretty little cat." Professor Yan had been off teaching his afternoon class; this was his first time seeing the kitten. He reached out for a couple of pets, eyes crinkling. "Hello, kitten. What's your name?"

Lu Nan shrank his neck as if shy, eyes narrowed to slits, fluffy fur brushing softly against the man's palm.

"Hey, hey, hey—what do you think you're doing? Hands off, move along, the kid's father is right here. No manhandling my son." Liang Zhecheng shooed him away, silently fuming. What is with this little guy? Sweet as pie to everyone, and a little tyrant only to me—bites, kicks, slaps. Won't let me touch him, won't let me kiss him. Would it kill him to remember who his wealthy benefactor is?

Thanks to that wronged look on Liang Zhecheng's handsome face, Lu Nan felt 0.1 seconds of guilt. For an instant he wondered if he'd been too hard on the man—after all, Liang Zhecheng was the benefactor who'd saved his life. But the guilt evaporated fast. Guilty about what? He had his reasons too.

"I'm not like you, kissing me and hugging me all day, sniffing me like a maniac, touching me, and—and—and... groping my balls while I sleep! Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying!" At the thought, Lu Nan seethed and ached all at once, yowling and baring his teeth, though his eyes went glassy and wet, the very picture of pitiful. He was the wronged one here!

"I was a maiden in my prime, and you just... groped me!" A single tear plopped out, and the fur around his eyes went damp.

"Eh? What's this? Crying now? Feeling guilty? It's fine, Daddy doesn't blame you." Liang Zhecheng assumed his cat had finally learned to feel for him. His heart went soft, and he chuckled and patted Lu Nan's head.

Xu Zhiyang's "he doesn't exactly look guilty to me" never made it out of his mouth, because Liang Zhecheng let out a howl. Yep—bit again.

"Well, well. Never knew your little cat was this fierce with you." Yan Anqing watched from the sidelines like it was dinner theater, twisting the knife in Liang Zhecheng's fragile heart. "Liang Zhecheng, you've lost your touch. You've got no magnetism."

Fortunately, Liang Zhecheng was built of reinforced steel; the knife bounced right off, and he moved straight to his own defense.

"What would you know? A bite is a kiss, a scolding is love. Look—he doesn't deign to bite or kick any of you. What does that tell you? It means he loves me! My son is noble. My Mimi's Shadowless Kick is not for just anyone to enjoy." Liang Zhecheng snorted, refusing to be outdone.

"You've lost it." Yan Anqing shrugged. "Come on, let's go."

Dusk hadn't fallen yet. The slanting sun spread across the sky, bleeding out a wash of red like an ink-wash painting—so soft, so romantic.

They ate at the seaside. Not far off, people were playing beach volleyball; farther out, the water was full of swimmers and splashers. In front of them, a little grill perfumed the air with barbecue smoke, draft beer brimming in the glasses. For a moment everyone felt years younger.

Lu Nan genuinely loved the seaside. He'd grown up poor, with no money and hardly any chances to travel, but living near the coast, he'd always been able to come look at the sea—vast, wide, as if it could hold every worry he had and smooth away every trouble, just like the song said: the sea can wash all sorrows away. And, most important of all: it was free.

Xu Zhiyang sat in a beach chair, watching Lu Nan go wild in the sand, and remarked mildly, "I've heard cats think a place like this is one giant litter box. So right now, does he think he's touring a toilet museum?"

Lu Nan: "..."

He tucked in his little feet and inched closer to Liang Zhecheng, meek as anything, and everyone burst out laughing.