CAT - 3

Chapter 3

In truth, Yun Xing secretly retracted his claws when he smacked Tan Xu. He only wanted to give the man a little warning, not actually hurt him.

Once, a mother and her son had come to the temple. When the little boy tried to pet Yun Xing, his mother had warned him that if the cat scratched him, he'd have to go to the hospital for an injection.

The moment the boy heard the word "hospital," he burst into tears and wanted nothing to do with Yun Xing.

So Yun Xing knew perfectly well that he couldn't hurt humans.

Tan Xu felt two little smacks land on him.

They didn't hurt at all. He could tell the kitten had been holding back. If anything, the soft fur brushing against him felt a little ticklish, and he couldn't help chuckling.

The moment Yun Xing heard him laugh, he immediately looked up at Tan Xu.

Human, don't think I didn't hear you laughing at me.

It was getting late, and Tan Xu still had work the next day. He bent down and rubbed the kitten's head.

“I'm heading home now. I'll come see you again next time.”

At that moment, Tan Xu was already thinking about what he should bring the little calico the next time he visited. He didn't notice that the kitten was rubbing himself against him.

Yun Xing once again deployed his highly effective technique for winning over humans—acting cute. Every ti me he rubbed against people like this, they would clutch their chests in delight.

How could this possibly fail to win you over?

Unfortunately, Tan Xu wasn't paying any attention to him at all. After rubbing against him for a while with absolutely no reaction, Yun Xing grew furious and meowed,

“Can't you show a little respect to your Mountain God?!”

Only then did Tan Xu look down.

He had no choice but to crouch down and pick up the kitten, holding him in his arms.

“What is it, Xiaohua?”

The moment Yun Xing heard that name, his fur stood on end.

He pulled his paws free from between his body and Tan Xu's arm and immediately smacked Tan Xu twice.

I told you! I'm not Xiaohua!

When Tan Xu prepared to leave, Yun Xing began plotting how he could secretly follow him home.

It was already quite late, and there were far fewer visitors on the mountain. Scattered groups of people passed by the man and cat, many of them sneaking glances at the famous little internet celebrity cat.

Yun Xing ignored all their attention.

His eyes remained fixed on Tan Xu.

After put ting the little calico down, Tan Xu said a quick goodbye and prepared to leave.

But then he noticed something. Every time he took one step, the little calico took one step too.

Tan Xu found it amusing, so he deliberately slowed down. Every time he took a step, he would turn around and glance at the kitten.

Whenever Yun Xing noticed Tan Xu watching him, he would deliberately pretend nothing was happening.

Every time Tan Xu turned around, Yun Xing would look from side to side as though he just happened to be going in the same direction.

As he pretended to casually pass by for the tenth time, he finally couldn't take it anymore.

He glared at Tan Xu and meowed angrily,

“What are you looking at?! Is this road yours or something?!”

Tan Xu heard the kitten start meowing again and felt somewhat puzzled. He still couldn't understand animal language.

It reminded him of those bloggers online who claimed they could understand what animals were saying. He had always assumed they were frauds, but now he found himself wishing one of them were here to figure out exactly what this little calico was saying.

Seeing Tan Xu looking thoughtful, Yun Xing proudly raised his tail. And so, he followed Tan Xu all the way down the mountain.

But once they reached the foot of the mountain, Tan Xu stopped.

To avoid being discovered, Yun Xing had deliberately taken the path through the woods beside the stone steps.

Fortunately, he had spent plenty of time weaving through bushes back on Mingwu Mountain, so he wasn't going to get lost.

But now that he saw Tan Xu standing at the foot of the mountain fiddling with his phone, Yun Xing couldn't help wondering—

Did this human forget how to get home?

Tan Xu hadn't forgotten how to get home. His taxi simply hadn't arrived yet. It had suddenly started raining, and taxis were much harder to find in the rain.

The taxi queue wa s still backed up. Even after accepting his ride, one driver had canceled.

Things were proving so difficult that Tan Xu was beginning to consider simply finding a nearby hotel and spending the night there.

Yun Xing stood behind him for a while, peeking at him from behind a roadside tree. Rainwater dripped from the branches above onto his fur.

Yun Xing couldn't help shaking himself. His fur felt terribly uncomfortable when it was wet. 

It was getting later and later. Tan Xu silently pulled up the hood of his jacket.

He still had class tomorrow. If he took the day off, his professor would deduct points from his participation grade.

Getting sick now simply wasn't worth it. Tan Xu checked his phone again. Letting out a sigh at the app showed that there were a large number of people nearby waiting for rides.

He estimated the distance. Wenchang Temple actually wasn't far from his university. If he walked, it would take less than an hour.

The only problem was the drizzle. He had no idea whether the rain would get heavier later.

After thinking it over, Tan Xu stepped backward a few paces and sat down at the bottom of the stone steps.

Just then, his phone rang again. It was his grandmother. She was calling to ask whether he'd made it home yet because it was raining outside.

“I'm home. I didn't get wet,” Tan Xu lied.

Yun Xing watched Tan Xu sitting on the steps and couldn't help creeping out of the bushes. A little cat head suddenly appeared from the grass beside him, startling Tan Xu.

“Why are you here?”

Tan Xu reached out and rubbed the kitten's head. The little cat's fur was completely soaked.

“Who are you talking to?” his grandmother's voice came through the phone. “Xiao Xu, you haven't gotten home yet, have you?”

Tan Xu quickly replied, “I have. I'm home. Don't worry.”

The elderly woman was about to say something else when a cat meowed .

“You have a cat?”

Tan Xu answered, “Something like that. I'll show him to you when I get the chance.”

His grandmother seemed distracted by the new topic.

“That's good. Having a little cat or dog to keep you company is better than coming home to an empty house all by yourself.”

Tan Xu readily agreed.

Then a notification popped up on his phone: Your driver has arrived.

He hurriedly said, “I'll hang up now. I still have class tomorrow.”

After ending the call, Tan Xu looked at the soaked little kitten in front of him.

“Did you come looking for me?”

Yun Xing meowed.

Obviously.

Tan Xu reached into the weeds and picked up the little calico. The kitten had followed him even through the rain.

Without giving it much thought, Tan Xu carried him into the car. As for everything else, he could explain it to the abbot the next time he visited the temple.

The driver was startled when he saw the cat in Tan Xu's arms.

“You found him on the mountain?”

Tan Xu thought about it. He wasn't quite sure whether the kitten counted as a temple cat or a stray.

Yun Xing gave a little grunt in response. 

The driver immediately laughed.

“This little guy is pretty smart. He even understands what people are saying.”

Tan Xu couldn't help smiling at that. Yun Xing knew the driver was praising him and proudly shook his body.

Tan Xu had bought his home near the university. He wasn't particularly fond of socializing either.

When students were allowed to move out of the dorms during the second semester of their freshman year, he'd immediately submitted an application.

Most relationships in university were superficial anyway. And with someone as quiet as Tan Xu, his classmates considered it a sign of good manners if they didn't call him stuck-up behind his back.

The only person who could really be considered his friend was his roommate of the past six months.

Yun Xing, meanwhile, was determined to maintain his status as the emperor of the household.

Tan Xu didn't put him down once during the entire ride, and Yun Xing was more than happy to enjoy the treatment.

When they arrived, Yun Xing watched Tan Xu press a button beside a metal door.

The button immediately lit up red.

This was Yun Xing's first time seeing an elevator, so he couldn't help poking his head out of Tan Xu's arms and looking around curiously.

Suddenly, the metal door made a ding.

Yun Xing jumped in fright.

“Meow!”

Tan Xu immediately became concerned, thinking the kitten had gotten startled.

“We'll be home soon.”

After being carried into the elevator, Yun Xing curiously looked around. He hadn't expected the little box inside the metal door to be made of metal too.

As he was examining his surroundings, a little cat head suddenly appeared beside him.

Yun Xing nearly jumped out of his fur. There was another cat in front of him. It was a beautiful calico too.

But Yun Xing firmly believed that he was the most beautiful cat in the entire world.

He bared his teeth at the other cat. The other cat bared its teeth right back.

Yun Xing became angry. He started meowing furiously at it.

Tan Xu was drawn by the commotion and finally realized that Yun Xing had somehow gotten into an argument with his own reflection in the mirror.

“Xiaohua, that's a mirror.”

Tan Xu rubbed the kitten's head and couldn't help laughing.

“What is a mirror?”

Yun Xing stared at the calico in front of him.

Then he followed its gaze upward—

And saw a person who looked exactly like Tan Xu.

Two Tan Xus!

Seeing the kitten looking startled again, Tan Xu patiently explained,

“That's you.”

Yun Xing was confused. He had never encountered anything like a mirror before.

Back on the mountain, he usually groomed himself while looking at his reflection in a stream.

But since Tan Xu said this was him, and since he could see both himself and Tan Xu in it...

Perhaps this was simply a particularly clear stream.

When they reached Tan Xu's apartment, there was a huge box sitting on the floor outside the door.

Tan Xu opened the door, pressed the switch beside it, and the room immediately lit up. He put Yun Xing down and carried the large box inside.

Yun Xing immediately began inspecting the living room. The color scheme was incredibly dull. Everything was black, white, and gray.

Yun Xing flicked his tail.

Servant, your taste needs some work. More colors obviously make things prettier! How can ev erything be the same color? I don't like it. We're changing all of this.

Before he'd even properly entered the apartment, Yun Xing had already decided that he was going to help Tan Xu redecorate the place.

Tan Xu opened the large box.

Yun Xing immediately jumped onto the sofa and stood on the armrest, stretching his neck to peek inside.

There were all sorts of strange little things inside.

He spotted a bag with a picture of a cat printed on it and naturally assumed that everything in the box had been bought by Tan Xu as offerings for him.

And, in a sense, he wasn't entirely wrong.

While they had been in the taxi, Tan Xu had looked up a well-known pet store nearby. Since Yun Xing had seemed to enjoy the flavor of the cat treat he'd eaten earlier, Tan Xu had bought several more.

There was also pet shampoo, teaser wands, and other supplies. Originally, Tan Xu had planned to research everything online before buying anything.

He hadn't expected to bring Yun Xing home that very night, so he'd simply asked the pet store owner to help him pick out some essentials.

The owner had been very responsible. Tan Xu looked up the cat food brands on his phone, and every one of them had excellent reviews.

The owner had even thrown in some anti-mite and hairball supplements. There weren't many, but it was a thoughtful gesture.

Tan Xu still planned to do more research before buying anything else.

After sorting everything and putting it away, he scooped up the little cat who was still inspecting the apartment and strode into the bathroom.

Yun Xing had gotten soaked in the rain. He definitely needed a bath. And that suited Yun Xing just fine.

He hadn't had anywhere to bathe while staying at the temple. He'd been rolling around on the ground all day, so he was, frankly, filthy.

Tan Xu placed Yun Xing in the bathroom sink.

Yun Xing watched as Tan Xu turned on the faucet and tested the temperature with his hand. He imitated him, raising one paw and placing it beneath the running water.

But the stream simply parted his fur and rolled down the strands.

After letting the water run over him for a while—  Not a single hair was actually wet. Yun Xing couldn't help letting out a confused,

“Meow?”

Tan Xu had expected the little calico to be afraid of water. He hadn't expected the kitten to willingly stick his paw under the faucet.

What a good boy.

Once the temperature felt about right, Tan Xu scooped up some wate r with his hand and poured it over Yun Xing.

Yun Xing shuddered and shook his fur. Then he looked up at Tan Xu. Without a word, he took a few steps backward and positioned himself directly beneath the faucet.

Tan Xu: Was that look... disdain?

Yun Xing felt the water running over his body and, instinctively, shook himself.

Tan Xu had taken off his jacket as soon as he'd entered the apartment. He was only wearing a T-shirt now.

And after Yun Xing gave himself a vigorous shake, Tan Xu's shirt was practically soaked through.​