Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Because he wasn’t allowed to sleep in the bedroom, Bai Li looked listless even while being petted on Xie Chen’s lap.

“Meow.”

I’m sleepy.

Bai Li buried his little head into Xie Chen’s chest, softly meowing.

Xie Chen glanced at the time—it was indeed getting late.

He picked up the little kitten in his arms and handed him to Uncle Xie outside, asking him to put the cat in the cat bed to sleep.

“Mister, good night.”

“Meow.” Good night.

Uncle Xie and the tiny kitten, one big and one small, looked at him and said good night. Xie Chen raised an eyebrow, closed the door, but didn’t lock it.

Without his permission, no one could enter his room anyway, so locking the door made no difference.

“Little kitty…”

In the hallway, Uncle Xie carried Bai Li and walked away, speaking softly as he looked down: “Why do you always try to run out? Is it uncomfortable living here?”

Bai Li looked up: “Meow.”

No, it’s not.

Uncle Xie sighed. After placing the kitten in the bed, he gave him a little food.

Night deepened.

Bai Li once again spent the night working hard to drive away the black mist for Xie Chen. Maybe it was because he’d been kissed in the car before bed, but after finishing the job, Bai Li sat in front of Xie Chen’s handsome face, staring at those pale lips—and kind of wanted another kiss.

“Meow.”

Bai Li stretched out his paw, not to touch Xie Chen’s face, but to gently tap his eyes.

Those eyes left a strong impression in Bai Li’s mind. He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but he always felt like he’d seen them cry before.

After lingering in the bedroom for a while, Bai Li ran back to his cat bed to wait for Uncle Xie to call him for breakfast.

“I packed all these little dried fish in a bag for you. If you insist on running out during the day, I won’t stop you. But make sure to come back at night, okay?”

At the dining table, Uncle Xie tied the bag of dried fish around Bai Li’s neck and spoke to him gently.

Bai Li tilted his head and used his kitty hypnosis technique: “Meow.”I have to work outside to take care of my little brother, so I might not come back every day.

Uncle Xie patted his head, sighing, “Ah, I’ve really come across a little stray cat that doesn’t come home.”

“Just come back whenever you can. I won’t let the security guards stop you,” Uncle Xie made a concession, reminding the little kitten to come back more often.

Bai Li nodded: “Meow.”

Okay! I’ll come back often.

After their discussion, Uncle Xie directly handed Bai Li to Xie Chen, letting him check the kitten before letting him go.

Bai Li, with the dried fish, faced off with the just-awake Xie Chen.

“Meow-woo!”

Bai Li took down the bag of dried fish and pushed it in front of Xie Chen.

Sir, this is for you—dried fish!

Xie Chen glanced at the dried fish and said flatly, “Too greasy. I don’t like it.”

Bai Li scrunched his face, protesting: “Meow.”

It’s not greasy. It’s tasty.

Xie Chen still didn’t want it, but the little kitten who had been repeatedly rejected looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Xie Chen: “……”

Looking at those beautiful, watery eyes—and Uncle Xie standing beside the kitten, silently begging him with his eyes not to be so heartless—Xie Chen finally gave in, acting like a decent person for once.

“Fine.”

He reached out, picked a smaller piece of dried fish, and put it into his mouth.

The dried fish was crispy and well-fried—humans could eat it too, otherwise Uncle Xie wouldn’t have let Bai Li eat it.

Seeing Xie Chen eat a piece, Bai Li happily nuzzled against him.

Back on the mountain, the elders had taught him well—he was a good little cat who liked to share.

After sharing the dried fish, Bai Li had Uncle Xie hang the bag back around his neck.

“Meow-aww.”

Sir, I’m going out to work now.

This time, Bai Li even said goodbye to Xie Chen. Xie Chen’s long, elegant fingers absentmindedly stroked his fur. Upon hearing the reason for going out, he paused slightly, then gave a light “Mm.”

“Go ahead.”

He didn’t ask whether Bai Li would come back. Anyway, the little kitten walked back home every night—he’d see him on the road and just carry him back again.

With a nutritious breakfast in tow, Bai Li didn’t rush back to the hospital. Instead, he placed the dried fish under the overpass.They hadn’t finished the previous batch of dried fish yet—they needed to eat those before touching the new ones.

After over a month of living on the streets, the little kitten had learned how to live frugally.

A little after eight o’clock.

Bai Li arrived at the hospital on time to visit Dian Dian and the others. Doctor Qiu He was, as always, gentle and kind.

“Li Li, from now on they just need to take their medicine. Medication will be a bit cheaper.”

Doctor Qiu He squatted in front of him, patiently explaining the condition of Dian Dian and Da Hui.

Bai Li meowed softly, showing he was listening carefully.

After explaining the next treatment plan in detail and getting Bai Li’s agreement, Qiu He finally stood up.

Outside, pedestrians bustled by. Bai Li took Mei Mei to mop the floor in front of the grocery store.

After finishing, Bai Li sat on the ground and rubbed his face with a paw.

“Mei Mei, we have to look for new work now.”

Now that the grocery store owner had left, he was an unemployed little cat.

Mei Mei, now with cat food to eat and a place to live, felt very secure inside.

He comforted his big brother, “Big brother, we can take our time looking for work. No rush!”

Bai Li meowed, “Mei Mei, as a cat, you need to have a sense of crisis. It’s getting cold soon—under the bridge it’ll be freezing.”

They needed to start gathering warm supplies.

After a good scolding from his big brother, Mei Mei obediently followed him to look for new work.

But it seemed their luck had run out.

Bai Li’s cat hypnosis trick didn’t work at all today, and they didn’t manage to find a new job.

After checking in on Dian Dian and Da Hui, the two unemployed little cats dejectedly returned to the space under the bridge.

“Meow.”

Mei Mei patted Bai Li, “Big brother, let’s split up.”

“You go job hunting tomorrow, and I’ll go rummage through the trash.”

There were lots of things in human trash that could still be used.

Like old blankets humans didn’t want anymore—they could take those back to line their nest.

Bai Li nodded, “Meow-woo.”

Alright, we’ll split up.Since he didn’t have a job, Bai Li didn’t stay out long at night.

This was the third night that Xie Chen hadn’t picked up the little kitten on his way home from work.

A flash of hostility flickered in Xie Chen’s eyes—though it might’ve just been an illusion.

Of course…

While Xie Chen thought he hadn’t seen that chubby little kitten for three days, the kitten himself didn’t feel that way at all.

Every night, outside Xie Chen’s room, there was a little kitten huffing and puffing, trying hard to climb the window.

Time passed little by little.

Dian Dian and Da Hui finally recovered. When they were discharged from the hospital, Doctor Qiu He even gave them deworming treatment for free.

“Meow.”

Doctor Qiu, goodbye.

On the day of discharge, Bai Li led the three kittens behind him and bowed neatly to Doctor Qiu He.

Looking at the little kitten leading the group, Qiu He couldn’t resist taking a photo and setting it as his lock screen.

After leaving the hospital, Bai Li spent a few more days as an unemployed kitten. The money he had saved was now only going out, not coming in.

Fortunately, after spending a bit more, Bai Li found a new job.

The new job was at a private kiln factory, where he left paw prints on the products they made.

It paid daily—fifty yuan a day.

The working hours at the kiln were long. Bai Li stayed there all day, and by the time he went window climbing at night, he was completely exhausted.

Late at night.

Bai Li dragged his tired body back to the space under the bridge. He hadn’t let Mei Mei and the others come to this job. The environment at the kiln wasn’t good. He was a little demon, so it didn’t affect him much, but Mei Mei and the others were just kittens—staying in that kind of place too long wouldn’t be good for them.

When Dian Dian and Da Hui saw him come back, they rubbed their eyes and crawled out of the cardboard box to greet him.

“Meow.”

Big brother.

Bai Li patted each of their heads: “You guys go back to sleep.”

Dian Dian hadn’t been asleep. He looked behind Bai Li, a bit confused: “Meow meow?”

Big brother, why didn’t Mei Mei come back with you?

Bai Li froze for a moment.

“Meow, meow meow.”

Mei Mei didn’t come out with me.Dian Dian was also confused. He shook his head and confirmed, “Mei Mei found a wallet by the roadside today. There were a lot of things in it. He didn’t know what to do, so he went to look for you.”

And he had set off for the kiln factory since the afternoon.

Upon hearing this, Bai Li felt completely off.

From afternoon until now, a lot of time had passed. Mei Mei knew the way. By reason, he should have found him long ago. And if he couldn’t find him and wanted to come back, he should’ve returned to under the bridge earlier.

Mei Mei wouldn’t run around aimlessly or deliberately not return.

Realizing this possibility, Bai Li’s exhaustion was instantly scared away. He called for Dian Dian and Da Hui, and the three kittens all set out to search for Mei Mei.

At the same time—

Xie Chen, who had endured countless window-climbing attempts from a certain little kitten, stood by the window, looking at the strands of white fur that had fallen there. Emotions churned in his eyes.

Aside from the window, he had also found a few stray hairs on his pillow and sheets over the past few days.

His room was always clean, and it had been several days since he last brought that little kitten back. There was no reason for white fur to be there for no reason.

Could it be...

Xie Chen suppressed the speculation in his heart and prepared to wait properly tonight.

Peaceful sleep for several nights in a row, the fur on the window and the bed—could there be some kind of connection?

Xie Chen was a deep thinker. Faced with such abnormalities, what came to his mind wasn’t the possibility that his condition might be improving.

Instead, he wondered what the other party might be after behind all this.

While Xie Chen sat in his room, writing music and keeping an eye on the window, the little kitten who was supposed to be climbing it—Bai Li—had no time to come.

“Meow.”

Big brother, it’s so cold.

The weather was changing, and the temperature at night had dropped. Bai Li shivered and kept walking forward.

“We’ll go back once we find Mei Mei.”

Bai Li comforted Dian Dian and Da Hui behind him, “Mei Mei must be waiting for us too.”

Encouraged by Bai Li, they strained their voices, constantly calling out Mei Mei’s name.

The night was silent.

Their urgent meowing pierced the stillness. Even after their voices had gone hoarse, Bai Li still hadn’t found Mei Mei.

In the distance, there seemed to be the low growl of a stray dog. Dian Dian and Da Hui bristled all over, terrified, but insisted that their big brother walk behind them.