Chapter 32

Chapter 32 — First published on Jinjiang Literature City

“Lili.”

Xie Chen’s throat tightened as he met the teary eyes of the little kitten, for the first time feeling a bit unsure of himself.

He had never raised a cat before and didn’t know that teasing a cat’s tail could cause this kind of situation.

“Does it hurt?”

He leaned in, wanting to rub the little guy’s tail, but the kitten, having just been teased, saw his hand reaching over and quickly hugged its tail protectively.

“Meow, meow meow!!”

The tail still hurts!

Bai Li whimpered in a sobbing tone, feeling both wronged and angry as he complained. He had bitten down with all his strength, and at that moment, he hadn’t even realized it was his own tail.

“Ahem.”

Xie Chen awkwardly glanced at the tail the kitten was clutching and cleared his throat.

“It was my fault.”

Able to yield and bend when needed, Xie Chen, in order to gain the little kitten’s forgiveness, apologized in a low voice: “I just thought Lili’s tail looked really nice, so I shook it a bit.”

“Lili accidentally biting his tail is all my fault.”

His tone was sincere — even while apologizing, he praised Bai Li’s tail for being beautiful.

The little kitten, who had rarely been angry, was gradually pacified, the indignation on his furry face visibly fading.

Xie Chen picked the kitten up entirely. Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one else in the office, he set aside his pride and continued coaxing the sore-tailed kitten.

“We’ll go buy toys right now — teaser wands, scratching boards — we’ll put them all in the office for Lili to play with.”

It had to be said, Xie Chen’s fine voice really did give him an advantage when coaxing a cat.

The voice-controlled little kitten listened to his pleasant voice, glanced at his handsome face, and after a moment, buried his head into Xie Chen’s neck — a clear signal of reconciliation.

Xie Chen felt the warm temperature at his neck and let out a breath of relief.

Thankfully, the little guy wasn’t like him — he didn’t hold grudges.

Not long after.

When Anna came to deliver the food, she saw the little kitten lying on Xie Chen’s shoulder, watching a video together with him.

“Meow meow.”Ultraman is fun to watch.

The tablet had been recharged by Xie Chen, who was now watching Ultraman — something he hadn’t watched in forever — with Bai Li as an act of atonement.

“Boss.”

Anna brought in the food and thoughtfully unwrapped everything.

“Enjoy your meal.”

With that, Anna, knowing the rules, turned and left, even gently pulling the door shut behind her on the way out.

Smelling the delicious aroma of the food, Bai Li quickly climbed down from Xie Chen’s shoulder.

“Meow!” Sir, I’d like some food.

Bai Li slid onto the table, looked up, and meowed in a pleading tone.

Xie Chen raised an eyebrow. “You can eat this food?”

“I can, I can.”

Bai Li didn’t hide anything from Xie Chen. He answered honestly, “I just can’t take human form like Third Brother, but I can eat.”

Third Brother — can become human.

Xie Chen had already picked up on it from Bai Li’s earlier words. The cats in his family could take on human forms. It was just that this little kitten, Bai Li, was an exception.

He couldn’t transform.

Upon learning this, Xie Chen somehow felt both relieved and a little regretful.

No doubt about it — he really liked this little kitten. If it had been a boy he encountered at the start, he absolutely wouldn’t have bothered, much less brought him home.

It was precisely because Bai Li was just a little kitten that Xie Chen had taken him in.

Xie Chen didn’t like being close to people — he didn’t need ambiguous closeness either.

The little kitten, however, perfectly fulfilled his preferences.

But lately, that clear, youthful voice he could hear through Bai Li’s meows had inexplicably stirred Xie Chen’s curiosity.

He wanted to know — if Lili could transform, would he be just as he imagined…

“Meow.”

Sir.

Unable to get any food, Bai Li scratched gently at the back of Xie Chen’s hand — without using his claws.

Called back to reality by the meow, Xie Chen lowered his gaze to the little kitten asking for just a bit of food.

He patted the kitten’s head, took the little bowl Bai Li had brought today, gave it a rinse, and began serving him food.

There were plenty of dishes, but only one portion of rice.Xie Chen scooped all the rice into Bai Li’s bowl. Then he stepped out of the office—not bothering Anna—and personally went to the cafeteria to get two more portions of rice.

He got two portions just in case a certain little rice-devouring kitten didn’t have enough to eat.

With all the dishes ready, Xie Chen mixed everything Bai Li had pointed to with his paw. Even the shrimp with shells were peeled and fed to him directly.

“Delicious!”

Bai Li immediately fell in love with the braised shrimp. He leaned over and meowed, “Sir, feed me another one.”

By the end of the small plate of shrimp, Xie Chen hadn’t eaten a single one himself.

Bai Li had wanted to offer him some, but Xie Chen simply declined in a calm voice: “I don’t feel like eating shrimp right now.”

After finishing several dishes and a portion of rice, Bai Li lay sprawled out on Xie Chen’s desk, belly up.

His little tummy was round and bulging—poke it, and the little kitten would let out a squeaky noise.

But you couldn’t poke too much. Do it too many times and he’d grab your finger and bite it.

Xie Chen teased the belly-up kitten for a while. Seeing it was still early, he simply picked him up and went to the lounge for a nap.

The lounge was simply furnished, just a bed, a table, and a wardrobe.

Bai Li, full and drowsy, was laid down on the bed, and not long after, started softly snoring.

Seeing him sleeping so soundly, Xie Chen closed his eyes for a light nap as well.

All afternoon, Bai Li clung to Xie Chen more than usual—perhaps afraid he’d disappear again like in the morning.

“Boss.”

Anna, dressed sharply, entered the office again: “It’s 4:20. You have an off-site meeting scheduled—with President Lin and President Zhu.”

Xie Chen gave a quiet “Mm”: “Got it.”

Anna glanced at the little kitten playing on the tablet on Xie Chen’s lap and couldn’t help but ask, “Boss, are you bringing the cat with you?”

Xie Chen nodded. “Yes.”

Anna reminded him, “I’ve seen friends who keep cats—many cats get stressed in unfamiliar places. If you bring him, won’t it—”

“No.”

Xie Chen replied calmly, “He’s not afraid of people.”

The little guy used to carry seafood around to make deliveries—he’s seen plenty of people.

Hearing that, Anna said no more and quietly stepped out.

The rain had eased up a bit during the day, but the temperature had dropped.

By around four, the wind suddenly picked up outside—chill and biting against the face.When Bai Li was carried out by Xie Chen, the moment they stepped outside the company, his chubby little body shivered from the wind.

“Meow aow.”

So cold.

The chilled little kitten twisted his head in Xie Chen’s arms and burrowed straight into his suit jacket.

Xie Chen held the umbrella with one hand and the kitten with the other. Seeing this, he indulgently let him squeeze into the jacket, pressing close to his chest.

The car was parked right at the entrance. The driver, knowing there was a cat, had already turned up the temperature inside without needing instructions from Xie Chen.

“Sir, please get in.”

The driver opened the car door and didn’t start driving until Xie Chen got in.

“Lili, it’s not cold anymore.”

Inside the car, Xie Chen closed the umbrella, settled in, and looked down at the little kitten nestled inside his jacket.

Bai Li was pressed against his chest, only a small head poking out, clearly still reluctant to come out.

He blinked as he listened to Xie Chen’s heartbeat and stared up at him.

“Meow, meow meow.”

Sir, your heart beats so slowly.

Hearing that, Xie Chen pulled the kitten out and placed his large hand against the kitten’s chest.

Sure enough—

The kitten’s heartbeat was nearly twice as fast as his.

“Yeah, it’s really slow.” Xie Chen ruffled the kitten’s head and casually said, “Lili, sing me a cat song, then my heart will beat faster.”

“Really?” Bai Li asked curiously.

“Really.”

And Xie Chen wasn’t just saying it to fool him. Bai Li’s little cat songs, his meowing, sounded adorable. But underneath those meows, only Xie Chen could hear the underlying youthful voice — to Xie Chen, it was pure heaven.

He loved listening to it.

No matter which voice it was, he loved it all.

Bai Li, happily flattered, didn’t get stage fright. Sitting on Xie Chen’s lap, he tilted his head up and started meowing loudly.

Up front, the driver gripped the steering wheel while the kitten’s meows echoed in his ears.

Strangely, he felt like the knots of stress and frustration in his heart had started to ease.

But how could that be possible…

Lately, he had tried everything to improve his mood — meeting friends, going for runs alone, trying every method to decompress — and yet his emotions had remained heavy.He almost wanted to ask Sir for a leave to see if something was wrong with him psychologically, but unexpectedly, now he suddenly felt like he was fine.

The driver had the thought of recording the kitten's song to play it for his daughter later, but since Sir was present, he didn’t dare.

The car drove at a steady pace, and by the time they arrived at the destination, Bai Li had just finished singing two kitten songs. Worried his throat might be dry, Xie Chen had opened a box of goat milk and was feeding it to him.

Bai Li had a bit of a reaction to goat milk.

Every time he drank it, he felt dizzy, like when Sixth Brother secretly got drunk in the past.

But goat milk tasted really good. Bai Li shook his head and didn’t tell Xie Chen he was feeling dizzy—he focused on finishing the whole box of milk.

Once they got out of the car—

Someone came over with an umbrella to greet them. Bai Li hadn’t finished his milk, so he hugged it with his little paws and didn’t burrow back into Xie Chen’s jacket.

“Lili, behave yourself in a bit.”

Xie Chen lowered his eyes and gave the little one a reminder as he drank his milk.

Bai Li meowed in response, indicating he understood.

The golden clubhouse in front of them was the same one Bai Li had visited last time. He twitched his nose, trying to sniff out if there was any scent of the black-footed cat bro.

Xie Chen carried him in and quickly entered one of the private rooms.

Inside were President Lin and President Zhu. When President Lin saw Xie Chen come in, he smiled and greeted him warmly.

“President Xie, have a seat.”

There was a possibility for cooperation among the three, but nothing had been finalized yet. This meeting was meant to further discuss things.

The golden clubhouse was considered a top-tier networking venue in City A. Xie Chen had been there a few times before.

President Lin was a playful yet clever second-generation heir, currently involved in the tech industry.

“The little genius I sponsored is about to return to the country and work at my base.”

As they chatted, President Lin took the opportunity to show off his prodigy.

The genius youth was named Bai Liu, nineteen and a half years old, a legendary figure in physics and mechanics, winning awards left and right for his published papers.

It was said that such a genius had once been very poor, from a remote mountain village, unable to even afford school.

At the time, young rich heir Lin had taken a liking to Bai Liu and casually offered him some support.

Unexpectedly, Bai Liu turned out to be truly brilliant. Ever since he started school, it was like he had entered cheat mode.

There was a period when President Lin was obsessed with science fiction, and he even half-jokingly asked Bai Liu in private whether he had come from the future.

Bai Liu merely glanced at him and said indifferently, “No. My abilities are nothing special. I’m not even as good as that Dr. Allen you’ve been mentioning so much lately.”

President Lin was immediately displeased: “Xiao Liu, how can you think that way? Dr. Allen is way older than you. At your age, he was nowhere near where you are now.”Bai Liu lowered his gaze, his long, dense lashes fluttering like feathers, and his tone was downcast.

“I heard Dr. Allen say that when he was nineteen, he won an even more prestigious award. I guess I’m still not talented enough—I can’t compare to Dr. Allen.”

President Lin: “……”

President Lin frowned slightly, and a thought formed in his mind.

For Bai Liu to say something like that, it was obvious that Allen must’ve said something inappropriate.

“Xiao Liu, you’re amazing. You must never undervalue yourself, understand?”

After encouraging Bai Liu, President Lin still felt it wasn’t enough. He even doubled Bai Liu’s pay for the work he did, and at the same time, he found Allen increasingly unpleasant.

A man of that age—why was he still picking on the younger generation? Especially someone like Bai Liu, who was not only a genius but also good-natured and humble.

Utterly unreasonable.

“Congratulations, President Lin.”

Xie Chen said casually, “I heard that young prodigy is still quite young. Once he matures a bit more, I expect he’ll achieve even greater things.”

President Lin laughed heartily. “I think so too. When the time comes, I’ll introduce him to you all.”

“Alright.”

Xie Chen was indeed interested in meeting the genius youth funded by President Lin.

The conversation among the three wasn’t something Bai Li was paying attention to.

Xie Chen had placed him on his lap, stretching out one hand for him to play with—specifically, the hand with the ring.

After finishing the goat milk, Bai Li put the empty carton to the side. Now, he was obediently playing with Xie Chen’s large hand.

Xie Chen’s fingers were long and elegant, and on his ring finger was the sparkly ring Bai Li had given him. Bai Li couldn’t get enough of looking at it.

“Meow.”

The little kitten, feeling a bit dizzy but sensing it wasn’t a big problem, rubbed his face against Xie Chen’s hand and gave a soft meow.

Hearing it, Xie Chen looked down at him.

And when he did, he noticed something wasn’t quite right.

The kitten’s eyes seemed a little dazed.

President Zhu, who rarely spoke, chatted briefly with Xie Chen and then also glanced at the kitten on his lap.

He chuckled. “President Xie’s cat seems quite interesting.”

Not afraid of people, not noisy—well-behaved and pretty.

Even he, someone who didn’t keep cats, felt the urge to give it a few pets.

Xie Chen waved his hand in front of Bai Li’s eyes, then held up two fingers.“Lili, how many fingers is this?”

Bai Li tilted his head, his damp eyes filled with confusion. “Meow.”

It’s sir’s beautiful hand.

Xie Chen: “……”

Xie Chen changed the question and asked again, “Where are we right now?”

The dizzy little kitten thought hard for a few seconds, then gave an answer—

“We’re in my dream.”

Xie Chen stared blankly at the now-empty goat milk carton.

Alright then.

No wonder the little one always loved to nap after drinking goat milk. Once, his paws even floated a bit, and he couldn’t walk straight.

So the culprit was this goat milk.

“Be good, have a proper nap.”

Xie Chen had the driver bring over a blanket from the car. It was a household blanket, clean. Bai Li was placed onto it, still held by Xie Chen, who coaxed him to close his eyes.

President Lin and President Zhu, watching from the side, were curious: “What’s wrong with your cat? Why are you making him sleep?”

Xie Chen replied calmly, “Drunk on milk.”