Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“Meow!”

Good morning.

After taking a detour, Bai Li found the pet hospital from yesterday and cheerfully greeted Doctor Qiu He, who was already at the hospital.

Qiu He had been busy calculating something on the computer. Seeing Bai Li, he immediately showed a gentle smile: “Oh, you’re here.”

“Your little brothers just woke up. Go check on them.”

Bai Li nodded and went to the cat nest to see the little brothers staying there.

The IV drip and injections from yesterday were still effective for Dandian and Da Hui; both of them looked noticeably better.

“Meow meow.”

Big brother!

The three little brothers had gotten out of bed and were rolling around on the floor playing. When they saw Bai Li, they all gathered around him, affectionately rubbing against him.

Bai Li waved his paw, telling them to sit properly one by one. Once they were all seated, he placed the little dried fish hanging from his neck in front of them.

“This is breakfast,” Bai Li said. “Come and eat.”

The little dried fish were crispy and crunchy. Dandian and Da Hui, both still sick, ate quite a lot.

The butler had fried too many little dried fish. They didn’t finish the meal, so the leftovers were placed next to Dandian for him to keep.

Dandian and Da Hui still needed IV drips. Doctor Qiu He said they needed to be on the drips for at least three days.

The daily treatment cost was two hundred yuan. Although Master had slipped some money, that money was barely enough to treat Dandian and Da Hui.

Bai Li still had to earn money to support their recovery, as well as pay back Master.

“Meow.”

Bai Li let Dandian and Da Hui play here, then took Meimei and went to find Doctor Qiu He.

Qiu He was already preparing medicine. He shook a medicine bottle and smiled: “I know, I will take good care of them. I’ll continue giving them IV drips later.”

“Meow aow!”

Alright, Meimei and I are heading out now.

Bai Li politely said goodbye to Qiu He and went to find the grocery store to pull the little cart.

Although pulling the little cart was tiring, it was currently the only job Bai Li could find.Work hard, you can still earn a few dozen yuan a day. Work a few more days, and you’ll be able to buy good cat food!

By the roadside, the little cat pulling the cart appeared again, panting as it worked hard.

Inside the villa.

Xie Chen, who had just woken up, pulled back the curtains and looked at the sunlight outside, a faint smile forming at the corner of his lips.

So rare.

He actually had such a good dream.

“Master.”

Xie Bo was surprised to see him so energetic: “You, you yesterday…”

Xie Chen didn’t respond. He changed clothes and came out, his expression unusually relaxed and comfortable.

“What about that little kitten?”

In a good mood, Xie Chen thought of the little kitten that kept meowing outside his door last night and wanted to see it.

Such a clingy little fellow — he wondered if it had woken up yet.

Xie Bo caught the meaning behind his words and smiled warmly: “The cat ate the dried fish and is playing inside. If you want to see him, I can go bring him here now.”

“Hmm.”

Xie Chen casually replied as he sat down at the dining table.

Xie Bo turned to fetch the cat and planned to make two little outfits for the cat today. Many cat owners now prepared little clothes for their cats — they looked quite cute.

Breakfast was light and healthy. After Xie Chen finished eating, Xie Bo came over with a pale face and a dazed expression.

“Master.”

Xie Bo, thinking of the footage he just saw on the surveillance, hesitated and said, “The cat is gone.”

Xie Chen: “?”

“He took the dried fish and ran away,” Xie Bo said heartbreakingly. “Is it because our home conditions aren’t good enough? Why does this little kitten keep running away?”

Xie Chen’s cold eyes narrowed slightly, deep in thought.

After a moment, he stood up and said indifferently, “If he wants to run, let him run.”

Xie Bo, immersed in sadness, didn’t notice that his master’s previously good mood seemed to have instantly vanished completely.

The route Bai Li took pulling the little cart overlapped with part of Xie Chen’s commute to work.

Sitting in the car, Xie Chen looked out the window at the little kitten pulling the cart with effort, his eyes cold and dark.

“Master,” the driver also saw the little kitten and asked out of habit, “Do you want me to follow him today?”

“No need.”Xie Chen said in a calm voice, “Go to the company.”

A little kitten who left without saying goodbye—he had taken it back once; he couldn’t keep going back for a second time.

The driver received the instructions, stared straight ahead, and drove properly to the company.

The whole day.

Bai Li was outside working hard pulling the cart, while Xie Chen sat in the office handling various complicated affairs.

“Boss.”

Secretary Anna knocked on the door and entered after receiving permission.

“Tan Yi’s endorsement for our men’s clothing line this season is about to end. After investigation and calculation by the advertising and finance departments, they submitted this data report.”

“The data shows that Tan Yi’s commercial value is very high.”

When Anna said this, the meaning was clear: simply put, “Boss, we should renew the contract. Having Tan Yi as our endorser is worth it!”

Xie Chen took the report and looked it over carefully.

“Renew it.”

He signed the document: “Let the business department negotiate.”

Anna took the order and went out to work. Meanwhile, Xie Chen kept glancing at the documents and the computer screen, busy and tired.

Night fell.

This time, Xie Chen didn’t see that little kitten with floating paws by the roadside. Expressionless, he rolled down the car window and told the driver to return to the villa.

Inside the villa.

Bai Li, who had just settled his belongings under the overpass, was now trying hard to climb through a window.

He still wasn’t at ease.

Last night, Master was tangled by those dark mists; if he hadn’t noticed, Master probably wouldn’t have slept well all night.

Today, he planned to guard Master again!

Finally managing to climb in through the window that wasn’t closed tightly, Bai Li scampered under the bed, sat on the floor, and took something out from the small pouch hanging on his neck.

He earned a total of 90 yuan working all day, secretly saved 80 yuan. He spent 1 yuan on a steamed bun, bought three cat treats for Dian Dian, Da Hui, and Mei Mei for 6 yuan, and spent 3 yuan buying a particularly shiny ring from a roadside stall for Master!

That shiny ring was exactly the same as the one Tan Yi wore in the poster.

Bai Li, who loved shiny things, couldn’t move away when he first saw this ring.

The ring originally cost 5 yuan, but the lady selling it gave him a 2-yuan discount because she said he looked cute.

Bai Li thought Master was so handsome, and wearing this shiny ring would definitely make him look even better.Time slowly passed, but Master still hadn’t returned.

Bai Li clenched the ring and yawned.

“Meow.”

So sleepy.

In the dark under the bed, the chubby little kitten yawned one after another until he finally couldn’t resist, his head tilted, and he fell asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, Xie Chen returned from outside, still wrapped in a chill, and finally pushed open the door.

He had severe cleanliness OCD, so the first thing he did was take a shower and change his clothes.

The sound of water and the faint rustling of clothes changing caused the half-asleep Bai Li to slowly stretch his body and sit up.

“Meow-ow.”

He called out dazedly.

Xie Chen, having just changed his clothes, asked, “?”

What was that sound?

After the meow-ow, Bai Li immediately realized—he was still under the bed!

In an instant, Bai Li raised his paw to cover his mouth with a slap, his eyes wide open, nervously watching the footsteps approaching the bed.

He thought, I only accidentally made that sound once, hopefully I won’t get caught?

Xie Chen stood still, listened carefully for a moment, and seeing no more meowing, frowned and muttered, “A hallucination?”

It was just a special little kitten. Before sleep, it clung to his ankle and cried. After waking, it took the little dried fish and disappeared.

Indifferent as always, Xie Chen thought in his heart, “This ungrateful little kitten, what is there to care about?”

From now on, that little kitten’s good person card was voided in his eyes.

Bai Li waited under the bed for a long time.

Xie Chen sat on the bed with his phone and computer in front of him.

On his phone were many photos sent by drivers; he had saved them yesterday.

In the photos, the little kitten was sometimes struggling to pull the cart, sometimes drinking water under the faucet, and when exhausted, sitting by the roadside panting to rest.

One photo showed him eating a steamed white bun he had bought.

Xie Chen lowered his eyes, looked at the word “Delete” at the bottom of the photo, and after a moment, pressed his lips tightly and exited the album.

The night grew deeper.

Xie Chen lay on the bed, just like before, still finding it hard to fall asleep.

His bedside table held the medicines he usually took—many kinds, scattered here and there.Originally, he was going to eat, but somehow, he thought of yesterday’s scene.

The little kitten’s heavy bottom pressed against the top of his foot, tearful eyes looking up at him, dragging a crying tone as it said, “Don’t die.”

When he took the little kitten away, he even saw the kitten’s wet eyes, always staring at those pills.

Xie Chen naturally guessed that this little guy was afraid he would kill himself by taking the medicine.

After staying up a bit longer, somehow, Xie Chen actually felt a bit sleepy without relying on the medicine.

The room light went out.

In the darkness, Bai Li, who could see clearly, quietly stretched out his paw.

He wanted to chase away the black mist for Master!

The black mist spread upward from the ground, increasing more and more. After Bai Li wiped it all clean from the floor, hearing no more movement on the bed, he jumped up onto the bed, sat on Xie Chen’s chest, and diligently slapped his paws.

Without a doubt, Xie Chen had another peaceful night.

After smashing the black mist, Bai Li lowered his head to look at the sleeping Xie Chen.

“Master is really handsome.”

After sighing, seeing no one around and that the person involved was asleep, he boldly stretched out his paw and touched Xie Chen’s handsome face.

That face, even asleep, was perfect as if created by a god.

After touching the face, Bai Li shook his little head and morally scolded himself, “This isn’t right…”

Messing with the face like that, Third Brother said, is being a lecher.

He—he became a lecherous cat!

The newly minted lecherous cat felt both guilty and scared. After a long while, with a guilty heart and a desire to make up for it, he put the shiny ring onto Xie Chen’s long, beautiful finger.

After putting on the ring and chasing away the black mist, Bai Li climbed out the window again at dawn.

He couldn’t always freeload little dried fish, so secretly coming over to guard Master like this was fine.

After running out, Bai Li went back under the overpass to sleep for a while.

As for Xie Chen,

Since waking up, he had been staring at the ring on his finger.

The ring looked like cheap street merchandise, the kind often sold at elementary school gates.

Xie Chen wasn’t disgusted by the ring’s cheapness now, nor did he think it was cursed—

He was just thinking about how to get the ring off.

It was on too tight, and he couldn’t move it at all.