Chapter 99
Chapter 99
Chapter 99 — First Release on Jinjiang Literature City
While the little cat was drowning in sadness so overwhelming it made breathing hard, a big hand suddenly pulled back the blanket, saving a cat’s life just in time.
“Li Li.”
Xie Chen came out of the study, frowning at the little cat who had buried himself under the blanket.
He sat down and scooped the little cat into his arms: “What are you doing? Aren’t you afraid of suffocating yourself?”
Bai Li hung his head, refusing to look at him.
“Meow.”
I’m sleeping.
Xie Chen didn’t believe him—little cats don’t lie, and when they do, they can’t help but curl up their paws.
He could see right through it.
“Good boy, look up.”
Sensing Bai Li’s low mood, Xie Chen wanted to find out the reason.
Bai Li didn’t look up.
Xie Chen patiently coaxed him, but tonight the little cat was unexpectedly hard to soothe.
Xie Chen’s words seemed to go in one ear and out the other.
When it was time to bathe, Xie Chen put a yellow duck that could float in the basin. Bai Li, who used to love pawing it, didn’t even move this time.
Xie Chen carefully recalled the day’s itinerary but still couldn’t figure out where things went wrong.
Night fell.
The room was dimly lit. The round little cat flipped over, showing his backside to Xie Chen. The posture looked very withdrawn.
Xie Chen: “...”
He was completely confused.
He had no romantic experience, no experience with flirtation. This little cat in his arms was the only exception he ever cared about deeply.
Now that the little cat was visibly upset, Xie Chen felt helpless.
He pressed his temples, planning to ask Bai’s older brother for help tomorrow outside the venue.Bai Li’s older brothers, only the eldest of the Bai family was somewhat reliable.
“Li Li, good night.”
Xie Chen turned the little cat over again, curled him into his arms, leaned down to kiss his head, and softly said good night.
After he closed his eyes, Bai Li stretched out his paw to touch the kissed little cat.
He felt even sadder.
The next day.
The little cat went to work at the seafood shop again, and after finishing the weekend, Xie Chen went to the company.
The bodyguards he arranged followed Bai Li dutifully, responsible for his safety.
On the way to the company, Xie Chen called Bai Lin.
“Lunch is on me.”
Xie Chen invited Bai Lin: “I want to consult you about Bai Li.”
Mentioning the beloved younger brother, Bai Lin readily accepted the invitation but said he wanted to bring Yu Yin along.
No one knew if Bai family eldest brother’s “chasing wife fire cremation” phase had ended, but judging by the fact that he had to bring someone when going out for a meal now, progress was probably going well.
At noon.
Xie Chen looked at the time and arrived twenty minutes early at the reserved private room.
Bai Lin arrived on time with Yu Yin and greeted him.
Yu Yin wasn’t very familiar with Xie Chen, so her attitude was politely distant.
All three took their seats. Concerned for his brother, Bai Lin asked proactively, “What’s wrong with Li Li?”
Xie Chen frowned, and his tone was off when mentioning Li Li’s condition.
“I just don’t know what’s wrong with him, that’s why I came to you.”
Xie Chen reported Bai Li’s unusual behavior last night and their whole itinerary from the previous day to Bai Lin for analysis.
Bai Lin listened and was silent for a moment.
“Xie Chen, from what you said, I don’t see any problem.”
“Li Li rarely gets moody for no reason.”
After saying this, seeing Xie Chen’s face looking bad, Bai Lin added,
“Don’t worry too much. Maybe Li Li just suddenly felt down. I’ll ask him. Wait and see if he gets better.”
Since Bai Lin said this, Xie Chen got no useful information from him.
“Forget it.”Xie Chen swallowed and said, “I’ll observe some more.”
The little cat, who was being discussed by his fiancé and eldest brother, was now sitting outside on the main road, resting his front paws on his cat face.
“Big brother.”
Mei Mei and Dian Dian, and the big gray cat, were all behind Bai Li eating canned food.
Seeing Bai Li unhappy, Mei Mei came over on her own to share the burden with big brother.
“Why aren’t you happy?”
Bai Li said sorrowfully, “Mei Mei, my family—dad, mom, grandpa, grandma—they might not like my fiancé.”
In his plan, he was supposed to help his brothers find the treasure on Monster Mountain, then let everyone on Monster Mountain come down freely.
He also wanted to bring his fiancé to show dad and the others.
But now that the little note was exposed, all his plans were shattered.
Mei Mei tilted her head, confused: “Why don’t they like your fiancé?”
“I don’t know.”
Bai Li said blankly, “They told me to ditch my fiancé.”
Mei Mei: “...”
Mei Mei was shocked.
Although she thought that fiancé was a bit scary for cats, she knew the fiancé treated big brother well, and big brother liked him a lot. The fiancé was even big brother’s fiancé, so logically, they should be getting married!
The cats looked at each other speechlessly, only filled with worry.
Meanwhile.
Xie Chen came out of the private room, his thoughts messier than when he came in.
Bai Lin hadn’t figured out why Bai Li was acting strange but gave him some news.
“Bai Li has been off the mountain for a long time now. Since he can transform, the elders on the mountain must hope he’ll go back.”
Big brother Bai meant for Bai Li to return and check things out, but whether he’d come back down again…
He didn’t say.
Xie Chen got into the car, pressed his temples, feeling like one problem was unresolved and another one had come along.
For several days in a row.
The usually lively little cat at home was visibly wilting.
Xie Bo also noticed the problem.“Fiancé.”
Xie Bo pulled Xie Chen aside, worry written all over his face: “What’s going on with Li Li lately? He doesn’t look very happy.”
Xie Chen didn’t know the reason.
The little cat was very tight-lipped and wouldn’t tell anyone.
“Can’t get it out of him.”
A complex emotion flickered in Xie Chen’s eyes. He tried to steady his mood and planned: “In a few days it’ll be his birthday. I plan to make the celebration lively to cheer him up. He likes lively things.”
“All right.”
Not only Xie Chen cared about the little cat’s birthday, but Xie Bo also kept it firmly in mind.
He glanced back at the little cat sitting blankly on the sofa and quietly decided to prepare more birthday gifts to make Li Li happy.
Day by day time passed.
Amidst the suppressed anxiety, Xie Chen, who hadn’t dreamed in a long time, finally dreamed again — the waiting dream.
This time,
He was still the child he once was.
His parents looked at him, worry hard to hide in their brows.
He was often sick then, inexplicably sick, as if cursed.
Because it wasn’t a diagnosable illness, even doctors were useless.
When his parents were nearly desperate, that so-called spirit fortune teller appeared before him again.
“A mortal body cannot suppress his fate.”
The spirit fortune teller was ragged, his mouth uttering familiar mystical words.
“To let him survive smoothly, there is only one way.”
“Follow me to form a marriage bond; only that child can save you.”
At that time, the weak little Xie Chen was entrusted by his parents to the spirit fortune teller, who would take him to save his life.
They went to Monster Mountain.
Coincidentally, on Monster Mountain, there was also a weak little kitten.
The little kitten was frail, carrying a congenital illness from the womb.
Xie Chen lived at the foot of the mountain with the spirit fortune teller, not directly with the monster cats.
“Xie Chen, you’re going to have a wife in the future.”
The spirit fortune teller patted his head, smiling: “A kid your age, while others are crying and doing homework, you already have a wife. How about that? Exciting? Happy?”Little Xie Chen: "..."
To be honest, Little Xie Chen didn’t find it exciting or happy at all.
He had no interest in marrying a wife.
If it weren’t for his weak health, Xie Chen would rather go home and read more new books.
The scenery on Monster Mountain was beautiful.
Little Xie Chen saw that little kitten there, small and with moist eyes, confused yet innocent.
The spirit fortune teller said the kitten would later transform into a human and then marry him.
Little Xie Chen stared fixedly at the kitten and suddenly felt that reading books didn’t seem so interesting anymore.
“Meow.”
The pure white little kitten softly called out to him.
Little Xie Chen stiffened all over, watching the kitten walk toward him and tentatively poke his trouser leg with a paw.
“Oh.”
The spirit fortune teller saw it and smiled: “Does Li Li like this older brother?”
“Meow.”
He’s good-looking.
The little kitten lifted its head, expressing acceptance to this handsome older brother.
Little Xie Chen crouched down and carefully picked up the kitten.
The kitten was very affectionate toward him.
“Hahaha, I knew they would definitely get along well.”
The spirit fortune teller laughed happily: “So, how about this childhood betrothal? Can it be sealed?”
The kitten’s guardians scrutinized him up and down. Finally, they frowned and said: “Alright, but if he dares to treat Li Li badly in the future, this engagement is off.”
“Don’t worry, those two are a match made in heaven. This marriage fate can’t go wrong.”
With the spirit fortune teller and the elders of the Bai family’s approval, this childhood betrothal was considered sealed.
After the betrothal, Little Xie Chen still lived at the foot of the mountain but came up every day to play with the kitten.
He knew their betrothal had different purposes.
The kitten Li Li’s health was worse, and marrying him was also influenced by the spirit fortune teller’s persuasion.
No, it wasn’t entirely persuasion.After they were together, Little Xie Chen’s physical discomfort did indeed lessen a lot. And the spirit fortune teller said that Monster Mountain is a place of exceptional spiritual energy; now that they were together, it was best for them to complement each other and cultivate their health.
“I have one more thing.”
Although the spirit fortune teller’s fees were high, his skills were truly effective.
Right after he got a high fee from Xie family’s parents, he generously gave a treasure to Little Xie Chen and the little kitten.
“You two stay inside here for a few days, and when you come out…”
The spirit fortune teller glanced at the kitten and lowered his voice: “The kitten might be able to transform.”
Hearing this, Little Xie Chen hugged the kitten tightly, excitement showing clearly on his still young face.
“Li Li can transform?”
“Probably yes.”
The spirit fortune teller said mysteriously, “But there are still some uncertainties; I can’t be sure.”
Amid the spirit fortune teller’s uncertainty, Little Xie Chen and the little kitten were sent to the designated place, where they stayed for three days and three nights.
“Meow.”
The scenes from the three days and nights hadn’t appeared in the dream yet when the little kitten pawed to wake Xie Chen.
Xie Chen opened his eyes and saw the blurry kitten, his emotions still wildly fluctuating.