Chapter 5

Chapter 5

005

I'll be your kitten.

Chu Li was running a slight fever. The mating ritual from the previous night had been too intense, and his body began to ache subtly after returning home.

He researched more about the "Scent Disorder Syndrome," a condition that only affected unmarried Omegas. It was a result of their bodies being unable to regulate their pheromones, leaving them in a constant state of "rut." The only solution was to inject suppressants.

Each injection's effectiveness was fleeting, lasting only around 24 hours, meaning it had to be administered daily.

One reason Chu Li had neglected to follow the original owner's instructions and inject the medication was that he hadn't anticipated falling ill within less than a day of transmigrating.

Moreover, this illness was a "genetic condition," incurable by conventional means. The sole solution was to find an Alpha to mark him. An Alpha's pheromones could soothe an Omega's body, functioning as a suppressant with a longer-lasting effect.

However, the act of marking held great significance in this world, far more intricate than a simple bite on the neck or sharing a bed.

The original owner didn't have anyone they liked. They'd rather endure the agony of the disease than casually seek someone to mark them.

At the thought of this, Chu Li couldn't help but sigh, feeling a sense of guilt for not having protected a precious gift given to him by someone else.

Chu Heyang's family would never take him to the hospital. He was still in the midst of a false rut induced by his disorder, making it impossible for him to leave the house. All he could do was endure it in bed.

As time passed, he drifted off to sleep.

"Miaow-oo-oo!"

"Miaow-oo!"

"Miaow-oo-oo!"

A series of longing cries echoed beside his ear, forcefully rousing Chu Li from his slumber. Half-asleep, he blinked and saw a cat perched on the low wall outside his window. The kitten had beautiful sea-green eyes, filled with yearning as it stared intently at him.

"A cat?" With the window right next to his bed, Chu Li struggled to sit up.

Upon seeing his movement, the cat outside the window cried even louder.

Chu Li adored cats, secretly being a feline enthusiast. However, in his previous life, he was allergic to cat fur and often fell ill, leaving him with little choice but to drool over other people's cats on his phone screen most of the time.

In front of him, a cat meowed, presenting an irresistible temptation. He couldn't resist and softly opened the window, asking outside, "Kitty, what do you want?"

"Meow!" The cat leaped into a position and hopped onto Chu Li's windowsill.

The space outside his windowsill was narrow, so the cat could only stand sideways with its paws gripping tightly to avoid falling.

Startled by its movement, Chu Li watched the cat up close and couldn't help but reach out to stroke it.

So soft, so warm.

The fluffy touch of small animals always had a soothing effect on humans. His mood was terrible, and he wasn't feeling well physically, but after stroking the cat's bottom a couple of times, he felt better. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he used his index finger to tickle the cat's ear.

The kitten seemed to be ticklish, twitching its ears.

Then, it adjusted its position, preparing to enter.

Chu Li was startled and quickly put his hand against its forehead, saying, "You can't come in."

The kitten paused and tilted its head to look at Chu Li, "Meow?"

Chu Li wore a hesitant expression. "This isn't your home."

It wasn't his home either. Given the attitude of Chu Heyang's family towards him, they would never allow him to keep a cat.

The kitten, however, couldn't comprehend this. It had finally found a bipedal creature, yet it was rejected?

Angered, the kitten extended its paw and playfully swiped at the biped's hand—despite its anger, its claws were safely tucked away within its fluffy paw pads.

How could anyone resist such a tender paw? Chu Li fell silent, unable to resist squeezing the kitten's paw pad.

So soft.

He adored it.

The kitten tilted its head at him. "Meow, meow, meow?"

If its paw had been touched, surely it could come in now!

To the kitten's surprise, the biped remained resolute. "No, you can't come in."

"Meow!" The kitten was upset. Since it couldn't push its head in, it decided to use its bottom instead.

With its flexible body, when the kitten was determined to do something, it was truly difficult for humans to resist.

Chu Li pushed its head away, but its bottom came right back, squishy and unable to provide a proper grip. After struggling to push the bottom out, the kitten simply turned around and squeezed itself through the window again.

Swiftly, Chu Li shut the window with a 'swish,' only to find the kitten's head trapped!

Chu Li tried pushing it out once more, but the kitten refused to budge. It insisted on maintaining this awkward position, determined to enter the room.

"Meow! Meow! Meow!!" The adorable kitten had never encountered such an insensitive human! It was taking the initiative, so why wasn't it wanted?!!

"Meow! Meow! Meow!!" If you didn't want the kitten, you shouldn't touch its fluffy paws! Such behavior was unacceptable! Once you touched it, it became your cat, and there could be no returns!

The Li Hua Cat's head was stuck in the window while its bottom hung outside, precariously close to falling. Yet, it clung tightly to the window frame, refusing to drop. The comical yet pathetic scene, combined with the kitten's continuous complaints, made Chu Li burst into laughter.

"Meow! Meow! Meow!!" The kitten's grievances intensified! It seemed to regard Chu Li as some irresponsible scoundrel who slept with it and then abandoned it.

In reality, Chu Li was the one who had been 'slept with': "..."

Observing the kitten's persistence in cuddling up to him after just one touch, refusing to leave and even meowing louder, Chu Li reluctantly gave in. He slid open the window and whispered, "You can come in, but I can't keep you. You can only stay here for a while and then must leave, do you understand? And you mustn't meow, or I'll have to send you away."

As if comprehending his words, the kitten entered gracefully, leaping lightly onto Chu Li's bed before falling silent.

It meticulously licked its paws, grooming its fur, and tidied itself up before strutting toward Chu Li with an elegant feline grace.

However, seeing it, Chu Li couldn't help but recall its shameless efforts to squeeze in earlier, causing him to laugh again. He lifted the kitten's face gently and rubbed it.

The kitten expressed its discontent, playfully swiping at Chu Li's hand with its paw, yet still carefully retracting its claws.

The kitten's resistance was futile; it was still subjected to the wicked two-legged creature's handling.

Chu Li laid the kitten down and noticed the scars on its abdomen – the fur had fallen out there. Even though they had healed, they were still disturbing to look at.

This must have been a stray cat, otherwise, why would it cling to him? But he wasn't an ideal shelter either. In less than a day since he arrived in this world, such a bizarre incident as being marked by someone had occurred. Recalling the words left behind in the suicide note, he felt as if he had been given a gift that he hadn't properly protected.

Moreover, he himself was the one who had been "peed" on – a bitter pill to swallow indeed.

"Aiyo…" Chu Li fretfully stroked the kitten's tail, regretting his carelessness when he had first reincarnated. Why had he gone out to buy soy sauce unnecessarily?

Yet, who could have imagined that there were six genders here? Intelligent beings could still be controlled by their rutting periods. And the most crucial point was, who would have thought that running an errand could be so dangerous? Who knew?

"Ai..." Chu Li couldn't help but sigh again.

Although there were many vexing matters, life had to go on. He would consider this a minor aftereffect of his rebirth. Compared to the unexpected new life he gained, being called "Pui—" didn't seem like much of an issue.

Chu Li's body was still uncomfortable, likely still in the rutting period. However, perhaps due to being marked by someone, the discomfort was bearable, and he didn't experience the previous loss of consciousness.

No longer daring to venture out, Chu Li retreated to his room, planning to wait for the rutting period to pass entirely before confronting the troubles outside.

But fate seemed against him. Just as he finished petting the cat, the door was knocked on vigorously.

"Bam! Bam! Bam!"

It was a forceful knocking that made the walls vibrate, almost causing the paint to peel off.

Immediately, Chu Heyang's voice echoed from outside, "Come out! Mom and Dad want to ask you something!"

Chu Li knew that this family wouldn't let him be. After a moment of silence and no sign of Chu Heyang giving up, he called out, "I heard you, stop knocking."

A moment of silence ensued outside, and Chu Heyang spoke impolitely, "Hurry up and come out! Don't even think about dodging this!"

"I'm not trying to escape," Chu Li got out of bed and opened the door, looking at Chu Heyang standing outside with a cold expression.

Back then, Chu Li had very little status in the household. With his submissive nature, he would always comply with whatever Chu Heyang and his mother said.

Chu Heyang was accustomed to Chu Li's compliant attitude. Now, with Chu Li's cold demeanor exuding a sense of detachment, it left him momentarily stunned.

For an instant, he felt a reluctance to engage in conversation with the person before him.

However, Chu Heyang was so accustomed to bullying Chu Li that this fleeting emotion vanished quickly, replaced by his usual behavior.

He still looked down at Chu Li with an air of superiority and said coldly, "Dad and Mom want to see you."

"I know," Chu Li acknowledged, aware that he couldn't escape. After closing the door firmly, he followed Chu Heyang into the living room.

Chu Deyue seemed to have returned at some point and was sitting on the sofa with Zhu Wei. Chu Heyang promptly took a seat beside Zhu Wei.

The trio scrutinized Chu Li with their piercing gazes, creating an atmosphere akin to a family interrogation.

Chu Li: "..."

His expression turned even colder. "What do you want?"

Chu Deyue slammed his palm on the table and bellowed, "I should be asking you what you're up to! You're an Omega. Why aren't you staying at home? What are you doing out here?!"

Chu Li replied coldly, "Didn't you ask me to go out and buy soy sauce?"

Chu Deyue remembered that and was taken aback, then after a moment, he said, "What's wrong with asking you to buy soy sauce? I'm asking you, knowing that you have an unstable pheromone disorder and it costs so much money to treat it every year, why didn't you take your suppressants properly? Were you in heat outside?"

Oestrus was a very private matter, but Chu Deyue had just asked about it in front of everyone.

A hint of schadenfreude flashed in Chu Heyang's eyes. As an Omega, being in heat and marked outside was utterly humiliating!

It was true that Chu Li had neglected to inject his suppressants, and now he was reaping the consequences.

But his family, who had failed to remind him in time and even sent him out to 'buy soy sauce' despite knowing he hadn't taken his medication, clearly weren't concerned about his well-being now.

"Yes," Chu Li admitted frankly. "So what?"

"How dare you?" Chu Deyue's face turned livid with anger. "If it weren't for our kindness in adopting and raising you, who knows where you'd be right now? As an Omega, you should stay home when you're going through heat. Why run around? Are you trying to embarrass us even more?"

Chu Li frowned. "This has nothing to do with whether or not you adopted me. Of course, I'm grateful for your upbringing, but my heat wasn't something I could control. You sent me out to buy soy sauce without reminding me about the suppressant injections. It's pointless to blame me now."

He wouldn't deny what had happened just because he felt ashamed.

But Chu Deyue laughed in fury. "So you're saying that it's our fault for not reminding you that you were going into heat outside?"

Chu Li: "…"

He only wanted to say that since the incident had already occurred, it was meaningless to dwell on how it happened. They should focus on finding a solution instead.

However, listening to Chu Deyue, he realized that reasoning with these people was futile.

They weren't here to reason; they just wanted to vent their anger using this situation.

He quickly swallowed his words and replied, "No."

Chu Deyue got up from the sofa and circled around Chu Li. "Do you know what it means for an Omega to go into heat outside? We still have our pride! Were you marked by someone? A permanent or temporary mark?"

Author's Note:

A prelude: the protagonist will later feed the kitten, Li Hua Cat, human food.

Please note that Li Hua Cat is not an actual feline and should not be equated with real-world cats. If this element is unacceptable to you, kindly exit now.

In reality, it's unadvisable to let unfamiliar cats into your home freely. I've written this because the prototype for Li Hua Cat is my own cat – a personal bias, as I wish to express my frustration with her habit of constantly entering my room. When I initially wrote this synopsis, there was only one cat in my household; later, she gave birth, and now two kittens can often be found perched by the window.