Chapter 7 Looking for the Cat

Chapter 7: Finding the Cat

Gu Shiying swiftly pulled his hand from Fu Huan’s grasp, instantly losing all interest in the sweet, juicy grapes.

The grapes were tainted!

The awkwardness in the air was Gu Shiying’s burden alone, and he secretly clenched his fists.

He forced a smile, saying, "I can wipe it myself."

"Mm." Fu Huan nodded, tossed the tissue, and casually grabbed his clothes before heading to the bathroom, not sparing Gu Shiying a glance.

Gu Shiying felt that two more seconds and he might have punched Fu Huan.

Couldn’t some Taoist priest just come and take this pervert, Fu Huan, away?

Before bed, Gu Shiying resolved: no more physical contact with Fu Huan!

Monday, sunny, temperature 28–32 degrees Celsius.

Two days had passed, and the pain in Gu Shiying’s arm had lessened. However, with the wound still scabbing, he couldn’t yet bend his elbow.

Of course, he himself couldn't bend either.

First thing in the morning, he pulled a long-sleeved shirt from his closet, bundling himself up securely.

During class, Zhang Zhi kept glancing at him, and after class, he couldn’t hold back any longer. "Aren’t you hot wearing so much? Or did you catch a cold?"

Gu Shiying replied, "No cold. I just felt like wearing a jacket. It was a bit chilly this morning."

Zhang Zhi pointed at his forehead. "You’re sweating."

Gu Shiying: "..."

Zhang Zhi said, "Why not take off the jacket? Your admirer won’t give up on you just because you’re wearing an extra layer."

Gu Shiying stubbornly insisted, "No."

Zhang Zhi retorted, "Seriously? Your admirer isn’t even worthy of seeing your arm?"

Gu Shiying gritted his teeth. "That’s right. He’s not worthy."

His friend had no idea the torment he’d endured these past two days.

Zhang Zhi thought he was avoiding a girl’s secret admirer.

"That poor girl has encountered such a cold-hearted guy like you. You’ll end up alone."

Gu Shiying was indeed hot. "You don’t get it. Let’s just drop it."

Talking about it any further would only make him angrier.

Over the next few days, Gu Shiying steered clear of Fu Huan. Apart from bumping into each other in the dorm at night, Gu Shiying made sure not to return to the dorm at any other time. Even when he did go back, he would climb into his bed to use his phone before Fu Huan returned, leaving no opportunity for Fu Huan to touch him.

Gu Shiying enjoyed a few peaceful days. With his busy schedule, Fu Huan's earlier impact on him gradually faded.

The school always had new happenings, and Gu Shiying’s brave deed was soon overshadowed by newer topics. The wound on his arm slowly healed, and he could move it again, managing on his own. Everything was moving in a positive direction.

Another Friday arrived.

Zhang Zhi wanted to buy Liu Wenqing milk tea again and even tried to ask her out for the weekend. But this time, their WeChat conversation didn’t seem to go well. Gu Shiying guessed he might have been rejected.

Gu Shiying asked him, "Liu Wenqing reached out to you first. Why aren’t you happy? Last week, you were so excited you could’ve bounced off the walls."

Zhang Zhi was so upset he could barely eat. "You know that was last week. Our club has events every other week, and she used to attend all of them. But this week, she said she has something else to do and won’t be coming."

Zhang Zhi had met Liu Wenqing through the club and had fallen for her ever since. He had been pursuing her for half a year, but she didn’t seem interested. As a friend, Gu Shiying could only offer silent support.

"Are you still going to get her the milk tea?"

Gu Shiying, with a good appetite, happily ate the braised pork he had managed to snag, his cheeks bulging.

Zhang Zhi poked at his plain rice without much interest and said dejectedly, "No. I feel like she really likes someone else. She doesn’t have those kinds of feelings for me."

Gu Shiying knew the truth and gently advised his friend, "Then stop being a simp. Let’s go meet some new girls."

Zhang Zhi clenched his fist. "Alright, bro! Let’s go meet some girls together!"

When Gu Shiying woke up from his nap and checked WeChat, the first thing he saw was a message from his friend.

Zhang Zhi: [milk tea.jpg]

Gu Shiying: Damn simp.

Zhang Zhi: [I can’t let go.jpg]

Gu Shiying, who had still been a bit drowsy, was instantly wide awake with anger upon seeing his friend still stuck in simp mode.

After washing his face, he came out and saw Fu Huan, who hadn’t returned to the dorm at noon. It gave him a scare, and all those unwanted memories came flooding back.

Gu Shiying, his face still wet, met Fu Huan’s gaze and quickly grabbed his backpack.

"I’m going to class first."

Fu Huan had just nodded when Gu Shiying dashed off.

Liang Qi poked his head in through the door. "What are you standing there spacing out for? Let’s go to class."

Fu Huan: "Mm."

Liang Qi was a chatterbox and never held back in front of Fu Huan. As they walked downstairs, he shared some industry news he had just seen. Not getting a response, he noticed Fu Huan’s gaze fixed on an energetic boy in a white shirt and jeans. The boy was standing in front of a very pretty girl, and the two seemed to be swapping WeChat info.

Liang Qi smirked. "Is that guy your type?"

Fu Huan shot him a look. "That’s Gu Shiying. He’s straight."

Liang Qi said, "Alright. He’s become pretty famous after that brave act, huh?"

Fu Huan: "I guess."

Liang Qi added, "He’s quite handsome. You’ve never been tempted?"

Based on his understanding of Fu Huan, Gu Shiying’s looks should be exactly Fu Huan’s type.

Gu Shiying had sharp looks, with soft features and almond-shaped eyes that seemed to smile when he looked at people, easily drawing people in. However, he never put much effort into his appearance, so you had to see him up close to notice his charm.

Fu Huan didn’t respond to Liang Qi’s question. Instead, he coldly brushed past Gu Shiying and the girl, then headed toward the classroom building with long, quick strides.

Gu Shiying had indeed been stopped by a stranger, but the girl wasn’t interested in romance. She was asking him to help find her lost cat.

When he first acquired his mind-reading ability, he not only tested it on classmates but also on cats and dogs. Surprisingly, his mind-reading could even hear the thoughts of small animals.

Half a month ago, he found a myna with clipped wings in the school cafeteria. The little myna was quite affectionate, walking around his feet and even trying to follow him back to the dorm.

He attempted to interact with the myna and then heard its thoughts.

Although the thoughts of small animals were not as clear as those of humans, the repeated content was enough for him to help return the myna to its owner.

He posted on the forum based on the information revealed by the myna's thoughts, and within an hour, the myna's owner reached out.

The girl in front of him was a third-year student. She had just told Gu Shiying that her cat had gotten out of the dorm two days ago. She had tried every method but couldn't find it, and no one had responded to her forum post.

Gu Shiying: "Senior, I'm not sure if I can find your pet."

Senior: "It's okay, even if you can't find it, it's fine. I'm at my wits' end. I have to try every possibility because I'm really worried about how she's doing outside. I'm afraid she might get bullied by stray cats. Junior, I can pay you. I really appreciate your help."

Gu Shiying: "Then I'll give it a try, but I have to go to class now. I can help you after class."

The senior thanked him repeatedly: "Thank you, thank you."

After adding each other on WeChat, Gu Shiying rushed off to class.

He didn't mention the cat search to Zhang Zhi because Zhang Zhi was distracted during the first class in the afternoon.

Gu Shiying naturally had to ask him: "What's wrong?"

Zhang Zhi: "She rejected my bubble tea."

Gu Shiying: "Since she already has someone she likes, isn't it normal for her to reject your bubble tea? It's not like you just found out."

Zhang Zhi looked like he was about to cry: "I saw her carrying bubble tea upstairs, as if delivering it to someone else. I’ve never even had bubble tea from her!"

Gu Shiying thought, that was indeed quite disheartening: "Maybe just let it go? Save some money on bubble tea."

Zhang Zhi: "I'm heartbroken."

Gu Shiying: "You never even started dating."

Zhang Zhi grew even sadder—he hadn’t even gotten to date her!

Just as Gu Shiying was about to ask if he wanted to join in searching for the cat, Jiang Laoer from Room 701 next door asked him: "There’s a local meetup tonight, limited to people from our province. Are you going?"

Jiang Laoer and Zhang Zhi are from the same city.

Zhang Zhi immediately perked up, snapping out of his heartbroken state in a second: "I’m going!"

Gu Shiying, who had been hoping to distract his friend: "..."

Well, it looked like he’d be searching for the cat alone tonight.

After class, Gu Shiying received multiple photos of the cat from the senior. It was a neutered silver shaded cat with mostly gray fur, and a diamond-shaped pattern on its head formed by the gray hair—a very recognizable cat named Youtiao.

Gu Shiying asked the senior for a towel that smelled like Youtiao, and she brought it directly to the cafeteria.

After dinner, Gu Shiying headed out with the towel.

The senior asked him again: "Is this really going to work? I also brought a towel to look for Daju, the campus cat, but she didn’t respond at all."

Daju, the campus cat, is loved by all the teachers and students. She even has her own video social media account with 100,000 followers.

Gu Shiying: "My method might be different from yours."

The senior student: "Then should I come along to search with you?"

Gu Shiying: "I’ll be faster on my bike. Let me try first. Did you bring the cat treats?"

The senior student: "Yes, here, take all of them."

Gu Shiying took the towel and the cat treats and rode his bike to find Senior Orange. He found her lying on a bench in the school pavilion.

Senior Orange was very affectionate. Having been stroked by students so often, she would wiggle her increasingly chubby body whenever she saw a human.

After Gu Shiying had petted her until she was comfortable, he gently touched her pink paws. Senior Orange purred like a little engine, rumbling contentedly.

"Chicken freeze-dried treats."

"Chicken freeze-dried treats."

"Chicken freeze-dried treats."

He rummaged through the snacks and found a pack of chicken freeze-dried treats. After giving one to Senior Orange, he held Youtiao’s towel under her nose: "Senior Orange, have you ever smelled a cat with this scent?"

"It’s the smell of a fellow cat."

Gu Shiying shook the treat packet in his hand: "If you can find this fellow cat, this whole pack of treats is yours."

Senior Orange lazily got up, stretched, glanced back at Gu Shiying, and then started trotting forward.

As a cat, Senior Orange didn’t stick to the paths—she preferred cutting through the greenbelt. With the sky growing dark, Gu Shiying sometimes lost sight of her, but fortunately, Senior Orange was clever and would wait for him.

Gu Shiying followed Senior Orange all the way to the greenbelt outside the school’s outdoor basketball court.

From within the greenbelt, he heard a faint meow—so soft that he could barely make it out without listening carefully.

The school’s streetlights weren’t very bright, and the basketball court’s lights were focused on the playing area. Gu Shiying had to turn on his phone’s flashlight and lie on the ground to search for the cat.

"Youtiao? Is that you?"

He spotted a grayish-white cat in the bushes—it looked like Youtiao, but the cat wasn’t moving.

Gu Shiying wanted to crawl into the greenbelt, but his hand hadn’t fully healed yet, so he could only use his left hand to reach for the cat.

The school’s greenbelt was well-maintained and thick. Gu Shiying lay on the ground, stretching in, but no matter how he stretched, he couldn’t touch the cat. The more he stretched, the more the cat, frightened, shrank back toward the protective net.

Suddenly, someone tugged at his shirt, startling him into sitting upright. When he looked up, he saw Fu Huan, wearing his basketball gear, crouched beside him, looking down at him.

Fu Huan: "What are you doing sticking your butt up like that?"

"I’m looking for— ow…" Gu Shiying lost his balance and started toppling into the greenbelt. Fu Huan’s long arm shot out, steadied him by the small of his back.

The scorching heat from Fu Huan’s fingertips almost felt like it was burning Gu Shiying’s skin.

"Your butt is pretty perky, though."

Gu Shiying: "..."

Author's Note:

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Fu Huan: (*^__^*) Hehe, my wifey is here.

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Random 100 summer little red packets~