Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Yu Xiaoyu had been playing with Lu Maomao every day recently and had grown accustomed to his company. Today, when Lu Maomao suddenly wasn't there to accompany him, Yu Xiaoyu felt completely out of sorts.

Soon after he got back to his courtyard, he began to grow restless.

He kept swiveling his head around, peering here and there, searching for Lu Maomao over and over.

Nanny Shisong and Cui Xi noticed and stepped forward to soothe him. "Young Master Xiaoyu, what are you looking for?"

Yu Xiaoyu didn't answer.

Nanny Shisong and Cui Xi were already used to Yu Xiaoyu's lack of response. They didn't push him for an answer, patiently waiting for his next move.

Yu Xiaoyu realized that no matter how much he searched the room, he couldn't find the person he wanted. Suddenly, he stood up and barged straight outside.

Nanny Shisong and Cui Xi were taken aback and quickly followed. "Young Master Xiaoyu, where are you going?"

"Cat... cat."

Yu Xiaoyu ignored them, walking forward on his own, muttering "cat cat" under his breath.

Now Cui Xi and Nanny Shisong understood who he was looking for.

"Young Master, Master Lu went out to handle some business. He'll be back in the afternoon. He even said goodbye to you before he left. Don't you remember?" Cui Xi said, chasing after Yu Xiaoyu.

Lu Maomao, aware he was no longer a single cat but had a family, naturally felt his family should know when he went out. Before asking Yu Changan for leave, he'd taken the time to gently say goodbye to Yu Xiaoyu.

He knew Yu Xiaoyu probably didn't understand much of it, but the ritual was important. He didn't want a future, recovered Xiaoyu looking back on these times to feel he'd been neglected.

Lu Maomao was confident about Yu Xiaoyu's future, firmly believing he would recover. Even if Xiaoyu's condition improved only slightly, a brave cat who made a choice would never regret it.

Of course, Yu Xiaoyu didn't remember any of what Cui Xi said. All he knew was that his cat cat had suddenly run off and wasn't playing with him anymore. The only way to have cat cat continue accompanying him was to find cat cat and bring him back.

Seeing Young Master Xiaoyu purposefully heading towards the small garden in the courtyard, Nanny Shisong couldn't help but sigh at Son-in-law Lu's influence on the young master.

Initially, some servants, taking advantage of Young Master Xiaoyu's inability to cry or complain, had been negligent in their care—not feeding him on time, not changing his clothes promptly, even stealing his belongings. After Young Master Chang'an discovered this, he had sold off quite a few people. Since then, Old Master Yu and Young Master Chang'an had kept a very tight rein on the servants around Xiaoyu, replacing many over the years. Nanny Shisong and Cui Xi had come to serve Yu Xiaoyu four years ago.

Upon reaching the garden, Yu Xiaoyu continued searching everywhere for Lu Maomao.

Seeing Young Master Xiaoyu's steps become more and more frantic, Nanny Shisong knew he must be feeling very agitated. She said to Cui Xi, "You go and bring the big white cat, and have someone notify Fifth Master."

Cui Xi agreed and jogged off to find the big white cat.

"The cat is here, the cat is here!" Cui Xi scooped up the big white cat, who had been sleeping on a tree branch, and jogged back.

Hearing the word "cat," Yu Xiaoyu looked at Cui Xi. Cui Xi handed the big white cat to Xiaoyu. "Young Master Xiaoyu, here's a cat for you."

Yu Xiaoyu hesitantly took it, holding the big white cat while continuing to search for his own cat cat. Although his mood had calmed somewhat compared to before, he hadn't given up on finding Lu Maomao.

"Nanny, Young Master Xiaoyu really insists on having Son-in-law Lu."

"Let's hope Son-in-law Lu returns soon," Nanny Shisong said.

Yu Changan and Old Master Yu also arrived in the garden just then. Knowing that Yu Xiaoyu was restless and anxious looking for Lu Maomao, their hearts ached with indescribable bitterness.

They usually cared for Xiaoyu so much, yet Xiaoyu had never fussed about looking for them. Lu Maomao had only been gone for a couple of hours, and Xiaoyu was already unhappy. He's already favoring his husband over his own family.

Seeing Yu Changan, Yu Xiaoyu stepped forward and stammered, "Wu... wu, cat cat."

Yu Xiaoyu would only repeat "fifth brother" after someone else said it first. On his own, he couldn't call out "fifth brother," only managing "Wuwu." That's why he called Yu Changan "Wuwu" when he saw him. Because of this, Yu Changan often suspected that Lu Maomao hadn't put any real effort into teaching Xiaoyu to say "fifth brother."

"You're looking for Lu Maoer? He went out to play," Yu Changan said.

"Play?"

Yu Xiaoyu had learned the word "play." Lu Maomao often said to him, "Xiaoyu, let's go play." So, after a moment, Yu Xiaoyu understood what Yu Changan meant.

He pointed at himself, as if to say, why didn't cat cat play with him?

"When he comes back, Fifth Brother will scold him, make sure he never dares to leave our Xiaoyu alone again, okay?" Yu Changan comforted Xiaoyu while inwardly cursing Lu Maoer. Damn that Lu Maoer, who knows what mischief he's up to? Why did he have to go out now, of all times, leaving Xiaoyu alone at home?

Yu Xiaoyu didn't understand. Holding the big white cat, he went to Old Master Yu's side, mustering great effort to say, "Grandpa, cat cat."

Old Master Yu felt both pity and affection for this vibrant Yu Xiaoyu. "Alright, let cat cat play with our Xiaoyu. Grandpa will have someone go find Lu Maoer and bring him back right away."

The steward sent Yu Maizi and Yu Guzi to look for Lu Maomao. The two searched for a long time and finally found Lu Maomao squatting in front of a clay figurine stall.

"Young Master Lu, Young Master Xiaoyu is at home fussing to see you. The old master sent us to find you," Yu Guzi said, also squatting down.

"Xiaoyu is looking for me?" Lu Maomao was delighted. He had only been out for half a day, and Xiaoyu was already fussing to find him. This meant Xiaoyu was starting to care about him. Was his love affair finally no longer a one-sided infatuation of just one cat?

"Yes, Young Master Xiaoyu was so anxious he was almost crying. Young Master Lu, you should hurry back," Yu Guzi said exaggeratedly.

Xiaoyu was almost crying from anxiety? That wouldn't do.

Lu Maomao urged the stall owner to hurry up. He needed to go home to see Xiaoyu.

Lu Maomao was homesick for Xiaoyu. He all but flew back home and went straight to find him.

The big cat cat was back. Yu Xiaoyu threw away the big white cat in his arms and threw himself into Lu Maomao's embrace, holding him tightly. In his mind, as long as he held cat cat tightly, cat cat couldn't run away and could stay with him forever.

Yu Xiaoyu's enthusiastic embrace made Lu Maomao feel light-headed and elated.

Lu Maomao looked down and saw a small, satisfied smile playing on Yu Xiaoyu's lips. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it might leap out.

So beautiful.

Yu Xiaoyu's features were already exceptional, but when he smiled, he was utterly captivating. Lu Maomao felt he was about to be intoxicated.

Was this the saying, "It's not the wine that intoxicates, but the drinker who intoxicates himself"?

He really wanted to give him a kiss.

Just one.

They were already engaged. One kiss shouldn't be a big deal, right?

Lu Maomao's thoughts stirred restlessly, but then he remembered Yu Xiaoyu was only fifteen. His muddled mind finally cleared. No, that's jailbait. He must cherish and protect Xiaoyu, not take advantage of him while he was still innocent and unaware.

Oh, he was also fifteen. Then it was even more unacceptable.

Based on Lu Maomao's observations of the human world over the years, people who started smoking never initially thought they would become addicted, yet smoking became part of their daily lives. It was the same for those who secretly tasted forbidden fruit during adolescence. After the first time, they would find ways for a second, a third time. Their life's focus would shift, and the prime years for learning and striving would be wasted.

The ancients spoke of being cautious at the beginning, doing things well from start to finish, planning the beginning and knowing the pitfalls to the end. Lu Maomao felt that whether it was kissing, smoking, playing games, or similar things, timing was crucial. For things that, once started, offered no turning back, if they couldn't be reasonably and without negative consequences incorporated into one's current daily life, one shouldn't start them lightly. If unavoidable, one must proceed with caution, not letting oneself get caught in a whirlpool.

This was his responsibility as the Cat Overlord!

"Alright, alright, have you hugged enough? Let go now." Lu Maomao's internal monologue was interrupted by his brother-in-law. He carefully supported Yu Xiaoyu's arms, gently peeling Yu Xiaoyu off of him.

Hmm, even hugs need to be taken seriously.

Once he realized that hugs could also be addictive, Lu Maomao lamented inwardly. It's hard to be a great man, and it's no easier being a great cat.

"Did you finish your business?" Yu Changan asked Lu Maomao.

"All done."

"I won’t ask what you were up to, but the glitz and glamour out there can be tempting—I hope you keep your head on straight." Yu Changan had originally intended to tell Lu Maomao to go out less and spend more time at home with Yu Xiaoyu, but remembering that Lu Maomao was only marrying into the family and hadn’t sold himself to them, he changed tack to a gentle warning.

Lu Maomao rolled his eyes at Yu Changan.

What 'glitz and glamour'? What kind of dazzling world could Anping County possibly be? As if he, Lu Maomao, had never seen true prosperity? The modern world was so much more vibrant, and he hadn’t been dazzled by it—let alone a mere county like Anping.

Only Xiaoyu could make Maomao worry endlessly and never get tired of looking at him.

Lu Maomao ruffled Yu Xiaoyu’s hair and showed him the gifts he had brought back. He had asked the vendor to make four clay figurines: two human-shaped ones representing him and Xiaoyu, and one fish-shaped and one cat-shaped, also symbolizing the two of them.

Yu Xiaoyu was really taken with the cat and fish-shaped clay figures and pointed to the fish-shaped and cat-shaped jade pendants hanging from his waist to show Lu Maomao.

Lu Maomao played along enthusiastically. "Xiaoyu’s jade pendants are also in pairs—they’re so pretty."

Seeing that Maomao understood, Yu Xiaoyu turned back to look at the little clay figures.

Since Maomao had been gone for half the day, Yu Xiaoyu was especially clingy that evening, and it took Maomao forever to coax him back to his room.

"If only we could turn eighteen sooner."

Lu Maomao thought to himself that once he and Xiaoyu were both eighteen, they would get married. In three years, his body should be properly built up, and Xiaoyu, who had always been so good-looking, would surely make a handsome groom.

"Cat King, I must leave." That night, Old Cat bid farewell to Lu Maomao.

Lu Maomao had already anticipated this. Old Cat had come to the Yu family with him not only to help resolve his household registration issue but also to teach Clerk Huang a lesson on behalf of Lu Maoer. Now that everything was settled, it was time for Old Cat to return to his own place.

"May your cultivation bear fruit soon." Lu Maomao wished Old Cat well. In this world, spirits could cultivate to become refined beings. With enough effort, Old Cat might just fulfill his wish.

"And may the Cat King soon return to the Great Path." Old Cat said sincerely.

Lu Maomao: ...

Over the past few days, Lu Maomao had come to accept the fact that Lu Maoer’s body had poor cultivation talent and found it difficult to enter the Dao. Despite basking in the moonlight for so many days, all it had done was help him clear his mind and reduce lustful thoughts about Xiaoyu. As for when he might regain his magical powers and abilities, he had no certainty. Lu Maomao felt he might really need to find a Patriarch to cry to—which mountain sect should he seek out?