Chapter 3: Kitten’s World Collapses

Chapter 3: The Little Cat’s World Collapses

“Huh?”

Song Ji was momentarily stunned, thinking he'd misheard something.

He stood there like a statue, body stiff, rooted to the spot.

Touch... what?

Inviting someone he’d just met to do that seemed far too forward.

But the young man seemed oblivious. Seeing that Song Ji didn’t react, he took the initiative to step closer, stood on tiptoe and tilted his head back, eagerly inviting, “You can touch my hair.”

Fei Yu said it as if it were only natural—humans were all long limbs and completely hairless; only hair came closest to a furry texture.

If he couldn’t pet a cat, touching his own hair would probably feel about the same.

Song Ji’s throat moved, and for a moment, he was speechless. He opened his mouth, but the words of refusal just wouldn’t come out.

The young man in front of him had clear, bright eyes that held a nearly pure innocence.

When bathed in sunlight, they reflected a translucent luster, not like a human, but like a free-spirited little wild animal.

Song Ji’s vision blurred. Somehow, those eyes overlapped with the golden pupils of the Lion Cat.

Those luminous eyes stared at him with focused attention, revealing an anticipation he similarly couldn’t refuse.

On impulse, Song Ji reached out.

The moment his fingertips touched, his fingers instinctively recoiled, as if a tiny electric shock had shot into his fingertips and surged through his whole body.

Then, he felt the softness of the other’s hair. Song Ji’s breathing suddenly hitched, and the muscles in his back instantly tensed.

It was as if everything had been put on pause. Song Ji’s mind went blank, and he even forgot pulling his hand back.

The soft touch was fleeting. He felt a tightness in his throat, and the fingers he’d pulled back curled slightly at his side.

Fei Yu narrowed his eyes, struggling to hide how much he loved being petted.

He bit his lip, struggling to contain his joy, and quickly continued, “My name is Fei Yu, what’s yours?”

The first step in human friendship—exchanging names.

He could hardly wait.

For some reason, the guy in front of him looked stiff, and it took a long while before he replied in a hoarse voice, “Song Ji.”

Fei Yu asked curiously, “As in season?”

“Ji as in ‘guang feng ji yue’ (bright wind and clear moonlight).”

Song Ji pressed his lips together and said lightly, “I guess it was some hope my parents had for me.”

Fei Yu dropped his gaze, licked his lips nervously—this character was too obscure, completely beyond his knowledge.

Cat School's basic education only covered literacy, and he’d only finished three full months of it.

But it didn’t matter. He knew that at times like this, he just had to bluff his way through.

“Ah…” Fei Yu pretended to understand. “Hello there, Song Ji.”

The corners of Song Ji’s mouth turned up almost imperceptibly. He looked at the smiling young man and suddenly asked, “Are you a new student?”

Fei Yu: “No, I work at a coffee shop on Commercial Street—”

Crap—Fei Yu jolted. How could he have forgotten about work!

“I have to get back to work now.”

Fei Yu looked nervous and quickly confirmed with Song Ji, “Song Ji, we’re friends now, right? You’ll come find me later, won’t you?”

The young man looked up slightly, gazing at him expectantly, his clear black-and-white eyes clearly reflecting Song Ji’s figure. Song Ji found he absolutely couldn’t say no.

“Mm.” After a moment, he nodded stiffly.

“Great! See you, Song Ji!” Fei Yu beamed, waved excitedly at him, and then hurried off toward the e-bike.

Song Ji’s gaze automatically followed him, watching as he hopped onto the electric scooter, zipped around the corner in a hurry, and then gradually disappeared from sight.

It felt like a weird, surreal dream.

Before he knew it, a breeze blew by. The cherry trees by the roadside swayed, scattering soft pink petals.

Song Ji opened his hand slowly, and a soft pink petal landed in his palm and felt exceptionally smooth.

He found himself pressing his fingertip against the petal, gently tracing its veins.

Feeling dazed, he thought the fleeting touch from earlier had felt just as soft.

The next moment, his fingers jerked back as if burned.

*

In the afternoon, Zhou Qian suddenly developed an allergic reaction, breaking out in large red patches and had to leave early to get an IV and medication at the school clinic.

After learning that Zhou Qian was fine, Song Ji went alone to feed the cats.

The cats kept a cautious distance from Song Ji, gobbled down their food, and then quickly left, scared that the big demon would catch them if they lingered.

Song Ji waited on the lawn for a while, but still hadn’t spotted Pearl.

Frowning, he was about to start searching when a soft meow came from the bushes.

Song Ji turned toward the sound. A snow-white cat pushed its head through the bushes, trotted out with little cat steps, and ran eagerly toward him.

“Pearl.” The hollow feeling in his heart was instantly filled. Song Ji crouched and scooped up the soft little cat.

“Mew mew.” Fei Yu arched his back and rubbed his head against Song Ji’s knee, secretly relieved.

That was close—there was a short meeting at the store this afternoon, and he almost arrived late.

Song Ji patted the kitten’s head, opened a can of cat food, and poured the whole thing out into a food bowl.

He held the bowl out to Pearl and said softly, “Tonight it’s chicken flavor. Let’s see if you like it?”

The kitten came over, sniffed it twice, then slowly buried its head in the bowl.

Pearl ate very daintily, licking only a little each time, far less eagerly than in the morning. It took a while to finish the bowl.

Afterward, it drank some water, then refused to eat any more. It turned its head gracefully and began to groom the fur on its neck.

Song Ji wiped the food bowl briefly, then packed it into his backpack, thinking that Pearl preferred fish-flavored cat food over poultry, so he needed to prepare more.

After tidying up the trash, he bent down, slid one hand under Pearl’s armpits, and supported his fluffy bottom with the other, smoothly scooping the cat into his arms as he sat down on a nearby bench.

Song Ji awkwardly scratched under the kitten’s chin and rubbed his head, successfully earning a purr that sounded like a tiny motorcycle revving.

Due to his poor reputation among the cat community, the campus cats avoided him on sight, so Song Ji had little experience petting cats.

But Pearl seemed to enjoy it.

The stray’s rule was “you snooze, you lose,” and Song Ji smiled in delight, thinking that Pearl was destined to be his cat.

His usually indifferent face showed rare tenderness as he curled his finger and gently tapped the cat’s nose, whispering, “Pearl, come home with me, all right?”

Huh?

Fei Yu, who had been enjoying the petting, blinked, curled his tail, and tilted his head to look at Song Ji.

Did Song Ji mean to take him home?

He was a Catfolk—he couldn’t just go home with a human like that.

But if it was Song Ji...

Fei Yu wrinkled his nose in distress, deep in thought.

Before he could come to a conclusion, something warm slid under his belly, and Fei Yu’s body stiffened as if he’d been electrocuted.

Fei Yu: !!!

“Meow!” Fei Yu was shocked, his eyes wide with disbelief as he twisted his head to glare at the culprit.

Song Ji had just touched his bells!

His fingertips brushed against two soft but fairly big objects, and Song Ji’s expression froze as well.

Meeting the cat’s shocked gaze and realizing what it was, Song Ji quickly came to his senses, apologizing awkwardly and sincerely, “Sorry, Pearl, I didn’t mean to.”

Fei Yu stood up, his front paws tapping against Song Ji’s leg with a soft pat-pat-pat, letting out a few meows of reproach.

This was a cat’s private area—not to be touched by people.

Song Ji leaned slightly forward, meeting the cat’s angry gaze with an expression of utmost sincerity, his magnetic voice lowered.

“It’s all my fault. Don’t be mad, Pearl. How about I make it up to you with ten cans?”

“Not enough? Then... how about a can for every meal?”

Hearing Song Ji’s repeated apologies, a trace of hesitation flickered in Fei Yu’s eyes, and his expression softened.

This was the human he wanted to mate with, so accidentally touching him probably didn’t matter.

In the end, Fei Yu just let out a soft, muffled “meow,” and obediently settled back down.

Only one time you're forgiven. Don't treat a kitten like that again.

He was a generous cat, so he could forgive a rare accident.

After all, he liked Song Ji.

When he finally calmed the kitten down, Song Ji breathed a sigh of relief and said sincerely, “Thank you, Pearl.”

Holding the purring cat comfortably in his arms, he silently recalled the sensation from earlier.

Hmm... it seemed Pearl was a very healthy little tom.

Once the Cat Association approved the adoption, he could schedule the neutering.

*

Coffee Shop Storage Room

Pang Qiu lay comfortably on the cushion with his eyes closed, his paws and feet tucked under his round belly.

He had slept on this cushion so many times that the center had sunk into a sizable hole, and the edges were frayed.

He was fast asleep when—bang—the half-open window was pushed open by a cat’s head, and a round Lion Cat jumped down from the windowsill, landing in front of him.

The catfolk was so excited he couldn’t contain himself as he entered, tapping his paws on the floor with a crisp pat-pat, “Pang Qiu, I saw that human again! He said I was beautiful! And I know his name now—it’s Song Ji!”

“We’re friends now, and I invited him to the coffee shop.”

“Maybe he’ll come tomorrow!”

“Is that so...” Pang Qiu listened drowsily, yawned, and offered a half-hearted compliment, “I knew I was right about you. You’re a clever kitten.”

He curled his tail and fished out another cushion from the gap between the cabinet and the wall, dusted off the loose fur, and placed it beside his own.

Fei Yu couldn’t help but step on the cushion a couple of times before curling into a cat loaf, resting his head on his back paws, covering his body with his tail, and settling down obediently.

Pang Qiu continued, “Bring him to the coffee shop. I’ll know at a glance if he’s gay.”

“Since you’re friends now, the next step is to spend more time together, build up the chemistry, and aim to get into bed within a month.”

“You can have a meal together, go for a walk, but remember,” Pang Qiu said, raising a kitten paw for emphasis, “Never reveal that you’re a Catfolk.”

“Don’t worry, Senior, I know.” Fei Yu nodded honestly.

Hoping Song Ji might come back, Fei Yu got up early the next day to start work.

But one day, two days—Fei Yu pushed open the coffee shop’s glass door with anticipation, craning his neck to look outside all day, only to close it in disappointment at the end of each shift.

He had even figured out which character “Ji” in “Feng Guang Ji Yue” was, but the expected figure never appeared.

Not only that, when he turned back into a cat at night and went to the usual garden, he didn’t spot Song Ji’s silhouette either.

Fei Yu’s expression shifted from certainty to hesitancy: “Maybe... he’s busy with something and will come in a few days.”

Sitting on the doorstep, Pang Qiu, who had gotten up early with Fei Yu for several days, yawned wearily and said, “You wait here then. I’m going back to sleep.”

With that, the tabby cat shook his tail and waddled back into the store.

Fei Yu sat on the steps, staring at the commercial street, his face troubled as he cupped his cheeks and thought back, “Did I say something wrong?”

He thought for a moment, then inserted the straw into the soy milk cup, took a sip, and murmured, “No, I didn’t.”

He looked at the soy milk in his hand and wondered if maybe Song Ji liked sweet beans, not bitter beans.

Maybe he should work next door at the calico cat’s soy milk shop instead of the bitter coffee shop.

No matter, Fei Yu shook his head vigorously, clearing the discouraging thoughts from his mind.

If Song Ji doesn't come to the coffee shop, I can go find him.

After all, he had already marked Song Ji—the other carried his scent, so he wouldn't fail to find him.

Fei Yu finished his soy milk and thought happily: What a clever cat I am.

*

A University's Cat Association Activity Center

"Great, the biggest problem is solved!"

"Once the custom collars arrive, we can test them on the cats." The association head, Wen Jia, let out a long sigh of relief.

The association members cheered excitedly: "Wonderful! All our hard work over these days wasn't in vain."

Wen Jia turned to the young man beside her, who had cold eyes and an aloof expression, and said with a smile, "Junior, thank you for your hard work. Without your help, we probably couldn't have finished so quickly."

"Thanks, Brother Song!" The members cast admiring glances at him.

The young man at the center of attention looked indifferent, his chiseled features carrying a touch of aloofness.

Facing the eager gazes around him, he simply closed his laptop and said calmly, "It's nothing."

This year, the Cat Association has been pushing a project to track stray animals on campus. Once successful, members can monitor the movements of stray cats and dogs in real time and promptly detect and respond to any abnormalities.

However, the project is still being refined and recently hit a bottleneck: the tracking collars worn by the strays become unstable once they stray far from the campus center.

Thanks to Song Ji's help in upgrading the program, it became usable.

Wen Jia looked at Song Ji and said with a smile, "Junior Song, you just got back from a business trip with Professor Fu and haven't had a chance to rest. We feel bad about taking up your time. How about we grab a meal together later?"

Song Ji was the Cat Association's guardian angel—not only exceptionally capable, but also never shirking responsibility, not to mention donating a large sum to the association every year.

It was no exaggeration to say that since Song Ji joined the Cat Association, Wen Jia had been smiling even in her dreams.

"No need, it's nothing."

Song Ji had never liked such socializing, so he directly declined, closed his laptop, and prepared to leave.

"Alright, take care!" Wen Jia, already familiar with this patron's aloof personality, just smiled and didn't press further.

"Thanks for your hard work, everyone. That's it for today. Students from the feeding and publicity groups can head back first."

She scanned the attending members and quickly arranged the next plan: "Xiao Qi, Da Lin, do you both have no classes today?"

"There's still some time before lunch. Let's find a place and finish the final report."

"Yeah, yeah," Jiang Qi rubbed her hands together and excitedly suggested, "Senior Zhou isn't here today. Let's go to the coffee shop on Commercial Street! I haven't pet Pang Qiu in ages—I really miss him. I wonder if he's gained weight."

"Agreed," said Da Lin.

Wen Jia smiled: "Alright, since none of you have any objections."

The association members left one by one. The three of them gathered their belongings and followed out.

But they saw Song Ji, who should have left already, standing outside the door. He glanced at them and said calmly, "There's a small issue with the program. I'll come with you."

"Oh, sure, sure." Wen Jia blinked and quickly responded.

Song Ji had never liked participating in Cat Association meetings or social events; he always tried to solve problems online.

What's this? Did the sun rise from the west?

The three followed behind him, exchanging confused looks, completely baffled.

Author's Note:

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Great, it's a super adorable cat.