Chapter 5: Catfolk Shocked

Chapter 5: Catfolk Shocked

"Do you have time now?"

Song Ji looked up at Fei Yu, his deep, dark eyes filled with concern.

A refusal rolled around in Fei Yu's throat, but what came out was, "I do."

Sitting on a bench by the intersection, Fei Yu unpacked the items from the plastic bag but hesitated as he held them in his hands.

The Catfolk had strong constitutions, rarely getting sick or injured, so the medical station in Cat Village was virtually nonexistent.

Now, staring at the only bottle in his palm—a black, medicine-like substance—he tried to recall how humans took their meds, blinking in bewilderment and confusion.

It smells awful... Do I just drink it straight?

Seeing his hesitation, Song Ji raised an eyebrow and asked softly, "Need help?"

"Yeah." Fei Yu nodded slightly, lifting his hand. The next moment, his right hand was held in a large, well-knuckled hand.

Song Ji said, "Excuse me."

The boy's fingers were pale and slender, lightly resting on the back of his hand, as if freshly washed, the pads still slightly cool and damp.

Song Ji tried to ignore the delicate sensation of the touch, lowering his head to focus on the wound.

This kind of patterned bandage was of poor quality, having stuck to the finger for just a few hours, and due to the lack of air circulation, the covered skin had turned slightly pale.

As the bandage was fully peeled off, the wound was exposed again, the flesh beneath faintly visible, raw and harsh.

Song Ji frowned, his palm clasping the base of Fei Yu's thumb, while his other hand used a cotton swab dipped in iodine. His usually cold eyes softened with tender reassurance: "I’ll be gentle. If it hurts, tell me."

Fei Yu: "Okay."

The cold liquid seeped into the wound, the touched skin tingling with a mild sting. Fei Yu didn’t even furrow his brow, his palm obediently held in the other’s grip.

The young man’s palm was warm and broad, his fingers long and strong. The heat of his body temperature transferred through his palm, and Fei Yu could feel his own hand slowly warming up.

With nothing else to do, his gaze drifted around for a moment before landing back on the person beside him.

Song Ji was looking down, his bangs casting shadows over his brows, his thin lips, perfectly shaped, slightly pursed.

They sat very close, almost shoulder to shoulder, a distance that allowed Fei Yu to fully appreciate the young man’s chiseled, handsome features.

His gaze gradually wandered downward. The young man’s shoulders were broad and straight, his athletic build showing clear signs of exercise but not overly exaggerated, filling out his clothes just right.

Further down, the hand holding his was large, with prominent veins on the back, the sleeve rolled up a bit, revealing the smooth, firm lines of his forearm.

Fei Yu liked what he saw more and more, his long lashes trembling slightly, a blush creeping onto his cheeks, his mind wandering.

So handsome. How could every part of him perfectly hit the mark of what he finds attractive?

Cat God, please don’t let Song Ji be straight.

"Done." Song Ji gently let go.

"Song Ji, thank you." Fei Yu snapped back to reality, a faint smile on his face.

Song Ji’s fingers, now back at his side, rubbed together unconsciously. His gaze flickered with warmth before he looked away as if nothing had happened, his voice a little husky: "It was nothing."

"Sorry, I was on a business trip with my advisor for two days and only got back last night."

Fei Yu blinked, then realized Song Ji was explaining why he had only come to the café today.

He wasn’t trying to avoid him.

"It’s okay," Fei Yu replied, his whole mood lifting, his eyes curving into crescents.

Then he thought of something, his tone excited and cheerful as he invited, "Have you had lunch?"

Song Ji paused: "Not yet."

His heart stirred, his lips moving slightly, about to say, "How about going to the xx restaurant off campus?"

But before he could, Fei Yu’s eyes lit up as he looked at him, enthusiastically saying, "Let me treat you to lunch, okay? I just happen to have a coupon for the XX convenience store!"

Ten minutes later, the two sat at a dining table in the convenience store on the commercial street, each holding a triangular rice ball.

The rice balls were tuna flavored, with thin seaweed wrapped around thick rice, but the filling in the center was pitifully small.

Song Ji hadn’t eaten such convenient fast food in a long time. Just tearing open the poorly designed packaging took some effort, and the bland rice and filling, after a few bites, became hard to swallow.

Fei Yu, however, ate with relish, methodically biting each of the three corners of the rice ball in turn, ensuring that each corner had roughly the same remaining amount, all evenly progressing toward the center filling.

He looked down, his soft hair sticking to his ears, his cheeks slightly puffed as he chewed slowly, swallowing slowly, like a little hamster hoarding winter supplies.

Suddenly, a few sparrows landed on the tree branches across the street, chirping and hopping lively among the branches.

He was immediately drawn in, his eyelids lifting, his eyes bright as he watched them intently.

Such pure and simple joy.

Song Ji silently watched the person beside him, wanting to speak several times but stopping himself, just quietly gripping the plastic packaging of the rice ball.

Topics like studies and work were too private; given their current relationship, maybe he didn’t have the right to ask.

Song Ji wasn’t one to meddle. On the contrary, he had a strong sense of boundaries and was never interested in others’ privacy.

He had a cleanliness obsession, regular routines, couldn’t tolerate sharing a room with many people, so he rented an apartment off campus. He was cold by nature, always solitary, disliked socializing, and kept only a fixed few friends.

Even as childhood friends, in three years of university, Zhou Qian had only visited his apartment a handful of times.

But with Fei Yu, he felt an inexplicable curiosity.

Though they had only met once, that slim, slender figure would occasionally surface in his mind.

When he discovered Fei Yu was injured, his brain hadn’t even reacted yet, but he instinctively went to check on him. Even returning with medicine out of concern went against his usual principles of friendship.

But he didn’t dislike this version of himself.

A voice deep inside whispered that he wanted to be closer to Fei Yu, not just remain a casual friend.

After a long hesitation, his throat tightening, Song Ji carefully chose his words, trying to sound as natural as possible: "Working at the café—isn’t it too tiring?"

"Mm," Fei Yu looked away from the sparrows, somewhat confused, and responded softly, "It’s not tiring. Our boss is really nice, doesn’t even deduct pay for occasional late arrivals or early leaves."

"Have you considered other part-time jobs?" Song Ji tried to be tactful. "The café must be busy, maybe it affects your studies."

Fei Yu looked completely bewildered: "No, I—"

His voice came to an abrupt halt, the second half of his sentence suddenly stuck in his throat.

Fei Yu’s heart skipped a beat, his smile freezing on his face as he suddenly understood Song Ji’s implied meaning—Song Ji was asking if he was still in school!

Why had the conversation suddenly turned to this? Fei Yu panicked. Did being friends with Song Ji require a college degree?

A catfolk without a university diploma—sorry, not qualified to be Song Ji’s friend, only to be turned away!

“Uh… uh…” Fei Yu was flustered, at a loss for how to answer for a moment.

He looked around wildly in panic, unable to focus on anything.

After a long moment, he lowered his lashes, muttering weakly, “I did go to university for a while.”

Although his grades weren’t outstanding, he had successfully graduated from a three-month cat college, so he wasn’t an illiterate kitten.

So it should be fine for us to be friends, right?

Song Ji’s heart sank like a rock.

Studied for a while, but now isn’t continuing…

Countless thoughts churned through his mind. Song Ji suddenly clenched his fist, a bitter, inexplicable emotion rising within him.

He hadn't been through that himself, but that didn’t mean he lacked basic common sense.

Fei Yu was at most nineteen or twenty years old. He should be on campus studying without a care in the world, not entering society so early.

Unless some misfortune had forced him to drop out and work at a coffee shop…

Even if he got hurt, because he was still on the job, he could only endure the discomfort and pretend nothing was wrong.

When he finally had a break, his lunch was just the cheapest seaweed-wrapped rice ball from the convenience store.

Yet, facing the blows of fate, he hadn’t been crushed. He even smiled and told himself the work wasn’t hard.

Song Ji’s feelings grew even more bitter.

He had many relatives and elders in his family, and many younger brothers as well. Thanks to their comfortable background, most were mischievous little rascals from childhood.

He had never met a younger person with such a soft temperament and strong will as Fei Yu.

A hint of tenderness appeared in his eyes. If he were to bring Fei Yu home, his mother, paternal aunts, maternal aunts, and maternal uncles' wives would definitely be very fond of him—

Song Ji’s pupils trembled slightly. He suddenly got it—no wonder he had felt so close to Fei Yu when they first met.

It turned out he had been treating Fei Yu like a younger brother. His concern and worry came from a protective instinct toward a younger person.

After a long silence from Song Ji, Fei Yu grew nervous and didn’t dare lift his head to see his expression.

So he just lowered his head, taking small bites, nibbling the last of the tuna filling.

When there was truly nothing left to eat, he glanced at the half-eaten rice ball in Song Ji’s hand, and forced himself to change the subject: “Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like this flavor?”

Song Ji snapped back to reality.

Fei Yu was obviously living so frugally himself, yet he was willing to share his favorite food.

How could he, Song Ji, have the right to be picky about the food that sustained Fei Yu?

“I like it.” Song Ji stuffed the remaining rice ball into his mouth in three bites, swallowing it hastily, as if eager to prove something.

A flash of determination crossed his dark eyes. He spoke low and deliberate, each word distinct: “We’re good friends now, right? If there’s anything you need help with, you can tell me.”

Huh? Fei Yu tilted his head, not sure how he'd brushed it off so smoothly.

His soft lips curled up, breaking into a bright, dazzling smile: “Sure, Song Ji.”

Hope you're this generous when we get into bed!

Author’s note:

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This is how misunderstandings are born!