Chapter 8: Catfolk Seeking Knowledge for Love

Chapter 8: Catfolk Studies for Love

How did you get injured too?

As the young man's words fell, Fei Yu, as a cat, suddenly froze like a stone, curled up on Song Ji's thigh without daring to move.

Oh no, he was so happy to see Song Ji that he forgot about this.

His right hand had been cut by glass, and when he turned into a cat, the same spot on his right paw would also bear a scar.

Song Ji is so smart—by asking this, did he notice something wrong?

Fei Yu's eyes were full of anxiety. He tried to retract his paw in a concealing manner, but couldn't pull it back, letting out two soft meows.

From Song Ji's angle, he could only see a pure white cat's head.

If he had seen the cat's expression at this moment, he would have found the guilt in its round eyes exactly matched that of the young man from the daytime.

Frowning, Song Ji lifted Fei Yu's left front paw and brought it close to his eyes for a careful examination.

The cat's paw pads were soft and pink; a gentle squeeze would automatically make the toe beans bloom.

What caught his eye was that on the inside of the second toe of the right paw, there was an extra red wound, dyeing the surrounding fur pink.

The injury had been there for a while.

Song Ji looked closely; a faint smell of disinfectant suddenly drifted into his nose. A kind-hearted student from the school had already treated the kitten's wound.

It was inevitable for a stray cat on campus to get hurt. In places he hadn't seen, Pearl had probably suffered countless injuries.

"It must really hurt."

His heart felt as if pricked by countless silver needles. Song Ji suppressed the bitterness in his heart and gently stroked the kitten's head.

"Huh?" Fei Yu nimbly twisted his body like a pretzel and turned his head to look. He saw the young man's long eyebrows furrowed, his eyes full of concern for the cat.

He breathed a small sigh of relief and relaxed.

Great, Song Ji hadn't noticed.

That made sense; even if the injury was in the same spot, who would link a person to a cat?

Song Ji was about to put down Pearl's paw pad, but just before doing so, something flashed through his mind, and a strange impulse rose in his chest.

The Lion Cat had fluffy fur, and his furry paws felt wonderful to touch, not to mention the bouncy pink paw pads.

He squeezed it, then raised Pearl's paw pad and kissed it gently, cherishing it.

"This way it won't hurt anymore... Pearl baby."

The fleeting touch of his lips. The cat's eyes instantly widened, and his furry face was full of surprise.

As if the young man had just done something extremely heinous.

It was the first time Song Ji had done something like this on a whim; when he kissed it, he didn't think much of it.

But now, unexpectedly meeting the cat's surprised and innocent round eyes, he belatedly felt a bit uncomfortable, and a blush crept onto his cheeks.

He suddenly clenched his fist, coughed twice, and turned his head away.

"Meow."

Fei Yu ignored Song Ji's awkward feelings. He narrowed his eyes, rubbed his face against the young man's hand, and proudly kneaded the young man's thigh twice.

His bushy tail behind him also perked up proudly and wagged left and right.

Human, so you really are crazy about me.

Since Song Ji was so into him, he had to work hard too.

Fei Yu secretly made a fist. Hmm, it was decided. He would go to human university for classes tomorrow!

*

The next morning, Fei Yu got up early from his cat bed.

After eating cat food, he grabbed a canvas bag in his mouth, slipped out through the window, found a secluded spot to transform into human form, and walked towards the nearby teaching building.

It was feeding time at the Cat Association, and cats were gathering nearby waiting for food.

Upon seeing him, colorful kittens eagerly ran over to greet him: "Boss, boss, the weather is great today, want to go play?"

Fei Yu shook his head and firmly refused: "No can do, I've got other things to do today. You all go ahead."

Now that he had a mating partner he liked, he could no longer be a lazy kitten!

Before class started, Fei Yu slipped into the teaching building with the huge crowd of students.

On the ground floor, an electronic screen cycled through the course listings for each classroom. Fei Yu stared intently, scanning each one carefully.

Law, Accounting, Literature, Communication Studies...

After looking for a long while, Fei Yu scratched his head, with a frustrated face, racking his brain—why didn't he know any of these?

After looking for ages, his eyes finally stopped on a certain subject—Minor Language Elective.

Fei Yu blinked. How could Cat Language not count as a minor language? Besides, he also knew foreign cat language.

The principal of Cat University was a Siamese lady cat, but she spoke both Cat Language and Mandarin with perfect authenticity.

He also had a neighbor who was a Siberian Forest Cat. He was a quiet cat who rarely spoke, but he was the village's best carpenter; he built all the cat trees in the village.

He could understand foreign cat languages; it was basically just the difference between 'mew' and 'meow'.

From this perspective, foreign languages for humans shouldn't be much different either.

Fei Yu immediately decided to take this course. He followed the electronic screen instructions and entered the designated classroom.

When he entered, the back rows were already full of students. Fei Yu looked around and sneaked into a corner seat like a stealthy cat.

The class bell rang. The old professor, with white hair and green eyes, stepped onto the podium with vigorous steps and greeted everyone in broken Chinese.

Seeing the professor, who looked a lot like a Western catfolk, Fei Yu felt more confident.

He opened his notebook, clicked his pen, straightened his back, and looked at the blackboard, his eyes clear and bright.

Ten minutes later, Fei Yu's confident smile was starting to crack as he struggled to follow the professor's train of thought.

Twenty minutes later, Fei Yu's eyes grew increasingly confused, gradually going blank, and finally completely out of focus. He wrote slower and slower.

Thirty minutes later, Fei Yu had a look of bitter resentment on his face, staring at the monitor covered in weird symbols, and couldn't write a single word.

In the second half of the class, as the professor spat out more and more gibberish, Fei Yu sighed in disappointment and flopped face-down onto the desk with a plop.

Staring at the notebook covered in scribbles, he pouted, furrowed his delicate brows, and drew another crying kitty face on it.

He had been wrong—Cat language hadn't yet been included in the range of minor languages by humans (｡•́︿•̀｡).

The bell rang for the end of class. Fei Yu, his earlier confidence completely gone, wore a miserable look and walked out of the classroom with heavy steps.

The students at University A were so impressive—they knew everything the professor asked, but he couldn't even understand the lecture.

If Song Ji found out that he was an illiterate little cat who couldn't even follow the class, would he still want to be his friend?

The more Fei Yu thought about it, the worse he felt. He trudged slowly out of the stairwell.

Just as he was about to head toward the exit, someone passed by him and suddenly called out, "Senior Song Ji! What a coincidence, you're taking class here too?"

Fei Yu instinctively looked up, and the familiar tall figure appeared not far away.

All around were students hurrying with their bags. The young man was tall and long-legged, clearly half a head taller than those around him, with striking, handsome features.

He carried his bag with one hand, his expression distant and cool, and nodded at the speaker.

It was Song Ji!

A sudden uneasy feeling rose in Fei Yu's heart, and his hand unconsciously gripped the shoulder strap of his canvas bag.

Fei Yu had been full of confidence, but after experiencing an onslaught of baffling human knowledge, he was left only with discouragement. He was nowhere near ready to face Song Ji.

What if Song Ji started quizzing him again? What could he possibly answer?

Fei Yu stood there lost in thought, and saw the other student quickly approach Song Ji and start chatting with him about some topic.

Though he was too far away to hear clearly, Fei Yu felt the studious aura around Song Ji growing more and more dazzling.

He licked his lips and was about to turn and leave.

But unexpectedly, the young man suddenly lifted his long lashes, and those deep black eyes swept across the crowd and landed squarely on him.

Fei Yu froze, and for a moment he forgot what he was supposed to do.

In the next moment, Song Ji said something quietly to the person beside him, then strode over toward him.

Fei Yu had completely missed his chance to leave.

Song Ji hadn't expected to run into Fei Yu here. He had originally planned to go to the coffee shop after class.

But who would have thought that as soon as he came out of the classroom, he spotted that slender silhouette at the stairwell.

The young man's eyes were half-lowered as he walked forward slowly with his head down, revealing a patch of snow-white, delicate neck that shone with a moist luster.

Before Song Ji could even understand the sudden pounding in his chest at the sight of Fei Yu, his body had already moved ahead, unconsciously drawing nearer to him.

He had thought Fei Yu was here to deliver coffee, but as he got closer he realized that Fei Yu wasn't wearing the coffee shop uniform and had a canvas bag slung over his shoulder.

He immediately understood—Fei Yu must be taking a break from work to audit a class.

In his line of sight, the tall, long-legged young man walked toward him step by step, and Fei Yu's heart gave a heavy thump.

Today Song Ji wore a simple hoodie with jeans, but the loose clothes couldn't hide his firm, defined muscles.

His broad shoulders and narrow waist straddled the line between boyish and mature, exuding the unique youthful energy of a college student.

He looked especially handsome.

Seeing Song Ji stop in front of him, Fei Yu finally snapped out of it. His cheeks flushed, and he asked hoarsely, "Song Ji, are you in class?"

"Mm," Song Ji said, not even realizing that he had smiled. He said softly, adding, "And you? Are you here to attend a lecture too?"

Fei Yu had just been about to say he was here to deliver coffee, but hearing Song Ji's question, he could only lick his dry lips and answer cautiously, "Yes, I have the day off."

Worried that the other would keep asking, Fei Yu changed the subject and said, "Do you still have class? I won't disturb you."

"No class," Song Ji said, his heart tightening when he saw Fei Yu about to leave. He quickly tried to stop him, "I was planning to study on my own. Wanna join me?"

The refusal was about to slip out, but then Fei Yu suddenly thought—if he left now, would Song Ji think he wasn't studious?

Fei Yu gritted his teeth and said, "Sure, I was just looking for somewhere to study too."

The two found an empty classroom. Fei Yu sat down beside Song Ji, feigning casualness, he let his gaze drift to the side.

Song Ji opened his laptop and fixed his eyes on the document. The cold light from the screen fell on his handsome face, outlining cool and sharp contours.

With deep brows and a straight nose, when the young man focused, he appeared exceptionally cold and restrained, even more handsome.

Fei Yu's gaze unconsciously slid down. Those pale pink slender lips were pressed into a straight line—he wondered what it would be like to kiss them...

The instinct to find a high-quality mate was embedded in every Catfolk's genes.

With such a fine male specimen right in front of him, Fei Yu licked his lips and felt his motivation to study rush back in an instant.

He withdrew his furtive admiring glance, perked up again, put on his earphones, and played the learning video the professor had recommended on his phone.

After more than ten minutes, Fei Yu felt his thoughts growing scattered and his vision growing blurry.

Cats need to sleep for long hours every day. Fei Yu usually napped during his breaks at work.

But today, to attend the lecture, he had gotten up very early and hadn't had any time to nap at all.

At this moment, the professor's voice in the video was flat and monotonous, drifting slowly into his ears like the perfect sleep charm.

Fei Yu's head nodded slowly, his eyes blinking heavily as he fought drowsiness.

Soon, the allure of male beauty couldn't resist the call of the Cat God.

His body went limp, and Fei Yu uncontrollably tilted sideways, his eyes fluttered shut.

Song Ji had been paying attention to every little movement beside him all along.

The scratching of a pen across paper, the soft rustle of fabric, and even the shallow breathing of the person beside him—all were so clear.

After reading just two pages of the document, he couldn't continue—he could barely focus on anything else because of the person beside him.

His peripheral vision swept over the boy's jet-black hair, and his fingers involuntarily curled, as if recalling a certain smooth texture.

Song Ji turned his head slightly, lowering his gaze to Fei Yu's right hand resting on the desk.

The slender, fair index finger was still smooth, showing no trace of the earlier injury.

His gaze paused for a moment, but before he could look closely, his shoulder suddenly dipped.

A faint scent of vegetation wafted over.

Song Ji's pupils contracted, and his entire body went rigid instantly.

After a few seconds of being stunned, he turned his head half a beat late, moving extremely slowly.

Fei Yu had fallen asleep at some point, eyes closed, his head resting trustingly against Song Ji's shoulder.

Author's note:

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Another chapter will be posted at 6 PM today!