Chapter 51: Reason for Becoming Human

Chapter 51: The Reason for Turning Human

All Song Ji could see was a thick, heavy, endless darkness.

After who knows how long, two points of light suddenly appeared in the darkness. The spots slowly spread out, and then the world opened up in front of him.

Song Ji saw an eight- or nine-year-old boy with a backpack, walking alone down the road.

The boy was thin, his head down, his long eyelashes throwing shadows on his cheeks.

His face was blank, and his shadow stretched long behind him in the sunset.

Song Ji quickly realized that was him.

The nanny who usually picked him up had just become a grandma and was in a rush, so she left him halfway.

Song Ji didn't care. His parents were always working out of town, and that big villa was always empty, with just the butler, Uncle Zheng, waiting for him to come home.

As usual, Song Ji walked slowly, head down.

Suddenly, a few weak cries came from the bushes along the sidewalk.

Song Ji looked up a second late and turned his eyes toward the sound.

After a few rustles, a small, soft white thing suddenly shot out of the bushes, making a few muffled noises.

The little thing wobbled as it walked, barely reaching his feet, then suddenly tipped over and plopped down on his foot, curling up into a sad little ball.

A recent online news story popped into Song Ji's head. He thought, *It's trying to scam me.*

He crouched down and stared hard at the little thing.

But weirdly, even though the soft thing was right there, he couldn't make it out at all; he could only barely make out a white shape.

It was fuzzy, tiny, not much bigger than his hand, like a little cotton ball.

When it saw him lean in, that cotton-ball creature seemed encouraged. It rubbed against the top of his foot and let out a few soft purrs.

Even though he couldn't see it clearly, Song Ji felt like its movements were full of hope and an invitation.

So Song Ji hesitantly reached out and gently touched the white blur.

A soft, warm feeling immediately wrapped around his fingertips. Song Ji couldn't explain what he felt inside—it was like he'd soaked in warm water, too.

The little ball was clearly super happy, rubbing hard against his palm and purring even louder.

Song Ji waited there for a long time, but no one and nothing came to take the thing at his feet away.

He couldn't help asking, "Your family's not around either, huh?"

The little thing suddenly stopped making noise, drooped its head, and curled back up into a tiny ball.

Song Ji got the answer.

The evening light fell on them, warm and cozy. Song Ji heard himself ask, "Wanna come home with me?"

That cotton ball gently nuzzled his hand.

Song Ji carefully scooped it into his palm and slowly stood up.

He moved very gently, scared that even a little noise might hurt the tiny life in his hands.

He walked briskly home, saying to the little creature in his hand, "I'm taking you home. From now on, I'm your family."

"You're so white and soft, just like my mom's pearl necklace. I'm gonna call you Pearl, okay?"

Pearl tilted its head, then chirped twice happily, accepting the name.

The boy finally cracked his first smile of the day. He said softly, "Pearl, I'm gonna take good care of you."

"We're family now. Family never gets separated."

The view suddenly changed, and the next scene was his room.

On the blue bedspread, a bunch of little fish plushies were piled up, and a few fuzzy balls sat on the nightstand.

The windowsill was lush and green, with a whole row of cat grass.

Song Ji saw himself sitting at the desk, head down, writing something.

His posture was terrible; he was hunched over, leaning forward, his back a little curved, like there was something on his lap and he had to be really careful not to drop it.

On the corner of the desk was a little glass fish tank, with a few tiny goldfish flicking their bright red tails, swimming slowly back and forth.

The big room was full of signs of life.

Suddenly, without warning, Song Ji stopped writing and put down his pen, leaned back a little, and rested his back against the chair.

He looked down at the furry ball on his lap, his young voice carrying a hint of resignation.

"Pearl, I only have a little bit left of my math Olympiad test paper. Let me finish writing it, then I'll play with you, okay?"

The surroundings had all become clear, but that cotton ball, now much larger, was still vague and indistinct, not clearly visible.

The furry ball lay softly on his lap, warm, its whole body pressing down with noticeably increased weight.

Hearing Song Ji's words, the little thing seemed unhappy and whined.

It extended a white shadow and touched the back of Song Ji's hand, clearly unwilling to cooperate.

Song Ji wasn't angry either. He patted the little ball's head, then opened the drawer in front of him and took out a transparent round ball.

He simply threw the ball to the ground.

The small ball emitted a glossy light, rolled toward the corner of the wall, and made a few crisp sounds.

Pearl, who had been quietly lying on his lap just a moment ago, immediately shot out like a cannonball.

The furry little ball chased the round ball, playing happily.

Song Ji watched Pearl, who was having a great time playing by itself and completely ignoring him.

Then he glanced down at the test paper in front of him, and for the first time, a resistant feeling of not wanting to write arose.

It only took him two seconds to make a decision. He casually pushed the test paper aside on the desk, stood up, and walked toward that white ball.

"Pearl, I'm here."

The scene suddenly shifted again.

Before him stretched an endless expanse of snow, with large, fluffy flakes falling from the sky like goose feathers.

The surrounding buildings were covered in white snow and ice, tall and icy, extending all the way to the horizon.

Song Ji saw himself standing barefoot on the snowy ground, the biting cold quickly penetrating his clothes and seeping into his body.

Yet he had no time to care, his heart shrouded in a hollow confusion.

The once-clear vision blurred again, and the scenery before him was veiled in a grayish-white haze.

His small figure trudged with difficulty through the snow, which soon reached above his calves, each step growing heavier.

Song Ji gritted his teeth, forcing his way forward while calling out loudly.

But the sound of the falling snow was too loud; his cries were swallowed by the howling wind as soon as they left his lips.

He instinctively felt he was searching for something, yet he couldn’t remember what it was no matter how hard he tried.

Who was he looking for?

He was looking for Pearl.

Pearl, Pearl... but who was Pearl?

A sudden, indescribable pain surged in Song Ji’s heart, as if someone had hollowed out his chest, leaving it empty and filled with freezing wind.

The wind and snow howled toward him, overwhelming him with a blanket of white.

Song Ji could no longer see the path ahead, but he still gritted his teeth and pressed on.

Soon, the metallic taste of blood rose in his throat, and his consciousness began to fade.

Until the snow completely enveloped him, Song Ji’s vision darkened, and he could see nothing.

He called out one last time into the sky, “Pearl,” in a daze.

But he could no longer remember... who “Pearl” was.

The next moment, Song Ji felt himself plummet, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

His unfocused gaze slowly regained clarity, and the ceiling of a budget chain hotel came into view.

Everything from the dream receded like a tide, leaving Song Ji with nothing but a hollow, lost feeling.

Song Ji lay in bed for a while, slowly regaining consciousness.

He wiggled his fingers and felt his palm enveloped in warmth.

Turning his head, Fei Yu’s serene sleeping face came into view. The young man lay on his side on the bed beside him, eyes closed.

His round head rested peacefully on his arm, his lips slightly pressed together.

There were obvious dark circles under his eyes, and his long eyelashes cast crescent-shaped shadows on his cheeks.

His breathing was light and steady, sound asleep, yet his left hand clutched Song Ji’s palm tightly.

The warmth of the other’s body passed through his hand, and Song Ji’s lips curved into a smile. The hollow feeling in his heart was instantly replaced with love.

His beloved, his kitty, was right here by his side.

They also had an adorable little Meow baby waiting for them at home.

Song Ji didn’t dare blink, his gaze focused tenderly on his lover’s face.

Perhaps there was too much emotion in his eyes, and the sleeping Fei Yu seemed to sense it and soon opened his eyes.

The young man’s pitch-black eyes were moist, his lashes still damp.

Seeing Song Ji awake, he slowly propped himself up with his elbows, still groggy, and said in a voice thick with sleep, “You’re awake.”

Song Ji’s eyes were clear, and he hummed softly in reply.

As his consciousness cleared, Fei Yu quickly reached out to check Song Ji’s forehead.

The fever had gone down.

Fei Yu felt his tension dissolve.

It was only then that the Catfolk felt justified in getting angry. He puffed his cheeks and poked a finger at the man’s chest, huffing indignantly.

“Don’t you ever do that again! It’s not like I wasn’t coming back—how could you risk your health like that?”

“Don’t you want to become a 100-year-old human grandpa?”

Humans are so fragile.

Even if Song Ji were made of steel, he couldn’t withstand such heavy rain.

“I won’t,” Song Ji said, taking Fei Yu’s hand and pulling him into his arms, bending down to kiss his soft black hair.

“It was my fault. I won’t do it again.”

Fei Yu rested on the man’s firm chest, enveloped in his scent.

The man’s soft pecking kisses landed on the top of his head, and a steady, strong heartbeat rang in his ears.

Fei Yu closed his eyes contentedly, feeling an unprecedented peace in his heart.

He smiled, and his hand mischievously slipped under the man’s shirt, running his hand over his hard abs a few times before pulling back, satisfied.

After a while, Fei Yu wrapped his arms around Song Ji’s waist and smiled mysteriously. “Song Ji, I had a dream just now.”

Song Ji looked at him tenderly. “What did you dream about?”

Fei Yu said, “I dreamed of a massive snowfall, just like the day Suisui turned into a human...”

Song Ji listened with downcast eyes, taking in his lover’s words.

Fei Yu talked until he was satisfied, then hugged Song Ji tightly.

He didn’t dare say that he had also dreamed of a little boy.

The boy had picked him up when he was still a kitten and given him a name.

The boy lived in a big house, with no family around, all alone, yet he took good care of the cat.

There was always clean cat food and fresh water in the automatic feeder.

He had a whole closet of kitten clothes, and toys were everywhere, so many that the room could barely contain them.

The most important thing was that no matter what time the boy came home, he would always hold him tightly in his arms and softly call his name.

The dream was too blurry; Fei Yu couldn't see the boy's face, nor did he know that the boy was calling his name.

He only knew that he liked that boy very, very much.

So much so that he wanted to become human and keep that lonely boy company.

Fate seemed so strange—as if he had wandered around and finally remembered the reason for becoming human.

Looking at it this way, he might not have been a stray cat in the past, but a house cat with an owner.

Later, for some reason, he and the boy were separated.

And then something happened—he ended up in a snowy field, and was picked up by a passing Catfolk member and brought to Cat Village.

However, he didn't need to tell Song Ji about these things, lest that petty human find another reason to be jealous.

Fei Yu's eyes curved into small crescent moons, and he cupped Song Ji's face with both hands, flashing a brilliant smile at him.

The past was in the past.

Now he had a lover, had their baby Sui Sui, and was living very happily.

Fei Yu rubbed his forehead against Song Ji's, his eyes startlingly bright, and said in a soft, clear voice, "Get up quick—we still have a plane to catch. We're going home to pick up our baby."

Their family of three was finally going to be reunited.

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Author's note: