Chapter 100: Going Home Hungry

Chapter 100: Returning Home Hungry

Xu Moxing's apartment was actually quite decent—the stairwell was well-lit and had good signal, and he lived on the third floor.

If it weren't for having been in a relationship with Su Lichen, Xu Moxing would definitely have looked for this kind of place to live after graduation too. It was only because he had previously been with Su Lichen, who came from a well-off family, that he had chosen a more expensive apartment complex.

Before Su Lichen could get his fill of Xu Moxing's back, they arrived at the door of Xu Moxing's apartment.

Su Lichen grumbled inwardly: "How did the third floor get climbed so fast?"

Xu Moxing opened the door. "Come in, the cats are in the cage."

Su Lichen stood at the doorway. Only when Xu Moxing saw that he wasn't coming in did he say, "Oh, no need to change shoes, just come in. I only have my own slippers here."

Su Lichen felt a secret thrill: *Only his own slippers? So that other guy doesn't come around often?*

Su Lichen stepped inside gracefully. Since it was a large studio, he could take in the layout at a glance. The room still carried a faint lingering aroma from the stir-frying.

The two cats had already finished eating. As Su Lichen approached them, the little ones weren't afraid of people and crowded around him, meowing.

Su Lichen crouched down, reaching through the bars of the cage to play with them.

The tuxedo cat looked more like a black cat at first glance, and Su Lichen could recognize the Chinese Li Hua.

Xu Moxing stood nearby, watching him interact with the two cats.

Su Lichen turned his head to look at Xu Moxing. "Have you named them yet?"

"No, I'm just providing temporary care, so I didn't bother naming them."

"This one looks like a black cat? Why did you say it's a tuxedo cat?"

Xu Moxing crouched down next to him, opened the cage, and took out the tuxedo cat to show him.

It turned out that the kitten had a small patch of white on its belly, which Su Lichen hadn't been able to see from his angle earlier.

"Can I hold it?"

"Sure, go ahead. Just be careful."

Neither of them had ever owned cats before, but Xu Moxing, having cared for them for a few days, was more familiar with them than Su Lichen.

He taught Su Lichen how to hold a cat and how to massage the kitten in a way that felt comfortable. The two stood very close together.

Su Lichen divided his attention—half of his mind focused on learning how to hold the cat, and the other half on Xu Moxing, who was right next to him.

Xu Moxing, completely unaware of their proximity, was simply focused on teaching his future cat owner how to take care of the two kittens.

Once sure that Su Lichen had got the hang of it, Xu Moxing stood up directly.

"Play with the cats for a while, get to know them, and confirm whether you really want to keep them. I'll go finish cooking my dishes."

"Okay."

Su Lichen held the cat, watching Xu Moxing disappear into the kitchen with longing eyes, then looked down at the kitten in his arms.

The tuxedo cat was nuzzling him and licking his hand.

*So thin—everywhere I touch are bones, soft and floppy. So this is what a kitten feels like?*

Su Lichen didn't dare hold it too tightly.

The other Li Hua cat was pawing at the cage door, apparently wanting to come out too, and was meowing incessantly.

Su Lichen let the Li Hua out as well and let both cats curl up on his lap. The two kittens immediately quieted down, purring loudly.

When Xu Moxing finished cooking and came out, he saw Su Lichen sitting on the sofa, looking affectionately at the two cats as he stroked them. It seemed he really liked them, so the adoption would likely go through.

Since Su Lichen was there, Xu Moxing felt awkward eating.

So Xu Moxing could only wait for him to finish petting the cats, decide whether to keep them, and then see him off before he could eat.

In fact, Su Lichen was also waiting to see if Xu Moxing would politely ask, "Have you eaten yet?" so that he could naturally join him for a meal.

The food smelled wonderful—a fragrance Su Lichen had never smelled before. *Had Moxing learned some new dishes during this time?*

They both fell silent again. After ten minutes of silence, Xu Moxing was too hungry to wait any longer; his food was going to get cold.

"How... do you feel about these two cats?"

"Hm? They're lovely."

"So do you want to take them?"

Su Lichen nodded. "Yes."

"Then how about taking them home today? I've made some extra homemade cat food and frozen it; you can take that too. When you feed them, you can use cat food if you prefer—it'll be more convenient."

Xu Moxing thought for a moment and added, "If after spending some time together you find it doesn't work out, you can bring them back to me, okay? Just don't abandon them."

Su Lichen nodded. "Okay, I won't abandon them."

"Alright, then all these cat supplies—do you want them? If not, I'll keep them for now, and when you're sure you want to keep them forever, I'll throw them away."

"Give them to me. I haven't bought cat litter yet. I'll take the cage too and see if it's useful."

"Okay, then... want to leave now?"

"Huh?"

Su Lichen had wanted to eat with Xu Moxing—had he really been there only half an hour before getting kicked out?

"What's wrong? Changed your mind?"

"No, I haven't changed my mind..."

Su Lichen didn't dare to say that he wanted to eat with Xu Moxing, so he finally left dejectedly, taking the two kittens along with all the supplies Xu Moxing had bought for them.

The kittens kept meowing, but it wasn't a big deal—they hadn't been with Xu Moxing long anyway, so they'd forget him soon enough.

And so Su Lichen, with an empty stomach, drove home.

After seeing him off, Xu Moxing felt relieved and returned to his rental to start eating.

The rice was still warm, but the dishes had gone cold. Still, they were delicious.

When Su Lichen got home with the cats, he opened the cage, but the two kittens refused to come out.

Su Lichen wasn't in a rush; he let them adapt at their own pace. He opened a food delivery app and ordered takeout.

After ten minutes, the Chinese Li Hua cat poked its head out, sniffed around, and then pulled back in.

After another ten minutes, the Tuxedo cat also poked its head out, glanced at him, and pulled back in again.

Su Lichen placed the cat carrier in the corner, prepared cat litter and water for them, and then left them alone.

At a little past eight, the food delivery arrived. Su Lichen had dinner, and after some thought, took two photos of the cats and sent them to Xu Moxing.

"They're hiding in the carrier and won't come out."

To his surprise, Xu Moxing replied quickly this time: "It's fine. As long as they're using the litter box and eating normally, you can just leave them alone."

"Okay. I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"Alright, thanks."

Xu Moxing had already turned on notifications for Su Lichen's messages, so that he could reach Su Lichen quickly. Su Lichen felt that perhaps the two cats had brought him a new opportunity—at the very least, because of them, Xu Moxing was no longer so reluctant to reply to his messages.