Chapter 25

025.

Prefers something else?

Lu Yuan looked down at the Maine Coon in his arms. The kitten's paws pressed against his calf as it stretched its body upward, tilting its head to rub its fluffy face against his chin. Its affectionate nuzzles, gentle rubs, and soft pleading meows—all practiced little moves to win over the two-legged creature—were so skilled that they tugged at Lu Yuan's heartstrings instantly, making him want to pour his whole heart into it.

He blinked, his eyes sparkling, slipped his hands under the kitten's front legs, buried his face in its fur, and inhaled deeply. Then he muttered under his breath, in a voice only the two of them could hear: "You're this cute and he still likes something else? Man, what bad taste!"

Seriously, the worst taste!

"But it's okay," Lu Yuan said, grabbing its front paws eagerly. "I have good taste. If he doesn't want you, I do. Wanna come home with me?"

The "I do" came out louder than he meant, as if to prove how serious he was. The kitten meowed gratefully and nuzzled him even more. Buoyed by the kitten's excited reaction, Lu Yuan puffed out his chest and squared off against Bai Yu, ready to announce with a flourish: "Name your price. I'm taking it."

But the second he caught Bai Yu's cold, sharp face and narrow dark eyes, it was like getting doused with cold water. His excitement quickly fizzled, and he rubbed his nose sheepishly before asking in a small voice, "So... are you going to keep it or not?"

"You wanna keep it?" Bai Yu hadn't caught what the young master had whispered to the cat, but those "I do" words had been loud and clear. Besides, his fondness for the kitten was painfully obvious—at least, ever since the cat arrived at Villa No. 1, he hadn't put it down once.

"Yeah, yeah!" Lu Yuan's eyes lit up at that. He and the kitten both stared, their eyes strikingly similar, at the man with all the power to decide, their anticipation about to spill over.

But right then, Bai Yu said, "I'm keeping it myself."

Lu Yuan: "...What?"

He blinked, like he hadn't heard right. "What did you just say?"

Bai Yu, in a rare display of patience, repeated: "I said, I'm keeping it myself."

Lu Yuan: "..."

So he'd just said he liked another cat, and now he wanted this one?

He tried to hold back, but couldn't stop himself from accusing Bai Yu: "You can't raise our good kid right with that kind of fickle attitude! What if you find a cat you want someday? What happens to our good kid then?"

Bai Yu raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "Already picked out a name? Looks like you really do like it."

Lu Yuan: "..."

He tested the waters carefully: "So... would you be willing to give it up, just out of the goodness of your heart?"

Bai Yu was cold as ice: "No."

Lu Yuan: "%&#&#@!"

The smile on his face dropped instantly. Lu Yuan decided that even one more nice look at Bai Yu was a waste of his time. He kept a straight face, took the chance to sneak in a few more pets, and reluctantly put the kitten back in the box. He was about to head back to dinner, glancing back reluctantly, when the man next to him spoke up again:

"I'm keeping it, and you can come play with it anytime. Go set your fingerprint at the front gate later."

"!"

"And I'd appreciate it if the young master could pick out some supplies for it." Bai Yu gestured for the old butler to pick up the cat, but as his gaze landed, he saw the young master—who had been fuming like he was about to blow up the planet—immediately brighten with a smile and rush over, saying considerately, "Let me, let me! Grandpa Wei, your legs aren't what they used to be—I've got this!"

Bai Yu glanced at his waist.

Sure enough, he was fine—he'd been squatting that long without complaining about back pain.

Lu Yuan carried the cat and followed Bai Yu's pace, asking uncertainly, "You're really letting me play with it anytime? For the supplies, what size bed should I get? Where are you planning to put it? I need to check the measurements."

"The guest bedroom."

"Guest bedroom?" Lu Yuan stopped in his tracks, surprised.

Just as Bai Yu expected him to protest with something like "Isn't that my room? Why are you giving it to the cat?"—Lu Yuan planted a big kiss on the kitten's face and said cheerfully, "Good kid, you're sleeping with me tonight!"

Bai Yu: "..."

With the cat around, Bai Yu could clearly tell that Lu Yuan wasn't focused on dinner at all. The kitten had been well-trained by the cattery; even when Lu Yuan placed it on a chair, it didn't jump onto the table. It only occasionally licked its paws, and when the old butler brought over the cat food and treats that Lu Yan had sent along, it ate its dinner obediently.

As for a certain someone—

He had a mouthful of rice he kept chewing endlessly, his gaze drifting toward the cat every now and then, and his left hand couldn't stay still, always reaching out to touch it.

Clink.

The long red-brown chopsticks were set down on the edge of the plate, the deliberately loud sound ringing like an alarm bell in Lu Yuan's mind. He snapped his head back instantly, focusing intently on the chicken wings the chef had specially made for him, and praised them with great conviction: "These cola chicken wings are delicious."

Bai Yu's face turned colder. "They're teriyaki chicken wings."

Lu Yuan: "..."

Bai Yu: "Eat properly, or I'll add back the essays I waived."

That couldn't happen!

He'd worked so hard to brew that neon coffee, and Lu Yan had even brought out a kitten to suck up—though the flattery had landed on the wrong target. Still, it was clear that getting Bai Yu to budge wasn't easy. If the essays were actually reinstated, Lu Yuan wouldn't even know where to cry.

He obediently finished every last bite of the teriyaki chicken wings, then leaned back in his chair with half-closed eyes, patting his full stomach.

The cat beside him was just as laid-back, lying down the moment it was full.

The old butler chuckled at the sight. "Third Young Master has good taste—this cat takes after the young master."

Bai Yu said nothing in response.

After dinner, Lu Yuan couldn't wait to carry the cat to the guest bedroom. He shut the door, sat cross-legged on the fluffy carpet, and started picking out supplies for the kitten.

*

In the meantime, he filmed a video of the kitten lying beside his hand, belly exposed, purring in its sleep, and sent it to Lu Yan on WeChat.

Lu Yan was at the club, nervously waiting for Bai Yu's reaction.

Qi Shuyang was sprawled on the sofa, legs crossed and swinging as he said, "That cat is really cute. If Brother Yu really wants a cat, he'll definitely like it. Though I didn't expect Brother Yu's preferences to change so fast!"

He'd only ever liked dogs before.

Lu Yan was so nervous he felt like throwing up.

Qi Shuyang's voice was a dull buzz, not a single word registering clearly, until his phone dinged. He eagerly opened the chat, and though the nickname was still that cold, plain "Y," what followed was: Seven days.

Lu Yan was instantly moved to tears.

But before the tears could even fall, his phone buzzed again—this time with the special notification sound. He looked down and saw that a certain sesame dumpling had sent him a video. The thumbnail showed a light-colored carpet. Curious, Lu Yan tapped the video, and after the camera shook rapidly, the carpet suddenly became a cat fast asleep.

That cat looked familiar.

Wait—a cat?!

Lu Yan quickly wiped away the tears of emotion from the corner of his eyes, leaned closer to the screen, and pulled Qi Shuyang over: "Isn't this the cat we gave to Brother Yu?"

Qi Shuyang leaned in to look.

The kitten was sleeping with its belly rising and falling, and a fair-skinned hand extended from beside the camera, followed by two long fingers forming a peace sign.

Qi Shuyang: "..."

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that person wasn't his Brother Yu.

So—

He turned to exchange a glance with Lu Yan and asked, "This is A Yuan, right? Why is the cat you gave to Brother Yu lying with A Yuan?"

Before Lu Yan could answer, he stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "I think something's not right between A Yuan and Brother Yu."

Lu Yan was the one initially shocked to see Lu Yuan with the cat, but hearing his good buddy's words, he went "huh?" and reasoned with perfect logic: "What's not right about it? The cat's at Brother Yu's place, A Yuan's at Brother Yu's place too, and A Yuan's playing with the cat—that's perfectly normal, right?"

Really?

"But back when you wanted to play with Neon, Brother Yu was always reluctant." Qi Shuyang clicked his tongue. "Brother Yu's totally playing favorites."

More than Bai Yu playing favorites, what got to Lu Yan was: "How do you know about that too?"

Qi Shuyang shot him a look. "Is there anything I don't know? Every New Year when we visit the Bai family, my dad always brings up Brother Yu's childhood stories to get in good with him, and you and Neon always come up. Speaking of which, do you think maybe Brother Yu likes A Yuan more than he likes you because you once hurt Neon's fragile little heart?"

He whispered to Lu Yan: "I'm serious, don't let my brother's cold demeanor fool you—he never forgets a grudge."

Lu Yan mulled it over.

Honestly, ever since Lu Ke and Lu Zhuo told him the truth about Brother Yu setting dogs on him, Lu Yan felt really bad about what he'd done to Neon.

Maybe...

He should bring some tasty treats and fun toys to Neon's grave and apologize on his knees?

Lu Yan ended the video call, and the next second was surprised to see Lu Yuan's profile pic had changed from a chibi sesame dumpling to a selfie with the kitten.

No idea if the cat won Bai Yu over, but it definitely won Lu Yuan over.

After waiting a long time for Lu Yan's reply and only receiving a cold, dismissive cat meme, Lu Yuan shook his head and turned his attention to the little guy. Half an hour later, same-day delivery dropped off all the kitten's supplies at Songlan Mansion.

Since the guest bedroom was huge, Lu Yuan didn't just get the little guy a cat bed—he also bought a super deluxe cat tree.

Putting together the cat tree was a huge hassle. Lu Yuan glanced at the Maine Coon kitten rolling around, then remembered his own fragile waist, and immediately whipped out his phone to snap a photo of the adorable cat, then took a picture of the cat tree, sent both to a contact saved as "Y," and hesitantly asked.

Sesame Dumpling: Hey Mr. Bai, would you maybe be willing to put together a cat tree for our ridiculously cute, soft, chubby little kitten?

He even threw in a short video.

The video was shot on Lu Yuan's front-facing camera. He was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, holding the Maine Coon in his arms, holding up its little paw and waving at the camera, while he stayed off-camera, doing a high-pitched voice-over: "Please, please."

Going all out with the begging.

Bai Yu rewatched the video three times. The angle was bad—no stand, the phone was all wobbly, and every now and then half of Lu Yuan's face would pop into frame as he waved the paw. But mostly it was the slim collarbone and long neck peeking out from his baggy pajamas.

So pale—almost too pale under the warm white light—that you instinctively wanted to leave a mark there.

He dropped his gaze, saved the video, grabbed his phone, and headed for the door.

Lu Yuan waited and waited, but Bai Yu never replied, so he flopped back onto the rug. The kitten crawled out of his arms and onto his chest, kneading him. The kitten was so small its kneading barely did anything, so Lu Yuan let it be, stroking its head and sighing: "Baby, after all that cuteness, you really think he's gonna stay cold-hearted?"

If so, that would be terrible.

"Big bro can't help you either—my waist hasn't recovered yet. You're a cat, you don't have a waist, so you don't get how important a waist is for a guy... By the way, are you a boy or a girl? Is it rude if I just take a peek?"

He muttered to himself for a bit, snuck a peek, and still couldn't tell.

Lu Yuan: "..."

Just then, someone knocked. His eyes lit up. "Come in!"

Bai Yu pushed the door open.

He was still in his day clothes, like he hadn't even showered yet. Lu Yuan quickly scrambled up from the floor, gave the rug a quick brush, and gestured for Bai Yu to sit: "Sit, sit—I thought you wouldn't be willing."

Then he held up the kitten's face and said, as if to himself, "Makes sense—our little guy's so cute, even a big-shot CEO has to bow down to those stubby little legs!"

Bai Yu glanced at the kitten's stubby legs.

Then at Lu Yuan's legs. Sitting cross-legged had hiked up his baggy pant legs, showing a sliver of pale, slim ankle between those ugly yellow duck slippers—just as pale as it looked on screen.

The cat tree parts scattered on the floor looked like a nightmare—tons of pieces, super complicated. Lu Yuan never had patience for this kind of stuff; just looking at how many pieces there were already wore him out. He snuck a look at Bai Yu's unreadable face and tested the waters: "This should be easy-peasy for Mr. Bai, right?"

Bai Yu rolled up his sleeves and said coolly, "And if it's not?"

Lu Yuan: "!"

Damn, so confident!

Lu Yuan immediately gave Bai Yu a thumbs up and laid the praise on thick: "I knew Mr. Bai was amazing—a total all-rounder. Asking you was the right move! Don't worry, our little guy will definitely remember daddy's hard work. If..."

Lu Yuan swallowed the words "the Bai Corporation goes bankrupt" and quickly changed the subject: "One day, the little guy will make money for you to blow!"

Bai Yu: "That sounds like a curse."

If he needed a cat to make money for him, the Bai Corporation was basically done for.

Lu Yuan said with total conviction: "How's that a curse? It's your first time being a dad, so you wouldn't get it—spending money your kid makes just hits different."

Bai Yu: "You sound like a pro—how many times you been a dad?"

Lu Yuan: "..."

Seeing Lu Yuan at a loss for words, Bai Yu scooped up the kitten that had wandered over at some point, set it in Lu Yuan's arms, and said flatly: "Please keep an eye on my son."

Lu Yuan blinked: "Wait, how do you know it's a boy?"

"The card Lu Yan gave me had all the info—age, gender, care instructions. Clearly, someone was so obsessed with the cat they didn't even bother reading the card."

Oh, got it.

Lu Yuan stroked the Maine Coon's little head and said contentedly: "Then tomorrow, big bro will make you a super cool cat suit to wear."

"Big bro?"

"What's wrong?" Lu Yuan shot him a look. "Calling me big bro just makes us feel closer."

"Oh, really?" Bai Yu curled the corner of his mouth. "So let me ask you—you're its brother, it's my son, so what does that make me to you?"