It’s Not Like Fei Mao Mao Can’t Be Cured 

Chen Miansheng narrowed his eyes and, without a word, placed the little orange cat back on the bed. He threw on a simple outer robe and got up to head toward the woodshed. 

Fei Yan was stunned for a moment as she watched his back. It took her quite a while to react before she quickly rushed after him. 

The door to the woodshed was easily pushed open from the outside. Without even stepping in, Chen Miansheng could already see the mess inside. 

Pots and pans were scattered crookedly across the stove, the firewood Gu Wu had specially chopped for him was strewn all over the floor, and even the cured meat that had been air-dried for most of the winter had fallen and gotten dusty. Upon closer inspection, one piece was completely missing—only half a red string used to hang the meat was left lying on the ground. 

Even though cats have good night vision—better than her human eyesight, in fact—Fei Yan was still shocked when she saw the chaos she’d caused the next morning. 

Was her destructive power really this terrifying? 

Noticing that the person beside her didn’t react, Fei Yan grew even more guilty. 

Could she have a chance to explain herself? Though she probably wouldn’t even be able to explain it properly. 

Fei Yan simply accepted her fate, shutting her eyes tightly, ready for the moment Chen Miansheng would throw her out of the house without mercy. 

However, instead of being grabbed by the scruff like she imagined, all she heard was the sound of fabric rustling. When she opened her eyes in confusion, she saw Chen Miansheng crouched calmly beside the woodpile, picking up the firewood piece by piece like nothing happened. 

Fei Yan: “Meow?” 

What was that supposed to mean? 

She didn’t dare to assume anything and, after a moment of inner struggle, walked over to Chen Miansheng’s side. She tried rubbing her little cat head against him, her wide eyes filled with innocent confusion. 

Chen Miansheng freed one hand to gently rub her head. His voice was warm and gentle, not a hint of anger in it: 

“It’s my fault. I’ve never taken care of animals before, and I forgot to feed you before going to sleep. It won’t happen again. I promise.” 

Fei Yan froze at his words. Wait… wasn’t she the one who made a mess? Why was he apologizing to her? 

Before she could finish feeling puzzled, Chen Miansheng lightly pinched her fluffy ear. 

“Are you still hungry? I can cook something for you now.” 

Fei Yan instinctively shook her head. 

Even though that piece of cured meat had been small, her current body was also much smaller than before, and the meat was filling. Even after a whole night, her belly still felt round and full. 

Chen Miansheng seemed to understand and chuckled softly: 

“I thought so. That piece of meat was more than enough to fill up a little one like you.” 

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly turned his head and began coughing. 

Fortunately, it wasn’t a severe coughing fit this time. A moment later, his breathing calmed, and he went back to picking up the firewood. 

Fei Yan licked the corners of her mouth with the tip of her tongue and shuffled her paws anxiously in place. 

After all, she was the one who caused this mess. Letting someone as frail as Chen Miansheng clean up after her… she really couldn’t help but feel guilty. 

With that in mind, Fei Yan walked over to a piece of firewood, bit one end of it, and clumsily dragged it over to Chen Miansheng before wagging her tail at him obediently. 

Chen Miansheng blinked, taking a few seconds to figure out what the little orange cat was trying to do. 

He smiled with softened eyes and rubbed her neck again. 

“Good kitty.” 

After restoring the woodshed to order, Chen Miansheng washed up briefly, returned to the inner room, found a fur coat, and draped it over himself before heading toward the courtyard gate. 

Fei Yan realized he was planning to go out and quickly rushed over to block his path, looking up and blinking at him several times: 

“Meow~ meow~ meow~” 

Chen Miansheng bent slightly and reached out his arms with a puzzled expression. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Fei Yan bounced a few times in place, then leapt into his arms and firmly burrowed into the crook of his elbow. 

Seeing how determined she was, Chen Miansheng hesitated for a moment before asking, “You want to come with me?” 

The little orange cat twitched her ears. 

Chen Miansheng pressed his lips together. “The place I’m going might be really boring.” 

The little orange cat flicked her tail and stayed motionless in his arms. Staying inside the house by herself would probably be even more boring. If she could go out with Chen Miansheng, she might even get a chance to learn more about his illness. 

The little orange cat was clearly determined. Chen Miansheng hesitated for a moment. After thinking for a few seconds, he finally said, “Then you can’t run around. You have to behave and listen to me, or I won’t take you out again.” 

Upon hearing that, Fei Yan looked up immediately. Seeing that his expression was dead serious, her pupils shrank slightly. She looked both startled and bewildered. 

Not take her out again? That was straight-up blackmail! 

Cats shouldn’t be subjected to this kind of treatment. 

But Chen Miansheng remained unmoved, his stance clearly saying that unless Fei Yan agreed, he truly wouldn’t take her out. 

Fei Yan weighed her options, then gently rubbed her soft head against the side of his neck, indicating she understood. 

Fine, she wouldn’t run around. 

What mattered most was being able to go out and have fun. 

From an angle Fei Yan couldn’t see, Chen Miansheng adjusted the little orange cat in his arms and let out a quiet sigh. 

Even though Little Orange looked silly, she was so cute it almost made him take back everything he just said. 

____ 

It was the height of winter. 

Thick snowflakes drifted down endlessly for days on end. 

Luckily, Fei Yan’s fur kept her warm, and Chen Miansheng wore a fur-lined coat that shielded her from most of the wind and snow. 

She curled up quietly in his arms and didn’t feel cold at all. 

When she had just arrived yesterday, Fei Yan hadn’t had time to observe her surroundings. Now, nestled in Chen Miansheng’s arms, she opened her big round eyes and looked around curiously like a little baby cat exploring the world. 

Most of the people passing by wore coarse clothing. Compared to Chen Miansheng, they looked much more modest, but they gave off a down-to-earth small-town vibe. A little further ahead was a lively market, with vendors shouting all around—it seemed to be the busiest part of Dongfeng Town. 

Fei Yan blinked a few times. Hmm, this place didn’t look bad at all. 

Her inner admiration had barely ended when she suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice: “Tsk, it’s that sickly man again.” 

The voice and the words were both unbearably harsh. Fei Yan frowned in displeasure and immediately turned her head to look. 

The speaker was the same woman who had pulled the little girl away yesterday. 

That woman, likely assuming Chen Miansheng couldn’t hear her, didn’t bother to lower her voice and said loudly: 

“Yesterday my Yinyin accidentally ran up to his door. Oh, I was so scared! If she caught some disease, I’d have no idea what to do!” 

Another woman beside her chimed in, “Exactly! And people still go to his shop every day? I wouldn’t even dare go near the place.” 

“Right? What good things could a sick, deaf guy like him possibly sell? I wouldn’t buy from him even if it were dirt cheap.” 

It was one thing for Chen Miansheng not to hear, but Fei Yan’s sharp cat ears were working just fine. 

For once, she dropped her usual cute and clueless act and shot a fierce glare at the women. Her tiny pointed fangs peeked out from her mouth. 

So what if he couldn’t hear? A good person with upright character was worth more than anything. 

And so what if he was sick? It’s not like it was untreatable. 

Besides, she could clearly feel that Chen Miansheng carried a kind of innate noble air—he was different from everyone else in this town. 

Even if he were at his lowest, it wasn’t their place to gossip behind his back. 

The more Fei Yan thought about it, the angrier she became. She climbed up onto Chen Miansheng’s shoulder, arched her back, fur standing on end. She bared her teeth and hissed menacingly at the women, even raising her sharp little claws to warn them off. 

The women had been caught up in their gossip, but were startled silent the moment they saw a fierce, fluffed-up orange cat hissing from Chen Miansheng’s shoulder. 

They instantly went quiet, too stunned to say another word. 

Chen Miansheng, being the closest, naturally noticed the sudden change in his little orange cat. Surprised, he lowered his eyes slightly and gently stroked her back to soothe her, murmuring, “What’s wrong?” 

Although she had nearly gotten used to it, Fei Yan had to admit—Chen Miansheng’s voice was still the most pleasant she had ever heard. 

It was always soft and calm, just like the feeling he gave off—as if he were a slender bamboo standing still in winter. Just being near him brought peace and comfort. 

All her irritation vanished in an instant. She flicked her tail, quickly retracted her claws, placed her soft paw on his shoulder, and rested her head in the crook of his neck, rubbing against him affectionately. 

Chen Miansheng glanced sideways slightly. Catching a glimpse of the women’s changed expressions, he understood more or less what had happened. He simply placed his palm on the little orange cat’s head and gave her a gentle rub without saying a word.