“…”

Lu Huai touched the kitten’s forehead. The fever had broken.

Niannian immediately clutched Lu Huai’s hand tightly, repeating the words the aunt had taught him.

“Brother, don’t worry, you raised me young, I’ll support you old.”

“…”

Lu Huai was speechless for a long time.

.

Today wasn’t the weekend, but Lu Huai still took the day off. Good students were always treated leniently by teachers. Not only did he get the day off, but the teacher also told him he could take a few more days to recover.

Lu Huai first took the kitten to the market to buy fish. He picked out several, and the kitten meticulously planned their preparation: this one braised, that one steamed, and another for soup.

Because it was close to home, Lu Huai thought about walking back, but after a few steps, he worried that the kitten wouldn’t have the energy, so he squatted down and carried him on his back.

Now it was even better. Lu Huai carried the vegetables and fish in one hand, the medicine in the other, and a small cat pendant on his back, and the kitten kept muttering about repaying his brother’s great kindness, making Lu Huai nervous, as if he was going to be taken care of by the kitten in his old age.

He finally couldn’t take it anymore, “Shut up, little ancestor. Where did you learn that? Eating two less candies is enough repayment.”

The kitten panicked, “Then I’ll repay you later. My mouth is bitter from being sick, I still need candy.”

“…” He’s quite good at finding excuses.

Lu Huai hadn’t slept all night. After returning home, he first dealt with the fish, then planned to take a short nap, set an alarm, and then get up to cook for the kitten.

Niannian had slept well last night, and probably wouldn’t be sleepy now. Lu Huai let him watch TV for a while, but the kitten changed into his pajamas and burrowed into Lu Huai’s bed.

Lu Huai was extremely sleepy, his eyes didn’t even open, his voice low and tired, “Sweetheart, brother will sleep for a while.”

The kitten didn’t make a sound, snuggled close to Lu Huai, his head against Lu Huai’s chest, listening to Lu Huai’s breathing, and gradually closed his eyes.

This nap was long.

Lu Huai dreamt of Niannian when he was still a kitten, when he got sick and had to stay at the pet hospital for a few days. Every time he went to see him, it was like visiting someone in prison through the cage. The little calf cat pressed its tongue against the cage gap to lick his finger, breaking Lu Huai’s heart.

He murmured, “Baby, get better soon.”

The kitten meowed, and Lu Huai subconsciously reached out to hug him, but he hugged something soft. He opened his eyes from the dream and saw that he was hugging Niannian’s foot.

“…”

The kitten didn’t know how he slept, his whole body upside down, his head buried in the blanket, one foot on Lu Huai’s foot. He was dreaming and humming, even stepping on Lu Huai’s foot.

Lu Huai was both angry and amused. He gently put his foot down, then reached the end of the bed, lifted the blanket a little, afraid he would suffocate.

Just as he was about to get up to cook the fish, the head teacher suddenly called.

On the phone, the teacher’s voice was full of joy, “Lu Huai, you won first prize in the last competition! You’re amazing! The list just came out, and the school is preparing a banner for you.”

Lu Huai wasn’t surprised. He raised his shoulder to hold the phone and continued chopping vegetables on the cutting board, “Thank you, teacher.”

“The thing is, there are three students from our city who won awards. Besides you, the other two are excellent awards, and you need to go to City S to attend an awards ceremony.”

Lu Huai paused, frowned, and refused without thinking, “Sorry, teacher, I won’t be able to attend the awards ceremony. Can you just transfer the prize money to my card?”

The head teacher was taken aback, unexpected by Lu Huai’s directness, and persuaded him earnestly, “It’s not just about the money. Teacher told you, many well-known companies are sponsoring this, and you might be noticed, which will help you with your future employment.”

Knowing the teacher meant well, Lu Huai still refused. Last time, he reluctantly left the kitten at home. This time, there was no way he could do it again.

“I really can’t go,” Lu Huai said frankly, “My brother is sick, and I have to take care of him.”

The head teacher blurted out, “That’s not a problem, just bring him along. Our city will send a car to take you there, there’s plenty of room. Accommodation and meals are free, you don’t have to worry about that.”

Lu Huai’s mind stirred.

He had to go to school, and he felt bad about leaving the kitten at home every day. If he could take this opportunity to take the kitten out for a change of scenery, it would be good.

After figuring it out, Lu Huai asked about the time and place, and readily agreed.

After hanging up the phone, the head teacher belatedly realized, isn’t Lu Huai an orphan? Where did he get a brother?

Lu Huai was busy in the kitchen, and the kitten woke up and came looking for the smell.

Lu Huai told him about it.

The kitten’s eyes lit up, “Brother is taking me out to play!”

“It’s a bit tight on time, we’ll leave early tomorrow morning,” Lu Huai lowered his head to adjust the sauce, “Take whatever you want, brother will pack the suitcase later.”

Niannian excitedly went to do so.

Worried about the kitten’s illness, Lu Huai didn’t dare to make anything too rich, keeping the flavors light. When he finished cooking and went to the living room, he saw a pile of things on the sofa.

Lu Huai glanced at it and found it funny.

He hadn’t packed any clothes, but he had brought a small teddy bear, which Niannian had loved the most when he was a kitten, often carrying it around. He had also brought his snack box.

Lu Huai raised his chin, “Take this back.”

The kitten hugged the box, his eyes wide, “To eat on the road.”

“You even know to eat on the road,” Lu Huai chuckled, “Too much. We only have one suitcase, and we need to pack clothes. Choose less, put it in your backpack.”

“And this,” Lu Huai held up the teddy bear’s ear, “You haven’t played with this in ages, where did you find it?”

Niannian snatched it, “I want to sleep with it tonight.”

Lu Huai frowned, feeling a little uncomfortable, his voice softening, “Fine, we’ll book two rooms then, you can sleep in one room with the teddy bear.”

The kitten froze, seeing Lu Huai turn and sit at the dining table, quickly ran over, “Why? Can’t we sleep together?”

Lu Huai didn’t respond, only saying faintly, “Wash your hands and eat.”

The kitten pursed his lips, didn’t ask again, and obediently went to wash his hands.

But even washing his hands took a long time, and Lu Huai was picking fish bones, a plate of fish was already ready, before the kitten finally came out.

“So long, it’s cold now, come and eat.”

He looked up and saw the kitten’s slightly red eyes, as if he had cried and then washed his face.

Lu Huai’s heart ached, “What’s wrong?”

When Lu Huai asked, Niannian’s tears were about to fall again. His voice was low and pleading, “Why can’t we sleep in the same room? Is the bed too small? I can sleep on the floor.”

Lu Huai’s heart ached, his throat felt tight.

Why was he getting angry at him? The kitten didn’t understand, he was just happy about his first trip, and he didn’t have many toys, so he found the teddy bear and happily brought it along, only to be scolded.

He reached out to hug him, pulling him closer, “Brother said the wrong thing, I apologize. How could I let our Niannian sleep alone? The room is so dark, Niannian wouldn’t accompany me, how could I dare to sleep.”

The kitten quickly nodded vigorously, “I’m not afraid, I’ll sleep with brother, I only need a little space.”

Lu Huai wiped his tears, coaxing him, “I was teasing you, the bed is big, you can roll around however you want. We’ll pack the teddy bear, and there are supermarkets there, brother will buy you more snacks.”

The kitten wiped away his tears, nestled in Lu Huai’s arms unwilling to get up. In the end, Lu Huai fed him the rest of the meal, feeding him bite by bite, just waiting for the kitten to open his mouth.

After dinner, Lu Huai packed the suitcase while texting Zhou Le, telling him that he couldn’t go for tutoring for the time being.

Zhou Le replied quickly, just a simple “Okay”.

Lu Huai glanced at it and turned off his phone, then took out two of Niannian’s underwear from the drawer and packed them.

Turning around, Niannian was watching TV while eating an ice cream. Lu Huai narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a while. He had just coaxed the kitten, and he couldn’t help but want to tease him again, so he lazily called the kitten over.

Hearing Lu Huai call him, the kitten quickly ran over, raising his little face and calling brother.

Lu Huai felt itchy, hooked his finger, and beckoned the kitten closer.

“Give brother a bite.”

Hearing this, the kitten quickly held up the ice cream.

Lu Huai lowered his head and took a big bite. The ice cream, which was already half gone, was now just a stick.

The kitten was stunned, blinking blankly.

After swallowing the bite, Lu Huai’s brain ached from the cold, unable to speak for a long time, but he still managed to keep his expression natural, his tongue numb, “I helped you finish it.”

Because Niannian had stomach problems after eating ice cream before, Lu Huai only let him eat one every two days. The kitten had waited until now to eat it, wanting to eat it while watching TV, and didn’t want to eat it too fast, taking small bites.

Now it was all gone in Lu Huai’s stomach.

Seeing the kitten staring at him without speaking, Lu Huai felt a little panicked, afraid of making him cry again, regretting teasing him again.

But then he heard Niannian suddenly ask him, “Brother, did you think it was delicious?”

He hadn’t even tasted it because of the cold, Lu Huai forced himself to say, “It was delicious.”

The kitten leaned closer, almost touching his lips, sniffed, and whispered, “Milky, so sweet.”

Lu Huai’s brain buzzed.

His insides were cold from the ice cream just now, but now he felt like he was on fire.

He subconsciously wanted to move back, but he didn’t notice the suitcase behind him, tripped, and fell to the ground.