He Said She Belonged to the Chen Family…

As a result of last night, Chen Miansheng woke up later than he ever had before.

His head felt slightly heavy, and there was even a rare trace of dark circles beneath his eyes.

After briefly regaining clarity, he propped himself up with one arm and slowly sat up in bed.

He rubbed his temple to suppress a sudden wave of dizziness, then turned to glance out the window at the bright sun hanging high in the sky. As his gaze lowered, it happened to fall on his little orange cat.

Perhaps startled by his movement, Fei Yan slowly opened her eyes in a daze and absentmindedly lifted her head.

That one look was all it took—her still-groggy brain immediately snapped awake when she saw the dark circles under his eyes.

Wait a second, all she did was sleep for one night.

How did Chen Miansheng end up looking so haggard the next morning?

Could his condition have worsened drastically overnight?

But that didn’t match any medical reasoning she knew.

She hurriedly scooted over to him and was just about to lift a paw to touch his face when he caught her paw midair and carefully placed her on the other side of the bed by the scruff of her neck.

Fei Yan: “?”

What was this about?

Was he now pretending not to know her after the kiss? Or was he just in a bad mood early in the morning?

Of course, Chen Miansheng would never admit that when the little cat got too close just now, those two feather-light kisses from the night before had surfaced in his mind again.

Fortunately, a full night had passed. Aside from the lingering grogginess, he had regained most of his rationality. After placing the little cat in the corner of the bed, he got up.

Just as he was about to head outside, Chen Miansheng paused, turned back, and explained hoarsely to his little cat:

“Sorry, I woke up a bit late today. I’ll go prepare breakfast first. If you’re still sleepy, Little Orange, go ahead and rest a bit more.”

His already deep voice, now slightly hoarse, sounded even more like the low, resonant hum of a cello in a vast cathedral.

Fei Yan became even more convinced.

Chen Miansheng’s condition had definitely worsened.

She suddenly remembered how he had chased her to the alley last night wearing only a thin inner layer and a cloak.

The spring night wind was still bitterly cold. No wonder he had fallen ill again.

This man really didn’t know how to take care of himself—his body had just barely improved and he was already pushing it.

She was so mad she could cough up a furball.

Without thinking, Fei Yan darted out on her little cat legs. As soon as she rounded the corner, she nearly ran into Chen Miansheng, who had stopped in his tracks.

She managed to stop just in time, but her attention was immediately drawn to the courtyard wall.

A shadowy figure was climbing over the wall, effortlessly leaping down from the top.

The figure was tall and lean. Fei Yan felt it looked oddly familiar, but the distance was too far to recall clearly. One word popped into her head—“Thief.”

Fei Yan: “?”

Was this thief a bit too bold? Climbing over walls in broad daylight?

Chen Miansheng had clearly also noticed the intruder.

But instead of panicking, his expression remained calm as he turned and walked toward the wall.

Fei Yan mentally added another question mark.

That’s a thief! Chen Miansheng, you’re practically bedridden—shouldn’t you have a sense of self-preservation?

Even though his figure wasn’t smaller than the intruder’s, and might even be slightly taller, she highly doubted he could win in a fight.

Then, the “thief” stepped into view.

Fei Yan stared as “Thief Gu Wu” approached with a look of urgency, quickly scanning Chen Miansheng from head to toe. His gaze paused at the dark circles for two seconds, then he began signing.

“Young Master, are you alright?”

Chen Miansheng replied, “I’m fine. What brings you here?”

Gu Wu signed, “I waited for a long time at the medicine hall, but you never came. I got worried and left the shop with Ah Chu for now and rushed over.”

As he signed, he glanced at the courtyard wall and bowed respectfully. “I overstepped. Please punish me.”

Chen Miansheng sighed, exasperated. “Xiao Wu, how many times have I told you…”

Gu Wu paused mid-gesture, quickly lowered his hands, and bowed again. “I understand.”

Then, glancing at the dark circles, he hesitated. “Young Master, did you not rest well last night?”

Chen Miansheng let his gaze briefly linger on his little cat. When she looked up at him, he casually looked away again. “It’s nothing. Sorry to have worried you.”

“Not at all. This is simply part of my duty.”

As they were conversing—one speaking, one signing—a sudden, urgent knock sounded from outside the courtyard gate.

The voice outside was impatient and loud: “Brother Gu Wu, is Shopkeeper Chen home or not? You’ve been inside forever and haven’t made a sound!”

Noticing Gu Wu glance toward the gate, Chen Miansheng raised his brow and turned as well, a bit puzzled.

Gu Wu explained, “It’s Wu Gang. He came to the medicine hall but couldn’t find you, so he came with me.”

He quickly opened the gate.

Wu Gang looked panicked at first, but upon seeing Chen Miansheng standing there unharmed, he sighed in relief. “Oh thank goodness, Shopkeeper Chen. You scared me, I thought something had happened to you at home!”

Chen Miansheng smiled lightly and asked, “What could possibly happen to me?”

Wu Gang paused, then grinned sheepishly. “You’re right, you’re right. Silly me. Still, I was really startled when you weren’t at the medicine hall this morning—you’re always punctual.”

Chen Miansheng dropped the teasing and became more serious.

“Thank you for your concern. I heard from Xiao Wu that you needed something?”

“Yes, yes!” Wu Gang slapped his head.

“It’s about the cats. Spring’s coming, and all these stray cats have been howling like crazy at night. People in town are fed up and talking about… doing something about it.”

He took a breath, then continued:

“Although a lot of folks in town know that you have a pet cat—and she’s a smart one too—for safety’s sake, maybe you could put something on her, Shopkeeper Chen. Something with a special mark, so if someone does catch her one day, they’ll know she’s not a stray.”

“Oh! Didn’t you give her a red accessory before? That one was great. Maybe she can wear that again?”

Chen Miansheng looked down at his little cat, who was still clueless about the conversation.

The red accessory, of course, was the pair of red jade pendants he’d tied to her on New Year’s Eve.

He’d taken them off after the holiday, worrying they might be uncomfortable, and stored them safely.

Aside from her belly, she was a uniform shade of orange—if not for how clean she looked, it really was hard to tell if she was a house cat or a stray.

At the moment, the little orange cat tilted her head and blinked up at him, looking completely confused.

Chen Miansheng withdrew his gaze calmly. “I’ll remember that. Thank you for the reminder.”

“No need to be so polite, Shopkeeper Chen. You helped me look after Xiao Hua for so many days—I should be the one thanking you,” Wu Gang said with a wave of his hand. “Alright, I’ve passed along the message. I’ll get going now. Farewell, Shopkeeper Chen, Brother Gu, and Little Orange.”

Chen Miansheng nodded. “Take care, Brother Wu.”

After sending Wu Gang off, he turned to Gu Wu. “Xiao Wu, you can head back too. I haven’t eaten breakfast with the little orange one yet. I’ll come by the medicine hall a bit later.”

Gu Wu bowed. “Then take care, Young Master. I’ll take my leave.”

Once the gate closed and Chen Miansheng turned around, he saw his orange cat sitting frozen in place.

He raised a brow. “What, spacing out again? Not hungry?”

Fei Yan flicked her tail and nodded very seriously.

Hungry? Of course!

Her stomach was already growling.

Chen Miansheng chuckled and patted her head. “Good girl. Just wait a bit longer.”

Fei Yan affectionately rubbed against him and watched him disappear toward the kitchen before asking in her mind, “Thirteen, did the attribute really upgrade?”

[Host, this is the third time you’ve asked me.]

Fei Yan: “So? Did it?”

[…Affection level between Host and designated target has increased. Congratulations, host. The ‘Midnight Cinderella ’ attribute has been upgraded. Duration extended to one hour.]

Satisfied, Fei Yan yawned deeply.

There was a reason she had been frozen in place earlier.

While Chen Miansheng and Wu Gang were talking, she’d opened her system panel and discovered the “Midnight Cinderella” had upgraded to Mid-Level Option—she got so excited she barely registered what Wu Gang had said and kept confirming with Thirteen over and over.

Other attributes didn’t matter to her as much. This one did.

Every upgrade meant she could stay in human form just a bit longer. For someone who’d been a cat for so long, that made a huge difference.

And the upgrade had clearly happened without her knowledge, which meant—last night was the only possible trigger.

She had been so tired she fell asleep the moment she lay down, comforted by the faint pinewood scent of Chen Miansheng’s clothes. Even if Thirteen had prompted her, she wouldn’t have heard it.

Fei Yan tilted her head, trying to recall what happened the previous night—and those two kisses on Chen Miansheng’s nose drifted back into her mind.

She twitched her tail awkwardly, unable to stop the thought: So Chen Miansheng, who looks all proper on the outside, actually does get flustered… all because of a kiss from a little cat?

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

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A certain “love-struck” Chen Miansheng quickly finished preparing breakfast and called the little orange cat over to eat.

Smelling the delicious aroma drifting over, Fei Yan dashed happily to his side without hesitation and dove right into her food.

Chen Miansheng didn’t pick up his chopsticks right away. His gaze rested softly on the little orange cat.

He reached out and gently tapped the cat’s ears twice, asking warmly, “Did Little Orange hear what Brother Wu said earlier?”

Hmm? What did Wu Gang say?

Fei Yan lifted her head from the food with a blank look, staring at Chen Miansheng in confusion.

Seeing her like this, Chen Miansheng knew right away she hadn’t heard a word. Smiling helplessly, he patiently repeated the message.

“There are a lot of wild cats in town, and now that it’s spring, they’re making so much noise at night that the townsfolk can’t sleep. To avoid any trouble, little orange, you’d best not go out at night.”

He paused, remembering her habit of sneaking out late at night, and added, “If you must go out, at least wear something that shows you’re a house cat.”

Fei Yan immediately thought of those red earrings. She scratched her ear with a paw and gestured for Chen Miansheng to put them on her now.

Chen Miansheng chuckled and lightly pinched her ear. “Little Orange jumps up and down all day. Those earrings will fall off easily.”

Fei Yan flicked his hand away with her tail in protest.

Nonsense. Those earrings stayed on just fine during New Year. Not once did they fall off.

Fortunately, Chen Miansheng added, “I’ll find something more suitable for you to wear later, how about that?”

Something more suitable than the earrings? That was acceptable, as long as it didn’t hurt. She wasn’t picky.

So the little orange cat wagged her tail and agreed without fuss.

Chen Miansheng’s lips curved slightly. He moved his palm to the back of her head, gently stroking it as his voice softened, “Still, even with that, try not to go out at night.”

“Though things seem better now than before, I know not everyone in town likes me.”

“I know it might sound like I’m being overly suspicious, but I really do worry they might take it out on you.”

His voice was low and quiet, like a whispher. His gaze grew distant, but the emotion behind his words was real.

“If I ever couldn’t find you again, I’d be very upset.”

—

By the time they finally arrived at the medicine hall, it was almost noon.

They’d woken up late, but Fei Yan had just eaten her fill. After staying out too long the night before, and with nothing to do inside the medicine hall, she simply jumped onto a wooden chair and found a comfortable spot to sleep.

Chen Miansheng looked at her increasingly round body, shaking his head with a helpless smile.

Pulling his fur cloak tighter, he pressed a hand to his forehead, barely fighting off another dizzy spell, then turned to Gu Wu and instructed softly, “I’ll head out again. Let Little Orange sleep here. Keep an eye on the customers’ children—don’t let them bother her.”

Gu Wu didn’t notice anything wrong and simply responded respectfully with hand signs, “Yes, young master.”

After Chen Miansheng left and his figure disappeared, Ah Chu cautiously approached Gu Wu and pointed at Fei Yan curled up on the chair, hesitating, “Brother Gu, don’t you think that cat’s back kind of looks like…”

Gu Wu could tell from his expression that whatever came next wouldn’t be anything flattering. He gave him a light glance and asked, “Like what?”

“…Like a pig.” Seeing Gu Wu’s face go blank for a second, Ah Chu rushed to explain, “Brother Gu, don’t misunderstand! I’m not insulting the shopkeeper’s cat, I swear. You believe me, right?”

After clarifying, he leaned in and lowered his voice. “But seriously, don’t you feel the same way?”

From that moment on, Gu Wu could no longer look at Little Orange’s backside the same way.

He tore his gaze away with difficulty and waved impatiently. “Go on, go on. Done grinding the herbs? If the shopkeeper hears you talking like this about his precious cat, you’ll be in big trouble.”

Ah Chu hunched his shoulders and quickly smiled apologetically. “I only said it to you in private, Brother Gu. I’ll go grind the herbs now, right away.”

Before heading off to welcome a new patient, Gu Wu cast one last glance at Fei Yan.

Well…

From this angle, the cat his young master had been raising for months really did kind of resemble a pig.

—

Fei Yan woke up groggily to find Chen Miansheng just returning from outside, dusty and travel-worn.

She slowly lifted her cat head. Seeing his familiar white robe, her damp eyes blinked a few times before she lazily jumped down from the chair and walked over. She bounced on her paws in front of him a few times.

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Though his condition had worsened during the trip, when he saw his little cat like this, Chen Miansheng’s heart instantly melted.

He bent down and scooped her up, gently rubbing her neck. “Slept that long?” he said with a soft smile.

He had left just past noon, and now it was already close to closing time at the medicine hall.

Which meant the little cat had napped there for about three hours.

Because Fei Mao Mao is a night owl—sleeping in the day and curing sick people at night.

Fei Yan lazily wrapped her fluffy tail around his arm and adjusted her position in his embrace, already looking ready to drift off again.

Chen Miansheng chuckled and gently flicked her forehead with his free hand. “Don’t go back to sleep.”

He glanced at the chair, now covered in orange fur. He didn’t mind. Sitting down, he reached into his wide sleeve and pulled something out.

Fei Yan took a closer look—it was a collar.

The collar was made of silver, with a small bronze tag hanging from the center. When she leaned in to inspect it, she saw the character “Chen,” from his name, engraved in the center.

“This won’t fall off easily. It’s better than earrings,” Chen Miansheng said as he carefully fastened the collar around her neck.

Fei Yan lowered her head to follow his movement. The collar fit perfectly. The bronze tag was clean and neat, hanging steadily, and actually looked kind of nice.

But…

Wasn’t this collar a bit too embarrassing? She’d rather wear the earrings!

Before she could object, she heard Chen Miansheng add, “I had a craftsman engrave my family name on it. That way people will know Little Orange is my Chen family’s cat.”

Fei Yan froze.

What did he just say?

He said she was his Chen family’s… cat.

If not for that final word “cat,” the meaning might’ve been very different.

Wait, why was her brain always going to weird places lately?

She blinked a few times, then buried her fluffy little head into the crook of his arm as if to hide her thoughts.

Seeing that she wasn’t rejecting the collar, Chen Miansheng let out a small sigh of relief.

He tucked his burned fingertip behind the bronze tag and rubbed it gently.

As if feeling something behind it, he narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a soft laugh.