Song Suiyuan thought he might have misheard something in his morning daze and didn’t pay much attention to it. He withdrew his hand, and the grumbling little white cat lay back down, hiding its little belly and falling asleep again.

Song Suiyuan smiled as he gently petted the round little creature, covering it with a small blanket before getting up to wash and dress on his own.

After breakfast, it was still early, so Song Suiyuan went to his study to practice his painting skills as usual. However, today, when he spread out the paper, he found a cat hair on the desk.

Song Suiyuan picked it up and examined the white cat hair carefully, then shifted his gaze inch by inch over the desk. He had a habit of arranging his pens in a specific way, and no one but Sui Mo would touch them, so he could clearly recall how everything was placed.

Yet, apart from this cat hair, everything on the desk was exactly as it had been the day before.

He raised an eyebrow, thinking, did Ah Yan come and sleep on the desk?

Unbeknownst to him, yesterday, when Ah Yan was about to grab a brush, he suddenly remembered how clever Song Suiyuan was. If he noticed the brushes and ink had been moved, the cat would be in trouble. So, Ah Yan wandered around other courtyards and used someone else’s paper and pen for copying prescriptions.

Luckily, the little white cat was clever this time, and Song Suiyuan didn’t notice anything amiss.

At the third quarter of the hour.

Zhou Mingyan and Yang Zhi arrived on horseback together.

Song Suiyuan was a bit surprised by Zhou Mingyan’s visit and stepped forward to ask, “Your Highness, how do you have time today?”

However, as soon as he voiced his doubt, he suddenly remembered why.

Sure enough, Zhou Mingyan said, “Ji Wang is being buried, so court is suspended for two days.”

Yang Zhi, following behind the Crown Prince, couldn’t help but chide again, “Your Royal Highness, as the eldest brother, you’re going hunting out of town today. The Censorate’s reports against you will pile up in Zicheng Hall.”

“Father is already looking for an excuse to punish me, so it’s not a big deal,” Zhou Mingyan said, waving his hand to signal Yang Zhi to stop bringing it up, and had his attendants deliver the items he brought to Song Suiyuan.

Song Suiyuan accepted them and invited the two inside.

Zhou Mingyan pointed at the items in his hand and said, “Silver Stop, Father gave me two jin, and I’m giving you one.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Hearing the name, Song Suiyuan lowered his gaze to the wooden box in his hand.

These past few days, he hadn’t been paying attention to the palace’s happenings, but it seemed things weren’t peaceful.

Yang Zhi had heard about the Silver Stop tea but wasn’t involved, so he didn’t get any. Now, he was eager for Song Suiyuan to brew some for them to taste.

The tea leaves were handed over to the servants, and the three of them sat in the main hall.

In Song Suiyuan’s home, Yang Zhi didn’t hold back and brought up a topic he couldn’t discuss in public last time: “Your incident at Liuxiang Pavilion has spread all over the city. Why didn’t you have someone suppress it? I heard Lady Song has been looking for a match for you lately.”

If Song Suiyuan had paid any attention, it wouldn’t have spread so widely.

Song Suiyuan gave him a sidelong glance, “When have I ever suppressed anything? It’s unnecessary.”

Since his rebirth, he had never paid attention to idle gossip.

Yang Zhi rubbed his nose and said, “Isn’t it… for Shuang’er.”

The reason he was so concerned was because he had a younger sister, Yang Shuang, who was infatuated with Song Suiyuan. Her dream was to marry into the Song family.

If not for the Crown Prince accompanying him today, the young girl would have insisted on coming along.

If the two of them could marry, Yang Zhi would be delighted, as he thought highly of Song Suiyuan. Unfortunately, it was clear that Song Suiyuan had no such intention. However, if Song Suiyuan admitted he liked someone else, he could go back and persuade his sister.

The Crown Prince, busy with state affairs, hadn’t heard the gossip from the streets. Hearing this, he guessed what it was about, raised his eyebrows, and fanned himself, becoming a spectator.

Song Suiyuan naturally had no interest in Yang Shuang, and he knew that Yang Shuang would eventually marry the little Junwang from the Princess Chang’s family, and the two children would have a happy marriage.

Just as he was organizing his words, he caught sight of a small white ball rolling over the threshold. His black eyes paused, and he said calmly, “Right now, I just want to find that young master from that day. Marriage is not my intention.”

Such a statement inevitably made people think he was avoiding marriage because of the “young master.”

Realizing this implication, the two close friends immediately showed expressions of watching a show, and Yang Zhi laughed, “Song Suiyuan, you actually have a day like this…”

Zhou Mingyan touched his chin, thinking that he was now the only bachelor left, and decided to urge his mother to hurry.

Ah Yan, who had slowly wandered in from the doorway, shook his round head.

It’s got nothing to do with the cat~

The brewed tea was brought in, and Song Suiyuan turned his head, pretending to notice the little white cat for the first time, extending a hand to let it jump onto his knee.

Zhou Mingyan, seeing the little white cat, was envious and said, “Is Ah Yan behaving well with you? If it’s too troublesome, I’ll take it back to the palace today.”

Song Suiyuan knew that the Crown Prince was just saying this for fun. He was too busy to really take the little one back to the palace.

So he stroked the cat’s back without speaking.

But Ah Yan didn’t know this. Seeing Song Suiyuan silent, he thought he was admitting that he wasn’t well-behaved, maybe even recalling how naughty he had been. So he urgently and fiercely patted Song Suiyuan’s leg, “Meow~”

He didn’t want to go to the palace!

Hearing this, Song Suiyuan lowered his head, pinched its little paw, and replied to Zhou Mingyan, “Ah Yan is a bit troublesome…”

Ah Yan interrupted loudly, tilting his little cat head, “Meow meow?”

Was Ah Yan still not well-behaved?

Song Suiyuan was struck by its head-tilting gesture, and his words softened, a smile appearing in his eyes, “It’s okay, it listens to me, so there’s no need to trouble Your Highness.”

Ah Yan instantly cheered up, rubbing his head against Song Suiyuan’s belly, proudly saying, “Meow meow.”

Ah Yan is the best.

Ah Yan is the best.

This time, what reached his ears was a clear, youthful voice, crisp like jade, full of spirit, the four words pronounced perfectly, like a thunderclap in his ears.

Song Suiyuan’s pupils suddenly contracted, waves surging in his eyes, and he unconsciously used a bit of force holding the little cat’s paw.

However, Yang Weiqing, sipping tea, and Zhou Mingyan, who turned his head with a cold snort, were oblivious to it all.

“It hurts, it hurts.” Ah Yan yelped, rescuing his paw from Song Suiyuan’s grip, holding his right paw with his left, warily watching Song Suiyuan’s big hand.

Song Suiyuan heard its words again, closed his eyes, then opened them, finding the sensation quite strange. His ears could hear two sounds: one was Ah Yan’s “meow meow,” but layered over it was the young voice, translating perfectly to “it hurts, it hurts,” with the tone exactly the same.

So what was this?

Why?

Was it because he had lived another life and gained some opportunity?

Or was Ah Yan truly a divine cat?

If Ah Yan was a divine cat, then what about Yun Shizi? Could he hear Ah Yan speaking human words?

…

One question after another filled his mind in an instant.

Song Suiyuan was lost in thought for too long, and it wasn’t until he saw Ah Yan looking up at him in confusion that he covered his eyes, concealing the turmoil within.

Only after regaining his composure did he realize Yang Weiqing was asking him something.

Song Suiyuan raised his eyes, returning to his usual calm demeanor, and asked Yang Zhi, “What did you just say?”

Yang Zhi gave him a probing look, then repeated helplessly, “I said, you haven’t found that young master yet, and you don’t even know who it is, do you?”

He suddenly recalled Song Suiyuan’s question in front of Hanyun Temple, and the strange part seemed to have an explanation.

Song Suiyuan suddenly smiled and said, “Of course not, I know who it is.”

Then he looked down at the little white cat, “Right?”

Ah Yan’s round eyes were obedient, showing no hint of mischief, and he meowed, “Right.”

Deng Zhiyu, not Yun Xiu.

Song Suiyuan half-closed his eyes, pinching its cheek.

He was planning to take advantage of the little white cat not knowing he could understand, to find an opportunity to trick it.

Having gotten his answer, Yang Zhi didn’t ask further. If Song Suiyuan needed help, he wouldn’t pretend to be polite, but if he didn’t want to say, there was no point in asking.

A stick of incense later.

This time, the three of them chose the back of Sanghua Mountain for hunting. This mountain occasionally had local hunters, with fierce beasts hiding deep, making it suitable for practice. Song Suiyuan had prepared the necessary items and horses in advance, and even with the addition of the Crown Prince, everything was sufficient. So, after a short rest and some tea, the three of them got ready to leave.

Yesterday, riding was easy, and Song Suiyuan wanted to take Ah Yan, but Ah Yan didn’t want to go. Today, for hunting, the little cat wanted to come along.

The small creature was placed on the ground, circling around Song Suiyuan’s feet, chanting, “Take the cat, take the cat, take the cat…”

Song Suiyuan patiently counted, and out of ten meows, eight could be understood.

Taking it wasn’t entirely impossible. Ah Yan was clever, and now they could communicate. After being pestered for a while, Song Suiyuan squatted down and told it that it must stay quietly in his arms, never leaving his side.

Ah Yan finally succeeded, happily jumping onto him, “Meow~”

Okay.

But Song Suiyuan didn’t move, pausing to pat the little cat’s head, “Praise me, and I’ll take you.”

Ah Yan stopped his joy, secretly baring his teeth in a little fierce manner, then lifted his round head, sweetly saying, “Meow meow…”

Big bad guy, hurry up and take the cat!

Song Suiyuan pretended to leave the cat behind, “Forget it…”

Ah Yan’s fur stood on end, quickly grabbing his clothes, “Great person! Song Suiyuan, great person, take the cat along!”

Song Suiyuan pressed his lips together, hiding the smile in his eyes, looking thoughtfully at little Ah Yan, his uncertain tone carrying a hint of threat, “This time… you’re not cursing me, right?”

Ah Yan: “No!”

Damn, is this guy becoming a spirit?