Chapter 46

“Huh?” Lin Si asked, “Duan Yang? A cat?”

There was some rustling on the other end of the call, and before long, a faint “meow” sounded in his ear.

Lin Si’s heart melted at the soft cry of the kitten. He took a deep breath and asked excitedly, “There’s really a cat?!”

“Yeah, it’s already at home,” Lu Wei said. “I’ve never taken care of a cat before. Can you come back to look after it?”

Lin Si scratched the back of his head. “But I haven’t really raised a cat either…”

His only experience with cats was virtually raising one in Bubble’s simulated world. But that was completely different.

“It’s fine. I can take it to the pet hospital,” Lu Wei said.

Lin Si quickly stopped him. “No, don’t—”

Lu Wei asked, “Do you want to take care of it?”

Lin Si was actually quite tempted. Raising Bubble in the virtual world was already adorable enough. If he could have a real kitten in real life—soft and fluffy, and one that wouldn’t bite…

Heart skipping x1000000

“Is it the playful type or the quiet type?” Lin Si asked. “I’m a little scared if it’s too energetic…”

“A Ragdoll, not very active,” Lu Wei said. “It might still be a little wary of strangers right now.”

Lin Si pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and said, “Then I’ll come home and take a look tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Lu Wei replied. “Are you staying over? I’ll tell the housekeeper not to come.”

“…”

Who moves out one day and moves back the next?!

Lin Si hesitated, but Lu Wei spoke first. “If you’re coming back tomorrow, grab the teething stick from the delivery box by the door.”

“A teething stick, got it.” Lin Si naturally followed the conversation. “So, when you leave in the morning, will the cat be alone at home? How old is it? Will it accidentally hurt itself?”

Lu Wei replied, “About three months old, still teething.”

“That young?” Lin Si frowned. “Duan Yang leaving such a small kitten in someone else’s care—he’s so irresponsible. By the time he gets it back, the cat might not even recognize him anymore.”

“…Forget about him,” Lu Wei said indifferently.

Lin Si thought about his schedule for the next day and then said, “I’ll head back in the morning, but I still have to go to the recording studio at night. You should try to come home earlier so someone’s always there.”

“Alright.”

“Mm.” Lin Si acknowledged before hanging up.

After saying that, they fell into silence. Lin Si let out a casual “ah” and said, “Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up then.”

“Are you free right now?” Lu Wei asked.

Lin Si glanced toward the corner—Liao Ji had already gone to wash up, meaning there wouldn’t be any more discussions about him and Y tonight. So he replied, “Yeah, I’m free. What’s up?”

Lu Wei was silent for a moment before saying, “Nothing. Just go to bed early.”

“Oh…” Lin Si responded, then said, “Good night.”

“Good night.”

After hanging up, Lin Si leaned back on the sofa, feeling much more at ease. At least Lu Wei didn’t seem to mind the temporary marking, and their conversation had gone smoothly.

Going back tomorrow should be fine. Maybe Lu Wei didn’t even notice that he had taken his luggage!

Lu Wei must think he was just staying out for a few days!

Thinking this, Lin Si quickly repacked his suitcase—he’d head home in the morning to see the cat.

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The next morning, when Lin Si was getting ready to leave, Liao Ji looked at him in exasperation over his fickle behavior. As he drove Lin Si back to Xijiang, he grumbled, “If I have to help you pack your luggage one more time, I’ll write my name backward.”

“Then why don’t you come home with me and see the cat?” Lin Si suggested. “Lu Wei should be at the office by now, so we can play with the cat all afternoon.”

Liao Ji refused immediately. “No, thanks.”

“Alright then.” Lin Si shrugged. “Just remember to pick me up tonight.”

When the car stopped, Liao Ji helped him unload his suitcase. While doing so, he mentioned, “I’m planning to take a few days off. Last night, Director Ye said the movie is about to start filming, and next month we’ll be busy with the “Missing You ’66” roadshow. After that, we basically won’t have any free time, so I’m going home for a bit.”

“You should just bring your partner to Beicheng,” Lin Si said. “It’s not like you don’t have a place to live. Why keep taking a one-hour flight back home every time?”

Liao Ji sighed. “He likes small cities. And I’m always busy with work. If he moves to Beicheng, he’ll be home alone with no friends—it’d be boring for him.”

“But isn’t long-distance exhausting?” Lin Si asked.

“That’s why I’m going back to see him!” Liao Ji flicked Lin Si’s forehead. “How else do you maintain a relationship without seeing each other?”

Lin Si hesitated, then asked, “So… do you guys, you know, do it? Betas can do it too, right?”

“…”

If they weren’t outside, Liao Ji would have grabbed Lin Si by the back of his neck and scolded him a thousand times. But now, he could only point at Lin Si’s nose at the entrance and say, “I don’t know where you learned this nonsense, but if I ever hear you say such ridiculous things again, you’re not eating sweets for three months.”

“…But what’s so bad about talking about it?” Lin Si argued. “It’s just human nature. It’s not embarrassing or anything.”

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Liao Ji shoved him inside. “Get out of my sight.”

Then he turned and walked away without looking back.

Before the doors closed, Lin Si waved at him, then picked up his suitcase and thought about what Liao Ji had said.

How do you maintain a relationship without seeing each other?

Yeah… he definitely had to see Y.

He had to.

The door scanner beeped, and Lin Si eagerly stepped inside. Sure enough, he immediately spotted a cat bed in the living room. He dropped his luggage to the side and crouched down in front of it—only to find it empty.

He looked around but didn’t see the cat anywhere.

Click.

The bedroom door opened.

Lu Wei stood at the doorway, dressed in loose, light gray loungewear.

!

From Lin Si’s lower vantage point, Lu Wei looked especially tall. Lin Si glared at him. “Why are you home?!”

“I’m off this morning.”

Lin Si couldn’t help but think—A CEO has official rest days?

“Looking for the cat?” Lu Wei asked.

“Uh… yeah,” Lin Si said. “Where is it?”

Lu Wei stepped forward slightly and glanced back into his room. “Sleeping inside. Want to take a look?”

“In your room?” Lin Si pointed. “You don’t mind?”

“It’s fine.”

So Lin Si carefully walked past the living room and stood hesitantly at Lu Wei’s doorway.

The curtains were drawn, blocking out all the light. He could barely make out the room’s layout.

The minimalistic, cold-toned decor made the space feel impersonal. Lin Si asked, “Were you sleeping just now?”

“I was awake for a while. Just hadn’t gotten up yet,” Lu Wei replied.

The thought of Lu Wei lying in bed, unwilling to get up, was oddly amusing—but faced with his overpowering presence, Lin Si held back his laughter.

“Where’s the cat?” he asked instead.

Lu Wei gave him a light push on the back, nudging him fully into the room.

“On the bed.”

Lin Si followed his lead, lowering his voice instinctively as he asked, “Is it asleep?”

“Mm.” Lu Wei pointed to the other side of the bed.

Lin Si tiptoed closer and saw a tiny, fluffy white ball curled up on the bed. It looked like a little snowball, with just a hint of bluish-gray on its tail.

He hesitated—should he reach out or not? In the end, he crouched by the bed and whispered excitedly, “It’s so cute!”

“It was a bit scared after arriving, and last night, it insisted on following me into the room.” Lu Wei gently touched the back of Lin Si’s hand with the pad of his index finger. “Go ahead, pet it. It probably won’t wake up.”

Lin Si clenched his palm slightly. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It seems to sleep a lot,” Lu Wei said. “Around four or five in the morning, it stepped on my face. I don’t think it’s slept much since then.”

Lin Si couldn’t hold back his laughter.

The image of Lu Wei getting his face trampled by a tiny kitten was something he never expected—but it was definitely something worth laughing at.

But he quickly reined himself in, curling his fingers as he carefully touched the kitten’s back. The soft fur beneath his fingertips made his eyes light up. He turned to Lu Wei, waving excitedly. “Have you petted it yet?”

Lu Wei hesitated before nodding, then changed his answer. “Not really.”

Lin Si shifted aside slightly. “You should try. It’s really soft. I feel like when it grows up, it’ll be perfect to cuddle and listen to it purr.”

Lu Wei knelt slightly, his right knee resting on the ground beside Lin Si, leaning forward. His shoulder was barely twenty centimeters from Lin Si’s chest.

He ran his fingers gently from the kitten’s head to its tail. His touch was light, careful.

“What’s its name?” Lin Si asked.

Lu Wei: “It doesn’t have one.”

“Duan Yang didn’t tell you its name?” Lin Si frowned. “It’s three months old—it should have a name by now.”

Lu Wei flicked the kitten’s ear. “He said he forgot to name it and told me to just pick one.”

Lin Si: “…”

“You name it,” Lu Wei said. “I’m bad at naming things.”

His voice brushed lightly against Lin Si’s ear. Lin Si turned, only to find Lu Wei’s face incredibly close.

His mind flashed back to that late night.

Y had told him to name a kitten.

He stared at the tiny cat, dazed.

Y had mentioned meeting up, and he still hadn’t responded.

Last night, before bed, Lin Si had stared at his phone for a long time. He typed “Okay,” then deleted it. A few seconds later, he replaced it with “Can we wait a bit?”

In the end, he erased everything.

At least… until the wounds on his gland had healed.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Wei’s voice was low, right in front of him.

The warmth of his breath sent a shiver down Lin Si’s spine, making every pore on his face tingle. He was so lost in thought that he only half-registered Lu Wei’s presence. The strong scent of his pheromones lingered in the air, making Lin Si’s ears turn red without him even realizing it.

He instinctively leaned back a little.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Wei asked again.

“Nothing,” Lin Si said. “Just… a friend of mine said the same thing before. It feels familiar.”

“What friend?”

Lin Si looked down at the kitten’s sleepy face. “Someone very important.” He rubbed the kitten’s tail and changed the topic. “It has a little bit of blue-gray at the tip. How about we call it ‘Xiao Huihui’?” (Little Grey)

“……”

Lu Wei finally understood why Lin Si had asked him to name the kitten in the first place.

If there were a ranking for naming skills, Lin Si would be dead last. Lu Wei, barely ahead, wasn’t much better—but at least slightly more competent.

Seeing his hesitation, Lin Si quickly said, “Okay, okay, I’ll think of another one.”

Their voices had gradually gotten louder, and the kitten, still drowsy, rolled onto its back, exposing its soft, fluffy belly. Lin Si propped his chin on his hand, smiling as he stared for a while. “You should decide. I’ve never had a pet before, so I don’t know how to pick a cute name.”

“Meow~”

The kitten finally woke up, blinking its crystal-clear blue eyes at the two crouching humans.

Then, in the next second, it got scared and bolted, hiding in the fold of the blanket, with only the tip of its tail sticking out.

“Its eyes are so pretty,” Lin Si murmured. “Like little crystals.”

Lu Wei stood up and lightly patted Lin Si’s head. “Go pick it up.”

But the kitten had hidden right in the middle of Lu Wei’s bed, and Lin Si, still wearing his outdoor clothes, didn’t want to climb onto it. He nudged Lu Wei for help. “You pick it up for me.”

After a bit of negotiation, Lu Wei reached out with his long arms and scooped the kitten from the blanket, tilting his head slightly toward Lin Si. “Hands.”

Lin Si flailed his fingers dramatically, trying to recall the classic “holding a baby” pose from TV dramas, before finally cupping his hands toward Lu Wei.

The kitten landed softly in his arms. Its ice-blue eyes were wide open, its tiny paws clutching nervously. Lin Si worried that it might suddenly try to climb up his arm and fall, so he quickly held it more securely and turned to Lu Wei in a panic. “I can’t, I can’t! It’s—!”

Before he could finish, Lu Wei’s arms encircled him.

Not in an overstepping way—just enough to steady Lin Si’s arms as he held the kitten.

The kitten let out a small, helpless “meow” in its now “double-layered” nest.

Lin Si froze. The warmth from Lu Wei’s arm pressing against his was impossible to ignore. He could smell Lu Wei’s pheromones so clearly, almost as if they were seeping into his glands.

“Lu Wei… I can’t move,” Lin Si muttered, lowering his gaze. “Just take the kitten from me, okay?”

Lu Wei released him immediately, his movements effortlessly smooth as he lifted the kitten from Lin Si’s arms.

“Let’s call it Guàng Guàng (Wanderer),” Lu Wei said. “It’s too timid and shy—might as well give it a lively name.”

Lin Si thought that was a great idea and agreed instantly. “That’s perfect!”

“It can eat a little softened cat food now,” Lu Wei said, placing Guàng Guàng on the floor.

Lu Wei followed after the kitten. Lin Si followed after Lu Wei. And so, the three of them started “wandering” around the apartment together.

Lin Si nodded. “Got it.”

“If you can’t find it, check under the sofa or the bed,” Lu Wei added. “Yesterday, the moment I looked away, it hid for ages.”

Lin Si nodded again, then said absentmindedly, “You’re way more experienced at this than I am.”

Lu Wei’s sharp eyes narrowed slightly. He almost gave himself away.

“Duan Yang taught me,” he said smoothly.

It was still early in the morning. Lin Si yawned and asked, “Are you resting this afternoon?”

“I have to go to the company,” Lu Wei replied. “But I’ll be back earlier tonight.”

Lin Si nodded, his attention completely drawn away as he trailed behind Guàng Guàng. He waved at Lu Wei. “You don’t have to worry about me. Go focus on work—I’ll just stay here and watch it.”

Lu Wei let out a quiet “Mm,” walked through the living room, bent down to pick up a teething stick from a delivery box, and casually grabbed Lin Si’s suitcase from the doorway. “Where should I put this?”

Lin Si, kneeling on the sofa, almost collapsed.

He had completely forgotten about promising Lu Wei to get the delivery. And now, Lu Wei had also found out that he really had packed up and run away yesterday!

Trying to cover up his embarrassment, Lin Si rubbed his eyes. “Just put it in my room…”

Lu Wei didn’t say anything, simply helping him place the suitcase inside.

Lin Si was utterly fascinated by Guàng Guàng, and luckily, the kitten had a great temperament. After being followed around for half an hour, it finally accepted Lin Si’s presence, allowing itself to be held and even curling up comfortably against Lin Si’s thigh to sleep.

“Lu Wei…” Not wanting to wake the kitten, Lin Si pointed at his suitcase and whispered, “Can you help me get my script from inside?”

Lu Wei agreed. He opened Lin Si’s suitcase and dug to the bottom for the script. As he did, he noticed a well-protected virtual reality headset box.

The suitcase was a complete mess, but the VR headset case looked oddly out of place—like a noble prince sitting in the middle of a slum.

Without reacting, Lu Wei carefully put everything back in order and only took out the script.

“You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you?” Lin Si asked.

“Mm.”

Lu Wei went to the kitchen and quickly made a simple breakfast. After eating, he sat next to Lin Si with his laptop.

The man focused on his work, a tiny kitten nestled obediently between them. On the other side of the kitten, a young man sat cross-legged, completely immersed in his thick script.

Time flowed quietly in the living room. The rhythmic tapping of the keyboard marked the passing moments, while every turned page carried a sense of endless tomorrows.

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Author’s Note: The secret is about to be exposed soon QAQ.

T/n: Yup really looking forward to it. Stay tuned guys❤️❤️❤️ If you want to support me you can buy me a Ko-Fi or go to my paypal page.