16. Cat Haven and Miraculous Rong Rong

Qiu Rong had just entered the house when a Ragdoll cat came rubbing against his feet, leaving him frozen in place, not daring to move.

Yan Ling fetched a pair of shoe covers from a fabric basket at the entrance and scooped up the clingy Ragdoll cat.

Yan Ling had brought Qiu Rong to a villa cat café owned by his aunt, Yan Zijue, the same short-haired woman who was playing with the cats using a soft rUriel. She exuded the intellect and elegance of a mature woman who didn’t look a bit older than forty.

Amidst the meowing sounds, Qiu Rong hesitantly greeted Yan Zijue, who had been staring at him all along.

Yan Zijue smoothed her stray hair and, as if completing a scan, nodded and commented, “Good body proportion.”

Qiu Rong: “…”

“Ms. Yan’s main job is a fashion designer,” Yan Ling explained. “This cat café is her side business.”

“More like a money-losing one,” Yan Ling added.

“Earning money is meant to be spent,” echoed Yan Zijue. Paying no attention to the cats’ attempts to keep her, she rolled up the soft rUriel in her hand, causing the gathered cats to scatter quickly.

Qiu Rong’s gaze followed the Ragdoll cat that had wriggled free from Yan Ling’s grasp. He said, “It seems like there are all kinds of cat breeds here.”

The little Ragdoll cat stumbled a few steps and then pounced onto a rolling tabby cat, and the two furry balls tumbled together.

“Yes, most of the cats here are strays or abandoned pets,” Yan Zijue said, noticing Qiu Rong’s continuous gaze on the Ragdoll cat. “If you want to pet them, go ahead.”

She added, “Choose the ones with good temperaments to touch. If you get scratched, I won’t take responsibility.”

Qiu Rong: “…”

Yan Ling primarily brought Qiu Rong here to choose clothes, but seeing Yan Zijue giving him permission, he didn’t hesitate to reach into the group of cats and scoop up the Ragdoll cat. Curiously, he asked, “Do you like Ragdoll cats?”

Qiu Rong dodged the other furry balls on the floor and skillfully caught the Ragdoll cat in his hands.

He looked up at Yan Ling, then down at the Ragdoll cat held up high in his hands, wearing a puzzled expression. He squinted his eyes and simply said, “Hmm.”

Yan Ling approached and poked the squirming Ragdoll cat in Qiu Rong’s arms with a hint of disdain.

“Ms. Yan mainly focuses on designing evening gowns,” Yan Ling said as he led Qiu Rong upstairs in the villa, introducing, “She also has a hobby of helping others with their outfits. Almost all my clothes throughout the year are picked by her and brought directly here for me to take.”

“Based on the measurements of your last knitted sweater and pants, I had her bring a batch of clothes here. You can go up later and pick out the ones you like,” he added.

Qiu Rong was stunned, “…”

It seemed a bit too exaggerated.

So, this is a domineering CEO.

The first and second floors of the villa belonged to the cats, while cats were prohibited from entering the third floor and above.

At the stairwell on the third floor, there was a small basket with a cat pattern containing a lint roller. Before going up to the third floor, one had to roll off the fur from their clothes.

Not knowing in advance that he would enter the cat area, Qiu Rong was wearing a black turtleneck sweater today. Moreover, he had just held the Ragdoll cat, so his clothes were in a sorry state.

After rolling for a while, the lint roller couldn’t completely remove the fur from his clothes. Seeing Qiu Rong awkwardly trying to roll the fur off his back, Yan Ling took the lint roller from his hand and said, “Give me your hand.”

Qiu Rong obediently raised both arms, watching as Yan Ling dealt with the cat fur on his clothes. A cool and faint fragrance passed by his nose, reminiscent of gently falling snowflakes.

The entire third floor was Yan Zijue’s studio, filled with various fabrics and drawings. Seeing that the two had finally made it inside after lingering for a while, Yan Zijue pointed to two floor-standing coat racks that had just been pulled out and said, “The one on the left is Yan Ling’s, and the one on the right is for Little Qiu.”

Yan Zijue clapped her hands and said, “Let’s begin.”

Qiu Rong: “?”

Qiu Rong looked at Yan Ling in confusion, “Begin what?”

The studio on the third floor was an open and spacious area. Yan Zijue’s work area was on the left, while several large lamps were placed on the right. There were fixtures on the walls for hanging backdrops, and a few mannequins and display stands were piled up in the corner, resembling a photography area for shooting finished garments.

Next to the photography area was a changing room separated by a curtain. Yan Zijue took a well-coordinated outfit from the coat rack on the right, stuffed it into Qiu Rong’s arms, and pushed him inside.

“Come out when you’re done changing.”

Qiu Rong didn’t even have time to react.

The area separated by the curtain was quite spacious, with a leather bench inside and clothes hooks on the wall. A full-length mirror stood to the side.

While undressing, Qiu Rong heard Yan Ling say outside, “Let him try several sets first. I’m not in a hurry.”

At that moment, Qiu Rong hadn’t realized what that sentence represented.

Dressed in a dark green shirt and a camel wool coat, Qiu Rong adjusted his collar in front of the full-length mirror and walked out.

Outside, Yan Ling brought out a reclining chair from somewhere and sat down, while Yan Zijue put on a pair of glasses and stood by the table, holding a small notebook in her hand.

Qiu Rong stood in place, feeling somewhat restrained, like a male college student being dragged by his mother to try on clothes in a clothing store after becoming an adult.

She looked up at Qiu Rong and nodded approvingly, “Not bad, you are a natural clothes hanger just like him.”

Lowering her head, she made a mark in the notebook. Yan Zijue pointed to the coat rack pushed next to the fitting room and said, “Alright, next outfit.”

Qiu Rong’s inner alarm bells suddenly rang loudly.

He exchanged a glance with Yan Ling, who had a playful smile on his face.

Qiu Rong’s eyes questioned: Is this really happening?

Yan Ling replied affirmatively: Just as you thought.

Qiu Rong: …

Next, Qiu Rong was forced into an endless cycle of “putting on clothes, taking off clothes, and putting on clothes again.”

CEO Yan even said something about choosing on his own… There was no room for Qiu Rong to make any choices. Every decision an adult would make was brushed aside by Yan Zijue, who simply selected everything.

From hoodies, sweaters, shirts, to coats, the range went from casual to business attire, from everyday wear to sportswear. Qiu Rong tried on each outfit one by one, in an attempt to escape the fate of endless outfit changes. Several times during the process, he tried to explain that he didn’t need so many clothes, but all his attempts to evade this fate of constant changing ended in failure.

There were even spring and summer outfits on the hangers.

Sometimes, Yan Zijue would personally step forward to tie a bow tie for Qiu Rong or add a small accessory like sunglasses. Qiu Rong slightly bowed his body to facilitate Yan Zijue’s adjustments.

At a certain moment, he felt like he had crossed into a styling game called “Miracle O Warm” (gender-switched version).

The whole process was too unbearable to recall. When Qiu Rong finished trying on the last outfit on the rack, he felt completely drained, as if he had run ten kilometers uphill without rest.

He was about to faint from clothes.

Yan Zijue made another mark in her notebook and then shifted her gaze leisurely to Yan Ling, uttering a devilish whisper, “Now it’s your turn.”

Yan Ling calmly stood up and took a few steps back, reminding her, “Auntie, it’s about time to prepare lunch.”

Thanks to Qiu Rong’s cooperation, the clothing trial today went quickly. Yan Zijue looked at the records in her notebook and decided to let Yan Ling off the hook for now.

With a good mood, akin to that of a devilish aunt, Yan Zijue hummed a song while heading downstairs. Qiu Rong breathed a long sigh of relief and slumped into the reclining chair.

He looked up at Yan Ling, his eyes filled with accusation, like a pitiful and aggrieved dog.

Yan Ling suppressed his laughter and reached out to pull Qiu Rong up.

“Normally, I come here to pick up clothes in January and July. It’s always like this, spending hours trying on clothes. Miss Yan wants to personally confirm the effect of each outfit.” Yan Ling admitted that he had brought Qiu Rong here from the beginning to share the burden, and the result was not bad. He comforted Qiu Rong, saying, “Thank you. Consider it a favor owed to you.”

Qiu Rong lamented in his heart. It turned out that even cats could be mischievous.

But as he looked at Yan Ling’s relieved smile after escaping the ordeal, he felt that forgiveness was not impossible.

Yan Ling took Qiu Rong to the second floor.

The second floor had a somewhat cat café-like feeling. On one side of the room was a bar counter, and on the other side were several small round tables with white-painted wooden surfaces, allowing more space for the cats to move around.

There was a cat climbing frame in the corner of the room, and on one side, there was a wall-mounted bookshelf shaped like a cat’s head, with books displayed inside. Qiu Rong flipped through them and found novels, magazines, and various types of reading material. A note was stuck in the lower right corner of the bookshelf, indicating that the books here could be freely exchanged.

Yan Ling went to the bar counter and brought back two glasses of pure water. He chose a seat by the window and sat down.

The winter sunlight streamed through the glass and fell on a small round table with a bouquet of flowers, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.

The burlap sofa was marked with scratches from cats. Qiu Rong took a simple tour around the room and sat down, asking, “Don’t you need help downstairs?”

Yan Ling shook his head. “Miss Yan doesn’t like others entering her kitchen.”

“I wanted to ask earlier, why do you always call her Miss Yan?” After changing clothes multiple times in the morning, Qiu Rong felt thirsty now and tilted his head back, finishing half a glass of water in one gulp.

“She said it sounds younger this way,” Yan Ling explained.

With a “thump,” Qiu Rong turned around and saw a white, long-haired cat jumping down from the climbing frame. It leisurely stretched its body, took light and graceful steps, and came over to leap onto the wooden table. It meowed at Yan Ling.

Yan Ling nodded slightly and greeted the little cat back, “Good afternoon.”

As Qiu Rong watched the interaction between the person and the cat, he was poked.

So adorable.

He was about to reach out and touch the polite little cat, but the white cat, with its back turned to him, flicked its fluffy tail and jumped off the table without hesitation, running away.

Qiu Rong chuckled. “Was it here just to say hello to you?”

Yan Ling neither confirmed nor denied it. “Perhaps.”

Yan Ling looked at Qiu Rong’s empty hand and suddenly asked, “Which do you think is cuter, a Ragdoll cat or the one just now?”

“All the cats here are adorable,” Qiu Rong said. He observed Yan Ling’s expression, thought for a moment, and added, “Ragdolls are cuter, like little princesses. The one just now had a more noble air.”

Yan Ling nodded and said, “That one was a Maine Coon. It’s very beautiful.”

Yan Ling seemed to prefer Maine Coons. Qiu Rong noted that.

“You’ve worked hard this morning. Once we finish lunch and Miss Yan selects your clothes, we can leave,” Yan Ling had already prepared an excuse to leave. Usually, Yan Zijue would demand that Yan Ling keep his schedule clear on the day of picking up clothes for the whole process of trying them on.

Over the past few years, Yan Ling had managed to shorten the time spent on trying on clothes to within half a day. With Qiu Rong taking up their morning, Yan Zijue had satisfied her desire for a real-life version of Miracle O Warm, so they should be able to leave soon.

“It wasn’t hard, actually quite interesting,” Qiu Rong smiled. The last time he was forced to try on new clothes by an elder was probably before he turned eight, and he didn’t remember much about it.

A few years ago, when he went shopping at the mall and saw the young boys reluctantly entering the fitting room with a face full of resignation as their mothers stuffed them with a pile of clothes, Qiu Rong would occasionally feel a hint of envy.

When Yan Zijue had raised his head to help him with the tie, in that moment when Qiu Rong bent down, he had a fleeting thought. If his mother were still here, maybe she would have pulled him like this, helped him straighten his collar, and then said with a smile, “My son looks so handsome.”

Qiu Rong concealed the loneliness in his heart and said again, “Mr. Yan, I really can’t take so many clothes. My dormitory can’t fit them either.”

“You helped me try on clothes early in the morning, consider it compensation,” Yan Ling told him not to burden himself. “When Miss Yan catches you trying on clothes, she’s also finding inspiration from you. She’ll be very happy to see you wearing the outfits she put together.”

Yan Ling thought for a moment and added, “Or maybe tell me where your home is, and we can have Miss Yan send the clothes to you by courier.”

Perhaps it was because he suddenly thought of his family, or perhaps it was because sitting in the cat-themed villa bathed in sunlight made one feel tender.

A tiny crack appeared in the tightly guarded fortress of Qiu Rong’s heart as he looked at Yan Ling, who had brought a slightly different experience to his mundane life. He allowed himself to be briefly vulnerable in front of this person.

Qiu Rong’s lips twitched quickly, then relaxed, as if he couldn’t find the right expression. He awkwardly touched his nose, avoiding Yan Ling’s gaze, and his hoarse voice softly fell on the second floor of the villa where only the cats and Yan Ling were present.

“I… don’t have a home.”

A cat sleeping soundly on the climbing frame not far away twitched its ears.

Yan Ling understood the implicit meaning behind Qiu Rong’s words. He hesitated for a moment and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

It was strange. Yan Ling’s heart, which usually didn’t care whether it skipped a beat or not, suddenly felt a faint ache.