40. Congratulations on acquiring a Maine Coon cat in LinQiu!

Having declined the enthusiastic trio, Qiu Rong left the coffee shop alone.

His departing figure appeared desolate.

Passing by the field of Persian chrysanthemums once again, he unconsciously slowed his pace, his gaze falling upon the clusters of flowers, attempting to find that white figure.

Qiu Rong felt somewhat worried. It’s difficult for domesticated animals to survive on their own when they are abandoned. Even he, as a young wolf cub, was bitten by dogs when he suddenly left the greenhouse constructed by his parents and older brother and found himself on the streets.

The soft and beautiful little Maine Coon cat clearly escaped from a pampered environment. What if it couldn’t find enough food on its own? What if it was caught by bad people?

Qiu Rong regretted not having snatched the little kitten earlier.

Even if he were to keep it for now and return it to its owner when they came looking, wouldn’t that be better than it being abandoned on the streets?

Slowly searching for the trace of the big white cat along the way, he gave up upon entering the residential area. Qiu Rong silently prayed in his heart that the little cat had been discovered by its owner and taken back, rather than running farther away.

With these thoughts in mind, he returned to where he had parked his car, only to find a crowd gathered around the SUV. Everyone was taking pictures with their phones, constantly snapping shots of something on the car roof, and occasional bursts of laughter could be heard from the crowd.

The head wolf had elegantly settled on the SUV roof, after having searched for the furball all the way. It sat there with an air of disdain, as if looking down on everything.

The noble cat flicked its large tail and groomed itself, occasionally casting a reproachful glance at the bipeds surrounding it, who were howling incessantly. It seemed to say, “You bunch of bipeds are disturbing me.”

Someone reached out, wanting to touch the big white cat. With the SUV’s high ground clearance and the cat sitting right in the middle of the roof, it tilted its head and looked at the biped with a fierce expression, as if saying, “You dare touch me?”

Er Kang, with his outstretched hand desperately trying to touch the cat, was about to make contact with one of the cat’s hairs that flew out.

The big white cat took a step back.

The biped instantly deflated, leaving behind a struggling handprint and falling off the SUV, clutching their knee and panting heavily.

The big white cat sat back in its original position.

The biped, still catching their breath, muttered something like, “Just wanted to touch it,” or “Such a lack of face,” causing everyone to burst into laughter, and the air around the car was filled with joy.

Qiu Rong approached and squatted down. The cat on the roof was the first to notice him.

The once indifferent and aloof noble cat stood up, taking elegant steps and extending its paws, stretching with a big lazy yawn. Amidst the chorus of “awws” from the onlookers, it gracefully leaped into Qiu Rong’s arms.

The cat changed its demeanor faster than flipping through a book. It had given Qiu Rong a paw earlier, and now it voluntarily embraced him.

A cat that comes to your door shouldn’t be turned away for nothing. With envious gazes from the crowd, Qiu Rong clumsily carried the cat into the car.

It wasn’t until the car left the school and stopped at a red light that Qiu Rong realized. He turned to the cat curled up and fast asleep in the passenger seat and said with a smile, “So you’re coming with me like this? Were you waiting for me all along?”

The cat twitched its ears and continued snoring, seeming too lazy to bother with Qiu Rong.

He had gone out for a trip and returned with a cat in tow. Qiu Rong held the cat as he went upstairs, murmuring, “There’s already another master in the house. I need his permission to keep you. But he’s been ignoring me these days, so you’ll have to stick with me for now.”

The little white cat looked up at Qiu Rong and said, “Meow~”

Qiu Rong rubbed the cat’s head and said, “Good, he gets along well with the Maine Coon. I believe he will like you too.”

They say cats are territorial, but Mr. Yan, this Ragdoll, shouldn’t be xenophobic… right?

Qiu Rong playfully molded the cat’s paws and said with a smile, “Still a Ragdoll, but clearly a little bat.”

The cat stood at the entrance and looked at Qiu Rong, calling out again.

“What’s wrong? Come inside.” Qiu Rong closed the door and invited it in.

The cat remained standing, lifting one paw to lick it, then putting it down and staring directly at Qiu Rong.

Qiu Rong pondered for a moment. Seeing the cat impatiently stretching out its two paws to scratch the doormat, he ventured, “Do you think your paws are dirty? You don’t want to step on the floor?”

The cat stopped its actions and said haughtily, “Meow~”

Qiu Rong was concerned that the additives on the wet wipes might not be good for the cat if it licked them, so he went to the bathroom and brought back a towel to wipe the fastidious cat’s paws. As he wiped, he asked skeptically, “Could you be a member of the cat clan?”

So intelligent.

At this moment, the cat seemed to not understand what Qiu Rong, this two-legged creature, was babbling about. It shook its newly pinkish paws, lifted its head, and arrogantly walked into the house, stepping into its territory.

Qiu Rong smiled, watching the big white cat climbing up and down, thinking he had over thought things. He stood up and went to the bathroom to wash the towel.

“Clatter~”

A noise came from the living room. Qiu Rong dropped the towel, turned off the water, and went out to see the big white cat sitting on the edge of the dining table, swaying its reed-like tail. It looked at Qiu Rong, then extended its paw and knocked down several empty beer cans from the table one after another with a “clatter~”.

“Ancestor!” Qiu Rong exclaimed.

He remembered before leaving in the morning that he was supposed to clean up the beer cans, but he forgot after doing something else, and now they had become the cat’s toys. Fortunately, the beer inside was all finished, or else it would have spilled all over the floor.

The cat continued to sit on the dining table, swaying its tail, looking somewhat ferocious. Qiu Rong walked over, rubbed its head, and got punched in return.

Qiu Rong held his scratched hand, smiled, and said, “It seems like you did something wrong. Why are you still so fierce?”

The cat completely ignored him, jumped off the table, and ran away, using its claws to kick another beer can.

Qiu Rong squatted down without any anger and picked up the rolling cans scattered everywhere.

After he finished cleaning up and placed the garbage bag at the entrance, he realized that he hadn’t seen the cat for a long time.

Qiu Rong hadn’t figured out what name to give the cat yet, so he called out randomly, “Xiao Bai? Mi Mi?”

He found the cat curled up in a circle on Yan Zong’s white sweatshirt when he passed by the bedroom for the second time.

The master bedroom’s bed had several pieces of Yan Ling’s clothes scattered on it. Qiu Rong helplessly said, “Ancestor, you can’t sleep here.”

The cat provocatively glanced at him, then got up and jumped onto another black piece of clothing, scratching it. Qiu Rong shouted, “You can’t scratch either!”

He grabbed the big white cat under its armpits with both hands, and the cat didn’t exert any effort, stretching into a long cat shape, calmly being held up by Qiu Rong. Face to face, Qiu Rong couldn’t help but get closer and rubbed the cat’s little pink nose, but the cat pushed him away with its claws, disdainful.

“Why are you so mischievous? I thought you were a female cat before, but you’re actually a little male cat, right?” Saying that, Qiu Rong adjusted his position, supporting the cat’s back with one hand and cradling it in his arms.

Qiu Rong confirmed that the little ancestor was a male cat, and at the same time, he was scratched by the angry little male cat, leaving scratches on his face.

Qiu Rong covered his face and squatted by the edge of the bed, saying, “I was wrong, I was wrong.”

The cat sat on the bed, still angry. It raised its paw and knocked on its own head, then turned around in a huff and buried itself in a pile of clothes, leaving only its big tail angrily patting the bed.

Qiu Rong rubbed his face and found one of his own clothes from the wardrobe to exchange with the cat. He said, “You can scratch my clothes if you want, scratch as much as you like. The other clothes belong to my wife, and if they get covered in cat hair, she’ll scold me.”

The cat actually got up and vigorously scratched Qiu Rong’s oversized hoodie, causing it to become all bunched up.

Qiu Rong held Yan Ling’s clothes and went to the coatroom. He found a wide adhesive tape to remove the fur stuck on them.

After he finished tidying up Yan Ling’s clothes and closed the door to the coatroom, the white cat, tired from all the scratching, lay on top of his clothes and watched him busily moving around.

Qiu Rong felt a pair of clear and affectionate eyes following him, and the focused expression of the cat reminded him of Mr. Yan.

Sometimes when he did housework, Mr. Yan, while handling his work, would gaze at him absentmindedly, like a cat observing humans.

So it wasn’t without reason that Qiu Rong liked to compare Yan Ling to a cat. It was simply because occasionally, his CEO would make small movements that resembled those of a cat.

…Wait a minute.

Qiu Rong looked at the elegant and dignified Maine Coon lying on the bed, and a thought flashed through his mind.

It was well-known that the current leader of the vampire clan was a half-breed, with a vampire father and a mother who was a superhuman of an unknown race.

…And Yan Ling’s aunt owned a cat café, where the Maine Coon would actively greet Yan Ling. Yan Ling had even asked Qiu Rong before which breed he thought was more beautiful, the Maine Coon or the Ragdoll.

Qiu Rong cautiously approached the Maine Coon, feeling awkward standing and then squatting down to be at eye level with the cat. He gathered his emotions and tentatively opened his mouth, “Yan…”

Before he could finish his words, the noble and elegant cat suddenly rolled over on the bed.

It seemed like the cat was acting coquettish. It exposed its belly and rolled from side to side. Qiu Rong instantly forgot what he was about to say and buried his face in the fragrant and soft belly of the cat, inhaling deeply.

This time, the cat didn’t hit him. Qiu Rong, completely enchanted by the cat’s charm, raised his head. The cat, with its two pink paws, called out to him in a soft voice, “Meow~”

Qiu Rong: “This definitely can’t be my CEO.”

Mr. Yan may be gentle most of the time, but he would never act so coquettish!

Moreover, his wife currently has the halo of a Vampire Clan Prince.

The Vampire Clan Prince rolled and acted coquettish on his bed, meowing.

Qiu Rong: “…”

It felt surreal just thinking about it.

After bringing the cat home, Qiu Rong definitely had to report to his wife. Speaking of which, this apartment still belonged to Yan Ling, but instead of kicking Qiu Rong out when he was angry, Yan Ling ended up leaving home himself.

Qiu Rong: He really loves me.

And then, his wife, who loved him very much, rejected his call once again.

Vincent: “It’s okay, His Highness said you can keep the cat at home.”

Qiu Rong: “Really? Somehow, I feel like you didn’t even ask.”

After hanging up the phone, Qiu Rong looked down at the cat curled up in a sweet circle, reached out and flicked its ears, and said in a desolate tone, “What should I do? I feel like I’m going to lose my wife.”

The cat didn’t understand.

The cat yawned.

The Maine Coon had long fur, and its white fur was particularly conspicuous. In just a short while, there was already a lot of cat hair in the house.

Qiu Rong looked around and felt that this wouldn’t do. After all, he couldn’t say for sure whether Yan Ling would agree to him keeping the cat, and they also lacked pet supplies at home.

He sat next to the cat, lost in thought for a while, and then clapped his hands. “Decision made.”

The cat looked up at him.

Qiu Rong patted the cat’s head. “Let’s go, I’ll take you to the villa.”

The cat: “…”

For some reason, Qiu Rong was once again hit by the cat.

Off they went.

Qiu Rong packed his belongings quickly, secretly took a few of Yan Ling’s clothes, carried the cat, who had a stinky face for some unknown reason, and picked up the trash at the entrance. Then he went downstairs.

He drove the SUV all the way to the pet store. Under the gaze of the cat with its smelly face, Qiu Rong first bought cat food and litter, then bought a bunch of cat toys and a few cute collar tags. The tags could be engraved on the spot, and after thinking for a moment, Qiu Rong decided on a name for the Maine Coon.

While waiting for the tags to be made, Qiu Rong asked the store clerk about a pet hospital known for its good spaying/neutering techniques. He also got another set of “cat boxing” in a joyous manner.

The store clerk smiled and said, “The name you gave your cat doesn’t match its temperament at all.”

Qiu Rong was gently laughing as he held the cat and stroked its fur. He whispered softly, “It matches. This time, it was picked up and brought home.”

The matter of spaying/neutering was temporarily put on hold under the intense gaze of the cat. Qiu Rong carried all the bags and brought the cat to his childhood home.

Throughout the journey, Qiu Rong didn’t let the cat’s paws touch the ground. No need to wipe them again. Once the cat entered the villa, it put aside its previous unhappiness and elegantly sniffed around in the house.

The villa was regularly cleaned and very tidy. Qiu Rong lifted the dust cover from the furniture and opened the windows for ventilation. After organizing the purchased cat supplies and searching around, he found the cat on the desk in the study.

The cat was lying on a propped-up photo frame and meowed at Qiu Rong when he entered.

“How did you end up here?” Qiu Rong approached and pulled the photo frame out from under the cat. He had intended to put it away in a drawer, but his gaze inevitably lingered on it.

The cat stretched its head and leaned close to Qiu Rong’s hand, as if curious about what he was looking at.

Qiu Rong spoke gently, “These are my parents and my brother.”

In the photo, the three of them stood on the lawn outside the villa, with the father and young boy flanking the mother in a long dress.

The mother’s hand gently rested on her own belly.

Meng Jiadong threw away all the photos in the house after moving into the Gu family’s villa, except for this one. It was somehow tucked into a book by someone. Meng Jiadong rarely entered the study until Qiu Rong returned to the villa and started rearranging the books, only then did he discover this forgotten old photo.

It was a group photo taken with his family when his mother was pregnant with him, and it was the only photo of his family that Qiu Rong had.

In the evening, Qiu Rong sat on the balcony of the bedroom, gazing at the grassy area below.

He still remembered when he was a child, his father would take him and his brother there for barbecues. His mother would sit in a shaded spot, holding a watermelon and watching them play.

Little Qiu Rong couldn’t control his own body back then and would often turn into a little wolf cub. In the laughter of his father and brother, he would pounce like a little puppy into his mother’s arms, leaving plum blossom imprints on her pristine white dress.

The stars in the sky were shining brightly. Qiu Rong remembered that the teachers at the orphanage had said that deceased loved ones would become bright little stars silently watching over the people they loved in the sky.

So when feeling sad, just look at the stars in the sky. At that moment, your family surely wants you to be happy.

The hazy smoke obscured the bright stars. Qiu Rong extinguished the cigarette in his hand and made the decision to continue quitting smoking. He couldn’t pick up bad habits just because his wife wasn’t by his side.

The cat, who had finished inspecting the villa, returned to the bedroom. As soon as it entered, it paused for a moment and then aggressively jumped onto the small table on the balcony. The cat glared at Qiu Rong ferociously and swatted away his hand when he tried to pet it.

“What’s wrong?” Qiu Rong was curious about why the old cat was getting angry again.

The cat stared at him for a while, then slapped the ashtray off the table.

Qiu Rong’s melancholy dissipated as he picked up the ashtray, saying, “Why do you like digging things on the table so much?”

The cat became even angrier after hearing that. “Meow!”

“Did I say something wrong?”

“Meow!”

The man and the cat went back and forth for a while, and Qiu Rong picked up the ash from the floor while the scene of the cat swatting his hand in the morning flashed through his mind.

Qiu Rong turned to look at the cat, still standing on the table, looking down at him. “Do you dislike the smell of smoke?”

The cat remained indifferent.

Qiu Rong tentatively reached out his right hand to take a cigarette but was promptly swatted away by the cat. He switched to his left hand, and the cat reluctantly allowed him to touch it for a moment before jumping off the table and running away.

So, it must dislike the smell of smoke.

“Why are you just like Yan Zong?” Qiu Rong muttered to himself as he went back into the room to brush his teeth and wash his hands. When he came out again, the cat did indeed stop scratching him.

“So, when you knocked over the beer cans in the afternoon, was it because you couldn’t stand me drinking?” Qiu Rong lay on the bed, holding the cat, and asked.

The cat ignored him, turning its back and facing away from Qiu Rong.

The bedroom gradually fell silent.

Qiu Rong silently counted the rhythm of the swaying reed tails.

Suddenly, he called out, “Yan Ling?”

No response.

The cat’s tail continued to sway back and forth.

Qiu Rong sighed and hugged the cat, giving it a rub. “Alright, you’re not my wife.”

The cat disdainfully pushed Qiu Rong’s head away, and Qiu Rong grumbled, “I promise not to smoke anymore. Don’t push me away in the future.”

The cat stopped pushing him.

Qiu Rong buried his face in the cat’s soft belly and softly lamented, “What should I do? I really miss my wife.”

The cat flicked its ears, lowered its head, and lightly licked Qiu Rong’s cheek, as if giving him a kiss.

Author’s Note:

*Original Sentence: “One unintelligible phrase after another, such as ‘A true gentleman remains poor,’ and ‘someone’ or something like that, which caused everyone to burst into laughter: inside and outside the shop, a festive atmosphere filled the air.” (Lu Xun’s “Kong Yiji”)

(There’s a feeling of Lu Xun trying to claim credit across universes in the footnotes…)

By now, I believe everyone has realized that the cat is Mr. Yan, so let’s interview CEO Yan about the reason behind the severe beating he gave Qiu Xiaogou~

Mr. Yan (with a cold snort): If I want to beat him, I’ll beat him. No reason needed.

Puppy Qiu: *Whimpers*

Don’t worry, the kitty’s vest will fall off very soon!

TN: Really taking tsundere to a whole other level!