29th Meow

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When He Yunzhou woke up, it was already bright outside.

He was awakened by Nan Gua, who had been incessantly clawing at He Yunzhou’s hair and face, emitting a continuous, majestic howl. He Yunzhou’s phone somehow slipped into the crevice of the sofa cushion at some point, and constantly rang and vibrated.

“Ugh—”

He Yunzhou, supporting his head, endured the nausea brought on by the hangover and struggled to push the heavy orange furball, as heavy as Mount Tai, away from his neck. Then, he exerted effort to pry open his eyelids and groped around the sofa crevices for a long time before finally finding his phone and turning it off with a press.

After the phone’s ringtone disappeared, Nan Gua’s cries became even more piercing.

He Yunzhou lay despondently in place for a while.

After some time passed and seeing Nan Gua showing no sign of stopping, he could only endure the discomfort in waves and slowly sit up.

A sudden bout of dizziness hit him, and He Yunzhou sat blankly in place for a long time before barely recognizing that he was currently on the sofa in his living room.

The feeling of being drunk was quite terrible.

It took He Yunzhou at least several more minutes before he could vaguely recall why he was wearing crumpled, alcohol-soaked clothes on the sofa all night long.

Ah, he had gotten drunk ah.

He Yunzhou pondered slowly, his thoughts feeling submerged in a thick paste.

The last image left in his consciousness was him sitting at the dining table, eating lamb and drinking wine, while the final fragment of thought before the blackout was, “Ah, why does my body feel so light?” and “I feel like touching Huo Zheng’s head.”

Wait a minute—Huo Zheng—

Several blurry fragments suddenly flashed through He Yunzhou’s mind, causing his body to tremble. He vaguely seemed to recall something, but memories after getting drunk were like elusive little fish. They might come a little closer when one is completely clueless, but once one attempts to recall them seriously, they scatter instantly, leaving only a ripple of nothingness.

Nan Gua was still clamoring for food, so He Yunzhou could only stand up in agony and reluctantly opened a can to shut its mouth.

While opening the cat food, He Yunzhou noticed that his hands were shaking, nearly pouring the canned soup directly onto the impatient Nan Gua’s head.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that the discomfort in his body was almost directly proportional to his inner regret.

“I really shouldn’t have drunk so much…”

He Yunzhou sat next to Nan Gua’s cat food bowl, staring blankly at the chubby cat, murmuring to himself.

In fact, He Yunzhou hadn’t drunk alcohol for many years.

Or rather, he had been carefully controlling his alcohol intake for many years, ensuring that he wouldn’t completely lose consciousness due to drunkenness. The reason for doing so wasn’t because of anything else but because he happened to be one of those very rare individuals who, once drunk to a certain extent, would completely lose consciousness and have no recollection of what they had done.

Although over the years, based on feedback from friends around him, He Yunzhou’s drunken self, besides being more sentimental and talkative, didn’t have any other peculiarities. In a sense, one could even describe him as having a good tolerance for alcohol. However, plunging into a blackout state after drinking was definitely too risky.

But…

“Did I do something to Huo Zheng ba?”

He Yunzhou looked around his living room dully. Apart from the sofa appearing more disheveled, there didn’t seem to be any difference.

Yet, He Yunzhou couldn’t shake off the vague feeling of anxiety that lingered within him.

Even after He Yunzhou struggled to take a shower in the bathroom and emerged from the room after drying his hair, he still hadn’t remembered what he had done after blacking out completely yesterday.

He Yunzhou hesitated whether to send a message to Huo Zheng to inquire about it.

Thinking about the vivid dream of Gua Ji he had after getting drunk, He Yunzhou actually began to doubt whether he had blurted out his faint suspicion of using Huo Zheng as a substitute for Gua Ji while intoxicated.

“He’ll probably be very angry…”

He Yunzhou tossed and turned, staring at his phone, feeling a growing unease in his chest.

After much deliberation, He Yunzhou sent a message to Huo Zheng.

[A Little Boat Swaying: Are you awake? How are you feeling today? I have a terrible headache right now.]

[A Little Boat Swaying: Was I very drunk last night? I didn’t go crazy, did I?]

[A Little Boat Swaying: If I did something wrong, I can only say sorry now.]

……

He Yunzhou expected to wait a long time before receiving a reply from Huo Zheng.

Unexpectedly, right after he sent the messages, his phone rang, and he quickly received a new message.

[Huo Zheng: It’s okay, you fell asleep right after drinking yesterday.]

Upon seeing this reply, He Yunzhou immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

During their time together, He Yunzhou was also well aware of Huo Zheng’s temperament. If there were really any grievances, he wouldn’t have responded so quickly to his message.

However, his fingers still hovered over the phone screen about to reply to Huo Zheng, when a new message came in.

[Huo Zheng: I might be quite busy with work next, so it’s not very convenient to be in touch for a short while.]

[Huo Zheng: I’m really sorry.]

Sorry, and also, goodbye…

Inside the headquarters of Huo Corporation, Huo Zheng’s face was pale as he stared at the message input field on his phone screen, his breath shallow. After hesitating for a long time, he deleted the final “goodbye.”

He didn’t like that word.

Yes, in the end, Huo Zheng didn’t express his discontinuation of communication too explicitly, but he believed He Yunzhou would probably understand his intention.

Because after He Yunzhou replied with [I understand] he didn’t send any new messages.

The encounter with He Yunzhou was so plain, and the breakup with that person unexpectedly ended so peacefully—but Huo Zheng had never felt so upset before, not like this time.

The taste of He Yunzhou’s tears seemed to linger on his tongue— that bitter taste had even spread through his entire body along his taste buds.

Huo Zheng could even keenly sense his own regret.

Wanting to continue entangling with that person, wanting to stay by their side— a part of him was shouting like an immature child.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that even the words of parting were spoken in an especially ambiguous manner, leaving countless room for interpretation.

Huo Zheng reread the messages he had sent to He Yunzhou, mocking himself in his heart.

Of course, in an ordinary residential building more than ten kilometers away from Huo Zheng, the person who had just put down their phone had a completely different mood.

“Whew… being a CEO isn’t easy…”

He Yunzhou sighed as he closed the messaging app after seeing Huo Zheng’s reply.

As a freelancer who had just gone through a devilish deadline, He Yunzhou truly understood the feeling of being squeezed dry by work, disappearing completely from everyone’s sight, and left with only a breath.

Although there was a time when he couldn’t rely on Huo Zheng to think about the cat, it inevitably made He Yunzhou feel a bit lost and sad.

However, the helpless reprimand from Gua Ji in his dream also gave him a little strength.

(Useless human, stop doing stupid things that make cats worry…)

Could Gua Ji, who was already on Cat Planet, have sensed his despondency during this period, prompting him to say such things in his dreams?

In truth, He Yunzhou was also secretly determined to slowly accept the fact that Gua Ji had already left, and he needed to change his vague and completely unspoken dependency on Huo Zheng.

He hoped that poor Huo Zheng could finish his work soon…

He Yunzhou silently prayed for Huo Zheng.

……

……

After being a salted fish at home for several days, He Yunzhou started a new job again. By the time he finally found some free time again, almost half a month had passed.

He realized this when he was feeding the cat.

On that day, He Yunzhou opened a can of cat food with lamb for Nan Gua as usual. Nan Gua squatted in front of the food bowl, munching away like a fluffy little pig.

Due to eating too eagerly, Nan Gua’s forehead and face were covered in crumbs from the canned food.

If Gua Ji were here, it definitely wouldn’t tolerate such a dreadful eating manner. It would probably start hitting Nan Gua because it found it annoying…

He Yunzhou squatted beside the cat food bowl, stroking Nan Gua’s thick back while thinking.

Of course, if it were Huo Zheng, it would be impossible to see Nan Gua eating in such an ugly manner.

When that man ate, no matter how much he liked the food in front of him, his manners and posture remained as elegant as a noble.

Speaking of which, I wonder if Huo Zheng has been taking care of himself and eating properly during this time?

Wait, should I ask about his situation ah?

This thought flashed through He Yunzhou’s mind.

Without hesitation, He Yunzhou picked up his phone. However, as soon as he opened the messaging app, the last few lines of the conversation with Huo Zheng caught his eye.

He Yunzhou’s fingers paused, hesitating for a moment.

And at that moment, his phone screen lit up, and a call came in.

It was from his editor, Xiao Xi.

Answering this call, He Yunzhou had to put aside his minor concerns about Huo Zheng for the time being.

Xiao Xi’s call to He Yunzhou today was naturally about work matters.

“I’ve seen the character design sketches you did for Divine Cat; they’re really well done. You truly live up to your reputation as a fan of Lifu ah. But I don’t know what’s going on with the publisher’s side. They were rushing so hard before, but now that the manuscript is actually submitted, there’s no response… Luckily, Editor Ding is having a meeting here today. I took the liberty of arranging a dinner appointment with him for you. Maybe building some rapport will make future work smoother…”

As He Yunzhou listened to Xiao Xi rambles on the phone, he unconsciously rubbed his temples.

Although Xiao Xi had the title of an editor, she was actually just an editor at the publishing company. When communicating with the real qualified editors from the publishing house, she couldn’t help but feel a bit inferior.

As for Editor Ding who is responsible for the publication of <Divine Cat>, He Yunzhou hadn’t completely failed to notice his lukewarm attitude towards him recently.

Perhaps it was because He Yunzhou himself wasn’t a very famous illustrator, and now being designated as the exclusive illustrator by the author somewhat made the publishing house feel a bit slighted, right? He Yunzhou thought of this matter, and could probably understand the subtle reason behind their attitude.

Xiao Xi probably noticed the off-putting attitude as well, which is why she thought of inviting him to dinner, to bridge some gaps and mend relationships.

According to He Yunzhou’s original personality, he would never have attended this so-called dinner party. After all, the reason he was at home drawing illustrations was that he was completely inept at dealing with such social interactions. However, just as the words of refusal were on the tip of his tongue, He Yunzhou suddenly remembered the lamb leg and the note that had been sent to him.

“Alright, tell me the address and I’ll come over then.”

With a sudden impulse, He Yunzhou agreed almost against his will. Obviously, even Xiao Xi, who extended the invitation, hadn’t expected He Yunzhou to actually accept the dinner invitation.

As soon as she heard He Yunzhou’s response, she promptly sent him the address and time—looking completely worried that he might change his mind.

He Yunzhou found Xiao Xi’s nervous tone simultaneously amusing and exasperating.

However, when he took a closer look at the address Xiao Xi had sent, he realized her concerns weren’t unfounded.

He was starting to regret it a little…

Who could tell him that inviting two editors plus a poor artist to dinner at the finest five-star Western restaurant in City A might be a bit much?

That Western restaurant was renowned far and wide, and even a die-hard otaku like He Yunzhou knew of its upscale reputation… and its expense.

As He Yunzhou stood at the entrance of the restaurant at the appointed time, staring at the opulent Western establishment beyond the oak-framed glass doors, his feeling of regret intensified.

“I have this feeling that I don’t really belong here. I don’t really want to go in.”

He Yunzhou couldn’t help but loosen the collar of his budget shirt, his complexion turning rather grim as he spoke to Xiao Xi beside him.

Today, Xiao Xi had dressed up in earnest. Despite her petite stature and naturally doll-like face, with a bit of grooming, she looked quite pretty and cute.

However, at this moment, she stood next to He Yunzhou, looking quite timid herself.

“Ai, there’s no other way. When I asked around before, it seemed like Editor Ding wanted to come here for some kind of afternoon tea.” Xiao Xi said with a wry smile.

“He made it so obvious, what else could I say… Oh my ya, I’m nervous. I feel like we’re going to bleed heavily today.” She muttered in a small voice.

Seeing Xiao Xi more socially anxious than himself, He Yunzhou could only brace himself and lead her into the restaurant. He put his arm around her and walked towards the entrance.

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The author has something to say:

Mr. Huo: I’m lost, I’m in pain, I’m so sad ah, we broke up, I’m crying, I love him so much, but I’m sorry, I can’t give him happiness, wuwuwuwu…

Iron straight man Mr. He: What, you busy? Oh, well, then work well. (frank)

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Jie Jie: Hello, guys! I’ll be taking over this novel’s translation from now on~ I’ve read this novel before and really liked it. I’m glad Nen let me take over it as she’s been too busy lately.

My update schedule for this one is still not final but expect a once a week update in the mean time! Thank you~

p.s.

I didn’t bother to split this long chapter, I got too lazy, welp.

Self-promoting my other works :p