CH 20

“My students are very lovely,” Ke Xiangming took a sip of his Tie Guan Yin tea and looked up to speak.

Mo Yanze sat in the second-floor teacher’s office, facing the floor-to-ceiling windows, through which was the public lounge of the School of Literature.

“What do you think?” Ke Xiangming put down his tea cup and glanced at the male student downstairs who was obviously the center of attention but unaware of it, his mouth quirking up in a smile.

The person being asked stared straight at the crowd of students bustling below, his thoughts unclear.

Ke Xiangming handed over a document bag made of cowhide paper from the storage table next to him, saying, “It’s the file I got from his counselor.” Mo Yanze reached out to take it, his shirt sleeve rolled up, revealing a CARTIER men’s watch with a leopard body decoration around the wrist, glittering under the light.

Ke Xiangming clicked his tongue and said, “It’s unbelievable that Young Master Mo is interested in college students…”

“Is that strange?” Mo Yanze spoke, enunciating clearly, his deep voice carrying an irresistible tension.

Ke Xiangming shook his head, “I just think that innocence has never been your taste.”

“Is that so?” From beginning to end, Mo Yanze never directly answered the other’s questions and curiosity. He untied the cotton thread wrapped around the round ring of the document bag, which contained about ten A4 sheets of paper, the first of which was just a resume with a blue background photo of a handsome youth who rarely smiled, his academic qualifications, and the typical teacher’s evaluations. Then came his junior high and high school files, with good grades, but…mathematics was just too tragic (= =), his specialization was too severe!

“What’s the admission score line for the School of Literature at F University?” Mo Yanze asked.

Ke Xiangming replied, “It’s always been the highest in the School of Literature in S City.”

“What level is needed to get in?” Mo Yanze continued to inquire.

“Rank within the top 200 in the city’s arts stream in the college entrance exam,” Ke Xiangming answered.

Mo Yanze flipped through the transcript in his hand repeatedly and asked in confusion, “Then how did he get in?”

Ke Xiangming raised an eyebrow, “Who told you he got in through the exam?”

Flipping to the last page of the file, there was a special note at the end that read, “[Special admission, recommended by F University X Committee Deputy Secretary].”

Ke Xiangming got up to fetch some fresh hot water, saying to Mo Yanze as he left, “In this society, you still need connections to get ahead.”

Mo Yanze replied, “I’ll take care of it. Just wait a few days and go report to the administrative department.”

Ke Xiangming turned around and gave a gentlemanly smile, saying, “Thank you.”

Mo Yanze put the documents back in the file bag, stood up from the chair, and stood with his arms crossed in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

That handsome young man sitting on the sofa downstairs seemed to have a very different impression of “He Yanlu” than what he had learned. He was supposed to be an iceberg, but he was laughing quite charmingly, and extremely so.

×

“I say, have you had enough of laughing?” Chu Wenxing waved his hand in front of his friend. Had this guy’s brain been damaged from walking into a concrete pillar? When would he stop laughing… Wasn’t he supposed to be the legendary iceberg of the literature department? When did he become the Alps? His laughter was so bright and beautiful that he could go make candy commercials!

He Yanlu blinked his eyes and said, “Huh?”

(=_=) This guy is definitely stupid! Diagnosis complete!!

“So… you didn’t hear anything I said just now!” Chu Wenxing slammed his book onto the coffee table and said angrily.

He Yanlu, with his crescent-shaped eyes still looking foolish, asked, “What?”

“You’re either walking into a gold mine or got full marks on your math test! I’ve never seen you laugh so stupidly since I met you! Do you have any sense of image left? Do you even realize how everyone around you is looking at you?!” Chu Wenxing pointed to the group of people whispering nearby-

Passerby A: “Isn’t that our Wen, from the Literature department, He Yanlu?”

Passerby B nodded, “Yeah! He’s actually laughing…”

Passerby C put his hand to his forehead, “Not only is he laughing, but he’s been laughing for a long time…” Passerby D’s legs went weak, “Oh my Lady Gaga!… This smile, this look in his eyes, this pink aura around him… Someone help me! The iceberg has melted and the snow mountain has collapsed! I’m going blind!!!…”

Chu Wenxing pointed to the other side and the bystanders reacted in different ways. As a woman, bystander Wu had an intuition, while bystander Ji was nervous and shaking, and bystander Geng decisively guessed that he was in love. Bystander Xin, on the other hand, was banging their head against the wall, not wanting to know the truth.

Chu Wenxing glared at He Yanlu accusingly and said, “You’re completely oblivious to the fact that you’re surrounded by peach blossoms!” He suddenly lowered his voice and suspiciously asked, “Are you in love?”

He Yanlu leaned against the sofa, tilting his head to the side and looking out the window at the floating clouds. “No,” he replied casually.

“What are you thinking then?” Chu Wenxing’s face twisted in frustration.

“Nothing,” He Yanlu said calmly.

Chu Wenxing remained silent.

He Yanlu didn’t want to let Chu Wenxing know that he was thinking about Xiaohei. If he got too excited and accidentally revealed the truth about the cat demon, Xiaohei would be in trouble. So, he avoided the topic altogether and refused to take the risk.

Ever since he found out Xiaohei’s true identity a few days ago, He Yanlu felt like he was living in a fairy tale. He had been writing fairy tales for eight years, but he never imagined that he would one day live in one. The loneliness he had felt for over a decade disappeared as soon as the black cat appeared in his life.

In psychology, it is said that humans have an instinct to choose to forget painful experiences. This is a unique self-protective ability of human beings. When you are in a happy and pleasant state, your past pains and sorrows will be multiplied and become less significant.

There is also a saying that most good things don’t happen purely by luck, because there is often hard work and effort that come before a chance encounter.

He Yanlu thought that if enduring loneliness was a kind of hard work, then it was worth spending another ten years of solitude to exchange for a talking cat to accompany him through all the days of his future life.

Thus, even if he felt like he was dreaming, he still felt happy.

Looking back to last night –

“Cat’s age seems to be calculated differently from human age…” He Yanlu was holding his mouse and searching for cat-related knowledge online.

Ye Yixing was lying on top of him, secretly laughing: “Even when I was just a cat and not a demon, I never saw you so concerned. Now you’re treating me like a god!”

“It says here that if a cat lives to be twenty years old, it’s already close to one hundred in human years. So what is one thousand years in cat years? Two hundred years?”

Ye Yixing sighed: “You’re wrong.” He was used to the fact that the other person was terrible at math.

“Where did I go wrong?” He Yanlu’s face twitched. Since the black cat could talk, he had discovered that this little guy was incredibly smart, with an IQ much higher than that of humans! He knew math! He understood literature! And he even knew how to operate a computer…!

So almost everything shocked him to the point where he felt like shouting to the world that nothing was impossible!

The little guy was also very proud of himself, looking like he knew everything just because he was a demon…

“A cat’s first year is equivalent to fifteen years in human age, and these twelve months are equal to fifteen years. But from the cat’s eightieth year to its one hundredth year, it’s only five years in human terms. This is obviously not a linear function…”

“Linear function?” He Yanlu narrowed his eyes. “I feel like I’ve heard this term before…”

You know this term, you big fool! A linear function is middle school math! Clearly, it’s old news!

“Did you really graduate from high school?” Ye Yixing teased, stroking his chin. “You’re worse at math than a cat.”

He Yanlu’s expression was gloomy, and he didn’t speak. Suddenly, he reached out and twisted the black cat’s ear fiercely.

“(=皿=) It hurts!”

Before Ye Yixing could start complaining, He Yanlu’s attention was drawn to another piece of information. “Ah! You’ve marked me!”

Not sure what he saw, he stared at the computer with a strange expression. “Do you see me as your personal property?”

What mark? Ye Yixing turned his gaze to the computer.

[Cats are very sensitive to smells and don’t like other scents on their body or belongings. They have scent glands on their face, so when they rub their face on something, they are actually marking that area as their property with their scent. Other cats can sense this kind of marking, and generally won’t approach objects that have been marked because they know it belongs to someone else.] “= = ” He didn’t even know he had these things on his face! So, does that mean he’s marked by He Yanlu? This idea sounds pretty good…

[… Humans can’t smell this kind of marking, but other cats can sense it. Generally, other cats won’t approach objects that have been marked because they know it belongs to someone else.] “No wonder!” He Yanlu exclaimed softly.

“What?” Ye Yixing asked curiously, looking up at the man holding him. He had delicate features, a charming smile on his lips – he was a private property marked by his own scent, why did this idea make him feel so excited?!

“One day after class, I met a little stray cat with a spotted coat on the way home. I wanted to pet it…” “=皿=” You dare to cheat on me!

“It looked pretty well-behaved and didn’t run away or anything. It even seemed like it was waiting for me to come closer, but as soon as I crouched down, it ran away…” He Yanlu wrinkled his nose, feeling quite innocent. He lowered his head to look at the black cat again and said, “So, it was already marked by you at that time.”

“…” Ye Yixing’s face turned dark. He lowered his voice and said, “You can’t pet other cats, and you can’t let other cats rub against you!”

“Oh.” He Yanlu actually responded quickly, but his gaze suddenly avoided the green eyes of the black cat. His voice was very soft and gentle, making people feel floaty. “I understand.”

Ye Yixing was stimulated by his partner’s cooperative attitude, and he leaned on He Yanlu’s shoulder, bringing his face closer…

“What are you doing?” He Yanlu instinctively backed away when the black cat’s sudden movement caught him off guard.

“I want to mark you more.” Ye Yixing said seriously.

…

Someone’s face turned red. He pushed away the black cat’s head and his gaze flickered. “Don’t I already have one?”

Ye Yixing’s face was not hot or cold, and he persisted, “The scent will fade.”

“I… won’t pet other cats in the future.”

“What are you resisting? You’re mine…” Ye Yixing paused and then continued, “Why can’t I mark you?”

He Yanlu pouted and squirmed, “It sounds so weird.”

Ye Yixing chuckled softly, “What’s so weird about it?”

Taking advantage of the other’s stunned moment, he leaned over and rubbed his head against He Yanlu’s neck, sticking out his tongue to gently lick his face. He licked for a while before adding, “We used to do this all the time, you didn’t feel embarrassed back then.”

Suddenly, He Yanlu felt a chill run down his spine as he met the piercing green gaze of the black cat before him. How come he never realized how sinister Xiao Hei could be? With its true identity as a demon cat revealed, the way it spoke was full of playful tones mixed with seriousness, and its gentleness held a hint of pride and wit.

At times, it could even be quite eloquent, not unlike a fox!

Or perhaps its demonic nature was just starting to surface!

Why did he feel so nervous all of a sudden? (=_=)

His neck grew hot as it was nuzzled and licked, and his face flushed from the wetness of its tongue.

“Enough, enough…” He Yanlu tried to pull away from the cat’s tongue, desperately tilting his head backwards.

“I belong to you, so you belong to me,” the black cat said in a serious tone, with a voice and pitch that were most seductive.

His heart raced, what was this feeling…!?

He clutched his chest, feeling a strong sense of belonging that made his heart tingle.

His mind wandered to the story of “A Chinese Ghost Story”. (= =)

…

“Are you thinking about Xiao Hei?” Chu Wenxing suddenly asked with suspicion. He Yanlu was startled, his thoughts immediately pulled back from last night’s memories.

“As I thought!” Chu Wenxing concluded, leaving He Yanlu speechless. Chu Wenxing continued, “Xiao Hei is truly a demon! Look at you, you’re like a scholar who’s been bewitched by a fox spirit!”

He Yanlu was taken aback, and lowered his head to approach Chu Wenxing, whispering cautiously, “Do you also think it’s like a fox?”

Chu Wenxing nodded, feeling that the cat was quite strange, not like a normal feline, but not a bad cat either, judging from how it treated He Yanlu.

But, it seemed like He Yanlu wasn’t asking the right question? Wouldn’t a normal person ask about the topic of “soul sucking”? (= =)

He Yanlu nodded thoughtfully, “But Xiao Hei is a cat, right? Cats aren’t like foxes. Is it a raccoon cat?”

(=皿=) Damn, he’s so clueless! There’s no hope for He Yanlu!!

Chu Wenxing pounded the table in frustration, “Listen carefully, I’ll say it again, and then I’m leaving!” Being around an idiot for too long was contagious!

“…Yesterday, I overheard some second-year female students from your literature department talking at the bookstore. They said that Ye Yixing hasn’t been to class for almost half a month.”

After hearing this, He Yanlu’s expression suddenly became serious. He sat in silence for a moment before saying, “I understand.”

Chu Wenxing said, “He Yanlu, don’t overthink things. Honestly, I’m not worried about your current situation. I think you’re the happiest you’ve been since we met…”

“Mhm.” All of this happiness was brought to him by Little Black.

“You hardly smiled before, and when we first met, I thought you had a poker face…”

…He Yanlu twitched his eye corner. Poker face?

“If I could, I hope you can continue to be happy like you are now.” Chu Wenxing finished speaking, gave his friend a meaningful look, and then packed up his books and left.

He Yanlu closed his eyes and sank into deep thought.

After Little Black appeared, he had someone to care about and someone to miss. Yes, he had never been as happy as he was now.

Xiao Hei said he was his. When he heard those words, he suddenly felt inexplicably at ease.

He picked up the textbook on the coffee table and got up with a smile.

Just one more class, and he could go home, and see his Xiao Hei…

On his way to the classroom, he pondered what he and Little Black would eat for dinner, and if he should bring up writing a novel with Xiao Hei at night. Perhaps he could ask about Little Black’s experiences as a cat demon; that would be very interesting.

Every moment he spent with Xiao Hei was happy, and he didn’t want to waste a single second…

He wanted to share everything with Xiao Hei.

As he walked, He Yanlu drifted off in thought, slowly becoming unaware of his silly grin. It wasn’t until a wave of men’s cologne overwhelmed him that he quickly stepped back, realizing he almost ran into someone.

Panicking, he looked up and saw a tall man standing in front of him, glancing at him before moving aside to let him pass.

He Yanlu murmured a soft “sorry” with his head down.

He rarely paid attention to people’s appearances, sometimes even forgetting his classmates’ faces.

But for some reason, the stranger’s gaze made his heart surge with an uncomfortable sense of familiarity.