Xie Xiaobao lay there for a while, then sluggishly climbed up to take a shower, before listlessly crawling under the covers.
Lying in bed, he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
It was the first time in his life he’d ever been so disliked and ostracized, and Xie Xiaobao was having a hard time getting over it.
He rolled around in the blankets a few times, burying his face in his belly, but after a while, he felt stifled and popped his whole head out, lying face-down on the covers, the whole cat feeling utterly irritable.
Go away.
And right at that moment, his phone started ringing restlessly.
He Yu, having finished his work, remembered that Xie Xiaobao was supposed to take Ju Bao to the shelter today, so he especially sent a message to ask how it went.
Xie Xiaobao lay there on his back, spacing out for a bit, but in the end, he still changed back into human form to check his phone.
On WeChat, He Yu’s message had already been sent for a while, asking how things went at the shelter today—He Yu still didn’t know about the switch.
Seeing He Yu’s message, Xie Xiaobao suddenly felt a bit aggrieved. He lay on his pillow, tapping away at the keyboard to reply.
[Not too good. The animals at the shelter really rejected Ju Bao.]
He Yu paused for a moment, then asked:
[What happened?]
Xie Xiaobao poured out everything that happened today, especially Little Black’s contemptuous attitude, which he just couldn’t let go of.
He Yu patiently waited for him to finish typing, and after reading it, couldn’t help but laugh. He thought, what a childish temperament—when his own pet gets bullied, it’s as if he himself was picked on.
But despite the amusement, He Yu still gave a serious suggestion.
[Next time, try bringing some snacks and toys along? If you don’t mind, I can go with you.]
Xie Xiaobao was just about to agree, when he suddenly remembered he couldn’t show up himself. He quickly deleted what he’d typed and re-entered:
[Actually, I wasn’t the one who took Ju Bao. Something came up at home, so I had Hu Jiuli take Ju Bao instead.]
The smile on He Yu’s lips faded a bit. Thinking of the sly Hu Jiuli, he frowned slightly and asked, as if casually:
[Are you and Hu Jiuli close?]
[Why didn’t you ask me for help?]
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Xie Xiaobao said he was worried He Yu was too busy. After all, He Yu was the company president, and Xie Xiaobao had heard he often had to fly all over, and even when at the office, he often worked overtime. Naturally, it was best not to trouble him if he could help it.
Not to mention, he also had to worry about accidentally revealing his identity.
[I’m not too busy lately.]
He Yu replied, [Is Ju Bao at home? I can take him to the shelter again tomorrow.]
Xie Xiaobao was still hesitating when another message came: [My grandma used to have a dog, so I’m pretty good with animals.]
With He Yu being so enthusiastic, Xie Xiaobao felt it would be rude to refuse again. After thinking it over, he agreed.
He Yu asked where Ju Bao was now, and Xie Xiaobao said he was staying at Hu Jiuli’s place.
[Send me Hu Jiuli’s address. I’ll pick him up tonight, and tomorrow I can take him over again.]
Xie Xiaobao sent the address, wanting to say there was no need to rush, but He Yu messaged saying he’d come to pick up the cat in twenty minutes, and asked Xie Xiaobao to let Hu Jiuli know in advance.
Since He Yu was already on the way, Xie Xiaobao had no choice but to go inform Hu Jiuli first.
“Who? He Yu’s coming to pick you up?”
Hu Jiuli eyed Xie Xiaobao suspiciously. “What’s your relationship?”
Xie Xiaobao said they were friends, “We often go to the gym together. We get along pretty well.”
If Hu Jiuli actually believed that, he’d be an idiot—a company president, rushing over to take care of a cat, and saying there’s nothing more to it? Only a fool would buy that.
But seeing Xie Xiaobao speak so righteously about being good friends, Hu Jiuli didn’t call him out. Instead, he advised, “You can’t be too careful around people. Don’t let anything slip.”
Xie Xiaobao nodded, “Got it. I’ll pack up my things, He Yu will be here soon.”
Hu Jiuli waved him off, “Go on, go on.”
Xie Xiaobao tidied up the guest room. He hadn’t brought much when he came, and things like clothes were hard to carry, so he just left his packed bag at Hu Jiuli’s place.
About half an hour later, He Yu arrived. Xie Xiaobao hurriedly changed back into a cat, sitting obediently on the sofa.
Hu Jiuli opened the door to let He Yu in. He Yu glanced at him, nodded coolly, and said, “I’m here to pick up the cat.”
Hu Jiuli curled his lips and stepped aside, “He’s inside. You’re taking him now?”
“Mm.” He Yu strode over. Xie Xiaobao was sitting obediently on the sofa, and as soon as he saw him, he let out a soft meow.
“Bao?”
He Yu’s stern expression softened, worried he might scare the cat. He squatted down to meet the cat’s gaze, and gently reached out his hand. “Ju Bao?”
“Meow~” Xie Xiaobao stretched his head over, rubbing his face against He Yu’s hand, meowing in greeting.
He Yu smiled, knowing the cat wasn’t afraid of him. He gently petted its head, then softly picked him up in his arms.
Hu Jiuli stared, wide-eyed from behind. The difference in treatment was just too obvious.
He Yu adjusted his hold to make Xie Xiaobao comfortable, then turned to face Hu Jiuli with his usual cold demeanor. “Thanks for your trouble these past two days. I’ll take Ju Bao home now.”
Hu Jiuli: “…………”
He ground his teeth in secret, forcing a smile. “Take care, President He.”
He Yu nodded, brushed past him, and left with the cat in his arms.
After they left, Hu Jiuli couldn’t help but curse under his breath, “Damn, he’s even better at putting on airs than me.”
He Yu carried the cat downstairs. Since Xie Xiaobao felt familiar with him, he wasn’t the least bit shy, curling up comfortably in his arms, resting his head on his paws, and lazily swishing his tail.
He Yu set him in the passenger seat, carefully buckled the seatbelt, and petted his head. “Sit tight, I’ll take you home.”
Xie Xiaobao meowed in reply, sat up straight, and twitched his ears.
He Yu lived in one of the most prestigious high-end complexes in Shen City, in a top-floor duplex apartment. Usually, he lived alone, so the entire place was decorated to his own taste.
The first floor was the living room and kitchen; upstairs were the bedroom, study, and a bathroom—no extra rooms.
The whole house was done in black, white, and gray tones. When Xie Xiaobao entered, he always felt enveloped by He Yu’s powerful aura.
“Go in and have a look. Your bed is upstairs.”
He Yu set Xie Xiaobao down, gently stroking him once.
Xie Xiaobao wound his tail around He Yu’s wrist, meowed, then, tail held high, started patrolling the living room like he was claiming his territory.
He tried out the sofa first. Xie Xiaobao loved soft, fabric sofas most—just looking at them or lying on them gave a cat a warm, comfy feeling.
But He Yu’s sofa was leather. Xie Xiaobao tried it out, let out a slightly disgusted meow. Not only was it not soft, it had that annoying leather smell cats hate.
He sneezed and jumped down to check out the rest of the place.
But the whole apartment was decorated in a minimalist, almost cold style. After wandering around, Xie Xiaobao didn’t find a single soft, comfy spot to lie down.
He ran over to He Yu, tail held high, meowing, “Your place has no sense of coziness at all, everything’s so hard and stiff.”
He Yu couldn’t understand his meows. Thinking he was hungry, he squatted down and scratched his chin. “Hungry? Wait a bit, I’ll make you some food.”
He Yu’s hands were warm, scratching just the right spot. Xie Xiaobao instantly forgot what he’d wanted to say, rolled over, and lay down, exposing his pale furry belly, purring contentedly.
He Yu scratched his chin, then stroked his furry belly a couple of times. Xie Xiaobao was so relaxed he half-closed his eyes, his back legs kicking out in pleasure.
“Truly, pets resemble their owners.” He Yu chuckled softly.
Xie Xiaobao didn’t quite catch what he said, so he opened his eyes and looked at him, puzzled, “Meow?”
“Play by yourself for a while. I’ll go make you some food.” He Yu picked him up and set him on the sofa.
Xie Xiaobao rolled over and sat up, rubbing his cheek against He Yu, meowing a thank you.
He Yu’s expression was gentle, with a rare smile on his lips. “It’ll be ready soon.”
With that, he rolled up his sleeves and went to the kitchen.
He usually cooked for himself when he had time, and his skills were decent. He found a homemade cat food recipe online, gathered the ingredients from the fridge, and got to work.
He Yu was pretty handy. Following the recipe, he quickly finished making the cat food.
He set the food out to cool. It looked pretty good, so he tried a little himself. The texture was mushy, and there was no flavor at all. He frowned, unsure if he’d made it right.
Xie Xiaobao, bored in the living room, swished his tail and ran into the kitchen, just in time to see He Yu staring at the freshly made cat food in a daze.
“Meow meow?” Xie Xiaobao stood up halfway, his front paws dangling, trying his best to look up.
He Yu noticed him, bent down, and lifted him onto the table, hesitantly pointing at it. “Want to try?”
Xie Xiaobao walked over, sniffed the bowl, thought it smelled okay, and stuck his tongue out to taste it.
The cat food was soft and mushy, but the chicken inside was dry and flavorless. Xie Xiaobao scrunched up his face, forcing himself to swallow it.
He Yu pinched his ear, feeling like he could see dislike written on the cat’s face. He scratched Xie Xiaobao’s chin and said, “If it’s not good, don’t eat it.”
Since it was made by He Yu himself, Xie Xiaobao wanted to force down a few bites to make him feel better, but the utter lack of flavor was too much. He just couldn’t bring himself to eat a second bite.
He Yu put the cat food aside and picked up the cat to pet him. “I’ll just buy you some kibble and canned food instead.”
He didn’t like the food, but Xie Xiaobao still appreciated the thought. He stretched his neck and rubbed his head against He Yu’s chin, softly meowing his thanks.
He Yu took off the apron, holding him as he walked out. “There’s a supermarket downstairs that sells kibble and canned food. Let’s go buy some.”
Man and cat went down to the supermarket. He Yu studied the ingredient lists for a while, picked out two bags of the best kibble, some canned food, and a few cat snacks, then checked out and carried the cat home.
He put the canned food and kibble on the coffee table and set Xie Xiaobao down. “Which do you want to eat?”
Xie Xiaobao, who didn’t want any of it, looked miserably at the mountain of kibble, feeling like he could be buried in it. He drooped and randomly tapped a can of cat food.
He Yu opened the can and set it in front of him. Xie Xiaobao tried it—it was at least better than the homemade food.
He glanced at He Yu, who was watching him intently, then at the can in front of him, and had no choice but to bury his head and eat.
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The cat really didn’t like this stuff!
After finishing the can, Xie Xiaobao listlessly climbed onto He Yu’s lap, found a comfortable spot, and flopped down, unmoving. He just needed some quiet time.
He Yu thought he was full and wanted to sleep, so he carried him to the bedroom and put him in the temporary bed he’d set up.
Xie Xiaobao looked at the big bed, then at his own little bed, gave a couple of whimpers, then resigned himself and closed his eyes.
And just like that, he drifted off to sleep.
He slept straight through to the next day. Remembering the things on his mind, Xie Xiaobao woke up early. He looked at the bed, but didn’t see He Yu.
Stretching out, Xie Xiaobao felt stiff after sleeping in the little bed all night. Taking advantage of He Yu’s absence, he bounced onto the big bed and rolled gleefully on the soft covers.
He Yu had just opened the door when he saw the chubby golden-orange cat bouncing and rolling on the bed, looking like a little ball springing about, leaving the covers a mess.
He Yu’s lips curved up as he pushed the door open all the way. Hearing the noise, Xie Xiaobao froze and turned his head in surprise.
He Yu walked over and pinched his ear, but showed no sign of scolding the cat. Instead, he smoothed down the fur on his head that had gotten mussed up. “Naughty.”
“We’re heading out soon, you can play more when we get back.”
Xie Xiaobao had originally been hiding in the covers pretending not to exist, but He Yu wasn’t angry at all.
He cautiously pricked up one ear, turning half his face to observe He Yu’s expression—it really didn’t look like he was angry.
“Peeking at what?” He Yu tapped his forehead, smiling. “Now you know to be scared?”
Xie Xiaobao meowed, grabbed his hand with his paws, and flopped onto the bed on his back.
He Yu patted his belly, then picked him up and held him. “Time to go.”
Man and cat drove to the shelter. The staff didn’t expect a different person to bring the cat this time, and each one seemed harder to get along with than the last.
Handing over the work uniform, the staff member looked at Xie Xiaobao with his ears pressed back. “We thought it’d be a while before you came again.”
He Yu said he wanted to help Ju Bao get familiar with the environment, so they could start working as soon as possible.
They went to the backyard again. The weather was nice today, and quite a few cats and dogs were sunbathing, with the cat and dog groups each occupying their own side, not interfering with each other.
Some staff were bathing puppies, and the yard was full of barking and meowing—much livelier than yesterday.
Xie Xiaobao was thinking about Little Black. As soon as they arrived, his gaze went to the cat group. Not many cats were sunbathing, just three or four, with two obviously younger kittens playing beside an adult cat.
No sign of Little Black.
Seeing Xie Xiaobao staring at the cat group, the staff assumed he was afraid of Little Black and reassured him, “Little Black went out today.”
Xie Xiaobao let out a disappointed meow, but quickly perked up. Besides Little Black, he still needed to build good relationships with the other animals.
He Yu set him down and brought out a bag of snacks and toys he’d bought that morning, both for cats and dogs.
He opened the shopping bag and placed it on the ground, then took out a bag of kitten treats. He Yu said gently, “Start with the little ones.”
He opened the bag of cat treats and took a few steps forward, setting the whole bag near the cat group.
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