“Why do you look so silly?” He Yu chuckled as he saw him bury half his face in the water and shake it vigorously.
Gently pinching the cat’s face, He Yu filled a cup with clean warm water for him to rinse his mouth.
The sink was full of foam, no matter how much he scrubbed, it wouldn’t all come off.
Xie Xiaobao plunged his head in, gulped down a couple of mouthfuls, swished, and spat it out, finally rinsing away the foam in his mouth.
He Yu worried he might catch a cold, so once he finished rinsing, he quickened his pace in rubbing him down.
Xie Xiaobao purred with half-closed eyes, his tail restless in the water, occasionally slapping the surface and splashing a series of droplets.
He Yu grabbed the mischievous tail.
Since it was wet, the tail had become just a thin little line.
He Yu lathered up some foam and rubbed it in, his hand following the tail down toward the base.
Immersed in the bliss of his foamy bath, Xie Xiaobao’s tail suddenly felt a chill, and he abruptly widened his eyes, leaping onto the edge of the sink.
“Meow, meow, meow!”
Xie Xiaobao glared at He Yu with big eyes, meowing angrily as if demanding to know what he was up to.
He Yu only wanted to clean the cat’s bell, but seeing such a strong reaction, he could only raise his hands helplessly in surrender.
“Alright, no more washing. Get down quickly or otherwise you’ll catch a cold.”
Xie Xiaobao tucked his tail between his legs, but being soaked all over, nothing could hide it.
He awkwardly crouched halfway, sitting but afraid of the chill, maintaining that twisted posture while glaring at He Yu.
He Yu drained the sink, turned the tap to full blast, refilled it, and gestured for Xie Xiaobao to get down.
He added repeated promises—it wasn’t washing, just rinsing.
Xie Xiaobao felt cold too, tilting his head suspiciously but cautiously stepping back into the water.
The warm flow eased the chill, and he exhaled softly before warily retreating to the farthest edge from He Yu.
He Yu hadn’t expected the cat to be so shy.
Clearing the foam carefully, he wrapped him in a clean large towel and gently dried the water droplets from his fur.
Xie Xiaobao shook the water off his head, looking like a furry meatball wrapped in a towel.
After drying him thoroughly, He Yu switched the hairdryer to the lowest temperature and started blow-drying his fur.
The warm air made Xie Xiaobao squint, so he simply closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and cooperated, letting He Yu dry his fur, though his tail remained tightly clamped, guarding the two little bells.
After being dried, Xie Xiaobao looked plump and fluffy again.
He Yu reached out to feel him, confirming he was completely dry before carrying him back to the living room.
He unpacked the snacks and set them up for him to play with on his own.
After bathing the cat, He Yu was soaked through himself and had to shower again.
Xie Xiaobao smelled deliciously fresh, his fur soft and fluffy.
He sniffed his paws, all fragrant with a tangerine scent.
A satisfied purr rumbled in his throat as he lay on the sofa, meticulously licking his fur before lazily munching snacks and waiting for He Yu to come out.
He Yu was quick, coming out of the shower wrapped in a towel.
Xie Xiaobao eyed his smooth abs and mermaid lines enviously, biting the tip of his tail.
He Yu sat down, picked him up, placed him on his lap, and scratched his chin.
“Why are you always so silly?”
Xie Xiaobao gently nibbled He Yu’s fingertip, but his gaze lingered on the handsome mermaid lines, curious.
He reached out a paw to press it—hard as stone.
He lowered his head to press his own belly, soft and yielding, a small dent forming under his paw.
He meowed sadly, both envious and jealous, not knowing how long he’d have to train to have such a figure.
Meow.
He Yu couldn’t fathom the cat’s sensitive moods.
Seeing him drooping like that, he thought he must be tired from playing all day, so he carried him back to his bed to rest.
He changed clothes and went to his study to continue handling work.
The small cat bed sat beside the bed; only the cat was in the bedroom.
Xie Xiaobao glanced at the door, guessing He Yu wouldn’t be back anytime soon, so he slipped out of the bed, jumped onto the big bed, and burrowed into the covers.
Sure enough, sleeping on the big bed was more comfortable.
Satisfied, Xie Xiaobao rolled over, let out a contented meow, curled into a ball, hugged his tail, and drifted off to sleep.
***
He Yu had a nightmare all night—first, he dreamt he fell into a vacuum and nearly suffocated, barely escaping, then a rope tightened around his neck…
He tossed and turned restlessly, waking up startled at dawn.
Wanting to get up, he found a weight heavy on his chest.
Opening his eyes, he saw the orange cat sleeping on his chest, facing away, fluffy tail draped over his neck.
He rubbed his forehead.
No wonder last night he felt suffocated and choked…
He gently lifted the cat off and placed him aside, then switched on the floor lamp, sat up against the headboard, and checked his phone.
It was just past six in the morning.
Monday.
He Yu had a nine o’clock meeting at the company with the executives.
Calculating, leaving at 8:30 would be just right.
Still early, He Yu wasn’t used to going back to sleep, so he browsed some cat care posts on his phone.
Last time’s homemade cat food was rejected; he still cared a bit.
The last sliver of night faded under the morning glow, the warm red sun peeking over the horizon, inching slowly upward.
He Yu saved a few posts he liked, planning to study them when he had time.
The cat beside him was still sound asleep with no sign of waking.
He got up to wash, jogged a few laps downstairs, and bought breakfast to bring back up.
After breakfast, He Yu prepared both breakfast and lunch for the cat.
He specially warmed some goat’s milk, letting it cool in the bowl so Xie Xiaobao could eat as soon as he woke.
Looking at the time, it was five minutes before 8:30.
He peeked into the bedroom; the cat was still asleep.
He closed the door, leaving only a gap for the cat to come and go, then left for work.
Monday was the busiest day.
The executives’ meeting lasted the whole morning.
Various departments reported their work and issues to resolve.
He Yu usually listened attentively, but today he found his mind wandering.
Leaving Orange Bao alone at home, he worried if anything would happen.
At eleven o’clock, He Yu signaled for a break.
“Ten minutes, then we continue.”
The tense executives sighed with relief.
In the past, meetings often lasted three or four hours without a break.
Combined with He Yu’s strong pressure, Monday meetings made executives feel like they were skinning themselves alive.
The executives left the meeting room for fresh air.
Only He Yu remained.
He called Fang Huaiyue, asking him to check on his place.
Fang Huaiyue found it strange to get a call from the president at this hour, even stranger when He Yu asked him to feed the cat.
He looked at the caller ID.
It was indeed He Yu’s number, convincing him he wasn’t dreaming.
“Yes, I understand. I’ll take good care of him.”
He Yu explained Xie Xiaobao’s habits, repeatedly warning Fang Huaiyue not to scare the cat, then hung up and prepared to continue the meeting.
***
Xie Xiaobao had slept soundly.
He crawled out from under the covers, stretched a big yawn while standing on the pillow, then jumped down and slipped through the door gap.
The living room was empty.
He looked around and realized today was Monday, so He Yu had gone to work.
He flicked his tail and checked his bowl, which indeed had cat food and goat’s milk.
Disdainfully, Xie Xiaobao pushed the dry food a little further away, then buried his head in the goat’s milk and purred as he drank.
The milk had cooled to just the right temperature—not too hot to burn his tongue, not too cold.
After a few sips, he pulled the open can of wet food closer.
The can was already opened; he didn’t need much effort to tear it apart.
He happily ate half the can, then finished the remaining goat’s milk.
Wiping his mouth, Xie Xiaobao lazily climbed onto the sofa and lay down.
He needed to figure out some excuse to get back home.