“Isn’t it?” Qu Yanning widened his eyes in surprise.
“The underworld doesn’t meddle in mortal affairs,” Xie Qi replied. “Besides, the crimes that man committed are nothing compared to the evil spirits imprisoned down there.”
Qu Yanning’s face fell. “Then doesn’t that mean the murderer just got reincarnated smoothly?”
“Not necessarily.” Xie Qi summoned the waiter and ordered another slice of cheesecake. “He killed three people. One already reincarnated, but the other two… they’re still waiting for him.”
“You mean…?”
Xie Qi nodded. “Ghosts can’t harm the living, but ghost-on-ghost violence—well, the underworld doesn’t interfere in that.” And neither would he.
Qu Yanning finally relaxed a little.
When he saw the server bring over the fresh slice of cake, he pushed it toward Xie Qi. “Aren’t you eating?”
“You have it.” Xie Qi replied seriously, “I’m not fond of sweets.”
“Oh.” Qu Yanning nodded and obediently dug into the cake.
Only after he finished eating slowly did Xie Qi get to the point.
They had only met about three times total, so even he felt a little embarrassed bringing it up.
He cleared his throat lightly and said, “I’ll be leaving the city for a while and wanted to ask you for a favor…”
Qu Yanning’s eyes went wide, and two dimples bloomed on his cheeks as he smiled.
“Just say it! I’ll help however I can!” He’d been wondering how to repay Xie Qi anyway.
“I have a cat at home,” Xie Qi said slowly. “I’d like to ask you to take care of it for a while.”
“Huh?” Qu Yanning froze, then confirmed, “Really?”
Xie Qi lowered his gaze. “You’re unwilling?”
“No, no!” Qu Yanning quickly waved his hands. “I love cats!” Hearing that, Xie Qi gave a soft “Mm”—reluctantly showing his satisfaction.
“Since you’ve agreed, I’ll have someone bring the cat over tomorrow. Here’s a list of his preferences and dietary restrictions. All his things will come with him too. I’m counting on you.” Xie Qi handed him a neatly folded piece of paper.
“It’s no trouble at all.” Qu Yanning accepted the paper in a daze, feeling as if he were dreaming.
He was going to have a cat!
Xie Qi even packed a dessert to-go for him before they left the café.
After sending Qu Yanning off, Xie Qi turned around, expressionless, and told the waiter, “Two slices of cheesecake, to-go.”
The waiter replied with a nod and packed them into a delicate little box.
Xie Qi took the box home, feeling quite pleased.
After Qu Yanning returned home, he unfolded the care sheet Xie Qi had given him.
The A4 sheet was crammed with densely packed text, written in neat, crisp black ink with a sharp and decisive style but the contents were anything but severe.
No greens, carrots, wood ear mushrooms, corn, scallions, or cilantro… Loves yellow croaker, cheesecake, and milk…
Qu Yanning stared, slack-jawed.
What was this list?
After finishing reading it, he was so stunned he couldn’t even make a face.
This wasn’t raising a cat—this was treating a deity! Even immortals weren’t this pampered!
Qu Yanning’s inner cat-lover bristled.
He decided that when Xie Qi came by, he’d have a serious talk with him.
You couldn’t spoil a cat like this—it would seriously affect its health!
So the next day, when Zhang Ren showed up at the door holding Xie Qi—who had reverted to his feline form—he was greeted by Qu Yanning’s stern face and an intense glare. “Is Second Master Xie not coming?”
Zhang Ren, amused, thought: Isn’t the Second Master right in front of you? “Second Master had urgent matters and left Shen City already. He asked me to deliver the young master.”
Qu Yanning kept a serious face, though inwardly he was a little intimidated by the burly Zhang Ren.
But when he saw the little cat in his arms, courage surged up inside him.
He straightened up and tried to sound firm: “Please tell Second Master that I’ve read his feeding guide, but the way he’s raising this cat is bad for its health. If he really cares about it, he should raise it scientifically!”
Zhang Ren: “???”
Xie Qi: “…”
“…I’ll pass that on,” Zhang Ren coughed and exchanged a glance with the “young master” in his arms. The kitten narrowed his eyes dangerously. Quickly, Zhang Ren handed over the furball. “Then I’ll leave the young master in your care.”
Qu Yanning took the cat and gently stroked his back. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him.”
Zhang Ren gave his thanks and brought in all the cat’s usual supplies—bed, blanket, everything—then got ready to leave.
Just then, Chu Zhou came home.
He saw the door wide open and a tall, muscular man standing outside.
Taking long strides, he walked over cheerfully and asked, “Qu’er, what’s all this?”
Zhang Ren took a step back awkwardly as a tall, glamorous woman suddenly appeared.
He looked at Qu Yanning, flustered. “And this is?”
“This is my friend Chu Zhou, my roommate.” Then he turned to Chu Zhou, “Second Master Xie helped me out before. He’s leaving the city for a bit, so he asked me to look after his pet.”
Xie Qi lifted his chin and shot Chu Zhou a cold, disdainful meow.
Zhang Ren glanced back and forth between them, then gave Qu Yanning a look full of brotherly admiration, as if to say, Damn, bro, you’ve got luck with the ladies… and now cats?
Qu Yanning: “???”
Since they were acquaintances, Chu Zhou dropped his guard and greeted them before heading inside.
With his task done, Zhang Ren exchanged contact info with Qu Yanning and left.
Qu Yanning carried the cat inside.
Chu Zhou was already sprawled on the sofa in shorts and a tank top, eating watermelon. “What’s the cat’s name?”
Qu Yanning paused—he’d forgotten to ask that! He frowned, “Zhang Ren called him ‘Young Master.'”
Chu Zhou glanced at the mountain of cat supplies in Qu Yanning’s room and teased, “Yeah, definitely a cat young master.”
Xie Qi glared at him and bared two tiny, sharp teeth in displeasure.
“So what should we call him?” Qu Yanning wondered aloud.
Chu Zhou, with watermelon juice dripping down his hands, said wickedly, “How about Watermelon Rind?”
Xie Qi: “…”
He let out an angry meow and smacked Qu Yanning’s arm with his paw, clearly protesting the name.
Qu Yanning quickly soothed him with some gentle strokes. “No, no, we’re not calling you that!” He glared at Chu Zhou. “Why are you teasing him?”
Chu Zhou shrugged with exaggerated innocence. “How was I supposed to know this cat’s basically a spirit? Even understands jokes. Definitely not a ‘melon head’. Not dumb at all.”
Xie Qi’s ears flattened, his whiskers twitching in fury.
He was about to pounce, but Qu Yanning hugged him tight, stroking his back and kissing his furry little head. “Don’t be mad, don’t be mad. I’ll make a yellow croaker for you later, okay, sweetheart?”
Xie Qi froze. His ears twitched, then he licked his paw and curled back up in Qu Yanning’s arms.
“Such a good boy.” Qu Yanning kissed his head again, flattening a patch of fur.
Xie Qi didn’t move, his paw pads flexing slightly before he scratched at his ear.
“You two…” Chu Zhou shivered dramatically. “So mushy it hurts.”
Qu Yanning was glowing.
As a long-time virtual cat owner who had only ever dreamed of having a real one, this was pure joy that ordinary people just wouldn’t understand!
After a long petting session, once the little furball was comfortably settled in his fancy bed, Qu Yanning tapped his forehead. “I’m going to make yellow croaker now. You are good, okay?”
Xie Qi lay on his side, half-dozing. His tail swished lazily as he let out a soft meow.
Only then did Qu Yanning head to the kitchen.
Once he was gone, Xie Qi slowly rolled over and stretched with feline elegance, padding gracefully to the bed.
With a light leap, he landed on top.
The mattress was soft, covered in a dark blue checkered sheet.
Like a ruler inspecting his territory, he circled the bed before finally settling onto the pillow.
There was still a faint scent lingering there—Qu Yanning’s unique scent.
Xie Qi rubbed against it, then sprawled out belly-up and gave a long, lazy stretch.
So when Qu Yanning came back carrying dinner, what he saw was a fluffy little ball curled up on his pillow, snoring gently in his sleep.
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