Once they entered the city, the group split up to go their separate ways.
Old Wang and the Shelter Director both had to return, but Xie Xiaobao had no pressing matters, so He Yu suggested they have lunch together.
They had eaten breakfast earlier and came straight over, and from the time they finished the audition until now, they hadn’t had a chance to eat.
Xie Xiaobao calculated the time inside his mind.
It had already been over four hours since morning.
If they went out to eat now, the Paper Cat definitely wouldn’t have enough time.
“N-no need. Don’t you have to work? It’d be bad to hold you up,” Xie Xiaobao said, unconsciously fiddling with the cat’s paw, trying to politely decline He Yu’s offer.
He Yu glanced at him, seemingly missing the implication, and instead spoke in a low, gravelly voice: “It won’t hold me up. The whole morning’s gone by; at least let me have a meal.”
His deliberately husky, magnetic tone echoed back and forth in the quiet space, tugging at Xie Xiaobao’s eardrums.
His ears twitched slightly, and Xie Xiaobao’s heart involuntarily sped up.
He took a small breath, trying to calm his pounding heart.
He Yu waited for a moment without a reply, then gripped the steering wheel and looked back at him.
All he saw was the small swirl of hair and flushed ears.
His eyes shifted slightly, and lowering his voice again, he asked almost like a plea, “Just have lunch with me, okay?”
Xie Xiaobao’s fingers clenched tightly.
The Paper Cat, squeezed painfully, let out a soft “meow” and jumped from his arms onto He Yu’s lap.
Worried the cat might distract He Yu while driving and that time was running out, Xie Xiaobao anxiously leaned forward to grab it.
“No problem,” He Yu said, firmly grasping the hand reaching out, his cool, smooth skin enticing to the touch.
Even the finest jade He Yu had ever handled could not compare to the sensation at that moment.
Caught off guard by their hands meeting, both of them froze briefly.
The atmosphere inside the car suddenly turned hot and charged with tension.
“Meow!!!”
Breaking the strange silence was the Paper Cat on He Yu’s lap, furiously batting at his hand to snap him out of his daze.
He Yu came back to his senses and saw their car was less than half a meter from the vehicle in front—the traffic light was red, and all the cars had stopped.
He slammed on the brake; the inertia pushed the car forward slightly.
The Paper Cat, not holding on, collided with the steering wheel from the force.
But the people inside the car weren’t paying attention to it at all.
He Yu looked worriedly at Xie Xiaobao.
“Are you okay?”
Wearing a seatbelt, Xie Xiaobao was naturally fine.
He shook his head, his heart beating even faster than before, though whether from fear or something else, he wasn’t sure.
“Sorry, I got distracted,” He Yu said with a frustrated expression.
He couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen if there had been an accident and Xie Xiaobao got hurt.
Xie Xiaobao waved it off, saying it was fine.
Just then, the light turned green.
He Yu didn’t dare lose focus again, stopping the conversation and concentrating on driving.
The Paper Cat on his lap licked the sore spot where it had hit the wheel, letting out a low, aggrieved meow.
But everyone inside was lost in their own thoughts and didn’t notice it.
It glanced around, then, feeling dejected, curled its tail and hopped to the back seat to nestle there.
Near Xie Xiaobao’s home, they found a Chinese restaurant and entered together with the cat.
Because they had a pet with them, they avoided the main hall and reserved a Private Room instead.
As soon as they entered, Xie Xiaobao’s phone rang.
He took it out and saw it was the alarm he had set before leaving—the reminder for the Paper Cat’s transformation time.
There were only ten minutes left until five hours had passed.
“You start ordering; I need to use the restroom!” Without waiting for He Yu’s reaction, Xie Xiaobao hugged the cat and rushed out.
“Put the cat down…” He Yu started, but Xie Xiaobao was already gone.
He looked surprised and helpless. “Why in such a hurry?”
Xie Xiaobao ran all the way to the restroom holding the cat, slammed the stall door shut with a bang, then patted his chest, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Maybe because time was near, the Paper Cat in his arms was clearly lifeless and listless, lying still.
Xie Xiaobao took out a thin needle hidden in his wallet and pricked his index finger.
A small drop of deep red Blood Pearl oozed out.
He dabbed the Blood Pearl on the Paper Cat’s forehead.
The red stain quickly disappeared, and the drooping cat perked up again, meowing softly and rubbing against his arm.
Xie Xiaobao stroked it, feeling reassured, then carried the cat out.
At the sink, someone was washing their hands and gave him a surprised glance for coming to the restroom with a cat.
Xie Xiaobao steadied his breath and tried to stay calm while washing his hands.
After washing, he carried the cat back slowly.
He Yu had already ordered and was waiting.
Seeing him come in holding the cat, He Yu joked, “No need to carry Orange Bao over too, even if I called him from behind, he wouldn’t come.”
Xie Xiaobao clenched his fingers, trying to look less guilty.
“I was in such a rush, I just forgot.”
Seeing the embarrassed look on Xie Xiaobao’s face, He Yu stopped teasing and pulled out a chair for him.
Xie Xiaobao placed Orange Bao on the adjacent chair, but the Paper Cat wouldn’t stay still.
It nimbly jumped down and climbed onto He Yu’s lap.
He Yu scratched under its chin, “Still remember me?”
The Paper Cat squinted its eyes and let out a comfortable meow, then rolled over, exposing its belly for him to rub.
Sitting beside them, Xie Xiaobao was utterly mortified.
Even when he transformed into a cat himself, he never felt so shameless.
The Paper Cat was exactly like his original—down to the personality and reactions.
It was like another version of himself.
The feeling was as if the real person was sitting beside him, watching someone play with his doppelgänger.
“Time to eat, stop petting it,” Xie Xiaobao bit back the rising embarrassment and told He Yu to stop.
“It’s fine. I haven’t seen it in a long time. I kind of missed it.”
He Yu’s hands didn’t stop.
One scratched the cat’s chin while the other rubbed its belly.
The Paper Cat lay on its back on his lap, paws in the air, purring contentedly.
Xie Xiaobao watched them both enjoying themselves and awkwardly turned his head, fingers twisting nervously under the table.
His uneasy feelings only eased when the waiter began serving dishes, and He Yu finally scooped the Paper Cat into his arms.
Xie Xiaobao, with a stern face, brought the Paper Cat back and placed it on the empty chair, pretending to be serious: “Time to eat. Let it sit and eat by itself.”
The waiter brought disposable bowls and chopsticks.
Xie Xiaobao served a little bit of light fish broth for it, making a gesture of allowance.
“It can only eat a little.”
He Yu watched his faux stern expression and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Why so harsh?”
Xie Xiaobao pursed his lips, adopting the demeanor of a concerned father: “It’s still young. If we spoil it too much, it’ll get naughtier.”
He Yu was amused by his serious act, his eyes full of gentle laughter as he reached out and ruffled Xie Xiaobao’s hair.
“Then it needs to be disciplined well.”
Saying that, He Yu picked a piece of fish meat from the steamed fish’s belly with few bones, carefully removing all the bones.
He split it in two—putting the larger piece into Xie Xiaobao’s bowl and the smaller piece into the Paper Cat’s bowl.
The Paper Cat, still a little listless in the fish broth, immediately brightened up when coaxed like this.
It licked He Yu’s hand gratefully with its tongue, then buried its head, purring loudly as it ate the fish.
Xie Xiaobao: “……”
Unable to stop the Paper Cat’s shameless behavior, he gave up, looking away to focus on his meal.
After dinner, He Yu walked Xie Xiaobao home.
When they reached the stairs, the Paper Cat refused to leave, wrapping its paws tightly around He Yu’s hand and meowing insistently.
Xie Xiaobao was both embarrassed and annoyed, yanking the cat off forcefully.
Blushing, he hurried upstairs, not even getting a chance to say goodbye to He Yu.
Back home, holding the cat, Xie Xiaobao set it down on the table, then went to close the curtains and turned on the lights before returning to the table.
He glared at the Paper Cat with a serious face.
He lectured sternly, “No more selling cute like that!”
The Paper Cat twitched its ears, looking confused and innocent. “Meow?”
Xie Xiaobao huffed, “Even though you’re made of paper, you can’t do such shameful things.”
The Paper Cat tilted its head. “Meow?”
Xie Xiaobao: “……”
There’s no reasoning with a cat.
He huffed and sat down on the sofa for a while.
When the heat in his face finally subsided and his mind cleared, he turned back and picked up the cat.
Talking to it as if it could understand, he said, “I’ll let it slide this time, but next time you can’t do that, got it?”
The Paper Cat nestled in his arms and licked its paw.