Chapter 23 Take a deep breath, the best kind of lung-clearing.

How could this happen? How could he have been discovered? He was hiding so well!

He Yi covered his hat, his whole body drenched in cold sweat.

He didn't want to recall the terror of being slapped twice by his cousin as soon as he opened the door.

And those cat owners were glaring at him fiercely.

It's okay, He Yi comforted himself. How much can a cat cost? And there's a child too. He only pinched him a couple of times; what harm could he possibly cause?

It will be alright.

It'll be alright...

Meow~

A cat's meow, seemingly coming from nowhere, suddenly rang out, causing He Yi to abruptly stop in his tracks.

He rushed out the door under his parents' protection, intending to avoid the limelight and return only after they had finished negotiating.

A sharp pain shot through my face and body where I had been hit.

He Yi was in a daze and didn't realize that he had wandered into a dark alley.

Until this point.

In the midst of complete silence and darkness, suddenly, like ghosts, pairs of eerie green eyes lit up.

The top of the wall, the road in front, and the back.

The sound of cats meowing filled the air.

Pairs of cat-like eyes, like flickering will-o'-the-wisps, slowly approached.

He Yi's body stiffened, and his blood ran cold.

He dares to attack and chase away one or two cats, but what if there are dozens or hundreds of cats?

The eerie meows of cats echoed from all directions, like a sinister death warrant.

Is it a ghost?

Did those innocent lives that perished at his hands turn into vengeful ghosts and come after him?

He Yi grew increasingly terrified as he thought about it, his teeth chattering. With his last ounce of courage, he roared and turned to run.

But a cat nimbly darted up and scratched his ankle, causing him to fall to the ground in pain.

Meow~

The cats swarmed forward.

He Yi: "Ah—I was wrong! I was wrong! I'm sorry! Don't bite me! Help—"

"..."

Shi Miao stood on the top of the wall, looking down at the view.

Just a second before the police arrived after hearing the screams, it let out a drawn-out meow.

Upon receiving the command, the cats retreated silently, like flowing water, just as they had arrived.

Shi Miao stretched and looked at He Yi, who was being helped up by the police, with tears streaming down his face and incontinence in his lower body. She then lazily flicked her tail.

I only scared him a little; I didn't even hit him hard, but he's already this scared.

He really is a cowardly piece of trash who only dares to attack the weak.

Shi Miao wouldn't let the cats actually fight; what if they accused the stray cats of injuring someone and were dealt with collectively?

The prop under his claws, like a wisp of green smoke, drifted and disappeared into He Yi's body.

She sat upright on the wall and meowed softly as He Yi stumbled out of the alley, a relieved smile on his face.

This sound carried a faint demonic power and landed precisely in He Yi's ears.

A slight smile, like a devil's whisper.

--"See you tomorrow."

From despair to hope, then suddenly plummeting back into despair.

He Yi's smile froze. Overwhelmed by the surge of emotions, he rolled his eyes and fainted.

-

The convenience store's automatic door opens.

Jiang Yingxu seemed to sense something, looked up, and saw the long-haired kitten that had run out for almost two hours jump onto the counter and call to him sweetly.

"Jiang Yingxu, I'm back."

The four snow-white little paws of the mangosteen had gotten dusty somewhere and turned into dirty little cat paws.

Jiang Yingxu closed his notebook and patted his thigh.

I'm going to put what I just learned into practice.

"come over."

He said in a low voice, "Let me wipe your paws."

...

Shi Miao sprawled out on Jiang Yingxu's lap, her snow-white belly facing upwards, lying sprawled out.

It was completely relaxed, with its four little dirty paws stretched out in mid-air, forming a flower shape.

Jiang Yingxu remained expressionless, took out a wet wipe, and gently pinched a kitten's paw.

The pink paw pads are very elastic, and feel soft and warm to the touch.

As the kitten purred softly, a damp cloth was used to gently wipe the long white fur between its paw pads and toes.

It's a bit chilly.

Shi Miao twisted her body, her amber-green cat eyes looking at Jiang Yingxu.

The boy lowered his long, thick eyelashes, his dark eyes filled with focus, and there was a slight redness and abrasion on his high nose bridge, adding a touch of battle-worn look to his handsome and cold features.

Shi Miao whirred along on her little motorcycle, then touched the wound on his nose with her clean front paws.

Jiang Yingxu paused, lifting his long eyelashes. "What's wrong?"

Shi Miao: "You didn't apply any medicine today."

Jiang Yingxu gave a soft "hmm," "It's a minor injury, don't worry about it."

Shi Miao's drooping tail swung, brushing against his calf.

"No, even minor injuries need to be addressed."

Cats are good cats that know how to repay kindness.

"You clean my paws, and I'll apply the medicine!"

Jiang Yingxu did not refuse.

So, the kitten, now with clean mangosteen paws again, flipped over and jumped off the ground, strolled into the changing room, and took out the ointment from its backpack.

She bit the ointment, ran back to Jiang Yingxu's side, and jumped onto his lap.

It didn't forget to rub its paws on the wet wipe it was holding in his hand.

Shi Miao bit the cap of the ointment with her teeth and twisted it open with a snap using her two front paws.

I stepped on the ointment again and squeezed out a little milky white paste.

The series of movements were completed in one smooth motion.

Shi Miao smeared a dollop of ointment on her paw pad, looking excited. "Lower your head."

Jiang Yingxu readily agreed and bowed his head to approach.

The kitten raised its paw and gently applied the ointment from its paw pad to the wound on his nose, being careful not to hurt him.

It's more like a gentle reassurance.

Jiang Yingxu unconsciously clenched his fists, and even his breathing became softer.

The bending motion brought his face only a fist's width away from Shi Miao's.

Shi Miao applied the medicine very carefully, and her cat-like eyes, filled with enlarged pupils, looked especially cute with their roundness.

Jiang Yingxu slightly raised his gaze.

The kitten's pointed ears twitched on its head.

Jiang Yingxu was unusually absent-minded, even after the kitten had distanced itself and finished applying medicine to the wound on the back of his hand.

Shi Miao felt she had accomplished something important, and praised herself in her heart for being such a great cat. She happily put the ointment back in her schoolbag.

The kitten's chubby figure disappeared through the changing room door, then trotted out again.

It skillfully stopped under the counter.

Jiang Yingxu stared at the fluffy little ears, recalling the cat-petting tutorial in the file.

First rub the kitten's head, then bite its ears.

After giving the cat many kisses, you can flip it over, hold its front paws in place, and make it lower its head and bury its face in its furry belly.

Take a deep breath, and experience the ultimate lung-warming sensation.

A divine experience!

Some owners with unusual tastes will kiss and bite their kittens' paws, regardless of whether the kittens have just buried their feces.

Jiang Yingxu felt that he shouldn't be so perverted as to lay a hand on a cat.

but.

Jiang Yingxu rubbed his fingertips.

What would it taste like if you put those little Doritos-like ears in your mouth and take a gentle bite?

...

Another day I didn't get home until after midnight.

After taking a shower, Jiang Yingxu lay on the narrow wooden bed, listening to the kitten's soft purring.

After a long day of school, Shi Miao was exhausted.

She found a comfortable position, curled herself up like a little cat ball, and quickly fell asleep.

Its large tail draped lazily over the pile of clothes, hanging down naturally, its long fur being blown about by a small fan, occasionally brushing against Jiang Yingxu's arm.

Jiang Yingxu was unusually not sleepy.

He slightly bent his knees, tilted his head, and looked at the kitten that looked exceptionally beautiful and soft in the moonlight.

In the quiet of the night, Jiang Yingxu's mind was exceptionally clear as he calmly recalled the conversation between Shi Miao and the system.

The Yan family. Male protagonist. Villain. Plot.

It's like a thread that connects all the keywords.

He was not yet clear how he got involved with the Yan family, but he had a general idea of ​​his fate.

He will go to the Yan family, be looked down upon and suppressed, and oppose the "male lead" of the Yan family.

Most of them will not have a good ending.

After all, he's the "villain."

The kitten, lost in a sweet dream, twitched its limbs and revealed a human-like crooked smile.

So cute.

Jiang Yingxu stared at her for a long time before raising his arm to cover his eyes, his breathing shallow, and a mocking smile curving his thin lips.

Fate?

He never believed in fate.