Chapter 61 Nobody's bothering us
Xiang Yun never refused her invitations, especially not to make a cat bed for Sanhua.
They took Sanhua to the vet together for treatment, so they both assumed that Sanhua was a cat they raised together.
Making a cat house was her duty, Xu Songning was certain that Xiang Yun would not refuse her.
As expected, Xiang Yun agreed without hesitation.
Using the Sanhua incident as an excuse, Xu Songning successfully lured Xiang Yun home. Since Ms. Xu was out having dinner and wouldn't be back until late, she felt relieved. Bringing Xiang Yun home would only result in her mother seeing them and teasing her again; the previous incident of deleting him from her friends list was already embarrassing enough.
Before entering the door, Xiang Yun suddenly asked, "Is Auntie home?"
"Would you prefer to be here or not?" Xu Songning asked with a smile.
Xiang Yun carried the cat carrier. The calico cat opened its big eyes and looked around at the new environment. It wasn't afraid at all and gently bumped its head against the semi-circular transparent partition.
"..."
Xu Songning always teased him, and Xiang Yun realized that this was not just his imagination.
"Come in, my mom's out having dinner, no one will bother us..." Xu Songning smiled with narrowed eyes, pausing deliberately for a few seconds, as if they were about to do something shady, "to install a cat bed."
There was a new pair of slippers in the shoe cabinet, in men's style and size. Xiang Yun stepped into them and they fit perfectly.
A half-person-high delivery box was placed in the living room, sealed very tightly with tape.
"It's so big! It's a bit different from what I imagined," Xu Songning said in surprise.
She picked up the alcohol and sprayed it all over the delivery box.
Under her guidance, Xiang Yun took out a small knife for opening packages and took the contents out of the box.
Scattered items were laid out on the floor, resembling a small tree frame. Xiang Yun pulled out the instruction manual from the pile, held it between his fingers, and began to read. He wondered if Xu Songning could have assembled this complicated cat bed if he hadn't come.
He originally thought that Xu Songning would just buy a cat bed that could be placed on the ground, but it turned out that she bought a three-dimensional cat tree with the cat bed on top, shaped like a small lawn.
What does the original image look like? Is there an installation video?
"Yes," Xu Songning replied. The two leaned closer, shoulder to shoulder, and looked at Xu Songning's phone together.
The cat tree looks great after it's installed. It's shaped like a cartoon tree with a grounded brown hollow trunk where cats can crawl in and rest. The area where they crawl out connects to a small green lawn with several small grassy patches of varying heights tied to the trunk like leaves. The trunk is wrapped with hemp rope, making it easy for cats to climb up and down and also sharpen their claws.
The small lawn at the top is recessed, making it a comfortable place to lie and sunbathe. A leaf supports the lawn, serving both decorative and shading purposes.
"Are you sure you only want to keep it for a month? You bought such a big cat tree for it, what will you do with it afterwards?" Xiang Yun sighed. If it weren't for work restrictions, he really wanted to keep Sanhua, after all, it was so well-behaved and cute. In terms of temperament, Sanhua was even more obedient than Wanzi and Huoguo.
Moreover, Xu Songning seemed reluctant to part with it, having only kept it for a month, yet he bought it such a nice cat tree.
“It’s okay, we can just give it to an adopter. Even if we only keep it for a month, we’ll take good care of it. I also bought cat food and litter, but it’s too heavy.” Xu Songning turned to look at Xiang Yun.
Xiang Yun nodded, "Okay, I'll go get it."
"Wow, can Yun-ge read minds? He actually knows what I'm thinking. Thank you so much!" Xu Songning laughed happily. She opened the installation video, and the two of them simply sat cross-legged on the floor to study it.
As they drew closer, Xu Songning remained completely unaware, while Xiang Yun subtly shifted back, creating some distance between them.
The two of them were so close that the temperature seemed to rise.
"I understand." Xiang Yun stood up.
Xu Songning was surprised, "Huh? You already know how? I didn't even understand it yet."
"It's alright, you can hand me the tools over there." Xiang Yun took off his coat, revealing a pure white inner layer underneath. The cotton inner layer looked very soft. He pushed up his sleeves, rolling the long sleeves up to his elbows.
In early April, the weather was no longer cold, the heating was turned off, and people were dressed in relatively light clothing.
Xu Songning was still in his work clothes. Since it was inconvenient for him to sit cross-legged, he moved a small stool over, sat down next to him, and read the steps to him from the instruction manual.
The calico cat was unhappy in its carrier, scratching at it incessantly with its paws, making a sound that sent chills down your spine.
"Let Sanhua out; she must be feeling a bit bored." Xiang Yun raised his chin and pointed to the cat carrier not far away. Ever since they went inside to study the cat tree, they had forgotten about the cat itself.
"What if it causes trouble if we let it out?" Xu Songning went to get the cat carrier and poked the calico cat's forehead through the carrier.
Sanhua didn't understand and thought Xu Songning wanted to play with it, so it went over to bite her finger, but only touched the cat carrier.
"If it's being naughty, just hold it." Xiang Yun lowered his head and fiddled with the parts of the cat tree.
Xu Songning nodded and opened the cat carrier. "Come on, my darling calico, come to Mommy."
Sanhua crawled out of the cat carrier, looking bewildered. She meowed a few times and moved closer to Xu Songning's open arm, her soft tail brushing against her arm.
"Good girl."
Xu Songning picked up Sanhua and held her in his arms, then sat back down on the small stool. The two of them sat watching Xiang Yun install the cat tree.
In just a short while, Xiang Yun had already installed the base. The hollow simulated tree stump was pressed onto the base, causing Sanhua to frequently peek out and even try to crawl into Xu Songning's arms.
Xu Songning quickly grabbed the cat and pulled it back into his arms. "Sweetie, watch your brother build the cat tree and don't go and cause trouble, okay?"
"Xu Songning, am I the Three-Flower Brother again?" Xiang Yun glanced at her, stopped using his tools, and carefully tapped the tree stump.
"No, you're my brother," Xu Songning said with a smile.
That cry sent shivers down Xiang Yun's spine. His ears went weak, and although he kept a straight face, his mind was racing.
He reached down to pick up the screws on the ground, but his right sleeve slipped down, revealing his hands covered in dust. He had no choice but to raise his hands and say, "Xu Songning, please help me."
Their eyes met, and Xu Songning smiled as she put Sanhua on the ground. "Go play by yourself, baby."
She spoke very softly, and the cat, of course, couldn't understand human speech. It was pushed to the ground by its bottom, scurried away, and then slipped away.
Xu Songning squatted down in front of Xiang Yun, grabbed his sleeves with both hands, and slowly folded them up.
Her fingers touched Xiang Yun's muscles. Because of his exercise, his skin was a little warm, higher than normal body temperature, which naturally burned her fingertips.
She slowly folded her sleeves and patted Xiang Yun's arm. "Over there."
Xiang Yun extended his left hand as well, looking down at her finger movements. The woman's hand was more slender than his, with long knuckles, and her nails were trimmed into squares of a suitable length and size, covering the fingertips. It was a very clean pair of hands.
"Are your hands pretty?" Xu Songning suddenly asked.
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