Chapter 9
"Mimi! Mimi, look here!"
Han Shu was holding the cardboard box he had just retrieved in his arms, and with one hand he opened the umbrella and held it upside down against the tree trunk. Unexpectedly, the little orange cat quickly pulled its head back, leaving only its two little ears showing.
"Mimi?"
"Mimi's okay, come down, Mimi!"
"Mimi!"
Wen Zhiyu's head was throbbing from the dense swarms of kittens. "Is it possible that it's waiting for its mother and doesn't want to go with you?"
Han Shu suddenly turned around, "You promised to take them in!"
"The premise is that they are willing to be taken in."
Amidst the misty rain, Wen Zhiyu sat casually with his long legs bent, his raincoat hood covering most of his forehead, exuding an air of nonchalant indifference.
It's inhuman.
Han Shu muttered a complaint to himself and carefully stood up, holding onto the tree trunk. Only then did he notice two identical little orange cats on a branch about two saplings wide.
"There are two kittens on Wenzhi Island!"
"..."
The kittens cowered, their ears twitching in fright at the sudden change.
She slowly reached out, inching closer, and gently patted the little head a few times to show she meant no harm. "It's okay, Mimi, don't be afraid... Why are you all wet, like a little hedgehog? Poor thing..."
Han Shu's voice was clear and crisp, and now the trill was sweet and soft, just the right range for small animals. After a while, the kitten's ears twitched, and its arched back relaxed a little.
"Oh my, you're so good! Where did such a well-behaved kitten come from?" She happily petted it a couple more times, then swiftly grabbed one kitten by the scruff of its neck with each hand. She then gestured to Wen Zhiyu with her chin, "Oh! Mimi said it's willing."
Wen Zhiyu's brow twitched slightly. "You spoke to it with such a frightening tone, it dared not or would not."
"..."
Han Shu glared at him fiercely before slowly leaning against the tree trunk to sit back down. The kayak was inflated, but it wasn't on a hard surface, so maintaining balance required extreme care, and with both hands occupied by two cats, it was even more difficult.
As a result, her knee got caught on a cardboard box in front of her, causing her to slide and land vertically instead of smoothly.
Han Shu was stunned, as was Wen Zhiyu.
Mr. Problem transforms into a single sofa, his hard chest serving as the backrest and his two long, open legs as armrests. It's a perfect fit for Han Shu, who is 165cm tall.
After a long pause, her eyes slowly moved upwards. "I...I'm sorry?"
Wen Zhiyu's chin was just touching the mushroom head when he gritted his teeth and said, "I...have connections."
"Meow!"
The kittens weren't feeling well and struggled in Han Shu's hands, breaking the stalemate. She hurriedly got up, put the kittens in the cardboard box, and after comforting them for a while, she shrank back and didn't dare to move.
How embarrassing and awkward! But she really didn't mean it! Will he think she's harassing him again because she's a married woman? Will he think she's trying to rape him after already suspecting her of murder for money?
Thankfully, Wen Zhiyu didn't say anything and picked up the paddle to continue rowing. But the awkward atmosphere spread with the humid air, seeping into every nook and cranny.
After wandering around the villa area for a while, Wen Zhiyu asked, "Are you sure there are female cats nearby?"
"There should be some." Han Shu still hunched over, clutching the cardboard box, not daring to turn his head.
"Can't find it?"
She muttered, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it then."
From behind, the mushroom-shaped head looked almost shrunken into a small ball. Wen Zhiyu thought it wasn't much different from a kitten that had seen water.
—They're all very troublesome.
He looked away. "This kitten isn't weaned yet. How are we going to raise it if we take it home?"
Han Shu said weakly, "The milk in the guest's refrigerator is lactose-free milk, which the cat can drink."
The conversation reached a dead end, and silence returned.
The two searched in circles, covering all the roads, but still couldn't find any trace of the mother cat.
"How about..." Han Shu whispered, "we go back to that tree and keep watch for a while?"
After she finished speaking, she noticed a significant change in the man's breathing behind her, as if he was becoming impatient. However, the kayak still managed to turn steadily in the rain.
"The mother cat might have gone to find food, but she'll definitely go back to look for her kittens. Let's wait another half hour, and if she doesn't come back, we'll go back, okay?"
What if I say no?
Han Shu replied without hesitation, "Then I'll wade through the water and wait."
Several seconds later, a tsk-like sound came from behind.
Han Shu cautiously pressed on, "Then, is that alright?"
Wen Zhiyu didn't respond, but rowed all the way to the tree where he found the kitten and stopped. He placed the oars horizontally on both sides of the boat, crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state like an old monk.
Han Shu unconsciously curled his lips. He was all talk and no action, stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside. Even Mr. Problem had a tiny bit of humanity in him.
The rain intensified, the radius of the ripples shrank, and lively jets of water leaped from the center. Surrounded by the pattering rain, Han Shu kept rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand to clear his vision, growing increasingly anxious as time went by.
Half an hour later, just as she was racking her brains to come up with an excuse to delay—
"Meow!"
Han Shu twitched his ears, somewhat uncertain, "Did you hear that?"
Wen Zhiyu suddenly opened his eyes, "The left side."
To the left was a U-shaped dead-end alley, inconvenient for the kayak to enter, so it had to stop at the alley entrance. Han Shu knelt on the boat, carefully observing, and finally spotted an orange head floating on the water in a corner. Judging by its markings, it was definitely a mother cat.
She held the umbrella upside down and leaned out to reach it, but she was still a little short.
"Mimi, come up here!"
The orange cat was frightened by the two huge objects, the kayak and the umbrella, and instead of approaching them, it pounced in the opposite direction, looking extremely terrified.
Han Shu had no choice but to lean out while holding onto the edge of the boat.
Suddenly, the plastic bag-shaped raincoat behind me swayed, and the hem of the shirt underneath sank.
She turned around and saw that Wen Zhiyu still had a cold face, but the veins on the back of his hand were showing because he was pulling on her shirt.
Receiving two questioning glances, Wen Zhiyu asked, "Want to fall into the water?"
Han Shu said sincerely, "I don't want to, but I feel even more insecure when you hold my hand."
Wen Zhiyu frowned, puzzled.
“I weigh at least 100 pounds, and you…” Han Shu glanced at his arm.
That one glance spoke volumes.
Wen Zhiyu: "..."
Han Shu waved his hand and said boldly, "It's okay, I can keep my balance better by myself—ahhhhhh!"
The hem of the shirt slipped just a centimeter from the man's palm, and Han Shu felt as if he had fallen from ten thousand meters into the ground in a state of weightlessness.
The murky yellow water reflected in her eyes, and her heart stopped for three seconds before barely regaining its rhythm. She tried to straighten herself, gripping the edge of the boat, but found this position far beyond her core strength. In short, she couldn't get up; swaying precariously, only the hem of her shirt maintained her tightrope-walking balance.
Han Shu turned around with difficulty, glaring angrily, "How childish are you!"
As Wen Zhiyu carried her, he inexplicably thought of the two kittens she had been carrying earlier. Not much difference, except that the cat in his hand, baring its teeth and claws but displaying a helpless, furious rage, was rather amusing.
He suppressed his almost disobedient lips, raised his chin to the left, and said, "Try it now."
Han Shu keenly noticed the fleeting smile in someone's eyes and decided to reprimand them severely after rescuing the cat. In that position, she submerged one side of the umbrella in the water, pulled it up forcefully, and a thin orange cat was brought under her control.
We've got him!
Without needing to be reminded, Wen Zhiyu grabbed the person by the elbow and pulled them back steadily.
Han Shu disregarded his own safety and quickly put the mother cat into the box. The two kittens, smelling the familiar scent, stumbled over. The mother cat, who had been shivering from the cold, immediately lay down on her side, exposing her belly.
She finally felt relieved, closed the lid, and hugged the cardboard box to her chest. It wasn't appropriate to swear in this situation, and her anger was swallowed back down by the increasingly dense raindrops.
Han Shu tilted his head and said, "Thank you."
Wen Zhiyu shrugged, but still didn't respond.
The bow of the boat was quite narrow, and with the weight of a large cat added, Han Shu couldn't control himself and had to sit upside down, placing the cardboard box between his knees.
The two faced each other, toes touching.
Wen Zhiyu remained expressionless, silently and earnestly wielding his oars.
Han Shu belatedly realized what was happening and felt a little embarrassed. "Are you in a bad mood? Did I ruin your plans?"
"I just found out." Wen Zhiyu was a man of few words, and the dark circles under his eyes were becoming increasingly noticeable.
Han Shu thought for a moment, "Is the writing not going well?"
Wen Zhiyu's paddling hand paused slightly before returning to normal.
That hit the nail on the head. Han Shu thought for a moment, "You haven't asked me any questions today."
I don't want to ask.
"So what do you want to do?"
"I wanted to go kayaking this morning when I woke up."
"I'll land with the cat later, you can continue playing."
"I'm not in the mood right now."
"..." Han Shu was speechless.
What a fickle and unpredictable man. But then again, creation requires inspiration, and perhaps she was the one who interrupted his train of thought. Besides, he reluctantly agreed to take in the three cats, making Han Shu feel somewhat guilty.
"Then when I have time, I'll play something else with you?"
Wen Zhiyu's unfocused gaze shifted to Han Shu's face, and his expression visibly brightened. He then pretended not to care and asked, "What are you playing?"
Han Shu chuckled to himself, "Since you want to row a boat... how about we build one ourselves? I see a lot of old cardboard boxes piled up on your porch. Let's make a boat out of the boxes and tape, and whoever's boat doesn't sink wins?"
Wen Zhiyu narrowed his eyes. "You won?"
Han Shu pondered for a moment, "The loser should promise the winner one thing?"
Wen Zhiyu neither said it was good nor bad.
Just as they returned to the villa, Han Shu pushed open the security door with one hand, while Wen Zhiyu pulled hard on the door frame, and the kayak finally squeezed back into the yard.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Han Shu grabbed the box and ran back to his room. After turning on the bathroom heater, he released the three soaking wet cats from their confinement. The big orange cat immediately shrank into a corner, its back arched and its tail fur standing on end, on high alert.
Seeing this, she didn't linger, and left after making sure the temperature felt comfortable. Cats need time to adjust to unfamiliar environments.
Han Shu roughly listed the supplies the cat would need. She needed to find a substitute for cat litter since she couldn't buy it, a small bowl for food and water, and a soft bed. Having made up her mind, she decided to throw away the dirty cardboard box first, and then seek help from her landlord.
As soon as the door was opened—
The landlord, who was said to be in a bad mood, stood straight at her door, holding a thick roll of tape in one hand and two pairs of scissors in the other.
Han Shu retreated repeatedly, so frightened that he dropped the cardboard box. "What are you doing here?!"
Wen Zhiyu blinked, "Waiting for you, let's go play."
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