Chapter Text
Fang Dian crouched down next to a box, holding the umbrella over it to protect it from getting wetter.
The rain poured mercilessly, almost soaking the box completely.
In an unusually soft and low voice, she beckoned to the person beside her. “Look at this, Mr. Lu!”
Clouds covered the entire sky, creating a gloomy atmosphere. People walked past without giving a second glance to the two teenagers on the corner, hurrying to where they needed to go without turning back.
Lu Yizhan bent down too, staring curiously at the box she had suddenly stopped for.
Inside, there was a black furball.
“This is…”
It was a tiny cat curled up in a ball, as if trying to preserve its warmth.
Due to the rainy day, the cat was damp, and if you looked carefully, you could see it slightly tremble. It was a truly pitiful sight.
“Let’s take it to my house!” Fang Dian said.
Lu Yizhan looked at her.
The orphanage wouldn’t let him bring a cat. Additionally, winter break had just started—they had just left school to spend the holidays away from campus when Fang Dian found the cat. They wouldn’t be able to bring it into the dorms.
Fang Dian had been living alone since her father left and her mother passed away, leaving her with an empty house.
It was undoubtedly the best choice if they were going to take the kitten with them.
Moreover, she was going to take it regardless of what he said.
He placed the umbrella on the ground so that it covered the kitten, took off his school uniform jacket, and meticulously wrapped the cat in it, as if fearing it would get scared and run away.
Surprisingly enough, the kitten briefly opened its eyes, stared at him, and closed them again.
“It looks more relaxed than before. Good job.”
Fang Dian covered him with her own umbrella, playfully elbowed him, and gave him a big smile.
Sighing, he replied, “I just did what I had to.”
However, his flushed ears revealed his true feelings. Fang Dian smiled even brighter in response.
“Whatever my boyfriend says.”
His ears flushed even redder, and this time his cheeks gained a pink undertone.
The box was useless now that it was drenched, so Lu Yizhan decided to only use his school jacket to wrap the cat.
With one hand, he carried the trembling cat. Meanwhile, his other hand held his umbrella.
“Let’s go home before it pours even more.”
As they walked, the rain stopped falling from the sky. The weather cleared up, revealing a hidden orange sky. The sound of their shoes stepping in puddles could be heard in the quiet streets.
“I know cats don’t usually like water, but isn’t this too much?!”
The cat didn't meow, but it was obvious that it didn't want to be there because of the way its body constantly moved and tried to escape. Lu Yizhan held the cat with a pair of gloves; his clothes were wet, along with the bathroom floor.
A few days ago, they fed the cat after bringing it home. While it was still asleep, they went to the veterinarian. To their surprise, needle marks were found on its skin. They were surprised it was still alive and sound. Thankfully, they treated it swiftly, and the cat managed to live another day.
Though his wallet didn’t survive.
They didn’t wash it the day before because of the veterinarian’s advice to only fully bathe it when they allowed it, so they resorted to cleaning it with wet wipes until today, when they received the veterinarian’s approval after another check-up.
Lu Yizhan was the unfortunate one chosen to wash it after losing against Fang Dian in a board game.
Ah, how does she manage to always win…?
He already knew that she was going to win—Fang Dian was a true expert at playing games and rarely lost.
“Don’t all cats like treats?” A woman’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
Speaking of the devil.
Fang Dian entered with her hands full of two kinds of treats: turkey-flavored and pork-flavored ones.
“This is all they sold in the mini-mart down the street.”
She brought the turkey-flavored treat closer to the running cat.
SPLAT.
The cat slapped the treat, and it spilled all over the floor.
Lu Yizhan: …
Fang Dian: Damn, so strong!
Lu Yizhan looked at the spilled treat that he would have to clean later and sighed. “Maybe try the other one?”
Fang Dian nodded, opened the cat treat, and slowly brought it closer to the cat this time.
SPLAT!
The food slid down Lu Yizhan’s face.
“Pft…”
With some difficulty—due to the food all over his face—he could see Fang Dian turning her head and suppressing her laugh.
After a few moments, she looked like she was on the verge of asphyxiation.
“...Just laugh.”
“Hah…” She shook her head. “No… Pft… Hahahaha…!”
The girl punched the wall while laughing—it seemed like she would never stop.
“Okay, okay…” she said after looking at her boyfriend’s expression, if she could even manage to see it. “Let me wipe it for you.”
She took a handkerchief from her pocket to clean his face.
The cat, which was sitting in a corner while Fang Dian laughed, curiously peeked over when it saw her taking something from her pocket. With a few small and cautious steps, it approached something that had also fallen out.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Lu,” she reassured while carefully cleaning his face. “We can just continue to wash the cat with wet wipes. Don’t they start cleaning themselves after all?”
He sighed for the second time that day. “The problem is that it's still dirty—I don't want it to catch anything while it's being cleaned when it's barely recovering.”
While internally suppressing his desire to postpone the wash-up until tomorrow, he saw the kitten out of the corner of his eye.
It was rolling around on top of a one-yuan coin on the floor. The contrast between the kitten's wary behavior from before and its now joyful attitude shocked them both.
“Oh, that’s the change the auntie gave me!” Fang Dian said and smiled while looking at the cat. “I think I have more. Wait.”
She began rummaging through her jacket’s pockets. Eventually, she found more coins inside a small compartment. “Here, kitty. Pspsps!” She put a bunch of coins in the bathtub, and they both watched the cat's reaction.
The kitten stopped rolling over the one-yuan coin and looked between the new coins inside the bath and the one it had.
After a moment of hesitation, it took its current coin in its mouth and brought it to the bath reluctantly, as if finally letting them wash him.
“Smart, huh?” Fang Dian said. “Always looking for the best outcome.”
Lu Yizhan had never felt so relieved and began washing it again. While turning on the water, he looked at the cat.
The once trembling and wet cat had changed its expression; its eyes were steadier than before, and its gaze felt stronger.
Beside him, Fang Dian wiped the floor with a mop.
They were in their last year of high school. He knew that they weren’t going to meet again when it ended. After abruptly confessing to her on the first day of school, she accepted his confession somehow. Later on, he found out that she was going to apply for the Dangerous Heretics Handling Bureau too.
Only some could apply—through excellent academic and physical evaluations, and someone who could recommend them for the promotion exams.
…So he could have confessed some other time.
When their eyes met, she stopped wiping the floor and blew him a kiss, even though they were two meters apart. He flusteredly turned his gaze away.
Deadpan, the cat looked at the human who had just stopped washing him. It looked between the two humans.
Little cat: …Eating dog food.
“I guess we’re going to have to let it have the money if we want it to sleep…” Lu Yizhan said.
After bathing it, it refused to move unless they brought the coins too. They had no choice but to fill a cardboard box with coins and let it sleep there.
The cat, once damp and wet, was sleeping peacefully inside the box. Its appearance was vastly different—it looked quite pitiful before, but now it was plain adorable.
“I guess we picked a money-hoarding cat.” Fang Dian thought for a moment and spoke again, “Maybe we could train it to steal money—?”
She paused and looked at Lu Yizhan’s tired expression.
“Well, leaving that aside…” She deftly changed the subject. “We should name it, shouldn’t we?”
She smiled and looked at him once again.
“Are you going to keep it?”
“Of course I am. How could I leave our son?”
Lu Yizhan suddenly stopped. After a few moments, he smiled as well.
“How about ‘Bai Liu’?”
“White and willow?” She considered it for a moment and nodded. “Refined and perfect for this little one.” She warmly stroked his little head.
Black cats are popularly known for attracting bad luck and having connections to magic. This cat, although black, had white little paws, and some other parts of his fur were white too. In some places, white represents a new beginning.
Willows are resilient in the face of adversity. They are able to survive in difficult times. Even if he was just a kitten, his resilience to live to this day showed that he had a strong will.
Thus, Bai Liu began to live with his parents.