ROLM 15

Chapter 15: Cure

When Yu Linfei went to see Su Weixi, he thought that he’d break the pot and interrogate his friend to the end (1). The moment that he saw Su Weixi though, he put this thought away.

It was for no other reason than Su Weixi looked so worn out.

He’d always been so energetic before, but he’d become extremely emaciated for some reason. It looked as if he had survived some terrible ordeal. 

Yu Linfei was a tactful person and knew it wasn’t necessary to dig into other people’s wounds. Although he did want Su Weixi to give him an answer, and Su Weixi would never play it off because of their friendship, if the price of this answer was hurting Su Weixi, Yu Linfei would rather not ask. After all, there was more than one way to get the answer. 

Meng Baiqing… clenching the steering wheel in his hands, Yu Linfei whispered this name.

He really despised him. Not only did Meng Baiqing dare to hurt his cat, it also seemed that the things Su Weixi had encountered had a lot to do with him. It was really interesting. Smiling, Yu Linfei thought it seemed it was necessary to find some time to talk to him.

But for now, the most important thing was to cure his cat’s sickness. He glanced sidelong at Wen Cheng who was sleeping in the basket, his brows furrowed. 

Before, he had ignored the abnormal actions because he was afraid from the cat’s mishap. Now that he thought about it though, he still felt… strange. Wasn’t it weird? Would a normal cat want to call its owner when a stranger entered the house? Besides, how did he know his phone number? Although he felt that the truth was in front of him, Yu Linfei still couldn’t believe it… something like a cat demon… could there really be one?

Even if Yu Linfei’s ability to accept and adapt was higher than normal… subconsciously, he couldn’t accept that he owned a cat demon that could only make a phone call to him.

“Geez, even if he is a cat demon, why’s he so stupid.” After parking the car, Yu Linfei carried the basket out of the car, an involuntary sigh escaping him. As he looked at the very small ball that was Wen Cheng, he could only feel soft. 

Yu Linfei’s complex emotions were unknown to the sleeping Wen Cheng. At that moment, he had entered a magical dream.

He was dead in the dream.

There was a dagger in his chest. The man who killed him looked down at him with a disdainful smile curling his lips, the originally gentle face looking like a devil in this moment. The man pulled the dagger out of his chest and… cried.

Yes, cried.

Although his face was wooden and he didn’t let out any sobs, crystalline tears overflowed from his eyes and slid down the man’s cheek to drop on the ground. The man was motionless and seemed to be unemotional, but the flowing tears unquestionably revealed the sorrow in his heart. 

Wen Cheng’s heart was also very pained. In the dream, he felt a tearing pain in his chest, though he couldn’t tell if it was from the dagger in his chest or from the intense emotions. He wanted to ask, Yu Linfei, why are you crying? You killed me, so why are you crying?

But Wen Cheng couldn’t ask, because he was dreaming, and he was dead in this dream. 

The latter part of the dream couldn’t be remembered very clearly, Wen Cheng only vaguely knew… Yu Linfei crouched down, held him in his arms, and whispered in his ear… Wen Cheng couldn’t hear Yu Linfei’s words, but he could feel the sadness carved down into the bone marrow. 

In the dream, there was no resentment in Wen Cheng’s heart. He seemed to know something, know… why Yu Linfei would kill him.

Then he woke up. His head hurt like it was about to explode. Wen Cheng couldn’t help but try and hold his head in his hands, but when he stretched his hands to his head, he found that his hands had become a pair of plush paws… he’d forgotten… he became a cat. 

Shaking his dizzy head, Wen Cheng realized that Yu Linfei had brought him home again. Currently, he was lying on the bed in Yu Linfei’s home, and his mouth tasted bitter. Ah, did Yu Linfei feed him medicine?

The previously heavy body felt a little lighter. Wen Cheng decided to have a good rest first and not move around for now… and think about what was going on. 

Without the excitement from seeing Su Weixi, Wen Cheng calmed down and seriously thought about his situation.

First of all, he really became a cat, and it wasn’t a dream or an illusion. He, Wen Cheng, was now a cat. Secondly, he had memories of Yu Linfei; he remembered everything from becoming acquaintances to lovers. Wen Cheng remembered every detail clearly, and he couldn’t believe that it was just a fantasy. Finally, he saw Meng Baiqing who’d broken up with Yu Linfei and Su Weixi who had died… this showed that the time of his rebirth was different from that of his death.

To sum it up, Wen Cheng had come to an absurd conclusion. He may have returned to the time before he’d met Yu Linfei, a few years ago.

He vaguely remembered that Yu Linfei seemed to have had a cat, but Wen Cheng couldn’t really remember the cat’s appearance. He was allergic to cat hair when he was a human, and although he didn’t hate these small animals, he definitely didn’t like them. And in his memory, Yu Linfei only seemed to keep the cat for a short amount of time…

But if Wen Cheng’s guess was correct and he really had become Yu Linfei’s cat… that meant Yu Linfei would meet a “Wen Cheng”. He may have the chance… to witness his own love with Yu Linfei.

Too sci-fi, he felt that his ideas were growing more and more absurd. Still, when he saw his own fluffy body, he had to admit that even the most absurd of his dreams would come true one day. 

“Little Black, you’re up?” The gentle voice interrupted Wen Cheng’s thoughts. He turned his head and saw Yu Linfei holding a small bowl in his hands. There was a trace of concern in his eyes, but this gentle expression made Wen Cheng shudder. 

He wouldn’t forget how gentle Yu Linfei had been during the three years of being lovers, nor how indifferent Yu Linfei’s expression was when he plunged a dagger at his heart. Now this kind of Yu Linfei reminded Wen Cheng of the him that was addicted to love and had no boundaries. 

Was the prey blindfolded by tenderness for the hunter’s bloody strangulation?

“What a fool.” Looking at the cat motionlessly staring at him with those golden eyes, Yu Linfei dotingly reached out his hand and tapped Wen Cheng’s head, “Next time you see a stranger enter the house, remember not to be found. Your gege isn’t afraid of them casually taking things, but afraid of Little Black getting hurt.”

“Meow.” The soft meow had no real meaning, as Wen Cheng was just casually responding to Yu Linfei. 

“You’ve been sick and uncomfortable, here, have something to eat.” When Yu Linfei’s hand came closer, Wen Cheng found out what was in the bowl he held. The porridge with a milky fragrance was still steaming, and the appetizing smell wafted into Wen Cheng’s nose. In that moment, Wen Cheng really… became degenerated. 

No matter what revenge or what pit (2), it was time to eat in the Way of the King now!! Besides, he already knew Yu Linfei’s face, there was no way he’d be trapped in a pit a second time, so hungry so hungry… Wen Cheng, drooling slightly, moved his short legs towards Yu Linfei to climb up. If he was a dog… the tail would have been wagged off by now.

“Don’t rush.” Yu Linfei didn’t know whether to cry or laugh at the ravenous look of Wen Cheng. He thought cats would be very picky about food when they were ill, so he specially made liquid food suitable for cats. Now though… Yu Linfei had the illusion that even if he carelessly made some meat, Wen Cheng would still run over like this.

So delicious… cuddled in Yu Linfei’s arms, he was fed the cheese porridge with a proper temperature one spoonful at a time. The porridge was cooked with millet, and a cheese suitable for cats was added to the porridge, giving it a delicious smell and a good taste.

Bit by bit, the porridge was completely eaten. Wen Cheng stood up on Yu Linfei’s leg with a full belly and stretched up, rubbing his chin on Yu Linfei’s hand, wanting Yu Linfei to pet him.

Alright, to put it bluntly, it seemed that even if he became a cat, it didn’t make up for the missing strings in Wen Cheng’s head. If anything, it seems the strings were broken even worse now. (3)

Yu Linfei was very relieved to see this picture of Wen Cheng. When he got home, he used a syringe to give Wen Cheng a dose of medicine. Seeing the cat lying in his arms and not getting angry, Yu Linfei was really worried. Such a small thing could be easily bullied if he doesn’t pay attention. It seems… it’s time for him to change the locks on his doors. 

After feeding him the medicine, Yu Linfei had moved Wen Cheng to the bed and went to make food for the cat. As he carefully cooked the porridge, he couldn’t help but glance at his refrigerator. He began to seriously consider changing to a smaller one… it was really a test of the heart to watch such a small kitten climb into the refrigerator from the monitor. 

“Heh” Suddenly realizing that he was thinking more and more about his cat, Yu Linfei shook his head helplessly. He really didn’t know if raising Little Black was a good or bad thing. 

After that, Yu Linfei did some unfinished work while sitting down, but he quickly rushed to the kitchen to serve the warm porridge when he saw Wen Cheng wake up. When he was walking towards Wen Cheng, he was still thinking about how to cheat his cat into eating…

However, Yu Linfei didn’t need to worry so much. Wen Cheng obediently drank the porridge, and his spirit seemed to be much better afterwards. 

“Look at you, so precious.” Even as he looked at Wen Cheng squinting his eyes comfortably as he scratched his chin, Yu Linfei’s expression wasn’t light. At this moment, he was thinking… it’s time to have a good talk with Meng Baiqing. 

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Translator Notes: I really love that dream sequence, especially because the scene of Yu Linfei feeding Wen Cheng afterwards is so fluffy. SO many conflicting feelings! This is one of the few novels that I read with no spoilers, and I personally think it’s a great way to enjoy it. 

Thank you to Aylik for editing ❤

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1. “打破沙锅问到底”, idiom that means get to the bottom of things.

2. Just in case we don’t remember, pit usually means to be deceived or to deceive, though there are many different usages for it. When he says he won’t be trapped in a pit, he’s saying he won’t be deceived by Yu Linfei again.  

3. “缺根弦” The missing strings (root strings?) in one’s head just means this person is a bit stupid or inflexible in their thinking.