The Cat Transformation

After making a phone call to Yang Qu, Ye Yixing felt bored out of his mind.

He played cards online for a while but found it uninteresting. Then he looked for an entertaining movie to watch. After about ten minutes, he almost fell asleep. So he decided to dive onto the bed, grabbing He Yanlu’s blanket with his little arms and legs. The bed was so soft, and the blanket still carried He Yanlu’s scent…

Ye Yixing thought about his dad. He intended to take a short nap, but when he woke up, half of the day had already passed.

Stretching his front paws forward, lowering his shoulders and head, and vigorously arching his backside while elongating his body—that’s a cat’s lazy stretch. Ye Yixing stretched lazily, shaking his fur all over. The midday sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow on the bed, making his body feel cozy.

He scratched his face with his paw, then went downstairs to search for food. After a quick look around, he ate some meat floss cakes on the coffee table and jumped back onto the sofa to read the novel He Yanlu had left there.

Time seemed to drag on so slowly, so endlessly. Ye Yixing felt like he could even hear the ticking sound of the second hand on the clock, the faint “tick-tock” that was almost hypnotizing. He squinted his emerald eyes. Now he understood why cats were so fond of sleeping.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. Why hadn’t He Yanlu returned yet?

Well, since there was nothing to do but wait, he might as well take another nap. Ye Yixing pushed the book away with his paw and pounced on top of Da Bai, using her legs as a pillow, and fell back asleep…

When He Yanlu climbed up to the third floor, his little cat monster was sound asleep.

As he heard He Yanlu’s footsteps from afar, Ye Yixing instantly woke up, leaping up in a single roll. His dad was back!!

Soon after, he heard He Yanlu’s sound of unlocking the door…

The black cat’s eyes swiveled around, and in a flash, before the door was opened, he darted behind Da Bai to hide.

“Xiao Hei, I’m back!” He Yanlu opened the door and called out into the empty living room.

No response… He frowned. What’s going on? Where is Xiao Hei?

Usually, Xiao Hei would either pounce on him like a black shadow or be lounging on the sofa, just waking up, staring at him with a pair of deep green eyes, demanding, “Hug me, come and hug me. I’m too lazy to pounce.”

That’s right, at first, Xiao Hei would pounce on him voluntarily. But gradually, it started demanding that he come and hug it. Sometimes, it would even complain, “You’re so slow in coming back. I’m so bored…”

He Yanlu’s gaze wandered around the sofa, trying to find any trace of the black cat. His heart pounded erratically. Just a second without seeing his little black cat, and he was already so scared.

Why did he feel this way? From childhood until now, he never expected anyone to be waiting for him after opening the door. In just twenty-something days, had he become completely accustomed to the presence of the black cat? What if one day Xiao Hei felt tired of staying with him and ran away?

As He Yanlu thought about this, his eyes welled up with tears, and his heart was in chaos. He carefully placed his backpack down, not daring to make a sound, as if even a slightly louder movement would scare away the soul of the black cat.

“Xiao Hei…?” He called out gently, his tone filled with worry and anxiety.

…

Huh… Da Bai has grown a black tail! (= =)

Seeing the long black tail exposed behind Da Bai, He Yanlu couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

“Hehehe…”

The black cat’s tail wagged back and forth, thinking it was being all sneaky!

Ye Yixing, who was getting impatient, was about to poke his head out from behind Da Bai when he suddenly heard his dad chuckling!

Actually, it was himself being guilty that made him feel so nervous. Now, with his tail nervously swaying, he had given himself away!

He Yanlu’s footsteps drew closer, and Ye Yixing became more and more nervous. His fur stood on end. Would he be discovered…?!

“Xiao Hei…” He Yanlu squinted his eyes, foolishly smiling.

Ye Yixing quickly tucked his tail away and didn’t dare to move at all.

He Yanlu caught hold of Da Bai and threw her aside, sternly saying to the black cat in the corner, “Still hiding!”

…

(= =) “Dad! That’s your daughter!… Ah!” He Yanlu grabbed Ye Yixing’s tail, picked up the black cat, and Ye Yixing shouted, “Sister will cry, you can’t treat her like this!… Ow!”

His cat ear was twisted hard, and He Yanlu said, “Worry about yourself first! Why were you hiding?”

Ye Yixing acted spoiled, “I wasn’t!”

“Still lying! Hang a bell around your neck!” He Yanlu angrily grabbed the black cat and went to find a bell.

Ye Yixing pleaded as he fluttered around in his dad’s hands, “Okay, okay! I wanted to see your reaction…”

“What kind of reaction?” Ye Yixing blinked his eyes and asked.

He Yanlu’s nose tingled as he said, “Hang a bell!”

(= =) Damn it, I was just being honest! “You’re being unreasonable!” Ye Yixing grumbled unhappily. But when he saw the almost teary expression on He Yanlu’s face, he suddenly quieted down.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you…” Ye Yixing reached out his paw and gently touched He Yanlu, trying to suppress his rapidly beating heart. Could it be that He Yanlu had this reaction because he didn’t see him… No way!

Hey, isn’t that enough? He’s nervous, uncomfortable, and unhappy!! Are you satisfied now?

“Okay, hang the bell…” Ye Yixing stopped making a fuss and obediently lowered his tail. He extended his tongue and licked He Yanlu’s hand in a pleasing manner.

“Hang it for three days,” He Yanlu said again.

(= =) “Two days!” Ye Yixing bargained. He really didn’t like having two jingling things around his neck! If he could have a shorter time, he wanted it!

He Yanlu bit his lip and didn’t say anything. He held the black cat, trying to maintain a calm expression, but his trembling eyelashes and slightly reddened eyes betrayed his emotions.

Ye Yixing immediately softened his heart. “…Alright, three days.”

Don’t think that I’m obedient now and let you have your way with everything! You can’t catch big fish without patience! Just wait until I turn back into a human… hmph!

He made calculations in his mind while secretly delighted to see He Yanlu being so nervous about him.

“I was just scaring you,” Ye Yixing said softly.

He Yanlu wanted to say, “[Don’t scare me like that in the future, it makes me feel terrible],” but the words stopped at his lips. It seemed embarrassing to say that, so he simply continued to stroke the black cat’s back, seeking a sense of security.

Ye Yixing pressed his head against He Yanlu’s chest and rubbed against him desperately, saying, “Dad, if I wasn’t a cat, would you still care about me so much?”

He Yanlu paused his hand on the black cat’s back and said, “I would.”

Ye Yixing smirked in He Yanlu’s arms.

Just as he was about to take a bath, he suddenly heard the doorbell. He Yanlu exclaimed, “Who is it at this time? Chu Wenxing?”

Ye Yixing perked up his ears and said, “Hurry, take me out! The food’s here!”

…

He Yanlu carried the black cat and quickly asked before opening the door, “Did you order the food before I came back?”

“I ordered the food for the next few days last night and asked the delivery person to bring it at this time every day!”

“Oh, oh! Shh… We should be quiet!” He Yanlu held the cat tightly and nervously opened the door, immediately putting on a calm expression.

Since their first meal at the Love Cat Restaurant, Ye Yixing and He Yanlu had become regular customers. Without any surprises, they ordered food from there almost every day. Ye Yixing was determined to try every fish on the menu!

Strangely enough, the delivery person from that restaurant changed almost every day.

It had been a week now. It started with a man, then a woman. Every time the person saw He Yanlu holding Ye Yixing, Ye Yixing always felt that they smiled in an increasingly sinister manner.

The man only asked simple questions out of curiosity, like “What’s your cat’s name, handsome? How long have you had your cat, handsome? You have a great bond with your cat, handsome”…

These questions weren’t a big problem, but some of the women took advantage of He Yanlu paying for the food and even dared to touch Ye Yixing’s soft and shiny black fur! They reached out to touch him!

As a result, both the human and the cat were unhappy.

He Yanlu held the little black cat tightly, while Ye Yixing had a fierce expression on his face.

If it weren’t for the delicious food at that restaurant, he wouldn’t have let people see him like a monkey, putting on a performance every night!

And today was even more exaggerated! As soon as He Yanlu opened the door, he saw the female delivery person eavesdropping by leaning on his door! If he hadn’t opened the door in time, she would have fallen in.

As soon as she saw the owner coming out, she immediately put on a flattering smile and stepped back, adjusting her posture.

He Yanlu and his cat had obviously become the star customers of the Love Cat Restaurant!

After the first delivery person went back, she enthusiastically exclaimed in the restaurant, “Oh, the cat in that young man’s house is so handsome!”

The operator was curious and asked, “What about the person who placed the order? Does he look handsome too? His voice is so magnetic! Is he good-looking?!”

“Well… how should I put it, it’s not appropriate to describe him as handsome. That young man has a very refined and attractive appearance…” A group of female employees immediately gathered around, excitedly gossiping.

The next day, another delivery person arrived and confirmed once again, “I was right! That cat’s eyes are so sharp! Such a great temperament! It could star in a Hollywood movie!”

The third day: “Like owner, like cat! Ah! Today, when that owner smiled at me, I was almost stunned… Oh no! How embarrassing! A man smiling at me, and I froze…”

The fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day…

The handsome man and the star-like black cat instantly became the hottest topic at the Love Cat Restaurant! Every night, people eagerly competed to be the one to deliver food to He Yanlu and Ye Yixing.

The operator became dissatisfied. Why could she only hear the voices but not see the guy and the cat? She also wanted to see the legendary duo of a man and a cat!

So today, Miss Operator made her move…

She stood at the door, excitedly exclaiming, “I’ve heard so much about you!”

He Yanlu was puzzled, “Hmm?”

She smiled and said, “I’m the one who took your orders over the phone!”

Ye Yixing immediately became alert and pulled He Yanlu’s sleeve, cautious and wary.

“Don’t make a scene,” He Yanlu patted the black cat’s head, then looked up at the delivery person in front of him and asked, “Oh… is that so? Sorry, I didn’t recognize your voice.”

“Huh…” The delivery woman was puzzled. This voice, it’s not the voice of that handsome guy…

As she often took phone orders at the restaurant, she had become sensitive to voices. The voice of that guy on the phone was a bit soft but had a low and alluring tone that fell between youthfulness and maturity. It had an upward inflection, making it particularly attractive. However, the voice of the handsome guy in front of her was gentle and cheerful, although pleasant to listen to, it was clearly a completely different vocal quality… Could it be that the guy on the phone wasn’t the same person as the one in front of her?

She didn’t dare to pry further, as He Yanlu was already becoming impatient.

He coldly asked, “How much?”

The delivery woman quickly replied, “Thirty-five. Our boss said to give you a special discount starting today, 30% off!”

He Yanlu smiled brightly upon hearing that! The black cat’s eyes instantly lit up!

The delivery woman felt as if a golden light was shimmering around the duo of the man and the cat! After collecting the money and returning to the restaurant, she had a silly smile on her face the whole way, and even by the end of her shift, she hadn’t recovered…

After they had dinner and took a shower, He Yanlu sat in front of the computer with the black cat in his arms. “Dad, I really have to start working today! I need to write, or else we won’t have money for food!”

He Yanlu opened his writing column, and the comments section was already filled with impatient readers urging him to update.

“It’s all your fault, Xiao Hei! I’ve been playing with you these past few days…” He covered his eyes and said, “I can’t look.”

Ye Yixing remained calm and said, “It’s fine. Luomu’s comment section is even worse!”

During the day, while He Yanlu was at school, Ye Yixing had secretly climbed up and taken a look. Damn, it was a disaster! Excited readers even directly cursed at Luomu, saying he was a scammer and that there was no continuation! The defenders of Luomu started to argue back, saying that the author also had personal matters, and they would wait forever… The argument between the two sides became heated!

Ye Yixing closed the webpage, trying to convince himself, “I didn’t see anything…” (= =)

To be honest, Ye Yixing rarely paid attention to the discussions and comments from his readers. His writing philosophy was quite traditional. He believed that if the novel was well-written, it should be based on his own ideas, and he didn’t care about others’ opinions.

You may wonder what drives him forward. Fame and fortune? Certainly not.

Luomu’s motivation comes from the fact that he’s ranked below Zhuyan! It’s like leveling up in a game. When his article score rises, he experiences an indescribable sense of pleasure, as if his overall attack and defense power are continuously increasing due to equipment upgrades and weapon improvements. As long as he surpasses Zhuyan, he can defeat him; and if he rises even higher, he can instantly crush him!

That feeling is so damn awesome!

He Yanlu removed his hand covering his eyes and curiously asked, “How bad is it?”

Ye Yixing replied, “It’s beyond imagination.”

It’s so bad that I’ve started to hesitate whether I should turn back into a human and start writing under a different pen name…

“Go take a look,” He Yanlu said excitedly, “find some comfort.”

(=皿=) He Yanlu!! I want to extend my claws and scratch you to death!

Ye Yixing stared blankly, pretending not to recognize Luomu Zhiqu.

He Yanlu clicked on Luomu Zhiqu’s column and exclaimed, “Wow…!”

Ye Yixing silently extended his claws to cover his eyes.

“It’s so lively…” He Yanlu looked around, moving the mouse cursor back and forth, with eyes wide open, shining brightly.

“Xiao Hei, look over here! Someone is attacking Luomu!” He Yanlu said.

Ye Yixing felt annoyed. He didn’t want He Yanlu to see his negative side, but at this moment, he had no choice but to say, “Well, there’s nothing I can do. It’s because your ‘idol’ abandoned the novel…”

“I want to join the fight!” He Yanlu grabbed the mouse, seemingly trying to choose which comment to pick and engage in a discussion with others, looking eager and excited.

“Huh?”

“Because Dad is a loyal fan of Luomu!” He Yanlu finished speaking and created a new account to join in the debate…

Ye Yixing wagged his tail, maintaining a composed appearance. But deep inside, he was freaking thrilled, setting off fireworks and wanting to roll around on He Yanlu.

Damn, this fan is too bright and powerful! His longtime competitor has suddenly become his fan! Is he not dreaming? Who’s going to wake him up!! Ahahaha!