Is My Cat Secretly Crushing on Me?! - Chapter 3

Lin Miao fed the cats as usual, completely unaware of someone’s deliberate plotting.

Feeding cats was best done when there were few people around to avoid being watched.

Lin Miao always got up early and went to bed late, avoiding peak hours.

This day was no exception. Lin Miao snuck downstairs to the dormitory building around eight in the morning to enjoy some cat time while it was still quiet.

He was feeding the cats and smiling wryly as he replied to Xie Xinlan’s WeChat message.

Suddenly, a call came in, and the caller was Xie Xinlan herself.

Lin Miao was so startled his hand trembled.

The phone rang like a death knell. He hesitated for a moment before slowly answering.

Lin Miao felt guilty: “Hello?”

Xie Xinlan’s energetic voice came through: “You’re going to be the lead coordinator for our major’s internship! Whether you want to or not, you have to do it!”

Lin Miao stammered and stayed silent.

“Anyway, you usually go to the Mengchong Pet Hospital to volunteer. It’s on the way, you don’t have to go every day, and I’ll count it towards your volunteer hours.”

“Senior, I really don’t…”

Xie Xinlan’s tone softened, playing the pity card: “I’m really busy too, you know! I have to prepare my graduation thesis and intern, so I don’t have time to coordinate between both parties, woo-woo-woo…”

Lin Miao lowered his head, pinching his fingers, unable to find a chance to interrupt and refuse.

The senior seemed genuinely distressed.

Lin Miao pursed his lips.

Suddenly, the grass patch in front of him moved, and an orange cat darted out.

Lin Miao’s eyes lit up. He covered the mouthpiece of the phone and asked softly, “Baby? You’re up so early for breakfast?”

The orange cat tilted its head, looking at Lin Miao.

Its furry ears twitched, clearly catching the content of the phone call.

Lan Shen’s mind formulated a plan.

He rubbed his head against Lin Miao’s knees, affectionately purring like crazy.

He let out a sticky, sweet call: “Wifey, wifey, wifey—”

Lin Miao was torn between answering the phone and petting the cat.

Xie Xinlan on the other end of the line called out, “Lin Miao, are you still listening? Just do me a favor. The job is really simple…”

The orange cat frantically distracted him: “Scratch my chin, pet me!”

Lin Miao was clamping the phone with his shoulder, his attention completely captured by the cat baby.

He replied politely: “Mhm… mhm, okay, I hear you…”

“Okay? You agreed, didn’t you?”

“That’s great! Thank you, Lin Miao! It’s settled then!” Xie Xinlan was overjoyed and quickly hung up before he could change his mind.

Lin Miao listened to the dial tone and finally reacted.

“Ah.”

He blinked, looking at his phone.

Then he looked at the orange cat.

The orange cat stared with big amber eyes: “Meow?” “What’s wrong?”

Lin Miao took a deep breath, wanting to say something but deciding against it.

A beauty is the source of trouble!

His tone was helpless: “Forget it, I don’t blame you.”

The orange cat innocently wagged its tail.

Lan Shen was incredibly grateful that the fur on his face covered his expression.

Otherwise, his triumphant smile would have been exposed.

Lin Miao ventingly and vigorously messed up the fur on the orange cat’s head.

The orange cat wasn’t angry, still muttering things like “Wifey is the best” and “Wifey, come cuddle.”

Lin Miao’s temper vanished.

He lifted the orange cat onto his lap. The orange cat promptly found a position and lay down in his arms.

Lin Miao pinched the orange cat’s tiny paws, and the cat didn’t resist.

Instead, it started purring contentedly.

Lin Miao squeezed a paw pad: “Look how dirty your paws are, and your toe tufts are too long. Shall I help you clean them up?”

The orange cat seemed to understand. It lay on its back, stretching out its cat paws.

Lin Miao took out a shaver to trim the toe fur and then used a wet wipe to clean its feet.

The orange cat cooperated by spreading its claws.

It even waited for Lin Miao to finish one paw before consciously offering the other.

“You’re really too smart.”

This further confirmed Lin Miao’s suspicion that the little orange cat had an owner.

After Lin Miao finished cleaning all four paws, he rubbed its little belly with an expression of pure delight.

Soft, slightly yellow fur, a fluffy, warm touch.

So comfortable!

Lin Miao hei-hei (a sound of mischievous laughter) chuckled as he fondled the kitten.

His gaze dropped, and he saw the cat’s round “cat bell” (male parts) between its two legs.

Lin Miao pondered: “It’s a little male cat, too…”

Lan Shen let out a meow-woo, striking a seductive pose despite his slightly plump physique.

“Mee—aow aow.”

“Wifey, are you satisfied with what you see?”

He calmly wagged his tail, barely resisting a devilishly charming smile.

He boldly behaved like a rogue, counting on no one knowing his thoughts.

Lan Shen secretly glanced at Lin Miao’s expression. Lin Miao showed no reaction, as expected.

Lan Shen was further relieved.

Unbeknownst to him, Lin Miao’s thoughts had wandered, and he hadn’t heard what he said at all.

Lin Miao estimated the little orange cat’s size: “It looks about old enough…”

If the orange cat was a stray all the time, he would need to prepare to get it neutered.

The orange cat felt a chill on its back and instantly bristled.

It looked up warily, unsure what had happened.

It quietly lowered its head and licked its fur to calm its nerves.

Lin Miao didn’t mention the subject and continued to play with the orange cat as usual.

Lan Shen was also secretly calculating the time.

Around nine o’clock, he pretended to be bored of playing and left Lin Miao.

Time to wake up.

Lan Shen expertly darted into the bushes outside his dormitory window and disappeared.

The dense bushes concealed his figure.

But Lin Miao, who had been paying attention, still saw the direction he left in.

Lin Miao memorized the building and turned back to his dormitory.

He bumped into his roommate, who had just woken up, at the dorm entrance.

Ding Yizhou let out a big yawn: “Morning. You’re up this early to feed the cats again?”

Lin Miao scratched his head, a little embarrassed: “Not very early… Oh, right.”

He turned and pointed to the opposite dormitory building: “That’s also a male dorm, right? Do you know which major lives there?”

Ding Yizhou followed his finger: “Should be the juniors and seniors in Science? What’s up? I can ask around for you another day.”

Lin Miao quickly waved his hands: “It’s nothing, nothing. I was just asking casually. No need to trouble yourself.”

Ding Yizhou shrugged, not caring, and turned to brush his teeth and wash his face.

Lin Miao looked towards the first floor of that building.

They were design students, and the students in their building were all from similar majors.

He wondered which science major lived on the first floor opposite… Physics? Biology?

Lin Miao pondered silently.

If someone was truly secretly keeping a cat and lost it, they would definitely be heartbroken.

—

Time quickly came to the weekend. Lin Miao got up, looking like he was facing a great ordeal, and changed into a slightly more formal set of clothes.

Today, he was taking the interns for the pet hospital to meet the senior who was in charge.

“Over here!”

Xie Xinlan had already been waiting with the group outside the hospital entrance.

She waved happily as soon as she saw Lin Miao.

“Come, come, come, let me introduce you. These are the people interning this time.”

Lin Miao quickly scanned the group.

Great, only eight people.

He could do this.

Lin Miao secretly cheered himself on.

“This is Lin Miao, a core member of our stray cat rescue department!” Xie Xinlan praised him highly. “He’s very familiar with the pet hospital and is also responsible for coordinating this internship.”

Lin Miao’s face felt hot. He lowered his head slightly: “No, no. Nice to meet you all. Please take care of me, seniors.”

Although everyone was easy to get along with, the convergence of gazes still made Lin Miao very uncomfortable.

Lin Miao, following the script he had memorized, stumbled through the introduction: “Seniors, please come in. I’ll briefly introduce you. Mengchong Pet Hospital is a comprehensive pet hospital integrating medical treatment, rescue, grooming, boarding, and more…”

He first took the people from other departments to introduce their work, and then finally returned to Xie Xinlan.

Lin Miao: “Senior, you’re interning in the Canine and Feline department too, right?”

Xie Xinlan nodded: “Of course.”

She turned to the person beside her and introduced him to Lin Miao: “This is Lan Shen. He also specializes in the Canine and Feline major.”

Xie Xinlan winked: “He’s the top student in our class, oh. You can go to him if you need anything.”

“Lan Shen, please also look out for the kid from our department. We’ll be on rotation, so don’t let him get bullied when I’m not around.”

Lan Shen curved his lips slightly: “Of course.”

“Lin Miao, right? Nice to meet you.” Lan Shen was the first to extend his hand.

Lin Miao froze for a moment and quickly shook his hand: “I, me too.”

Lan Shen was half a head taller than him. His palm was dry and strong, and his presence was powerful.

This handshake made Lin Miao incredibly nervous, and his eyes darted away.

He felt that the person in front of him was exceptionally assertive.

And Lin Miao was particularly lacking in social experience, terrified of making a mistake.

Fortunately, Lan Shen politely gave a light shake and then let go.

Just as Lin Miao breathed a sigh of relief, he heard Lan Shen speak again.

“Let’s add each other on WeChat. It’ll be easier to contact.”

Lan Shen took out his phone, as if he had planned this all along.

Lin Miao obediently nodded and quickly accepted his request.

He put down his phone, racking his brains but failing to come up with anything to break the awkward silence.

He could only say softly, “Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go first…”

“This orange cat is…?”

Lan Shen suddenly pointed to his phone: “I saw your profile picture. This orange cat is very cute.”

Lin Miao looked down. His profile picture was indeed the photo of his beloved orange cat that he had just changed it to.

The photo was taken well—a frontal shot of the orange cat sitting upright. The lighting was low, but it perfectly highlighted its round, amber eyes.

It was exceptionally adorable.

When the topic shifted to something Lin Miao was familiar with, he instantly felt much more comfortable.

“I took this. It’s a new orange cat baby that appeared on campus. It’s especially clingy and affectionate.”

Although his voice was still very soft, it was much more fluent, and his tone was subtly boastful.

Like a child who had just received a piece of candy.

Lan Shen smiled: “It’s a great photo. What’s its name?”

Lin Miao paused, not knowing what to say.

“Haven’t named it yet?”

“I have.” Lin Miao’s ear tips inexplicably turned red. He fiddled with his fingertips, his voice even lower.

“It, it’s not a great name… I just call it Baby.”

After saying it, Lin Miao lowered his head, embarrassed.

Taking advantage of Lin Miao not being able to see him, Lan Shen curled a subtle, mischievous smile.

“That truly is a wonderful name. Baby…” Lan Shen stared at the crown of Lin Miao’s head, praising him with a smile.

His voice was naturally pleasant, and he deliberately emphasized the two words “Baby.”

The elongated tail end of the word was soul-stirring.

Lin Miao’s heart skipped a beat.

“Could you send me a few pictures of him? Just pictures of Baby,” Lan Shen asked a few more questions, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Lin Miao’s heart raced, and he swallowed.

He felt even more socially anxious; he couldn’t hold a conversation.

Lin Miao, inexplicably, looked up and met Lan Shen’s eyes.

Lin Miao suddenly noticed that Lan Shen also had a pair of brown eyes.

They sparkled brilliantly in the light.

Just like… the orange cat’s beautiful amber cat eyes.