Is My Cat Secretly Crushing on Me?! - Chapter 6
The next day, after Lin Miao finished his class, he ran to the hospital in the morning, heading straight for the rescue department.
The long-haired calico cat was much more energetic after a night’s rest and had been moved to a regular cage.
It seemed to still recognize Lin Miao, bringing its nose up to sniff Lin Miao’s fingertips, meowing happily. Even through the cage, it acted spoiled, demonstrating its excellent cat virtues.
Lin Miao’s heart was about to melt.
Xie Xinlan walked up beside him and helped him open the cage: “Come, hold it.”
Lin Miao skillfully petted the cat, turned it over, and saw: “It’s a little sister.”
The little kitten had strong vitality, letting out a loud meow.
“Senior Sister, what’s wrong with it?”
Xie Xinlan quickly took out milk powder, mixed it into a bottle, and fed it: “It’s hungry, of course.”
“This kind of kitten needs to be fed every two or three hours. Lan Shen stayed up all night yesterday and didn’t get much sleep.”
Lin Miao frowned instantly, his face full of guilt, speechless.
“Is Senior Brother still resting?”
Xie Xinlan looked at her watch; it was already eleven o’clock: “He should be up, right? Go check on him. He has class this afternoon, tell him to get up, eat, and prepare to go back.”
“Hey, Senior Sister, aren’t you going?” Lin Miao noticed Xie Xinlan wasn’t following and stopped.
Xie Xinlan resisted rolling her eyes. She wanted to go, too; she was disappointed, as she originally thought her own romance was blossoming. Wasn’t she pretty? She was at least a refined young lady, right!
“You go by yourself,” she couldn’t help but pout, “I won’t go make myself unwelcome, lest he keeps saying men and women should not touch.”
Lin Miao nodded helplessly.
He went and knocked on the lounge door: “Senior Brother, Senior Brother, are you awake?”
The office door wasn’t locked; it opened with a gentle push.
Lin Miao had no choice but to peek inside.
The curtains were still drawn inside, making it a bit dim.
Lin Miao called out a few more times. The person on the bed turned over, making a confused sound, seeming still half-asleep.
“Senior Brother, I’m coming in?” Lin Miao was helpless. He walked to the bedside, intending to pat Lan Shen’s shoulder: “Senior Brother, get up quickly and eat. You have class this afternoon.”
Just as Lin Miao’s hand was raised, Lan Shen suddenly flipped over and pressed down on his hand.
Lin Miao was caught off guard and was pulled down to fall onto him.
Lin Miao, startled, quickly propped himself up, afraid of crushing the Senior Brother: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
“Baby, stop moving.” Lan Shen’s tone was soothing, and his hand casually petted.
Lin Miao was startled. Baby? Who was he calling baby? Does the Senior Brother have a girlfriend?
Lin Miao froze for two seconds before quickly whispering, “Senior Brother, are you awake?”
Lan Shen seemed to slowly wake up at this point: “Ah… Lin Miao, what time is it?”
“It’s eleven o’clock. Senior Sister Xie asked me to wake you up.”
Lan Shen rubbed his face and sat up. “Sorry, I was half-asleep.”
Lin Miao looked at the faint dark circles under his eyes and pursed his lips.
He felt a little unhappy in his heart, yet it didn’t seem to be guilt.
He forced a lighthearted tone: “Senior Brother seemed to be sleeping well just now; you couldn’t be woken up and even mistook me for someone else.”
Lin Miao regretted it as soon as he spoke. Why did he suddenly say this out of nowhere?
Something seemed to be stuck in Lin Miao’s throat. They had only known each other for a few weeks; according to social norms, he shouldn’t have said such awkward words. It was a bit of an infringement on someone else’s privacy.
He hadn’t heard that Lan Shen had a girlfriend before; he probably didn’t want people to know. Lin Miao lowered his head, feeling conflicted.
And thus, he missed the slyness in Lan Shen’s eyes.
Lin Miao only heard Lan Shen’s pleasant voice, tinged with confusion: “What person?”
Then Lan Shen suddenly realized: “Oh! You mean ‘baby’.”
Lin Miao’s heart tightened. He wanted to explain a couple of sentences to show that he wasn’t curious.
“I dreamt about that baby.”
Lin Miao raised his head and blinked.
Lan Shen smiled: “The cute orange cat you photographed.”
“I dreamed that I adopted it, and it was jumping all over me, not letting me sleep.”
Lan Shen asked knowingly: “Otherwise, what did you think?”
Lin Miao blushed and shook his head vigorously: “I didn’t think anything…”
“Why are you blushing? Are you a maiden in a yellow dress [a very shy young woman]?”
Lan Shen bullied him mercilessly with a couple of sentences. Lin Miao felt he was in the wrong and was unable to retort.
He could only be pinched and rubbed while blushing.
Lan Shen felt he was simply even better to pet than that little kitten.
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Lan Shen explained casually, “and of course, no boyfriend either.”
He stared straight at Lin Miao: “Are you satisfied?”
Lin Miao waved his hand: “No, I wasn’t curious…”
Lan Shen smiled and didn’t argue: “Well, I told you in advance anyway.”
Seeing that the tips of Lin Miao’s ears were red, Lan Shen felt refreshed: “Alright, let’s go out and eat.”
Lin Miao breathed a sigh of relief and trotted along behind him.
As soon as they walked out, they saw Xie Xinlan.
Xie Xinlan’s gaze bounced between the two of them a few times: “Lin Miao, why did you take so long… What happened to your face? It’s so red?”
Lin Miao touched his face, trying to cool it down with the back of his hand: “N-nothing.”
Xie Xinlan turned her attention to Lan Shen, suspicious: “You didn’t do anything to the junior, did you?”
Lan Shen looked completely innocent: “Of course not, ask him if you don’t believe me.”
Lan Shen looked at Lin Miao and raised an eyebrow: “Did I bully you?”
“No.” Lin Miao pursed his lips.
Xie Xinlan stared at Lin Miao for a long time, making him feel guilty.
Only after confirming that Lin Miao didn’t look unwilling did she reluctantly let Lan Shen off the hook.
“I’ve fed the calico cat. You two check its excretion later.”
Lan Shen nodded.
Lin Miao didn’t quite understand; he had never taken care of such a small kitten.
Lan Shen saw his puzzled expression, but he deliberately didn’t speak up.
Lin Miao held it in for a while. After Xie Xinlan left, he quietly asked Lan Shen: “Senior Brother… will kittens have any excretion problems?”
Lan Shen’s lips curved into a smile.
Very good, now he knows to ask proactively.
He pinched the nape of the calico cat’s neck and explained: “Kittens under three weeks old cannot excrete on their own.”
Lan Shen guided Lin Miao to touch the kitten’s belly, which felt hard.
“It is usually stimulated by the mother cat licking the anus to encourage excretion, but this only requires manual stimulation.”
Lin Miao nodded, with a look of having learned something new.
Lin Miao watched Lan Shen wet a cotton ball with warm water and gently wipe the kitten’s rear end.
The kitten whined and meowed for a while, and then pujii, a slightly soft poop was expelled.
Lin Miao carefully noted the essential movements. He was always willing to learn a little more about cats.
He looked at Lan Shen, his eyes shining: “You are so amazing, knowing so much.”
“This is amazing? Then you’ll have plenty more to praise in the future.”
The kitten in his hand was still restless. Only after Lan Shen cleaned it up with a wet wipe did it quietly cling to Lan Shen’s finger.
It stuck out its pink tongue, licked Lan Shen’s hand, and sweetly cooed: “Mee-woo.”
“Daddy!”
Just as Lin Miao was about to laugh, he saw the little long-haired calico cat shake its head and accurately turn toward Lin Miao.
“Mee-mee—” “Mommy!”
Lin Miao’s smile froze at the corner of his mouth, and a cloud of red crawled up from his neck.
Lan Shen’s eyes shifted, and he praised meaningfully: “Good kitty.”
He glanced at Lin Miao: “Why is your expression so strange?”
Lin Miao quickly composed himself: “Nothing.”
It’s just a kitten, just a kitten. It doesn’t understand anything.
Moreover, no one else besides him could understand it…
“This kitten is a real chatterbox. I wonder what it’s saying?”
Lin Miao couldn’t catch his breath, choked on his saliva, and coughed violently.
It happened to cover up his inexplicable blush.
Lan Shen’s eyes widened slightly: “Why so agitated? Did the kitten say something extraordinary?”
“Cough, cough, cough!” Lin Miao wiped his mouth, not daring to look at Lan Shen: “What nonsense are you talking? You have a rich imagination.”
Lan Shen just smiled without saying anything.
He wanted to put the kitten back in the cage, but the kitten clung to his hand and didn’t want to let go.
“Why is it so clingy to me?”
Lin Miao calmed himself down, stroked its soft head fur, and explained solemnly: “It’s just a kitten. It probably sees you as its mom and dad.”
“Then am I the daddy?”
Lin Miao tried to use a light and casual tone: “Probably, yes…”
“Ah… it’s a real shame there’s no mommy.”
No, actually there is. Lin Miao muttered silently to himself.
The kitten is too capable; it has already recognized its parents. Lin Miao didn’t dare to say it out loud, afraid Lan Shen would discover his strange ability.
Lan Shen petted the cat for a bit and finally put it back. His tone was cheerful: “Alright, let’s go eat quickly and go back.”
Lin Miao suddenly remembered his earlier plan and quickly followed two steps: “Senior Brother, Senior Brother.”
Lan Shen turned back.
“I want to treat you to a meal,” Lin Miao twiddled his fingers, “for the trouble of driving me, and for staying up all night to take care of the kitten…”
“I truly feel bad about it.”
Lan Shen gave in: “Alright then, I should get to decide where we eat, right?”
Lin Miao nodded: “Mhm! Whatever feast Senior Brother wants to eat is fine!”
“Is a three-star Michelin restaurant okay?”
A flash of pain crossed Lin Miao’s eyes: “Yes!”
“Just kidding,” Lan Shen laughed, amused. He was curious: “Do you really have that much for monthly living expenses?”
Lin Miao lowered his head slightly: “No… I earned it from part-time jobs.”
Lan Shen’s eyes shifted slightly, sensing something, and he didn’t press further.
Instead, he pushed open the large door, changing the topic: “Today, I just want to eat this—” “The hospital cafeteria!”
Lin Miao was stunned: “This…”
“Come on, come on. Let me introduce you to our signature dish here: Pineapple Stewed Pumpkin.”
Lin Miao looked troubled: “How about we don’t eat here.”
Lan Shen refused no matter what.
Lin Miao could only take the risk and accompany the gentleman.
Fortunately, relying on Lan Shen’s experience, he picked out a few dishes that were still edible from the many ‘innovative’ selections.
The meal went well, and thankfully, they didn’t step on any ‘landmines’ (bad food). The price was even cheaper.
Lin Miao felt bad when paying: “How can one treat someone to a meal at a cafeteria?”
“Let’s save the big feast for next time.” Lan Shen held his shoulders and guided him into the passenger seat: “It’s time to go back to school now.”
“Alright.”
Lin Miao opened his mobile banking app to check, and preemptively transferred a portion of money, setting it aside for Lan Shen.
After thinking about it, worried it wouldn’t be enough, he transferred another thousand.
Lan Shen pretended to be deaf and mute, saying nothing.
Only after dropping Lin Miao off and finishing his own class did Lan Shen tap open Xie Xinlan’s WeChat.
Lan Shen: “There’s something I want to ask you. Can I call?”
Xie Xinlan’s call connected quickly.
Lan Shen hesitated: “Lin Miao… I didn’t know much about him before. What’s his family situation like?”
Xie Xinlan sighed, her tone strange: “Although it’s not a secret, it’s normal that you wouldn’t know… Sigh, I can’t really tell you too much either.”
She paused: “Why don’t you ask him directly?”
Lan Shen frowned deeply: “Wouldn’t that be poking at his scars?”
“That’s true,” Xie Xinlan thought for a moment, “Lin Miao… it’s hard to put into words. I’ll briefly tell you a couple of things, but you absolutely must not tell him that I told you.”