Chapter 10

When Lu Yichuan stepped out of the group meeting, it was already three in the afternoon.

Turning right outside his advisor’s office was a long corridor, where branches of cherry blossom trees stretched in, sprouting clusters of buds. Several students were standing in the corridor, holding up their phones to take pictures.

The sun had come out today, and he wore only a simple white T-shirt. Silver-rimmed glasses rested on his face, and he carried the university-issued notebook in his hand. The watch on his left wrist shimmered faintly under the sunlight.

Zhao Shuo caught up to him from behind. “Congratulations. I heard the paper you co-wrote with your advisor got published in a C-level journal.”

Lu Yichuan turned his face slightly to the side, looking out at the brilliant sunshine, a faint smile touching his lips. “I owe it all to Professor Li. I was just following behind, quietly sipping the soup.”

Zhao Shuo clicked his tongue. “Come on, before you came in, Professor Li was practically showering you with praise. You sipping soup? Professor Li said he’s just a name on the paper, that you wrote the whole thing yourself. He even wants you to continue with him for your doctorate.”

Lu Yichuan stepped down the stairs. “Really…”

Zhao Shuo followed behind him. “So, do you have that idea?”

It was just the time classes were letting out, and students were passing by in crowds. Lu Yichuan walked among them, his expression still gentle.

“I’ll see.”

Zhao Shuo didn’t press further. They passed under the cherry blossom trees and walked a few steps before Zhao suddenly asked, “By the way, where were you last night? I came by twice but didn’t see you in the dorm.”

Lu Yichuan answered softly, “Went out with some friends, had a bit to drink, got back late.”

Zhao Shuo didn’t suspect a thing and gave him a thumbs-up. “As expected of you, staying out late but still hitting the library like clockwork in the morning.”

The man pressed his temple and sighed slowly. “I’m not made of steel. I was planning to go back and catch up on sleep.”

“You’re not going to the cafeteria? Gao Zilan said she wanted to treat us.”

“No, the student council crowd is too noisy.”

Zhao Shuo noticed the faint dark circles beneath his eyes and didn’t insist. At the fork in the road, they parted ways, Zhao heading toward the cafeteria.

Lu Yichuan watched him leave, then turned toward the dormitory.

The afternoon temperature was just right. Under the cherry blossoms and the willows by the lake, people were taking photos. He stood for a few seconds beneath a cherry tree, then, for some reason, shifted his gaze toward the nearby flowerbed.

On the grass by the flowerbed, a couple was on a date. Not far away, two girls crouched by low bushes, whispering.

He stepped forward a couple of paces and caught their conversation clearly.

“I just saw it here, so how come it disappeared after I went to buy something?”

“Maybe it’s too scared and hid in the bushes?”

The two girls circled the bushes again, as if searching for something. One of them shook the bag in her hand, making a loud noise, and coaxed in a raised voice, “Mimi… come here, look what tasty thing I brought you…”

Lu Yichuan withdrew his gaze, fingers tapping absentmindedly on the black cover of his notebook.

So it was a cat.

He thought.

Before he could take another step, out of the bushes hesitated a small head, tiny enough to be easily overlooked. It looked at the cat food in the girl’s hand and softly meowed.

“Meow~”

The girls’ eyes lit up, but before they could move, a flash of orange-yellow darted out and pounced straight at the little head.

“Meow-ow!”

The sudden sharp cry froze Lu Yichuan for a moment. Before he could react, the small head retracted with a whoosh, replaced by an orange cat crashing into the spot it had just poked out from, scattering leaves everywhere.

The orange cat landed and immediately rolled over, snarling fiercely at the bushes, its fur bristling, but in the blink of an eye, it darted back inside.

Lu Yichuan stepped forward instinctively, but before his foot touched the grass, a shadow shot out and collided straight into his shoe.

With a heavy thud, the cat’s head bumped his shoe, the sound solid and unmistakably firm.

Both man and cat were momentarily stunned.

Lu Yichuan was the first to react, looking down.

A small, skinny cat, barely bigger than his palm, dirty and scruffy. The collision left a dark smudge on his white shoe.

The little cat seemed dazed, taking a while before sluggishly lifting its head.

The man’s noble, cold face reflected in its eyes.

Lowering his gaze, he saw dark smudges on his pristine shoes and clean jeans.

“...”

The cat stepped back two paces, obediently curling its hairless tail.

A faint hiss escaped.

The orange cat emerged from the bushes again, glanced at the cat lying by Lu Yichuan’s feet, then looked at the tall man, silently retreating.

The girl holding the cat food finally reacted and, upon meeting Lu Yichuan’s handsome features, paused. “Sorry, sir, this cat is a stray we just found. We hadn’t seen it on campus before, so we tried to lure it out to check its health.”

University A had a stray cat rescue association. Every stray cat on campus had an identification number. The two girls said they spotted an unfamiliar stray cat near the school gate and kept watch until they found it in the flowerbed.

The cat looked off: skinny, covered with ringworm, and its belly looked abnormal—probably sick.

The girls wanted to lure it out for an examination, but this incident happened instead.

Lu Yichuan lowered his head, locking eyes with the cat’s glassy orbs.

Despite the inflammation around them, those were beautiful eyes—round, reflecting his image, sunlight warming their depths.

His left hand hanging by his side trembled slightly, a subtle pain spreading without warning, threading tightly through him, constricting his heart.

The girl kept talking. “Please don’t move, I’ll come take the cat away…”

Seemingly understanding her words, the cat rolled over and crawled behind Lu Yichuan.

He felt a faint tug at his pant leg. Looking down, a dirty paw clung to his jeans, leaving several black smudges.

Noticing his glance, the cat retracted its paw, nervously wiping at the smudges, only to make them worse, leaving long black streaks.

The cat was silent.

It sat properly at Lu Yichuan’s feet, hiding its half-tailless appendage beneath its body, looking up at him with shining eyes.

“Meow…”

I really didn’t mean to.

Looking into those eyes, Lu Yichuan had the fleeting illusion of seeing a certain face.

He took a deep breath and turned his head, coughing lightly. Having stayed up all night, his already pale face looked even more drained.

The girl cautiously stepped toward Lu Yichuan’s feet, but barely a few steps in, she saw the previously indifferent man suddenly turn and block her from reaching the cat.

“It seems like it doesn’t want to go with you.”

The girl was puzzled by his faint hostility. “The kitten’s scared of strangers; it’s normal it won’t go with me. I think it’s sick, and if we wait longer, it might die.”

Lu Yichuan’s spine stiffened. He glanced again at the cat hiding behind him.

The cat was still watching him, as if since the collision, its gaze had never left him.

It didn’t care if it lived or died; it only had eyes for him.

As if it came to this place just to see him once.

That strange feeling crept up Lu Yichuan’s chest again. He frowned, stepping back subtly, distancing himself from the clingy cat.

The cat froze, seemingly surprised by his rejection.

The girl moved closer, reaching out just as the man, who had been distant moments ago, unexpectedly stepped forward to block her.

The girl blinked.

Lu Yichuan said, “I’ll take it to the hospital.”

The girl hesitated. “It looks serious. If it’s really sick, the treatment costs…”

“I’ll cover all the expenses,” Lu Yichuan interrupted, pulling out a pen and writing his name and contact information in the notebook. “Here are my name and phone number. You can check on it anytime if you’re worried.”

The girl took the paper and glanced at it. “You’re Senior Lu from the Philosophy Department? No wonder you seemed familiar.”

Lu Yichuan’s lips twitched. “So can I take it now?”

“You can, I trust your character, senior. But why suddenly help this stray cat? Are you going to adopt it?”

Lu Yichuan glanced at the cat’s round eyes and looked away. “It looks pitiful. I guess we’re somewhat connected.”

The girl smiled, noticing the dirt on his shoe.

Then she heard him say, “As for adopting… I’ll see.”

Lu Yichuan crouched down, looking at the dirty cat. His slender fingers gently tapped its head, voice soft, “Will you come with me?”

The cat hesitated, as if making a decision, then lay in his palm—clearly playing the victim.

—

Lu Yichuan carried a cardboard box to the parking lot. The black notebook lay at the bottom, with the dirty cat resting atop it.

The cat was well-behaved, curled up quietly in the box, occasionally opening its glassy eyes to glance at Lu Yichuan.

After saying goodbye to the two girls, the smile on Lu Yichuan’s face faded. The narrow lenses of his glasses concealed the expression in his eyes, revealing only a faint coldness behind the veil.

He placed the box on the back seat, opened the door, and slid into the driver’s seat.

The car was his own, faintly scented with jasmine—matching the subtle fragrance on his fingertips.

The cat, unusually curious, opened its eyes wide to survey the vehicle.

Because of its perspective, it didn’t see the man sitting in front of it bend down to pull out a disinfecting wipe, expressionless as he cleaned his fingers.

Only when his fingertips were rubbed raw and red did he toss the wipe into the trash bag.

Lu Yichuan rested his hands on the steering wheel, glancing through the rearview mirror at the cat on the back seat.

The cat, which had been so alert just moments ago, was now curled up soundly asleep, completely at ease in the car.