Chapter 12 – Dependence
Lu Heng was a little hungry, but going out at this time was really inconvenient.
He decided to check Lin Yan’s refrigerator for something to eat and quietly make it up to him later.
So he went to open the fridge.
As soon as he opened it, he found that several shelves were completely empty. There were a few bottles of beer on the side, and a couple of eggs on the top shelf.
There was basically nothing to eat.
Lu Heng had no choice but to rummage through the kitchen. There was only half a pack of dried noodles left, and they were already expired, so he tossed them into the trash.
He looked up and checked the cabinet again, finally finding the last cup of instant noodles. With no better option, he made the instant noodles and even added two eggs.
After eating, Lu Heng finally felt a bit revived. He drank all the soup too — otherwise his stomach still felt painfully empty.
After cleaning up, he sat down on the bed, the bath towel still fastened around his waist.
He looked around the bedroom.
Lin Yan’s rented apartment had one bedroom, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom.
It was just right for one person.
And more than enough for one person plus a cat.
The only issue was the low ceiling. Lu Heng was quite tall, but when he was a cat, he never noticed any difference.
Now that he was human again, the space suddenly felt a bit cramped.
Still, Lu Heng liked this place very much.
It felt like a young sapling finally finding the right nutrient solution — comfortable no matter how he stayed here.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed part of the wardrobe door wasn’t closed properly.
Was it not shut?
Lu Heng walked over and tried pushing it in, but it wouldn’t budge. So he pulled the door open — and in the next second, the clothes came crashing down.
A whole pile of clothes collapsed under gravity, nearly dragging the bath towel off his waist. Fortunately, it barely held on.
“Honestly, this Lin Yan…”
Lu Heng crouched down and folded the clothes one by one, placing them back into the wardrobe.
When he looked up, he saw that the wardrobe clearly had a hanging rod and hangers. How Lin Yan had managed to cram the clothes in like that was a mystery.
No wonder everything came tumbling out at once.
A few pieces were still hanging.
Lu Heng glanced at them — these were probably the clothes Lin Yan wore most often.
He followed those styles and tried to hang similar clothes from the pile.
After searching for a while, he realized they were all more or less the same style.
Lin Yan really was… well, a modern-day programmer.
Lu Heng neatly hung the clothes on the rod and carefully folded the rest. This time, the wardrobe finally closed properly.
After making sure it was shut, Lu Heng lay down on the bed.
Strangely, he didn’t feel uncomfortable lying on it at all.
He suddenly thought that staying here as a cat had been good too — at least he had a sense of belonging.
Lu Heng got up and folded the blanket neatly.
Then he went to the computer, logged into his account, and checked if there was anything he needed to deal with today.
He was used to it. People in high positions could never truly relax.
He thought about leaving a spare laptop at Lin Yan’s place in the future — it would make things much more convenient.
And at that moment, Lu Heng suddenly realized…
It seemed he wanted to live here long-term.
Lu Heng shook his head.
Maybe it was everything that happened this morning, plus Lin Yan’s concern for him.
Somehow, he had already started treating this place as home.
Perhaps it was also because of a cat’s instinct to recognize its owner.
Or maybe it was both.
Lu Heng didn’t think about it any further. He focused on browsing information online and immersed himself in work again.
His body still felt a little uncomfortable, though much better than in the morning — earlier he had nearly collapsed. After resting for a while, it didn’t affect his ability to work, and in truth there wasn’t much he needed to handle today anyway.
Lu Heng checked his messages. Secretary He hadn’t contacted him, so out of habit he shut down the computer and went back to lie on the bed.
Before long, he fell asleep.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already dark, and Lu Heng had turned from a full-grown man into a small cat, curled up on the bath towel.
This transformation, once again, came without any warning. Lu Heng would have to record the details of these past transformations and try to work out the pattern.
He was woken by the sound of the door opening.
“Meiqiu, baby.”
Lin Yan’s voice was exceptionally gentle.
Hearing those words, Lu Heng didn’t know why, but his heart melted along with them. He jumped down from the bed.
He had only one thought — he wanted to see the person who had just called out to him, immediately.
He leapt down, trotted a few steps, and obediently stopped at the entryway.
The door had just closed when Lin Yan turned on the light.
In an instant, the room was brightly lit.
A small figure stood right in front of Lin Yan.
“Aww, baby, were you waiting for me?”
Lin Yan immediately set down his bag, walked over, squatted, and picked up Meiqiu.
He didn’t notice at all that the few steps he took from the entryway were unusually smooth, without any obstacles.
Normally, Lin Yan had to kick things out of the way here — either shoes or the litter box.
Lu Heng didn’t claim any credit for it. He only cared about what this person had just called him.
Baby?
Isn’t my name Meiqiu?
The next second, Lin Yan kissed the top of Meiqiu’s little head.
“I’m so glad you’re okay, Meiqiu baby.”
What?
He… kissed me again.
Lu Heng froze once more, his heart rate unconsciously speeding up. Still, he told himself it was probably just a side effect of the medicine, or maybe he had just woken up — that must be why his heart was beating so fast.
“I’m going to check whether my little Meiqiu has been eating properly.”
Lin Yan walked to the door of his bedroom and glanced at the cat’s food bowl and the water bowl beside it. He lowered his head and examined them carefully, then realized the water hadn’t been touched.
He probably hadn’t eaten.
And he hadn’t drunk any water either.
He gently scolded Meiqiu, “Meiqiu, that’s not good. You need to eat properly so your body can recover faster.”
As he spoke, Lin Yan held Meiqiu in one hand and picked up the water cup from the table with the other. The cup was already at his lips before he realized there was no water in it.
That was strange. He had poured himself a cup before going to work, then left without drinking it. How could it be empty when he got back?
He glanced at Meiqiu.
Meiqiu guiltily looked away.
Lin Yan studied Meiqiu’s head. The cup opening wasn’t that big, and Meiqiu’s head definitely couldn’t fit inside — so how did the water disappear?
Could it have been him who drank it?
Forget it. Lin Yan couldn’t remember. He poured himself another cup and drank it.
Then he went back to his bedroom.
The bedroom was strange too.
Why were there water stains on the floor?
Lin Yan looked at them carefully. They formed a trail — kind of like adult footprints, with small cat paw prints beside them.
Did he do this himself?
Following the water marks, Lin Yan looked toward the bed and saw a bath towel spread messily across it.
He reached out and touched it.
It was still warm.
“Meiqiu, do you like sleeping on the bath towel?”
Meiqiu looked at Lin Yan and nodded.
Huh.
Did he understand me?
Lin Yan decided to give this towel to Meiqiu.
However, there still seemed to be a lingering smell in the apartment. Lin Yan sniffed and followed the scent into the kitchen.
Why did it smell like instant noodles?
He looked around — there wasn’t even an empty cup.
Meiqiu rubbed his head against Lin Yan’s chest and let out a soft sound.
“Meow.”
Lin Yan patted his head. Being distracted by this little cutie, Lin Yan completely forgot what he was about to do.
Meanwhile, the crushed instant noodle cup lay in the trash can — Lu Heng had squeezed it flat. The smell was just too strong, and with all the windows tightly closed, the little airflow coming through the screen simply wasn’t enough to clear it.
Lin Yan turned around and noticed, “Huh? Why is the computer turned off?”
But that was normal. While chatting at the office today, Chen Xin had mentioned that anyone with a cat at home should remember to turn off their computer or back up their files — otherwise they’d definitely regret it.
Fortunately, he hadn’t worked on anything important today. Otherwise, if it had been shut down by accident, it would have been a real problem.
“You little troublemaker.”
Lu Heng: I’m a troublemaker? Do you want to take a look at why your apartment is so clean? Why do you only notice the mess and not the tidiness?
Lin Yan really is broad-minded.
Meiqiu still isn’t reassured.
Although Lin Yan is careless, he eventually realized something.
He sent a message in the group chat.
Lin Yan Yan Yan Yan~: [Do your cats fold your clothes for you?]