Chapter 8 – Stepping on the Code
Meiqiu stepped back and forth across the keyboard again. The crisp clacking of the keys completely shattered Lin Yan’s composure.
If this got messed up, all the work Lin Yan had done over the past few days would be for nothing.
Lin Yan rushed over to check.
Meiqiu hopped down from the desk and waited for Lin Yan to come inspect his “achievements.”
Lin Yan hurried over. The broom in his hand slipped from his grip and fell to the floor with a sharp clatter.
The screen showed the program still running. Lin Yan grabbed his hair in despair.
“Ahhh— it’s over.”
He reached out, about to stop it immediately.
Who would’ve thought Meiqiu would jump back onto the desk and press down on his hand.
“Meiqiu, stop messing around. This is how I make my living.”
Meiqiu: I know you’re anxious, but calm down first.
Meiqiu: This is also how I make my living.
Lin Yan lifted his hand, only for Meiqiu to press it down again.
Hey.
After a moment, Meiqiu turned to look at the screen. Apparently satisfied with the result, he withdrew his paw and crouched beside the mouse.
Lin Yan was puzzled. He turned to look—the program was actually running normally.
Well, that’s incredible.
Lin Yan turned to lock eyes with Meiqiu. Meiqiu held his head high, his face full of expectation, clearly waiting for praise.
“Meiqiu, you’re amazing.” Lin Yan lowered his head with a smile and reached out to pat Meiqiu’s head. This little guy was really something.
“Meow~”
Meiqiu: That’s worth at least two cans.
After meowing, Meiqiu jumped down from the desk and ran to the bedroom door, where his food bowl was. He placed his front paws gently on the rim of the ceramic bowl.
Lin Yan followed him with his gaze. Seeing Meiqiu’s paws on the bowl, Lin Yan couldn’t help but laugh. He immediately took out his phone and recorded the moment.
Then he stood up, grabbed a can of cat food, and poured it into Meiqiu’s bowl.
Meiqiu obediently lay down and started licking the bowl.
No idea what kind of magic this canned food had—Lu Heng was like he’d been possessed, furiously licking up the minced meat.
Slurp, slurp, accompanied by deep purr, purr sounds.
Lin Yan could tell Meiqiu really liked this food.
“Meiqiu, eat slowly.”
Click.
Lin Yan took another photo.
Life really felt different with a fluffy little creature around.
Lin Yan, a rough and careless guy, usually kept his room in complete chaos.
His home was messy but in a very “organized” way—he could always find what he needed. It wasn’t so messy that you couldn’t even walk; he just got used to it and couldn’t be bothered to clean.
Living alone—anything goes.
But with one hyper little kitten constantly jumping around, Lin Yan began to realize that he needed to clean the house more often.
For Lin Yan, however, “cleaning more often” simply meant keeping the desktop tidy and not leaving things lying around.
Especially instant noodle cups and takeout boxes—those had to be thrown away promptly.
Otherwise, it would end up like this.
Lin Yan had to mop the floor several times before it was finally clean and odor-free.
After finishing the floor, Lin Yan sat back down in his computer chair.
He looked at the scene with satisfaction.
Then, like every devoted cat owner, he sent out the photos he had just taken.
Right before sending them, he thought for a moment and decided not to post on his Moments.
Instead, he sent them directly to the Overworked Cow-Horse Group.
If you’re going to show off, you might as well do it in the right place.
Lin Yan Yan Yan Yan~: [Image]
The photo turned out great—neat code running without errors, and beside it, a little cat holding its head high, clearly asking for praise.
cx Little Angel: [Meiqiu is so well-behaved~]
Wang Hao Is a Handsome Guy: [That’s so nice. You’re working overtime and still have a kitten keeping you company. My cat ignores me completely. [sad.jpg]]
Lin Yan Yan Yan Yan~: [You probably won’t believe this, but this code was fixed by Meiqiu stepping on it.]
cx Little Angel: [!!!]
Wang Hao Is a Handsome Guy: [!!!]
yy Genius Representative: [What kind of statement is that?! What kind of nonsense is that??!]
Lin Yan Yan Yan Yan~: [I couldn’t fix it no matter what just now. It kept going wrong. Meiqiu came up and stepped on it twice, and it worked.]
cx Little Angel: [What kind of divine kitten is Meiqiu?]
cx Little Angel: [Image]
cx Little Angel: [The three at my place are probably just kidney-deficient.]
Lin Yan opened the photo Chen Xin sent.
In the picture, three kittens were snuggled together, heads pressed against each other, sprawled on the floor. Their chubby little legs were sticking up, and their eyes were half-open.
Lin Yan Yan Yan Yan~: [Hahahaha, so cute.]
Lin Yan looked at the three kittens in the picture, then glanced at Meiqiu at home.
Would Meiqiu get lonely being an only cat?
Meiqiu: Why is this human staring at me again? Is he admiring me too much?
Wang Hao Is a Handsome Guy: [[Image]]
Wang Hao Is a Handsome Guy: [Then is the one at my place a demon king?]
In the picture Wang Hao sent, there wasn’t a cat in sight—only shredded cardboard scattered across the floor and bits of cotton fluff floating around.
cx Little Angel: [Hahahahahahahahaha.]
yy Genius Representative: [I’m fighting all of you cat owners.]
The group name was immediately changed to: Everyone Has a Cat Except yy
yy Genius Representative: [Fine. Wang Hao, you’re impressive. Truly insulting me.]
The next second, the group name was changed again: [One Handsome Guy, Three Cat Servants]
Wang Hao changed it back.
After a whole round of chaos and several renamings, the group finally returned to [Overworked Cow-Horse] Group.
Apparently, everyone agreed that “cow-horse” was an acceptable label.
Lin Yan thought that although Meiqiu might get bored being alone at home, he would not raise another cat—
because in his heart, there was only room for one kitten.
And that kitten was Meiqiu.
After scrolling on his phone for a while, the group finally quieted down.
Lin Yan noticed Meiqiu was still sitting by the bowl. Was Meiqiu really that hungry?
Well, better not let Meiqiu go hungry. Lin Yan poured in another can.
Meiqiu immediately went back to furiously licking the bowl.
Lin Yan’s work progressed smoothly. He sent the files to the [Cow-Horse] Group and asked the others to finish their respective parts and send everything back to him for compilation.
After the files were successfully sent, Lin Yan opened his phone gallery and realized that aside from work documents, it was now filled entirely with photos of Meiqiu.
He had never been someone who liked recording daily life.
Because his life had always been nothing but work.
At least, it used to be.
Now, his life also had Meiqiu.
Lin Yan shut down his computer, filled Meiqiu’s water bowl, and went back to bed.
He didn’t close the bedroom door, leaving it wide open.
Last night Meiqiu had slept near the foot of his bed. He figured Meiqiu might sneak onto the bed again tonight, so he left the door open.
Lin Yan lay down.
12:30 a.m. — the earliest he had gone to bed in a long time.
He had Meiqiu to thank for that.
At the edge of sleep, Lin Yan felt drowsy and hazy. He sensed the blanket at his feet sink slightly, and something warm curled up there to sleep.
Meiqiu had snuck in again.
Meiqiu: I have to sleep on the bed too.
Lin Yan had a strange dream.
He dreamed of Lu Heng—more precisely, he dreamed that Lu Heng was sleeping at the foot of his bed.
At first, he didn’t recognize who it was, because the pressure on his feet made him think it was Meiqiu.
In the next moment, Dream-Lin Yan woke up and leaned closer to take a look.
It was a man over 1.8 meters tall— a full-grown adult curled up at the foot of his bed.
Yet Lin Yan felt only a light weight pressing against his ankles.
He leaned closer.
That big face came clearly into view.
It looked exactly like his CEO.
And the next second, the CEO opened his eyes.
They locked eyes.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Meiqiu.”
Lin Yan was so startled that he kept retreating, then rolled himself up in the blanket.
He woke up with a jolt.
Why would he have such a dream?
Lin Yan was wide awake and couldn’t fall back asleep.
He checked the time on his phone.
7:00 a.m.
Still half-dazed, he blinked.
Had he really dreamed about President Lu just now?
He looked toward the foot of the bed.
Meiqiu was sleeping soundly.
Such a cute little kitten—how could it possibly be the stern, unsmiling President Lu?
Lin Yan shook his head.
Meiqiu was just his little cat.
Author’s Note:
Thank you to the little angels for the nourishment! Love you all 💖