In a trance, he recalled the image of Sui Sui waiting for him at the door.
Coming back to his senses, Shang Xuci narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on the boy. Was this natural intimacy intentional or unintentional? He had dared to act coquettishly with his employer after only a few days.
The next moment, he gently pushed the boy away.
The boy raised his eyes and bit his lip, the lower one turning an unusually deep red as he looked at him with a look of grievance. Then, a thought struck him, and he immediately distanced himself, laughing loudly to mask his embarrassment.
“It’s still a little cold outside,” Jian Xun rubbed his head, waving his hand as he continued. “By the way, are you hungry? I made you dinner. Do you want to eat?”
“You cooked?”
Jian Xun nodded. “Uncle Zhao had something to do at home, and he asked the housekeeper for leave, so I cooked.”
“No need. I’ve already eaten.” Shang Xuci changed his shoes and entered the house. Without even glancing at the food on the table, he pressed the elevator button and went upstairs.
Jian Xun sniffed and stood there blankly, staring at the dining table.
“Xiao Xun?” The housekeeper brought tea to Shang Xuci. Coming downstairs, he saw Jian Xun standing at the table with his head drooping. He immediately understood and said gently, “Thank you for cooking. Eat this.”
Jian Xun sat alone at the table, muttering that he should at least have been told if Shang Xuci was eating out.
He had specially prepared the meal for him, but he had ended up eating it all by himself.
After dinner, Jian Xun was washing dishes in the kitchen when he ran into Shang Xuci coming downstairs. An idea struck him. He washed his hands, ran over to the man, pulled out his phone, and asked with a smile, “Boss, can I add you on WeChat?”
Shang Xuci glanced at him.
Jian Xun immediately straightened his back and said in a resounding voice, “At your service, boss!”
“My phone.”
Jian Xun quickly offered it.
Shang Xuci held up his small, peach-pink phone, his dark eyes narrowing as he flipped it over and examined it.
He entered his own number and asked calmly, “Where did you buy this phone?”
“I didn’t buy it!” Jian Xun said. “Did someone give it to me?”
“Someone?”
Are you sure it wasn’t the cat? This phone was exactly the same as the one he had given Sui Sui. Not to mention that it was a custom-made model for card-playing phones, rarely seen on the market. There was also a scratch on the back, no bigger than a centimeter, in the exact same location, shape, and size—it was where he had accidentally scratched it before.
Jian Xun stared at him guiltily, then looked away, slowly saying, “I’m very close to him. It was a gift from a very good friend.”
Shang Xuci said nothing more and handed the phone back to him. Just as he stood up and prepared to go back upstairs, Jian Xun pouted slightly and demanded unhappily, “How could you give me a fake number?!”
Ever since Jian Xun had been a cat, he had known every man’s phone number by heart. Asking for his WeChat ID was just a legitimate excuse to contact him, but he had actually given a fake one.
“Fake?” Shang Xuci turned to look at him. “Who told you it was fake?”
Jian Xun said without hesitation, “But your phone number is clearly 13xxxxxxxxx, right?”
“You know my phone number?” Shang Xuci raised an eyebrow.
Jian Xun’s heart skipped a beat. He looked down and stammered, “I… I heard it from the housekeeper.”
Shang Xuci gave him a deep look and said nonchalantly, “Really?”
“Both numbers are mine.”
“Huh?” Jian Xun blinked and nodded softly. “Oh.”
His fair face flushed crimson.
At ten o’clock that evening, Jian Xun slid into the staff’s small bed and checked the various data on the dashboard. His intimacy points hadn’t increased much, and Shang Xuci’s interactions with his avatar didn’t count toward his intimacy score.
Jian Xun sniffed at the single-digit number, then pulled the covers over his head.
Let’s think of another solution.
The next day, the weather suddenly changed. The cold wind blew again, and the sky was eerily gloomy.
Jian Xun huddled in his bed, shivering like a cat. He should have gone to bed earlier last night.
He sneezed, rubbed his nose, and answered the housekeeper’s call.
It seemed the aunt and the others had all caught a cold, so they had asked him to do the chores for the next two days.
Jian Xun readily agreed, taking out a sticky note to write down his work plan for the day.
The villa was so large that it was impossible for him to clean every room by himself. He selected a few of the most important areas and showed them to the housekeeper, who suggested he clean the cat room as well. Sui Sui had been shedding a lot lately, so a daily clean was necessary.
“No problem!”
He first went to the place he hated the most—the large bathroom.
Perhaps it was because he was a cat, but even as a human, he still didn’t like touching water, especially in large amounts.
This was Jian Xun’s first time in Shang Xuci’s bathroom. The bathroom was spacious, with marble walls and a large glass floor. In the center sat a large, round, white bathtub, its surface as smooth as a mirror. Next to the tub was a waterfall shower, and next to it was a separate sauna. Adjacent was the dressing room.
Jian Xun: !!
The handkerchief I’m holding feels a little small.
Whatever, get to work!
Jian Xun rolled up his sleeves and began cleaning.
He cleaned every inch of the room, even polishing the large white bathtub until it gleamed brightly.
By the time he was done, most of the morning had already passed. Jian Xun had a quick meal and set an alarm for 4 p.m. to cook.
Then, bucket in his left hand and mop in his right, he went to the cat house.
A quick glance revealed the house to be relatively tidy, though the toys on the floor were a bit messy. Relying on memory, Jian Xun spent half an hour putting the toys back in their proper places.
Then came the hardest part—cleaning up the cat hair hidden in every nook and cranny. This took a lot of time, and for some hard-to-reach areas, he had to squat on the floor to pick up the fur.
This most primitive method took Jian Xun a lot of time. He didn’t even know that there were several shaving “artifacts” in the cat cleaning toolbox.
Toy room, sleeping room, styling room, hallway… so many doors that Jian Xun almost felt dizzy.
The wall clock ticked away, and after the hour hand made a sharp turn, Jian Xun stood up, stretched his arms, and held his breath, sprawled out on the floor like a cat.
“Finally finished cleaning!”
After resting for a few minutes, his phone alarm rang. Jian Xun turned over, unlocked his phone with his cat paw pad, and began texting Shang Xuci.
[Are you coming back for dinner today?]
He stared at the screen for a few seconds, but nothing happened.
Jian Xun continued to spread out the food.
The phone vibrated, and he quickly turned over to grab it.
[Eat.]
Although it was just one word, Jian Xun happily spun in circles, continuing to edit and send.
[What time will you be home?]
Jian Xun held his phone, waiting for a reply. Seeing that the other party was slow to respond, he simply grabbed his things and went downstairs to start preparing the ingredients.
He also went to the small pond and caught a fish.
After he finished processing the fish, he realized the boss had sent a message.
[Seven o’clock in the evening.]
Jian Xun saw that it was only five o’clock and breathed a sigh of relief. There was no need to rush.
At six forty, Jian Xun brought out the last dish and leaned over the table, wagging his tail as he inhaled the aroma.
For the last ten minutes, he sat on a small stool by the door, eagerly waiting.
At the slightest movement outside, the boy’s invisible ears twitched back and forth as if erect. He suddenly stood up, waiting for someone to open the door.
“You’re back.”
This time, he didn’t rush into his arms. Instead, he stared at his from a distance, his eyes warm and sincere, tinged with joy.
Shang Xuci changed into his indoor shoes and went to the bathroom to wash his hands. When he reached the table, Jian Xun stared at him with a smile.
“They’re all freshly made.”
He placed a bowl of white rice in front of Shang Xuci.
Shang Xuci was a bit surprised to see the familiar “three dishes and one soup.” As he sat down to taste it, his emotions became incredibly complicated.
Not only were the dishes the same, but the taste was identical…
Suddenly, something flashed through his mind. He tried to grasp it, but it left no trace.
Jian Xun was nervous; his cooking skills were probably comparable to Sui Sui’s.
Shang Xuci finished his meal expressionlessly, leaving a little food behind.
Jian Xun happily picked up the bowls.
Shang Xuci saw him like a happy puppy, bustling around the kitchen with energy. He unnoticed went upstairs to check on the cat.
The cat’s room was empty.
Shang Xuci went downstairs and asked the housekeeper, “Sui Sui isn’t here?”
Jian Xun, who was mopping the kitchen floor: ! !
He quickly appeared using a double.
Shang Xuci picked up the cat, which lay dazed at his feet, and gave Jian Xun a deep look.
Some time passed.
It was ten o’clock in the evening.
Just as Jian Xun was lying on his bed, about to close his eyes, his phone rang. He took it out and saw it was Xu Tutu.
“Jian Xun, I have good news!” Xu Tutu said excitedly. “I bought a house! It’s in City A!”
Jian Xun thought he was still half asleep and pulled at his face.
It hurt.
It wasn’t a dream.
Xu Tutu continued, “This isn’t a dream. I won 800,000 yuan in the lottery, and my job was transferred to City A. Now I have a house!”
“It has two bedrooms and a living room, and it’s move-in ready,” Xu Tutu raised his voice. “We’ll have a home from now on. When are you moving back?”
Jian Xun thought for a moment. He was about to say that he was living well here, but he was moved by what he said about home. Brother Tutu had even reserved a room for him when he bought the house, so he didn’t want to refuse.
“I’ll move back this weekend.”
He lived in the staff dormitory during the week and went back to Xu Tutu’s place on weekends. Jian Xun looked forward to the weekends every day.
He had also cooked for Shang Xuci for a week straight.
On Friday, Jian Xun made his bed, folded his quilt neatly, packed some clothes into a suitcase, and waited to return home after cooking dinner for his boss.
Shang Xuci glanced at the table, taking in the three dishes and one soup—steamed fish, spicy braised fish, garlic fish fillets, and fish head, tofu, and clear vegetable soup.
All fish?
Having eaten fish for a week straight, Shang Xuci glanced at Jian Xun, who was full of anticipation, cleared his throat, and said calmly, “I’m not hungry now.”
Jian Xun: “???”
He watched the man go upstairs, his face bewildered.
The housekeeper had approached him at some point and said, “You’ve been eating fish for a week. You must be tired of it. I remember that the master doesn’t like fish very much.”
Jian Xun’s eyes widened. How could this be? When he used to cook fish for the master, he loved it and always ate it all.
Now he doesn’t even want to taste a bite?
Jian Xun felt a little disappointed. He cleared the dishes away, packed them up, and prepared to take them home.
He made the man another serving of egg and ham fried rice.
This was Jian Xun’s first time entering the study. After being caught entering a bedroom without permission, he never dared to barge into the master’s rooms again, including the study.
He knocked on the door and entered.
Jian Xun was once again astounded by the enormous study. This wasn’t a study—it was a library!
“Wow, it’s so huge!” Jian Xun exclaimed, eyes wide.
There were even several round tables made of expensive wood.
Shang Xuci, seeing his inexperienced expression, couldn’t help but curl his lips and whisper, “Watch your step.”
Jian Xun, carrying a plate, immediately looked down. There was a small step in front.
“I made fried rice again.”
Jian Xun gently placed it on the table and brought the brewed coffee to his desk.
Shang Xuci took a sip. The rich aroma was lighter than the usual bitterness, just the way he liked it.
He looked up at Jian Xun, who immediately smiled and said, “I added a little sugar and milk.”
Seeing that he liked it, Jian Xun immediately went back to get the fried rice. As he turned back, he was drawn to the rows of illustrated covers of cats on the bookshelf. He couldn’t help but glance at them a few more times. Not looking down, he nearly fell, hitting his head on the corner of the table.
“Ah—hiss!”
Jian Xun gasped in pain and crouched on the ground, clutching his head.
His expression and movements were identical to Sui Sui’s.
Shang Xuci was stunned for a second, then pulled him up.
He cupped the boy’s face. His skin was as soft as tofu, white and smooth. His eyes were tearful from the pain, and his beautiful eyes—now filled with the adorable look of a fawn—were brimming with tenderness.
“Come with me.”