Chapter 481 - 480: If Storyline: Did the Big Shot Vie for Favor Today? 49

Chapter 481: Chapter 480: If Storyline: Did the Big Shot Vie for Favor Today? 49

Only after checking on Ping’an did Shi Lan contentedly go to whip up some breakfast for herself.

After breakfast, unable to sit still, she opened the door to the pet room and took out a cat toy she’d bought: a feathered wand with a bell.

She remembered being unable to resist its allure back when she was a cat. She didn’t believe Ping’an could, either.

Shi Lan sat on the sofa with a grin, waving the cat wand. The bell on the wand let out a crisp tinkle. Ping’an, who had been lounging in his cat bed, immediately flattened his ears. His emerald-green eyes glanced toward the door, and he tentatively padded out.

Shi Lan kept waving the wand. She was very patient in her quest for some fluffy cuddles.

After about four or five minutes, a black shadow pounced. Ping’an’s paw swiftly pinned down the wand’s colorful feathers. Seeing this, Shi Lan quickly lifted it into the air. He stood up on his hind legs, his single forepaw straining to reach it.

Since Ping’an only had three legs, Shi Lan worried about tiring him out and changed her strategy. She dragged the wand along the floor, and he immediately gave chase. Eventually, feeling the area by the sofa was too restrictive, she moved to a more open space and continued to play with her cat to her heart’s content.

She only put the toy away when Ping’an was panting, his tongue lolling out and his little belly rising and falling with each breath.

As she put the wand away, Ping’an watched intently. He could still hear the bell tinkling, but he was too tired to move; only his ears twitched, following the sound.

Once the toy was put away, Shi Lan looked at the motionless cat and boldly reached out to pet him.

Whether it was from exhaustion or because he’d sensed her goodwill, Ping’an didn’t move away. When Shi Lan gently scratched his chin, a contented purr rumbled in his throat, and his body unknowingly relaxed and stretched out.

Seeing Ping’an’s relaxed posture, Shi Lan knew her future life of fluffy cuddles was secure.

Sure enough, over the next few days, Ping’an’s initial wariness vanished, and he became quite clingy.

Whenever Shi Lan went to the kitchen to cook, he would weave around her feet, following her in and out and occasionally rubbing his fluffy body against her legs.

When she went to the bathroom, he would wait for her by the door. As soon as she came out, he’d peek inside curiously.

Shi Lan, afraid he might fall into the toilet, would quickly shut the door, and he would just as quickly retract his head.

He would also wait by her bedroom door when she went inside.

Since it hadn’t been long since Ping’an left the rescue center, Shi Lan had taken him for deworming and flea treatment just in case. For the time being, she didn’t dare let him into her bedroom.

So for now, the only two places in her apartment Ping’an hadn’t been were the bedroom and the bathroom.

As for the balcony, she had cat-proofed the windows in the last couple of days, so Ping’an had expanded his patrol route to include it.

Shi Lan planned to let him into her room after he’d had a bath in a little while. For now, she just had to make sure to play with her kitty as much as possible before heading back to her bedroom to sleep.

The only drawback, however, was that a black cat is incredibly hard to see at night.

Sometimes when she came out of her room at night for a drink of water, she would run into Ping’an. Being all black and very clingy, he would always weave around her feet. She’d even bumped into him once, though thankfully she hadn’t stepped on him.

To solve this, Shi Lan bought him a special collar with a motion-activated light. Now, whenever she left her bedroom at night, she would clap twice to locate him by the light on his collar before she felt safe enough to turn on the main lights and get some water.

Aside from this minor issue, Shi Lan thought having a cat was wonderful. She even regretted not getting one sooner, having missed out on so many opportunities for fluffy cuddles.

Then again, if she had gotten a cat sooner, it might not have been Ping’an.

She liked clingy cats, and Ping’an was perfect. Perhaps it was fate, allowing her to meet the perfect cat for her at the perfect time.

—

He Hanshi’s insomnia had started acting up again recently.

In truth, he’d always suffered from it, but ever since he’d gotten Pumpkin, he could fall asleep almost the instant his head hit the pillow.

But Pumpkin had been missing for several months now. Combined with the fact that his recent inquiries at numerous animal shelters had turned up no news, the sleep disorder that had finally vanished was now back with a vengeance.

He Hanshi was unusually agitated. He poured himself some alcohol, allowing himself to get properly drunk for the first time.

The alcohol seemed to numb his mind, allowing him to briefly forget his troubles. But the image of the adorable, lively Pumpkin still lingered before his eyes, refusing to fade.

He heaved a long sigh. Gazing at his own reflection in the window, he spoke, his gentle voice tinged with a silent plea. "Pumpkin, where are you? Please stop hiding from me. Let me bring you home, okay?"

He let out a wry chuckle. "At least visit me in a dream. Tell me where you are, whether you’re having a hard time. You’re so incredible, you can even turn into different cats. Surely you have the power to do this, right?"

"Pumpkin, could you show your former owner a little love?"

Perhaps because it was the first time he’d let himself become so lost in drink, He Hanshi revealed a sliver of vulnerability that was never seen beneath his usual powerful, imposing facade.

He set down his glass and lay on the bed, quietly waiting for the alcohol-induced drowsiness to take over. His hazy, unfocused eyes stared at the diamond chandelier on the ceiling for a long moment before he finally closed them.

...

"Ping’an, Ping’an, time to get up! Why are you sleeping in so late today, you little sleepyhead?"

Early in the morning, Shi Lan opened her bedroom door, surprised to find that Ping’an wasn’t waiting outside. Usually, the moment he heard her stirring, he’d be eagerly posted by the door, ready to happily trot behind her to the spot where she kept the cat food and wait to be fed.

Puzzled, Shi Lan went to the pet room. She immediately spotted the pure black cat lying lazily in his bed. His head was lolling half out of the bed, and his tail was wrapped around his body with just the very tip showing.

His soft, sleeping face was so cute it melted her heart. She eagerly went over, gathered him up in a hug, and started planting kiss after kiss on him, trying to awaken her darling little kitty.

Soon, the cat’s ears twitched.

Shi Lan didn’t stop kissing him, her voice unconsciously slipping into a coo. "Ping’an, time to get up and eat."

Finally, the cat’s eyes fluttered open.

He Hanshi was still wondering why there was a strange woman’s voice in his room when he opened his eyes to see a pair of red lips closing in. Before he could even think to flee, a soft kiss landed on his head in the blink of an eye.

He Hanshi’s head was buzzing. His heart skipped a beat—not from affection, but from pure rage.

His first instinct was to suspect his parents had finally taken advantage of his drunken stupor to make their move, trying to force him into marriage by sending a woman to his bed. But as he struggled free from Shi Lan’s arms and stared at her with icy eyes, he slowly began to calm down.

His parents weren’t *that* depraved.

Besides, something felt off. ’Why am I limping again? It feels like I’m missing a leg...’

He Hanshi looked down at himself and immediately understood his situation.

He had become a cat, too.

’Is this a case of dreaming what you think about during the day? Am I dreaming? Is this a message from Pumpkin?’