A Feline’s Charade and a Friendship’s Test

Meow~

Gong He gently stroked its small head, then opened a few cans of food and set them before it, saying, “Eat up.”

Having not seen the cat for some time, Huahua appeared to have put on a bit of weight.

An Ran had messaged him, mentioning that he came by daily to pet the cat, sometimes even treating Huahua to extra meals. It was no wonder the feline had transformed into a plump little truck.

Gong He had first discovered the pregnant Huahua when he chanced upon her during a casual stroll. She had originally been a stray kitten roaming near the school, driven to seek refuge within its grounds after being bullied by other street cats.

When Gong He found her, she was frail and appeared sickly, her scrawny frame contrasting sharply with her noticeably swollen belly.

Gong He merely offered a distant glance, yet to his surprise, Huahua dashed towards him, rubbing against his leg with her tail before flopping onto her back at his feet, playfully exposing her belly.

It was then that Gong He realized: ‘It seems I’ve been ‘scammed’ (TL Note: A colloquial term, ‘pèngcí,’ referring to feigning injury or distress to elicit sympathy or gain something, often money).’

Huahua still bore several small wounds at the time, prompting Gong He to take her to a pet hospital.

During the examination, the veterinarian needed to create a patient file, which subsequently led to the cat being named ‘Huahua.’

Perhaps it was because Gong He had saved her and provided her with ample food, but Huahua would invariably roll onto her back and wriggle in front of him whenever he appeared.

Observing her eat with such gusto, Gong He said, “Bring your kittens over. I need to take them to the hospital for their vaccinations.”

The moment she heard the word ‘hospital,’ Huahua’s ears flattened back, transforming into tell-tale ‘airplane ears.’

No kitten relished the thought of a hospital visit, and all of them harbored a deep fear of veterinarians.

The kittens, being timid around strangers and unfamiliar with both Gong He and Lu Ye, had all taken refuge in the garden.

As Huahua refused to summon her kittens, Gong He and Lu Ye found themselves without recourse. They resorted to opening several more cans of food and employing numerous cat treats before finally coaxing the tiny felines into their grasp.

Lu Ye’s hands were covered in an array of blood-red scratches from the kittens. “Old Gong,” he sighed helplessly, “can’t we call for some backup? Look at how these little rascals have ravaged my hands; they’re practically disfigured.”

The tiny kittens possessed remarkably sharp claws, and at their tender age, they hadn’t yet learned to retract their needle-like tips. Consequently, anyone approaching, be it a familiar face or a stranger, would find themselves unconsciously scratched by their extended little paws.

Gong He let out a scoff. “Stop whining,” he said. “I’ll transfer you a hundred yuan later as compensation.”

Lu Ye snorted with a laugh. “A hundred yuan? Who exactly are you looking down on? It should be at least three hundred, surely. One hundred for my labor, another hundred for my medical expenses, and that final hundred as my actual compensation. I haven’t even started calculating my emotional distress, mind you! These kittens are absolutely vicious; they truly terrified me.”

Gong He cast a frigid glance his way.

‘An Alpha who can’t even handle a few kittens still has the nerve to complain?’

A small kitten lay curled at his feet, playfully batting at his shoelaces. Gong He watched it in silence for a prolonged moment, his usually cold and unyielding heart feeling as if it had been subtly stirred.

He subconsciously tapped open his chat window with An Ran, a fleeting desire to share this particular moment with him.

Much like An Ran would, from time to time, share snippets of his own daily life.

“Gong He, what are you staring at?” Lu Ye asked, holding a tiny kitten that was attempting to climb his leg, its sharp claws discernible even through his clothing. He was about to turn and press Gong He to quickly secure the cats in their cages, when he noticed him simply grinning foolishly at his phone.

Lu Ye stared at Gong He, a look of utter alarm on his face. He rubbed his eyes, then gazed at him with an expression of disbelief. “Are you… seeing someone?”

The lingering smile had yet to fully recede from Gong He’s face. “What ‘something’?” he echoed.

“Damn it,” Lu Ye muttered, feeling goosebumps prickle his skin. He clicked his tongue. “Don’t play coy. Do you even realize how utterly goofy you look right now?”

Gong He: “What?”

Lu Ye scoffed, “You look like someone whose heart has been awakened, utterly smitten and head-over-heels in love. You really do have something going on, don’t you? When did you start dating? An Omega? A Beta? It couldn’t possibly be an Alpha, could it?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were dating?”

“Am I not your best brother anymore?”

Lu Ye felt a surge of indignation, as if the small, steady boat of his friendship with Gong He had suddenly capsized.

At Lu Ye’s words, Gong He instantly suppressed his smile, his features reverting to their usual unapproachable sternness. “You’re overthinking it,” he stated flatly.

Lu Ye, however, wasn’t about to fall for his bluster. “Then what exactly were you looking at just now?”

Gong He casually opened Douyin (TL Note: A popular short-video app in China, similar to TikTok), then waved his phone in front of Lu Ye. “Can’t I watch a short video?” he asked.

Lu Ye scoffed. “What kind of short video is *that* funny? Forward it to me; let me see.”

Moreover, with his 5.0 vision, Lu Ye could clearly discern that the content playing on the phone screen was nothing more than an advertisement. Could Gong He truly be laughing so heartily at a mere commercial?

Gong He slid his phone back into his pocket, then carefully lifted the kitten by the scruff of its neck and placed it gently into a cage.

Lu Ye, still unconvinced, peered at him. “You’re truly not dating, then?”

“No,” Gong He replied, casting an indifferent glance his way, a nonchalant smile playing on his lips. “Why would you ever imagine I’d want to be in a relationship?”

Lu Ye paused, momentarily stunned. “You’ve got a point,” he conceded.

He had known Gong He for many years, and in his memory, Gong He was a truly ruthless individual—a madman who would rather inject himself with a dozen suppressants during his rut than ever bite an Omega.

Gong He’s rut periods were far more intense than those of a typical Alpha.

Yet, the market offered no specific cure for ruts, and suppressants provided only fleeting, temporary relief—a meager comfort, but better than nothing at all.

Consequently, since Gong He turned sixteen, the Gong family had tirelessly sought highly compatible Omegas for him, hoping to alleviate the intense suffering his ruts inflicted. Regrettably, over all these years, Gong He had steadfastly refused to compromise, rejecting any notion of a romantic relationship or even a transactional arrangement with an Omega.

Even an Omega boasting a compatibility rating as high as 92% couldn’t warrant a single glance from Gong He.

To encounter an Omega with such an exceptional compatibility rating was incredibly rare; it was entirely possible that this was the highest compatibility Gong He would ever encounter.

However, Gong He was simply not a man who placed importance on pheromone compatibility.

Therefore, Gong He unequivocally rejected the notion of an arranged marriage between the two families. He harbored no desire to be ensnared by pheromones for the entirety of his life, nor could he bring himself to compromise with the relentless demands of his rut.

To this very day, he still relied solely on the meager, temporary relief offered by suppressants to contend with his rut.

Lu Ye watched Gong He playfully tease the kittens with a cat treat, then took a deep breath. “Speaking of which,” he began, “your rut is approaching.”

Gong He: “Mhm.”

Lu Ye: “Have you requested leave from school?”

Gong He: “We’ll see when the time comes.”

Lu Ye’s brow furrowed slightly. “Are you truly not going to find an Omega?”

The last time Gong He emerged from the isolation facility, his arms were a truly shocking sight, a canvas of purplish bruises and countless needle marks.

It was difficult to fathom how Gong He had managed to endure those harrowing days.

Gong He arched an eyebrow ever so slightly. “And what about you?” he countered. “Why don’t *you* find an Omega? Isn’t your rut approaching just as quickly?”

Lu Ye pursed his lips, mumbling under his breath, “My rut isn’t as severe as yours; a couple more injections wouldn’t be out of the question.”

Gong He: “There you have it.”

Lu Ye: “You’ve really become a Ninja Turtle.”

In the eyes of many, he stubbornly insisted on enduring something that could be effortlessly resolved with a single bite from an Omega.

Furthermore, these Omegas would invariably receive generous compensation in the aftermath, along with preferential treatment from the esteemed Gong family.

Likewise, many Omegas would also opt to partner with Alphas to navigate their heat periods.

Alternatively, they might choose to have another’s pheromones injected directly into their scent glands.

Yet, Gong He, with characteristic stubbornness, insisted on enduring it all by himself.

Each successive rut he experienced proved more agonizing than the last.

Gong He: “I know what I’m doing.”

Knowing his friend’s stubborn nature, Lu Ye refrained from pressing the matter further.

****

****

October’s weather had grown considerably cooler; it seemed that ever since the Mid-Autumn Festival, daily temperatures had been in a continuous decline.

The lingering warmth of summer had completely dissipated, the sunlight now a gentle caress, and soft breezes occasionally swept through.

An Ran couldn’t shake the feeling that ever since autumn’s arrival, his body had grown considerably more weary and heavy.

He no longer dared to stay up late engrossed in novels, instead diligently turning off his phone screen at precisely midnight each day, forcing himself into slumber.

However, the effort seemed to yield little effect, as he still found himself constantly battling drowsiness throughout the day.

An Ran firmly believed this wasn’t an issue with his physical health; after all, the phenomenon of “spring drowsiness and autumn fatigue” was not without its scientific basis.

For their academic credits this semester, An Ran and Fu Zao were also required to participate in volunteer activities. This coming Saturday, their task was to prepare osmanthus mung bean cakes for the elderly residents at the community center.

An Ran messaged H, eager to show off the fruits of his labor.

[AR: Look at the osmanthus mung bean cakes I made.]

[AR: image.jpg]

[AR: I’m so amazing, praise me.]

[AR: soybean_cute.jpg]

[H: Edible?]

[AR: soybean_angry.jpg]

[AR: Of course!]

[AR: This is the result of two hours of my hard work!]

[H: Truly impressive.]

[AR: I think you’re being perfunctory with me.]

[AR: Oh, no, it’s not just what I *think*, you really *are* being perfunctory with me!]

[H: Is it tasty?]

[AR: I only ate one piece; it’s a bit sweet.]

[AR: I’ll pack up the rest and take it back to my roommate.]

They had prepared an abundance of mung bean cakes, and the senior student overseeing the activity had announced that everyone could take a portion home. An Ran, for his part, intended to bring his share back for Gong He to sample.

[H: .]

Upon reading the message, Gong He fell silent for a considerable moment.

‘Why was An Ran suddenly sending him mung bean cakes?’

[AR: My roommate helped me a few times before, and I’ve never known how to repay his kindness. These are mung bean cakes I made myself, which shows a lot of sincerity.]

[AR: I’ve tried my best to make them look good.]

[AR: I hope he won’t dislike them.]

After a while, H finally messaged him back: [Why do you think he would dislike them?]

[AR: I don’t think he likes me very much, and he might even dislike me a little.]

[H: Why would you think that?]

[AR: Because I’ve done a lot of embarrassing things in front of him.]

[AR: He frowns every time he sees me.]

[AR: He always looks very impatient.]

[AR: In his mind, I must seem foolish and clumsy.]

[H: .]

[AR: ???]

[AR: You think that too?!]

[AR: infuriating.jpg]

[H: What I mean is, perhaps it’s just your misconception; he doesn’t mean it that way.]

[AR: I definitely wouldn’t be mistaken!]

[AR: He’s really fierce!]

[AR: QAQ]

[AR: You simply don’t understand!]

[H: .]

Gong He looked at An Ran’s accusations against him, once again falling into silence.

In truth, he didn’t dislike An Ran at all.

Based on their interactions over this period, he and the real-life An Ran maintained a state of mutual non-interference, while he and the online An Ran could be said to be chatting quite animatedly.

An Ran’s real-life personality was rather timid, but online, he was surprisingly lively.

He persistently messaged Gong He every day.

While claiming not to want to bother him, he would periodically share snippets of his daily life.

Gong He found it quite interesting.

One person could have such a significant contrast in personality.

He couldn’t say he *liked* An Ran, but he certainly didn’t dislike him.

When Gong He returned to his dorm, An Ran was on the balcony watering flowers. He had noticed a few days ago that several potted plants had appeared on the balcony, and they were exceptionally well-cared for.

Before he could even open his dorm room door, An Ran rushed up to him, clutching a bag, his expression somewhat flustered, a faint blush coloring his face as he cautiously looked at Gong He.

They hadn’t spoken in person for a very long time.

An Ran handed him the bag, softly saying, “These are osmanthus mung bean cakes I made myself. They’re for you.”

Gong He’s refusal was already on his lips, but meeting An Ran’s bright, expectant eyes, he found himself unable to decline.

He didn’t particularly care for such small pastries.

However, the packaging of this treat was clearly done with care; the paper bag even had a pretty bow tied around it.

Gong He could only accept it. “Thank you.”

Seeing that he hadn’t refused, a surprised smile instantly bloomed on An Ran’s face.

After Gong He finished showering, he looked at the bag of mung bean cakes on his desk. Curiously, he unwrapped the packaging and took a small bite of one.

Gong He couldn’t help but chuckle softly. No wonder An Ran had said he only ate one piece and then stopped, wanting to give the rest to him. It turned out there was simply too much sugar.