Unexpected Neighbors and a Mischievous Kitten

The setting sun cast its glow through the classroom window, illuminating the young man’s strangely captivating face. He had just finished the workbook on his desk, marking the precise moment for evening dismissal.

Lin Yi calmly packed his schoolbag, then descended the stairs like any other student. Upon seeing him leave, Qin Ruoxue and Chen Sishi swiftly followed suit.

“Lin Yi, why are you rushing so much? Wait for me!”

Qin Ruoxue’s voice echoed from behind him. With a sigh of resignation, Lin Yi halted and turned to face the two girls trailing him.

“I have something urgent to attend to at home, so I wanted to get a head start.”

He had a tiny, mewling kitten waiting at home. Lin Yi worried it might experience some stress being alone,

perhaps knocking over its water bowl or refusing to use the litter box.

“Hey! Just a moment!”

Qin Ruoxue continued to call out, prompting Lin Yi to stop once more. Exhaling slowly, he waited patiently for her to catch up.

“What’s so urgent, then? Why the hurry?”

After a brief silence, Lin Yi, still unwilling to trigger Qin Ruoxue’s ‘darkening,’ decided honesty would be the safer route.

“Yesterday, while grocery shopping, I found a stray kitten. It looked so pitiful, I just had to bring it home. Now I’m worried it might tear the house apart.”

Qin Ruoxue tilted her head, her large golden eyes brimming with confusion.

“Cats aren’t usually destructive like dogs, are they? At most, they just sharpen their claws.”

Lin Yi pondered this, realizing she had a point. Besides, he had put it in a cage, so there shouldn’t be any major issues.

“Lin Yi, you should really get some rest. You seem quite anxious lately.”

“Am I?”

Lin Yi instinctively touched his nose. He had already noticed his own increasing nervousness. Still, he saw no major problem with it; at least it kept him wary of both Chen Sishi and Qin Ruoxue, the two female leads.

“Say, Lin Yi, is the kitten you adopted a male or a female?”

The sudden question startled Lin Yi. He turned, meeting Chen Sishi’s gaze. Recalling the events of the previous day, Lin Yi vaguely remembered the tabby cat being a female.

“I think it’s a female, but I can’t quite recall.”

“Oh, a female cat. That’s good.”

The way Chen Sishi said it struck Lin Yi as decidedly odd. ‘Could she possibly be jealous of a kitten?’ ‘No way, no way. This yandere behavior is getting a little too outlandish.’

“Could I perhaps see it?”

“Are you suggesting you want to go to Lin Yi’s house? A girl, going alone to a boy’s home?”

Qin Ruoxue sharply cut off Chen Sishi’s question. Fire seemed to ignite in Chen Sishi’s eyes. The two girls were once again locked in a standoff, leaving Lin Yi, caught in the middle, at a loss for what to do.

He seemed to have grown accustomed to the bickering between these two female leads. The three walked side-by-side down the street. After crossing a traffic light, Qin Ruoxue bid them farewell. As Lin Yi exchanged goodbyes with Qin Ruoxue, his eyes inadvertently met Chen Sishi’s.

“Aren’t you going home?”

Lin Yi sensed something was amiss. Normally, Chen Sishi should have parted ways with him the moment Qin Ruoxue left.

“Home? Lin Yi’s home *is* my home, isn’t it?”

“What?!”

“Sister, don’t joke around. Please, just act normal. You’re scaring me.”

Instinctively, Lin Yi took a step back, retreating into a corner. Hearing the word ‘scared,’ Chen Sishi’s unsettling expression visibly softened.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Lin Yi, I’m sorry. I… I didn’t mean to scare you. Pl-please don’t be afraid of me…”

‘Ugh, you’re making me even more scared!’

Despite his inner grumbling, Lin Yi cautiously approached, gently stroking the girl’s silvery hair.

“Sishi, let’s just go home for now. I’m not afraid of you.”

“Mm…”

Chen Sishi nodded, her expression still one of poignant vulnerability. Lin Yi sighed resignedly and walked ahead at a leisurely pace.

Sensing that Chen Sishi’s emotions had stabilized, Lin Yi, still feeling a tremor of fear, ventured a question.

“Sishi, did you move?”

“Mm…”

Listening to Chen Sishi’s voice, Lin Yi felt that her emotions had indeed fully settled.

“I’m living right next to Lin Yi, you know…”

Lin Yi’s steps froze. A smile, uglier than a grimace, stretched across his lips.

“Y-you’re not joking, are you? You really live next to me?”

As if afraid of frightening Lin Yi again, Chen Sishi merely nodded silently. Her lips were gently bitten, her cheeks already flushed crimson, as if she were holding something back.

The two safely arrived at the residential complex. Chen Sishi exchanged a brief greeting with Lin Yi before entering one of the buildings. It wasn’t the worst-case scenario, thankfully; Lin Yi had feared she might have moved in directly across from him.

****

Pushing open his apartment door, Lin Yi’s gaze immediately fell upon the cage in the corner. Inside the pale pink cage, a drenched tabby cat crouched over the litter.

Seeing the door open, it hastily covered the mess beneath its hindquarters in fright. In front of the litter box lay an overturned pink bowl. The bowl was supposed to be attached to the cage, but somehow the kitten had managed to detach it.

Curiously, the other small bowl, containing cat food, remained perfectly upright. Some of the food inside appeared to have been eaten.

Witnessing this scene, Lin Yi felt a headache brewing. He had worried the kitten would cause trouble. Given how soaked it was, the bowl must have been overturned quite recently.

Meow~

Meow-ow~

A slightly hoarse meow rang out. While he found the sound rather pleasant, Lin Yi couldn’t help but feel a surge of irritation.

“Stop meowing, just stop. Don’t move; I’ll dry you off in a moment.”

After changing into his slippers, Lin Yi searched around the room. He remembered Lin Yiting buying a hairdryer that day. Locating the pink hairdryer atop a cabinet, Lin Yi carefully grasped the tabby by the scruff of its neck and gently pressed it onto the floor.

The cat was completely soaked. Lin Yi, unwilling to get drenched himself, decided to hold it with one hand and blow-dry it with the other.

Meow!

The kitten seemed very uncomfortable, its tiny limbs flailing erratically. Yet, with its meager strength, it couldn’t escape Lin Yi’s firm grasp.

After struggling for a while, the kitten gave up, flopping onto the floor and letting out a plaintive, pleading meow.

“Hold still, it’ll be over soon!”

The man and the cat wrestled for a good while before its fur was finally dry. Feeling refreshed, the kitten promptly leaped onto Lin Yi’s bed, found a comfortable position, and settled down to sleep.

Lin Yi could only laugh wryly at the scene. Since he was home now, he wasn’t worried about the kitten causing more trouble. After tidying up, Lin Yi reassembled the overturned bowl.

This time, he reinforced the connection between the bowl and the cage with an extra layer of tape. ‘Let’s see it overturn that bowl now,’ he thought with a hint of challenge. Once everything was done, Lin Yi took a short rest.

Estimating the time was right, he retrieved a bag of chicken from the refrigerator. Tonight, he planned to make braised chicken drumsticks with potatoes. While Lin Yi might not be skilled in stir-frying, he seemed to possess an innate talent for stewing dishes.

After peeling and dicing the potatoes, Lin Yi first brought a pot of water to a boil. Once the water was boiling, he added the chicken. There was no need to cook it through; he would simply remove it once white scum rose to the surface.