Chapter 16

Jiang Ye walked for a while until he reached the stairwell at the end of the corridor, where he suddenly heard a burst of laughter and chatter:

“The young miss is amazing! Can big sister give you a kiss?”

“Do you want to play ball with big brother?”

“Young miss, I want one too!”

Following the voices, Jiang Ye pushed open the stairwell door and saw a crowd gathered around a lively white little lioncat in the middle.

The little white cat was batting a small ball with a yarn tail using its paws. Every casual tap on the ball earned a round of cheers. The men and women surrounding the cat all wore radiant smiles, their eyes sparkling as they watched the little feline.

Jiang Ye: ?

“Young miss?” Jiang Ye instinctively called out.

The little cat’s ears twitched as it turned its head.

“Meow?”

Jiang Ye: “...”

He felt numb.

Oh, so this is the so-called young miss.

Jiang Ye inwardly chastised himself for being so entangled and gossipy—it made him feel like a fool.

The little cat brightened its eyes upon seeing Jiang Ye and immediately dropped the ball to run over to him.

“Meow meow meow!”

Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you everywhere.

The little cat pawed gently at his calf.

It had overheard the assistant saying he was preparing for something but didn’t know what humans were preparing for. The assistant seemed to be holding back laughter with great effort.

Looking up at him, the little cat meowed plaintively:

“Meow-woah?”

How’s my little car? Are you driving it well?

This little cat was very particular about after-sales service.

Jiang Ye was actually quite surprised to see the little white cat here; he never expected that the cat would remember him after that one chance encounter and even bring him resources. What kind of miraculous feline was this?

The little cat tapped him lightly with a paw.

“Meow-woah.”

Work hard, I’m using Li Jingxing’s money to support you.

If Li Jingxing ever abandoned her, she planned to run over and seek refuge with Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye didn’t understand what the cat’s meows meant, as if they were negotiating some kind of agreement.

From then on, the crew’s meals visibly improved in quality, even including afternoon tea and snacks.

The little white cat would occasionally come running over to watch intently, seeming to understand everything, especially paying extra attention to Jiang Ye.

When it was time to wrap up the day, the little cat trotted to Jiang Ye’s side and meowed a few times.

Jiang Ye smiled, crouching down to pet the cat’s head. “What’s up, little darling?”

Just then, the little cat’s assistants pushed over several luggage carts and professionally addressed him:

“Mr. Jiang, these are gifts from our young miss to you.”

Jiang Ye: “Gifts... for me?” He pointed at himself in disbelief.

The assistants nodded seriously. “Yes, for you.”

Jiang Ye looked at the four large carts.

“But these are clearly all cat supplies!”

The assistant sighed appreciatively. “Yes, these are the young miss’s favorite things. She wants to give them to you. Please accept them.”

Jiang Ye stared at the assortment before him—cat beds, scratching posts, climbing frames, balls, laser pointers, toy cars, cat food, canned food, freeze-dried treats—it was a dazzling array. He even suspected the cat wanted to set up home at his place.

The little cat flicked the tip of its tail.

Since he was her designated human, she wanted to stash some belongings at his home in case she was ever abandoned and had to find a new human.

Jiang Ye looked at the little white cat, whose round eyes were full of trust as it gazed up at him. When she saw him looking, she even gave a loud meow.

At that moment, it felt as if he had crossed species to earn the cat’s trust.

Jiang Ye: ...Does this little cat really like him that much?

That day, the little cat had practically run around him all day. Perhaps after visiting other crews in the film city and comparing their boxed lunches, the crew’s meals improved afterward. The cat’s assistants said the little white cat wanted him to eat better.

During filming, the little cat always watched the director seriously, and when he finished, would loudly praise him, giving him a full dose of emotional support—more than his own parents had ever done for his career.

Jiang Ye clutched his chest, feeling touched by a cat.

How could there be such an adorable and wealthy little cat in this world?

He crouched down and hugged the cat tightly, rubbing her little head happily:

“Baby, you really are the best little cat in the world.”

Originally wanting to struggle, the little lioncat froze upon hearing this, proudly lifting her chin.

Of course she was.

After the little cat left with her assistants, Jiang Ye reluctantly withdrew his gaze and took out his phone to find the photos he’d taken of the cat that day. He edited a Weibo post:

“At the most helpless age, I met a cat I want to care for my whole life.”

Below were nine photos of the cat, busy and lively, some looking directly at the camera, the whole feline seeming especially spirited.

Comment section:

“? Wait, whose cat have you taken a fancy to?”

“No, come to your senses! You’re still young; how can you like a cat that already belongs to someone else?”

“Nonsense, the rich cat obviously loves big brother too. Every photo shows her looking at him.”

“So cute! Supporting big brother—go for it!”

“Go for it, go for it!”

Soon, #JiangYeBecomesTheOtherManForLove trended.

Netizens: “???”

Has Jiang Ye gone crazy?

Clicking in, they found Jiang Ye had taken a liking to Li Jingxing’s cat.

Especially in his recent posts, Jiang Ye had been posting about this little white cat; it seemed he really liked her.

Some onlookers stirred the pot by tagging Li Jingxing in his comment section:

“Mr. Li, be careful. Jiang Ye lives in your neighborhood and might try to steal your cat.”

Li Jingxing: “?”

Is he crazy?

That evening, after a long day, the little cat returned to the villa, only to be met with Li Jingxing’s cold snort:

“You’ve been out so long, it seems you’ve forgotten your identity.”

The little cat: ? Her identity?

Tilting her head thoughtfully, realization dawned.

Oh, the housekeeper cat, right—

The little cat promptly scampered inside to start cleaning.

Li Jingxing: ...

He watched with mixed feelings, unsure whether to be relieved or angry.

He had planned to celebrate his birthday with the cat at home, even building a small playground for her. But it seemed she didn’t need it—not only that, but the mischievous cat had even enticed a popular rising star to publicly profess his feelings online.

“You’ve spent the whole day with other men outside. Have you forgotten whose cat you are? Even if I have no feelings for you, at least show some professionalism. Don’t think I don’t know about your affairs.”

The little cat gave him a sidelong glance.

Seeing this, Li Jingxing sneered, raising his voice:

“Want to know how I found out? The money you used to support him all came from my card!”

All day, he had done nothing but track the cat’s expenses.

At night, he saw the topic about Jiang Ye becoming the other man for love. Who understood how he, the person involved, felt?

Hearing this, the little cat shrank her paws nervously, keeping her head down and cleaning even more diligently.

Yes, that’s right—she wanted to secretly keep a human.

But which cat hasn’t made a little mistake like that?

Thinking so, she grew more confident, raising her face to meow at Li Jingxing.

He grabbed the little white cat, who was mopping the floor, and held her still. The cat’s ears flattened back. He tapped her head sternly:

“You’re just my substitute cat. Don’t try to play these teasing games to get my attention.”

The little cat: “Meow.”

You’re being annoying.

She coolly pushed him away with a paw.

Li Jingxing brushed off the dust she left on him, about to say more, but suddenly remembered something and asked suspiciously:

“Little White, how did you get yourself so clean yesterday? Did you take a bath?”

He even sniffed, finding a faint scent—still the smell of a little cat.

The little cat pressed her paw to his face, watching him vigilantly.

“Meow-woah.”

Warning you, don’t even think about it.

She was absolutely not going to bathe.

With a paw, she pushed at his chest, jumped down from his arms, then stood looking up at him, meowing:

“Meow-woah! We cats don’t need baths.”

She scampered away.

Li Jingxing laughed with exasperation.

“Don’t think you can run away from this. When you come back, you better explain your business outside honestly, or you’re grounded. I don’t believe that man will come to save you!”

At that moment, Assistant Wang messaged him that the online rumors had been fully suppressed—those that needed suing were sued, posts deleted, and there was no more noise online.

Li Jingxing was satisfied with Wang’s efficiency. Before he could say anything, Wang called again to ask:

“Mr. Li, the first investment in Jiang Ye’s crew has arrived. When should we release the second?”

Li Jingxing thought of his cat nearly being stolen and coldly replied:

“Withdraw all investments... Actually, forget it. Since Little White likes that actor so much, we’ll only keep the first investment and cancel the second. Cut off all future contact.”

Wang: Who? Cut off what contact?

He couldn’t follow Li Jingxing’s train of thought.

Having been busy all day, Wang hadn’t had time to follow online gossip and was unaware of the latest developments.

“...Understood, Mr. Li.” He planned to catch up on the substitute cat’s assistants’ reports.

Li Jingxing, thinking about the online rumors of cat theft, realized it wasn’t just Jiang Ye who wanted to steal the cat. Other lawless miscreants were already preparing pink sacks, saying they were coming to his place.

Though Little White was just a substitute cat, he couldn’t just let her be stolen.

He added to Wang:

“Buy a micro tracking chip and put it on Little White’s collar.”

He wanted to see who dared steal his cat.

Mr. Li’s gaze was sharp, brimming with anti-theft awareness.

“Understood, Mr. Li.”

After hanging up, Li Jingxing continued watching cat videos, having learned a lot recently. His homepage on the video site was now full of cat videos.

When the little lioncat, Sai Tianxian, sneakily returned, she saw Li Jingxing playing on his phone on the small bedroom sofa, watching a touching short video:

“Do cats really send dreams? A few days ago, a netizen dreamed of a white little cat who said she had worked hard in heaven for a long time, saving lots of little fish treats to send this dream message. She wanted to tell her mother not to grieve anymore, promising to earn more treats to buy a big house in heaven to bring her mother to live there, so she wouldn’t have to struggle for housing. But the silly little cat sent the dream to the wrong person—the netizen wasn’t her mother. Thinking about it is so heartbreaking. The little white cat is always bullied; how long must she save with her little paws to gather so many little fish treats...”

Li Jingxing’s brows lowered, moved by the story. He even opened the comments to read netizens’ “cat dream” experiences one by one.

The little cat: “...”

The little cat: “Meow.”

Li Jingxing looked up to see his rebellious cat returned. He glanced between his phone and her little paws, as if evaluating something.

“Little White, you…”

Sai Tianxian’s eyes widened in disbelief. This human actually believed it!

Isn’t there anyone to control these marketing accounts?

All this “cat selling soul” literature, “cat café working” literature, “cat earning treats to support you” literature—this scoundrel believed everything he saw.

Now there was a “cat dream message” story too.

Did anyone realize how much harm this kind of thing could do to a cat-human relationship already fraught with tension?

Little White ran to the window and threatened:

“Meow-woah.”

If you keep looking at this toxic nonsense, I’ll jump.

But her paw pressed on the window, which shifted, and the whole cat slipped down like a tipped-over trash can.

“Waaah—”

Oops, a disaster.

She forgot this scoundrel didn’t cat-proof the windows.