From now on, you are my cat

When Xue Pingyuan noticed the bandages on the kitten, his heart ached a little.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince. May Your Highness be well."

The Crown Prince said, "Rise. General Xue, what brings you to see me?"

"Meow..."

Someone mercilessly pinched his mouth shut, and Shen Yangge's excitement at Xue Pingyuan's arrival was instantly doused.

-You despicable bastard! Even if you won't let me speak, Xue Pingyuan can recognize me at a glance!

As if to prove his silent complaints right, Xue Pingyuan hesitated for a few seconds before slowly asking, "Your Highness, when did you start keeping the cat in your arms?"

"A few days ago, I brought a kitten into the palace. Through my own carelessness, I accidentally lost him."

"I believe..."

Before he could finish, the Crown Prince interrupted him with regal hauteur, his tone cold and imposing. "I have kept this cat for half a year."

"He disappeared a few days ago for some reason. Presumably, General Xue picked him up. Now that he has found his own way back, I have forgiven him for running out of the palace. Do you have any further questions, General Xue?"

With the Crown Prince putting it that way, Xue Pingyuan knew he would not be getting the kitten back.

He sighed inwardly. "Your Highness, may I ask how Yangyang was injured?"

"A vicious dog scratched him."

The Crown Prince answered casually, stroking the kitten a few times with his elegant hand.

"A vicious dog?"

Xue Pingyuan murmured to himself. After a moment, he studied the kitten's face, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips. It seemed he and this kitten were not meant to be.

"Since Yangyang is Your Highness's cat, I need not worry."

-Xue Pingyuan, I'm not his cat!!

-I'm yours...

"Meow, meow."

A finger curled around his tail, toying with it. Furious, Shen Yangge lashed his tail against that finger.

Hard!

What he did not realize was that his blows felt like a little brush sweeping over a hand. Apart from a slight tickle, they did nothing.

It was the first time Xue Pingyuan had seen the kitten look so fierce with his fur bristling. He could not help wondering whether the kitten really belonged to His Highness.

Besides, His Highness had no reason to lie to him...

If the kitten really was His Highness's pet, why had he been outside the palace? Xue Pingyuan did not believe the kitten could have escaped on his own.

All sorts of doubts flashed through his mind.

Seeing that it was time to leave the palace, Xue Pingyuan bowed and took his leave of the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince waved him off, playing with the kitten's paws and paying him no further attention.

Before leaving, Xue Pingyuan stole a glance at the kitten. When he saw the kitten's expression of "grief and indignation," he froze.

He did not understand how he could read "grief and indignation" on a cat's face.

Yet he suddenly felt that things were not as simple as he had imagined.

The kitten watched Xue Pingyuan leave, his grief and indignation becoming impossible to hide. He lashed his tail against the Crown Prince, desperate to hurt him enough to make him let go.

Yet no matter how hard he struck, he could not achieve the effect he wanted.

Instead, the Crown Prince eagerly curled a finger around his tail, playing with it while also toying with his paws and the pads beneath them.

Ever since learning that her son had disappeared, Shen Mother had felt as though her entire world had collapsed. Day and night, she searched tirelessly for news of him.

On the sixth day, she finally learned that her son was still alive and in no danger, and breathed a great sigh of relief. After that swing from terror to joy, illness struck Shen Mother down.

After two or three days of illness, she was finally able to get out of bed. Shen Mother gathered all the servants in her courtyard and sternly laid down some rules.

Later, Shen Mother sent her most trusted senior maid to investigate the Jinxiu Xian Tian Fragrance House and the Dragon Silk Workshop in the Capital City.

Shen Mother's actions meant only one thing: she was preparing to break openly with the Shen Residence. Since Shen Zhi had disregarded their years together and secretly had people spread rumors that she had slept with another man, and cared nothing for his own son, the assets she had brought with her as her dowry no longer needed to support the Shen Residence.

Those assets were in her name. Wherever the deeds were, she would get them back.

Besides, they had made it very clear back then: if Shen Zhi ever betrayed her, she could use a certain item to reclaim everything that belonged to her.

But now that Shen Zhi held such a high official rank, she did not know whether she could succeed.

Shen Mother closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again. The timidity and gentleness were gone from her gaze. All that remained was anger and the desire to take revenge on Shen Zhi.

If he would show her no kindness, he could not blame her for showing him no loyalty!

Over the past few days, Shen Yangge had been trying to find a way to send word to the Shen Residence that he was mostly unharmed, but he was stumped.

He discovered that the damned Crown Prince insisted on holding him no matter what he was doing. Even when using the toilet, bathing, or changing clothes, he tethered Shen Yangge nearby and did everything himself rather than entrusting him to anyone else.

What species of pervert was this?

Shen Yangge had no energy left to complain. He kept his eyes shut the entire time, afraid of seeing something that would scar them.

Only after the Crown Prince draped his clothes over himself did Shen Yangge listlessly open his eyes.

Wait, why did it feel so warm?

Fuck, this bastard was only wearing underpants with a robe thrown over him. His upper body was half bare.

No wonder the spot his feline face was pressed against had felt wrong.

System 615: [Host, don't you think the male lead is not only handsome, but seriously hot?]

Shen Yangge: Quick question. What's your gender?

615 shut its mouth. In fact, based on a detailed analysis of its past data, it was a male system.

However, it chose to keep quiet about whether it was a male system.

The Crown Prince squeezed the kitten's paw. "Hungry?"

The kitten barely acknowledged him.

Only when dinner was brought into the hall and he smelled the fragrant dishes did Shen Yangge swallow his pride and cadge a meal. He felt that ever since becoming a cat, his skin had grown thick enough to build a wall.

Though tonight's dinner smelled delicious, it had no soul.

Because every dish was green.

Was this bastard having another episode?

With a miserable look on his feline face, Shen Yangge lay motionless on the table. The Crown Prince picked up a glossy green vegetable and held it beside his mouth. "Eat."

-Did someone cheat on you or something? Nothing but vegetables, a whole spread of green. Eat, my ass.

After that inward rant, Shen Yangge's eyelid twitched.

Could the Crown Prince's cherished palace maid have fallen for someone else?

After all, she had been banished from the inner hall. The more Shen Yangge thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Otherwise, why would this bastard refuse to let his beloved into the hall or have her attend him?

Watching its host become utterly convinced by his own wild imaginings, System 615 swallowed the new discovery it had been about to share.

"Meow, meow, meow."

-You stingy bastard! I'm not the one being cheated on, so why should I suffer? I want to go back to the Xue Residence!

After squeezing his paws, the Crown Prince reached for his ears.

"Meow, meow."

-You filthy bastard.

The kitten's pupils narrowed into vertical slits. He flashed his claws and smacked away the mad Crown Prince's reaching hand.

"Your name is Yangyang?"

That only made him angrier. How had this bastard managed to convince Xue Pingyuan that he had kept him for half a year?

Had he no shame?

"Yangyang, from now on, you are my cat."

The Crown Prince's casual voice emerged without a ripple, carrying a hint of husky languor.

"The name suits you quite well."

"You will spend tonight with me in my bedchamber."

"Meow, meow, meow..."

-Shut up! Yangyang, my fucking ass, you absolute idiot. I refuse to be your cat. Only a dog would sleep with you.

A moment later, a certain Shen Yangge-the dog-was forcibly held in his arms and fell asleep seething.