The Owner Who Scared the Cat

When Lu Yiyi saw her brother, she cried in delight, "Brother-" Then she held up the kitten for him to see, as if presenting a treasure.

"Isn't she adorable?"

Xue Yao, however, was a little surprised. The tall, cold-looking man was very handsome, with sharply defined features and a chiseled jawline that reminded her of the handsome men found only in comics. At the same time, his cold, expressionless face frightened her, and she instinctively shrank back.

Lu Yiyi's brother was handsome. Judging by looks alone, he was every bit as handsome as the male celebrities she had seen on television. But that air about him... he was far too scary for a cat.

His little sister was so gentle and sweet, so why did her brother look so... so... hard to mess with?!

He was like a giant iceberg, with cold air seemingly rising from his body.

Lu Linyuan swept his long, narrow phoenix eyes toward her. The kitten visibly curled into a ball, hugging her head with her two little paws, the fur on her back bristling without her even realizing it.

Hmm?

Lu Yiyi felt the kitten trembling and immediately chided him. "Oh, come on, Brother, why are you looking at her like that? You've scared her! There, there, don't be scared. It's my brother, that's all. Don't be afraid, kitty."

Lu Linyuan's voice was devoid of emotion. "She's just too timid." With that, he reached out and rubbed his sister's head.

"Have you gotten taller?"

"See? Your tone is so cold, too. You need to be gentler and speak softly. She's only a month-old kitten who's just left her mother and hasn't even been weaned. You're looking at her like she's a piece of fish on a chopping board. How could she not be scared?" Afraid her brother would mess up her hair, Lu Yiyi darted to one side. After she finished complaining, she thrust Xue Yao into his arms. "All right, give her a rub. She's very well behaved. This is my gift to you, so take good care of her. I'll come by for surprise inspections regularly, and if you don't take good care of her, I'll take her back!"

Xue Yao couldn't resist replying in her head, I've been weaned.

Her body stiff, she was like a small scale weight, motionless as the man held her in one hand.

The man hefted her in one hand and deliberately said, "Such a tiny morsel. Not even enough to get stuck between my teeth." Every word made the kitten shudder.

"???" Xue Yao stared at the man in astonishment. What kind of thing was that to say?!

"What are you looking at me for?" Noticing the kitten's gaze, the man asked the question with a perfectly serious expression, his deep voice rising slightly.

Xue Yao instinctively lowered her eyes, not daring to look.

You're the boss, you're the powerful one. I won't look, all right...

Lu Linyuan hadn't expected the kitten to seem as though she could understand human speech. Her every movement had a touch of adorable silliness, and the little bow around her neck in particular made her face look rounder and chubbier. Paired with her expression, it was enough to make one unable to hold back a smile. Of course, these were only his thoughts.

On the surface, Lu Linyuan still looked cold and merciless, like a lonely emperor sitting on his dragon throne, able to decide the life or death of a kitten like her with a wave of his hand. Though... even someone who didn't look like a lonely emperor could decide whether she lived or died, huh... anyone at all could kill her. She'd just been acting like an edgy teenager.

In any case, all the nonsense bubbling up in her head just meant that he looked cold and handsome.

Boo-hoo, this man looks like a very handsome pervert. I want to stay with the young miss instead. With that thought, Xue Yao reached a paw toward Lu Yiyi.

"Meow~" Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, as she was afraid the man would notice. Her mint-colored cat eyes gazed at Lu Yiyi, brimming with tears.

Lu Yiyi reached out and pinched Xue Yao's little paw, comforting her. "My brother is very nice. Don't be scared, he's only teasing you." Then she complained to her brother, "Don't say things like that. What if you scare her?"

"She's a cat. She can't understand human speech." So it couldn't really be called scaring her.

Xue Yao hissed inwardly. Why does that sound like an insult?

No, a cat-sult.

Near noon, Lu Yiyi stayed for lunch, while the auntie who worked at the house carried Xue Yao away and took her to the cat room that had already been prepared...

That was right, not a cat cage, but a cat room. It was on the second floor, probably converted from a guest room, and was thirty or forty square meters? That was her estimate. In any case, it was huge. To her as a kitten, it was like a castle, with a huge cat tree, a huge litter box, huge cat toys, a ramp, artificial rocks and trees, scratching boards, a treadmill, a water dispenser, an automatic feeder, a robot vacuum, and more. Although she was still a kitten and couldn't eat cat food that was too hard, so she had no use for the feeder yet, she was still stunned.

There was so much stuff here, and it was so lavish. What kind of heavenly place was this? It was practically paradise for cats.

So this is how rich people keep cats?

She was only a cat, yet she had a huge room all to herself?!

Once Xue Yao was put inside, she looked even tinier. The cat tree and toys were as big as mountains.

She turned to look at the door and discovered a cat flap at the bottom. Even if the door was closed, she could still squeeze through it. There was a little door on the flap that could probably be pushed open. It was quite thoughtful.

The housekeeper put her in the soft cat bed. The air conditioner was on, and so was the automatic cat teaser. The housekeeper had thought she would play with the teaser wand, but unexpectedly, Xue Yao lay down comfortably in the bed and didn't move.

She had eaten before coming here, and after the little fright she'd just had, Xue Yao relaxed in the soft cat bed. She yawned and fell asleep just like that, her belly exposed.

It was like a dream.

Before Xue Yao drowsily closed her eyes, she thought, I hope this isn't a dream.

Although her new owner didn't look easy to approach, there was nothing to complain about with these surroundings. Rich people were very busy, so he surely wouldn't have time to interact with her often.

After lunch, Lu Yiyi left, saying she had plans to go shopping with a friend.

After his sister left, Lu Linyuan took a short nap, then got up and went to his study.

After working for about an hour, he pinched the spot between his brows and opened the cat room's surveillance feed, wanting to see what the new little resident was doing.

But no matter how he looked, there was no sign of the cat in the video.

Where's the cat?

After all, she was a gift from his sister, and they had even gone to the trouble of having a designer come to the house in advance to design the cat room. Surely she couldn't have disappeared on her very first day here?

Lu Linyuan decided to go and look for himself. With that thought, he got up, left the study, and went to the cat room, the second room diagonally across the hall.

He pushed open the door and moved forward with light steps. He checked the cat tree. She was still very small and probably couldn't climb too high, so he looked around the bottom, but she wasn't there. He checked the other corners, but still found nothing...

After thinking for a moment, he took out his phone again and pulled up the surveillance footage from several hours earlier, starting from when the housekeeper had brought the cat into the room and placed her in the bed.

When he reached the end, his brows drew together, and he couldn't help feeling helpless.

She was still in the cat bed. She had simply rolled over and ended up pressed against its edge. Combined with how small she was, the camera hadn't caught her.

Lu Linyuan closed his phone and walked over to the cat bed. There, he saw the little thing sleeping soundly with her belly exposed and her mouth open, her head and body both pressed against the edge.

She really can sleep. How many hours has it been?

By animal instinct, Xue Yao vaguely sensed someone watching her. She raised her paws, stretched, and slowly opened her eyes to look.

"Meow-" The sudden sight of her owner crouching beside the cat bed on one knee gave the unsuspecting Xue Yao a terrible fright. She jolted, rolled over, and tried to run.

She didn't know why she wanted to run; she just instinctively wanted to. But her young body was rather clumsy, and she had only taken a few steps, not even making it out of the cat bed, when Lu Linyuan stretched out his long arm, easily grasped her, lifted her up, and held her in front of him.

He said displeasedly, "Am I that scary? What are you running for?"

Xue Yao lay flat in the man's palm. At his words, she gave a timid little meow, with something of a tiger brought low to the plains about her.