Incurable Chapter 4 Part 2

After showering and changing clothes, he returned to the living room.

Liu Qianxiu’s living room was nearly bare. There was no furniture or decoration, just a mural on one wall. A cotton-linen carpet was spread across the floor, with a low table and a single desk lamp placed on it. A few books and a small incense burner sat on the table. Since the agarwood had burned out, Liu Qianxiu lit a new stick.

White wisps of fragrant smoke drifted up from the glowing ember, filling the air with scent. Liu Qianxiu sat cross-legged, turned on the lamp, picked up a book, and started reading.

He had just turned a page when he heard a soft rustling from the balcony at the far end of the room. His eyes narrowed a little, and a small smile appeared on his lips.

A moment later, something soft stepped onto his folded legs. Then the weight on his lap increased as a warm, gentle presence settled there.

Liu Qianxiu lowered his gaze from the page to look.

On his lap was a fluffy black lump.

The instant he looked down, the black bundle moved, and a pair of pale golden eyes met his.

“Meow~”

It was a black cat from head to toe, with light-gold eyes.

Liu Qianxiu stayed still, but his expression softened little by little. The feel of the black cat reminded him of another “cat” he had seen earlier that day.

“I didn’t go catch you, and yet you came on your own,” the man murmured, gently stroking it once before lifting his eyes back to his book.

Mu Wan was awakened by a call from Li Nan. Her hangover made her head pound unbearably.

She had blacked out the night before. She remembered leaving the private room to sober up and meeting Liu Qianxiu, but after that, she remembered nothing. Li Nan first asked angrily why she had left without telling Mi Yu. But after hearing that she was currently in the hospital, he said nothing more and simply hung up.

Outside the ward, the sound of cart wheels rolled past. A moment later, the door opened. A young nurse in a cap walked in carrying medicine and said, “Time to treat your wound.”

Mu Wan had already changed into a hospital gown. She undid the buttons and pulled the fabric down to show her injury. The nurse came over and started applying medicine right away. Mu Wan was still half-asleep, and the sudden sting made her tense up. She cried out in pain and woke up fully.

“When you were drinking yesterday, why didn’t you think about how much it would hurt?” the nurse said with the sternness of a cold-faced little beauty. “Now the wound is inflamed, and you’ll have to stay in the hospital another day.”

Since Mu Wan had sneaked out the day before and Liu Qianxiu caught her, the nurses looking after her had also been scolded. Mu Wan smiled and apologized, and the nurse’s mood softened a bit.

“Was it Doctor Liu who brought me back last night?” Mu Wan asked.

“Of course.” Recalling the scene from the night before, the young nurse looked at Mu Wan with open admiration. “You’re quite something, you know. So many people chase after Doctor Liu, but you’re the first person I’ve ever seen hanging off him and refusing to let go.”

Mu Wan: “...”

“Where’s Doctor Liu?” Mu Wan asked.

“Oh, he’s on leave. He won’t be back until next Monday,” the nurse said.

Since Liu Qianxiu had brought Mu Wan back himself, Lin Wei had plenty of new ideas about what had happened. But Mu Wan didn’t seem interested. Lin Wei looked at her and said, “So Daoist Liu really did bring you back.”

“He dragged me back,” Mu Wan corrected as she packed her things. “I’m a patient. If I sneak out to drink and something happens, even if the hospital isn’t at fault, it would still cause them trouble.”

Today was her discharge day. Lin Wei, who had been discharged earlier than she was, had come to pick her up.

Lin Wei let out a disappointed “Oh.”

“But I really did trouble him,” Mu Wan said. “When I get the chance, I should treat him to a meal.”

With that, she picked up her bag and stood. “Let’s go.”

The two of them walked to Lin Wei’s Cadillac. Lin Wei was petite and sweet-looking, but she preferred big SUVs. She was a wealthy second-generation heiress. Her parents worked in the real estate business in Jingcheng. After she graduated from university, they bought her a villa in Xiacheng. Lin Wei made it into a studio, with one floor for work and the other for living.

Just before Lin Wei got into the car and started it, Mu Wan said, “Wait a second.”

Lin Wei stopped. Mu Wan bent down to check under the car, but found nothing. She stood up and said, “Nothing.”

“Looking for a cat? That calico got hit by a car on the road this morning.”

As Mu Wan raised her head, a cleaning lady holding a broom spoke to her in Xiacheng dialect.

Mu Wan felt a chill. She remembered the plump calico the man once held. It had been a bit dirty, but still cute. That day, it crawled under her car to get out of the rain and stay warm. But just a few days later, it was gone.

From inside the car, Lin Wei looked over. “What died?”

The cleaning lady had already walked a few steps away, but hearing the question, she turned back and pointed toward the shrubbery in the corner. “Oh, it had a litter of kittens.”

Mu Wan’s eyes moved slightly as she remembered the calico’s round belly.

Tang’er Hospital was a private hospital, and the people who came there were all wealthy. Even the shrubs on the grounds were trimmed with meticulous care.  A Maserati and a Bentley were parked out front.

Mu Wan bent down between the two cars. A moment later, she straightened and turned around, and Lin Wei saw the three tiny kittens cradled in her arms.

Their eyes were not even open yet. The three little wriggling bundles wriggled restlessly against Mu Wan.

No one could resist something fluffy—not even Lin Wei. She looked at the tiny kittens and asked, worried, “They’re so small. What are you going to do?”

“Take them home.”

The little kittens squirmed in her hands. One of them opened its mouth and let out a soft, milky little “meow.” Mu Wan could not quite put into words what she felt inside.

Beside her, Lin Wei let out a startled “Ah!”

Mu Wan looked up and said, “Haven’t you always wanted me to raise a cat?”

That was true enough.

But looking at the newborn kittens in Mu Wan’s hands, Lin Wei still sounded uneasy. “Can you really take care of them?”

One of the kittens rubbed against Mu Wan’s hand, soft and fragile. Gently, she stroked it once with her thumb and said,

“I’ll try.”

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