You Are My Cat
Liu Qianxiu had brought Mu Wan’s suitcase back with him.
Mu Wan led him upstairs to her apartment.
She had only been home for a day, yet the place was already a little messy.
Liu Qianxiu had been here before.
But for the first time, Mu Wan felt slightly embarrassed by it.
After setting down her luggage, Liu Qianxiu glanced at the wall clock and rolled up his sleeves.
“Have you eaten dinner?”
The living room was warm and humid.
The restlessness from their kiss downstairs had not completely faded.
Mu Wan came back to herself.
She looked at his tall, lean figure and shook her head.
“No.”
Liu Qianxiu went into the kitchen.
Mu Wan rarely cooked at home.
It was summer, and Auntie Wu had already used everything she had brought that morning.
There was almost nothing left in the kitchen.
Liu Qianxiu came back out.
“Let’s go to the supermarket.”
Mu Wan knew perfectly well he meant to buy ingredients.
Still, looking at him, her thoughts insisted on wandering somewhere else.
“Okay.”
Her face warmed.
“The supermarket isn’t far. We can walk.”
She followed Liu Qianxiu toward the door and reached for his hand.
His palm was dry and cool.
The moment her fingers touched his, he threaded them through hers and held on firmly.
They went downstairs one behind the other.
Their footsteps echoed through the empty stairwell.
Mu Wan felt strangely full inside.
The moment they stepped outside, two stray cats darted from beneath the trees.
They reminded Mu Wan of her own cats.
“Did you pick up Zhouyi and the kittens?”
Mu Wan beckoned toward one of the strays.
The cat ignored her and disappeared into the bushes.
“No.”
Liu Qianxiu’s voice was calm.
“I came to get you first.”
Mu Wan tilted her head toward him.
Liu Qianxiu turned and met her gaze.
Something fluttered inside her chest.
Her eyes curved with a smile.
“That makes sense.”
She said lightly,
“I’m a cat too.”
Then she remembered that she was alone, without any family of her own, and added,
“A stray cat.”
“No.”
Liu Qianxiu denied it immediately.
Mu Wan raised a brow.
His eyes were deep.
His tone remained quiet.
“You’re my cat.”
Her heart jumped.
A man who rarely spoke was far more dangerous when he chose to say something sweet.
Heat spread across Mu Wan’s cheeks.
Then her ears.
She leaned close to Liu Qianxiu’s ear.
“Meow.”
Liu Qianxiu paused.
He turned slightly to look at her.
Mu Wan had already pulled away.
They had left the narrow lane and reached the entrance of the neighborhood.
People were everywhere.
In an instant, the ordinary bustle of the city wrapped itself around the tenderness between them.
Mu Wan pretended nothing had happened.
She gave a small, pleased hum and continued walking.
But she could clearly feel Liu Qianxiu’s hand tighten around hers.
His palm had grown warmer too.
Night settled over the city.
There was no moon.
No stars.
A faint sweetness lingered in the air, making even the heavy black clouds overhead seem soft.
Jiayuan Community might have been old, but the surrounding facilities were convenient.
Just across the intersection stood a large chain supermarket.
At a little after six, the store was neither crowded nor empty.
Mu Wan followed Liu Qianxiu to the produce section.
As usual, she chose what she wanted to eat.
Liu Qianxiu selected the ingredients.
Then they headed toward the checkout.
There was a line.
Liu Qianxiu pushed the cart.
Mu Wan stood behind him.
Only two or three customers were ahead.
Her gaze naturally wandered toward the small display beside the register.
Rows of small square boxes filled the shelves.
Strawberry.
Mint.
Different varieties.
Some fairly ordinary.
Others decidedly less so.
The brand was famous enough that even though Mu Wan had never used them before, she knew exactly what they were.
Her gaze lingered.
Her eyes moved between the choices.
Choosing.
Hesitating.
They absolutely needed to buy this.
In fact, as far as Mu Wan was concerned, this might have been the real reason for coming to the supermarket.
Her heart began pounding.
Behind her, two girls were discussing which boxes of chocolate they would buy when they reached the display.
Talking about the chocolate naturally led them to notice the man standing nearby.
“That guy is so tall. Even his back looks elegant. I wonder what his face looks like.”
“As long as a man is tall enough, how ugly can he be? Besides, ugly-handsome is fashionable now.”
“I wish he’d turn around.”
“What for? If he’s handsome, are you going to chase him?”
The other girl laughed.
“A man like that definitely has a girlfriend.”
“Not necessarily. Maybe he slipped through the net. I’ll ask for his WeChat first.”
Their voices were neither especially loud nor especially quiet.
Liu Qianxiu did not seem to hear them.
Mu Wan did.
She had just turned around when both girls suddenly looked past her.
Their expressions changed to open amazement.
“Which one?” Liu Qianxiu asked.
“Huh?”
Mu Wan looked toward the shelf.
She assumed he meant chocolate.
“Matcha.”
Liu Qianxiu lowered his eyes.
Patient.
Serious.
“There isn’t any.”
Mu Wan’s gaze left the chocolate.
She looked up into his clear black eyes.
Then she realized what he was actually asking.
Liu Qianxiu’s expression remained perfectly calm.
Mu Wan’s face, on the other hand, became instantly hot.
She forced herself to look at the display again.
Finally, her eyes landed on a red box.
She pointed.
“Strawberry.”
Liu Qianxiu turned toward the shelf.
He selected the box she had indicated and placed it into the cart.
The customer ahead finished paying.
Liu Qianxiu took Mu Wan’s hand and pushed the cart forward.
The two girls behind them said nothing else.
After checking out, Liu Qianxiu carried the groceries in one hand and held Mu Wan’s hand with the other.
They crossed the road toward home.
There had still been a little light in the sky when they entered the supermarket.
Now it was completely dark.
Rows of streetlights glowed.
Mu Wan walked along the curb.
Even standing on the raised edge, she was still shorter than Liu Qianxiu beside her.
The scene felt strangely warm.
Domestic.
It pulled another memory from her.
“When I was little, my mother used to pick me up after tutoring classes.”
Mu Wan looked ahead.
“She would hold my hand while I walked along the curb like this.”
She smiled faintly.
“I was shorter than her too. I used to think that once I grew taller than her, I’d be the one holding her hand.”
Her smile softened.
“But she died before I ever got taller.”
Her mother had died the year Mu Wan finished primary school.
She had only been twelve.
At that age, every beautiful expectation she had held for the world had gone dark.
Now things were different.
With Liu Qianxiu beside her, her world had begun to light up again.
His fingers around hers were long and strong.
Even if she lost her balance completely, he could hold her up.
Since becoming a couple, neither of them had really spoken about their parents or families.
Mu Wan tilted her head toward him.
“What about your parents?”
“They’re dead.”
Liu Qianxiu said it calmly.
The instant the words left him, Mu Wan’s expression changed.
Her foot slipped from the curb.
She stumbled.
Liu Qianxiu turned immediately and caught her, letting her fall straight into his arms.
Mu Wan’s heart pounded.
She did not know whether it was from nearly falling or from realizing she had asked the wrong question.
She looked up at him.
Their shadows intertwined across the pavement.
Long.
Quiet.
There was a trace of uncertainty in Mu Wan’s eyes.
Liu Qianxiu lowered his head and kissed her.
The instant his lips touched hers, the unease in her gaze softened like light flowing through water.
Mu Wan smiled.
“Neither of us has our closest blood relatives anymore.”
Her face slowly reddened again.
“But that’s okay.”
She looked at him.
“I can give you children.”
The moment she finished speaking, Mu Wan sighed and buried her face against his chest.
The faint sandalwood on him was cool and calming.
She was busy regretting how increasingly shameless she had become when a kiss landed on the top of her head.
Then she heard Liu Qianxiu laugh softly.
He answered with one word.
“All right.”
— To be continued in Part 2 —
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