11 Stray Cat

Page 1/3

The moment Cen Wu saw Xie Guilan’s cold expression, his whole body trembled. If he refused, then fine—why get angry about it? Xie Guilan lowered his eyes, his voice slightly cold. “Sorry, Young Master, I don’t have WeChat.”

Cen Wu: …Who is he trying to fool?

But actually, Cen Wu wasn’t entirely sure. Xie Guilan’s phone was indeed very old and battered. Since Song Lingwei had been hospitalized for a long time and life was dull, whenever Xie Guilan bought a new phone, he would first give it to her. Only after the phone was nearly broken from her use would Xie Guilan take it back to continue using it. It might really be that worn out.

Cen Wu nodded slightly and didn’t press the issue. He waved to Xie Guilan and turned to head home.

Xie Guilan’s cold eyelids flickered but he didn’t bother him further. The lighter clicked loudly in the damp, rainy night. He bit down on a cigarette, opened his umbrella, and walked toward the school.

Minutes later, his phone screen suddenly lit up—a friend request.

Cen Wu thought Xie Guilan had seriously underestimated him. What did it mean to have memorized over three million words of the original story verbatim? Xie Guilan’s phone number had long been etched in his mind.

He even tried calling it before, though it certainly didn’t connect then. This time, lying on his bed, he typed in the number again and found a black avatar.

Xie Guilan frowned. The applicant’s name was “Wu Wuwu,” and the profile picture was a cute little cat emoji.

“I want to scream.jpg”

The note simply said: “You lied to me.”

Xie Guilan: “…”

Who’s acting spoiled now?

His gaze turned cold and listless. He absolutely refused to become anyone’s plaything and didn’t want to get involved with Cen Wu. But since Cen Wu was so persistent, he wasn’t in a position to refuse yet.

Cen Wu hugged his pillow, half his face buried in it, letting a small patch of pale cheek peek out.

“‘-’ has accepted your friend request. You can start chatting now.”

“Cen Wu: Good night.”

Xie Guilan ignored him.

Cen Wu continued, sending a cat emoji lying flat under a blanket.

“Cen Wu: Good night!”

Xie Guilan paused for a few minutes, bit down coldly on the cigarette butt, then lowered his head and typed reluctantly.

“Xie Guilan: Good night, Young Master.”

Cen Wu was satisfied. He put down his phone, took a shower, then lay in bed replaying the evening’s events for another twenty minutes before finally falling asleep in social humiliation.

The next morning, Cen Wu woke early again. He hadn’t done much homework the night before and planned to catch up at school. Passing by the cafeteria, he bought breakfast for Xie Guilan.

But even after the first period, Xie Guilan hadn’t shown up. Cen Wu took his breakfast and shared it with Lu Wang, then sent him a message, but Xie Guilan didn’t reply.

Cen Wu grew a bit uneasy and decided to ask the homeroom teacher if Xie Guilan had taken leave.

The second-year grade had a large office where all the science teachers from Class Three, including the homeroom teacher, gathered.

As Cen Wu walked toward the office, his legs felt fine at first, but the closer he got, the more they trembled. By the time he reached the door, he could hardly feel his legs at all.

Cen Wu: “…”

Damn it.

The office door wasn’t fully closed, leaving a narrow crack. Just as Cen Wu was about to knock, he overheard the physics teacher speaking to the chemistry teacher.

“Old Hou, aren’t you training Xiao Xie? Why are you still in the office?”

“I left some competition papers for him to do this morning. Once he finishes, I’ll go over. Kids these days rely too much on teachers. Surely they have some self-discipline.”

Cen Wu suddenly remembered that the provincial chemistry competition training had actually ended before school started, but because Song Lingwei was sick, Xie Guilan hadn’t signed up or attended.

With the competition starting next month, Xie Guilan was probably being tutored privately by the teacher. So he must be fine.

Cen Wu exhaled in relief and was about to return to class when suddenly someone shouted behind him.

“Hey! What are you doing lying around here?!”

Cen Wu: !!!

Startled, Cen Wu shuddered, his heart momentarily stopped beating, his already pale face growing even whiter.

Page 2/3

He turned around to see the homeroom teacher, Meng Liangping, standing behind him holding a teacup. Meng Liangping looked furious. “I haven’t even settled with you for skipping class last night, and here you come to the office on your own. What are you doing here?”

“I… I was just passing by,” Cen Wu stammered, trembling.

The homeroom teacher had intended to scold him more, but seeing Cen Wu so scared, his eyelashes drooping, head down, shoulders hunched—completely unlike the fearless boy he used to be—he softened and held back his harsh words.

“If there’s nothing else, hurry back to class,” he waved him off. Then suddenly remembered something and called him back. “Did you hand in your homework this morning?”

“Yes… yes, I did,” Cen Wu stuttered.

The teacher’s expression finally eased.

Cen Wu’s family was well off, well known to all the teachers. But since he came to this school, they felt it wasn’t an excuse not to study. However, Cen Wu’s rebellious nature made him hard to control.

Yet since yesterday, for some reason, Cen Wu suddenly started paying attention in class. Every teacher returning to the office after class looked dazed.

What a blessing to see the crown prince studying.

“Teacher,” Cen Wu’s throat trembled nervously, “I… I will study hard.”

The homeroom teacher suddenly brought his large face close to scare him. “Promises mean nothing. I’ll be waiting to see your weekly exam results!”

Cen Wu: “…”

Whatever you say.

When the teacher finally left, Cen Wu returned to class, exhausted, and began preparing for the weekly test.

Xie Guilan hadn’t come to class all day, which made Cen Wu realize a problem—if he didn’t know where Xie Guilan was, how could he protect him? He could manage to get Xie Guilan to avoid trouble in the original story, but what about outside of it?

Cen Wu pursed his lips, slowly packed his bag, and after much thought, sent a message to the “male bodhisattva” from last night, telling him to wait behind the Blue Night club’s back door in half an hour.

Night fell. The back door of the bar was quiet, the ground still wet with rain, neon lights casting dim reflections.

“Second Young Master,” the other party approached, still using the familiar, intimate tone from last night, teasing, “You’re looking for me?”

Cen Wu: “…”

Can you speak properly?

“You… you’re at Blue Night every night?” Cen Wu fought the urge to escape.

He really couldn’t stand being so close to a stranger, his cold pale cheeks sweating slightly, his ears flushed red.

“You can just call me A-Ling,” the other misunderstood and smiled, “I don’t go on stage, but I can go with you.”

If Cen Wu had a tail, it would have been bristling by now. What the hell was going on? His cheeks instantly flushed bright red as he hurriedly waved his hands. “I-I-I… didn’t mean that.”

He only wanted this person to help keep an eye on Xie Guilan—nothing else. If Xie Guilan got into trouble again, just send him a message.

The original’s social circle was large, but only a few dozen stayed in contact. After all, expecting men to keep perfect abs forever was unrealistic. Without abs, the original naturally lost interest.

A-Ling had kept in touch with the original for over a year, only sending photos of his abs and chatting little else. He seemed smart, so Cen Wu thought to ask him for help.

A-Ling pouted. Cen Wu had protected Xie Guilan last night, but Xie Guilan’s coffin-like expression didn’t seem to imply any romantic interest in Cen Wu, so he hadn’t thought much of it. Now, he was unsure.

Did Xie Guilan have more abs or bigger pecs to make Cen Wu care so much?

“I don’t…” A-Ling was about to refuse.

Cen Wu already picked up his phone and sent a transfer. The screen showed the amount: three hundred yuan every night.

A-Ling: “I don’t…”

Cen Wu: “Five hundred.”

A-Ling: “…”

Alright, Daddy, I’m willing, Daddy.

“Don’t worry, Second Young Master,” A-Ling clicked to accept the payment, no longer teasing but speaking seriously, “If I don’t do it, who will? I think I’m especially suited to looking after him.”

Cen Wu: “…”

Whatever you say.

A-Ling was one of the top male models at Blue Night, earning far more than that each night. On a generous night, he could make tens or even hundreds of thousands.

But why not take free money? Not every night did someone come to cause trouble for Xie Guilan, and Cen Wu didn’t ask him to intervene.

Actually, the male models at Blue Night all disliked Xie Guilan. Not for any personal reason, but because he was a threat in the competitive scene. Xie Guilan was young and handsome; if he chose to work as a male model, they’d all lose their jobs.

They heard Xie Guilan was top of his grade at Huaijing No.1 High School, so he probably wouldn’t become a model.

No one knew why he was working at a place like this.

—

Page 3/3

At 7:30 p.m., Xie Guilan finished training and left school directly for the bar.

He worked from eight until midnight, sometimes later if the bar was busy, sometimes until one or two a.m. He arrived and first changed in the locker room.

Just as he took off his school uniform jacket, someone tapped his shoulder.

“Old Xie,” Ji Changyu had also just arrived, standing next to him changing clothes with a worried look. “What’s going on? I heard the Cen family’s young master was here again last night?”

They had met a year ago, when Ji Changyu first came to work at Blue Night. It happened to be the young master’s birthday.

Every year, the Cen family held a birthday party for him. After the party, the young master would come to Blue Night with people. The manager assigned Ji Changyu and Xie Guilan to serve drinks together.

Cen Wu seemed a little drunk. Before Xie Guilan could speak, Cen Wu’s face changed drastically when he saw Xie Guilan. He suddenly stood and started raging, ordering the bodyguards to kill Xie Guilan.

“Who told him to come?! Why did I let him come for my birthday?! No one is allowed to compete with me!”

No one nearby understood. Xie Guilan was an unrecognized illegitimate son of the Xie family—what competition could there be?

But no one dared disobey Cen Wu’s orders.

Offending a customer meant dismissal. Sometimes resisting was pointless. Xie Guilan didn’t fight back and was beaten to multiple fractures and soft tissue bruises. That blessed brat even smashed a few bottles on him.

Laughter, mockery, humiliation.

Xie Guilan was pinned to the ground; his black suit pants were crumpled as if anyone could step on him.

Ji Changyu didn’t know Xie Guilan, it was his first time meeting him. But his blood boiled with anger at the injustice and rushed to stop the fight, only to be slapped by the young master.

For some reason, the young master seemed both fearful and hateful of Xie Guilan. He dared not strike Xie Guilan himself, only ordering bodyguards to do so.

Ji Changyu held his face, bruised but at least he had met Xie Guilan.

Xie Guilan said nothing. Ji Changyu put a hand on his shoulder. “Old Xie, I’m talking to you.”

“I don’t know,” Xie Guilan frowned, “If you’re so idle, go clean up the private rooms.”

Ji Changyu: “…”

Damn.

The bar wasn’t busy tonight, so there was little reception work. As they left the locker room, the manager waved at them.

“Xiao Xie, Xiao Ji, go help unload the shipment at the back door.”

They had ordered several cases of beer, delayed by rain and only arriving tonight.

Xie Guilan: “Okay.”

As Xie Guilan walked to the back door, just reaching the truck, his peripheral vision caught something and he stopped. In a nearby alley, Cen Wu was talking with A-Ling.

A-Ling said something that made Cen Wu’s ear tips flush deep red. Though the night was dim, the neon light reflected in his beautiful, moist eyes. His cheeks were illuminated too, the faint blush clear as if white jade had been stained with rouge.

Then A-Ling lowered his head and smiled, leaning close to Cen Wu. Taller than Cen Wu, Cen Wu had to look up to speak. He was almost entirely blocked by A-Ling’s shoulder. People passed by on the bar’s back street, walking through the crowd, as if they were entwined and kissing in a rainy, muddy alley behind the crowd.

Xie Guilan: “…”

His cold black eyes darkened further. He knew Cen Wu had many contacts. Xie Shangjing had taken people to book rooms in first grade; Cen Wu was probably similar.

Touching, kissing, even more—they had done everything. Cen Wu’s attitude toward him was just a means of teasing and playing. After all, even now, he looked nervous and blushing around A-Ling.

Promiscuous.

Last night he clung to him without letting go; now he was tangled up with someone else. Xie Guilan sneered coldly, his deep brows sinking into the night.

Cen Wu seemed to sense something. Under the neon light, he raised his head. Those eyes were unbearably beautiful, looking bewildered as he glanced toward the bar’s back door.

He felt someone was scolding him.

But blocked by the truck, he didn’t see Xie Guilan. Mumbling quietly, he was about to go home.

Ji Changyu waited a while but didn’t see Xie Guilan unloading. He stepped over and asked, “What are you looking at?”

Xie Guilan said, “A stray cat. Nothing interesting.”