Chapter 3

Chi Jing opened the voice message, and a stern, authoritative middle-aged man’s voice emanated from the phone.

“Chi Jing! Was this intentional? Your brother is just starting out and gaining momentum, and you post a video like that to attract attention.”

“Do you know how much your brother has suffered because of you? Can’t you let him have his moment? You owe him, you know that!”

Chi Jing slammed his can of cola onto the bar.

Tsk.

He was too disgusted to drink anymore.

Leaning against the open backrest of the bar stool, he rhythmically tapped his fingers on the phone screen.

【Chi Jing: The elderly tend to forget things, did you send this message to the wrong person? Who is Chi Jing?】

After sending the message, even before he could lock the phone, Wen Zhentian’s video call request popped up.

Without changing his expression, he declined the call and promptly blocked Wen Zhentian.

He wouldn’t let this disgusting person ruin his breakfast.

Of course, breakfast couldn’t just be cola.

There were some instant meals in the fridge, and he tried to make one following the instructions.

Hmm, it failed.

Looking at the charred pot, his expression changed for the first time. After unplugging the pot, he fell into deep thought.

It seemed he had another goal for the future: to earn enough money to order takeout or eat out.

He definitely couldn’t cook for himself again.

After the cooking failure, he changed his clothes and strolled leisurely around the neighborhood in search of food.

Fortunately, despite the desolation, he found a breakfast stall about a thousand meters away.

After breakfast, he slowly made his way back to the apartment.

On his way, he received a call from Mu Jingshan, saying he would come to pick him up in the afternoon to sign the variety show contract at the company.

As he neared his apartment, he passed by an overgrown greenbelt and heard a faint noise.

He abruptly stopped and turned to look at the greenbelt, remaining still.

This time, he didn’t hear the noise again, but the sound of something rustling through the bushes.

He raised an eyebrow and walked over to where the sound was coming from.

Due to the nearby road construction, the greenbelt was covered with a thick layer of dust.

The greenbelt had been neglected for a long time; the originally carefully selected plants were nearly choked out by wild grasses and shrubs.

With his exceptionally sharp eyesight, he spotted two pairs of eyes.

Very round and somewhat glistening.

He bent down and parted the grass blocking his view.

There were two kittens, one pure white and the other pure black.

The black one was hidden in the dark depths of the bushes; if his eyesight hadn’t been so good, he might not have seen it.

“Cats?”

He was surprised. He reached out and beckoned to the kittens.

The two kittens immediately and obediently nuzzled up to him, accompanied by soft, sweet meowing.

He wasn’t surprised by their friendly behavior.

Even though he was using an ordinary human body, his soul was still that of a succubus, making these small animals instinctively affectionate towards him.

He petted their chins.

Looking at their ears and tails, he couldn’t help but reminisce, “I kind of miss my ears and tail.”

“Meow.”

The kittens couldn’t understand him, only meowing a couple of times when the petting stopped.

“Pretty cute.” Chi Jing said, satisfied, as he stroked them a few more times.

Looking around, he saw nothing but dusty roads and dirt-filled land.

“I’ll go back to the apartment.” He said, his eyes still on the kittens clinging to his feet.

He said, “If you’re still here when I get back, I’ll take you in.”

He returned to find a box to carry the kittens back.

When he returned with the box, he found the kittens were still there.

Not only were both kittens still there, but there was also a new addition: a large cat.

A beautiful long-haired calico, it looked at him with gentle eyes, and he found it even cuter than the kittens!

Fortunately, the box he brought was big enough to hold all three cats.

Soon, he brought the three cats back home.

However, while he managed to bring the cats back, there was nothing at home for them to eat.

He rummaged through the fridge.

Nothing.

Determined to be a good owner, he looked up what cats could eat.

He remembered that cats in his world ate meat, but those were fantasy world cats.

Luckily, cats in this world were easier to care for; they just needed cat food.

He quickly ordered two kinds of cat food online, then paused.

Frowning, he checked the original owner’s bank balance.

15,327.28 yuan.

Not much, but enough to last a long time if spent wisely.

There was no way the original owner could have been so desperate as to want to leave this world.

He was momentarily lost in thought, wondering how he ended up in this world.

He didn’t know the answer, but he wasn’t one to dwell on a problem for long.

The more pressing issue was these three cats.

In this sparsely populated area, even catching a taxi required luck, so he decided to ask Mu Jingshan to come and pick him up.

Although Mu Jingshan was puzzled, signing the contract in the morning or afternoon made little difference, so he turned his car around and came to Chi Jing’s apartment to pick him up.

When the door opened, he was met with three cat faces.

“Let’s go.” Chi Jing said, putting the cats back into the box. “We need to make a stop at the pet hospital first.”

The company didn’t have a rule against artists owning cats, so despite his reservations, he drove Chi Jing and the three cats to the nearest pet hospital.

On the way, he hesitated for a long time before advising Chi Jing against keeping the cats.

“You’re an artist. When you join a production, you’ll be away for ten days to half a month. No one will be at home to take care of the kittens. It might be better to find someone to adopt them.”

But Chi Jing wasn’t the type to be easily persuaded.

He didn’t bring the cats home out of pity, but simply because he liked them.

For things he liked, he wouldn’t let go.

“So, I might need…” He looked at Mu Jingshan. “The kind-hearted manager to help take care of them for a few days.”

He shamelessly guilt-tripped Mu Jingshan.

Mu Jingshan: …

He looked at Chi Jing’s overly beautiful face and couldn’t bring himself to refuse, sighing.

“Fine. When you’re filming the variety show, bring them to my place.”

Chi Jing smiled triumphantly, the teardrop mole under his eye especially prominent in the sunlight.

“Thank you, manager.”

Mu Jingshan: …

He really couldn’t refuse at all!!!

Once inside the pet hospital, Chi Jing placed the three cats on the counter.

“Give them a check-up.”

“Did you find them as strays?”

“Yes.”

The assistant who received them opened the box, took a look, and then glanced up at Chi Jing.

Then, she called the veterinarian to come and take the cats to the examination room.

Chi Jing didn’t follow them in.

The pet hospital didn’t smell great, and it was uncomfortable enough to sit in the waiting room, let alone go further inside.

Mu Jingshan stayed in the car, so Chi Jing was alone in the pet hospital, bored and sitting down in a random chair.

He wanted to play with his phone, but his keen senses couldn’t ignore the assistant’s gaze.

She kept staring at him with a complicated expression.

He put away his phone and looked back directly.

“Do you have something to say?”

The assistant seemed startled by his directness. Her pale face flushed red, even her mask couldn’t hide it.

She stammered an apology, “S-sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“But, do you have something to say?”

The assistant gathered her courage and asked, “Are you the handsome guy from the ‘Lemon’ blogger’s video?”

Lemon?

Chi Jing: “Who?”

The assistant quickly pulled out her phone and showed him the video.

Indeed, the person in the video was him. This was the video Mu Jingshan had mentioned in the morning.

The girl who took a photo with him yesterday was a minor blogger with some followers, and she had posted a video instead of a photo by mistake.

He watched the video and nodded in acknowledgment.@@novelbin@@

“Yes, that’s me. What about it?”

The assistant hesitated before asking, “Well, a lot of people were praising you, but this morning someone said you’re an impostor, a fake young master. They said you have a bad character and have been stealing since you were young.”

“They also said…”

Chi Jing remained calm.

“And what else did they say?”

“They said that after the real young master Wen Yubai came back, you got jealous and almost pushed him off a building.”

The assistant asked softly, “Is it true?”

Chi Jing: “No.”

He returned the phone to the assistant and nonchalantly went back to sitting.

“I-I believe you!”

The assistant’s trembling but firm words surprised him.

The assistant thought he was upset and racked her brains to comfort the handsome guest.

“Don’t be sad, there are many people online who… just follow the crowd without understanding the truth.”

Chi Jing wasn’t upset, but he was curious.

“Why do you believe me?”

“You were very kind to those stray cats.” The assistant explained.

“You lined the box with a blanket and brought them to the hospital for a check-up.”

“These actions show you’re not like what they say online.”

Chi Jing didn’t think he was particularly kind to the cats; he just liked them and took them home.

This didn’t mean he was a good person.

But he didn’t bother to explain.

At that moment, the veterinarian emerged from the examination room.

“The big cat has some skin issues and fleas, but it’s healthy overall. If you’ve already brought them home, make sure to clean for pests.”

Chi Jing: “Got it. I read online they need deworming and I should buy a cat carrier.”

Veterinarian: “Yes, I’ll deworm them now. We have several cat carriers in the shop, or you can buy one online.”

Chi Jing, preferring convenience, picked a spacious cat carrier from the store.

Since the online-ordered cat food wouldn’t arrive immediately, he also bought some cat food and canned food from the store.

With too many items to carry alone, he called Mu Jingshan for help.

When Mu Jingshan arrived, he seemed troubled.

Once in the car, he revealed the reason.

“Chi Jing! Someone bought a trending topic for you!”