Chapter 10: I just want to say, little sister, have a good time traveling outside

Actually, this wasn’t the first time Jiang Nanshu had picked up a stray cat.

During the winter of her senior year in high school, she and Cheng Jiajia had also found a little stray cat near the school.

Since evening self-study was about to start, they had no choice but to bring the cat into the classroom.

At that time, Song Ye had already secured a guaranteed admission and technically didn’t need to go to school anymore.

But he still went.

When others asked him why, he simply said he was bored at home.

His daily routine consisted of helping her and their classmates with questions mainly tutoring her.

In the entire class, only Song Ye’s desk had an empty space.

Her own desk was crammed with various study materials, so she hid the cat inside his desk.

Seeing the look of disdain on Song Ye’s face, Jiang Nanshu asked in a whisper, “You don’t like cats?”

Song Ye frowned.

“No.”

Jiang Nanshu was a little disappointed and let out a quiet “Oh.”

“I really like them, but my mom is allergic to animal fur, so I’ve never been able to have one.”

During the first evening self-study session, the homeroom teacher came to discuss the test papers.

Suddenly, a cat’s meow echoed through the classroom.

After class, the teacher immediately took the cat away.

After the evening session, Jiang Nanshu thickened her skin and went to ask for it back.

The teacher said, “You’re seniors now.

Focus on your studies.

I’m taking the cat home for my son.”

Jiang Nanshu refused to give up.

“Can I get it back after the college entrance exam?”

The teacher was ruthless.

“No.”

Jiang Nanshu walked out of the office looking utterly disappointed.

She turned to the group waiting for her outside Song Ye, Cheng Jiajia, and a few others and muttered, “I already thought of a name for the cat.

I was going to call it ‘Rousong.’

It sounds chubby and soft, just perfect.”

Even if the cat had been returned after the exam, she still might not have been able to keep it.

“Rousong” was a pet name she had come up with a long time ago.

Jiang Nanshu never imagined that Song Ye’s cat would end up being named “Rousong.”

She stared at Song Ye in a daze, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Murmuring, she said, “That name… I came up with it first.”

She wasn’t sure if Song Ye remembered, so after a few seconds of hesitation, she still couldn’t help but ask, “Do you remember?”

Song Ye didn’t answer her question.

He lowered his gaze, staring at her for a while.

His emotions gradually settled, returning to his usual calm and restraint.

Then, he quietly looked away.

“Did you buy the naming rights?”

“…No,” Jiang Nanshu muttered.

“It’s just a bit of a shame.”

A shame?

She couldn’t quite explain why.

It was as if a tightly sealed barrier in her heart had suddenly been torn open, allowing a gust of cold wind to rush in.

It felt uncomfortable.

“Meow”

The cat inside the box broke the tense atmosphere between them.

“Let’s go,” Song Ye said softly.

They walked in silence until they reached the entrance of the hospital.

Song Ye closed his umbrella, glanced sideways at her, and let out a low chuckle.

“If you really like the name Rousong that much, you can call it Rousong No. 2.

I don’t mind.”

“……”

Jiang Nanshu rolled her eyes at him.

“No way.”

That sounded awful!

She’d have to come up with a new name.

The hospital was empty at this hour.

As they walked in, the on-duty veterinarian, a woman in her thirties, quickly stood up when she saw Song Ye.

“Mr. Song, did your cat get sick again?”

“No.”

Song Ye had brought Rousong here for checkups a few times before.

Since he was strikingly good-looking and always carried an adorable golden British Shorthair, the contrast was too endearing.

The doctors here all remembered him.

Some single female veterinarians had even asked if he had a girlfriend.

Song Ye’s answer had always been “Yes,” but no one had ever seen her.

Everyone suspected he was just using that as an excuse to turn them down.

Song Ye stepped aside.

Jiang Nanshu, standing behind him, stepped forward with the box in her arms.

“I found this cat.

I don’t know if its leg is broken.

Could you check it for me?”

The veterinarian was briefly surprised before she started examining Jiang Nanshu.

Noticing the oversized jacket she was wearing, she immediately understood the situation and smiled as she took the cat.

“Alright, leave it to me.”

Jiang Nanshu was still worried and followed closely to observe.

There was no heating in the hospital, but the air conditioning was on, making it fairly warm.

Song Ye sat down on a nearby chair, leaned back lazily, and pulled out his phone to check his messages.

Lin Yao: Song Ye, I’m telling you, don’t be an idiot.

Song Ye frowned and replied with a single word.

Scram.

Lin Yao: …

The doctor informed Jiang Nanshu, “It’s a little female cat, most likely a tabby, but it doesn’t seem like a domestic one.”

Jiang Nanshu was surprised.

“I thought it was a Chinese Li Hua cat.”

“It could be a mix.”

The doctor smiled and proceeded with an X-ray of the cat’s injured leg.

“A full-body check-up will take two to three hours. You can sit and wait.”

“It’s fine.

I’d like to watch.”

Jiang Nanshu asked anxiously, “Is its leg alright?”

“It’s fractured.

It’ll need surgery and has to stay in the hospital for observation.”

The doctor looked up at her.

“Are you planning to keep it, or are you looking for someone to adopt it?”

The hospital offered adoption services.

Jiang Nanshu replied, “I’ll keep it.”

The doctor smiled.

“That’s great. Now Rousong will have a companion.”

Jiang Nanshu froze for a moment.

She realized the doctor had misunderstood their relationship and quickly tried to clarify.

“No… you might be mistaken…”

“Jiang Nanshu.”

A calm voice called her name from behind.

She turned around.

“What?”

Song Ye didn’t answer right away.

He quietly observed her for a moment before saying, “I’m hungry.”

Jiang Nanshu blinked.

She remembered that she had ruined his late-night meal.

He had played basketball for so long he must really be hungry.

When they got out of the car earlier, she had noticed a Lawson convenience store nearby.

She turned around and walked toward it.

“I’ll go buy something from the convenience store. What do you want?”

“Alright.”

Song Ye nodded, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

“A sandwich will do.”

Jiang Nanshu tightened her jacket and headed to the store.

The veterinarian watched this scene and couldn’t help but chuckle.

She never expected someone as aloof as Song Ye to act cute with his girlfriend.

A few minutes later, Jiang Nanshu returned with a bag.

She handed it to Song Ye inside was a sandwich and a bottle of water.

Then, she passed a steaming bowl of oden to the doctor.

“Here, doctor. You’ve worked hard.”

“Thank you! I was just thinking about getting some.”

The doctor took it happily.

“I’ll eat it later.”

Jiang Nanshu just smiled and said nothing.

The doctor added, “The surgery will be done after the check-up.

It’ll happen tomorrow, so you don’t have to wait here.”

Since she had work the next day, and she didn’t want to trouble Song Ye, she nodded.

“Alright.”

After paying the fees and exchanging WeChat contacts with the doctor, she and Song Ye left the hospital together.

Back in the car, Jiang Nanshu turned to him.

“Thanks.”

“No need to be so formal.”

Song Ye placed his half-finished bottle of water in the console and started the car.

Jiang Nanshu looked out the window, then asked, “Lin Yao… does he have a problem with me? Did I offend him?”

Song Ye, expressionless, turned the wheel.

“No. Ignore him.”

“…Okay.”

Jiang Nanshu pouted and got out of the car as well.

When she arrived home, she took off the black jacket and returned it to Song Ye.

She hugged her own dirty coat and went inside, planning to take it to the cleaners on her way to work the next morning.

It was already close to midnight.

She grabbed her pajamas and walked into the bathroom.

While removing her makeup, she noticed two strands of silver cat fur stuck to her hair probably from Song Ye’s clothes.

No matter how meticulous or even borderline obsessive about cleanliness someone was, like Song Ye, owning a cat inevitably meant getting some fur on them.

At the barbecue restaurant, after everyone had eaten and drank their fill, they waited for their designated drivers.

Taking advantage of Xu Hao’s trip to the restroom, Lu Youchuan dragged Lin Yao aside for questioning.

Lin Yao had drunk too much.

With just a little push, he couldn’t hold anything back.

When he learned that not only did Jiang Nanshu live next door to Song Ye, but they also worked at the same company and were even in the same project team constantly seeing each other he immediately exploded.

“What???”

He looked like the sky was collapsing.

“It’s over.

Song Ye is finished.”

Lu Youchuan frowned.

“What exactly is going on between them? If you don’t explain clearly, how can I help you fix it?”

Lin Yao gave him a mocking look and said coldly, “What’s wrong? Did you know Jiang Nanshu transferred schools in high school?”

“I didn’t know.”

Lu Youchuan actually knew very little about Jiang Nanshu.

“She transferred in her second year, and she even switched from humanities to science.

The exact reason, I don’t know.”

Lin Yao’s tone carried a hint of disdain.

“But later, I guessed it was probably because of a high school romance.

She had a boyfriend at her previous school.

After transferring, she fell for Song Ye and pursued him for a long time.

Song Ye liked her too and originally planned to be with her after the college entrance exam.

But right before the exam, he accidentally discovered that she hadn’t broken things off with her first love.

For the sake of not affecting her exam performance, he didn’t say a word.”

“No way?”

Lu Youchuan was shocked.

Did Jiang Nanshu really two-time them?

Lin Yao rolled his eyes.

“What’s impossible about that?

We saw it with our own eyes she was hugging that guy.

Her old classmates also said they were dating.

Otherwise, do you think Song Ye has been living like a monk all these years for no reason?

It’s because Jiang Nanshu completely messed him up.”

“……”

Lin Yao continued, “In short, introduce him to whoever you want, just not Jiang Nanshu.

Don’t set him up for disaster.”

Ten minutes later, after getting into his designated driver’s car, Lu Youchuan sat in the back seat, scratching his head furiously like a worried old father.

In the end, he couldn’t hold back anymore.

He pulled out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Jiang Nanshu.

Just as she was about to go to sleep, her phone buzzed.

She picked it up and saw it was from Lu Youchuan.

Cheap Brother: Nanshu, you said before that you don’t like cold and distant guys like Song Ye, right? Just pretend I never tried to set you up.

Let’s forget about it.

Cheap Brother: Thinking it over, you and Song Ye really aren’t a good match.

Jiang Nanshu: “……”

Song Ye told him that fast?

Her feelings were a little complicated.

Even if he didn’t like her, there was no need to remind someone in the middle of the night…

The chat bubble showed “Typing…”

Then, more messages came in from Lu Youchuan.

Cheap Brother: What kind of guy do you like? I’ll introduce you to someone else.

A moment later, he retracted a message.

Cheap Brother: Never mind.

You’re pretty, you must have plenty of suitors.

I’m just worrying for nothing.

Typing…

Jiang Nanshu stared at the screen for a long time.

Was he writing her an essay?

She yawned sleepily, her eyes misty as she continued watching.

Cheap Brother: If you don’t want to keep living there, I can help you find another place.

Jiang Nanshu blinked, suddenly understanding why he was so conflicted.

So he just wanted to take the apartment back!

Thinking about her interactions with Song Ye tonight, she felt there was indeed a bit of danger.

Maybe moving out would be a good idea.

At least she wouldn’t have to worry about asking Lu Youchuan if she could keep a cat in the apartment.

She typed back:

Shu: No need to find a place for me.

I’ll look around on my own.

You’re not in a rush, right? Give me a week to find a new place and move out.

A moment later, he retracted another message.

Cheap Brother: No, no, you’ve got it all wrong.

I’m not trying to kick you out!

Stay as long as you want!

If you want to throw a party in the apartment, go for it!

This time, his typing speed was lightning fast.

Cheap Brother: I just meant little sister, enjoy yourself out there.

Shu: ?

It’s the middle of winter.

She wasn’t a fish.

Where was she supposed to “swim” to?

Besides, she couldn’t even swim.

Cheap Brother: Just have fun. That’s all that matters. Stay safe, and remember to come home for meals.

Cheap Brother: If you ever need anything, just call me. I’ve got your back.

Jiang Nanshu: “……”

Was this guy drunk and rambling nonsense?