Chapter Text
This was heaven. Xie Lian smiled sheepishly at the black cat on his lap. He was thoroughly convinced he had never felt anything softer in his entire life. Even the word soft was not doing justice to the silky, long fur rippling beneath his fingers. The deep purr of the massive cat reverberated through Xie Lian's legs. In the light of the afternoon sun, the black fur had almost a brown sheen to it.
Apparently, this was his lucky day. He had simply wanted to go for a short walk to enjoy the sunshine before his evening shift in the restaurant. With some time to spare, he had sat down on his favorite bench next to the playground close to his apartment. The sun was shining through colorful fall leaves, and Xie Lian had marveled at the bright orange and yellow above him.
The cat had appeared out of nowhere a few minutes later. It had jumped up next to him and had immediately demanded Xie Lian's full attention with a loud meow and a few head butts. He had noticed at once that it was missing one eye, but it seemed healthy otherwise, as well as well-fed and groomed. After some thorough sniffing at his hand from the cat's side and a cautious pet on the head from Xie Lian's side, it had strut on his lap, curled up, and closed his remaining yellow eye. It seemed to enjoy the reverent strokes from Xie Lian's hand on its back. At least, it was tolerating them. And that was enough for Xie Lian.
He looked at the majestic creature in awe, racking his brain thinking if he had seen it before. But no, he was sure he would remember that. Besides, Xie Lian was fairly certain he knew every outdoor cat in this neighborhood at least by sight. Probably a lot of the indoor ones as well, who liked to watch him through the windows just as much as he liked staring at them adoringly in return. Apparently, today was just his lucky day to meet this new friend.
The sun was warming his back, the cat continued to endure his gentle scratches and pets, and even rewarded him with its deep purr. Absolute bliss. Until…
"Moooooom! That's him! That's the cat from the poster! Looooooook!" A small boy was running towards Xie Lian's bench, dragging a tired-looking woman behind him.
"I'm coming Jingyi, please stop pulling."
But the child did not heed her words and only came to a stop directly in front of Xie Lian.
"Is that your cat? Where did you find him? Why did you not take down the flyers? Can I pet him? Please? Pleeeeaaase?"
Xie Lian blinked at the boy, then at his mother.
"I'm so sorry, he just loves animals so much, and we can't have one, unfortunately," the woman said. She did not look too sad about it, though. "He memorizes all the missing cat and dog flyers, and desperately wants to help find them."
"No no, it's okay," Xie Lian assured her. "But this is not my cat. He just came by a few minutes ago."
"Ah, I see. Then, maybe you want to have a look at that flyer. He looks just like them. I think those were put up yesterday." She pointed to a lamppost on the street corner with her free arm. The other one was trying to hold on to the boy, who was pulling her in another direction, having lost focus already.
"Oh, that's good to know, thank you! I will take care of it, don't worry," Xie Lian answered.
"Wonderful!" She had no time to say anything further as her son had started to drag her to the little puppy that he had spotted at the other side of the playground.
Xie Lian carefully felt for a collar on the cat's neck, but he did not find anything. He tentatively tried to see if the animal was open to the idea of being held in his arms. It looked at him a bit annoyed to be woken from its slumber, but with some soothing sounds and soft strokes, Xie Lian was able to calm the cat, pick it up, and walk to the lamppost.
The flyer there did indeed show several pictures of the large one-eyed black cat in all sorts of—very adorable, in Xie Lian's humble opinion—sitting and sleeping positions. Underneath it, the owner had promised a not further defined "huge reward" for any hints. And right below that, a warning had been added in red letters: Attention! Don't approach! E-Ming is wary of strangers and tends to bite and/or scratch!
Huh? Xie Lian looked at the cozy ball of fur in his arms in confusion. Was this the right cat? But how many similar looking one-eyed black cats would there be in one neighborhood?
Xie Lian rearranged the cat carefully. To his relief, it showed no inclination to let go or jump off. With one hand free now, he fished his phone out of his pocket, which was not an easy feat with the weight of the huge beast in one arm. He was relieved he was still in good shape, otherwise this might have been impossible. He typed in the number from the flyer and pressed call. Ring… ring…
He was about to give up when a deep voice answered. "Hello?"
"Oh, hello, I think I found your cat."
"Oh my god, really? Where? Is he still there? Can you try to keep an eye on him? Shit, I'll have to get dressed first, I'll hurry! He is very wary, so…"
Xie Lian interrupted the voice gently. "Don't worry, he seems very content for now, I can bring him over, if you want to."
A beat of silence. "Bring him over?"
"Yeah, he is all cuddled up in my arm right now, so I think it should work. Where do you live?"
More silence.
"Really? Okay then… I'll hurry up and try to meet you half way."
The man gave his address and Xie Lian immediately realized that it was basically across the street. He assured him, that he was just around the corner, at the playground, and would be there in three minutes.
Xie Lian hung up and started walking slowly in the direction of the address. "So, your name is E-Ming, is that right? You're such a wonderful cat, aren't you? Such a good boy. Someone seems to have missed you a lot." He kept soothing the cat with his soft, low voice. E-Ming seemed to like hearing him talk. He pressed his head in the crook of Xie Lian's neck and started to purr into his ear. Xie Lian smiled and sighed as he knew without a doubt that his heart was now held forever in E-Ming's black paws.
His smile still lingered when Xie Lian turned the corner. He immediately saw a man exit a small front yard through a low iron gate in haste. The man looked around hectically before spotting them.
"E-Ming," he called out, the relief in his voice clear even in the short exclamation. With long strides, he rushed over, giving Xie Lian only a brief moment to muster him.
He was almost a head taller than Xie Lian. He definitely looked like he had exited the shower in a rush, his long black hair still wet and in disarray. His black t-shirt was inside out, and his dark red sweatpants were hanging dangerously low, revealing maybe a rim of his black underwear. Also, he was incredibly good-looking.
Xie Lian felt the heat rising to his face when he noticed himself staring. Luckily, the man did not appear to have noticed, as he stopped in front of Xie Lian entirely fixated on the cat still curling up perfectly content in his rescuer's arms.
"It's really him! Thank you so much! I have to admit that I had my doubts when you said you could bring him over. He never lets anyone touch him except for myself, the little demon." Xie Lian had to stifle a laugh at the utter disbelief on the man's face.
"Ah, don't worry, I'm just good with cats, that's all." Xie Lian smiled and shrugged, which led to a small but indignant meow from E-Ming.
Xie Lian grabbed the cat to hand him over, but E-Ming had other plans. A low growl came from his throat and his claws hooked tight into Xie Lian's denim jacket.
"What…?" The owner of the stubborn cat shook his head, apparently at a total loss for words. "Are you really E-Ming?" He muttered and stepped closer to pet the cat's head. The man bowed down, scrutinizing the animal, his head almost touching Xie Lian's chest. Xie Lian swallowed. But apparently, the conclusion remained that this was indeed his missing pet.
The man chuckled and shrugged. "Well, apparently E-Ming does not want to let you go, so maybe..." He straightened, looked down at Xie Lian, and stopped mid-sentence as their eyes met for the first time, their faces merely a hand's width apart. Xie Lian squirmed a bit under the intense gaze of those dark eyes and quickly turned his head.
The man cleared his throat, taking a step back. "Would you do me one more favor and bring him inside? I would also love to thank you properly."
Xie Lian tried one more time to pry the cat from his arms, but gave up immediately to save his jacket from the fate of being ripped to shreds. "Sure, I think that's the only way, to be honest."
The man laughed—it was a nice sound—and nodded gratefully, leading the way through the gate to the front door. "It's the upstairs apartment, please follow me."
They walked through the hallway and up the wooden stairs. The stairwell was clean, well lit, and decorated with tasteful pictures in abstract colors. A few potted plants hanging from the ceiling created a welcoming atmosphere even before entering the apartment itself.
The man opened the door to his home and bid Xie Lian to come in. Xie Lian had just entered and smiled at the man, who closed the door behind them, when E-Ming jumped out of his arms, running straight down the hallway with a loud, drawn-out meow. Xie Lian looked at the man with big eyes, and after two seconds, they both started laughing.
"My god, this cat, I can't believe it…" The owner of said cat shook his head, still chuckling. "Please come in, I'd love to thank you properly."
"It's all good." Xie Lian smiled. "I would also be worried sick if my cat were missing, and probably totally lose my head. I mean, I don't want to say you lost your head..." Xie Lian trailed off, embarrassed, and a faint blush crept up his cheeks.
Before the silence could stretch into awkwardness, the man said, "Oh, but I have been so impolite to gege. My name is Hua Cheng, but I’m the third of my family, so you can call me San Lang."
Xie Lian almost choked as he heard the unexpected, intimate address and tried to cover it up with a cough.
"My name is Xie Lian. It's nice to meet you, San Lang," he murmured.
Only when those words had left his lips did he notice he had also picked the informal address. Before he could doubt his choice, a warm smile spread on San Lang's face, and whisked all of Xie Lian's thoughts away.
"It's very nice to meet you. Can I offer you something to drink?" Another call from E-Ming sounded from further inside. "I think my attention is needed in the kitchen," he added with a grin.
Xie Lian was torn between his good manners to decline politely and his curiosity… Well, probably his wish to see if E-Ming was okay. Yeah, that was reasonable.
"If it's not too much trouble."
"Not at all. Please, follow me."
Xie Lian nodded, and another laugh escaped his lips as a string of outraged meows echoed through the hallway.
After they took their shoes off, San Lang led Xie Lian down the hallway and into the living room. It was a lovely room, very much catering to Xie Lian's taste. The spacious room was flooded with light that came through big floor-to-ceiling windows. A few elegant pieces of metal and glass contrasted with the light wood of the floors and the rest of the furniture. All of it was tied together by a whole array of well-taken care of houseplants, all of them safe for cats, as Xie Lian observed. When he noticed he had stopped for a while to look around, he hurried to enter the big open doorway through which San Lang had walked ahead of him.
The room he entered was the kitchen, which was, as far as Xie Lian could tell, probably brand new, in a modern black decor, and high-end. It was, in any case, meticulously tidy and clean. San Lang had already started preparing some food for E-Ming while talking to the cat in a low voice. E-Ming had gotten onto his hind legs and stretched as far as he could reach up his owner's long legs. San Lang laughed at that, shaking his head. Through the motion, a few drops of water from his wet hair started running down his face. He grabbed the rim of his t-shirt to wipe them off, revealing a well-trained upper body and, as such, a very nice sight to look at to Xie Lian, who was staring at him, unable to take his eyes off, heat rushing to his face for the second time today. Luckily, preparing E-Ming's food demanded all of San Lang's attention, and he only looked up at Xie Lian when the latter cleared his throat— which he only did after San Lang was properly dressed again and he had made sure his breath had calmed down.
"I think someone is happy now." San Lang chuckled while E-Ming devoured the food in his bowl. "Would you like some tea?"
Xie Lian nodded, and San Lang showed him his selection of fine teas, which overwhelmed him so much that he pointed blindly at one in the middle. San Lang did not seem to notice, or at least, he did not show it. He offered Xie Lian a seat on one of the bar stools of the kitchen island, opposite from himself, and prepared to brew the tea. Everything San Lang did seemed effortlessly elegant, even preparing cat food in sweatpants, and Xie Lian lost himself watching the man's graceful movements through the kitchen. When San Lang measured the tea, his brow was slightly furrowed in concentration, and in the light of the late afternoon sun shining on his face, his dark eyes almost had a red tint. His sharp features softened in the warm glow, and Xie Lian let his gaze trail along his sharp cheekbones, down his strong jaw...
"Ahem." Xie Lian almost fell off the bar stool when San Lang cleared his throat. Apparently, staring at his host's face like a crazy person had made him miss the fact that the tea was finished. When he dared to look at San Lang, he caught the traces of a sly grin on his face. If it had not been so impolite now that the tea was ready, he might have been tempted to leave right then and there out of sheer embarrassment. Luckily, San Lang did not comment any further.
"Please follow me, gege." San Lang smiled and pointed towards a big sofa in the middle of the living room. Xie Lian followed him, shaking his head a bit to wake himself up. What was wrong with him today?
As soon as they sat down, E-Ming walked over. He stretched his body to his full impressive length and jumped onto the sofa, next to Xie Lian. A few head butts followed to demand cuddles, while he ignored his owner the entire time. San Lang's eyes widened again. After a few head scratches from Xie Lian, the cat seemed content, settled down next to him, and started cleaning himself thoroughly with his pink tongue.
San Lang stared at them.
"I'm sorry, I have never seen him like that with anyone else, so I have to ask: did something happen to him outside?"
"Um, I wouldn't know, to be honest. I sat down on the bench at the playground, and he just came out of nowhere, settling down on my lap. I did not feed him, I swear!" Xie Lian added with a slight bit of panic in his voice. This had to look like that, didn't it?
"I didn't mean to imply that, gege, I apologize. I'm so relieved and happy he is back safe and sound. Yet I just don't think he cares how much I was concerned, the bastard." San Lang chuckled. "I will have to check him for injuries and such, maybe I'll take him to the vet tomorrow, just to be sure. He was gone for three days. I was looking for him all day today. I can't believe he was this close to the house—but I'm rambling. Please tell me how I can make it up to you. I was worried sick."
"No no no, it's fine. I couldn't accept anything for taking care of such a wonderful cat. And I didn’t do much anyway. I'm happy he’s home, that's all that matters. No big deal."
"It is, for me."
Xie Lian felt his ears turn red.
"Please, let me at least take you out to dinner," San Lang continued.
"Oh, that's very nice to offer, but I'm not a fan of crowded places for dinner at the moment, to be honest, I've got enough of that at work. It's really okay, though…"
"Then let me cook you something here. Tomorrow evening?"
Xie Lian started to plug off the insane amount of black cat hair clinging to his gray hoodie and his beige chino pants, his eyes focused on the important task. How was he supposed to say no to that without San Lang taking offense? Should he say no? It was the polite thing to do, right?
"I think E-Ming would be very happy to see you again," San Lang added with a fond smile on his face as he looked at the black cat cuddling up to his guest. "Would you also like to see him again?"
"Yes, of course!" Xie Lian answered, scratching the extra soft spot behind E-Ming's ears.
"Wonderful. Then it's settled." San Lang looked at him with a broad grin.
It was? Oh.
"Anything you especially fancy? Anything you don't like? Vegetarian? Vegan? Allergies?"
"Vegan would be very much appreciated. Thank you for your consideration," Xie Lian stuttered, focusing his eyes back on E-Ming.
A loud ping from his pocket made Xie Lian jump. Shit, was it so late already?
"I'm afraid I have to get ready for work, I'm so sorry."
"No no, please don't apologize. Thank you again! I hope E-Ming is not too sad because you're leaving." San Lang led him back to the front door. "I don't want to keep you, but maybe let me just… one last thing." He brought out a lint remover, handing it to Xie Lian.
"Thank you, that's very thoughtful." Xie Lian noticed himself being a tad disappointed that San Lang had not started to brush off the hair of Xie Lian himself. What now? He felt the heat creep back up to his face, hurried to free himself roughly from the cat hair, and rushed out the door.
Xie Lian had a hard time focusing on work that night. Unfortunately, messing up orders for pretentious rich people, who spent a fortune on their dinner, was not something his boss was overly fond of. Ling Wen admonished him several times. At the end of his shift, she pulled him aside. "Xie Lian, are you okay?"
Xie Lian looked at his feet as if he had discovered something absolutely mesmerizing on the floor.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a bit tired. I'm really sorry, I know I messed up a couple of things today. It won't happen again."
He felt her piercing gaze scrutinize his face. "Okay then. You have a day off tomorrow anyway. Relax, get some sleep. We have a large birthday party on Thursday and an engagement celebration on Saturday. I need you on your game for that. I know you are very thorough and diligent, so I will let this slide."
"Thank you. I'm so sorry. Will do. I promise."
With that, she let him go.
Xie Lian was glad Feng Xin was not working today, or he would have had a similar conversation with his best friend as well.
Utterly exhausted, Xie Lian went home.
His apartment was on the ground floor of a small building in the backyard of a larger apartment house. It did not catch a lot of light, unfortunately, which was another reason why Xie Lian was outside as often as possible.
The apartment had not been in good shape when he moved in. But it was cheap, and as such, the only thing that he had been able to afford in this area. He had spent a lot of time on repairs and minor improvements over the years, until it had started to feel a bit more like a home. He had, of course, noticed the weird looks his two best friends had given him. But as much as he had appreciated their offers to help him out or to live with them, he would never accept anything of that sort. He really needed time to himself after everything that had happened, and he did not want to be indebted to the two of them. This was all he needed, anyway, and probably all he deserved.
Xie Lian unlocked the door with the obligatory kick that was necessary to convince it to open. He forced himself to take a quick shower and fell down on his bed, but sleep was still far from his mind. He turned on his back to stare at the ceiling. He thought back to the moment he had decided to go outside for a short walk before work and wondered how different today had turned out if he had walked the other way, or if he had not set down on that bench. Suddenly, he was very glad of all the little coincidences leading up to him meeting E-Ming. And of course, his owner, too. A smile spread on his face.
He tried to think if he had ever seen San Lang in this neighborhood, but he could not remember anything. He surely would have remembered, right? San Lang was so tall and polite, how could he forget someone like that.
Xie Lian replayed their whole conversation in his head a few times, maybe lingering a bit longer on the moments where San Lang had smiled so happily at him. Or the moment he had walked into the kitchen… No, not that moment. He felt his ears burn and tried to get the image out of his head. “Xie Lian, that's very inappropriate,” he reprimanded himself.
Unfortunately, Xie Lian had no experience whatsoever with banishing a thought like that. He had never been interested in women, no matter how many times his parents had introduced him to some family friend's beautiful daughter. And he had never been particularly interested in a man like that, either.
He scrolled a bit on his phone to distract himself, but his mind wandered back to the kitchen and to San Lang brewing tea with steady motions, his slender fingers carefully measuring the tea, the soft light painting his face in a warm glow…
PING
Xie Lian dropped his phone with a small shriek. Luckily, it landed on the thick rug in front of his bed, unscathed. Embarrassed, he picked it up, staring at the picture of a black cat, rolled on his back, exposing a fluffy belly. Huh?
PING
He almost dropped his phone again, as the next text arrived from a number he had called this afternoon for the first time.
UNKOWN NUMBER: Look, he is very happy to be back. I think. 😉
UNKOWN NUMBER: I checked him for injuries, but he seems completely fine. I thought you would like to know.
UNKOWN NUMBER: I'm also not buying the "I'm so hungry act". But I guess I'm going to spoil him rotten the next couple of days anyway.
UNKOWN NUMBER: I just wanted to say thank you again! I feel like I did not stress that enough. I can’t tell you how relieved and how grateful I am.
Xie Lian felt his palms getting sweaty. What would be appropriate to reply? He had to reply, right? Everything else would be very impolite.
I'm happy you're happy.
Nope. He deleted that before sending. Phew.
Xie Lian: I'm so glad to hear that. He looks so cute. 😍 Thank you for the photo.
Xie Lian: I'm very happy I could help.
Okay yes, better. Send.
That was better, right?
UNKOWN NUMBER: Oh, you're still up. I hope I didn't wake you?!
UNKOWN NUMBER: I always go to bed way too late, I sometimes forget to check the time before texting.
Xie Lian: No no, you're good. 🙂 I just came back from work.
UNKOWN NUMBER: I see, I'm glad I didn't wake you. Also glad you're still awake. ☺️
UNKOWN NUMBER: Do you work evening shifts a lot? Would lunch work better than dinner?
Xie Lian smiled at the thoughtful comment.
Xie Lian: I'm off tomorrow. Dinner works!
Wait, should he have declined the invitation now? It was really not necessary, was he being too greedy? But he really wanted to see the cute cat again.
UNKOWN NUMBER: Wonderful. See you at 7 then?
Well, too late now, probably.
Xie Lian: Perfect. Should I bring anything?
UNKOWN NUMBER: Nope! You're our guest.
UNKOWN NUMBER: If you bring something to a thank-you-dinner, I might have to re-invite you. 😉
UNKOWN NUMBER: So, on second thought, you should bring something.
UNKOWN NUMBER: jk
Xie Lian tried to type something. And stopped. Deleted all of it. Tried again. Then he gave up and distracted himself with saving San Lang's number. After a while, there was another ping.
San Lang 🐈⬛: Sorry for keeping you up. You are probably exhausted from work.
San Lang 🐈⬛: You really don't have to bring anything.
San Lang 🐈⬛: Please allow me to do a proper thank you.
San Lang 🐈⬛: I'm looking forward to seeing you! E-Ming too.
Another picture was attached, this time, E-Ming had covered his face with his paws in the cutest possible way.
Xie Lian sent a heart reaction to the picture.
San Lang 🐈⬛: Good night, gege
Xie Lian: Good night, San Lang
A wide grin spread across Xie Lian's face before he could help it. How was he supposed to sleep now? Not for the first time, he wished for a purring cat on his chest to calm him down.