Chapter Text
„Hey Yan Shu,“ asked Shen Yushu suddenly over the lunch break, „why did you come in so late today?“
Li Changtian, who had so far been enjoying his lunch in peace, immediately stiffened. He tried to nonverbally signal to Shen Yushu to stop talking, but of course Shen Yushu wasn‘t paying attention to him.
Yan Shu took care to finish chewing the bite of his sandwich before answering: "I took Mao-mao to the vet yesterday, but somehow he managed to slip out and run away, all the way out of the clinic. I was up all night looking for him.“
„Wow, your cat is such an escape artist, huh, Changtian?“ Shen Yushu elbowed Li Changtian, who did not appreciate being on the receiving end of Shen Yushu‘s prodding nor being put on the spot about the ordeal he had had to live through yesterday.
„Any cat could do that,“ he mumbled into his tuna steak, unconvincingly.
Shen Yushu just laughed. „Anyway, I hope you found him quickly,“ he said to Yan Shu.
Yan Shu shook his head. „I kept looking for him all over the neighbourhood for half the night. Eventually I gave up and found him already at home in the bed. I slept together for maybe an hour and a half, so I didn't wake up when my alarm went off in the morning. I only woke up because Chief Qin called me to ask why I am not at work. "
„You‘re lucky he is your dad. If that happened to me, I would never hear the end of it.“
Yan Shu frowned. „I will be working overtime to compensate for my late arrival, of course. Besides, you tend to be late for work at least three times per week, of course yifu scolds you for it.“
„Aiya, don‘t you start as well,“ sighed Shen Yushu. „Why don‘t you rather tell me more about Mao-mao – do you know why he ran away?“ He leaned in, supporting his chin in one hand.
„No idea,“ said Yan Shu. „We were discussing his health with the veterinarian, one minute he was fine, and the next second he bolted like someone was chasing him.“
„Maybe,“ said Li Changtian, „the vet was doing something he didn‘t like.“
„Mm,“ said Yan Shu. „I don‘t think so. He was literally just holding him, like always.“
„What were you talking about with the vet?“ prodded Shen Yushu further.
„The usual – vaccinations, his diet. I mentioned being worried about how often he just runs away. Oh, by the way, the veterinarian agrees that too much tuna is bad for cats,“ Yan Shu said to Li Changtian pointedly.
Li Changtian pretended not to hear it, taking another bite out of his steak.
„Did you get any advice on how to stop him from running away so much?“ Shen Yushu asked, grinning.
„They told me some tom cats have strong territorial instincts and stray because of that, which is the result of their hormones, so the problem could be solved by having Mao-mao neutered.“
Yan Shu didn‘t notice the look his two friends exchanged after that – Shen Yushu‘s could be described as an evil, unholy delight, the ‘are you kidding me, this is the wildest shit I have ever heard‘ almost readable in his eyes, while Li Changtian‘s resembled a deer in the headlights in a very heartfelt and panicked ‘how is this real, what deity did I offend in a past life‘ kind of way.
Li Changtian tightened the grip on his steak knife. "Yan Shu, please tell me you are not seriously considering castrating your cat."
Yan Shu raised an eyebrow. "It was just a recommendation. I didn't make a decision yet.“
„I don‘t understand why would you be even considering it. So what if Mao-mao likes to wander a little? He‘s a free spirit! Besides, he‘s well-behaved, clean, never messes up the house – I know several guys who don‘t fit those criteria and not one of their roommates is considering snipping their balls!“
Li Changtian, realizing how loud had his objections been getting, stuffed a large piece of steak into his mouth to stop himself from saying any more nonsense he would regret later. Maybe Yan Shu would forget about this whole deal if they stopped talking about it.
His wishes were not to be granted today, since apparently Shen Yushu was not done causing trouble yet. With a shit-eating grin, he said: “Changtian, I didn‘t know you had such strong opinions on this topic. You were never so particular when it came to literally anything else concerning Mao-mao.“
Li Changtian scrambled for a sensible answer he could give, chewing furiously. He couldn't just say 'you very well know what is my objection- these are my jewels we are talking about! I don't want to be castrated just because I turn into a cat freeloading at Yan Shu‘s place!' He swallowed, then breathed in through his nose and released a deep breath through his mouth, trying to sound calm while the future of his manhood was in jepardy. „I just don't think preventing straying is a valid reason to do.. that. The cause might not even be hormonal! What would snipping Mao-mao achieve then?“
Shen Yushu persistently dug the hole - presumably to be used as a grave for Li Changtian‘s cat form‘s dignity - deeper. "You know, testicular cancer is a huge health risk for non-neutered cats. No balls - no ball cancer.“
Li Changtian‘s patience ran out. He slammed the knife down. "Well goddamn, I guess we all should get de-balled then, huh Shen Yushu?“
Awkward silence fell around the table.
Shen Yushu made a face and shuffled his legs closer together.
„That.. is not a word,“ said Yan Shu eventually.
Li Changtian‘s mouth fell open. The entire situation was unbelievable - was he going to have to choose between keeping his best friend or his balls?? His voice jumped an octave higher. „That is the problem you are focusing on?“
„Hey, what are you all talking about so loudly I can hear you in my office?“ Qin Jueming appeared in the doors with a cup of coffee. „Lunch break‘s over, why are you not working?“
Shen Yushu mumbled something inaudibly while looking away. Yan Shu looked vaguely guilty.
Li Changtian‘s eyes lit up as as he saw a ray of hope for his poor testicles in front of him. He needed to convince Yan Shu not to neuter his cat, ergo himself, and he didn‘t care about who he needed to involve in order to reach that goal, or what the consequences could be. The alternative was far worse.
„Sir – do you agree that it is insane to de-ball someone to prevent possible health problems in the future?“
Qin Jueming blinked for a moment, rooted to the spot.
„If you would like to book an appointment with my husband,“ he began slowly, frowning.
Both Yan Shu and Li Changtian turned matching shades of red. Shen Yushu started laughing into a fist.
„No no no no no!“ Li Changtian quickly interrupted the chief. „I absolutely do not need any kinds of medical interventions, least of all any involving my… err.. nether regions!! Besides, I have been against the idea from the very start! It is Shen Yushu who is considering its merit!“
Shen Yushu choked on a laugh.
Qin Jueming turned a considering look at him. „I was under the impression that you are completely healthy, Yushu,“ he said.
„No, I am, I am!“ Shen Yushu shook his head vigorously. „We were talking about Chang-“ Yan Shu‘s eyes got wide and he started coughing, but it was too late. „-tian,“ Shen Yushu‘s voice could be heard clearly over the sound of Yan Shu‘s coughing.
„What the fuck?“ exploded Li Changtian.
Qin Jueming squinted at him. „He clearly just said he is against the idea.“
„Um,“ interjected Yan Shu, eyes downcast. „Not him.“ He did not elaborate further.
„Oh, right, Changtian the cat,“ Qin Jueming nodded, satisfied things finally made sense again, and took a sip of his coffee.
Li Changtian turned to face Yan Shu. „Wait, what? I thought your cat‘s name was Mao-mao.“
Yan Shu froze, then started fidgeting with the fork, stubbornly not raising his eyes from the desk. „It is. Just, I call him Changtian sometimes.“
Li Changtian still didn‘t understand. „You named your cat after me?“
„It‘s just a nickname,“ Yan Shu defended himself. „He reminds me of you.“
„That‘s true, you have the same look in your eyes,“ Shen Yushu interjected, but, after Li Changtian glared at him, quickly shut up and made a ‘staying out of it‘ gesture.
Li Changtian swallowed. „So let me get this straight. Your cat reminds you of me... and now you are suddenly considering castrating him.” He paused for a moment. “Is it because of the resemblance?“
Yan Shu didn‘t say anything, too stunned at the mental leap Li Changtian had just taken. Qin Jueming, starting to realize he may have fucked up by mentioning Changtian the cat, joined Shen Yushu in pretending they weren‘t a part of this conversation while straining their ears to hear every word.
Li Changtian made a few other mental calculations and came to a possible explanation. „Do you hate me that much?“
Yan Shu opened his mouth but nothing came out. Shen Yushu got a crazed glint in his eyes, clenching his fists like he was cheerleading, and waited with baited breath for Yan Shu to reveal his feelings.
„I...“ Yan Shu‘s voice gave up after barely starting the sentence.
Li Changtian waited for him to continue, but when Yan Shu didn‘t, he just nodded in confirmation. „You could just request a different partner, you know,“ he said bitterly. „You don‘t have to force yourself to keep working with me.“
Qin Jueming, who was effectively the one that arranged their partnership, hid his slowly widening eyes behind the cup of by now cold coffee and took a step back in case whatever issues Li Changtian had with his brain were catching.
Yan Shu‘s lips parted but nothing came out.
Li Changtian sighed, shaking his head. „Whatever. I‘ll.. get out of your hair.“
Heartbroken, Yan Shu finally found a voice, and called: „Changtian, I don‘t ..“ He half-raised a hand, like he wanted to grab Li Changtian by the sleeve to prevent him from leaving, but never touched it in the end. Li Changtian neither stopped nor looked back. After a few seconds, Yan Shu let his hand fall back down to his side. „…, hate you,“ he finished in a whisper.
The words lingered in the air, unheard by their intended recipient, who was nowhere to be seen.
Yan Shu was left standing there like a forlorn statue.
Qin Jueming sucked in a deep breath through his teeth, slapping a hand on Yan Shu‘s shoulder. „I‘ll ... call Ziqing. Tell him to come to the office.“ He pointed at Shen Yushu, while tugging Yan Shu away. „If anyone asks to see us, we won‘t be available for the rest of the day.“
„Yes sir,“ said Shen Yushu.
The doors of the Police Chief‘s office slid shut after the two of them.
„Wow,“ Shen Yushu said to himself. It was possibly the first time he had been grateful that his animal form was a koi fish, and as such, was in no danger of losing its reproductive organs even if somone did keep him as a pet fish. He‘d take the risk of suffocating any day. „That escalated quickly.“
In his mind, he lit yet another metaphorical candle for Changtian‘s thought process, and wished Yan Shu lots of courage and tenacity in pursueing their relationship. Although, the way things had been going, maybe he should alter the bet he had placed on them getting together to avoid losing. He was sure he could talk his brother into letting him change the terms just a little bit...
- - -
It was late when Yan Shu arrived home. He had stayed at the office, talking with his father and listening to Yan Ziqing‘s advice, while Qin Jueming made himself useful getting hot chocolate for Yan Shu and herbal tea for Yan Ziqing, both of which Yan Ziqing claimed were good for the nerves. Being a doctor, he should know.
And it worked – or maybe it was his dad‘s comforting words that worked, because thanks to his efforts Yan Shu felt like he could brave coming to work and facing Li Changtian the next day. He had even declined the offer to sleep at his parents‘ house like when he was little. He had his cat to take care of, after all.
Speaking of which, where exactly was Mao-Changtian?
The tom cat would usually run to greet Yan Shu, purring and tangling between his legs when he was home. Sometimes he would be still out, but in that case Yan Shu would sooner or later find him pawing at the window or the front door bell to be let in, judging by which was closer to Yan Shu‘s current position. He never said that Changtian wasn‘t smart.
Except now he was nowhere to be seen, when Yan Shu was almost an hour and a half later than usual. He’d usually be home already.
Yan Shu forcefully ejected insane thoughts about the cat running away forever to save his testicles because he had somehow understood what the vet offered to do to him from his brain. It was not that late at night yet. Changtian was probably just out chasing some lady cat or a rival and forgetting the time, that was all. He would come home when he got hungry.
At midnight, Yan Shu was washing his teeth just to have something to do while waiting, and his cat was still missing.
Yan Shu was slowly succumbing to desperation. How could he lose his cat two nights in a row? A thousand needles were twisting in his belly, he was just itching to go out and look for Changtian there - except he had no idea where to even start. Last night he had searched the vicinity of the vet clinic and then widened the circle, especially towards his place, but he had no starting place now. Changtian could be in the neighbourhood just as probably as on the other side of the city. Yan Shu could only hope the posters with Changtian´s photos and his phone number he had put up last night would work.
He shouldn’t have installed that cat flap in his front door. He should not have been so lazy. If he hadn’t wanted to sleep in past five am without being woken up by the cat clamoring to go outside, Changtian would have had to rely on Yan Shu opening the door for him and would therefore not be missing currently. So that, much like the debacle with his human counterpart, had to be Yan Shu‘s fault.
Was he fated to be a bad cat owner as well as a bad coworker?
Yan Shu sighed, looking at his reflection in the mirror. In any case, as last night had taught him, looking for Changtian in the dead of night was bound to be a failure. He should get some sleep and then look for his cat tomorrow. He could even ask for a few days off, just to have more time to search.
Maybe some of his colleagues could help with the search. The more people, the better… except for Li Changtian. He could not ask Li Changtian to search for cat Changtian, that would be insulting. Yan Shu did not want to lose his partner on top of his cat.
He rinsed and spat out the toothpaste mixed with water, then watched it swirl down the drain. What if it rained tonight? What if Changtian couldn´t find a dry place to hide in? He so hated to be wet.
If only he would find Changtian tomorrow, he would wrap him in the softest, warmest blanket he had. He would let him sleep on his pillow, or on his chest, whichever Changtian preferred. He would let him eat all the tuna he wanted.
If only he could have Changtian back.
Yan Shu breathed shakily in and out, then made himself go and open all the windows a crack. He even went and unlocked the front door, just in case. His father would yell at him for that - ‘home security comes first, Yan Shu‘ - but he couldn‘t stand the thought of Changtian coming back at some point and waiting in the cold, so close to the warmth of home. He did leave the chain on.
After that, he ran out of things to do. Telling himself he should at least try to get some sleep, he changed into night clothes and laid down on the bed. He had to set up the alarm on an actual alarm clock since he couldn’t find his phone anywhere. Probably forgot it at work.
Yan Shu stared into the dark of his bedroom for some time, before closing his eyes. Just as he was finally falling asleep, a car horn sounded outside. He fought with himself for a moment before jumping out of bed, running to the window and squinting through the scarcely lit street just to make sure there was no little shadow darting across the street - or worse, lying on the ground in a limp ball.
He stayed at the window until he was sure there was nothing to see there, then went back to bed and forbid himself to think about such things again.
He did not get much sleep that night either.
- - -
Li Changtian was, at the very same moment, ready to admit he did not think things through.
Balancing on the windowsill in his cat form, he judged the distance to the ground again and found it as intimidating as the first time he had done so. His claws scratched at the plastic as he anxiously slid them in and back out. What was he supposed to do now?
Earlier that day, he had had the bright idea to go back to the vet clinic to get rid of the incriminating footage from the security cameras, just in case someone ever went looking for the suspiciously smart cat behaving like it could understand human speech. Unfortunately, he hadn‘t accounted for how many people would still be there – seriously, the clinic did not empty out for one minute the whole time he waited for that to happen – so as the clock struck closer and closer to six pm he had had to resolve to drastic measures.
He had taken out his badge, which earned him the right to jump the line but not without some people grumbling, and knocked on the glass separating the receptionist‘s desk from the customer area.
„Sorry, I‘ll be with you in a moment!“ had been the distracted reply, the receptionist simultaneously on the phone, bent over looking for something in a large cardboard box and yelling for someone in the back in between words spoken into the telephone‘s receiver.
Li Changtian had waited for a few moments, then cleared his throat. He couldn‘t afford to wait for long.
„Just a sec!“ the next reply had come in a decidedly less customer-friendly voice. After a few more moments of fumbling, the receptionist had kicked the cardboard box closed, yelled „it‘s not there Jerry!“ while covering the telephone‘s microphone with one hand and then turned around to face Li Changtian. Still on the phone.
„Unfortunately we did not receive the product, please send the completed package tomorrow,“ the receptionist had said into the phone in an angelic voice dripping with hidden malice and finally hung up with an audible click. She had then taken a deep breath before meeting Li Changtian‘s eyes and, in that same voice, asking: „How may I help you, sir?“
Her smile had been sharp enough to cut, showing all her teeth.
„Ah,“ Li Changtian had suddenly felt that wasting her time would have been dangerous. „I, ah.. I am from the local police department actually! We um..would like to ask to review your security camera footage in relation to a crime we are investigating in the neighborhood.“
The receptionist had leaned back in her seat, unimpressed. „Do you have an ID?“
„Of course,“ Li Changtian had waved it around, then handed it over when she made a ´gimme‘ gesture. She had squinted at it suspiciously, then raised it to her face, making Li Changtian remember another unfortunate incident that had had happened to him while he was identifying himself to a civilian. „Please don‘t lick it.“
The receptionist had paused. „Why would I lick it?“
„No idea,“ said Li Changtian helplessly. “Just don‘t do it. Please.“ Lady, you are looking at it too close, he thought. Can you really blame me for overreacting?
„Why are you worried that I will lick your ID?“ the receptionist had asked again, eyes narrowed. „Will the ink come off?“
„Uh... it shouldn‘t,“ said Li Changtian slowly. Their budget for office supplies wasn‘t great, but it was not that bad. Why did he get all the weirdos on the job? Worse, why did he get all the weirdos even when he wasn‘t on the job, like now? „But please don‘t try.“
The receptionist had kept looking at him like he was the weird one here while she studied the ID carefully, even going so far as to sniff it. Li Changtian didn‘t complain, seeing as there was no physical contact with saliva or mucus going on there. Small mercies.
„Is it fake?“ she had suddenly asked.
„Huh?“ Li Changtian didn‘t understand.
„Is that why I shouldn‘t lick your ID, because it is fake? Are you impersonating a police officer? That is a crime, you know.“
Li Changtian had subdued the sudden urge to cry and laugh at the same time. „I am not impersonating a police officer,“ he said.
„That‘s just what someone impersonating a police officer would say..“
He had stared at the receptionist for a whole minute, just in case this entire conversation was a prank, but she had met him eye to eye without blinking. It looked like she was serious.
Li Changtian thought back to how long he had been waiting already. He wasn‘t sure how much time he had left before the transformation would happen, but it couldn‘t have been a lot. He had to do something to convince this crazy lady to let him take a look at the footage right now!
„Look, you can call the precinct-“
„What, so your buddy can confirm your story? I don‘t think so!“ She threw the ID at him. „Listen, just stop wasting my time and leave. I‘m not going to call the actual cops.“
„But I am the actual cops,“ Li Changtian had protested.
„Young man, just go,“ an elderly man with a stick, second in the line just behind Li Changtian, had advised him. „We are all waiting for our sick animals to be treated here and you‘re holding up the line.“
„But-“
Li Changtian had twitched. He had felt something- like a spark of electricity – travel down his spine and fizzle out somewhere around his bum. Next, his ears and bottom had both started itching. The feeling had been familiar.
He had spared a look at the clock – of course, it was six pm sharp! The transformation was going to happen any moment now!
In desperation, he had snatched up his ID and ran from the line. At first he had aimed for the door out of the clinic, but the twitching intensified just as he passed by a door labeled ‘patient restroom‘ and he changed course, slamming the door open and hiding in the nearest stall. There, safely hidden from all eyes, he had let the transformation run its course while cursing out that receptionist. He could have had had the footage already if she hadn‘t been so reticent!
Nevermind, he‘d just have to try again the next day. At least he had had the good sense to ask for the day off, just on the off chance he wouldn‘t be able to complete the mission today.
Stashing the clothes and his ID behind the toilet seat hadn‘t been easy, since he had no hands to work with, but he‘d had a lot of practice doing things his claws weren‘t supposed to be able to do. Getting out of the stall had taken a bit more time, if only because he had had to make several attempts to jump at the door handle until his weight and momentum made it move and the door slid open.
Next, he had stuck his head out, to check if it was alright to move, then quickly ran out and hid under the seats. He had criss-crossed between other people‘s legs and their animals and kept his eyes firmly on his goal – the entrance to the clinic.
Just as he had been putting on speed, barrelling towards that door as fast as his small legs could take him, someone‘s hand had descended on his neck and picked him up by the scruff.
Li Changtian had cat-screeched in surprise and annoyance.
„Oh no you don‘t!“ Another person had held him in the air, carefully avoiding his claws and teeth. „I don‘t know how you escaped from your cage, you little fiend, or how long you hid in here, but I am not letting you run away again! I‘m sure your owner is going mad searching for you.“
Yan Shu, searching for him?
Hearing that had shocked Li Changtian enough that he didn‘t protest when he was quickly and unceremoniously stuffed into a pet cage. Only after the lock clicked after him, did he think to struggle, and threw himself at the bars, but by that time it had been too late.
It had been the same nurse that Li Changtian had escaped yesterday after that embarrassing discussion about neutering. Which just showed how much she knew, Yan Shu was probably glad he didn‘t have to take care of his needy cat anymore!
„Don‘t frown at me so,“ the nurse had cooed. „You are so much cuter when you‘re not throwing a hissy fit. “
Li Changtian had hissed in response.
The nurse had laughed. „Oh, it‘s almost like you understand me..“
Li Changtian had flicked his tail from side to side. Why wouldn‘t this person just leave so he could escape again? He had things to do!
„Here, listen to auntie giving you some free advice. That owner of yours looks like he‘s taking really good care of you. He was all fretting when you ran out yesterday, looking for you everywhere, far into the night even, tearing up when he couldn‘t find you – I saw him when I was leaving at nine – and I bet he‘s still looking for you out there. He seems like the kind that won‘t give up so easily. So you shouldn‘t run away from him again. Even if you do not get run over by a car, you‘ll never find another owner as good as him. Trust me, you could do a lot worse.“
The auntie had wagged her finger at him. Somehow, Li Changtian couldn‘t look her in the eyes.
He knew – fuck, he knew how good Yan Shu was, and how good Yan Shu had been to him especially! All while Li Changtian had been freeloading off him, in exchange for what? Cat hair on the bed? Waking Yan Shu up at five am so he could go transform out of his sight? Yan Shu deserved a better cat, and a better partner. One who wouldn‘t bother him so much.
But, maybe.. if Yan Shu had been so sad when Li Changtian left.. maybe it was not the cat Changtian he hated. Maybe he liked having cat Changtian around. Maybe Li Changtian should go back, as a cat, so that Yan Shu wouldn‘t be sad anymore.
So they could sleep together on the bed, Yan Shu under the covers, Li Changtian on the pillow, his soft fur tickled by Yan Shu‘s exhales. So he could make Yan Shu‘s mornings and evenings brighter by meowing at him.
And he could work on being a better partner and not bothering Yan Shu during the day in the meantime. That was fine. He was already lucky that Yan Shu liked him as a cat.
He probably made a much better cat than a person anyway.
Li Changtian had been so focused on his thoughts that he had almost missed what the auntie had said next: „What a good kitty. Looks like you‘ve calmed down some. Well, I have to go now - good luck getting out of this cage, I picked it especially for you. I hope you owner comes back soon.“
She had knocked on the roof of the cage in farewell and left.
At that point, Li Changtian hadn‘t realized how much trouble he was in. That had come later – after he had decided to apply himself thoroughly to opening the cage and found out it was not an ordinary one. It had a lock apparently only designed to work for humans – or at least beings with opposable thumbs and fingers that bent in ways his claws did not – which made it decidedly cat-proof. He had spent fifteen minutes trying to stick his claws through the lock before he had been forced to acknowledge that he‘d be there for a while.
At nine pm, the clinic had closed. The lights had gone off and Li Changtian‘s efforts had gotten very much harder. On the other hand, he no longer had had to listen to footsteps and stop every time someone came into the room or crossed the hall. That had been very annoying. Now he could dedicate his time fully to the frustrating lock.
Two hours later, he had made progress and was at the very last stage of picking the lock. With bated breath he moved the last bit, the lock clicked, and – voila, freedom!
Yet it had been too soon to celebrate - he may have been out of the cage but he also had to get out of the clinic. It had taken him the better part of an hour to check out all exits – everything was locked. The only hope he had had of ever leaving the place before they found him naked on the floor in the morning had been by a small window off in the corner of the examination room, which had had been left open a crack, presumably because it was situated so high no animal would be able to reach it even if it got out of its cage.
Fortunately, Li Changtian was no regular cat.
He had circumvented the problem of height by circling around the room a few times, picking up speed, then taking a running leap, using the momentum to carry him up the wall and straight to the window. He had folded his small body in half to tug the window fully open and then contorted himself through the opening to stand on the windowsill.
Success!
Then he had made the mistake of looking down.
Li Changtian had made an embarrassing yelp, as he had found out that particular window overhung a downwards sloping alley. As a result, he was much higher up than he‘d previously thought. There was no way to go but down, and down was uncomfortably further away than his human mind would like. The cat brain also didn‘t like it, but it was the human mind that freaked out, and the cat brain didn‘t know how to deal with that.
His claws cut into the plastic windowsill and his whole body froze, leading to his current situation.
He will have to think of some way to get down safely. Just.. in a while.
- - -
When morning came, six am found Li Changtian still balancing on that windowsill, stiff as a board, claws locked in their deadly grip.
He was greeted by the first rays of sunshine warming up his fur and making his eyes squint, just as he once again recognized the tingles of the transformation moving through his body. As his body lengthened and broadened, Li Changtian felt himself slide over the windowsill and desperately tried to hold on for a while longer.
Unfortunately human fingers were not as good at gripping smooth surfaces as a cat‘s claws, and he could feel his fingernails scrape against the plastic, fail as his body slid off, paused for a moment right on the edge, and then slipped over.
Li Changtian landed on the ground, naked and once again human shaped. And in pain.
„Ow,“ he groaned and rubbed his side. It really was much more convenient to be a cat, he could land on his feet everytime then. He spent a few moments carefully moving his arms and legs, but fortunately it seemed everything was working as it should be. Alright, his fingers were pretty banged up, but that was not anything serious.
Li Changtian stood up and considered the most pressing issue, i.e. clothes. He had left them inside, together with the police badge, and since the clinic wasn‘t open yet, he had no way to get them back. He could try to break the glass and pick the lock on the front door, but that would be hard considering the state of his fingers, plus he‘d be drawing unwanted attention – anybody who happened to glance over would remember the naked guy fiddling with the front door to the vet clinic. Also, that would be considered breaking and entering and therefore, illegal.
He sighed and resigned himself to walking home to get dressed before doubling back for his things. Honestly, he could forget the clothes, it was not like he didn‘t have more, but the badge was a problem. He‘d get in serious trouble if he lost it.
Li Changtian kept thinking about his predicament as he was trudging on in the direction of his apartment. He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn‘t register the few people who passed him by on the street: a couple of teenage girls, giggling and ogling him in equal measure, the guy leaning against a wall, smoking a cigarette, who called ‘lost a bet, eh? I‘ve been there‘ after him, the scandalized old lady walking her lap dog who muttered angrily to herself about the current indecent young generation being the downfall of society.
He did not raise his head from the ground even when red and blue lights started flashing in the periphery of his vision.
„Hey, you! Hey!“
Li Changtian kept putting one foot in front of the other.
„Hey! I‘m talking to you!“
A hand fell on his shoulder, startling him. He immediately reacted by grabbing the offending appendage and twisting it into a throw - which surprisingly didn‘t work because the person responsible for startling him executed the exact counter to that move and disengaged, retreating into a safe distance.
„What the fuck, man, calm down!“
Forced to acknowledge his surroundings at last, Li Changtian found himself face to face with another cop. He quickly made his apologies, this was truly a blessing! Finally his luck was making a turn for the better!
„Oh, fuck, sorry, you startled me! Though it‘s probably not a good idea to randomly grab people like that, you know.“
The cop did not relax. „Sorry? Do you think that excuses what you did? You just assaulted a police officer, that is a crime – do you know that?“
„What?“ Li Changtian struggled to keep up with the turn of the conversation. „I do know that, actually, I‘m a cop too – ah, forget it, can you please help me?“
He received a judgemental up-and-down stare. „Impersonating a police office is also a crime.“
Li Changtian sighed, long-suffering. Why did people keep on not believing he was a police officer? Although, this time it was understandable, he was not sure if he‘d believe himself, walking down the street naked like that..
„Look, I can prove it, alright? I have a badge and everything.“
The judgemental stare gained new, previously hidden levels of disbelief. „On yourself?“
Li Changtian coughed, flushing a bit in embarrassment. „Ahh, no. No, of course not. Actually right now I kinda don‘t have the badge at the moment, either, but I can tell you my identification number!“
He rattled it off.
The other man shook his head. „All right, that‘s it, you‘re coming to the precinct with me,“ he decided.
„What? Why? But I just proved that I am a cop!“
„No, you just proved you can make up a bunch of numbers,“ snorted the cop and took a pair of handcuffs off his waist. „Look, you have two options. Either you‘re going to get into the car quietly and without any fuss so I can take you to the station or you‘re going to get thrown inside the car after being pacified and you will be taken to the station anyway. Don‘t make this any harder than it needs to be – you don‘t need to add ‘resisting arrest‘ to ‘impersonating a police officer‘ and ‘public indecency‘ charges.“
Li Changtian thought of actually resisting in earnest for a moment, then decided the embarrassment of being walked into the office without a stitch of clothing would be less than the amount of satisfaction he would get from seeing the look on this asshole‘s face after he proved he had been telling the truth all along. Plus, he could change at the precinct, too. He would have preferred to change at home, but beggars couldn‘t be choosers.
He let himself get cuffed and put into the back seat before it occurred to him to ask to borrow a jacket.
- - -
That same morning, Yan Shu got out of bed as soon as he woke up, way before his alarm clock would usually sound. He couldn‘t sleep properly and it would be wasteful to keep lying in bed when he had things to do. Namely, get to work as soon as possible so he could get yifu to approve a day off to go looking for Changtian before the human Changtian showed up.
He should probably stop calling the tomcat Changtian to avoid any future disasters and use Maomao all the time.
That is, if he ever found Changtian again.
Yan Shu sighed and told himself to stop being so defeatist. Opening the fridge half-heartedly, he found he didn‘t have the stomach for eating, but he couldn‘t quite stop aring Yan Ziqing‘s voice urging him to eat breakfast everyday since it was ‘the most important meal of the day‘. He compromised by making a quick fruit-and-veggies smoothie that doubled down as counting towards his fiber quota for the day.
Out of habit, he took out two of every ingredient, washed and peeled them and diced them straight into the mixer. He only realized Li Changtian most likely would not want to continue being supplied free breakfast by him anymore when it was too late to stop and put the excess smoothie back. With a heavy heart, Yan Shu poured the contents into a takeaway cup to drink it on the way to work and a regular cup, which went back into the fridge for later.
There was nothing unusual about the smoothie‘s taste, but the pieces grated going down Yan Shu‘s throat, forcing him to clear it repeatedly. He had not set the mixer up any differently from usual. His throat just felt tighter that morning for some reason. Also, thinking of how it might be the last time he needed to make two portions of that smoothie made his eyes prickle, so Yan Shu carefully kept his thoughts blank during the entire commute until he reached the precinct.
He did not waste any more time and headed straight for Qin Jueming‘s office. Unfortunately, Qin Jueming wasn‘t at work yet, so Yan Shu had no choice but to wait. It really was too early, the only person apart from himself was the cleaning lady mopping the floors.
He nodded to her in polite greeting and sat down at his own desk to wait. At least he had managed to retrieve his forgotten phone.
He had several missed calls and a text message. All from the vet clinic.
His heart soared as the first message said they had found Chang- Maomao, who had somehow wandered in, and were keeping him safe until Yan Shu could come pick him up.
He couldn´t sit still as he dialled the number back.
“Hello, this is the vet clinic how may we help you?”
“Hello, this is Yan Shu, I´m calling about my lost cat. I received a message that you found him?” Yan Shu asked breathlessly, pacing up and down.
“Oh,” the voice suddenly sounded subdued. “Sir, let me transfer you to a colleague-”
The female voice on the phone changed. “Um, hello?”
Yan Shu breathed in and out. “Is there something wrong with Changtian? Has he been hurt?”
“No, no, well, kinda, maybe,” the woman sounded even more anxious than Yan Shu felt. “It´s just that, sir, we do apologize, but we do not have your cat anymore.”
Yan Shu stopped in the middle of the pacing, a cold hand squeezing his heart. “What?”
“I am terribly sorry, I have no idea how he could have escaped, I locked him in our most secure, most escape-proof cage, but we couldn´t reach you over the phone in the evening and by the morning he was already gone! The building was locked, too, it´s like he just vanished into thin air!”
Silence on the line.
“Sir? Are you there?”
“Changtian.. Escaped? Again?” asked Yan Shu in a small voice.
“Um, yes. Again, we are terribly sorry, we have no idea how it could have happened-”
Yan Shu disconnected the call in a daze, all his hopes crashed and burned. Inch by inch, he collapsed into the chair to wait, his emotions all over the place, yet not a single one showing on his face.
The clock slowly ticked off the minutes. After some time, the wet floor dried and the cleaner moved to other rooms. People started to trickle in one by one. Nobody noticed Yan Shu quietly falling apart.
Yan Shu wasn‘t paying attention to them either, preoccupied with planning his search for Changtian. He‘d call the local shelters first, then print more posters and distribute them everywhere. He should also make a few Weibo posts, ask people to spread them around.
His thoughts got interrupted by a commotion.
„What do you mean he works here?“ Someone was loudly yelling over the sound of laughter.
Naturally turning towards the loud sound, Yan Shu felt his heart skip a beat as he saw human Li Changtian, turned with his back to Yan Shu, shoe-less, trouser-less, bottom barely covered by a jacket clearly borrowed from someone two sizes larger and thrown over his shoulders, which were moving in suppressed mirth. The person who was yelling stood to his side, one hand gripping Li Changtian‘s left shoulder.
Broken out of his stupor, Yan Shu got up and walked closer, cat worries temporarily put on hold.
„What is going on here?“ he asked.
Both Li Changtian and the stranger twitched and half-turned to face Yan Shu. This close, Yan Shu could see there was something weird about the way Li Changtian was wearing the jacket. A quick skimmed look confirmed the weirdness as being due to Li Changtian‘s hands being cuffed behind his back and him not wearing any shirt beneath the jacket either. It was half-heartedly zipped up, so while it was just long enough to hide Li Changtian‘s private parts, his chest was practically on full display.
Yan Shu stared at Li Changtian, valiantly resisting the urge to look below his waist level.
„I can explain,“ said Li Changtian, heat rising in his cheeks. „I actually have a very reasonable explanation for this.“
Yan Shu nodded. His eyes wouldn‘t move up to Li Changtian‘s face for some reason. „Which is…?“
„Um,“ Li Changtian said after a while, sheepishly. „Maybe I can‘t explain this.“
The man next to Li Changtian scoffed. „I can! I found this trash walking on the streets naked, and when I stopped to question him, he had the gall to assault me and claim to be a police officer! Naturally I had to arrest him!“ He shook Li Changtian a little in emphasis. The zipper holding Li Changtian‘s dignity together slipped a bit lower.
Yan Shu barely stopped a whimper from escaping his throat.
„Were you not listening at all just now?“ complained Li Changtian. „You‘ve received confirmation I am who I claimed to be, what more do you want? Yan Shu, tell him!“
Yan Shu blinked a few times to get back to his senses. He looked at where the other man was still holding Li Changtian by the shoulder and his eyes tightened.
„Li Changtian is indeed my partner, unhand and uncuff him now. Please,“ he added as an afterthought.
„What? No way!“ protested the stranger unwisely. „What about the public indecency and assault charges? He is not above the law!“
Yan Shu said, very politely: „I will be interrogating him regarding those charges. Officer Lu will take your statement.“ Ice cold, he nodded towards another officer passing nearby, clearly on his way to the coffee machine.
Officer Lu paused, a finger pointed at himself in question. „I will?“ He met Yan Shu‘s eyes. „Uh, I mean, sure! Come with me, sir.“
„Wait!“ Yan Shu‘s voice rang. He reached out expectantly with one hand, palm up. „The keys.“
Officer Lu deftly retrieved the keys to Li Changtian‘s cuffes and threw them into Yan Shu‘s hand, then herded the other man away quickly despite his protests.
„Ah, thank you, Yan Shu,“ laughed Li Changtian awkwardly. „I only wanted you to support my story, I swear, but this is fine, too.“ He wiggled his hands a bit. „Could you..?“
„Of course,“ Yan Shu said, before realizing the problem. Unlocking Li Changtian‘s handcuffs would mean either un-zipping the jacket entirely, which was obviously out of the question, or reaching underneath it from the back and unlocking them while staring at Li Changtian‘s naked bottom, also not good.
Maybe he could do it without looking?
…
But then, would accidentally groping Li Changtian‘s bottom while unlocking his handcuffs not be even worse?
He couldn‘t make his hands move.
„Are you really not wearing a stitch of clothing?“ Yan Shu asked in desperation.
„Nope,“ confirmed Li Changtian, sounding much too blase for his circumstances. „The asshole grabbed me too fast, I meant to change at home. Oh, that‘s right, I can just do that here!“
Clothes. Yan Shu‘s brain latched onto that thought much like a drowning person latched onto anything floating in the vicinity.
„Locker room!“ he blurted out. „Um. I mean, let‘s go to the lockers so you can dress right away. I mean, after I help you get off- I mean! After I help you get the handcuffs off. There. So you‘re not here where anyone can.. um, see.“
„I think everyone here has already seen my stuff,“ said Li Changtian, unmoved. „I didn‘t have much choice in the matter, and the asshole only thought to share his jacket after we scared the cleaning lady. I will have to apologize to her later.“
„So you don‘t.. mind?“
„Eh, it doesn‘t matter if we‘re all men, right? It‘s just like in the communal showers, except you‘re not wet.“
Yan Shu‘s throat got so tight he could not make a response if he tried - the image of Changtian in the shower, naked and wet, was occupying all his mental capacities at the moment.
„Just do it here.“ Li Changtian turned away and offered his wrists to Yan Shu, the hem of the jacket riding higher.
“...“
Yan Shu didn‘t move.
„Yan Shu?“ He tried to look over his shoulder at what was taking Yan Shu so long.
Yan Shu jolted and without leaving himself time to hesitate, grabbed Li Changtian‘s hands. He unlocked the handcuffs in a few expert moves, then snatched his hands back as if burned.
Li Changtian drew his hands forwards and out of the jacket, rubbing his wrists in relief.
„Ahh, that‘s good, …. ah!“
His and Yan Shu‘s hands met again, this time around the hunched fabric at the level of Li Changtian‘s waist, preventing the jacket from falling off completely.
„Ah thank you, again, you didn‘t have to do that,“ Li Changtian‘s smile was a bit crooked.
„It was no p-“ said Yan Shu gently, before frowning and touching the red line on Li Changtian‘s wrist left by the handcuff. „You‘re injured.“
„What, that? Pfft, that‘s nothing,“ Li Changtian demurred, tugging the jacket up, putting it on properly.
„Does it hurt?“ Yan Shu asked.
„It doesn‘t hurt, doesn‘t hurt at all,“ Li Changtian quickly denied.
„I have a burn cream in my locker, that should help,“ decided Yan Shu. „Come on, you can change there.“
-
Halfway to the locker room, Li Changtian suddenly stopped and laughed awkwardly. „Ah, I just remembered, I don‘t have the keys to my locker. I actually left the spare set at home.“
Yan Shu stopped, too, turning back to look at him. „You can borrow my clothes,“ he offered.
Li Changtian opened his mouth to protest.
„Unless you want to keep wearing that?“ Yan Shu gestured towards Li Changtian‘s current state of being barely decent.
Li Changtian closed his mouth. „Fine,“ he said. „But you don‘t have to! I can just... pick the lock, or, or find something that will fit me in the laundry basket-“
„I have spare clean clothes,“ pointed out Yan Shu. „There is no need for you to pick the lock or use the dirty clothes waiting to be laundered.“
„Yeah, if I want to bother you needlessly,“ muttered Li Changtian under his breath.
Yan Shu lowered his eyes. „I... I know I offended you, but have I given you a reason to think so little of me?“ His voice was quiet, yet resolute, ringing with a note of genuinely upset. „That I would not help my partner when he needs it?“
Li Changtian stares at him. „I...“
„I did not have the chance to apologize, before. Let me remedy that – I am sorry that I made you feel like I was mocking you by calling my cat by the same name. I was not. I treasure Ch- … Maomao, and I would never hurt him, even if that may not have come across, and I.. I value you as my partner, too. If I was unclear about that part, I apologize for that as well. “
„I...“ Li Changtian couldn‘t form a complete sentence. Yan Shu‘s words, simple and candid, were disarming, mercilessly falling onto his ears.
„I hope you can accept the apology. It is sincere. But if you can‘t.. If you‘ll feel uncomfortable around me in the future.. I‘d rather you request a different partner than force yourself to remain in an uncomfortable situation.“
Yan Shu took a deep breath.
„But please.. even if you can‘t stand me, don‘t reject my help. Especially with such a small issue.“
„I.. fuck… Yan Shu..“ Li Changtian was stunned. „You.. don‘t mind being my partner?“
„Of course not,“ said Yan Shu. He smiled a little. „I wouldn‘t ask for another.“
„Oh,“ said Li Changtian stupidly. That certainly had .. implications for their relationship. Ones that could reframe everything Li Changtian had considered a certainty, so he refused to think about that now. Instead he focused on something smaller. Easier. „So.. why give your cat my name?“
Yan Shu blushed. „He just.. reminds me of you. Sometimes.“ He did not mention in what way exactly, he imagined talking about either how the cat seemed to be terribly intelligent and terribly obtuse at the same time or how it was his only friend would go well with Changtian.
„Oh,“ Li Changtian repeated.
„Come on,“ Yan Shu said. „Let‘s get you into some normal clothes, are you not cold?“
Li Changtian nodded several times, still standing on the spot, digesting the information, then hurried after him. „Wait, Yan Shu!“
Yan Shu stopped so quickly Li Changtian barely avoided colliding with his back.
Li Changtian laughed. „Yan Shu, I have to tell you something too.“
Yan Shu made an encouraging nod.
„I also like having you as my partner,“ said Li Changtian, matching Yan Shu‘s honesty. „I don‘t want to request a different one.“
Yan Shu‘s eyes softened. „Mn,“ he said. „I‘m glad.“
Having said the important things, the air was clean between them. It was in a companionable silence that Li Changtian put on Yan Shu‘s spare gym clothes and let Yan Shu gently dab burn cream on his wrists and put butterfly bandages on his fingers.
„So.. if I may ask, what happened to your clothes?“ Yan Shu hesitantly asked once he was done, then quickly added: „You don‘t have to tell me if you don‘t want to.“
„No, no, it‘s fine,“ demurred Li Changtian, remembering the vet clinic receptionist and how she didn‘t believe him to be a cop even when he was dressed in his own clothes and holding his own badge. Surely she would be even quicker to dismiss him as he was now, dressed like he was on the way to the gym and badge-less. Unless..
„Maybe I could show you? If you help me out a little and come with me to the vet clinic, I have something I need to do there..“
„Anything,“ said Yan Shu, then looked stricken. „Oh, but I meant to ask to have today off, I need to look for Ch-… Maomao, he got lost again.“
„You can call him Changtian, I don‘t mind,“ said Li Changtian. „He‘s probably just in the neighbourhood and will turn up eventually, don‘t worry.“
„No, you don‘t understand, the first night I found him at home eventually, but last night he never showed up. What if he got so lost he couldn‘t find his way home? There‘s so many things that could have happened to him,“ Yan Shu‘s voice gradually got more and more distressed, it even shook a little. „And he could be anywhere by now. Will you help me look for him? Please?“
His eyes were a little red.
„Fuck,“ said Li Changtian out loud.
Yan Shu kept waiting for his answer.
„Fuck,“ repeated Li Changtian with feeling. It was dawning on him that the situation was shaping up to be an epic mess and it was entirely his own doing. He shook his head a little. What else could he say? „I mean – yes, okay, of course I‘ll help-“
„Thank you,“ Yan Shu said. „That means a lot to me.“ His phone beeped. „Oh, yifu is looking for me – he must have heard I was waiting to see him. I better go.“ He looked at Li Changtian. „Catch up with you outside?“
„Sure,“ Li Changtian said, feeling a little faint at how quickly were things moving. As soon as Yan Shu rounded the corner, he dropped his head into his hands. „Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. What the fuck am I supposed to do now? How am I going to look for myself?“
He didn‘t even have the time to properly feel sorry for himself before his brooding got interrupted.
„Oh hey, Changtian,“ Shen Yushu popped in with a spring in his step. „I thought I heard your voice, despite how early it is. What‘s with all the swearing?“
Li Changtian slowly raised his head and fixed Shen Yushu with a look. Perhaps everything was not all lost yet.
- - -
„Hey, guess what?“ Li Changtian stepped out of the precinct to find Yan Shu was already waiting for him. „I met Shen Yushu and he offered to help us look for m- er, Maomao after he got off work!“
„That is nice of him,“ said Yan Shu.
„Yeah, so, until then it‘s a search party of us two – do you have a plan?“
„Not really,“ Yan Shu shook his head. „I just came home and he wasn’t there yet, and never came back. He’s always home at midnight, that’s how I knew he was missing again. I don‘t even know where to start looking..“ His voice got terribly quiet at the end.
Li Changtian panicked. „That’s fine! That’s easy!“ He cried, grabbing Yan Shu by the hand. “Let’s start over here!“ He chose a direction at random and tugged Yan Shu to follow him.
„Don’t worry, we will definitely find him! Two sets of eyes are better than one!“ Li Changtian prattled on, wracking his brain for any other encouraging words he could use to lift Yan Shu’s spirits. Really, it was the least he could do, since it was only his fault Yan Shu was feeling down right now. Even if secretly he was glad that Yan Shu missed his company as a cat, now that he knew how much was Yan Shu affected by his disappearances, he’ll try not to wander away so much. Who knows how long the thought will last in his cat brain, but he will definitely try!
„Besides, isn’t he used to wandering around alone? I’m sure he’s just .. uhh, doing cat things somewhere. Exploring, or chasing pidgeons, or thrashing rival tomcats, you know? It’s a thankless job but someone’s got to do it!“
Yan Shu smiled. „Thank you. You can always make me feel better.“
Li Changtian stumbled a little.
„A-ah…thanks? I’m just running off my mouth, I mean, it’s nothing special. Anyone could do it.“
„Among all our colleagues, anyone did not agree to help me look for my missing cat,“ said Yan Shu. „You did. I.. admire that about you,“ he confessed shily. „You really are a living Lei Feng.“
„Yan Shu!“ Li Changtian playfully swatted at his arm, mock frowning. „What are you saying? That I will die young sacrificing myself for the people?“
Yan Shu’s eye widened. „No, no, of course not!“ He quickly protested.
Li Changtian couldn’t bear to feign offence for very long, quickly laughing and nudging Yan Shu with an elbow. „Ah, Yan Shu, I’m just messing with you, relax!“
For the entire morning, Li Changtian focused on distracting Yan Shu by talking about whatever crossed his mind, feeling slightly better when he could help Yan Shu forget to worry about his poor cat too much, especially as he couldn´t explain why his worries were unfounded and unneccessary without revealing his curse.
At lunch, he convinced Yan Shu to take a small break and eat something, ‘to have strength to continue the search in the afternoon‘, and used the opportunity to treat Yan Shu to his favourite noodle dish, which also went a lot towards assuaging his guilt about freeloading off of Yan Shu.
In the afternoon, their search took them by the vet clinic that had been Li Changtian´s unfortunate place of residence during last night, and he dipped in to recover his belongings under the pretense of needing to use the restrooms. Fortunately, everything was still where he had left it.
When he came out, Yan Shu was talking to the nurse from yesterday.
“Oh you still haven´t found him? I´m so terribly sorry, I know I apologized already, but I really am! I swear I locked that cage properly, I have no idea how he could have gotten out! A window had been left cracked open overnight, so he could have gotten out of the building that way, but it was all the way up under the ceiling, who could have imagined a cat could get that high.. ”
“It´s alright,” said Yan Shu. “Please call me if you see him again.”
The nurse looked relieved she was not about to get yelled at. “Oh of course, of course!”
Li Changtian sided up to Yan Shu, leaning on his shoulder with en elbow. “Heyy, I´m good to go if you are?” He did not want to stay around that nurse, her scolding yesterday was still fresh in his mind.
“Oh! Sorry I won´t keep you, you must be itching to go search for Changtian with your boyfriend!” cried the nurse.
Li Changtian and Yan Shu spoke at the same time.
“Oh we´re not togeth-”
“We´re not boyfriend-”
They both broke off at the same time as well.
Laughing a bit, Li Changtian nudged Yan Shu to signal him that he should talk first, without taking his hand off Yan Shu’s shoulder.
“We´re not.. Um. We´re just colleagues,” said Yan Shu quietly.
“Oh! I´m so sorry,” said the nurse again, eyes flitting from Li Changtian’s smile to Yan Shu’s face to how close they were standing to each other and back up again. ”Oh. Oh, my. Sure. I just thought.. You looked-” She swallowed the rest of the sentence, a desperate look on her face, then looked at the clock on the wall. “Oh, really, look at the time, I´ve got to go! Good luck finding your cat!” And promptly disappeared into a door with an ´employees only´ sign.
“Ah Yan Shu, let´s go,” Li Changtian finally stopped leaning on Yan Shu, instead tugging on his sleeve. “Can you believe she thought we were a couple? What, two guys can’t be bros these days?” he complained on their way out of the clinic.
“Mm,” said Yan Shu, sounding morose for some reason again.
“Why did you say we were colleagues though?”
Yan Shu frowned. “Because we.. Are?”
“No, I mean.. Why did you not say we were friends?”
“I.. didn´t want to presume,” said Yan Shu quietly. “We talked about being partners, but that’s for work, so-”
“Yan Shu! Of course we are still friends!” cried Li Changtian. “Neither one of us ever said anything about not being friends anymore!”
“Oh,” muttered Yan Shu. “That´s good to know.” He sounded cheered up a bit, although still a bit subdued.
That was bad, because Li Changtian was almost out of ideas about how to keep Yan Shu from succumbing to the pit of despair. Also, by now he was feeling really tired. After all, he had barely slept a wink last night, stiffly clinging to that windowsill.
“Yan Shu, after Shen Yushu joins us, let´s split up to cover more ground before sundown,” he said, yawning in the middle of the sentence. “Between the three of us, I’m sure we will find the cat in no time.”
Yan Shu frowned. “You should rest a bit. You don´t have to keep looking for Changtian with me if you´re tired. Did you not sleep well last night?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” lied Li Changtian. “Why would I sleep badly, it’s not like I spent the night outsi- ehm, let me call Shen Yushu to let him know where to find us!”
He quickly made the call, yawning twice more while talking on the phone. One of these times was in the middle of Yushu’s name, making it into a ‘Yuuuuuuuuuu-shu’ sound. When Li Changtian hung up, Shen Yushu was still laughing about it so hard Yan Shu could hear it too.
“Yan Shu, let’s get coffee while waiting for Shen Yushu,” suggested Li Changtian. “I know just the place.”
“Mn. As long as it isn’t too far,” agreed Yan Shu.
At the coffee shop, Li Changtian ordered a double black espresso for himself, a cinnamon cappuccino for Yan Shu, and an almond-milk caramel-and-coconut macchiato monstrosity in a thermal takeaway cup for Shen Yushu, which Yan Shu fought to pay for as a thank you to Shen Yushu for helping with the search.
Li Changtian had just swallowed the last of his espresso, when the door to the coffe shop chimed opened and hurricane Shen Yushu swept in.
“Wow, Changtian, for me? You shouldn’t have,” focused Shen Yushu on his coffee with laser like precision. He breathed in the vapor, then had a taste. “Wah, so delicious! Just how I like it! Thank you!”
“I didn’t want to get you anything, but Yan Shu insisted,” lied Li Changtian.
Shen Yushu laughed. “Are you sure it was Yan Shu who knows my coffee order from heart?”
Yan Shu took a sip from his cappuccino, eyes focused on the foam.
“Anyways, we got yours to go, since we didn’t know how fast you’d get here,” explained Li Changtian. “We can get going once Yan Shu finishes his cof-”
Yan Shu threw back the entire leftover contents of his cup and wiped his mouth. “We can go now, no need to wait anymore.”
“Aiya, Yan Shu, whatever happened to enjoying the fine things in life?” lamented Shen Yushu. “Nevermind, the sooner we start, the sooner will we be done.“
On their way out, Yan Shu got held back holding the door open for an elderly grandma with presumably her daughter and grandchild in a stroller. Shen Yushu took advantage of Yan Shu being distracted and whispered to Li Changtian. „Changtian, have you thought about what are you going to tell Yan Shu?“
„Huh, what do you mean, tell Yan Shu?“
Shen Yushu rolled his eyes, making a gesture with his takeway cup. „I mean, what excuse are you going to use so that you can keep away? You know, once we find little Changtian? Did you not think that Yan Shu will want to share the good news of finding his cat with his best friend?“
„Don’t call cat-me little Changtian,” said Li Changtian on automatic, then pause. “Wait, I’m the best friend?“
„Yes, of course, who else? The guy had like zero friends before you came in. Now, focus! The excuse?“
„Uh,“ Li Changtian scratched his head. „Fuck.“
„I don’t think that’s going to be a believable reason why you aren’t around.“
„Oh, haha, very funny,“ scolded him Li Changtian. „I’ll think of something, don’t worry.“
„That’s exactly what I’m worried about,“ muttered Shen Yushu into his coffee.
They stopped whispering just as Yan Shu caught up with them.
„Alright, let‘s split up now,“ said Yan Shu. „I will go looking north, Li Changtian, you go east and Shen Yushu-“
Li Changtian panicked. „A-actually, I am feeling tired now! Sorry Yan Shu, I think I’m going to go home and rest. But Shen Yushu will help you keep looking for Maomao, isn’t that right Shen Yushu?“
„Yes,“ said Shen Yushu flatly, shooting Li Changtian a glare for that piss-poor excuse. „Obviously. Since I volunteered all by myself.“
„Oh,“ said Yan Shu, his voice quiet. „Oh. Then.. then you should have a good rest.“
Li Changtian nodded several times. „I will, thank you! See you tomorrow at work, bye!!“
With that, Li Changtian was gone.
Yan Shu stared after him for a bit, then shook his head and turned to Shen Yushu. They looked at each other a bit awkwardly. Yan Shu opened his mouth first:
„Shen Yushu, you don’t hav-“
Shen Yushu interrupted him. „It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s all fine! I’ll go east, you go north, we’ve got each others‘ number, let’s text each other if something happens alright? You’ll have your cat back in no time, I promise, or my name isn’t Shen Yushu!“
And he quickly ran off too, the smell of sugary coffee drafting after him. In the same direction Li Changtian took off.
Yan Shu sighed. It seemed that he was once again looking for Changtian on his own.
---
“Changtian, Changtian!” called Yan Shu softly. “Where are you?” His voice was getting hoarse. He had been searching for more than an hour after splitting up – or more correctly after being abandoned – and to be honest it’s been getting on his nerves.
“Just show up you stupid little bastard!”
Yan Shu kicked a nearby rock to ineffectively vent his frustration. He only succeeded in hurting his toe. “Why won’t you come home..” he whispered, fighting back tears.
His phone rang.
Could it be..
Yan Shu immediately took the phone out of his pocket and answered the call. His hands shook a little when he saw Shen Yushu calling.
“Did you find him?” he asked breathlessly.
“Ah, Yan Shu! Guess wh- Wait, how did you know?”
“We promised to call each other, didn’t we? Where are you? Is Changtian alright?”
“Oh. Well, we’re at your place actually! I found little Changtian just sitting in front of your door! He’s completely fine!”
Yan Shu smiled, his heart instantly lighter than a feather. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Don’t let go of him!”
“I’m not-”
Yan Shu hung up on Shen Yushu in the middle of the sentence. Excitedly, he found Li Changtian’s number, wanting to share the good news on the way. But the phone rang and rang and eventually disconnected, with Li Changtian never picking up.
Yan Shu frowned, then tried again, with the same result.
Why would Li Changtian not pick up the phone? Maybe he was asleep? Or was he avoiding Yan Shu now?
But Yan Shu didn’t have the time to ponder the mystery of Li Changtian’s actions. As soon as he got home, he’d be finally reunited with cat Changtian.
Upon arrival, Yan Shu saw Shen Yushu sitting on the stairs in front of his apartment, the large grey cat sitting next to him, eyes closed as Shen Yushu kept scratching his ears.
Yan Shu couldn’t wait to get Changtian into his arms again. He broke into a run.
“Changtian!” he called.
The cat opened his eyes, murrped loudly and immediately jumped down from those stairs to come twist around Yan Shu’s feet. Yan Shu picked him up and cuddled him to his chest, squeezing tightly.
“Changtian, I’m so glad you’re fine,” he whispered into the soft fur. “I was so worried about you, little asshole! Don’t ever do that again!”
The cat purred back and rubbed his cheeks against Yan Shu’s arms and chest.
Shen Yushu watched them with a small smile, then got up and dusted off his clothes. “See? I told you we’ll find him! And he’s perfectly fine, not a scratch on him!“
Yan Shu paused in the middle of cuddling his cat. “Thank you, Shen Yushu. Really, thank you!” His heart was soaring in quiet joy. And he had thought Shen Yushu gave up on the search!
“Please don’t thank me,” Shen Yushu waved off the gratitude. “I was doing this as a favour to Changt- uhh..”
“Oh.” Yan Shu hesitated, but felt he had to ask. “Do you know where Li Changtian is? He didn’t answer my calls, have you tried texting him? Has he responded to you?” asked Yan Shu.
Shen Yushu laughed awkwardly. “See, I accompanied him home because I was worried he’ll fall asleep before he gets there and he forgot his phone with me. I’m going to drop it off at his place tomorrow right after breakfast. Speaking of food, I’ve got to go now, ge is waiting for me with dinner. Bye!”
Yan Shu was left alone with his cat. He squinted after Shen Yushu. That explanation.. There had been something a bit off with his behaviour, too..
Cat Changtian headbutted him. Yan Shu’s mouth curled up. “Oh, is someone jealous? Do you want my attention now you little bastard?”
Despite his words, his hands were very gentle as he resumed petting the cat. Changtian started purring.
Yan Shu sighed. “At least you will never pick Shen Yushu over me.”
THE END.