After Picking Up an Eight-Tailed Cat Chapter 6

Chapter 06

*

 When Xiaomei returned with drinks, she found us all sitting together: me, Chu Yang, Zhou Wang, Su Miao, and Rui Chen. Sighing, she wedged herself between Chu Yang and Zhou Wang, resigning to the weirdest mixer ever.

Zhou Wang shuffled the cards, looking around. "Since we’ve got enough people for real fun, let’s switch it up let’s play King’s Game."

King’s Game is basically Truth or Dare, but with a twist. Zhou Wang dealt, and I explained the rules to Chu Yang: "Everyone gets a card, but whoever gets the joker is the King. The King can order two people of the same suit to do something. If they refuse, they have to answer any question the King asks."

First round: I drew diamonds. Chu Yang showed spades.

Xiaomei drew the joker King for the round. And she didn’t hold back. "Let’s go big. Whoever got spades: paper kiss."

Chu Yang and Zhou Wang had spades.

Zhou Wang opted out, saying "Truth, please."

Chu Yang glanced at me; I shot Xiaomei desperate stop signals.

She winked. "Okay. My question, do you have a crush on anyone here?"

Zhou Wang looked relaxed, chewing grass, then, turning to me, said, "Isn’t she right here?"

Su Miao’s face flashed under the string lights, Rui Chen’s jaw tightened.

I began to sense Zhou Wang’s thinking he probably didn’t actually like me, just wanted to drag me out of the mud of gossip using "I like you" as an excuse. It was his way of making amends.

Chu Yang kept his cap low, face unreadable. "Do I have to answer too?"

Xiaomei said, "Of course. Tell the truth."

"Yeah. I do," Chu Yang said directly, unfazed.

My heart pounded with nerves and hope.

Xiaomei asked, "Is it someone here in this group?"

Chu Yang tilted his head. "Wasn’t I only supposed to answer the first question?"

Xiaomei groaned and dealt new cards.

I drew hearts and was about to peek at Chu Yang’s card when Xiaomei beaned me with a pebble. "No cheating."

Chu Yang leaned in, palm on my shoulder, whispering, "Mine’s different from yours."

The next King was Su Miao, and she ordered anyone with diamonds to call their ex and beg to get back together.

Xiaomei, eternally single, practically puffed with jealousy.

That’s when my phone rang.

Rui Chen revealed his card: Ace of Diamonds.

Su Miao’s eyes filled with tears. "Rui Chen, what are you trying to say?"

He looked at her flatly. "Aren’t we just playing a game?"

Su Miao bit her lip and glared at me, looking heartbreakingly innocent.

Third round: Zhou Wang was King again. "Any spade card, come kiss me."

I was the spade.

Chu Yang yawned, plucked my card, tossed his and mine onto the table: both spades.

"Truth," he said, flicking up his cap and locking eyes with Zhou Wang.

Zhou Wang looked back, then asked boldly, "So, what are you and Mu Xing?"

Just then, the campus had an unexpected blackout, so his question never got an answer.

On the way home, the smell of roasted sweet potatoes pulled us over to a cart by the road, rare for early autumn. I bought the biggest one, grabbed two spoons, and we plopped down on the curb together.

Chu Yang had let his hair down, silver strands glinting in the breeze and moonlight.

The blackout and Zhou Wang’s question replayed in my mind.

"So, what are we, really?" I dug out a chunk of sweet potato, thinking aloud. "Partners?"

"Roommates?"

Chu Yang said, "Co-habitants."

He said it naturally, like declaring the sky blue or grass green. No hidden meaning, just a fact.

I was stunned.

He seemed tired, slouching against my shoulder while absently nibbling the sweet potato I had cooled.

Watching my empty spoon, I blurted, "What if we dated?"

Chu Yang sat up. "Do you know what you’re saying?"

For once, I was sure. "I like you." I lifted my chin to meet his eyes. "If you don’t dislike me, then go out with me."

"I’m a demon," he said, lowering to eye level. "Do you know what that means? No heart, no attachment. My whole existence is about surviving fate. We’re only bound by chance. Would you ever fall for a blade of grass by the road?"

His voice was flat, distant enough I almost believed he truly felt nothing.

I swallowed, then raised my head. "But what if the grass insists?"

Before he could respond, I leaned forward and kissed him.

To stop him fleeing, both my hands clutched his back awkwardly and desperately, but he didn’t push me away.

He didn’t kiss me back either.

Realizing I’d crossed the line, I mumbled, "Sorry."

Chu Yang sighed. "You should be."

I felt like a creep who’d just assaulted an innocent on the street.

But before I could slip away, he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me tightly into his chest. I could hear the thunder of his heartbeat right in my ear.

"Let’s try it, then," he said softly.

Late that night, I sent a voice message to Xiaomei, unable to keep the news to myself.

She replied with a single word: "Get lost."

"Come on, I’m serious," I pleaded. "Wanna meet for coffee at the library to talk in person?"

She sent a three-second voice reply: "Are you nuts, Mu Xing? Isn’t it your first day dating? Your cat’s been stuck to you all night, and you’re asking me if he likes you?"

I could only giggle nervously. "I know, I know. But it’s nice to hear someone else say it."

She hung up on me with a sigh.

Unable to sleep, I tossed for over an hour before sneaking a peek into the living room. The sofa was empty no Chu Yang.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise; his kind never stayed in one place. But even so, I felt a pang of loss.

The next day, running late, I went straight to the library, determined to juggle love and school. While leafing through an old occult volume, I stumbled upon something that made my heart pound: the legend of the nine-tailed cat.

It said a cat becomes immortal by growing nine tails; the eight-tailed cat grants a wish but loses a tail each time. That’s why eight-tails never become nine.

So what about Chu Yang’s "tribulation"? Did he mean he could only help me at the cost of himself?

At the end of the story, it said someone once wished for their eight-tailed cat to become nine-tailed and it worked, but the cost was so high they nearly vanished from the world.

I closed the book, unsettled.

Later at home, I sat next to Chu Yang on the sofa. "What if I wished for you to get your ninth tail?"

"That kind of wish isn’t free, Mu Xing. Big dreams need a big price," Chu Yang replied quietly, half-asleep but clear enough to crush my fantasy.

I glanced at a documentary showing pilgrims bowing on holy mountains. "Would heaven hear them?"

Chu Yang’s eyes drifted closed. "Faith is everything, some say."

He’d been sleeping longer these days, blaming it on winter, but I knew better cats don’t hibernate.

When it snowed, I set up a hotpot in the living room, the kitchen too cold to use. Chu Yang just propped himself up behind me, legs out, chin on my shoulder, drifting in and out.

I’d feed him cooled veggies and meat, and he’d accept them without a glance.

When his breath softened into real sleep, I lowered the TV and quietly finished eating.

Moments later, he stirred. "Not asleep."

"Want more?"

He shook his head. "Not hungry."

Looking at the leftover food, I offered, "Want some noodles later?"

He nodded, yawning.

Pushing the table aside, I faced him. "Is your trial coming?"

He finally stopped dodging. "I hoped I could make it through this winter with you."

"What exactly is this tribulation?"

He looked away, voice barely above a whisper. "To know fate is to invite disaster."

"I’m not afraid," I smiled. "I have nothing to lose."

He stared at me, unexpectedly earnest. "But I am."

Chu Yang continued, heavy words: "Haven’t you noticed? Ever since you brought me home, all these troubles started cropping up for you."

I’d never connected the dots never considered that my misfortune could have been stirred by Chu Yang’s magic.

He added quietly, "My presence bends your luck."

I shrugged. "Maybe meeting you was all the luck I was ever meant to have."

He finally laughed, rare and unguarded, tousling my hair and cuddling me closer. "Thanks for the corny line."

As finals approached, coursework piled high. Coming home after class, I’d grab a bottle of milk for Chu Yang, only to find a snow-white kitten curled on the sofa instead of my silver-haired roommate.

I poured the milk, sat beside him, and scratched his head. "Drink up and move to bed when you’re done."

His blue eyes blinked at me, full of mischief. As I handed him the bowl, the kitten transformed suddenly, I was looking at Chu Yang holding the milk himself.

"Thought about what wish you’ll make?" he asked after finishing the milk.

"No plans," I joked. "Maybe inheritance, or a dozen gorgeous guys."

He snaked an arm around my waist. "A dozen?"

I burst out laughing. "Just joking."

He pulled me onto the sofa, pinning me playfully. "Show me what you mean by ‘gorgeous guys.’"

I kissed him, grinning, whispering, "None of them could ever compete with my cat."

He laughed too, deepening the kiss. That night, I woke to find Chu Yang gone from the bed, sitting with eight tails fluffed on the windowsill, silver hair glowing in the city lights.

A tail for every hundred years. How many lifetimes had he endured already?

After my last final, we planned a trip up the only real mountain outside town the place where I’d first found him.

Bundled up tight, I called home from the peak with a cold nose, "I’m at the top, waiting."

Chu Yang joined me just as dawn tinted the sky. "You came for the sunrise?"

I shook my head. "I came to make a wish."

He didn’t hesitate. "Go ahead."

So, clear and loud, I said, "I wish for Chu Yang to grow a ninth tail."

Chu Yang tried to stop me, but just as he started to speak, the sky split open with gold, and a voice boomed granting my wish.

He turned to me gently, brushing fringe from my forehead, revealing a bloody scratch I hadn’t known I got.

I squeezed his hand, smiling. "One step at a time, right?"

His eyes glistened red as he crushed me into his arms, holding me so tight I thought I’d disappear into him.

Wrapped in warmth, I finally let the tears fall. "So, will I ever see you again?"

Chu Yang’s hands trembled as he stroked my hair, voice almost a murmur, "Sleep, Mu Xing. Tomorrow’s always a new day."

Time spun onward winter melted into spring, spring into the suffocating heat of summer. The market was busier than ever. I slid Xiaozuanfeng another treat just as Zhou Wang strolled in after a workout, complaining, "You’re going to make that kitten as fat as Cyclone."

Rolling my eyes, I put chairs away as he bought a drink, needling me as always.

"Seriously, are you never going to consider dating me?"

I pulled back, deadpan. "You’re so not my type."

He feigned outrage. "Not your type? Look at my face, my legs. Go ahead, try my abs." He snatched my hand and tried to plant it on his stomach.

I squawked, pushing him away. "I am not getting roped into this."

In the background, Xiaomei cackled and added, "Fifty bucks to gouge my eyes out, right now."

With Zhou Wang hustled away, Xiaomei joined me to feed the cats. "Did you hear? Rui Chen and Su Miao broke up."

That was news I’d half expected those two to outlast the apocalypse.

"Why?"

"Apparently, some girl from another university exposed Su Miao’s bullying from high school. I heard the school tried to cover it up a huge scandal."

So all along, I’d thought she was targeting me for Rui Chen’s sake. Turns out, he was just an excuse.

Xiaomei nudged me. "But really, Zhou Wang’s been after you forever. Are you not even tempted?"

"Nope."

"You’re not still waiting for Chu Yang, are you? Come on, girl, he’s been gone half a year and he never even gave you his contact info."

I just smiled. "I’m not waiting for anyone, Xiaomei."

How could I wait for someone who’s not even from this world?

"I just don’t like Zhou Wang. He’s great, but he’s not for me."

As I prepared to leave, a downpour started. I opened my umbrella to head home but paused when I heard a faint cry from under a parked car.

Kneeling to the curb, I saw a scruffy, rain-soaked white kitten, too tiny to fill my palm. Heart pounding, I scooped it up. It didn’t even try to fight, only trembled and mewed as I warmed it in my hands.

I brought it home, bathed it, dried its fur, marveling at how trusting it was, even as its scratchy voice cracked with protest.

Laughing, I rubbed its neck. "From tonight, you’re my cat."

Different time, different world.

After drying off the kitten, I hopped in the shower only to bolt out half-dressed at the sound of pitiful yowling.

In the hazy lamplight, I saw a vision: a tall, lean man by the window, silver-haired, nine white tails fanned behind him in haloed glory Chu Yang. In his hand, he held the kitten, his face beaming with a smile brighter than all my yesterdays.

Those glacial blue eyes, shining like stars.

Time and seasons, sun and moon nothing I’d ever seen, not mountains, not oceans, had ever burned into my heart like this single, perfect moment.

END

« Back Chapter List Next »