Go Back to Your Big Cat Form! Chapter 14: Bouncy Big Cat

Chapter 14: Bouncy Big Cat

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

“Hello, Mr. Lu. I’m your dedicated customer service representative, Xiao Wang. How may I assist you today?”

“Do you have an internal blacklist system?”

Although confused, Xiao Wang maintained professional composure and explained, “Yes, we are the largest non-profit feline conservation organization on New Blue Star, and we collaborate with various cat protection institutions in the Rose System. Our internal blacklist is not public, but anyone on it will have all adoption requests denied. Mr. Lu, may I ask why—”

“You should add someone to it.”

“Please, tell me the details; we’ll take your advice into consideration.”

Lu Yao’s icy voice carried above Snow Leopard. “Zhou Yunchen.”

Burying his head, Zhou Yunchen was confused. Xiao Wang on the other end, “Ah? You mean… Mr. Zhou, the General?” Xiao Wang stammered, flustered.

“Yes. Do you need me to provide his ID number?”

Zhou Yunchen’s ears twitched, his thoughts drifting elsewhere. He didn’t seem to know Lu Yao’s ID number—would Lu Yao even remember his?

“No, no… Mr. Lu. Did General Zhou… do anything to Torque?”

“No. He’s not familiar with Torque,” Lu Yao said. “But I noticed his methods in training another cat were a bit… extreme. You understand what I mean?”

“Understood. Understood. We’ll list General Zhou as a monitored candidate on the blacklist. Rest assured.” Xiao Wang didn’t fully understand, but unsure what else to do, he repeated his acknowledgment.

No one had heard of General Zhou keeping a cat before; the idea of him interacting with such soft, furry creatures seemed impossible. But Mr. Lu, being the General’s legal omega, naturally knew things outsiders wouldn’t. Yet… it still sounded strange.

The call ended. As Lu Yao lowered his gaze, he noticed Snow Leopard, who had been hiding his face, lifting his head. His pale gray eyes fixed on Lu Yao with such stillness that it seemed as if the round feline eyes reflected a mixture of daze and shock.

Torque still mewed atop the crystal chandelier, but Lu Yao had no time to attend to the white cat. He focused on Snow Leopard, his expression gradually softening, the tightness in his face releasing. He knelt on one knee beside Snow Leopard, gently rubbing his nimble ears. “Good boy… it’s alright now.”

Good boy? Zhou Yunchen didn’t register immediately that Lu Yao was speaking to him. The next gesture utterly stunned him. Lu Yao cupped Snow Leopard’s head and kissed his forehead. Through the thick fur, the kiss was feather-light, a mere brush, carrying the night’s chill. Lu Yao then combed the fur along Snow Leopard’s cheeks and carefully fastened the collar again, preparing to lead him upstairs to rest.

Snow Leopard followed, swaying slightly, claws slipping on the smooth floors. Once Lu Yao brought him into a spacious, empty room and closed the door behind him, Zhou Yunchen began to regain his senses. Lu Yao had placed Snow Leopard in Torque’s room.

The room’s cat tree and beds were nearly new, only lightly dusted. The white cat never slept there, always choosing to stay with Lu Yao.

Snow Leopard examined the new scratching post along the wall, instinctively swiping it a few times. The board, no match for his wide paws, was instantly destroyed. Another swipe knocked over Torque’s cat tree. After pacing a few circles, Snow Leopard ran to the door, pressing his ears against the gap to listen to the corridor.

Lu Yao’s voice carried faintly from the hallway, along with the soft, clinging whines of Torque. Earlier, Lu Yao had ignored Torque’s theatrics. Now, after settling Snow Leopard, he picked up the white cat and returned him to the room.

“I want a bigger house…” Lu Yao’s voice floated through the gap. “Hmm… with a sufficiently large lawn, ideally near a mountain, and fewer neighbors nearby. Because I want him to have room to run—his nature is meant to be free. Pet? Yes… he’s my pet. He can be gentle and affectionate, provided he remains himself… Thank you. I’m available for the next three days.”

The call seemed to end. Lu Yao’s voice faded, a door clicked shut, and even the sound of breathing disappeared. Only a faint scent of sweet catnip seeped through the door gap. Snow Leopard brushed his side against the crack.

After a moment, he padded over to the window. Outside, the large linden tree in the garden had once again faded to deep blue under the night. The lights in Lu Yao’s room were off. Only Snow Leopard’s room glowed, light spilling faintly onto the surrounding shrubs.

The villa now held no other humans. Lu Yao didn’t like humans moving around his house; all the household chores in the villa were handled by intelligent robots.

Zhou Yunchen guessed that Lu Yao probably wouldn’t enjoy sharing a bed with a stranger alpha either, even if a few data points required them to sleep shoulder-to-shoulder. So before Lu Yao moved into the villa, Zhou Yunchen had cleared all four floors, leaving the space entirely for Lu Yao. He himself stayed on the second floor, with a library separating them.

When Lu Yao had glanced at him with his icy blue eyes, he hadn’t said anything further. His expression was impossible to read, yet at least he hadn’t shown any displeasure. As Lu Yao carried the cat upstairs, he didn’t notice Zhou Yunchen’s usually tight lips and the taut muscles under his uniform relaxing slightly.

Lu Yao had lived on the fourth floor for three years, and Zhou Yunchen had barely ever gone upstairs. Whether because it was too unfamiliar, or because a feline’s sense of smell was hundreds of times more sensitive than a human’s, Snow Leopard could now detect the entire fourth floor steeped in the lingering scent of sweet catnip.

Lu Yao’s estrus had long ended; the remaining sweetness held no pheromonal power, yet Snow Leopard still felt his reason begin to blur. Torque didn’t use this room, and Lu Yao rarely came up here, so the catnip scent was faint. When Snow Leopard lifted a paw to nudge the doorknob and slip through the gap, flowing like liquid, the aroma in the hallway almost stopped him in his tracks.

The intelligent lights only illuminated for humans. In the darkness, with a cool breeze flowing through, Snow Leopard gave up all pretense of control and flopped onto the floor like a proper cat, rolling every so often, tail flicking against the ground. The sweet scent seemed to saturate every crevice of the floor and walls.

Snow Leopard rolled on the floor, using all his remaining willpower to keep his throat quiet, afraid of waking the sleeping Lu Yao. Instinct ruled now. He rubbed his cheeks and neck against the wall, trying to coat himself with the catnip scent while marking Lu Yao’s territory with his own.

Plop— A sudden noise made the drowsy Snow Leopard leap three feet high. Startled, he shot upward uncontrollably, his long tail hitting the ground, nearly vertical for a few seconds, almost striking the ceiling. Leaping at sudden fright was the nature of Snow Leopards. Their powerful jumps exaggerated this instinct. Zhou Yunchen, usually composed, often restrained himself—but here, in Lu Yao’s territory, a heavy object dropping in the bedroom made his heart constrict.

Snow Leopard landed gracefully, crouched low, heart racing, eyes fixed on the thin line of light from Lu Yao’s room door. The night was quiet. His ears twitched as he caught the faint sound of Lu Yao getting out of bed. He picked up a book knocked to the floor by Torque and returned it to the table.

The slender strip of light through the door vanished after a few seconds, leaving the silence and darkness intact. Snow Leopard stayed in position, waiting silently for tens of minutes. Then he tucked in his claws to avoid making noise and crept to Lu Yao’s door. He crouched there a while, until he confirmed Lu Yao’s breathing had evened out, that he had fallen asleep. Snow Leopard lay on his side, curling his long tail around himself like a silvery pancake, resting his head against the door, slowly closing his eyes.

The next morning, when Lu Yao opened the door, a silver-white shape blocking the entrance made him jump. Before he could react, the fluffy mass startled itself, leaping three meters across the room, crashing into the opposite door, and tumbling into the study.

Lu Yao was instantly wide awake, realizing he now had a leaping leopard in the house. After rolling twice on the floor, Snow Leopard quickly regained a dignified crouch, but the tip of his tail, lightly curling around his paw, betrayed everything.

Something was wrong. Lu Yao frowned. He remembered leaving Snow Leopard in the cat room last night and locking the door. How was he here now? At the cat room door, Lu Yao saw scratch marks on the handle. Looking back, Snow Leopard had followed him.

Sighing softly, Lu Yao looked from the scratches to the cat. Snow Leopard froze instantly. But Lu Yao merely stroked his forehead. “Ah… I see. You’re a smart Snow Leopard. Good boy. Today I’m going to check out the new house. There’ll be a lawn, and you won’t be locked up like with Zhou Yunchen anymore.”

Snow Leopard selectively ignored the latter half of the sentence. In his ears, only one voice remained. Lu Yao had really named him… Good Boy.

 

The aircraft soared over the rocky grassland, the strong wind whipping the meadows into silver waves that cast shifting shadows under the light of the star Ruth.

The real estate agent sat in the front seat, explaining to Lu Yao, “Mr. Mo told me you plan to raise a leopard here, so I removed options with fully artificial surroundings. The area you’re seeing now has a well-preserved natural environment, perfect for keeping animals. It’s also close to your first research and development base. The only downside… is that human neighbors are scarce.”

Lu Yao looked out the window as the aircraft climbed along the cliffside. “The house is on the mountain?”

“Yes.”

“How many neighbors are there on this mountain?”

The agent paused. “Mr. Lu… I’m afraid the answer is zero.”

The next moment, the aircraft crested the ridge, the view completely unobstructed. The distant horizon glittered as the ocean reflected the starlight. And ahead, their destination came into view. A silver-white man-made structure gleamed on the flattened mountaintop, dominating the entire peak. Lu Yao’s brow twitched as he glanced at Mo Feng. “Are you sure this is just a little over five hundred square meters?”

Mo Feng shrugged. “I calculated it. You can afford it. Don’t worry.”

He was worried about that?!

 

Author’s Note:

Lu Yao: Good boy, bouncy leopard!

 

 

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