The Cat Transformation

There is a kind of friend, called brothers.

There is a kind of brother, called love.

Fortunately, Ye Yixing and Yang Qu only stopped at the first sentence.

Even if he turned into a cat, Ye Yixing decided to tell Yang Qu the truth the moment he calmed down. He didn't even doubt his trust in Yang Qu - the other party would stand with him and help him overcome all the difficulties that followed.

However, no one would believe that a person had turned into a cat at first, it's not a science fiction story.

From another perspective, if Yang Qu turned into a cat and came to find Ye Yixing, Ye Yixing would also think that he was hallucinating. This is not about "trust" or "intelligence," but about the ability to accept.

So, Yang Qu opened the door and saw the eerie black cat for the second time.

He seemed to still be struggling with his thoughts, from questioning the problem since last night to the moment of imminent revelation. He unconsciously looked at the black cat and blurted out, "Are you Ye Yixing?" He instinctively resisted the strange phenomenon but also eagerly awaited a reasonable explanation.

The black cat nodded and said, "Meow~""

So, did he trust Yang Qu's intelligence? He knew that after seeing himself today, Yang Qu would ask such a question.

Hearing the gentle meowing sound, the string in Yang Qu's mind snapped.

This guy... is, is, is Ye Yixing!

His brother has turned into a cat! (T_T)

Ignoring Yang Qu's stunned expression, Ye Yixing walked straight into his house. Yang Qu's parents teach at renowned universities abroad and rarely come back to China. Yang Qu received his education in China since he liked Chinese language, so this house could be said to be his own.

Ye Yixing ran to Yang Qu's bedroom as if he had been there many times before. Yang Qu, after confirming that there were no other "creatures" outside, followed him and closed the door. Indeed, if the neighbors saw him talking to a cat, they would probably think that the son of the Yang family had gone crazy from living alone for too long!

Jumping onto the desk, Ye Yixing saw that Yang Qu's laptop was on, saving him the trouble of turning on the computer. He used the mouse to open the writing board, and then, under Yang Qu's "fiery" gaze, began to type with difficulty -

[Ask me anything]

With only three words, Ye Yixing turned around and squatted on the writing desk, watching his friend on the verge of collapse.

A cat is typing! A cat is typing! A cat is typing in front of him!! Ahhh!!

"I...you have to let me calm down first!!"

Yang Qu shook his head and closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again—the black cat was still there, flicking its tail.

He took a gulp of cold water and turned back to the desk, where the cat was still sitting, waving a paw at him.

Yang Qu paced around the room a few times, grabbing his head, before finally giving up and plopping down on the bed. He stared at the black cat, his voice trembling as he said, "This is... incredible!"

The black cat nodded and extended a paw to continue typing on the keyboard: OK?

Asking a question mark was difficult, so it just expressed it the simplest way possible.

At this moment, Yang Qu began to understand the pain of this cat before him. If you turned into a cat, you couldn't speak human language. The only way to express yourself was by typing, but typing with paws was very difficult and slow. So it had to ask questions that avoided using special interrogative sentences, while still asking about the main points, in order to clarify its thoughts...

It was a test of intelligence and deduction skills!

"Brother, I won't let you down!" Yang Qu exclaimed excitedly as he approached and reached out to stroke the black cat, which was looking up at him with pleading eyes. "Poor little thing, you've turned into this... You used to be such a handsome, cool guy! How sad you must be now... Don't worry, brother will always be there for you! Even if you've become a... cat..."

Ye Yixing watched with a twitching face as Yang Qu sympathized with him, his tearful eyes overflowing with compassion. It was obvious what he was thinking, but could he please retract that mournful gaze? He wasn't dead yet! He had just turned into a cat! If you don't take it back, I'll just destroy your face with my paw!

Yang Qu looked at the black cat's arrogant eyes and the menacing paw it lifted, realizing that he had hurt its pride. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; this was the Ye Yixing he knew!

"So, you've turned into a cat?" he asked.

The black cat nodded.

"When did it happen? On your way to the party last night?"

The black cat nodded.

"So, let me get this straight. After I hung up on our last call and before I called you again and you didn't answer, you turned into a cat? I still can't believe it, but I can't imagine how it happened either..."

Ye Yixing sighed. If he told Yang Qu about how he saved a black cat crossing the road and then got hit by a car when crossing the road again, and the black cat saved him, that's how he turned into a cat, would Yang Qu understand? But the "black cat saves human" theory was just his own speculation, and the real issue was why he turned into a cat in the first place. Without any scientific basis, the only way to explain it was through supernatural means... and that would require a lot of typing!

Seeing the black cat remain silent, Yang Qu probably had an idea. In any case, he was a brilliant student who excelled academically, had a decade-long history of serving as a student leader, and achieved top grades in university. Once he calmed down, he began to think carefully and make decisions, and he had an immediately convincing charm.

"First of all, you need to turn back into a human as soon as possible. Although I know a private doctor, your situation doesn't seem to fall under the category of medical treatment. The less people know about this phenomenon, the better. If it becomes public, you could lose your freedom and even face a more tragic fate... so you need to rely on yourself to turn back into a human."

"Objectively speaking, we don't know if you'll be able to turn back, so we need to prepare for two possibilities: short-term, meaning a few days, and long-term, meaning a few months or even years."

"In the short term, you don't have to worry about the school. Just consider it as skipping a few days of class. However, if it's long-term, it could be troublesome... we'll observe for two weeks. If there are no signs of change, I'll take care of your leave of absence. Your parents won't have any problems with it for the time being, and they won't be too concerned about you."

After each sentence, Yang Qu paused for a few seconds to give Ye Yixing time to respond, carefully observing whether he had any significant objections before continuing.

"If you can't turn back... then I'll take responsibility for taking care of you for the rest of your life..." Yang Qu joked.

However, Ye Yixing knew he was serious. Moved in his heart, he began to think deeply. He was currently living with He Yanlu's family. If he were a cat for the rest of his life and couldn't turn back, would he stay with He Yanlu for the rest of his life? Would he be his son, or his cat...?

But, He Yanlu was going to get married...

...Married?!

"Is he planning to abandon his wife and child and run away with someone else to get married and start a family?!"

The thought suddenly filled Ye Yixing with dread - how could he even consider marriage?

Wait, why couldn't he? He wasn't his...

But it just felt like He Yanlu could only belong to him, and he instinctively felt that they would be together forever...

Ye Yixing was startled by his own subconscious thoughts. He had never seriously considered this before. The question had always been buried deep in his mind, like a forbidden zone that he had never dared to explore.

Why? Why did he have these thoughts?

"I remember He Yanlu brought you back last night. I didn't know it was you at the time, so..." Yang Qu scratched his head awkwardly, interrupting Ye Yixing's racing thoughts.

"Wait, so you're living with him now?...Oh my God!" Yang Qu's eyes widened. Maybe Ye Yixing hadn't noticed, but Yang Qu was very aware of the little schemes his brother had been playing with in his mind, especially over the past six months. It was clear that Ye Yixing had feelings for He Yanlu.

Thinking back, Ye Yixing had often attended Yang Qu's classes, and during one of them, he couldn't stop staring at He Yanlu. Yang Qu teased him and asked if he had a crush on him. Ye Yixing had pretended to shrug it off and said, "No, I'm just curious about what kind of person the girls in my department are paired with."

"We have the most beautiful girl in our department, no, in the entire Chinese department. And yet, a guy looks even better than the girls themselves. Tsk tsk..." Yang Qu exclaimed, then continued teasing him, "You lucky guy. Before you came, all the girls used to say that I should be with him. But as soon as you entered our department, they immediately gave him to you, and I was left in the dust..."

"How come no one ever paired us together? We're such good friends," Ye Yixing raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Because he's the main character," Yang Qu pointed with his pen towards He Yanlu, "He Yanlu is the iceberg in the hearts of the female students in our department. He has the potential to become the leader of the evil cult..."

The leader of the evil cult...

Ye Yixing had a black line on his face.

"Girls have their own psychology, they always choose the 'god' they think is the most handsome to match with them," Yang Qu shrugged.

"Does that mean I'm more handsome than you?" Ye Yixing smiled sweetly, his face full of satisfaction.

Yang Qu secretly cursed in his heart, thinking that even if you don't like her, I'll see how you'll develop in the future...

"It's been a year and you haven't found any girls you like? I bet there are girls lining up to date you all the way to the Chemistry building," the Literature and Chemistry departments were at opposite corners of the F university campus, several kilometers apart.

"I don't know, I'm not interested," Ye Yixing shrugged, his eyes quietly looking at He Yanlu's back. The ordinary white shirt on him exuded a unique aura, even the sixty-year-old man who was lecturing on the podium always glanced in He Yanlu's direction. Ye Yixing felt a bit annoyed, wondering where the elegant and pure posture came from that made He Yanlu look like a white lotus.

Ye Yixing propped his head up, thinking of the leader of the White Lotus Sect...

Unconsciously, his silly smile was noticed by Yang Qu.

At this moment, Yang Qu didn't mention it on the surface, just asking, "Is He Yanlu planning to adopt you? Can you stay at his place?"

Seeing the black cat nod repeatedly, Yang Qu smiled secretly in his heart, thinking that this person might be benefiting from this disaster.

"Well... I have to tell you something..." Yang Qu raised his head slightly, looking skeptical.

"He Yanlu, that person... is a bit stupid."

(=ಠ益ಠ=) How do you know!!"

"As far as I know, he only scored in the 60s on his maths exams in the past two years. You know, the Chinese department's maths exams are liberal arts maths, but I happened to see these scores in the tutor's office, and no one else knows. Also, this year, the Chinese department's third-year class opened a basic computer course, and he always looks very painful in class..."

(=ಠ益ಠ=) And what does that prove?

"So, maybe I won't take good care of you!" Yang Qu joked, squinting his eyes and smiling.

Ye Yixing frowned, although it was hard to tell on his black cat face, since it was all black. Yang Qu could only sense that he was a bit conflicted from his expression, so he continued to ask, "Have you decided to let him take care of you?"

Ye Yixing immediately nodded.

He was indeed foolish, but he was really cute... This was something he definitely couldn't let Yang Qu know, only he knew!

Besides, taking care of a cat had nothing to do with being smart or not. At most, he would occasionally be "bullied" unconsciously, like when he used his tail to test the water temperature...

I'm... willing to do it...

Yang Qu smiled happily, "Okay... I understand. There's one more thing I need your help with..."

Ye Yixing was puzzled. Help? Was it related to He Yanlu?

"He Yanlu has a friend named Chu Wenxing."

Ye Yixing nodded. Chu Wenxing was the only person who frequently appeared around He Yanlu and could make him smile in public. He had heard this from some girls.

"That Chu Wenxing is now studying law at F University. He's someone I lost touch with many years ago..." Yang Qu frowned and stopped.

Huh? Lost touch for many years?

"...my elementary school classmate."

The black cat stumbled and almost fell on the desk. Big brother, you lost touch with an elementary school classmate? What about mine? They're all scattered around the world!

Yang Qu laughed self-deprecatingly and continued, "I confessed to him on the last day before he transferred in sixth grade... Later, when we met again at F University, he always avoided me."

The black cat collapsed, all four limbs going soft.

Yang Qu is gay, I knew that ever since I met him. And it turns out that Chu Wenxing, the person Yang Qu has liked since childhood, was also gay!

Damn! What kind of love do you understand in sixth grade? It's a foolish endeavor to pursue a fruitless relationship! Also, the world is so small! Meeting your elementary school classmate who was your first love, is that something you only see in TV dramas?

"I heard that Chu Wenxing often goes to He Yanlu's house..." Yang Qu suddenly looked at the black cat with shining eyes. "So, if you live in He Yanlu's house, you can help me observe Chu Wenxing... Ahahaha!"

Ye Yixing rolled his eyes. "Yang Qu!! I only just realized that you are a complete pervert! I'll accept your help, but I won't be a spy and peek at your little lover!!"

"If we're brothers, we should help each other out, even in dirty matters," said Yang Qu.

Ye Yixing looked back at Yang Qu with his two cat-like eyes, nodding seriously.

Yang Qu hugged the black cat excitedly. "Good brother! I'll take care of the school side of things!"

"Meow~"

"I'll answer your phone calls from now on!! And send you important emails!!"

"Meow~ Meow~"

"See you at the usual place every Friday!!"

"Meow~ Meow~ Meow~" It shouldn't be a problem to come out of He Yanlu's house on Friday afternoons.

Thus, the so-called brotherly "friendship" was confirmed at this moment. Ye Yixing trusted Yang Qu, even though he called him a pervert.

It is often said that birds of a feather flock together. The people in your friend circle generally reflect what kind of person you are. You might have similar backgrounds, intelligence levels, charisma, and personality. Melancholic and self-pitying people who are obsessed with their own shadows gather together and walk towards depression. Mentally challenged children laugh and have fun together, walking towards a happy life. Handsome and successful young men climb up the Brokeback Mountain together...