Chapter 46: Could It Be a Coincidence?

She crouched down on the cold stone floor.

Gently placing the kitten on the ground, she patiently and tenderly dried its soaked fur bit by bit.

She carefully wiped away all the rainwater trapped between its fluffy hairs.

“You poor little thing. Why were you hiding in the bushes all alone in the rain? It must have been freezing.”

“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. I’ll dry your fur for you, and then you won’t be cold anymore.”

She lowered her eyes and murmured softly, her voice incredibly gentle.

The little orange kitten was exceptionally docile and well-behaved, lying quietly on the ground the entire time.

It contentedly narrowed its round eyes, even taking the initiative to rub its little head against her warm fingertips as it enjoyed her soothing touch.

When Tang Shu finished drying the last patch of fur, the kitten immediately lifted its head.

It softly rubbed against the back of her hand, then gently nudged her palm with its little head.

Tang Shu’s heart completely melted from the kitten’s adorable behavior.

She took out her phone, snapped a cute picture of the well-behaved little orange kitten, and sent it to Shi Zhiyu.

Shushu Has Candy: [Brother, look! I found a little orange kitten soaked in the rain today.]

After sending the message, she looked up at the endless cold rain outside.

The sky was pitch-black, and the campus streetlights were blurred by the mist. She couldn’t help but worry.

The school dormitories strictly prohibited keeping pets, and the dormitory supervisors checked the rooms rigorously. There was no way she could bring the kitten back to her dorm.

It was cold and rainy outside. If she returned the kitten to the bushes, there was a good chance it wouldn’t survive the cold, damp night.

Her fingertips gently stroked the kitten’s soft, dry fur.

Tang Shu lowered her eyes absentmindedly, petting the kitten as she wrestled with her thoughts.

For the moment, she simply couldn’t think of a suitable place to keep it.

Just as she was lost in thought, her phone suddenly rang.

A familiar, gentle melody sounded.

It was the special ringtone she had assigned to Shi Zhiyu.

Tang Shu swiped to answer and brought the phone to her ear. Before she could even say anything, a deep and heated sound of heavy breathing came through the receiver.

It was rough and prolonged, carrying the uniquely husky, magnetic quality of someone who had just finished exercising, each breath striking against her eardrum.

Tang Shu’s entire body stiffened.

Her hand suddenly tightened around her phone, and she nearly collapsed onto the ground.

Was she really supposed to hear this?

What was Shi Zhiyu doing?

Wasn’t it a little inappropriate for him to call her while doing… that kind of thing?

Her mind instantly went blank. Her cheeks and ears flushed bright red as all sorts of chaotic thoughts raced through her head.

Tang Shu nervously held her breath, not daring to move or make a sound.

All she could hear was the man’s increasingly distinct breathing beside her ear. His warm breath seemed almost to pass through the phone and brush against her face.

Her ears were so red they looked ready to bleed.

Several seconds passed in complete silence.

Shi Zhiyu, who had been waiting for Tang Shu’s usual soft little “Brother,” still didn’t hear a response.

He stopped running.

Picking up the warm water beside him, he took a sip and gradually calmed his hurried breathing.

His voice, still slightly breathless from exercising, was deep and magnetic as he asked in confusion,

“Shushu? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

The familiar, cool yet gentle male voice finally brought Tang Shu’s wandering mind back.

She snapped out of it and answered blankly,

“Huh?”

A faint chuckle came from the other end.

“Why are you spacing out?”

Embarrassed, Tang Shu coughed lightly twice before cautiously asking,

“Brother, what were you… doing just now?”

Shi Zhiyu answered naturally.

“Running. I saw the picture you sent. It’s raining outside, so I wanted to call and ask if you brought an umbrella.”

Tang Shu silently patted her rapidly beating chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, thank goodness.

He was only running.

It wasn’t any of those R-rated scenarios she had imagined.

“I brought an umbrella, so don’t worry about me.”

Tang Shu’s expression relaxed as she looked down at the little orange kitten obediently rubbing against her shoe.

“I found a little orange kitten soaked in the rain. It’s incredibly well-behaved, but the dorms don’t allow pets, and I really can’t bear to leave it out in the rain.”

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then Shi Zhiyu spoke.

“I have a one-bedroom apartment near Jiang University. It’s usually empty and no one lives there. You can keep the kitten there.”

Tang Shu froze.

“Huh? Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you? That doesn’t seem right.”

“Then, does Shushu want to keep it?”

Tang Shu looked down at the little orange kitten gazing up at her and rubbing its head against her palm.

Her heart softened.

“I do.”

The man’s deep, gentle voice flowed through the phone.

“Then there’s nothing wrong with it. Think of it as a little cat that Shushu and I are raising together. Our very own little cat. How about that?”

Tang Shu’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Her fingers curled slightly as she answered softly,

“Okay.”

“I’ll send you the detailed address and the door code later. You can go straight there. Everything you need is already there. You can also take a shower while you’re there so you don’t catch a cold.”

“Mm-hmm. Thank you, Brother.”

Tang Shu couldn’t help expressing her genuine admiration, her voice sweet.

“You’re seriously too good to me.”

“Because you like it, I like it too.”

Holding her phone, Tang Shu’s heartbeat accelerated wildly.

Her heart was practically screaming.

This is the most blatant example of loving someone and extending that love to everything they care about!

Aunt Qiao had previously said that Shi Zhiyu was terrible with words and didn’t know how to coax people.

How could that possibly be true?

He wasn’t bad at talking at all.

He was clearly an expert at sweet-talking.

Suppressing the fluttering emotions in her heart, she suddenly said,

“Oh right! How about we give the kitten a name together?”

There was silence on the other end for ten seconds.

Then Shi Zhiyu’s clear, gentle voice slowly sounded.

“Let’s call it Xiaoshu. ‘Shu’ as in ‘book.’ It sounds quite literary.”

Tang Shu’s fingers suddenly froze.

She stood there completely stunned.

Xiaoshu… Xiaoshu.

The pronunciation was the same as her nickname Shushu, but the characters were different.

Could it be a coincidence?

A faint pink blush spread across Tang Shu’s cheeks.

Her heartbeat fell completely out of rhythm, and even her breathing unconsciously slowed.

She lowered her eyes to the obedient little orange kitten curled up at her feet. The corners of her lips rose uncontrollably.

“Okay. Xiaoshu it is. From now on, we’ll raise it into a literary gentleman of the cat world.”

Shi Zhiyu chuckled softly.

“Okay!”

After ending the call, Tang Shu picked up the little orange kitten, its fur now completely dry.

She opened her umbrella and headed toward a pet store that was still open on the street.

Fortunately, the pet store was still operating.

She brought Xiaoshu in and had all the necessary care done.

A bath, deworming, and vaccinations.

She had everything that could be done taken care of.

In the end, she bought a bag of portable kitten food.

As for the rest—cat climbing towers, a cat bed, snacks, canned food, litter, and the entire set of supplies—Shi Zhiyu had already instructed someone to prepare everything.

Outside the pet store, Tang Shu looked at her phone.

She reached out and gently poked the soft little head of the orange kitten, murmuring,

“Xiaoshu, look at how generous your other guardian is!”

“He transferred the money without even saying a word, just so he could buy you delicious food and cute little toys.”

As if it understood the praise, the kitten tilted its head up and gave two sweet little meows.

Its tiny head affectionately rubbed against her palm, docile and soft.

Tang Shu carefully settled the kitten inside her large canvas bag.

The kitten lay quietly inside without fidgeting or making a sound, remaining exceptionally well-behaved the entire journey.

Following the address Shi Zhiyu had sent her, Tang Shu arrived at the entrance of the residential complex.

The moment she saw the familiar place, the corner of her eye twitched violently.

Her footsteps froze in place.

Qingyun Apartments.

She hurriedly opened WeChat and searched through the property information her uncle had sent her a long time ago.

After repeatedly comparing the address, she sucked in a sharp breath.

This was Qingcheng’s high-end gated residential complex, with extremely tight security and strict access control.

Residents had to swipe their access cards to enter and leave.

Without a card, outsiders couldn’t even set foot inside the compound.

There were very few available properties here, and even having money didn’t guarantee you could buy one.