Chapter 7: After Breathing in Catnip

After Smelling Catnip.

“I was wondering why kitty suddenly ran to wait by the door.

So you were waiting for Sir.”

Aunt Chen happened to witness the scene and smiled as she placed the reheated dishes on the table.

She was good at reading people.

Even in the short time she had observed them, she could tell they were not yet very familiar with each other.

Kitty was still cautious.

When speaking, he carefully studied expressions, weighing every word to make sure he would not say something wrong.

She had seen Ning Jiu sitting by the door for a long time.

He stared blankly at the entrance, his tail unconsciously sweeping circles on the floor.

Sometimes he even lay against the crack of the door as if listening for something.

Now she understood.

The cat had been waiting eagerly to welcome Sir home.

Mu Jingyi had returned a little later than usual today.

He had not sent a message like he normally did.

After reheating the food, Aunt Chen bid them goodbye.

“Did you wait long?”

Mu Jingyi placed his hand over the little cat’s head and rubbed his ears gently.

Ning Jiu did not dodge.

His flattened ears would spring upright the moment the hand left, bouncing softly as if trembling.

Sir always petted him gently.

Every time, it drew out a comfortable hum from the cat, who would lean softly into his palm.

“Late… just a little late.”

Mu Jingyi rarely worked overtime.

He had once been rated the most law-abiding CEO in A City.

Now he was even more eager to return home.

There were no troublesome projects at the company recently.

He instructed his assistant to arrange everything properly and left the office precisely at five.

Not a second more.

Now, there was a little cat at home who would greet him at the door.

A sticky, soft voice saying, “Welcome home.”

It made him start anticipating the return from the moment he stepped out in the morning.

“I bought you a gift.”

Mu Jingyi handed him the bag.

Inside were brand-new toys.

A pair of bright bells tied to feathers rang with a crisp, pleasant sound that made a cat’s heart itch.

Ning Jiu could not help but flick them, listening to the delightful chime.

“These… are all for me?”

He held the bag, which was heavier than expected.

His blue eyes sparkled brighter and brighter.

He liked every single one.

“They’re all yours.

I didn’t know what you liked.

Next time, I’ll take you to choose.”

“I like them all.

Thank you, Sir!”

He eagerly took each toy out, unable to put any of them down.

The toys suited to feline nature satisfied his curiosity perfectly.

He shook one, flipped another, touched everything.

His tail swayed rhythmically behind him in pure happiness.

Then his hand paused.

He pushed aside the toys and found the small plush bun at the bottom.

He smelled something familiar.

It was the scent from that rainy night.

When Sir had held him close, when his nose had nearly brushed the gland at his neck.

The bun was loosely woven with thread.

A faint scent seeped from the gaps.

Inside was dried grass that cats could chew to clean their teeth.

The catnip was light.

Enough to attract.

Not strong enough to cause hallucination.

Ning Jiu stared at it for a long time.

His fingers tightened gradually around it.

This smelled like Sir’s pheromones.

The bun contained only pure catnip.

It did not have the functions of alpha pheromones beyond scent.

He leaned closer and sniffed.

The familiar fragrance brought him a sense of security.

Combined with the natural attraction of catnip, his body suddenly felt light.

He swayed slightly.

A faint blush spread across his cheeks.

“Kitty?”

Seeing something was wrong, Mu Jingyi stepped forward and steadied him.

Ning Jiu suddenly bit into the plush bun.

He had an illusion.

It felt as if he were biting into Sir’s gland.

Hard.

Very hard.

That illusion made the way he looked at Mu Jingyi far too meaningful.

Mu Jingyi tried to pull the bun from his mouth.

But the bite was firm.

He did not force it.

Instead, he pressed the cool back of his hand to the cat’s flushed cheek.

“Mm… so cold…”

Ning Jiu mumbled unclearly.

Yet his heated cheek rubbed eagerly against the cool skin, like a drunken kitten.

Those blue eyes gradually lost focus.

A faint, ambiguous sheen of tears clouded them.

The world blurred slightly.

Light expanded.

Edges softened.

He half-closed his eyes, breathing deeper, rubbing again and again against Sir’s palm, letting out soft breaths that could easily be misunderstood.

“Sir… mm… rub…”

His hoarse voice stretched at the end, dangerously soft.

The slightly rough lines of Mu Jingyi’s palm brushed against delicate skin.

The subtle friction was intoxicating.

He did not notice the way Sir’s lips pressed tight.

The way his eyes darkened.

The way his throat moved.

The addictive surge of catnip lasted only a few minutes.

After that came temporary immunity.

When Ning Jiu regained clarity, he was still biting the bun.

The fabric was damp with saliva, darkened in patches.

His eyes refocused.

Then widened abruptly.

He stared up at Mu Jingyi for several seconds.

His brain stalled.

What.

What had he done.

“Ning Jiu!”

Before Mu Jingyi fully recovered from his own reaction, the white blur had already fled from sight and darted into the storage room.

Too fast to stop.

He stood outside and knocked gently.

“Kitty.

Come out and eat.”

No response.

Inside, Ning Jiu crouched by the door.

His tail covered his face.

Red spread from cheeks to ears.

So embarrassing.

What kind of bad cat behavior was that.

He wiped the lingering tears with his tail fur.

He tried to calm himself.

As his heartbeat slowed, the shame intensified.

What if Sir disliked him after seeing that.

“Kitty, don’t skip dinner.

Your body isn’t in very good—”

The door opened before he could finish.

“Sir, I…”

His hands were hidden behind his back.

The dampness on his fingertips reminded him again of what he had done.

His face burned red.

His voice was tiny.

He looked up pitifully, brows furrowed, ears flattened.

“Sir… kitty couldn’t resist it…”

Mu Jingyi tightened his grip on the doorframe.

Hearing him call himself “kitty” like that was devastatingly effective.

It was a kind of human catnip.

“It’s okay if kitty likes it.”

Mu Jingyi brushed a finger along his flushed eye corner and patted his head gently.

Ning Jiu looked confused.

“Sir doesn’t feel disgusted?”

Now it was Mu Jingyi’s turn to be puzzled.

“Disgusted with who.

With kitty?”

“Kitty didn’t mean to lose control…”

He squeezed the culprit plush bun nervously, the dried grass rustling inside.

“That’s not losing control.”

Mu Jingyi stroked his head tenderly.

“Did kitty like the gift.

Did you like biting it?”

Catnip triggered the deepest instincts in a cat.

After the short release came a refreshing clarity, like dopamine after exertion.

And because this scent resembled Sir’s pheromones, it held even more meaning.

Ning Jiu nodded honestly.

“I liked it… very much…”

His blush deepened from pink to light red.

“What kitty likes is what matters most.”

Mu Jingyi did not tease him further, though he was tempted.

His little cat was already melting from embarrassment.

Instead, he led him back to the table.

The food had cooled slightly.

Mu Jingyi stopped him from helping and reheated everything himself.

When he returned with steaming plates, he saw his cat carefully dabbing the damp plush bun with tissues.

Gently.

As if it were treasure.

His heart softened completely.

He had not expected Ning Jiu to cherish the gift so much.

Not only as a cat.

But as an omega.

It meant more than he had imagined.

He wanted to buy him more toys.

Perhaps even the entire wall.

Kitty deserved it.

Late at night, Ning Jiu held the plush bun in his palm.

The fabric was dry now.

A faint scent lingered.

He was still in the brief calm period after catnip.

At this low concentration, it smelled only pleasant and comforting.

Not intoxicating.

He wrapped the bun layer after layer in tissues until even the faint scent was barely detectable.

He leaned close and sniffed.

Satisfied that he could no longer smell it, he prepared to sleep.

To him, the plush bun was not only irresistible catnip.

Not only the familiar scent of Sir’s alpha pheromones.

It was also…

The first gift he had ever received in his life.

The worn-out bells had been his only toy in the factory.

They had accompanied him through endless dark days.

He had never imagined that beyond the factory walls, so many wonderful toys existed.

He placed the now unrecognizable tissue-wrapped bun beneath his pillow.

Kitty hoped that his first gift in life would bring him a dream filled only with happiness.