074: A Little Thing Because of Ice Cream (Extra 1)
Sang Zhao still lived in his loft apartment. Lofts were great for little cats. The second floor was high up, and cats liked looking down from above, looking outward from a higher perch.
But even so, Teacher Border Collie’s massive flat had left quite an impression on him.
A big flat was a beautiful house! So even though he was perfectly happy in his loft, Sang Zhao had started consciously saving money, vaguely planning to move out someday and buy a new place.
That was a long-term plan though. Besides, he enjoyed living in his loft right now. And on weekends, he usually stayed over at Tang Yu’s place anyway.
Tang Yu’s villa had basically been transformed into a full cat paradise. There were cat trees, cat toys, and cat beds lined up along the walls. Honestly, if each bed were meant for one cat, this place could establish the Cat Federation, Cat Nation, and the Cat Council all at once.
But there weren’t that many cats. All those cat beds belonged to Sang Zhao.
Corn Bean had gotten addicted to buying cat trees, cat beds, and scratch boards.
Dating his boyfriend while raising a cat, the cat turning into his boyfriend, the boyfriend turning into a cat, it was heaven!
Today, Sang Zhao came over again.
When he wasn’t doing part-time jobs or taking classes, Sang Zhao didn’t have much to do. He would scroll on his phone, watch short videos, just play around. Cats could get addicted to phones too.
But he couldn’t just play with his phone. His mouth needed something to munch on. Playing on his phone with an empty mouth felt dry and meaningless.
He grabbed an ice cream from the fridge, then went back to flop across the living room sofa. Tang Yu was sitting there with his tablet, drawing and writing. Sang Zhao squeezed over, sat beside him, then turned sideways and lay across Tang Yu’s lap.
One glance down and Tang Yu could see him.
“Why are you eating while lying down?” Tang Yu asked, laughing as he half-scolded him.
Zhao loved lying down, and he loved eating. So now he could lie down and eat. Wasn’t that a win-win? Why wouldn’t he eat like this? He was going to enjoy it thoroughly!
The ice cream was peach-flavored. Light and fragrant, not too sweet, very smooth. The little cat took one bite after another.
As he got to the end, it tasted so good that he didn’t want to finish it too quickly. So he started licking it slowly.
But humans had smooth tongues. Licking only gave him the flavor, not the wonderful ice cream texture.
Then inspiration struck.
Why did he have to use a human tongue?
He wasn’t just a human, he was a little cat!
A cat eating ice cream could use a cat tongue. A cat tongue had barbs. It could scrape a little layer of ice cream up each time. Wouldn’t that give him both the taste and texture he wanted?
He thought, hey, his little orange kitty brain was getting clever.
So he did it. He switched to a cat tongue and slowly licked the ice cream.
The room was quiet. The only sounds were the tapping of Tang Yu’s stylus on the tablet and the strange noises of Sang Zhao eating ice cream.
It didn’t take long before Tang Yu noticed something off.
“Why does it sound like you’re sanding a wall?” Tang Yu frowned. “What are you doing?”
Sang Zhao held his ice cream and said nothing.
Tang Yu hesitated, then held out his hand, hovering near Sang Zhao’s jaw. That was clearly a hint.
And since Corn Bean was already offering his hand, Sang Zhao couldn’t just ignore him. So he leaned in and gave Tang Yu’s wrist a lick.
That lick brought a sensation that was both wet and lightly scratchy. It felt like tiny hooks brushing his skin. Not painful, but strangely stimulating and impossible to ignore.
Tang Yu immediately jerked his hand back.
He understood instantly. “Do you have barbs on your tongue?!”
What kind of question was that? Of course he did! Sang Zhao mentally rolled his eyes and then answered with absolute confidence:
“Of course. It’s a cat tongue!”
Of course a cat would have a cat tongue. And of course a cat tongue had barbs. That was just fact. Tang Yu already knew this, so why was he acting shocked?
But Tang Yu wasn’t just shocked, his expression started changing in a weird way.
Seeing that, Sang Zhao sat up. “What’s with that face? Are you surprised? I’m a cat! Isn’t it normal for a cat tongue to have barbs?”
He hummed once and declared boldly, “Cats also have barbs down there. I just never transform them when we’re doing things, so you don’t feel them.”
Tang Yu had only looked a little awkward before, but now he was flat-out mortified.
His breath hitched; he waved his hands quickly, stammering. His face turned completely red, like the braised shrimp Sang Zhao loved so much.
“No no no, I don’t want to feel anything. I still want to live.”
Ah. So he was disliking the little cat now?
Earlier he’d said humans loved cats and dreamed of marrying cats, was that all fake? Just because the little cat had a few barbs, humans didn’t love cats anymore??
“You’re disliking me?! I didn’t suddenly grow them. I’ve had them since birth. I was born with barbs, so what? Didn’t you say humans should carry some sharpness and edges in their personality?”
Tang Yu covered his face, groaning into his palms.
It took several deep breaths before he lowered his hands and met Zhao’s accusing stare.
His expression was pure collapse and helplessness. “I meant personality, not… not that. Please don’t get poetic right now. That’s not what I meant at all.”
Sang Zhao pouted. “It’s not even that dramatic. When cats are in small animal form the barbs are sharper, it’s a biological trait. In human form they can be softer, not pointy. Really… Corn Bean—”
He stopped suddenly.
He stared at Tang Yu, quiet for a moment, then clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. Your eyes totally want to try it. It’s written all over your face.”
“No no no I don’t—”
“I have eyes. I’m not blind. Your expression is a confession!”
Sang Zhao really was getting better at reading Corn Bean.
Tang Yu refusing wasn’t true refusal; he was just conflicted. And he had that fearless kind of courage: ‘What, are you going to kill me?’ Plus he was greedy. He wanted to try everything.
But this time, he wouldn’t admit it.
Which meant Sang Zhao had to make him say it himself.
After a while, Tang Yu went to his study to work.
But… he left the door open.
Sang Zhao thought, if he really wanted to work seriously with zero cat disturbance, he’d have shut that door.
Leaving it open while saying he was working was already a signal.
So of course the cat had to… pass by.
He transformed his orange kitty ears, trotted across the doorway, grabbed a box of cookies, and sauntered back.
His kitty ears were soft and bouncy. When they perked up, the tips were fluffy. When he flattened them into airplane ears, they were fluffy too.
Then he transformed his thick, red-tabby striped cat tail, swishing it as he walked past the study door again. He poured a glass of sour plum drink, sipped it, and strutted back with the tail swaying high.
A lifted tail with a lightly twitching tip, classic sign of a very happy cat. Sang Zhao was indeed in an excellent mood.
He knew Tang Yu had been watching him the entire time.
Corn Bean was completely enchanted. Completely.
He was a lifelong fluff addict, with zero resistance against cat ears and cat tails.
He sat at his desk with his hands on the keyboard, but he wasn’t reading a thing.
Forget work. Forget documents. His eyes stared at the screen, but not a single word entered his brain.
His heart was restless and he couldn’t focus at all.
But he was still conflicted. Was this really okay? If they did this once, wouldn’t they have to do it every time?
And what if he could never look at other cats the same way again?
He thought about it. And realized… he really was a simple, vulgar man. He could not suppress his desires at all. His head was full of his cat-boyfriend with cat ears and cat tail… and the cat-boyfriend’s sharp “personality.”
Fine! So what! He only had one cat in his entire life. What did other cats matter to him?
He was going to overturn the heavens with his cat boyfriend. Lose his mind completely.
Tang Yu stood up, leaving the computer on, and walked out of the study.
When he passed by, Zhao was standing near the stairs with a small mirror and a tiny comb, combing his ear fluff.
“Stop combing.” Tang Yu blurted. “I’m going to shower first.”
Zhao held his wooden comb, ears perked high, giving him the most smug, proud look.
“Hmph~” The arrogance was practically sparkling. Utterly adorable.
But what followed… Tang Yu could no longer call adorable.
The little cat was a little terrifying.
Those barbs were not just for excitement, they had a practical function.
To hook onto a lover so he couldn’t escape during overwhelming, instinct-driven moments.
Tang Yu had been happy at first, but halfway through he was already rambling nonsense.
“No, no, I can’t! I regret everything. I shouldn’t have fantasized—”
“Don’t call me gege—I’m not your gege… can I call you gege instead?!”
“I won’t daydream anymore, I swear! I’ll stay awake forever, so I never dream again!”
And while he was pleading, Sang Zhao used his barbed cat tongue to lick from Tang Yu’s Adam’s apple down to his collarbone.
With feigned confusion, Zhao murmured:
“Show a little courage, Corn Bean.”
“Life is about trying new things, right?”
He smiled.
“You said that yourself.”
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