Chapter 110
“Ah, Mua! You finally appeared!” Mary rushed over, grabbed the cat outside the door, and carried it inside, pushing the door open. “Sir, I’m really sorry. Did that child scare you just now?”
Su Bin shook his head. “No, no, I quite like animals… It’s just the first time I’ve seen a cat like this, a bit surprised.”
Allen glanced at Su Bin’s thigh and said to Mary, “Mua is dirty, Mary, you should give it a bath.”
Su Bin: “…” Why does this sentence sound familiar?
“Yes, Your Grace… Actually, since you allowed Mua to roam freely in the Roland Manor, it has been out of control. It has been missing for many days, and Jesse saw it catching mice and eating outside a few days ago. I only saw it today.” Mary seized the opportunity to complain to Allen.
Upon hearing this, Allen furrowed his brows. “Catching mice?”
“Yes, Jesse saw it with his own eyes.”
Allen looked at Su Bin. “You should change your pants and clothes tonight, and tomorrow let Mary clean them properly.”
Su Bin hesitated. “But I don’t have any pants left to change into.”
…He only had two pairs of pants in his suitcase, and both were not yet washed.
“It’s okay, I’ll find you a suitable pair of pants to wear.” After saying that, Allen turned to Mary and said, “Tomorrow morning, give Mua a bath and take it for a comprehensive check-up. Remember to deworm it.”
Mary: “But Dr. Vincent in town is on vacation for the New Year.”
Allen: “Do we have temporary vaccines at home?”
Mary: “Yes.”
Allen: “Go get them. I’ll give it a shot.”
Mary agreed and, fearing that Mua might run away again, she put a collar and a rope around the cat’s neck, tying it to the back of a chair, before fetching the needle.
Mua shook its body, trying to break free from the collar, and even jumped on the chair to try to remove the rope.
Allen stood up and walked towards it. It seemed to sense Allen’s pressure and settled down a bit.
“Haven’t seen me in two months, don’t recognize me?” Allen squinted his eyes and looked down at it.
Mua softly “meowed,” crouched down, and stopped making trouble.
Su Bin also followed, carefully examining this strangely looking cat. Upon closer inspection, he found that its bright blue eyes were very beautiful, like crystals, and its black face was also cute. “What kind of cat is this?” Su Bin asked.
Allen: “Himalayan cat.”
Su Bin: “(⊙o⊙)…Is it from the Himalayas?”
Allen chuckled, “Of course not. It’s the offspring of a Persian cat and a Siamese cat… It was a gift from an old lady after my parents passed away. They had many Himalayan cats in their house, and this one was the most beautiful from a litter. I’ve had it for six years now.” Allen looked at Mua affectionately and said to Su Bin, “You can touch it.”
Su Bin reached out and touched mua’s head, quickly retracting his hand. The cat’s fur was very soft, but it looked a bit fierce.
Mary quickly brought the tools, and Allen, wearing rubber gloves, kneaded the cat’s back, calling its name. He swiftly injected the needle at the back of its neck and back. The whole process took two seconds, and the cat didn’t make a sound.
Allen smiled and said, “Good boy,” then rubbed mua’s neck.
Su Bin: “…” These familiar actions and tone…
Allen took off his gloves and taught Mary what to do while saying, “Keep Mua at home for the next few days… no, let’s restrict its activities inside the house from now on. Don’t let it go outside.”
Mary frowned, “But Mua has seen the outside world. Once it tastes freedom, it’s hard to keep it as gentle and quiet as before… you know.”
Allen said, “In that case, lock it in the study on the second floor for half a year. When it calms down, it will naturally consider this villa a paradise.”
“Alright,” Mary agreed.
Su Bin looked at Allen in astonishment, “You want to lock it in the study for half a year?”
Allen asked, “Why?”
Su Bin hesitated, “Isn’t that too pitiful?”
“Why is it pitiful?”
“Because it loses its freedom when locked up!” Su Bin believed that cats and dogs were different. Dogs could recognize their owners, but cats couldn’t. They weren’t completely domesticated, naturally centered around themselves, enjoying exploration and freedom. Restricting their nature by locking them up seemed wrong to him.
Allen countered, “It never had absolute freedom in the first place. When it was brought here, it was only allowed to roam in the study… because it was well-behaved, I granted it more privileges. You can say the freedom it had later was given by me. Now, I’m taking it back. What’s wrong with that?”
Su Bin was momentarily speechless. After some thought, he said, “So, you suppressed its nature from the beginning.”
Raising an eyebrow, Allen said, “According to your logic, there shouldn’t be any pet cats in the world, because no cat is naturally willing to be domesticated.”
Su Bin couldn’t argue with Allen, but he still felt sorry for the treatment Mua was receiving.
Suddenly, Allen said, “You know, cats are the only non-protected animals among all felids.”
“Really? I’ve never heard that before,” Su Bin replied.
“And all the protected felids receive treatment similar to pet cats. They survive under human care, without absolute freedom. Because sometimes, excessive freedom can lead to more harm… just like mua. It originally lived in an absolutely safe environment, with carefully prepared meals, regular body check-ups, nail trimming, and fur care. It was very safe. If nothing unexpected happens, it could live for fifteen or sixteen years. But now, it’s catching mice in the grass, fighting with other stray cats, getting injured, bleeding, getting infected, and may die soon.”
Su Bin nodded slightly, acknowledging Allen’s words.
“You might think that it would rather die than be confined and live a long life…” Allen shook his head lightly, “But as its owner, I don’t want to foresee that. Even if I suppress its nature, I will intervene. I want it to be healthy… as for happiness, you’re not a cat, how do you know it’s not happy? What it wants might be much simpler than you think.”
Su Bin: “…”
While speaking, Allen continued to play with mua, touching its ears one moment, scratching its chin the next. Even though he initially mentioned that it needed a bath, now he didn’t seem to mind. Su Bin was starting to suspect that Allen’s cleanliness was selectively applied.
“Don’t you like it?” Allen asked.
“It just looks a bit fierce…” Su Bin couldn’t quite express his strange feelings toward this cat.
“Hehe, actually, it’s very gentle.”
Gentle? Just now, it scratched my pants! And why is it named mua, it sounds like mu… as Su Bin was inexplicably annoyed, he suddenly saw Mua extend its front paws to grab Allen’s hand. Before he could say “be careful,” there was a scratch on the back of Allen’s hand!
Blood quickly oozed out, and Allen, with a cold face, retracted his hand. He quickly stood up to grab alcohol cotton from the writing desk drawer and asked Su Bin to find a coagulant from the suitcase, all while pressing the call button.
Mary quickly arrived, “Sir, what are your orders… Oh! My God! Is this done by mua? I knew it… My goodness! It caught mice, and it hasn’t had a bath… could it be infected?”
With a grim expression, Allen shook his head, “I don’t know. Tomorrow, I happen to be going to the Royal Hospital for a routine check-up. Trim a small piece of mua’s nail for me, and I’ll take it for examination.”
“Alright, Your Grace! Please remember to take antibiotics!” Mary said.
Mua was taken away, and Su Bin was frightened. Although Allen stopped the bleeding, he still felt unsettled.
Allen looked at Su Bin and teased, “Who was the one worrying about mua’s freedom? Why are you silent now?”
Suddenly, Su Bin exclaimed, “How can you make jokes at a time like this?” Seeing Allen’s silence, he continued, “You shouldn’t have played with it just now!”
Allen responded, “…Are you angry at mua?”
Su Bin involuntarily raised his voice, “It hurt you! Aren’t you angry?”
Allen lowered his eyes, “It doesn’t know it would hurt me. It was just playing. Didn’t you see how excited it was just now?”
“No!” Su Bin interrupted Allen, “You’re defending it! It definitely knew you were going to lock it up, so it’s retaliating against you!”
Allen chuckled and shook his head, “Mu, you’re thinking too much. It’s not that clever…”
“Don’t call me Mu!” Su Bin interrupted, his voice loud. It was the first time Allen had seen him so angry.
“Why do you call me Mu? Is it because of Mua?” Su Bin didn’t even know what he was saying.
Allen paused and said, “You are you, Mua is Mua.”
Su Bin stared at Allen for two seconds, “But you’re its owner.”
Upon hearing this, Allen fell silent, and Su Bin did the same. The two exchanged glances in the air, and after an unknown amount of time, Allen suddenly called out his Chinese name, “Su Bin.”
Upon hearing this address, Su Bin felt like a deflated balloon. His mind was in chaos, not knowing what to say or do. He felt annoyed and wanted to escape from this strange situation. However, Allen’s gaze was tightly fixed on him, as if he had been immobilized by a spell and couldn’t move.
Looking at him, Allen slowly spoke, “Su Bin, are you jealous?”
Su Bin: “… What?” Jealous? He must be crazy to be jealous of a cat! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Allen stood up and walked towards Su Bin. “Is it true?”
Su Bin instinctively took a step back, nervously watching Allen. Impossible… he couldn’t possibly be jealous because of a cat…
Allen quickly approached him, grabbing his hand.
“I’m not!” Su Bin struggled to say, “I’m not jealous!” —I’m just worried about your well-being!
Allen held both of his wrists, pulling him closer. Their chests were pressed together. “Am I making you upset because I got hurt?” Allen asked in a low voice, staring at him up close.
Unable to escape this intense gaze, Su Bin couldn’t articulate a complete sentence.
“Or is it because you feel you’re not my only one, so you feel wronged?” Allen asked with a sly smile.
“No…” Su Bin tried to shake his head but was suddenly caught by Allen’s chin. Before he could react, his lips were kissed!
