Maimai Chapter 18

Cheng Lin sat in the break room, sipping his third cup of coffee and beginning to feel restless. What was taking so long?

He had ordered so many cups that the barista had started giving him an unfriendly look. Paranoid, Cheng Lin began wondering if the barista might be a cat too.

Just as he was about to call upstairs, the elevator doors opened in the distance, and two people walked out.

Cheng Lin stood up to greet them, feeling nervous. He instinctively ran a hand through his hair.

Shi Jing approached with someone by her side, sounding proud as she said, “I told you it would work! Maimai is really smart.” Now that they were more familiar with each other, and she had developed a fondness for Maimai, her attitude toward Cheng Lin had also improved significantly.

Maimai hadn’t looked up at all during the walk over, but as they got closer, he finally lifted his head and called out, “Cheng Lin.” His voice was crisp and clear.

Cheng Lin couldn’t help but smile, realizing he had guessed the first words correctly.

After his smile faded, he looked at Maimai, then awkwardly rubbed his nose. “So, it worked?”

Shi Jing nodded. “Yep, though we still need to confirm some information for the documents…” Maimai glanced back at her, prompting her to change what she was about to say. “I’ve already talked it through with Maimai. There’s nothing else. If anything comes up, we’ll contact you through WeChat.”

After saying goodbye, Shi Jing headed back upstairs. Cheng Lin gestured for Maimai to hand him the backpack.

Maimai refused, shouldering it himself. “I can carry it on my own.”

Cheng Lin thought about it and agreed. Now that Maimai was in human form, there was no need for Cheng Lin to do everything for him.

He could only ask Maimai to follow him. “Alright, let’s go. Let’s go home.”

That morning, Cheng Lin hadn’t even wanted to let the cat walk on the ground, insisting on carrying him the entire time. Maimai’s paws had even been draped over Cheng Lin’s shoulder.

Now, Maimai just quietly followed behind Cheng Lin. When they reached the car, he still sat in the front passenger seat.

Once Cheng Lin got in, the first thing he did was reach for the seatbelt on the passenger side. Maimai quickly leaned back with the bag in his arms, as if trying to avoid physical contact.

Seeing him act so cautious, Cheng Lin impatiently pushed the backpack aside and explained, “I’m just fastening your seatbelt. From now on, whenever you’re in a car, make sure you buckle up, got it?”

Maimai replied, “Got it.”

As Cheng Lin got too close and saw Maimai’s face, his ears turned a bit red. It took several miles of driving before he finally shook off the awkward feeling. He put on some music, humming along to amuse himself, but soon noticed that the person in the passenger seat was unusually quiet.

“You can speak human language now, so why aren’t you saying anything?” Cheng Lin asked. “A few days ago, you were all ‘meow, meow’ and pretended not to hear when I asked you something.” His imitation of Maimai’s tone was a bit rough.

Maimai looked over at him, surprised. “You understood?”

He hadn’t understood. Now it was Cheng Lin’s turn to be surprised. “Were you hungry? Bored?”

The two “meows” Cheng Lin had just mimicked happened to mean “I like you.” But since Cheng Lin hadn’t caught on, Maimai grew embarrassed and awkwardly said, “Um… yeah, just bored.”

Not suspecting anything, Cheng Lin began thinking about where to take him next. But Maimai suddenly added, “I want to visit Rongrong tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Cheng Lin agreed, appreciating that Maimai was letting him know his plans. “I’ll go with you.”

Maimai nervously gripped the straps of the backpack on his lap. “I want to go by myself.”

The cat didn’t want him to come along. Cheng Lin was surprised. “What are you two doing that I can’t be there for?”

“We’re just going to talk,” Maimai said.

“Then talk,” Cheng Lin replied. “What’s there that I can’t hear?”

“No.” The cat said, “It’s just… inconvenient.”

Maimai sounded a little agitated. Realizing his tone might have been off, he quickly added, “I can go on my own.”

Cheng Lin wanted to use the excuse of having separation anxiety, but the kitty person seemed pretty determined. He realized that even though they had patched things up and the cat had been very clingy lately, he was still in the phase of trying to please Maimai. It was probably best not to go against his wishes.

With that thought, he couldn’t help but feel melancholic.

He had worried that their relationship wasn’t balanced, that Maimai was too dependent on him. But now, it seemed that after joining that organization, Maimai could do just fine without him. In fact, he seemed to find Cheng Lin unnecessary.

Back at home, they had a simple meal. After showering, Maimai sat on the couch watching TV.

Cheng Lin, who showered afterward, came over while drying his hair and tossed the small blanket onto Maimai’s lap. “Were you nervous about turning back into a human?”

Maimai made a small sound of surprise as he accepted the blanket. When Cheng Lin sat down beside him, Maimai scooted aside.

“Am I a cockroach!” Cheng Lin asked, turning to him. “Why do you keep avoiding me?”

He pressed further, “You’ve talked less today than you did when you were just meowing. What did Shi Jing say to you?”

Their relationship had become strained again. Since turning back into a human, Maimai no longer followed him around or acted affectionately. Cheng Lin couldn’t understand why, as if he’d completely forgotten his own behavior in the past.

“You didn’t like it,” Maimai said after a pause, holding onto the blanket from the other end of the couch. “You emphasized before that we should keep our distance.”

Cheng Lin turned his head to look at Maimai, stumbling over his words while pretending not to remember, “I don’t recall that.”

Maimai said, “You said it many times. You even pushed me away.”

Feeling a twist of guilt in his heart, Cheng Lin replied, “I… I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I can’t switch between cat and human yet. Sister Shi Jing said there are still a lot of procedures to go through, so I need to stay human for now.” Maimai promised, “Once I can switch, I’ll turn back into a cat to keep you company.”

Getting someone as stubborn as Cheng Lin to apologize was no easy task.

Cheng Lin said, “You can be however you want. Before, it was me who…”

“I was wrong.” He took a deep breath, and with difficulty, added, “I didn’t mean that I didn’t like you.”

“I know, it’s not that you hate me,” Maimai replied generously, “It’s because we’re both men.”

That single statement plunged Cheng Lin into silence. The cat wasn’t wrong; that had indeed been his initial thought. No matter how much Maimai’s personality resembled his old self, to Cheng Lin, it felt like he suddenly had a strange man living in his house.

While Maimai still liked him, Cheng Lin had instinctively chosen to resist and distance himself.

Maimai noticed this and had secretly been searching for answers on his smartphone.

“Being guys doesn’t really matter. You can do whatever you want as long as you’re happy,” Cheng Lin said, “I mean it. I promise. Will you trust me again?”

“Can I sit next to you and watch TV? Like we did when we watched the Spring Festival Gala?” Maimai asked.

Cheng Lin didn’t reply but instead moved over to sit beside Maimai.

Now happy, the kitty person spread out the blanket and shared it with Cheng Lin. “Here. Don’t catch a cold.”

They sat together, watching a dramatic yet extremely boring TV show. After a while, Maimai asked, “Can I touch you?”

Even the most virtuous person couldn’t refuse that.

Cheng Lin replied helplessly, “You can even rub my clothes into balls if you want.”

So, Maimai leaned his head on Cheng Lin’s shoulder and quietly continued watching TV until Cheng Lin’s phone rang.

It was a call from Yuan Jiaming about work. An urgent issue had come up that needed immediate attention.

Cheng Lin talked on the phone for a while before saying, “Got it. I’ll check the backend.”

After hanging up, he sat there for a moment without moving.

Maimai sat up first. “Why did you agree to help if you’re not going to do it?”

Getting lectured by the cat, Cheng Lin quickly denied it and threw the blanket off himself, draping it over Maimai. “I’ll go handle it. You keep watching.”

But as soon as he sat down to work, he got caught up in it. He closed the door to discuss matters, and by the time he was done, two hours had already passed.

It was well past the time he usually told Maimai to go to bed.

Standing at the study door, Cheng Lin remembered that just last night, Maimai had been curled up in his arms, sleeping like a loaf of whole wheat bread.

The cat had probably dreamed of running a marathon, as he had kicked Cheng Lin square in the chest.

The human had blinked his eyes open in horror at 3 AM, wondering if it was just a hallucination.

Maybe tonight he should sleep with Maimai, just like before.

Oh well, if the cat liked sleeping together, then let’s sleep together. It’s not like it would kill him.

After convincing himself, Cheng Lin walked out of the study, but the living room was empty. He opened the master bedroom door, but Maimai wasn’t there either.

Sensing something, Cheng Lin turned and opened the door to the guest bedroom.

The light was still on. Maimai was lying there, wrapped up in a quilt with his head buried in it, completely absorbed in his phone.

Cheng Lin walked in and stood by the bed, suddenly at a loss for words. Despite the promise he had made, the cat still seemed worried about being rejected. So he had chosen to sleep in the guest room instead, just like the first night after coming back home.

Or maybe the cat no longer felt the need to sleep with him.

Cheng Lin asked, “Did you take my clothes?”

“Mm.” Maimai answered cautiously, “I took three pieces. Is that okay?”

Cheng Lin took a deep breath. “It’s fine.”

But he didn’t leave.

Maimai watched him nervously. After a few seconds, he seemed to figure it out. Reluctantly, he turned off his phone and handed it over. “Remember to charge it. Last time, you forgot.”

“Got it.” Cheng Lin took the phone and said, “This room hasn’t been cleaned in ages, and the bedding hasn’t been changed either. Isn’t it uncomfortable for you to sleep here?”

Maimai said, “It’s fine. I can sleep here.” Though he’d actually sneezed twice after coming in.

Cheng Lin seemingly inadvertently probed, “Do you want to sleep in the master bedroom? We can squeeze in together.”

Maimai agreed right away. He quickly got out of bed and followed Cheng Lin to the room where they had always slept.

Cheng Lin turned on the bedside lamp, feeling a little awkward and strangely nervous—like he was facing a wedding night, with a hint of indescribable shyness.

He remembered how he’d been shut out before. Maimai’s habits didn’t match what Cheng Lin had imagined.

Maimai just lifted his quilt, crawled in with his own small blanket, and assured Cheng Lin, “I won’t bother your sleep.”

The line between them was clear.

Maimai was thin, and even as a human, he didn’t take up much space. Cheng Lin claiming there wasn’t enough room was just slander.

Cheng Lin got under the covers too, sitting up against the headboard and watching Maimai, who had already settled down and closed his eyes.

Maimai fell asleep quickly.

Could the quilt have a scent that an ordinary human like him couldn’t detect, but that was reassuring to the kitty person?

Cheng Lin reached out to stroke Maimai’s hair, brushing the bangs back to reveal his forehead. His heart softened.

Realizing what he was doing, Cheng Lin pulled his hand back and lay down to sleep as well.