FCPADT 18

Chapter 18

“Are you starving?” Tang Yu squatted down on the ground to feed the cat. Normally, he was a quiet, reserved person, but at that moment, he was uncharacteristically talkative. “Eat slowly, don’t rush.”

Shen Junxing also crouched down beside him, eyes fixed on Tang Yu.

His long lashes lowered slightly, and the blue in his eyes, once frozen with sadness, now melted into a clear gentleness, soft as flowing water.

“Really cute,” Shen Junxing said softly.

Tang Yu responded with a quiet “Mm.”

Shen Junxing’s lips curved faintly. He lifted his gaze, seemingly unintentionally, toward Room 623. “Xiao Yu also thinks the little cat is really cute.”

The words “really cute” carried just the slightest emphasis.

Oblivious, Tang Yu was seriously watching the little black cat eat. From this close, he could tell it didn’t seem sick — its fur looked healthy, its belly was round, and it seemed to be taking good care of itself.

He watched for a while, then couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the cat’s head. The little black cat didn’t shy away — instead, it pressed its head affectionately into Tang Yu’s palm.

Startled and delighted, Tang Yu exclaimed, “So good!”

“This cat has a really rare, gentle temperament, and it’s adorable. Xiao Yu’s always wanted to raise a cat, right?” Shen Junxing asked. “Would you like to adopt it?”

Indeed, Tang Yu had always wanted a cat.

It was a wish he’d had since childhood. Back then, when his parents were still alive, they’d told little Tang Yu that raising a cat wasn’t easy — once he was capable enough to care for one properly, they’d take him to pick out a kitten together.

But later… his parents died.

And Tang Yu never got a cat.

“It’s hard to keep pets in the dorms,” Shen Junxing said gently. “Why don’t we take it home and care for it there?”

Tang Yu looked at the cat. In his memory, the younger version of himself once asked, “What does it mean to be able to take care of a kitten? Does that mean having lots and lots of money?”

“Of course not,” came the soft laugh in his memory. “It means you have to learn how to take care of a cat — and most importantly, you need lots and lots of love.”

Tang Yu slowly withdrew his hand.

Shen Junxing watched that small motion. One second he was asking a question, and in the next his words naturally changed: “Forget it then. Xiao Yu’s back at school now — even if you keep it at home, you won’t have much time to care for it.”

Tang Yu opened his mouth, but no words came out. His thoughts swirled.

It would be best if someone adopted this cat. Even if no one did, its friendliness would help it survive well enough on campus. But he couldn’t help worrying — not about hunger, but about its safety.

People who abuse cats were rare… but not nonexistent. Especially now, with the arrival of players.

The players’ attitude toward life made Tang Yu uneasy.

Could he assign them a “mission” to take care of the cat properly?

Then again… who was he, really? Just an NPC in their eyes — what right did he have to give players tasks?

Thinking and rethinking, Tang Yu finally whispered, almost smaller than a cat’s meow: “…Brother.”

It had been such a long, long time since he’d called Shen Junxing “brother” face-to-face in the real world.

Shen Junxing’s head snapped up instantly. The glasses on his nose caught the sunlight and flashed a blinding white. Tang Yu instinctively avoided his gaze, eyes shifting aside to stare at the faintly distorted reflection of Shen Junxing’s cheek behind the lens.

“Do you know, Xiao Yu,” Shen Junxing said with a smile in his voice, “cats don’t meow that sweetly to one another. That kind of sound — they invented it just to communicate with humans.”

The sunlight glared white across the lenses for a second, and then the deep black of Shen Junxing’s eyes reappeared behind them, glinting with amusement. “Just like how Xiao Yu deliberately calls me ‘Brother.’”

Tang Yu froze. A blush crept up his neck, his little secret thoughts exposed in the bright sunlight. He saw Shen Junxing’s lips curve into a smile — gentle, charming. “Xiao Yu, you seem troubled lately. I really wish I could take all your worries away.”

“I…” Tang Yu’s voice faltered, choked by embarrassment. The heat inside his mask, the blazing sun — it all made him dizzy. “I’m worried someone might hurt the cat.”

Shen Junxing adjusted his glasses, his gaze sharp and deliberate, watching Tang Yu’s every reaction. Around the rim of his glasses, a fleeting glimmer flickered — a hint of the malice that even his polite demeanor couldn’t hide. “Then just assign those people a task.”

“I’m worried they’ll—”

“Xiao Yu only needs to tell them,” Shen Junxing interrupted smoothly, “that I’ve fed this cat.”

He said it with effortless confidence — the same ease with which he always manipulated Tang Yu’s emotions, as if controlling the players themselves was child’s play.

Tang Yu blinked. He thought of all those players desperately searching for Shen Junxing’s traces. If they knew he might appear here, feeding this cat, they’d guard the area constantly. They’d make sure nothing bad ever happened to it.

That was good.

That was enough.

Tang Yu lowered his head and handed over the lunchbox. Aside from one missing soft-boiled egg, it was identical to what Shen Junxing had sent him earlier. “I already bought lunch. I can’t eat what you made. Please don’t bring me food again.”

Shen Junxing didn’t take the lunchbox.

So Tang Yu set it down by his feet. “…The other food inside isn’t suitable for cats. Don’t feed it that.”

After saying that, Tang Yu stood up. Shen Junxing was still squatting before the cat, talking softly to it: “Little cat, little cat, I’ll bring you homemade cat food tomorrow, okay?”

Tang Yu paused.

The hungry stray cat kept eating, oblivious — it couldn’t open its mouth to tell Shen Junxing not to come.

Tang Yu didn’t know what else to say, so he turned and went upstairs.

“Xiao Yu.” Shen Junxing’s voice came from behind him, slow and deliberate. “Even if you called me a lunatic, a pervert, a monster… as long as you said it, I’d do whatever you wanted.”

Tang Yu froze completely, feeling as if a secret corner of his heart had just been exposed to blinding daylight.

“Bye~” Shen Junxing waved with a soft smile. Tang Yu hesitated for a moment, his hand clenching briefly by his side before he obediently lifted it and waved back. Then he disappeared into the building, heading upstairs.

As Tang Yu’s figure receded, Shen Junxing’s smile slowly faded. When his face was entirely expressionless again, he was still standing there, holding a lunchbox in one hand and utensils in the other, his head tilted upward — eyes tracking the floors one by one — until they fixed, unblinking, on Tang Yu’s dorm balcony.

Then, his thin lips parted slightly, like a predator preparing to eat.

The hungry stray cat at his feet meowed, begging for food. Shen Junxing licked his lips softly and murmured, “I’m still hungry too…”

A starving cat devours its meal.
A full cat plays slowly with its prey.

To Shen Junxing, Tang Yu was the one thing he wanted to devour the most — and yet, because he cherished him too much, he could only use his claws to tease and his tongue to taste.

 -14 (Fragment)

When Tang Yu reached the fifth floor, he saw Yan Lang and Miao Dongli crouching by the stairs. As soon as Miao Dongli spotted him, he burst out cheerfully, “Good afternoon, Tang Yu! Is there anything I can help you with?!”

Tang Yu instinctively took a cautious step back.

He remembered this player ID — the same one that had completed a delivery task for him before, with an attitude that was neither warm nor cold, maybe even a little reluctant.

“Like, what do you want for dinner?” Miao Dongli’s eyes practically sparkled as he leaned forward — only for Yan Lang to grab his shoulder and stop him.

Yan Lang, taller by half a head, stood behind him, also staring intently at Tang Yu. Though silent, his expression screamed “Willing to serve you.”

Tang Yu had seen that look on too many faces.

“Thank you, but I don’t need any help right now,” he said smoothly, refusing.

Worried they might keep following him, Tang Yu added, “Oh, right — weren’t you trying to find where Shen Junxing usually goes?”

He pulled out his phone, showing them a picture Shen Junxing had sent earlier — a photo of the stray cat. “This cat’s on campus. Shen Junxing’s been feeding it lately.”

Yan Lang’s gaze lingered a bit too long on Tang Yu’s hand holding the phone, even though he wasn’t the type to have a hand fetish.

Tang Yu frowned slightly and lowered his hand.

The brim of his hat and his mask hid most of his face, but the pale skin of his neck was visible below. His muffled voice came from behind the mask: “They might still be downstairs.”

Yan Lang’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Bro, let’s go quick!” Miao Dongli said, snapping him back to his senses.

Tang Yu looked at him too, hoping he’d leave soon — but instead, Yan Lang raised his eyes, a burning intensity in them. He seemed to have a lot he wanted to say, but what came out was: “How… did you break the stair loop?”

Tang Yu stared blankly at him, confusion flickering across his eyes.

Normally, few people had pupils that were pure black — but Yan Lang’s were, utterly black, so dark they didn’t reflect any light.

When Yan Lang had come down the stairs earlier, he’d looked at Tang Yu that same strange way. Could it be he’d accidentally stepped into the looping staircase again? No wonder his expression had seemed so off.

Tang Yu felt a chill.

Maybe the players had misunderstood, thinking he’d somehow broken the loop. That would explain why Miao Dongli had suddenly become so friendly.

But he had no such ability. The last time he’d been caught in that looping staircase, it was his senior who’d saved him.

So it must’ve been his senior again who helped him escape.

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tang Yu said softly, pretending ignorance.

If the players learned about his senior’s power, they’d swarm him — bother him endlessly, maybe even cause him harm.

“Then it was your roommate,” Yan Lang said abruptly.

Tang Yu’s eyes widened. The brim of his hat shaded most of his face, leaving only a faint glimmer of blue visible beneath.

Yan Lang’s mind flashed with the image of those blue eyes — so vivid that his heart felt pricked, a strange emotion jolting through him. He frowned unconsciously, all his usual laziness gone, his tone suddenly tight. “You… slept in the same bed as him last night?”

Tang Yu blinked, completely thrown off by the question. His face hidden by hat and mask, his silence looked almost like an admission.

“There’s a paper doll on his bed,” Yan Lang said quickly, voice rising with agitation. “That’s not something good. Do you even know what he is? And you still slept with him?”

Paper doll?

Tang Yu instantly realized who’d made that crying little paper figure — before he could mentally connect that adorable doll with his cold senior, Yan Lang’s harsh tone cut in again.

Something about Yan Lang’s mood felt wrong — there was a twisted, obsessive edge to it that made Tang Yu uneasy.

“Yan Lang!”

The sudden sharpness in Tang Yu’s usually soft voice stunned Yan Lang. The dangerous look in his eyes vanished; he stared blankly.

Tang Yu stopped there. He’d only called Yan Lang’s name, but all his confidence seemed to vanish in an instant. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Yan Lang thought — yeah, what was I even saying? He hadn’t meant any of that. He just wanted to know more about Tang Yu’s mysterious roommate.

Tang Yu didn’t want to get tangled up with players. While Yan Lang was still dazed, he lowered his head and quickly walked past him, heading up the stairs without looking back.

“…Did I just scare him?” Yan Lang muttered after a long pause, glancing at Miao Dongli.

“Uh? I dunno, bro,” Miao Dongli replied blankly.

That afternoon, Tang Yu had no classes, so he went off campus to look at apartments.

Originally, he’d planned to live in the dorms — but with players constantly wandering the campus and Shen Junxing feeding cats right below his dorm, he decided, for the sake of his sanity, to move out and rent elsewhere.

He viewed three apartments that afternoon. By the time he returned to the dorms, the sky was already dark.

Passing the fifth floor without incident, he walked toward Room 623, thinking over the pros and cons of the apartments he’d seen. Nearing his door, he pulled out his key. The old hinges creaked as he opened it—

A strong, cold fragrance filled the air.
Even through his mask, Tang Yu could smell it — so thick and sweet it nearly took his breath away.