The next morning, Xu Jin woke up earlier than expected.
For a moment, he lay still, blinking at the ceiling. The world was quiet. Peaceful. Too peaceful.
Then he felt it.
A warm, heavy fluff pressed against his ribs.
Yunhu.
The kitten was sprawled across his chest like a tiny tyrant who had conquered new territory overnight. One paw rested on Xu Jin's collarbone. His whiskers tickled Xu Jin's chin.
Xu Jin stared at him.
"…You really think this is your bed now, huh?"
Yunhu opened one eye lazily, yawned wide enough to show tiny teeth, then closed it again. Zero guilt. Maximum ownership.
Xu Jin sighed and carefully sat up, lifting the kitten with both hands.
"Alright, demon. Time to move. Your owner is going for a heroic morning run."
He placed Yunhu on the bed. The kitten immediately stretched, rolled, and tried to cling back onto his sleeve.
"Nope," Xu Jin said firmly. "Health. Discipline. Redemption arc."
He washed up, changed into running clothes, and tied his shoelaces. His body still felt a little weak, but the cool morning air calling from outside made him feel alive.
Before leaving, he picked Yunhu up again.
"You're going to Grandma," he declared. "Behave. Don't seduce the professor before breakfast."
Yunhu meowed.
Which Xu Jin chose to interpret as agreement.
He opened his door and crossed to apartment 1207. The corridor was quiet, soft morning light filtering in from the window at the far end.
Grandma Liang opened the door before he even knocked, as if she had been expecting him.
"Up early," she said warmly.
Xu Jin lifted Yunhu like an offering."Grandma, I'm going for a run. I'm entrusting the demon to you."Grandma Liang chuckled and took Yunhu into her arms.
"Oh my, so soft. He really likes you."Xu Jin smirked. "He worships me."
Yunhu immediately wriggled.
Grandma Liang barely had time to adjust her grip before—
Slip.
A white streak shot from her arms.
"Eh—?!"
Yunhu landed neatly on the floor, tail high, and trotted confidently down the hallway.
Not toward the living room.
But toward the closed bedroom door.
Xu Jin and Grandma Liang watched in slow motion as Yunhu reached the door, raised one paw, scratched lightly…
And pushed.
The door, not fully latched, opened just enough.
Yunhu slid inside like a professional infiltrator.
Xu Jin blinked.Grandma Liang blinked.
They exchanged a look.
Then quietly approached the door.
Inside, Liang Chen was still asleep. Hair slightly tousled. Blanket half covering his shoulder. One arm resting loosely at his side.
And there, curling against his chest with absolute familiarity—
Yunhu.
Already settled.Already asleep.Already home.
Xu Jin stared.
"…He didn't even look back," Xu Jin whispered.
Grandma Liang covered her mouth, laughing silently.
"My grandson has been chosen," she whispered back.
Inside, Liang Chen was still asleep.
His hair was slightly messy, a few strands falling across his forehead. Without his usual neat scarf or formal clothes, he looked younger — softer — almost unreal in the early morning light. His breathing was calm and steady, one arm resting loosely around the small white kitten that had already claimed him as a pillow.
Xu Jin froze.
He didn't know why.
He just did.
His chest gave a sudden, sharp thump.
Then another.
Then faster.
Too fast.
He quickly looked away, as if afraid of being caught staring.
"…What kind of peaceful face is that," he muttered under his breath. "Annoying professor."
But his heart didn't agree. It kept racing, loud enough that he was certain Grandma Liang could hear it.
He cleared his throat.
Grandma Liang leaned closer to whisper, eyes full of quiet amusement.
"My grandson sleeps like an angel, doesn't he?"
Xu Jin straightened immediately.
"…He just looks unconscious," he said stiffly.
But his ears were red.
Very red.
Yunhu shifted slightly in Liang Chen's arms, pressing closer. Liang Chen unconsciously tightened his hold around the kitten, murmuring something soft in his sleep.
Xu Jin's heart betrayed him again — thump, thump, thump.
He stepped back quickly.
"Okay. I'm leaving. Right now. Immediately. Running. Exercise. Oxygen. Sanity."
Grandma Liang laughed quietly as Xu Jin retreated toward the door like a man escaping a crime scene.
And behind them, in the bedroom, Liang Chen slept peacefully — unaware that both a cat and a certain runaway young master had just declared emotional defeat before sunrise.
Xu Jin didn't stop running until he burst out of the apartment building.
Cool morning air slapped his face, carrying the scent of grass and dew. Across the road, the park stretched wide and green, quiet at this early hour. From his window he had seen it before — a perfect escape route.So he ran toward it.
His sneakers hit the pavement in uneven rhythm, because unfortunately, his heart was still running faster than his legs.
Thump. Thump. Thump.Not from exercise.
From a sleeping professor.
"No," Xu Jin muttered, picking up speed. "Not a professor. Just… a guy. A random neighbor. Who happens to be… annoyingly good-looking when unconscious."
He sprinted past a row of trees, wind tangling his hair.
"And that cat," he grumbled. "That shameless fur demon. Betraying me at dawn like a historical tragedy."
He slowed into a jog as he entered the park. Mist hovered above the grass. Elderly couples were doing tai chi. A man walked a dog that looked equally half-asleep.
Xu Jin circled the jogging path, breathing hard.
His mind, however, refused to cooperate.
Sleeping face. Messy hair. Loose shirt. Arm around Yunhu.
"No. No no no," Xu Jin scolded himself. "That was just… a morning scene. Like… like… a painting. A perfectly normal painting. Of a professor. Holding my cat. In bed."
He nearly tripped on a loose stone.
"WHY IS THIS EVEN IN MY HEAD?"
He slowed to a walk, hands on his knees, breathing heavily.His heart was still racing.
He stared at the lake in the park. Calm water. Peaceful reflection.He tried to copy it.Didn't work.His brain whispered again:
Sleeping angel—
Xu Jin slapped his own cheek lightly.
"Stop. Stop. Stop."
A passing jogger gave him a strange look.
Xu Jin smiled awkwardly and straightened up, pretending he was stretching.
He walked a little further, then sat on a bench under a tree.
"…It's just gratitude," he muttered. "He saved me. I almost died with my cooking. Anyone would feel… weird. Temporarily weird. Very temporary."
He nodded to himself.The park had fully woken up. Birds hopped along the paths. Old aunties chatted. A dog chased its own tail with great enthusiasm.
And then—
Two boys jogged past him.
Both in matching track suits.
Both laughing.
And—
Holding hands.
They didn't even try to hide it. Fingers interlaced, swinging lightly as they walked away down the path, disappearing under a tunnel of trees.
Xu Jin froze.
His brain, already in chaos, tripped over itself.
He looked away quickly.
Then he looked again.
They were still holding hands.
His chest tightened.
Not painfully. Just… confusingly.
He leaned back on the bench, eyes drifting up to the sky.
"…Oh no," he whispered.
His mind replayed the morning again without permission.
Liang Chen's sleeping face.
The loose hair.
The calm breath.
The arm around Yunhu.
Xu Jin groaned quietly, dragging his hands down his face.
"This is bad," he muttered. "This is very bad."
He glanced back at the path. The two boys were gone now.
But the image stayed.
He tapped his foot restlessly.
"Why am I even comparing? I'm not… I don't…" He stopped, unsure how to even finish the sentence.
His heart picked up speed again, not from running this time.
From panic.He stood abruptly.
"I need food. I need games. I need to run now. I need… distraction."
He marched toward the park exit, determination returning like a flimsy shield.
"Yes. Distraction. Normal things. No professors. No aprons. No sleeping angels."
He stopped mid-step.
"…He was not an angel," Xu Jin muttered stubbornly. "Just… annoyingly photogenic."
Yunhu's imagined meow echoed in his mind.
Xu Jin groaned and resumed walking.
Inside his chest, a quiet storm had started.
And unfortunately for him—
It had just begun.