1
Three days before school started, I left home the night before.
My reluctance to leave my beloved cat had reached its peak.
My chubby cat, Quinn Hill, and I are in perfect sync.
She let out a meow, then lazily rubbed against my leg.
I gently stroked Quinn Hill from her ears, down her soft back, all the way to the tip of her little tail.
Silky smooth.
Quinn Hill loved having her butt patted and her tail stroked most of all.
She was so absorbed in my practiced technique that her round little butt kept lifting, asking for more.
She looked so adorable, it was impossible not to melt.
I picked up my phone and filmed while stroking the cat’s tail.
I posted the cat-stroking video on my social media page.
It didn’t take long for the cat lovers to show up online.
Everyone in the comments rushed to praise Quinn Hill.
【Oh my gosh, so cute! Sweetie!】
【What a tiny kitty—she loves being petted!】
【Your little purr machine is so loud!】 (*The rumbling sound cats make when they’re happy.)
Amid the flood of cat-crazy comments, one completely out-of-place remark suddenly appeared.
【Careful, you might get addicted to petting her.】
I stared at the screen. Who was this?
There wasn’t any note attached.
When had I added him as a friend?
I clicked on his profile and finally saw his picture.
Trình Dực?
At eighteen, he’d led the national team to victory in the Northern European ice hockey championship. He was starting at D University this year.
With his outstanding skill on the ice, strikingly handsome face, and perfect build—broad shoulders, long legs, and a height of six foot two—he’d become an online sensation.
He hadn’t even started school yet, and netizens had already voted him D University’s number-one heartthrob.
But when had I added him?
As I wondered, my hand kept absently playing with the cat’s tail, twisting it this way and that.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed—a video call was coming in.
I tapped to answer.
Trình Dực’s sharp features immediately appeared on the screen.
He was impossibly handsome.
In the soft red glow, his features looked even more defined—his chin slim, his whole presence cold and aloof.
He was devastatingly handsome.
No wonder students from the school across the way lined up just to see him.
Inside, I was screaming over how gorgeous he was, but on the outside, I still had to keep my cool.
I put on a distant, icy look and furrowed my brow slightly. “What is it?”
2
“Stop messing around. Take your hand off first.”
Trình Dực’s voice had gone hoarse. He sounded awkward, as though he were trying to endure something.
Only then did I realize it wasn’t the red lighting—his face really was red.
How could he be this red? Even the veins in his neck were standing out.
But what did that have to do with me playing with the cat’s tail?
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Trình Dực gritted his teeth, his voice almost coming through them:
“I… think I’m empathically connected to your cat.”
A look of pained embarrassment appeared on his usually cold, domineering face. It was so strange it was almost funny.
“Do you understand?”
What was he even talking about? I still didn’t get it, so I asked, “Connected where?”
Trình Dực looked like he was about to break down. He simply lowered the camera a little… then hurriedly raised it again.
I startled and quickly let go of Quinn Hill’s tail.
Wait… I’m really getting to see this for free?
In his pants… holy crap, it was huge! Did he have a whole water bottle stuffed in there or what?
But then again, he was six foot two, and he had a high nose bridge, too. Maybe… that part was…
Wait, what the hell was I thinking?!
I tried to maintain my cool, distant image and said sternly, “Classmate Trình, I could absolutely report this as sexual harassment. I recorded it.”
Actually, I hadn’t.
The whole idea of his “there” empathically connecting with my cat’s tail sounded way too ridiculous.
As someone raised on socialism, I wasn’t about to fall for that so easily.
But Trình Dực didn’t look like he was putting on an act.
And he had no reason to make up such a ridiculous lie just to mess with me.
Trình Dực hurriedly apologized and explained that he’d just watched the video I’d posted earlier.
When I stroked my cat’s tail, for some reason he felt the same sensation in his “there” at the exact same time.
That was how he’d arrived at this theory.
And theory had to be put into practice.
I discreetly angled the camera away, then took Quinn Hill’s tail and gave it a gentle squeeze.
A soft moan came from the other end at once.
Holy crap, was that really a coincidence?
Still not believing it, I tried stroking the tail more thoroughly.
This time, Trình Dực’s breathing grew heavier and heavier.
He quickly figured out what I was doing through the screen.
His voice went hoarse. “Lâm Dư Kiều… gently…”
His eyes were locked on me, his words coming in broken fragments. He looked like he was at the very limit of his restraint.
The video call abruptly ended the next second.
Maybe I… went a little too far?
3
After the call ended, Trình Dực texted me to ask for my address.
He wanted to find a way to meet Quinn Hill.
I immediately went on alert.
Because I’d been so beautiful since I was little, my mother was always worried I’d run into bad people, so she showed me news stories about scams and shady people all the time.
My father, meanwhile, was afraid some bad boy would trick me, so every day he sent me a list titled “108 Types of Men You Should Stay Away From.”
On top of that, I liked reading detective stories, horror novels, and psychological crime fiction.
All of that combined had twisted my natural defenses into a state of extreme, constant vigilance.
The moment I saw his message asking for my address, a whole string of scam scenarios flashed through my mind.
What if he was some stranger who’d secretly added me as a friend, then lurked in my contacts, figured out I was a student at D University, and deliberately used AI to make a face that looked like Trình Dực’s, inventing some ridiculous excuse to get my home address?
Maybe next he’d drug me and steal my kidneys!
The thought made me break out in a cold sweat in broad daylight.
But reason told me that was pretty unlikely.
I checked which groups I shared with that account and found we were both in a few clubs and course groups at D University.
In the groups, he clearly listed himself as: “XX Class Manager — Trình Dực.”
It seemed like it really was his account.
But what if his account had been hacked?
In the end, to be safe, I only sent him the address of a park near my place.
He replied almost immediately.
【I can come today. I’ll message you when I get there.】
【Lâm Dư Kiều, I know this sounds ridiculous, and whether you believe me or not… just think of it as me begging you. Before I get there, make sure you hold on tight to Quinn Hill’s tail.】
I replied with one word: “OK.”
I thought, what could possibly happen to Quinn Hill’s tail?
I looked down—Quinn Hill was happily rolling around on the floor, chasing and biting its own tail!
Holy crap! If this was true, how could Trình Dực take it?!
I quickly grabbed it and stuffed it into its cat carrier.
Quinn Hill had no idea what she’d done wrong and meowed miserably from inside the carrier.
I sighed.
Sorry, Quinn Hill… For everyone else’s safety, I have to lock you up.
4
The person who showed up really was Trình Dực.
At the park, I sat on a stone bench and looked up as he ran toward me.
He wore a simple black tank top with gray sweatpants.
His hair was tied back in a wolf-tail ponytail with a black hair tie darkened by sweat.
Running beneath the blazing afternoon sun, he looked as if he’d stepped out of a fantasy world.
He stopped in front of me, blocking out the sunset behind him.
Only then did I truly believe it—he really was the real Trình Dực, a six-foot-two hockey player.
Sitting there, I suddenly felt ridiculously short.
So I stood up.
But the height difference… five-foot-five versus six-foot-two.
I looked like a hockey stick in his hands.
So I sat back down.
My gaze suddenly landed right below his waist.
Damn those gray pants for having no regard for a lady’s virtue!
Ahem… I hurriedly turned away, keeping my expression cool and aloof.
“I brought Quinn Hill. Take a look and see if you can confirm.”
“Huh?” Trình Dực stared blankly for two seconds.
“Oh… sure.” He came back to himself and sat down beside me.
His slender fingers took hold of the cat carrier.
Hearing a stranger’s breathing, Quinn Hill immediately puffed up, baring her teeth and growling inside the carrier.
Good. Quinn Hill’s instinct for self-preservation was just as strong as mine.
I hurriedly snatched the cat carrier back.
By accident, my hand brushed against Trình Dực’s knuckles.
He clearly stiffened.
As soon as Quinn Hill was back in my arms, she immediately curled up into a sweet little kitten, meowing affectionately.
“Quinn Hill’s scared of you. I’d better try.”
Trình Dực nodded.
Without thinking, I looked down at his waist again.
He was so tall that sitting on the cramped bench, with his long legs folded beneath the stone table, he looked a little uncomfortable.
“Spread your legs.”
I gave the order casually, but inside I was thrilled.
Does anyone understand this feeling?
It was like taming a lion that could crush me at any moment.
Trình Dực looked me over, then shifted a little closer.
In the distance, people strolled by. A few young men walked their dogs, while children played with rubber balls.
His voice suddenly dropped to a low murmur as he leaned close to my ear. “Take your clothes off.”
“Huh?” This time, I was the one who stared at him in shock.
Trình Dực deliberately lowered his voice even further.
“Take off your jacket. Help me cover up.”
Only then did I catch on—after all, we were in a public place. There was no way he could… do that in broad daylight.
I took off my hoodie and handed it to him, leaving me in just a white T-shirt.
Even in the middle of summer, I had a habit of wearing a jacket because I got cold easily.
Once I took it off, the contours of my body were clearly visible.
Trình Dực took the jacket, looking a little flustered.
He laid the hoodie on the stone table, its hem hanging down just enough to block the view of the people around us.
Only the two of us sat facing each other, able to see every change in expression.
Trình Dực’s face remained impassive, his composure suggesting he’d weathered countless storms.
But the tension in his arm and the flush of his ears gave away how nervous he was.
How interesting.
Seeing him so tense, I actually felt much calmer.