Why was I angry?
Why did I feel so disappointed?
I slowly unclenched my fist.
Maybe… it was because I’d had expectations.
Had I been expecting something from Trình Dực?
I rolled over again, this time hugging my pillow tightly as if I were holding someone.
A truth gradually came into focus.
The answer was already obvious.
I… think… I like Trình Dực.
Once I realized this, I was so mortified I wanted to bang my head against the wall.
Aaaah! If only I’d figured it out sooner!
If I’d realized this back when Quinn Hill and Trình Dực were still connected by their empathy…
I could’ve used it as an excuse to get close to him.
But what about now?!
I had no excuse anymore.
Just then, my phone buzzed.
I hurriedly sat up and checked it.
Was it Trình Dực?!
I quickly opened the message.
…But it wasn’t.
It was just a message in the dorm group chat.
I sighed.
In the group chat, my roommates were buzzing with gossip.
The whole school was buzzing with rumors that Trình Dực was about to confess his feelings to a girl.
It had started a few days earlier, when he brought flowers to class and a classmate took a picture of him.
Trình Dực was so famous that the photo even made the trending searches.
Netizens were competing to guess who he wanted to give the flowers to.
My roommates were enthusiastically discussing it:
【What do you guys think? Could that time he went running with someone have something to do with this?】
I stared at the message.
I already knew the answer.
It wasn’t me.
14
By the time I left my room, Trình Dực had already gone to class.
The curtains had been drawn open, and sunlight flooded in, as if sweeping away the traces of the heated breaths that had lingered in the darkness moments before.
Those tangled feelings had been nothing but a fleeting illusion.
The damp patch on the sofa evaporated in the sunlight.
I didn’t have class that afternoon, but I had to go to the lab that evening.
When I left home at six, Trình Dực still hadn’t come back.
At the lab, I couldn’t concentrate.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the relationship between Trình Dực and me.
He no longer felt any empathy for Quinn Hill.
And there was a girl he liked.
What reason did I have to stay here?
At noon, I’d even done something like that to him.
Even if it was just to prove something, I’d still crossed a line.
After going back and forth in my mind, I texted Trình Dực.
【I’m sorry. I went too far at noon. I really am sorry.】
The other end immediately showed “typing…”.
After a long while, only two words came back—
【It’s okay.】
After finishing my experiment, I returned to the apartment complex.
Snow was falling lightly.
I entered the passcode and opened the door—
Trình Dực rushed out of the bedroom in a panic.
When he saw me, he pressed his lips together, looking a little guilty.
As if he were hiding something.
With his long hands and tall, lean frame, he stood stiff as a board, as though he wanted to tie himself into a knot.
Our eyes met.
Neither of us said a word.
God, this was so awkward.
I glanced around the living room.
The sofa had been completely replaced.
Quinn Hill’s toys and treats, which had filled the living room… were all gone.
My heart suddenly sank.
Did Trình Dực want me to move out?
Probably.
He had a girl he liked, and now there was nothing tying him to me anymore.
I should take the hint and leave on my own.
I spoke first. “Trình Dực, I’ll pack my things tonight and move out tomorrow.”
Trình Dực’s shadow stretched across the floor, and his gaze turned gloomy.
He asked hoarsely, “Why?”
I tried to sound casual. “You don’t feel connected to Quinn Hill anymore, so I don’t have any reason to stay here either.”
A silly thought suddenly occurred to me.
Could the girl he liked possibly be me?
But looking around the room, nothing had changed.
There wasn’t a single rose.
There was no sign at all that he intended to ask me to stay.
I tried to muster all my courage and make one last attempt.
“When I leave, I’m taking Quinn Hill with me.”
The only response… was silence.
A long, long time passed, but Trình Dực still didn’t say a word to stop me.
My last hope was crushed.
An endless ache filled my chest.
At last, I said, “I’m going to pack my things.”
Every item I packed into my suitcase…
Brought a flood of memories rushing back.
The sight of Trình Dực running toward me in the sunset, eating dinner with my parents, making me late-night snacks, taking Quinn Hill to the vet with me…
The mornings we went running together, the late nights we sat close on the sofa.
All those memories would come to an end today, forever.
Much later, someone knocked on the door.
Trình Dực stood outside, his voice urgent.
“Quinn Hill is missing.”
What?!
I’d just gotten home and seen him in the living room, hadn’t I?
I immediately ran outside and searched everywhere.
I opened every door.
Nothing.
There was only one room left—Trình Dực’s bedroom.
I stood outside the door, hesitating.
“The passcode is the day you moved in.”
Trình Dực stood right behind me and entered the code.
He stood so close, it was as if he were holding me from behind.
The door swung open—
Countless heart-shaped balloons floated out.
The whole room was filled with brilliant red roses.
In the snowy winter, their warmth overwhelmed my senses.
The wall was covered in a tangled mass of photographs—
Pictures of me facing the camera, in profile, smiling, crying…
Even the bite mark I’d left on his hand, and the two of us by the lake at dawn…
Every anniversary, every late-night snack, every moment we’d spent watching movies together…
It had all been brought to life on this wall.
It felt like I was sinking into a dream.
My heart was pounding so hard my ears began to ring.
I stood there, stunned.
I couldn’t tell if this was some unreal panic.
The only sound that brought me back to reality was…
Quinn Hill sneezed right in the middle of the roses.
Trình Dực stepped in front of me, his voice low. “Do you know what day it is today?”
I tried to suppress the smile tugging at my lips.
He likes me.
The girl he likes… is me!
I pretended to think it over, then answered solemnly:
“Today is the first day Quinn Hill has been neutered.”
No, that’s not right.
“Today marks the 132nd day since Quinn Hill moved in.”
Trình Dực shook his head, his voice gentle:
“Today is the 132nd day we’ve been living together.”
“And the 379th day I’ve liked you.”
Trình Dực gently took my hand and, from who knows where, produced one of Quinn Hill’s whiskers.
“You once said that if you made a wish on a cat’s whisker, it would come true.”
“If I make a wish now… that Lâm Dư Kiều will become my girlfriend, do you think it’ll come true?”
I wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, but still teased him on purpose:
“What if I say it won’t come true?”
Trình Dực tightened his arms around my waist, pulling me close as he whispered:
"Quinn Hill still has plenty of whiskers."
Hearing his name called, Quinn Hill lifted his head and let out a cheerful "meow."
We looked at each other and burst out laughing.
I deliberately pushed him away and blinked at him.
“Someone used to accuse me of harassing him.”
Trình Dực immediately pulled me back, chuckling:
“I say one thing and mean another. I wish you’d harass me a little more.”
I grinned mischievously and slipped my hand under the hem of his shirt, touching the abs I’d been dreaming about for so long.
“Does this count as harassment?”
Trình Dực stared at me, the light from the roses reflected in his eyes.
“Lâm Dư Kiều, all my admiration, desire, and longing are for you.”
Warmth surged through me, and I rose on tiptoe to kiss him.
Trình Dực immediately pulled me tight against him, deepening the kiss.
Our breathing grew ragged, his arms tightening around my waist.
I hurriedly pushed him away, exclaiming in a panic:
“You really don’t have any issues!”
He caught my hand and pulled it down.
“Do you want to... double-check one more time?”
Trình Dực – His Point of View
The first time Trình Dực met Lâm Dư Kiều was during an elective class.
That course was related to metaphysical theory, and it was notorious for being one of the hardest classes at D University.
The professor was extremely strict, and the grades were notoriously low.
Anyone just looking to rack up credits almost never chose this class.
The students in the class could be divided into two groups:
First, those who were extremely confident in their intelligence.
Second, those who had a particular interest in the subject.
Lâm Dư Kiều belonged to the first group.
Trình Dực was in the other group.
With his reputation, almost everyone at D University knew who Trình Dực was.
So the moment he walked into the classroom, the whole lecture hall erupted in whispers.
People gossiped and murmured.
Judgmental glances and deliberately loud comments filled the room for everyone to hear.
“Trình Dực is taking this class? What could an athlete possibly understand?”
“He didn’t get into D University for academics—he’s just a shiny title, that’s all.”
“Athletes like him have already made a ton of money, why would he need a degree?”
“I really wish the university would stop admitting people like this. They should save educational resources for those who actually need them.”
They spoke loudly, but no one spoke up to defend him.
Trình Dực impatiently tapped his fingers on the desk.
He was about to stand up and tell them to shut up.
But right at that moment—
A girl sitting in the row ahead suddenly turned around, shooting a sharp look their way.
Her voice was clear but edged with steel:
“He brought medals home for the country—so why didn’t any of you step up and win them instead?”
"Not happy with the athlete admissions policy? Then write a petition to the dean. Stop standing here whining and devaluing yourself."
The group of guys were left speechless by her comeback.
But unwilling to back down, they sneered and mocked her:
"You must be an art student, right? Broadcasting or fine arts? Do you even understand the lecture?"
But that very class, the girl they had just looked down on... kept raising her hand, confidently discussing the material with the professor using specialized terminology.
The entire lecture hall was stunned.
Including Trình Dực.
He watched her.
There was only one thought in his mind—
"She's awesome."
It's human nature to admire the strong.
Especially for athletes.
That drive to admire strength—it's in our blood.
Those guys weren't entirely wrong.
Trình Dực really didn't understand much of this subject.
But from that day on...
He developed a new hobby.
"Secretly watching Lâm Dư Kiều."
Before every class, he'd try on all sorts of outfits, change his hairstyle, like a peacock fanning its tail.
He even pretended to act casual, sneaking around trying to befriend her in the class group chat.
But...
Lâm Dư Kiều had no interest in him.
Every time he tried to start a conversation, she either ignored him or thought he was talking to someone else.
It was as if, in her mind—
The two of them belonged to completely different worlds.
Feeling helpless, Trình Dực started trying to learn more about her.
He scrolled through her social media page.
But she hardly ever posted anything.
Until summer break—
Lâm Dư Kiều started posting pictures of a chubby golden cat.
Its name was Quinn Hill.
Trình Dực let out a bitter laugh.
He realized he didn't even rank as high as a cat in her life.
Right before the new semester started, Trình Dực turned nineteen.
When he went home to visit, a distant relative—an uncle who was a bit superstitious—gave him a talisman.
"This is an incredibly powerful talisman. I guarantee any wish you make will come true."
"Kid, it's your birthday—hurry up and make a wish."
Everything Trình Dực wanted in life, he fought for with his own hands.
He didn't believe in talismans.
But it would've been awkward to refuse, so he reluctantly pressed his palms together and came up with the silliest wish:
"I want to become... Lâm Dư Kiều's cat."
Even as he said it, he found himself ridiculous.
There was no way a wish like that could ever come true.
But then...
A few days later, when he realized he could feel everything through Quinn Hill's tail, the first thought that popped into his head was—
"Damn, Uncle, if I ever get married, you're definitely getting a seat at the main table."