Lin Yuan could feel the cat's fear as it whimpered against him, but for some reason, the fat cat would also poke its head from behind his legs and hiss before darting back behind again.
Actually, the ferocious gang was only five or six cats, and because they were street cats they looked malnourished.
However the fat cat didn't think so.
He had tried to soothe the cat so it would stop hissing as it was just aggravating the other strays, but then the fat cat just kept meowing at him for a while and then quickly ran away without turning back once.
Looking at the gang of street cats that were still loitering around the dark alley and hissing, he wasn't sure whether he should also run. Even though Lin Yuan wasn't really afraid of them, he didn't know whether they could be carrying any diseases. Thinking about it, he took his school bag and waved it in front of him, trying to shoo them away.
Meanwhile the fat cat was darting nimbly through the streets.
Suddenly, it stopped. It twirled around in circles for a while and then abruptly turned back, rushing to where it had left Lin Yuan. As it got closer it slowed down a little, and began to inch closer, cautiously hiding behind the street lights and trash cans.
Then finally in the distance it saw an unforgettable sight. A figure bathed in light was fending off the stray cats with their backpack. After a short while, the defeated enemies quickly fled back into the alley in retreat.
"Meow!"
The fat cat emerged from behind a large trash can, and ran towards Lin Yuan.
"You're back." Lin Yuan watched as the dark cat rushed in front of him and began hissing loudly into the empty alleyway.
Suddenly there was a rustling sound. The fat cat quickly retreated back behind Lin Yuan.
"..."
"It's just the wind." Lin Yuan squatted down to face the dirty cat, "Were you scared?"
"Meow."
"You are very dirty." Lin Yuan wanted to pet the cat but then smelling the foul stench he paused his hand. Did it fall in the garbage or something?
He wasn't sure if he should take the cat home to get cleaned up, but considering that it seemed to be a stray he thought it probably wouldn't like to follow him.
Lin Yuan stood up and shook the dust of his backpack. Looking at the fat cat that was staring at the dark alley, he spoke softly, "Well, I'll be going now…"
He began to walk away slowly.
After a few seconds he felt something brush against his legs. Looking down at the dirty fur rubbing against him, Lin Yuan was secretly happy.
"Are you going to follow me home?"
"Meow."
Hearing the cute meowing Lin Yuan squatted down again and peered into the fat cat's blue eyes.
"If you're coming home with me, maybe I should give you a name. Mr Moonlight is a little stupid isn't?"
"Meow."
"So you also agree with me, hehe."
"How about Bing Bing?"
"..."
"You kind of look like a dumpling so maybe, Jiaozi? Tuanzi?"
The fat cat seemed to understand what he was saying. Listening to Lin Yuan calling out names, it turned its head and ignored him.
"Hmmm, how about Porkie? Moon-cake? Pig-trotter soup?" Lin Yuan was getting hungry.
"Master Baozi? Emperor Baozi -"
"-Meow!"
Lin Yuan was surprised, "You like that name? Baozi?"
"..."
"Emperor Baozi?"
"Meow!"
When the fat cat heard that, it remembered a home that it would sometimes go to. There was an old lady there who would always kneel and say "Heavenly Emperor" and put out food. When it was not a fat cat but a small, weak cat it would always steal the food that she had left out. Of course the cat didn't know what an emperor was but it remembered the delicious food of its distant childhood, around 5 months ago.
Looking at the fat cat who was dirtying his hand with its head, Lin Yuan decided, "Okay I'll bestow you the title of the Heavenly Emperor Bao Ziyuan." Lin Yuan bowed seriously, "But I'll call you Baobao for short."
"By the way, Baobao, why were you getting chased?"
"Meow."
"So Baobao was just walking around minding his own business, when those wild cats bumped into you?"
"Meow."
"They were jealous of your beautiful white coat?."
"Meow meow."
"Are you sure they weren't just bullying you because you are so fat? Hehe." Lin Yuan tried to lift Baozi but then thinking of how dirty he was he put him down again quickly.
"Meow."
"It's because you were flirting with the boss's girlfriend? Baobao, you're pretty popular."
Lin Yuan chuckled and then stood up, "Well come on let's go home-"
"..."
Two feet. A long skirt. A familiar jacket. A somewhat familiar face.
A beautiful girl was standing in front of him. Lin Yuan didn't know how long she'd been there.
The two figures stood there frozen, until Baozi's meowing brought Lin Yuan back to reality. Looking more carefully at the girl, he realised she was from his class.
"Jiang Yao?"
"..."
Jing Yao's face turned dark. At least remember my name properly, I've been in the same class as you for two years!
"Lin Yuan, you're coming from school?" She didn't correct him.
"Yes."
"..."
It's awkward. Even though Jing Yao knew of Lin Yuan, they had never talked, and especially before…it's a pretty big contrast. Jing Yao's expression turned weird.
"Um, well, carry on." Jing Yao glanced down at the dark cat and felt it looked familiar, "Bye."
"...Bye."
Lin Yuan looked down at Baozi who was now clawing his pants to get his attention, "She probably just got here…right?"
"Meow?"
"Well for humans it's a bit embarrassing to talk to cats in public -"
They should get going.
Lin Yuan glanced down at the fat cat, and sighed. It didn't look injured or anything but still, it must have been scared. He steadied his mind and bent down slowly to pick up Baozi. Actually he wasn't as heavy as Lin Yuan expected. He guessed that the thick fur was adding a few pounds in his mind. Sinking a little, Lin Yuan walked home unsteadily.
He would probably have to wash all of his clothes again.