103. This Kind of Man

"Xiaomi."

"Yes?"

"Since we're here, let's just settle in."

After accepting the situation, Sun Yuman shared a story with Chen Xuan.

That night, Chen Xuan didn’t go; she went with a few other friends instead.

"Yeah, I know, you told me."

Sun Yuman sighed, "Why is it that I never run into these clueless types?"

What happened?

The group had originally gone just to freeload off the handsome guy playing the piano.

But once they arrived, it turned out it wasn’t for nothing.

The dashing Mr. Li, with his skillful and teasing piano playing, quickly caught the attention of one of the girls.

Let's call her Little A for now.

The girls egged Little A on to ask Li An for his contact information.

Now, Little A was no kid; with her sweet face and big bright eyes, she was nearly unstoppable among the males in their circle.

Yet no one expected her to fail this time.

She didn’t get his contact info and was instead asked if she wanted to request a song.

"And I can give you a discount."

Hearing Sun Yuman imitate Li An’s tone, Chen Xuan could almost see the scene play out in front of her.

She snorted, "That’s something he would say."

Sun Yuman shook her head. "The best part is yet to come."

Now Chen Xuan was curious.

"What happened next?"

"Well..."

They ate and drank as usual, but Little A wasn’t willing to let it go.

So after Li An finished work, they followed him.

Little A chased him all the way to the bus stop and asked if he’d go with her that night, name his price.

"Hey hey, Sister Mi, don’t give me that look."

Sun Yuman sensed a murderous aura radiating off Chen Xuan.

"Relax, relax, she just wanted a place to go back to, it was a joke."

"And then?" Chen Xuan pressed.

"Then..."

Sun Yuman cleared her throat, lowered her voice, and mimicked Li An’s tone.

"Can you pay me first, then we’ll talk."

-

"Alright."

Half an hour earlier, Li An had asked the driver, Shufu, to park the car at the entrance of an alley opposite Yudong.

After getting out, he caught the aroma of braised dishes from afar and walked into the alley.

When he came back out, he was holding two bottles of cold beer and a small bag of braised snacks. On his way home, he stopped by Meow Meow Pet Hospital.

He consulted a young lady inside about neutering a male cat.

Her explanation was much like what he had read online.

Li An: "So basically, it’s best to do it."

The young lady: "Yes. Even if he’s not marking indoors now, I recommend you get him the surgery. Neutering reduces reproductive tract diseases in older pets."

Li An: "Anything to watch out for before the neutering?"

Young lady: "How old is your pet? Has he had vaccines?"

Li An recalled that Ba Wan hadn’t been vaccinated. "No vaccines yet, and I’m not exactly sure how old he is. When I found him, he was about this size."

He gestured the size of a water bottle. "It’s been over half a year now."

The young lady nodded. "Male cats can be neutered at six months, but I suggest you vaccinate him first. Neutering itself isn’t directly related to immunity, but we worry about lowered resistance or stress after surgery leading to infections. So vaccinate first."

"Thanks, I understand."

Li An made a mental note to vaccinate first.

He browsed around the shop, looking at the colorful cat food and supplies, and stopped at a row of canned cat food.

Today, he thought, he couldn’t be the only one feasting.

He picked two reasonably priced cans, scanned to pay, and was about to leave when the young lady called after him.

"You might want to bring him here for vaccines. We offer a 50% discount on the first shot for stray cats."

She smiled sweetly.

That was considerate.

Li An felt a good impression of this pet hospital. "I’ll come by when I have time. By the way, anything special to prepare before vaccines? Should he fast or anything?"

She took out her personal phone. "Normal eating and drinking is fine. Add me on WeChat, and you can reach me anytime."

Li An scanned the code and added her.

"What should I call you?"

"Chen Ba Wan. Goodbye."

With that, he turned and left.

The young lady opened Li An’s Moments and saw nothing.

Chen Ba Wan. It sounded quite nice.

Muttering to herself, she opened Li An’s WeChat.

‘Rabbit’

‘Feel free to contact me anytime.’

She reminded him once more.

-

"So I told you before, don’t find a boyfriend who’s too handsome. They attract a whole bunch of flirty girls, it’s irritating."

Sun Yuman’s little lecture began again.

"But I think your guy’s pretty good at handling that."

"He didn’t even look back at Little A, just got on the bus and left."

-

"Come on, come on, let’s go buy some clothes."

Chen Xuan felt her legs going weak just hearing that; she was exhausted today. "I can’t walk anymore."

Sun Yuman tugged her out of the dessert shop. "You have a date the day after tomorrow. How can you not have a single short skirt?"

Chen Xuan: "You know I don’t wear short skirts."

Sun Yuman: "That was before. It’s different now, you understand? By next year, you’ll be almost thirty. Sister, are you going to hide everything away in pants to save for old age?"

Chen Xuan: "But…"

Sun Yuman: "But what? If you don’t show it to him, he’ll look at someone else. Men don’t care about timing when it comes to this. It’s always the same."

Chen Xuan: "What about your first point, second point, third point?"

Sun Yuman: "I just want you to dress up a bit. What are you thinking?"

Chen Xuan: "...I’m not thinking anything."

Sun Yuman: "Actually, it makes sense. They say thirty is like a wolf, forty like a tiger."

Chen Xuan: "I give up on your mouth."

Sun Yuman: "Come on, stay and walk with me a bit more. I was hoping we could spend this Qixi Festival together. Today, just think of it as making it up to me."

With that, she led Chen Xuan forward, and within a few steps, they turned into a men’s accessories store.

"Miss Sun, welcome!"

The female clerk greeted them warmly.

-

Li An returned home and took a refreshing hot shower.

That night, master and cat sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, enjoying the fan’s breeze while gazing at the city’s nightscape, eating and drinking leisurely.

Fifty thousand yuan over five months—Li An could almost see the morning light of the day he’d repay his debts.

As for what his next goal would be after that, he hadn’t decided yet.

At least, not tonight.

A good life is like good music; a relaxed rhythm allows better progress.

Lately, Li An’s spring had been wound a bit tight; he wanted to relax for a couple of days.

He was actually a bit nervous about the date the day after tomorrow.

Suddenly, his phone on the chair vibrated.

He quickly picked it up.

Yezi: "Ignoring me all this time."

Li An: "That’s not true."

Don’t girls usually dislike being disturbed when shopping with their best friends?

Hmm?