Chapter 11
Chapter 11: A Cat Named Banben[1]
“Yes! A secret.”
“What is it?!”
“Um… the secret is that I don’t care about my parents’ opinions at all. I used to care before, but now it’s different. I don’t care anymore; I have my own path to follow, and I will definitely succeed. By then, it won’t matter whether I become an actor or not—
Yes, it won’t matter! I’ll do whatever I want!”
“???”
“Is that your secret?”
“Yes.”
Wen Yu was speechless; saying it was like not saying anything at all.
He thought it was something significant, like having a cheat code, maxing out abilities; that would be considered a secret.
Turns out, it was nothing.
After Fu Chengque finished speaking, she seemed quite satisfied, patting her stomach, “I’m hungry. Wen Yu, let’s go eat. How about the restaurant we went to last time?”
“Why aren’t you urging me to hurry up this time?”
“Hmph, I don’t need to this time.”
The two headed towards the restaurant. On the way, Fu Chengque attempted several times to close the distance to about 50 centimeters but failed each time.
Fifty centimeters was too close; that was a boundary only couples could break. She could maintain it briefly, but it was far from the requirement of over five hours.
Her courage was still somewhat lacking; it’s hard to achieve significant things like this.
Fu Chengque sighed inwardly.
The restaurant faced the lake, with seats specially arranged to dine while overlooking the lake. Sitting at one of those seats would mean being shoulder to shoulder, almost sticking together.
As long as they spent five hours eating, the task would be accomplished, right?
Fu Chengque was delighted, pulling Wen Yu to a seat. They ate and chatted for an hour, then awkwardly chatted for another half an hour. Finally, the girl couldn’t endure it any longer and hurriedly escaped.
If they sat any longer, Wen Yu would become suspicious.
Sure enough, that strange feeling came again.
Wen Yu observed Fu Chengque and found her seemingly casual demeanor but with an underlying sense of oddity.
Too strange.
They were childhood sweethearts, but they had never behaved like this before!
It was almost nine o’clock when they left the restaurant.
At this hour, students shouldn’t be lingering outside. So, the two started heading back.
The park was lit with streetlights but still dim.
The depths of the woods were pitch black, making Wen Yu a bit scared.
However, Fu Chengque walked leisurely, as if she didn’t want to go home at all.
“Fu Chengque, shouldn’t we go back now?”
“Huh? Oh… yes, indeed. Okay.”
“Do you have something on your mind? Don’t you want to go back?”
“No! I don’t!”
“Really? Or is it inconvenient for you to say?”
“Really, it’s just that I don’t want to go back and see my parents arguing.”
“I see…”
At this point, Fu Chengque quickened her pace, as if to say: See, I really don’t mind going back. She also realized that they wouldn’t be able to accomplish the task today.
After a few steps, they suddenly heard some “meowing” from the bushes on the roadside.
“Is there a kitten?”
“It’s better not to touch stray cats.”
But Fu Chengque was very excited.
“Let’s go and have a look!”
Approaching the edge of the bushes, they indeed saw a cardboard box with a skinny kitten inside, meowing incessantly.
On the box, it was written: “Hope kind-hearted person adopts.”
Fu Chengque picked up the kitten, and it seemed to sense something, snuggling into her arms.
“Abandoned… how pitiful.”
Suddenly, Wen Yu shivered and turned away.
“Wen Yu!”
“What’s wrong…”
“It’s no use leaving. Take it back; you’re responsible for taking care of it.”
“But my house…”
“Your mom has always wanted to keep a cat, and your dad agrees.”
“Why do you know so much about my parents’ affairs?”
“It’s so cute, come on, hold it.”
Wen Yu, with a bitter face, picked up the cat along with the box. The little one crawled to the corner of the box near Wen Yu’s body and curled up to sleep.
Back home, Fu Chengque omitted the part about skipping class and told Wen Yu’s mom about the cat, exaggerating the kitten’s ordeal and the non-existent rescue efforts. She described it so vividly that Wen Yu’s mom tearfully hugged the cat and wouldn’t let go.
Wen Yu understood; he couldn’t escape his role as the litter-box cleaner.
Using the cardboard box as a nest, an old basin as a litter box, and some purchased cat litter, the cow-patterned kitten became the fourth member of the Wen family.
Fu Chengque’s efforts today ended in failure once again.
If there were still chances to challenge the previous tasks, she felt that this time there was almost no chance of success.
“No, no… the special reward is too tempting. I need to find a way to try again.”
The road to becoming The Empress was arduous.
She thought of that abandoned kitten; to grow up, it needed luck as well.
By the way, what should the cat be named?
Thinking about this, Fu Chengque couldn’t sleep. After all, she was the one who rescued the cat; she should also participate in such an important activity as naming it, right?
She took out her phone and messaged Wen Yu.
【Fu Chengque】: Are you asleep?
【Wen Yu】: Just finished reading, what’s up?
【Fu Chengque】: So diligent! If you just please me, when I become The Empress, you can choose the dean of Tsinghua University.
【Wen Yu】: If you’re so energetic, come and help scoop some poop. I forgot before taking a shower.
【Fu Chengque】: Have you named the kitten yet?
【Wen Yu】: Not yet, do you have any good ideas?
【Fu Chengque】: How about calling it “Divine Beast”?
【Fu Chengque】: I think any pet related to me should be domineering, so as not to diminish my prestige in the future.
【Fu Chengque】: In the records of later generations, it will be said that Empress Chengque once raised a young “Divine Beast”, which, upon reaching adulthood, conquered all directions (of insects, mice, and birds), and was invincible!
【Wen Yu】: …
【Fu Chengque】: Ah, I’m terrible at naming, you know.
【Fu Chengque】: Then do you have any good suggestions?
【Wen Yu】: Do you still remember the box we found it in? Since it was found in the box, let’s name it after something related to the box. It represents both its ordeal and hope.
【Fu Chengque】: Hmm… that makes sense. So, what should we call it?
【Wen Yu】: Banben, how about that?
【Fu Chengque】: What kind of name is that? Is it an RB cat? And does the box really have the word “Banben” on it?
【Wen Yu】: Of course it does, do you think I’m making it up?
【Wen Yu】: Let’s go with Banben, that’s its name from now on!
【Fu Chengque】: …
And so, a cat named “Banben” became a member of their small circle.
The next day.
As the mini-test approached, the atmosphere in the classroom became more intense.
There were often groups of students discussing problems together.
Wen Yu noticed that Fu Chengque was doing something similar, her gaze always wandering around him, seemingly trying to get closer but always failing.
Could Fu Chengque really have feelings for him?
He felt a mix of joy and panic.
What should he do? Should he respond in kind? Try to get closer to her? Or do nothing at all?
After pondering all morning, Wen Yu made up his mind:
He had a crush on Fu Chengque before, and his feelings hadn’t changed.
With their relationship warming up lately, even the sense of distance and strangeness from high school had disappeared. So, he should seize the opportunity to do something, to be more proactive, to get closer.
But what should he do?
Before Wen Yu could figure out how to get closer, in the afternoon, Chen Xiongguo came to the school and directly called out Wen Yu and Fu Chengque’s names.
Uh-oh, they were caught skipping class last night.
Fu Chengque was summoned to the office first, looking nervous as she went in and downcast as she came out.
As she passed by Wen Yu, he gave her a “good luck” expression.
[1] Name means Originating from a slope/hill. The name is Japanese (Sakamoto)
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