Ch2 - Xie Yan

At eight o’clock in the evening, Dixin community.

Xie Yan took a look at his watch and found that evening had unknowingly settled in. He closed his laptop and entered the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Xie Yan was a demon. He lived in seclusion and didn’t like being disturbed. Instead, he liked living a peaceful life. He had just moved to Dixin not long ago and was not very familiar with it. Cooking seemed to be his only pleasure once he came.

In his refrigerator, there was marinated seabass that had been prepared in advance. Xie Yan took out the fish and placed it into the steamer. While waiting for the fish to steam, he washed the vegetables and prepared them for the soup.

He placed the sliced vegetables onto a plate, beat two eggs with a pair of chopsticks, and added oil into the pot to stir fry the vegetables. He poured water into the pot, added salt for seasoning and a starch slurry to thicken the soup before finally pouring the egg mixture into the soup, letting everything cook and boil.

As Xie Yan removed the pot of soup from the stove, his sight fell on the towering trash can. The sea bass hadn’t steamed yet so he could go downstairs and throw the trash away.

After untying his apron, he replaced the plastic in the trash bin and did the same to the one in the living room. Then, he grabbed his keys and went downstairs with two bags of garbage.

It was already half-past eight so it was much quieter downstairs than in the day. He hauled the two bags into the bin, turned around and was about to return when he suddenly stopped. He seemed to…have stepped on something.

He lowered his head slightly and under the honey-coloured dim light, he saw a silver cat lying by the trash bin.

Xie Yan thought it was strange, it clearly hadn’t rained but the area around the cat was damp while the cat itself was soaked from head to tail as if it had just been pulled out of the water.

The kitty slowly opened his eyes and glared at Xie Yan. You dare to step on my paws?!

Xie Yan was slightly stunned, ‘This little cat has spiritual consciousness?’

He lifted his foot and apologized, “Sorry.”

The kitten continued to fixate its eyes on him. Does your apology have any use? If it weren’t for my unfortunate situation now, I would have beaten you!

What Xie Yan didn’t know was that the cat in front of him was not an ordinary cat, but a person who had been forced to show his true appearance. The distance between the two was very close, and the kitten smelled a familiar smell emanating from Xie Yan. This man…is a demon.

He lost his consciousness just now and didn’t know why he had transformed into his original form. He was also severely weakened and couldn’t use his spiritual power to relieve his discomfort. Lingering around in this state is dangerous.

The kitten’s gaze swept around quickly, and only then did he notice that this was not the place where Qin Lang lived. He had gone to the wrong building. He looked at Xie Yan again and an idea quickly formed in his mind. It’s better to follow this man.

From Xie Yan’s perspective, the cat appeared half-dead yet it was still so fierce. Its attitude was too bad, so he simply decided to ignore it and return to his house.

The kitten stood up and silently followed him. When he walked into the elevator, the kitten also followed him in. Then, he followed him to the entrance of Xie Yan’s house. When Xie Yan turned around to look at him, the kitten was slumped on his feet, its legs too weak to support itself.

It’s not pretending to be weak, it really has no strength to stand up.

“Meow…” The kitten let out a weak cry and looked at Xie Yan’s face with large round and pitiful eyes. Xie Yan thought this cat was a little interesting. It was so fierce just now but why is it acting so cute now?

Xie Yan looked down on it, “Trying to take advantage of me?”

Kitten Ji Qinghuai: “…”

You did step on me, but I won’t come to take advantage of you because of this!

The kitten’s animated reaction amused Xie Yan immensely. He suddenly felt that living alone for so many years was too boring and an idea came to his mind.

Xie Yan squatted down and said to the kitten, “Our meeting can also be considered fate, can I raise you?”

Kitten Ji Qinghuai: “…”

I don’t want you to support me, I just came to…w-what are you doing?!

Xie Yan picked up the cat directly and brought it into the house. The kitten was wet and its fur was dirty so Xie Yan took it into the bathroom directly. He washed his hands, went to the kitchen to turn off the stove, and took a new towel back to the bathroom.

He placed a basin of water in the bathtub and tested the temperature. Then he looked at the kitten and said, “You have to take a shower first.”

The kitten knew it was in a mess now. If it didn’t wash itself clean, he couldn’t run around in other people’s houses. It should be obedient and listen to the owner.

There was no pet shower gel at home so Xie Yan used his usual shower gel to bathe the kitten. The strong smell of grapefruit spread in the bathroom and the kitten sniffed the air, thinking that it smelled good.

After taking a shower, Xie Yan wrapped the cat in a bath towel and wiped the excess water from its fur. After that, he placed the cat on the chair in the living room and entered the kitchen again.

Since he had been taking care of the kitten, the soup he had made had cooled down already. He heated it again and fried some vegetables. With that, dinner was ready.

The kitten thought that Xie Yan was about to eat without drying his hair so it mewled loudly in protest. Blow-dry my hair!

Xie Yan glanced at the kitten and understood its meaning, “Blow-drying is a bit troublesome, just let it air dry.”

Kitten Ji Qinghuai: “…”

Do you know that you won’t get a wife if you’re so inconsiderate?!

Xie Yan ignored the kitten’s resentful eyes and ate dinner on his own. The kitten already had dinner and although it was not hungry now, the fish looked very appetizing…

The kitten watched as Xie Yan took bites of the fish one by one. Its eyes shifted from the fish to Xie Yan and carefully looked at his face.

The man in front of it looked more than 20 years old, but as a demon, he was definitely much older than that.

Xie Yan’s beautiful face was in line with Ji Qinghuai’s aesthetic taste. His facial features were well-proportioned and exquisite. Coupled with his fair skin, there was no flaw. In his opinion, the most outstanding feature was his eyes, which were very beautiful, but the person in front of him did not seem to like smiling. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses were placed on the bridge of his nose, making him appear a little cold.

Knowing that the kitten was looking at him, Xie Yan didn’t turn around. He put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, cleaned the table and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Feeling bored, the kitten jumped off the chair and slowly walked to the balcony.

Xie Yan’s house was on the sixth floor, not very high. Looking down from the glass, one could clearly see the scenery downstairs. If he jumped from here…

Ji Qinghuai dismissed this idea. He would definitely not make it in his current state, so he would have to wait for his spiritual power to recover.

The kitten turned and looked at the kitchen. It seems that I need to stay here for a few days.

While he was thinking, he heard a knock on the door. Xie Yan came out of the kitchen and dried his hands before opening the door.

Outside the door was three sturdy men. After seeing Xie Yan, the one in the lead raised his chin and asked, “You are Xie Yan?”

The kitten tilted its head. So you are called Xie Yan.

The man looked up and down at Xie Yan, “New here?”

Xie Yan didn’t answer him and instead asked, “What’s the matter?”

The man looked at the thin, gentle and easy to be bullied Xie Yan and his confidence boosted. He asked arrogantly, “Do you know who I am?”

The kitten came over and glanced at them. Why does he look so annoying?

Xie Yan repeated, “What’s the matter?”

“Let me introduce myself first,” the man said, “My surname is Zhu. Everyone calls me brother Zhu.”

Leaning against the door casually, he said with a contemptuous expression, “You newcomers may not know the rules but I’m here today to remind you that I’m responsible for protecting this community.”

Xie Yan stared at him and didn’t answer. No one spoke for a long time and the man became a little embarrassed. He coughed awkwardly before continuing, “Everyone in the community knows that if you want to live here, you have to rely on me.”

Xie Yan spoke indifferently, “Get to the point.”

Brother Zhu saw Xie Yan’s calm expression who didn’t waver in the face of danger. With his hands in his pockets, he stepped forward and said, “Boy, listen up. From now on, you need to pay the protection fee to me, or I will make you unable to live in this community!”

And as soon as his voice fell, Xie Yan kicked the man out. Ji Qinghuai was amused.

I like his way of doing things.

T/N: Xie Yan’s name (解颜 ) can be read as Jie Yan or Xie Yan. His name means to be happy.