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There was a cat. Sitting on his desk. Staring at him as if he were the one in the wrong place, as if he were the one intruding. Zhang Xinjie felt the irrational urge to glare at the cat, but he restrained himself and carefully reached out one hand towards it instead, moving slowly so as to not startle it.
As the cat leant forward to sniff at his hand, he noticed the paw prints all over the desk as the cat had apparently stepped in his inkstone. Zhang Xinjie realised that the cat wasn’t entirely black, that its feet were actually white but the ink had hidden this. He looked at the mess again and frowned at the cat. The cat, of course, took no notice of this.
The cat’s fur was softer than he expected, suggesting that the cat may not be feral. The way the cat was happily shuffling closer, mewling plaintively when Zhang Xinjie didn’t immediately situate his hand in its fur was further proof. To avoid the noise, and for no other reason, he obliged the cat, carefully scratching behind its ears, his other hand moving the scratch under its chin.
As the cat pressed happily into his touch, purring loudly, Zhang Xinjie felt the urge to glare at the cat for making a mess subsiding and when he reached up to lift- her- to lift her and she went easily, happily resting her head on his shoulder, he felt another urge rising within him.
The urge to keep her. She seemed unperturbed by her removal from the desk into his arms and he didn’t even mind the stains on his shirt when a purr rumbled through her and she settled herself more firmly into his hold, yawning widely before seemingly settling down for a nap. Even when he took her to the bathroom to clean the ink off her paws, she was seemingly unconcerned, standing there obediently, occasionally batting at the cloth.
Once they were back in his room, Zhang Xinjie took the time to clean the ink from his desk, glad that this had been the time he’d set aside to do some recreational reading. The cat seemed content to nap on his bed in the meantime and Zhang Xinjie pondered over what he could do with her while he got the correct supplies.
Despite the fact that she startled slightly when he lifted her, she soon settled into his arms happily, once again content to nap in his arms, barely opening her eyes during the short walk to Han Wenqing’s room.
Han Wenqing considered himself not easily flustered. The constantly shifting pro scene meant he was used to adapting to situations calmly. However, in this case, he thought it was fair if he remained a little confused. Zhang Xinjie presented him with the cat as if it was a regular occurrence for him to show up with a cat in his arms, as if Han Wenqing was used to pet sitting for him.
“I need you to look after her while I fetch her some things.” The cat in question sniffed at him a few times before settling herself in his arms, pressing her face into his neck. Han Wenqing thought, distantly, that the cat was already mirroring her owner as that was also Zhang Xinjie’s go to whenever he had the opportunity.
“Does she have a name?” Out of all the questions he’d wanted to ask, where the cat had come from, why Zhang Xinjie had a smudge of ink on his neck, how long he’d have to watch the cat for- apparently the smudge of ink was distracting and his vice-captain shook his head.
“I have not had time to discuss it with her.” Zhang Xinjie gave the cat one last pat before he turned and walked away.
“Discuss it with her- Xinjie she’s a cat-“ Han Wenqing gave up and settled for looking at the cat in question who simply yawned, showing off her pointy teeth before she pressed her face back into his neck, clearly not willing to offer him any insight.
He decided that the path of least resistance would be to resign himself to pet sitting until Zhang Xinjie returned and explained what was going on. Han Wenqing decided that following his vice-captain’s request blindly was unlike to bring any negative consequences and so he returned to his room, placing the cat on the floor. Where she made an immediate beeline for the carefully folded pile of clothes that Zhang Xinjie had left.
When he tried to remove her from the pile, certain that Zhang Xinjie would not appreciate cat fur all over his clothes, she made a plaintive wailing sound, as if her heart was breaking and that if he removed her from her nest she’d die on the spot. Despite the rational side of his brain pointing out that the cat was not going to die if he didn’t let her sleep on Zhang Xinjie’s clothes, the rest of him meant that he gave into the cat’s guilt trip.
He’d never seen a cat look smug until that point.
“Do we get to keep her?” Zhang Jiale seemed enamoured by the cat, cooing softly to her as he made a gentle hissing sound, trying to coax her to come closer. The cat remained aloof, sticking to her place on Zhang Xinjie’s shoulder, occasionally mewling for attention which he offered her absent-mindedly.
“Does she have a name?” Lin Jingyan questioned, unlike like Zhang Jiale, he wasn’t craning out of his seat in an attempt to get the new cat to come closer. He seemed to be close to giving in however.
“Not yet, management suggested that we announce her on Weibo when we come up with a name and I thought it would be best to take suggestions.”
“Maomao!” Qin Muyun called out only for Zhang Jiale to scoff, flapping one hand in disbelief.
“Ah you think that’s a good name, look at how she’s standing there, she’s a dignified cat something like Morning Mist!”
“Immeowvable Rock!” Song Qiying’s voice rang out and three heads turned to stare at him but he refused to back down. “Like vice-captain’s Zhang’s account because she likes him best.”
“How about Zhengui!”
“You can’t call a cat ‘Precious’, that’s too shameless, how would you call her with a straight face?”
“Fang Rui thinks you should name her Jingnyan.” Lin Jingyan paused for a moment as he mulled the name over in his head a few times before sighing. “Nyan. I see.” His gaze flicked back to his phone and began flying over the keyboard once more, he could almost hear Fang Rui’s laughter.
The discussion carried on for a long time, Zhang Xinjie taking notes the entire time until it slowly drew to a close and Han Wenqing glanced over to see a list of almost twenty names. He hadn’t expected his partner to be serious about opening naming his new cat to the rest of the team and he pointed to some of the more ridiculous names of the list doubtfully. Like Immeowvable Rock.
“Are you really considering names like Immeowvable Rock or Jingnyan?” The cat mewled from where she was curled up in Zhang Xinjie’s lap, unhappy that Han Wenqing had stopped petting her and he resumed obediently, waiting for his partner to answer.
“I plan to discuss her potential names with her. It is important that she accepts her name and is pleased by it and so I shall read out the names to her to see which ones she approves of more.” Han Wenqing wondered, briefly, why it was important for the cat to approve of her name but if Zhang Xinjie thought it was important, he was willing to accept that it was in fact important.
He was still convinced that the cat would not engage with the discussion seeing as it seemed like she was falling asleep.
“What do you think of Zhengui?” The cat in question rolled over onto her back, little white feet waving in the air but she refused to meet his eyes and Zhang Xinjie crossed the name off the list. Han Wenqing didn’t understand how that reaction constituted a rejection of the name but he suspected his input wasn’t needed and he settled for tickling at the cat’s stomach, soft murmur of Zhang Xinjie beside him comforting.
“You have to come to a decision soon.” Han Wenqing was pulled out of his thoughts, mostly admiring the curve of Zhang Xinjie’s neck when the cat twisted in his lap, abandoning him in favour of settling herself onto his vice-captain’s. He felt oddly betrayed by this.
“Immeowvable Rock or Morning Mist?” Zhang Xinjie hummed quietly, scratching over his cat’s ears as she rumbled in delight, rubbing her face against his chest. “Are you sure?” The cat batted at the paper and Zhang Xinjie smiled, the curve of his lips soft and sweet and he leant down to press a kiss to the top of her head. “Immeowvable Rock it is.” The cat- Immeowvable Rock, mewled before rolling onto her feet and taking her place on Zhang Xinjie’s shoulder once more.
“Bedtime,” Han Wenqing stated, and Zhang Xinjie followed him to his bedroom, placing Immeowvable Rock onto his bed, allowing her to roll happily all over the sheets. Han Wenqing offered his boyfriend a plaintive look, but Zhang Xinjie seemed unsympathetic to his plight, getting himself dressed for bed as he chided him to do the same.
“She can’t sleep on the floor Wenqing.”
“What about the cat bed?” It seemed to be a very nice cat bed in Han Wenqing’s opinion but Zhang Xinjie shook his head.
“She doesn’t like it, it’s only for one night.” Han Wenqing frowned but when Zhang Xinjie pressed a kiss to his cheek and led him to bed, curling against him, he gave in and let the cat worm her way between them, seemingly determined to sleep as close to Zhang Xinjie as possible. Which is what Han Wenqing liked to do.
“It’s only for one night,” he thought to himself, resigning himself to having Immeowvable Rock’s tail in his face for the rest of the night. “Just one night.”
It was not just one night. Zhang Xinjie had decided that because Immeowvable Rock preferred to sleep near him, that it would be better if the cat slept on their bed every night whether they slept in his room or Zhang Xinjie’s. And Han Wenqing wouldn’t mind if the cat would just share Zhang Xinjie but Immeowvable Rock seemed content to squirm in between them and not allow Han Wenqing to hold his boyfriend and-
Han Wenqing let his head slump against the desk as he realised he was having a fight with a cat over his boyfriend’s attention. He wondered when his life had come to this. The right thing to do, what Han Wenqing knew he should do, was go talk to Zhang Xinjie about the issue of Immeowvable Rock sleeping in their bed. However, the prospect of admitting out loud that he was jealous of the cat was unpalatable and he refused.
Han Wenqing was pulled out his thoughts by a quiet meow and he looked up to see the cat in question jumping onto his desk.
“This is your fault.” Immeowvable Rock tilted her head the side as if she were inviting him to continue, tail swishing back and forth. “There’s no need for you to sleep on him every night.” Han Wenqing sighed as Immeowvable Rock curled her tail over her feet, seemingly settling herself in place stubbornly. “Why can’t we share? Would it be so hard for you to sleep on his feet?” He reached out gently, scratching softly at Immeowvable Rock’s ears, smiling at the gentle purr that rumbled through her. “He does spoil you.”
Han Wenqing could recall Zhang Xinjie stating that he didn’t spoil the cat, that simply letting Immeowvable Rock sleep on their bed was not spoiling her but Han Wenqing had seen his vice-captain carting the cat around like a child whenever she decided she didn’t want to walk. It was always an adorable sight.
Immeowvable Rock’s eyes lidded open lazily as she went boneless on his desk, offering a lazy rumbling purr before she fell back asleep and Han Wenqing sighed, carefully transferring her from his desk to his lap.
And if Immeowvable Rock didn’t force herself between himself and Zhang Xinjie later that night? Well that just had to be a coincidence.
“Wait wait wait, I have a great idea!” Zhang Jiale darted off, pausing everything in the room as they waited for him to return.
“Why Immeowvable Rock?” Qin Muyun asked, pausing in his attempts to get Immeowvable Rock to let him pet her.
“I asked her what she thought of the names and she decided on Immeowvable Rock.” Song Qiying’s face lit up at his senior’s words, still competing with Qin Muyun as they both tried to keep the cat’s attention on them.
“Here!” Zhang Jiale came skidding back into view, little figurine held in his hand. A miniature Immoveable Rock and Zhang Xinjie nodded in approval.
“Good idea,” Immoveable Rock was placed next to Immeowvable Rock and Zhang Xinjie took a few photos before the team gathered around, offering their suggestions.
“If you put that in black and white then you can hide some of the issues there-“ Lin Jingyan was interrupted by Zhang Jiale, flapping one hand in protest.
“You can’t have the photos in black and white! You have to make sure everyone can admire her socks properly, what about that one, she’s yawning in that one, it’s very cute.”
“Senior do you need glasses like Senior Lin? It’s obvious that you should pick that one vice-captain Zhang, she’s smiling in that photo, it’s clearly the best!”
[Image of an all-black cat with white feet curled up around a detailed figurine of Immoveable Rock. The cat seems to be content and lazy and it looks as if she’s smiling at the photographer.]
Zhang Xinjie ✓: Please meet Immeowvable Rock, our newest member.
Huang Shaotian ✓ : @Yu_Wenzhou, now will you listen to me when I say we need to get a pet, look at how cute she is, so little and cute with her little socks, captain come on, we should get a pet for Blue Rain ours would be so much cuter than this cat, even if she is very cute.
Wang Jiexi ✓: She seems very sweet.
Ye Xiu ✓ : How did you even get a cat?
Yu Wenzhou ✓ : You should bring her to tactical discussions.
“Now you should take a picture with her, because you found her, here!” Zhang Jialie bundled Immeowvable Rock into Zhang Xinjie’s before raising his own phone and taking a few quick photos before holding them out for group approval.
[Image of Zhang Xinjie holding the same cat as the first photo, he’s smiling slightly and cradling the cat carefully. Immeowvable Rock is reaching up with one paw to bat at his glasses.]
Zhang Jiale ✓: Our new member likes vice-captain Zhang the best!
NumberOneClericFan: I didn’t expect to be attacked like this???? How is this so cute??? Immeowvable Rock was cute enough on her own, now I think I’m dying???
TyrannyFan8493: It’s so soft???? Surely this is illegal, I need emotional compensation I think I’m going to start crying with how cute this is!!
GloryFan3832: Ahhhh! Can’t believe Tyranny have a cat now!! Immeowvable Rock is such a good name????
Han Wenqing sighed, amusement curling at his lips as the day was derailed by taking more pictures of Immeowvable Rock in various poses. Zhang Jiale seemed the most enthusiastic about the photos, uploading the most onto his Weibo while still competing with the rest of the team to be the cat’s second favourite person, everyone well-aware that she liked Zhang Xinjie the best.
A fact that was once again proved when Immeowvable Rock squirmed out of Lin Jingyan’s grip in favour of leaping for Zhang Xinjie’s shoulder once more.
“It’s time for her dinner,” Immeowvable Rock mewled, seemingly in agreement as she kneaded her paws against his shoulder. The team nodded, waving and cooing goodbye and Han Wenqing mused briefly on the fact that it had taken less than a week for Immeowvable Rock to win over the entire team and most of the club. He wondered if that would be a problem.
“Come on, don’t be like that, it’s not so bad, be nice and sweet for me, you’re a good girl, you can be nice for me can’t you-?” Zhang Jiale’s eyes went wide when Lin Jingyan walked into the room, blinking in surprise and confusion at the scene. “I can explain.”
“Is that a mini Tyranny jacket?” Was the first thing out of Lin Jingyan’s mouth and Zhang Jiale nodded, handing over the smaller version of their team’s jacket. “Are you trying to put it on Immeowvable Rock?”
“Yes, the next time we do a team photo we could have her sitting beside us or in vice-captain Zhang’s arms and she’d look so adorable!”
“Does she want to wear the jacket?” Zhang Jiale blinked sheepishly as he revealed a handful of treats cupped in his hand. “Didn’t Zhang Xinjie say that treats would upset her balanced diet-“
“It’s only a few,” Despite being many years away from being a child, only two years younger than Lin Jingyan, in that moment he sounded exactly like a young boy trying to wheedle his way out of trouble. It was cute.
“So you’re bribing her?”
“What is this- you’re accusing me of being so immoral, do I look like Ye Xiu to you? I’m offering her a reward for being so good!” Zhang Jiale reached out one hand from Immeowvable Rock once more, carefully coaxing her closer to him. Lin Jingyan found himself watching the way his teammates face seemed to soften at the sight of Immeowvable Rock pressing her face against his hand.
Once she’d finished the treats she seemed content to let Zhang Jiale carefully dress her in the jacket and when he straightened, Immeowvable Rock tucked up safely in his arms, Lin Jingyan smiled at how they matched one another now.
“See, wasn’t I right that this is adorable?” Zhang Jiale’s lips were curved up in a bright smile, nosing gently at Immeowvable Rock as she batted at his ponytail with one hand. Lin Jingyan felt a strange warmth spreading in his chest at the sight, at the smile, the delight shining in his teammate’s eyes.
“Very cute.” And if he didn’t know if he was talking about Zhang Jiale or Immeowvable Rock, well, no one needed to know.
“Just because you bribed her with new toys doesn’t mean she likes you better! She just likes that stupid fluffy stick in your hand!” In the back of his mind, Qin Muyun knew that he was behaving ridiculously but as Song Qiying was behaving in the exact same way he wasn’t particularly concerned.
“Fine, you take the new toy and I bet she still likes me better!” Immeowvable Rock had already chosen her two favourite people but spot number three was still open for applications, and both Qin Muyun and Song Qiying were determined to be the ones to fill that spot.
Qin Muyun grabbed at the stick, flicking it across the floor temptingly, watching the way the cat perked up slightly, eyes following the movement of the fake mouse, ears twitching forward in interest. Song Qiying was determined to not lose the fight lying down and began calling for Immeowvable Rock, wriggling his fingers in an attempt to lure her closer.
Both players were aware that sitting on the floor and cooing at a vaguely uninterested cat made them look stupid but fortunately, there was no one around to see them. Unfortunately, that wasn’t true and Zhang Jiale was watching them, head tilted to the side in curiosity. When Han Wenqing and Zhang Xinjie turned the corner, Zhang Jiale motioned for them to be silent, pointing at the two younger players.
“Who do you think Immeowvable Rock likes better?” His voice was pitched low and Zhang Xinjie hummed, seemingly mulling the question over while Han Wenqing simply shrugged.
“Song Qiying feeds her more often but Qin Muyun likes to sit with her on his lap, it should be close.”
Meanwhile the other two were glaring at each other intermittently, still trying to lure the cat closer.
“Whoever she goes to is her favourite okay?” Song Qiying eyed the proffered hand warily before shaking it firmly, sealing their agreement.
Immeowvable Rock suddenly perked up, padding away on soft feet and both players held their breath, waiting to see who she’d chosen-
Only to watch as she stalked past them both to weave between Zhang Xinjie and Zhang Jiale’s legs, butting her head against them, clearly aiming for cuddles, which Zhang Xinjie seemed happy enough to give, scooping her up into his arms and murmuring something under his breath to her. Zhang Jiale shrugged at them, smile gracing his lips.
“Ahh don’t look so discouraged, when vice-captain Zhang is around, Immeowvable Rock won’t ever go to either of you. You’ll have to work harder.” Both of the younger players nodded seriously, as if he were offering them tips on their techniques in Glory before they both ran off, clearly plotting how to win the cat over and Zhang Jiale smiled, leaving them to battle it out.
“When Jiale offered you these you ate them immediately, won’t you come closer?” Lin Jingyan would happily admit that he felt slightly ridiculous, sitting cross legged on the floor, trying to win over a cat. Everyone else would often find Immeowvable Rock climbing onto their laps or pawing at them for affection.
All except him and he was starting to feel rejected.
“What are you doing?” And Lin Jingyan didn’t mean to jump, didn’t mean to startle and drop the treats but he did and Immeowvable Rock jumped up down from the desk to begin feasting. Lin Jingyan looked up guiltily to find Zhang Jiale smiling down at him, moving to sit beside him, nudging at him with his shoulder.
“Ahh Jingyan didn’t you tell me that we aren’t supposed to feed Immeowvable Rock treats? Are you going against the vice-captain’s instructions?” Lin Jingyan found himself overly aware of Zhang Jiale’s skin pressed against his own and he tried to distract himself from the contact with a question.
“How come she likes you so much?” Zhang Jiale hummed at the question as he called Immeowvable Rock over, the cat padding over happily, settling herself in his lap, eyes slipping shut as she decided that his lap was the perfect place to fall asleep.
“I don’t know, she just does. Here,” Lin Jingyan held back his jump when Zhang Jiale curled his fingers around his wrist, tugging him until his hand was situated in Immeowvable Rock’s fur. She cracked open one sleepy eye before deciding it wasn’t worth getting up and closing her eyes once more.
“See? She likes you!” Zhang Jiale hadn’t let go of Lin Jingyan’s wrist yet and he fought down a shiver at the contact. The other’s hand was warm against his skin, fingers pressing on the sensitive skin of his wrist and he wet his lips refusing to meet his teammate’s eyes.
Zhang Jiale felt a smile tug at his lips at the sight of the faint flush crawling up the back of Lin Jingyan’s neck but he kept his eyes on Immeowvable Rock, not ready to address the atmosphere hanging around them. And if he shuffled a little closer under the guise of moving Immeowvable Rock closer to Lin Jingyan, well, no one had to know.
“No.” Han Wenqing kept his face stern and unyielding, the same expression that had management folding to his demands, had people backing down and giving in almost immediately. It was a look that was nearly always effective, only failing against Ye Xiu and Zhang Xinjie. His long-time rival would simply laugh and quip that there was no need too look so serious when they weren’t in battle while Zhang Xinjie would simply stare him down until he was the one giving in.
But now there seemed to be someone else who was immune, and Han Wenqing found himself in a stare off with his boyfriend’s cat.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Immeowvable Rock had perfected Zhang Xinjie’s quietly unimpressed stare and was aiming it at him from where she was perched on a chair. Immeowvable Rock was a cat, he shouldn’t even be trying to reason with her but here he was.
“I watched Xinjie feed you earlier, he told me you’ve had enough to eat today considering the level of exercise you partake in,” not enough, in Han Wenqing’s opinion as if Immeowvable Rock rolled over onto her back and waved her paws in the air she’d get picked up and carried to her destination. Something she took full advantage of. “You don’t need more food, don’t look at me like that.”
The mewl was pathetic, as was the way Immeowvable Rock slumped on her chair, eyes round and pleading as it looked as if she were about to drop dead on the spot, curling up pitifully. Her next noise suggested that her heart was breaking, that he was denying her life saving nutrition and Han Wenqing knew she wasn’t starving, knew that Zhang Xinjie was scrupulously careful when it came to managing her diet.
But he still gave in, grabbing a clean bowl from the cupboard and-
“Wenqing?” Zhang Xinjie’s voice rang out behind him and both cat and human froze before Immeowvable Rock bolted off the chair and vanished out of the kitchen.
“Traitor.” Han Wenqing hissed to himself but Zhang Xinjie was waiting for an explanation and he knew that it was very obvious what he’d been doing and he turned to face the consequences.
“Were you going to feed Immeowvable Rock?” Han Wenqing wondered why Zhang Xinjie felt the need to ask, seeing as the food and the bowl were both in his hands but he nodded, admitting to the crime. “I told you I’ve fed her already, she’s not doing enough exercise to be fed again.”
“She looked sad.” Zhang Xinjie’s lips parted slightly, surprise written across his face before an amused smile tugged at his lips, even as he tried to hide it, possibly to spare Han Wenqing’s feelings. “Don’t laugh at me, she learnt your stare.”
“My stare?”
“The look you get when you’re determined to get something. The stare that always works on me.”
“She’s a cat Wenqing.” Zhang Xinjie’s voice was soft as he tugged the bowl and food out of his hands and back into the cupboard. “She’s a cat and she doesn’t know how to replicate my stare.”
“You didn’t see it Xinjie,” Han Wenqing offered but now Zhang Xinjie was cupping the back of his neck and the fact that Zhang Xinjie didn’t believe in the power of his cat was becoming rapidly less important.
It slipped his mind entirely when Zhang Xinjie captured his lips with his own, the kiss was soft and sweet, even as he could sense his boyfriend’s laughter. When they broke apart, Zhang Xinjie kept his arms wrapped around him, pressing his face in the crook of his neck and Han Wenqing could feel the curve of his smile against his skin.
But it didn’t matter if his boyfriend didn’t believe him about Immeowvable Rock’s ability to persuade, not when Zhang Xinjie was warm in his arms and Han Wenqing was content. And across the club, curled up on Lin Jingyan’s lap while Zhang Jiale fed her treats, Immeowvable Rock was content as well.