Archive of Our Own

The first thing Chu Wanning realizes after being transformed into a cat is that while there are an endless number of negatives, there are very few positives.  

One of which is being small and hard to spot, when trying to hide from wanderers on the road who may have nefarious intentions. Another is being agile and swift, meaning one is able to leap from high places and land safely on their own four paws. The last is that there is no chance of having to experience human-to-human interaction. 

Though these positives do not help him much, with how overwhelmingly negative the situation quickly becomes; when Ye Wangxi picks him up from the bushes, cooing at his meows and promising she would bring him to a safe place, those positives were all for naught. He could not explain to her what was going on. He could not slip out of her grasp to run. He was not large enough to attack her in any meaningful way. And so, the Beidou Immortal, Yuheng of the night sky, the honourable Chu Wanning, could simply exist in this tiny prison of a body and wait. 

- 

And wait he did. 

He was taken to the shelter first. He was given a small room to himself with a number of toys, a bed, a scratching post, a litterbox, food and water bowls, and a large window facing the main rooms that visitors walk through. Before he could enjoy these amenities, though, he was taken to the bath. 

Scurrying through bushes made one filthy as a human, so of course it was even moreso for a cat. He had to be drenched and shampood and aggressively dried with a towel, yowling all the while, before he could bebrought back to his gilded prison for the night. He stayed in bed all night, and the next day, too, not even bothering to lift his head for the people coming by to choose an animal to adopt.  

Getting adopted would ruin all his plans to escape. God forbid someone with sinister intentions senses that this little cat has the same qi signature as one of the most powerful cultivators of the modern age, and decides to capture him and hold him hostage. Though Chu Wanning doesn't think he still has his qi signature – and it’s probably better that he doesn’t. Getting adopted, or worse, captured once more, isn’t even the worst case scenario, but he’d still like to avoid it – there's a chance that, were Sect leader Xue to hear about it, he would simply laugh at how preposterous it sounds and not bother to send help. 

Chu Wanning has always prided himself on not getting into the same ridiculous situations as his disciples, or even as Xue Zhengyong himself, so if this story eventually reaches the ears of the cultivation world, he’ll lose all his face. That is the worst possible scenario. 

He bides his time. A few days pass; he gets fed twice a day, spending the rest of his time lying down and trying to make himself look undesirable. He’s aware that, though his human self is nothing to be impressed by, cats are generally considered cute no matter the soul that lies inside. Behaving as his typical cold self is his best bet. 

Early in the morning, four days after ending up in the shelter, a volunteer picks him up and tells him he’s meeting his possible forever-family. He wants to swipe his claws at her in frustration, but he knows it’s not her fault and so he simply waits. 

There’s a room Chu Wanning has seen other animals be taken into to meet people throughout the past few days. They go in and are taken back to their rooms after around half an hour, if the clock just barely in sight of Chu Wanning’s prison is accurate. He has two opportunities to run away, so long as he can escape the volunteer's grasp as he’s being taken in or out of the room. 

There’s no shot when being taken in. The volunteer keeps a firm grip on him and only places him down on the floor after closing the door. He continues to scheme, primly sitting down and not even tossing a glance at the person hoping to adopt him. 

“Haha, you weren’t lying.” A terrifyingly familiar voice fills the room. “He really doesn’t bother with anyone.” 

“Sorry, Mr. Mo.” The volunteer giggles nervously, having taken a seat next to Mo Ran, his visitor. “You said there are already a lot of cats there, though. Maybe he’d warm up in an environment like that.” 

Mo Ran. Mo Weiyu. One of Chu Wanning’s three disciples, now grown into an impressive young man, and the only one who can’t stand his Shizun. 

“Hmm. Maybe. Ye Wangxi did tell me she found him all alone.” Chu Wanning glances over just at the right time to see Mo Ran uncross his legs and start to manspread, just as he’s lectured him for a hundred times. “Do you think the other cats would help? All of them are rescues as well, you see...” 

Chu Wanning was unfamiliar with the fact that Mo Ran had adopted a number of cats. He’d always seemed more like a dog person – though maybe that has more to do with how he behaves like a silly, tail-wagging puppy himself – but no matter what, this could be good. If Mo Ran, a fellow cultivator, brought him home, perhaps he’d be able to signal to him what’s going on and get him to create some sort of curse-breaking talisman. As embarrassing as it would be to have to rely on not only his disciple, but his disciple who already vehemently dislikes him, getting adopted by Mo Ran is his best option. 

So he doesn’t resist. He acts a little less cold throughout the meeting, after realizing who it is, and Mo Ran seems overjoyed. The volunteer leads the two of them to the front desk after putting Chu Wanning in a stuffy cat carrier and has Mo Ran read through the adoption agreement. He skims through it, likely already familiar with the rules and procedures, and signs it easily.  

“One last thing. Normally, we’d say bring him back in a week to get him neutered”- fear courses down Chu Wanning’s spine at the thought - “but it looks like he got neutered at some point in the past already.” 

“Oh! I was wondering why there wasn’t anything in the paperwork about that.” Mo Ran smiles at her and picks up the cat carrier for the final time. “Thank you so much. Have a nice day.” 

“O-of course! Goodbye!” 

Hm. It seemed this curse was merciful in some ways; if he got his sex organs removed as a cat, would they still be gone when he breaks the curse? Would he have to go through the rest of his life with the struggles of an ancient Chinese eunuch? Perish the thought. 

Though it’s not necessarily the curse’s fault that Mo Ran was the first to find him, Chu Wanning feels the urge to shake his fists at it anyways.  

Hm. Mo Ran. 

Contrary to popular belief, Chu Wanning does not hate Mo Ran, nor does he get very annoyed with him anymore. It’s true that when Mo Ran first entered his tutelage, around 8 years ago now, he was quite a frustrating disciple. He cultivated an excellent golden core even though he was late to the game, but he spent much of his nights sneaking off to love hotels with non-cultivators and spent all his days scurrying after Shi Mei, hopelessly trying to incur his favour. 

The problem was not how much interest Mo Ran had in people other than his shizun. The problem was how much favour he held towards things that would hurt his cultivation, like promiscuity. Besides, if it had been about interest in Chu Wanning, he’d pretty much ruined that after just a few weeks of having Mo Ran as a disciple. His cold disposition and inability to show care like a normal person drove his newest disciple away from him and into the arms of anyone who could fulfill him. 

Chu Wanning cares about his disciples from a distance, now, not making the effort to get too close. He'd even say they aren’t really his disciples anymore, after he’d no longer been their direct supervisor for the past few years, but Shi Mei had gotten more flusteredly angry than Chu Wanning had ever seen and Xue Meng had almost broken down into tears when he’d tried to say so. Mo Ran had just scoffed at the two of them, and later on, Chu Wanning overheard him saying that he was probably trying to absolve himself of his duties and the other two should now finally understand how much he sucks. 

Chu Wanning has not improved with showing care over the years. Even a small attempt to express pride towards the men he’d taught for years had easily been misconstrued as a complete and utter lack of care. 

He gave up, after that, and his disciples have likely been better off since. 

“Hmm.” Mo Ran plops the cat carrier in the passengers seat and buckles up the seatbelt, bending down to look Chu Wanning right in the eye. “Should I name you now? Should I wait for my boss...?” 

Boss? 

“Ah, but you’re so cute.” Mo Ran coos. “No one could blame me for wanting to stake a claim on such a cute kitty...” 

He closes the passenger door and hops in on the other side. Chu Wanning meows when the car starts to move. The feeling of a moving car is comforting – it's the most normal thing he’s experienced in the past 5 days, anyways, even though he’d never liked driving. 

“Anyways,” Mo Ran continues, speaking to a cat like a dummy, “you’re gonna like the other cats. I hope. We only take the ones that are the hardest to get along with, so you’ll be able to relate.” 

He continues to blab about some things Chu Wanning doesn’t care to listen to. He tunes him out, only hearing key words like ‘cafe’ and ‘antisocial’. He meows involuntarily a few times, embarrassing as it is, but he continues to behave like Mo Ran doesn’t exist. Until - 

“Wanwan?”  

Chu Wanning abruptly turns his little head to stare. Mo Ran is just tapping the side of the wheel as he turns the car into a parking lot. 

“Aha, you reacted to that one! Perfect! Then Wanwan is your new name. You need a cute one, or the patrons won’t take as much of a liking to you.” Mo Ran continues. He hops out of the car, picking up Chu Wanning’s carrier in one hand and a bag of clothes in the other. He bumps the car door closed with his shoulder and it locks automatically. “You’re lucky I met you first. The boss likes to give cute kitties like you names like Cinderblock. Or Leonard. Bleh!” 

Mo Ran is speaking to him like one would speak to a toddler, and though it makes sense to assume that he has the mental capacity of a 6 month old, Chu Wanning still takes offense to it. Mo Ran hadn’t even bothered to explain why they were now walking up to a building with a big sign stating “WonderCat Cafe” in giant pink letters above the door instead of a modest apartment building, like Chu Wanning had rightfully expected. A bell rings when he opens the door. 

The building is as cutesy on the inside as it is on the outside. Pastel decorations cover the walls, short, cute sayings referencing cats littered between them. There’s nobody inside of the building, at least not in the main room, except... 

“Hey, boss-man.” Mo Ran says cheerily. “Look who I found this morning.” 

...Chu Wanning is concerned with the ethics of this place. Do people not bother to let their cats settle in before taking them in for work? For a cat, living in a cat cafe would be kind of like having a full-time job. Do they not feel the need to vet the cats beforehand? See if he has his shots, or make sure he won’t attack anyone?  

Has Chu Wanning just been transferred from a boring beige prison to a cutesy pink one?  

“New talent?” The boss of this strange establishment says. Is it a joke? Will Chu Wanning have to perform? “Ah, he’s adorable. He’ll be scooped up in no time. Alright, let him out, let him explore a bit before we open.” 

“Will do.” 

He gets freed from his cage and immediately leaps onto a table, surveying the area for weak spots. This place doesn’t seem to have any ties to a cultivation sect or anything of the like, though there are some crudely made talismans attached to the door to ward off evil. Since Mo Ran works here, Chu Wanning assumes that he wanted this place to have some sort of protection – though it’s a bit meaningless, because large cities like this usually don’t have small threats that would go door to door, like a small town or rural area might. When Chu Wanning next sees Mo Ran in his human form, he’ll be sure to mention it. 

...No. He can’t mention it, because that would let him in on the fact that he’s Wanwan. 

How unfortunate that this new name sounds so similar to his own. Chu Wanning can see it now; if Mo Ran finds out that he was Wanwan, the next time they talk, he’ll probably call him it to embarrass him. Mo Ran uses the knowledge of his thin face for evil, embarrassing him on purpose with the simplest words. 

His other disciples are far more filial. Shi Mei often has to talk down Xue Meng from attacking Mo Ran when he says his quips, and then takes it upon himself to lecture Mo Ran about them anyways. Chu Wanning feels some pity for Shi Mei, having to mother that duo of grown-up children.  

(Chu Wanning does the same, but he does not reap the rewards that Shi Mei does. Mo Ran’s devotion, perhaps, and Xue Meng’s comfortability. There's a major difference between being lectured by a friend, with a sweet and soft voice and gentle facial features, and being lectured by your master who can only spit poison at those he holds most dear.) 

He ignores these thoughts and wanders around the large main room, noticing the many places for cats to perch, play, and scratch, as well as the small buckets of toys at every table. It’s a nice environment, he’ll admit, for an actual cat. He meows again, scratching at a scratching post while continuing to scheme. 

Chu Wanning’s only logical guess for what this place is is that it’s a cat cafe, which he’s heard of before, but that cats are there to get adopted from shelters, like they’re being advertised. Maybe some workers or volunteers at the shelter reached out to the cafe about him, since he’s unlikely to be adopted and most people would just pass him by, so he can get some more exposure. 

If that’s the case, it may not be the worst scenario. Mo Ran works here, and he presumably had his uniform in that bag of clothes and is changing into it now, so Chu Wanning knows that there’s a trustworthy cultivator he might be able to charm into adopting him. Mo Ran, against Chu Wanning’s advice, has taken to drawing and designing his own talismans to sell, so he has the necessary materials at his home to transform him back. 

There’s a voice in his head reminding him that if Mo Ran does adopt him, when he finds out that his precious cat friend is actually the shizun he hates so much, he’ll never forgive him for pretending. Chu Wanning has no right to be afraid of something like that, though; he has no claim to Mo Ran’s heart, or even the easy goodwill he shows to everyone around him.  

Everyone around him except for you, he reminds himself. He meows again and sits demurely on a table with the adage “cats rule the world” plastered up on the wall above it. Not the most creative saying, but he supposes it will do. 

He sits there for a while, licking his paws and glancing around the room, when finally the door Mo Ran disappeared through opens again and draws his attention. 

Oh. 

Chu Wanning’s dignified, capable, student’s work uniform seems to be a revealing maid outfit. Had Chu Wanning been human, he may have started to cry a river of tears at the sight. 

His pecs are pushing through the fabric as if he was wearing something a size too small, but not only that – that voluptuous chest is peaking out at the top, pressed together and bulging as an effortless imitation of cleavage. His long black hair is tied, as per usual, into a messy high ponytail to keep it out of the way. A corset cinches his waist, though Chu Wanning knows that Mo Ran already has a curvaceous figure with a drool-worthy dip in the waist. The only shame is that the corset covers up his perfect abs, which Chu Wanning has been privy to see only when Mo Ran wants to show off, to make Xue Meng jealous and Shi Mei flustered. 

Below that is a short skirt, a frilly apron tied around his waist, and long white socks reaching just above his knees. Mo Ran’s legs are as muscular and strong as the rest of him, with enough power to crack a watermelon or crush someone’s head into pulp. His legs are waxed clean of hair, just like his chest, and on his feet, as the final touch, are a pair of low-heeled Mary Janes. 

Chu Wanning stares. 

Mo Ran is already distractingly attractive in his regular clothes, when all you can see is a hint of his muscular physique and the sharp angles of his handsome face. It’s bad enough that Chu Wanning, as his shizun, can’t keep his eyes off Mo Ran in their day-to-day life, can’t help but feel small beside his taller, wider, stronger disciple. That attraction is suddenly too strong for him to handle, and watching Mo Ran and his boss talk casually while he’s dressed like that, showing off so much more of that body than Chu Wanning was ever meant to see, he can’t help but let out a loud meow that catches the attention of the object of his desires. 

“Wanwan!” Mo Ran beams at him, cutting the conversation short and walking over to scoop him up. “Did you miss me?” 

Chu Wanning mewls again, completely supported by Mo Ran’s arms in a princess carry. He paws at the air, trying to escape, but Mo Ran just laughs affectionately. 

“He seems to like you.” The boss says. Chu Wanning meows once more. 

“He doesn’t really seem to like anything.” Mo Ran coos at him. “He’s adorable. But so prim and proper.” 

“Hopefully he warms up throughout the day. He’s even more frigid than Cinderblock.” 

Mo Ran looks at Chu Wanning with a face that says ‘see?’ as if a cat is supposed to be able to understand human language and the complexities of names. Really though, Chu Wanning can understand, but he’s not paying any attention to the conversation at hand – his head is stuck in a loop of don’t look at his pecs, don’t look at his pecs, for the love of god don’t look at his pecs, even though nobody would care if he did. 

He reminds himself that he will someday be human again and when that day comes, Mo Ran’s memories with ‘Wanwan’ will be sullied with the bitter fact that it was actually his old, ugly, cruel shizun the whole time. Ah, the humiliation that will unfold; someone like Chu Wanning could never be likened to a cute, pure white cat. The entire cultivation world will laugh when they hear this story. 

“Maybe Wanwan and Cinderblock will become friends.” Mo Ran muses, adjusting his grip on Chu Wanning. “Alright. Sorry, Wanwan, I need to put you down now.” 

As if Chu Wanning wanted to be picked up by Mo Ran in the first place. He ignores the treacherous voice in the back of his head that tells him you just wish you were human experiencing this which Chu Wanning chooses to ignore. 

He settles back in at his table. Mo Ran’s boss eventually departs into an office behind the register, and Chu Wanning is afraid his eyes are about to be cursed with the sight of that short, and, ahem, exceptionally wide man in the same getup as his tall, attractive disciple. Thankfully, though, all that happens is that Mo Ran bids him goodbye, turns on some Kpop music, and starts preparing the place for visitors. As he cleans up, making sure the tables and floors are spick and span, two more tall men enter through the front door.  

The open sign hasn’t been turned around yet, so it’s not surprising that they simply greet Mo Ran, have a short conversation with him, and then enter the back room to change into their own maid outfits. 

Maybe Chu Wanning is biased. But though these two men are also muscular and tall, they’re not nearly as attractive as Mo Ran. 

The two of them unfortunately also take a liking to Wanwan, and even after they release the other cats into the main room, they come up to him to attempt to play and baby-talk him. Chu Wanning simply stalks away, leaping to another table to pretend they aren’t there. 

Eventually, after the cats have settled in and the three men have neatened the place up, they open for the day. Chu Wanning is apprehensive about this whole buff maid cat cafe thing; there’s no way they get that much business, right? Is Mo Ran just wasting his time, slaving away for this place with little reward? 

The number of patrons that come in is surprising. Chu Wanning allows them to feed him treats, as he is a little hungry, but avoids them otherwise. 

He’s just biding his time, he reminds himself as he takes yet another treat from a table of two girls cooing at him. 

- 

“Repeat after me. Furi-furi!” 

“Furi-furi!” 

“Shaka-shaka!” 

“Shaka-shaka!” 

“Moe-moe kyuuun!”  

“Moe-moe kyuuun!” 

“And now, my friends, your drinks have been blessed with the maid’s magical happiness spell.” Mo Ran beams at the girls, sitting there giggling hysterically. Mo Ran has long gotten used to being subjected to teasing from the patrons, and can’t find it in himself to feel embarrassed or insulted; after all, half of the girls who come by end up either asking for his number or becoming a repeat customer with the intent to see him again. 

Mo Ran is something of a fan favourite at WonderCat Cafe. He’s more used to enhancing the charm to get what he wants out of others than his coworkers, and what he wants from their visitors is for them to have a good time, maybe come back, and maybe adopt a cat. 

The whole point of the cafe is that the cats there are the least likely ones to be adopted, from shelters all over the city. Some have physical problems, like one little black cat who’s half blind, or a tabby that’s missing half a leg, and some struggle to interact with people. The point of the cafe is for these cats to get adopted, or at least to experience a lot of love throughout their time there. 

Though, some take to it better than others... 

“Mo Ran!” Luo Fenghua scurried up behind him, holding a familiar white cat. “Wanwan got into another fight!” 

“Again?” Mo Ran sighs. Wanwan yowls at Luo Fenghua, who looks scared for his life, and so Mo Ran takes the fluffy little cat off his hands. “Wanwan! Bad boy! We don’t fight other kitties.” 

Wanwan simply meows pathetically, going limp in Mo Ran’s grasp. None of them have been able to figure this little guy out – he's adorable, that’s for sure, but he’s exceptionally indifferent to any being other than Mo Ran and a few of the fellow cafe cats. He seems to be alright with Mo Ran, becoming the soft and sweet cat he’d always known Wanwan could be, yet he becomes vicious when faced with some of the other cats. Mo Ran can’t even count the number of fights and squabbles Wanwan has gotten into with the other cats on two hands; it exceeds that number by far, and it’s only the third day of Wanwan’s cafe life. 

Mo Ran likes Wanwan, he really does, but he’s not the best PR for the cafe, and even the boss has started to get annoyed with him for bringing him here. The fact is that Wanwan causes a lot of issues and no amount of training helps. 

“We’re going to find a solution for this.” Mo Ran tells Wanwan, cradling the squirmy cat against his bosom. “Don’t you worry.” 

...And that’s how Mo Ran ended up adopting a cute white cat with the worst behavioural issues he’s ever seen. He goes through the paperwork with his boss, who’s unfortunately relieved to see Wanwan go, and mails to the shelter Wanwan is from. After all, the agreement was only that Wanwan would go and live at the cafe temporarily, until someone could fully adopt him.  

He brings Wanwan home at the end of his shift in the same carrier he used to take him to the cafe. There’s a feeling he gets that he just made a bigger decision than he actually did, but when he sees Wanwan’s content, nearly happy face, he knows it was the right call.  

Working as a maid at WonderCat Cafe has its ups and downs. Mo Ran generally enjoys the work; he gets to talk with a lot of people, play with cats, and show off the body he’s been working hard for since he was a twiggy little 14 year old. Though there is a sense of bitterness along with working there that Mo Ran can never shake off. 

Chu Wanning has been something of a poison to him ever since he became his disciple at Sisheng Peak. Mo Ran hadn’t known he had such a strong aptitude for cultivation until he became Chu Wanning’s disciple and was trained so hard he was forced to realize his full scope of abilities; he was glad about that, and although he feels less bitter towards Chu Wanning than he did years ago, it’s a feeling that has never been able to dissipate completely. 

Chu Wanning is the reason Mo Ran dresses like a cute maid and works at a cafe in the day, yet spends his evenings creating talismans to sell, and spends many nights going on missions as a cultivator worthy of his status as a zongshi. Chu Wanning is the reason Mo Ran needs to slave away to make money, because he put Mo Ran in a world of debt. 

(There’s also an urge Mo Ran feels with Chu Wanning that makes him uncomfortable. An urge to show off, maybe, to say ‘are you finally proud of me, shizun?’ as if he hasn’t been practically disowned as a disciple. An urge to prove himself, an urge to be someone that Chu Wanning respects. To be someone that Chu Wanning wants. Because maybe Chu Wanning only views him as dirt on the bottom of his pristine white shoes, but Mo Ran has never been able to return that feeling. Chu Wanning ignites the fiercest passion in his blood, unknowingly keeping his heart beating day by day.  

Yet the bitterness remains, and so that urge stays hidden.) 

...Fuck Chu Wanning, seriously. 

- 

Chu Wanning settles into Mo Ran’s apartment well enough. It's a bit different than he expected – Mo Ran is the type to go over the top in his living space, but the place is pretty bare bones. He’s not sure why Mo Ran chooses to live like this, since his income has to be pretty high. Sisheng peak pays its working cultivators well, not even considering the bonus Mo Ran must get for how overly powerful he is, plus he works at the cafe, plus he sells talismans on the side. The cafe seems to pay better than he thought, though, because one day Chu Wanning overheard the two other men working there muttering about how it’s a little embarrassing to be dressed up like that, but the salary makes it worth it. 

Mo Ran doesn’t have to live in the smallest apartment Sisheng has to offer, that’s all. Part of being a part of a cultivation sect is that they offer apartments at a decreased cost. Mo Ran should easily be able to live in a place big enough for him to not constantly be bumping heads with a cat. 

To be honest, it’s kind of irritating Chu Wanning. He likes the place, likes the traces of Mo Ran that are all over and the fact that he gets to understand his disciple so much better, even if that disciple doesn’t return his interest. But Chu Wanning can’t lose sight of the fact that he’s here on a mission to create a talisman that will be able to reverse this curse – it might be a bit of a struggle, since his focus is on barrier techniques and engineering, so he has to be fully focused on the task, and he has to make sure Mo Ran doesn’t catch on. 

Except Chu Wanning gets free reign over the house for exactly one night before Mo Ran baby-proofs it. 

Chu Wanning, little as he is right now, cannot be likened to a baby! He can be trusted to go through Mo Ran’s drawers! Yet, no. Mo Ran baby-proofs every cabinet except the ones in the kitchen that just have dishes or cutlery inside. When Chu Wanning yowls over it, Mo Ran just coos at him and baby-talks at him until he hides under the table to escape it. 

He needs to figure out a new plan. 

The talisman materials were the first to be hidden away, most likely since Mo Ran wouldn’t want his precious Wanwan to accidentally create a dangerous talisman and hurt himself. Not like that would ever happen with a regular cat... Chu Wanning should lecture Mo Ran about his foolishness next time they see each other as humans, he concludes, though he knows he’ll change his mind. Nowadays, when he runs into Mo Ran, he can’t ever think of the right words to say. His disciple is too cold to him, like all of the warmth in his body dissipates as soon as he sees Chu Wanning’s ugly face. His disciple is also too distractingly attractive, even when he’s impolite, to allow Chu Wanning time to think of something to say that might defuse the tension. 

Their conversations are even more stilted and awkward than one a person might have with a stranger. Chu Wanning is familiar with awkward conversations, particularly as a person that others aren’t inclined to interact with; it’s worse when it’s his disciple, who he knows hates him, but he can’t help feeling those unwelcome feelings of pride and attraction and the pull towards him. 

But Wanwan is precious to Mo Ran. He sees it in Mo Ran’s gorgeously tanned face, in the soft expression he can’t help but make when Wanwan approaches him. He feels it in the rough hands that ruffle his fluffy fur gently when he knows Mo Ran is strong enough to throw him three blocks away. He hears it in Mo Ran’s amused and fond voice when he tells Wanwan not to do something, or when he’s talking to him as if he were a baby. 

Chu Wanning isn’t Wanwan, not really. Because Wanwan deserves these kind things, this loving treatment, and Chu Wanning doesn’t. Wanwan isn’t the one lying to Mo Ran, Chu Wanning is. Most of all, Mo Ran deserves a good cat; the cat he believes Wanwan to be. So Chu Wanning will swallow his pride and give into his shameful desire to be cared for, for the sake of his disciple. 

- 

The day after going home with Mo Ran, he goes back to work and comes back with Xue Meng in tow. Xue Meng seems worried, almost bizarrely so, since Chu Wanning has never seen him so out of sorts before. Maybe Xue Meng feels the need to put on a brave face in front of him because he’s his uncaring shizun and not his cousin, who, though he teases, loves his family very much.  

Mo Ran seats him down in the living room and gets him a glass of water, worriedly asking what’s wrong. He takes the seat beside and leans closer, obviously concerned, and Chu Wanning’s little heart can’t help but hurt as he bumbles over and sits on his lap. 

“I’m afraid you’re not going to take it well.” Xue Meng says, voice shaky. “You - I mean, please think for a few seconds after I say this before responding.” 

“What is it? Is something going on with aunt and uncle? Shi Mei? I won’t freak out, I swear.” 

“No. Not them.” Xue Meng takes a deep breath, then exhales it all quickly. Mo Ran’s hands in his fur feel stiffer than usual. “Shizun has been missing for eleven days.” 

Mo Ran freezes. 

Chu Wanning stays relaxed. Of course, there’s no reason for him to worry – he is Chu Wanning, after all, so he knows exactly where this ‘missing person’ is.  

“Chu Wanning is missing?” He sounds oddly fragile and quiet, hands still frozen on Chu Wanning’s back. “You’re not fucking with me, right?” 

“Would I joke about something like this?” Xue Meng snaps. “Be serious!” 

Mo Ran stays silent for a few moments, possibly pondering what to say, and eventually settles on, “what does that have to do with me?” 

An arrow pierces Chu Wanning’s heart.  

He sometimes wishes he could go back in time, back to when Mo Ran followed him around like a duckling trailing behind its mother; he wishes he could force himself to speak softer, be more forgiving. The Chu Wanning of those times would never assume that a disciple of his own, one he’s exceptionally fond of, would someday say “what does Chu Waning have to do with me?” Yet of course a person like Mo Ran would never be able to like Chu Wanning in the way he wishes to be liked by him. 

If he could go back and be a better shizun, would Mo Ran still say things like this about him? Would Mo Ran still act like he didn’t exist when they passed each other at Sisheng peak? Would Chu Wanning still only discover how it feels to be cared for by Mo Ran when he’s not even truly himself? 

None of these questions have answers, and so all Chu Wanning does is climb off of Mo Ran’s lap and settle in a few inches away instead of pondering. 

“What?” Xue Meng seethes, temper flaring once more. “How can you say that” 

“Chu Wanning wouldn’t give a fuck if either of us went missing,” Mo Ran snaps back, “so why should I bother with him?” 

“What?” 

“I hope Chu Wanning is found.” Mo Ran says coldly. “But I don’t feel it’s my responsibility to go looking for him.” 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Xue Meng stands suddenly, backing away from his cousin. “Shizun is the reason you are where you are today, fucking dog. Does he mean nothing to you?” 

“Shizun doesn’t care about me! Chu Wanning made it clearer than anything that he has no respect or care for me. I think the both of us are happy to never have to bother with each other again.” 

“Shizun has done so much for you! Who do you think it was who paid off your debt to my mom?” 

Mo Ran bursts into laughter, almost hysterically. “Paid off my debt? Paid off my fucking debt? He’s the one who put me in debt!” 

Oh. 

Mo Ran had, in his early days at Sisheng Peak, once picked a very expensive and rare medicinal flower that Wang Chuqing had been cultivating for many years, thereby reversing all of her progress with it. She hadn't been nearly as furious as Wanning had been, and so he took it upon himself to punish Mo Ran, giving him two options: he could either accept a brutal whipping that could leave him bedridden for weeks, or be in debt until he could pay off the cost of the flower.

Neither option was rather fair, though, so after Mo Ran chose the debt, Chu Wanning's guilt led him to pay off the amount himself. As an apology for threatening to whip his innocent, fresh-faced disciple. He'd told Wang Chuqing to let Mo Ran know, so he could have peace of mind, but it seems she forgot.

“He paid twice the amount he said you owed and said it was for you.” 

“Oh, yeah. I’m sure he’d do that and not have somebody let me know what a good, caring shizun he is.” Mo Ran sneers. “That’s bullshit.” 

“Okay, sure, you think that’s bullshit. What about when he stopped my dad, your uncle, from kicking you out of the sect for robbing that Rong Jiu guy?” 

Mo Ran’s passion seems to dull at that, like a splash of water on a roaring fire. He laughs again, weakly this time. “Uncle was gonna kick me out of the sect?” 

“...” Xue Meng, for a moment, looks a little guilty under all that rage, as if he feels bad for telling him this information in an argument instead of a calm conversation. But he still fires right back up. “Sisheng peak doesn’t respect horrid acts like that. Shizun told him since you’re his disciple, it was his fault for not teaching you right, and demanded that he be punished instead.” 

“What...?” 

“Shizun demanded that he get whipped as pension.”  

“Did he?” 

Xue Meng just glares at him. 

The story isn’t as dramatic as Xue Meng’s retelling. It was simple, truly; Mo Ran was a troubled teen who hadn’t grown up with the same guidance as the typical rich young master learning cultivation. Chu Wanning clearly hadn’t done enough, as his master, to drill in the morals of the sect. And so, should the punishment not fall on him? 

“But... but what about Shi Mei? When Shi Mei got put into a fucking coma for 3 months because Chu Wanning didn’t try to rescue him, and then didn’t even visit him in the hospital?” 

“Mo Ran. You can’t be this fucking stupid.” Xue Meng looks furious enough to punch out his cousin’s teeth. “Shi Mei and shizun were in the same battle, fighting the same enemies. Shi Mei’s cultivation wasn’t that strong, you know that, but shizun’s is really strong, so he was just left bedridden. How was he supposed to save Shi Mei if he couldn’t even save himself?” 

Mo Ran doesn’t respond.  

Chu Wanning risks a glance up at him, and regrets it when he sees an expression never before seen on his usually lighthearted disciple. A look of horror, almost, with tears collecting in the corners of his eyes. He doesn’t move to wipe them when they begin to fall. Chu Wanning meows at him, and for the first time, it doesn’t draw Mo Ran’s fond gaze. 

Had Mo Ran not been aware of these things? 

It would be a stretch to say that Chu Wanning is a good person, much less a good shizun. One could say that he truly cares for his disciples, and though they’d be right, his disciples probably aren’t aware of it. Chu Wanning has a terminal issue; he’s completely unlikeable, for so many reasons. His looks, his personality, his high status. He’s known since the day he accepted Xue Meng as his first disciple that he would fail him,and guilt has followed him ever since that day. How selfish can he be? Chu Wanning took in a disciple despite not being deserving of one, and then two more without making any improvement. 

Chu Wanning has gone through his relationship with Mo Ran knowing that there are no good acts he could do that would change the way his disciple sees him, so he doesn’t expect the broken look on his face when he hears about those so-called selfless acts of the past.  

Chu Wanning is afraid. Perhaps it would’ve been better for Mo Ran to live in ignorance of the side of his shizun that wants to be better – all Chu Wanning wants to do is turn back time to avoid that idiotic curse, so that Mo Ran wouldn’t be forced to reconcile that Chu Wanning tries but is too pathetic to succeed. 

Xue Meng simmers down and looks upon his pitiful cousin one last time to say, “I’m leaving. Call me when you grow a fucking brain.” 

Mo Ran doesn’t move for several minutes after Xue Meng leaves. 

It’s the sort of thing Chu Wanning was never meant to see, this vulnerability. It’s a sight meant for someone closer to him, someone that he values as more than a thorn in his side. It’s a sight meant for Shi Mei, probably, who Mo Ran has always been soft on. Chu Wanning feels like an unwanted voyeur. 

He feels as frozen as Mo Ran is, sitting beside him in this cursed prison of a body and afraid to move. Chu Wanning has never been good at reading other’s feelings, but Mo Ran’s right now are especially difficult to parse. His expression is blank, face in his hands. Chu Wanning can’t even tell if he’s breathing. 

Are these small facts of life really what has put Mo Ran into this state? Is he not the one who said, so long ago, that nothing could change the way he sees Chu Wanning? 

Eventually, though, he stands. He walks away, puts cat food in Wanwan’s bowl, and locks himself in his bedroom. 

Chu Wanning meows and scratches at the door until nightfall. It does not open. 

- 

Mo Ran lets him in the next morning, and for days, it seems like he can't bear to leave his desk. 

Chu Wanning isn’t sure what the reasoning behind it is; he still doesn’t understand how Mo Ran must be feeling, and his behaviour isn’t revealing anything. Unease settles itself in Chu Wanning’s stomach, watching Mo Ran make talisman after talisman and read book after book. All the books have to do with cultivation in some form, and Chu Wanning is surprised to see that his own informational book about barrier techniques is in the mix. 

The book didn't sell very well. Although barriers are important, they’re boring compared to more practical forms of cultivation. Though it wasn’t a problem, because every time another copy of An Introduction to Barrier Techniques sold, he thought about how the person who bought it may have been interested in barrier techniques but couldn’t find anyone to teach them, or that he was helping someone find their true passion in cultivation. He hadn’t known that Mo Ran had bought one as well, and for some reason, it makes those pipe dreams of the book making a difference in someone’s life feel even more pathetic. Mo Ran had bought it, yet he had never shown any interest in barrier techniques. Nor does it seem like he’s read it before at all, if the fresh scent and uncracked spine of the novel are to be trusted. 

So Mo Ran sits and reads, or sits and writes, or sits and ponders. He gets up to feed Chu Wanning and then goes back to his desk. Perhaps he’s practicing inedia. Chu Wanning watches him day by day, and he's relentless in his pointless activities. 

A week passes. Mo Ran calls Xue Meng after those 7 days, saying that he’s sorry and he wants to help. The call lasts a lot longer than Chu Wanning expected, based on how silent Mo Ran has been. He can’t hear a lot of what Xue Meng says, and he can’t glean much from Mo Ran’s side – he leaves most of the talking to Xue Meng. But when it ends, Mo Ran doesn’t leave like Chu Wanning expects. He simply picks him up for the first time in a week, kisses him on his forehead and then all over his belly, and then goes to the kitchen to make himself a meal. 

Maybe he didn’t leave because nobody has any leads as to where Chu Wanning could be, so there’s no actual search able to happen. He didn’t inform anyone of where his mission was, nor what sort of beast he was facing. Any other traces were left by Wanwan, not Chu Wanning, and are therefore unhelpful.  

Chu Wanning has resented this new, tiny, useless body of his since acquiring it, and now is no different. It angers him to not be able to stand up as tall as he should and say ‘there’s no need to worry, I’ve been here all along.’ It angers him to be faced with others’ pointless fretting when he’s been safe and sound the whole time. 

It’s been 18 days since Chu Wanning got transformed into a cat. It’s been 7 days since Mo Ran went to work, leaving him no chances to take a crack at breaking his own curse. He can only thank god when the next day Mo Ran gives him a billion kisses, looking like he’s on the verge of tears, and leaves for work. 

Chu Wanning acts immediately. Mo Ran could come back anytime, after all. 

He scurries into the bedroom and leaps onto Mo Ran’s desk. He spends some time fiddling with the babyproof lock on his talisman drawer, whacking it and pressing on it, to no avail. He yowls at it and ignores it in anger and yet it still does not open. 

It’s the first time he’s been this alone since his time at the shelter. At the time, he’d been scheming thinking of this very moment; a time he’d finally be able to make something of this situation. Yet now, actually faced with the task, it seems more daunting than anything he’s done so far. Working at the cat cafe – because, yes, although he was a cat, it felt like work – was not this large of a task. Nor was trying to accompany Mo Ran through whatever spell he’d found himself under the past week.  

Chu Wanning doesn’t know what talisman would fix this, much less how he should create a new design for one to break this curse. If he was still human, with the gift of human speech, he’d reach out to the Tanlang elder to figure out a course of action. Curse-breaking cultivation paths do exist, after all, since curses are rather common, and so surely a cure for this one also exists. Maybe not in the form of a talisman that would purge the curse, but maybe as a medicine or an array. 

Even if he did know a talisman design that would free him from this curse, he doesn’t have the dexterity to draw it, nor does he have his qi to imbue it with spiritual energy so it would actually work. 

From the beginning, this plan was doomed to fail. The only situation where it wouldn't would be one where Chu Wanning was so practiced with curse-breaking that he already knew the design that would break or purge the curse, and his little paws were somehow able to work like a human hand so he’d be able to draw it perfectly, and then Mo Ran would see it on the desk and think ‘hm, that’s an odd talisman. Maybe I should imbue it with spiritual energy to see what it does.’ 

No cultivator worth their salt would make such a foolish mistake. Especially not a zongshi like Mo Ran, who could easily become the target of a malicious beast or cultivator. 

The dejection of the realization leaves him lying on his side on Mo Ran’s desk, occasionally meowing or licking his paws to entertain himself. Mo Ran eventually comes home and gives him a million more kisses, cooing to him about how cute and sweet he is, and then makes them both a nice dinner. They watch some show on the small TV in Mo Ran’s living room and Chu Wanning falls asleep that night a bit more troubled than content. 

Two more days pass similarly. His mood generally improves, and he looks for ways to keep his mind and body active around the apartment while Mo Ran is at work. He takes some naps, explores some high places, tucks himself into some crevices, among other things. It’s on the third day that the unthinkable happens. 

- 

Mo Ran whistles as he rides the elevator up to his apartment. Coming home has been far more pleasant recently – Wanwan is an excellent companion, as distant as he pretends to be sometimes. It’s truly the most adorable thing, seeing Wanwan behave like he doesn’t care about Mo Ran at all, yet he follows him all around and cuddles up with him every night. All he thinks about at work now is getting home and seeing Wanwan... as well as calling Xue Meng to hear about any news regarding Chu Wanning. 

He seems to be impossible to find, but Mo Ran believes that they’ll eventually get a lead and be able to follow it until they reach Chu Wanning. 

Chu Wanning... 

“Wanwan, I’m home!” He sing-songs as he opens the front door of his place. Wanwan is usually sitting on the counter, or some other odd place, in sight of the front door when Mo Ran gets home, but today he’s not there. Mo Ran frowns, a little bit of worry pinching his heart. “Wanwan?” 

He ventures further in, dropping the bag containing his uniform next to the couch as usual. He peeks into the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom – no sight of Wanwan. Until he spies his closed bedroom door. 

“Oh, no.” Mo Ran mutters. Did he leave the door shut all day, with Wanwan trapped inside? He’ll have to give him an even greater helping of food for dinner tonight for bearing with it, if that’s the case. But when he goes to enter the room, he hears a loud thump. 

A hoarse voice calls out. “Don’t come in!” 

Mo Ran’s blood runs cold. He knows that voice. 

Ignoring Chu Wanning’s shout, he barges into the room. This is the man he’s been most eager to see for several days, how could he resist? Especially knowing that this is the first place he went after whatever happened while he was missing. It's sickeningly sweet on his tongue to think that Wanning considers this the safest place to go. Yet he stops in his tracks as soon as he sees the man in question. 

The pieces click together in his head. His keys fall from his hands involuntarily. 

Chu Wanning is tangled in his sheets, seemingly having fallen off the bed. His long, jade-like legs are half hidden under the sheets – his crotch is the only part fully covered. His pale chest and pretty nipples are on display as well, though just for a moment before his hands quit trying to pull the blankets more and instead fly to cover them. Shockingly, though, that’s not what draws Mo Ran’s attention the most. 

There’s a pair of cute white cat ears perched on the top of Chu Wanning’s head, soft pink on the inside. They twitch the longer Mo Ran stares, until there’s a sudden thump behind him. Mo Ran glances lower to see a long white tail, likely emerging from Chu Wanning’s tailbone, slightly swaying in the air and occasionally bumping the ground. 

“Holy shit.” Mo Ran says, head in the most wonderful daze. “I knew Wanwan reminded me of someone.”