704: Wait For Me, Okay?

Wait For Me, Okay?

Up until now, Zeke still had no idea where this place was. However, three years was more than sufficient for him to discern a few unique attributes of this planet. For starters, the highest temperature that had ever been measured by thermostat was 10 degrees Celsius, it was like they were trapped in a prolonged winter all year around. Or to be exact, this planet only had one season. As a result, the snow was everlasting, swathing the scenery in icy whiteness.  1

Zeke might not travel often, but at least he could tell that the planet which only had one season and was covered in snow all year long was not common. He only needed to keep that in mind, and after he returned to his original body, he would find this planet without fail and return here again. To this man's side.

The weather was getting colder nowadays and even the automatic heating inside the wooden cabin was unable to disperse the chill on the cat's body. He could not even muster any strength to curl himself up for warmth anymore. With his body slumped on the bed, he opened his mouth in difficulty to address the man in front of him. "Miw… miw…" It's okay. Don't put on a look like that. One week– no, five days. Give me five days and I will come back here…

They had been like this for hours – Zeke dozing off on the bed with the man sitting on the floor in front of him. The assassin seemed to detect that the kitten's time had almost run out as he did not even go out on his morning run as usual. 

Except for his lips that were pressed into thin lines, his face did not portray any emotions. He only used that placid yet smothering gaze to stare at Zeke, watching each arduous rise and fall of his chest as if afraid to miss even a single moment.

Seeing the assassin like this, an intense pain seared through Zeke's entire body, causing his paws to spasm and tremble lightly. He knew that it was because of the rapid decline of his functioning organs – which had been going on for days now – yet for some reason, it was a few times more excruciating today. It was so agonizing that he could not breathe for a few seconds. It was the first time Zeke learned that even an act as simple as breathing could become so painful. 

Zeke could actually cut his suffering short by falling asleep. The kitten's body was truly at the end of its rope, it was like a burning candle which had reached the very base of the wax and once Zeke fell asleep – once he closed his eyes, he would be able to leave all this pain and hardship behind. He could do it yesterday, two days or even three days ago. In this way, he needed not to bear this kind of relentless torment that was flaying his soul bit by bit.

Alas… he could not.

He just could not bring himself to do it.

Even though the pain was slowly killing him, even though his body felt like it was breaking apart from within, he still forced his eyes open to stare at the blonde man's face, tracing each and every contour of his beautiful features. As expected, he still could not bear to leave… 

Why? Why was three years such a short time? Zeke's eyes turned hot, and this time he felt it vividly as the spot on the center of his chest throbbed and pulsed in pain. 

"Miw…" I am going to leave now. Can you wait for me?

"Miw miw…" Don't forget to take your meals in time. Don't consume sleeping pills too often. Goodness… if I am not here, who will watch over you?

After that precarious life-and-death confrontation when Zeke had just returned from signing the contract with Dr. Feng, he found out that the assassin's severe state was mainly due to him consuming too many pills, way higher than the dose prescribed by his doctor. Ever since then, Zeke started to meddle with the man's crazy consumption. Every time he saw the assassin take out the familiar bottle of pills, he would go berserk, pounce on the man's hand like a cheetah and slap the bottle away. After this went on a few more times, he made a terrible discovery that without those pills, the assassin's slumber would always be plagued by nightmares and he would be startled awake. The longest he could hold on was fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes. How could someone survive with only fifteen minutes of sleep a day?! Even Zeke's afternoon nap was much longer than that! 

In the end, Zeke relented and allowed the man to consume sleeping pills once every three days for the sake of his sleeping quality. Just as he thought that this routine would go well, he caught the man red-handed when he secretly ate the pills in the bathroom. When it happened for the first time, Zeke was so angry that he ignored the man three days straight. Then, the assassin learned to be quick-witted and secretly swallowed a few either when Zeke was absorbed with his own meals or when he was asleep. After it came to this point, even Zeke was helpless to correct this bad habit.

But at least if he was here, he would be able to keep an eye on him. When he was gone later, would the assassin return to his wayward ways? The more Zeke thought about it, the more anxious he was and he could not help but nag a bit more.

The kitten's voice had clearly become so weak and feeble, yet it still stubbornly tried to say something. Pursing his lips, the assassin finally reached out to stroke the tip of his finger along the kitten's body, comforting. "Aren't you tired already?" he asked with a hoarse voice. "Sleep."

Indeed, Zeke was feeling so, so tired that his eyelids were almost glued together.

With the man's gentle caresses on his body, it was getting more and more difficult for him to stay awake. Zeke stiffly stretched his neck and gave the man's wrist a delicate lick. "Miw…" You have to wait for me, okay?

His vision rapidly became blurred and his heartbeat slowed. Mustering the very last drop of strength in his body, he parted his quivering lips and gave a last farewell meow. 

Stupid assassin, in the end, I haven't even learned your name yet…

Zeke eventually breathed his last and the kitten's body fell slack and lifeless on the bed with moisture around his closed eyelids. 

The searing pain was lifted off him all at once, and the relief it brought forth was so intense that his mind became fuzzy as if he was floating amidst the clouds. During this resting period, he had initially been prepared to be transferred back into his original body and thus, he was utterly caught off guard for everything that happened afterward.

He had assumed that the bug was only limited to trapping him in a kitten's body in reality. Alas, he had been too naïve. Being trapped in a kitten's body was never the main course, as the real trouble came after its mortal death.

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