Can a Pretty Little Cat Be a Cannon Fodder Too?

Xie Juan is a disposable character in a power fantasy novel. He’s gloomy and cold, with a strange personality because of his disability, and enjoys tormenting others. After bullying the male lead for years, he ends up with both legs ruined and freezes to death on the street. Playing the role he’s been given to the hilt, Xie Juan slaps the male lead, kicks him to his knees, and forces him to touch his pale, slender, somewhat disabled legs. He does all of this because the System told him that if he followed the plot, it would help him get his tail back. Xie Juan isn’t a disabled young master who’s a disposable character. He’s a disabled little cat with no tail. A cat’s instincts sometimes make him turn back into a kitten. When the male lead occasionally sees him like that, Xie Juan feels bad, so he goes over and licks the bruises he gave him. But the time when he’s supposed to leave keeps getting pushed back, and the chance of getting his tail back grows more and more remote. Little by little, Xie Juan loses hope and stops picking on the male lead. Even as a cat, he takes his frustration out on the male lead, avoiding him and not wanting to look at him again. He never imagined that the tail he longed for so desperately could only be recovered with the male lead’s help. As he curses the System, Xie Juan tearfully apologizes to the male lead. “I didn’t mean to bully you. I’ll stay far away from you from now on. I don’t mind living on the streets, but could you...” Could you help me look for my tail, considering how well we got along when I was a cat? The male lead cuts him off. “Juanjuan.” “Don’t apologize.” The male lead in the novel, who had forsaken love and emotion and commanded a vast business empire, now wore a look of feverish obsession on his handsome face. He said: “I like it.” “Your hand smells so good when you slap me, Juanjuan.” Xie Juan was so shocked he froze, but the male lead moved closer, looking even more sinister than him, the supposed villain. “But why are you ignoring me?” “Wasn’t I obedient enough as your dog?” *You said you’d be my dog, so why are you biting your owner? What do you mean, dogs just like licking, and licking somewhere they shouldn’t was an accident? *Cats and dogs can’t breed. Stay away from me. *Am I not the villain? Why do you seem even more messed up than I am? (Juanjuan is a black-and-white Devon Rex cat.) (The original aristocratic academy blurb has been changed. I realized I’m not used to the multiple-love-interest route after all, and prefer a definite one-on-one pairing. If that bothers you, feel free to remove it from your collection. But I’d be even happier if you’re interested in this new blurb.) Upcoming novel: “Does a Beta Have to Be Harassed by a Top Alpha Too?” (Harassment and stalker-like obsession, with a foul-mouthed top and a hard-on.) Everyone said Xie Qingxun was lucky to have once been married to the young heir of the Fu Group. A penniless Beta with no connections had walked away with a staggering 200 million in divorce settlement, bringing their three-year marriage to an end. At a drinking party celebrating his return to single life, a drunk Fu Changzhi vented to his friends about everything he’d disliked about the marriage. “He’s a Beta. No pheromones, and he’s like a dead fish in bed.” “If I hadn’t run into him when I was trying to fight an arranged marriage, would I ever have married him?” “I married him when I was still a virgin. He had an ex, while I’d never even dated anyone. I gave him my innocence, and I ended up with a guy like that.” “I’ve wanted a divorce for ages. Three years felt like a lifetime, damn it.” Before Fu Changzhi passed out drunk, he slapped the table and swore, “If I could go back in time, I’d never marry him.” The morning after his hangover, Fu Changzhi really did return to the past. A strange man entered Xie Qingxun’s impoverished life. He had a terrible temper and constantly cursed, saying plenty of hurtful things to him. “A Beta who thinks he’s some kind of goddess?” “You get mixed up with a bunch of sleazebags, and you think you’re any better?” “Your taste is so awful, you shouldn’t be dating anyone.” But he also genuinely helped Xie Qingxun a great deal. He dealt with the roommate who harassed him, cleared his name, paid off his debts, and let him focus on his studies. He traveled hundreds of kilometers to spend New Year’s with him, lit up half the bay at night, and arranged a starry seascape so close it seemed within reach for his birthday. He was strangely obsessed with him, licking and biting at his barren nape. Xie Qingxun thought Fu Changzhi liked him. The young master was just a little foul-mouthed. But when he asked why Fu Changzhi was so good to him, the other man said: “You look like my ex. We’ve broken up, but seeing someone who looks so much like him have such a miserable life makes me look useless.” Xie Qingxun nodded. “Then you must have loved your ex a lot.” That day, Xie Qingxun saw the most spectacular change of expression of his life. He didn’t want to get involved in Fu Changzhi’s entanglement with his ex. Aside from figuring out how to pay him back, he stopped accepting Fu Changzhi’s advances. He didn’t expect Fu Changzhi to show up at his door when he kept his distance, looking thoroughly annoyed as he said: “You’re avoiding me because I won’t marry you?” “Fine, then we’ll get married.” Xie Qingxun had no interest in being someone’s replacement, and he’d had enough of the bad-tempered young master. He refused. That night, the young master, drunk out of his mind, clung to him and cried uncontrollably. “How can you refuse to marry me? I gave you my first love, first kiss, and first time.” “I’m young, rich, hung like a horse, and you’re the only person I’ve ever loved.” From what he said, Xie Qingxun pieced together the utterly absurd possibility that Fu Changzhi’s ex was actually him. The young master choked back sobs and licked him through his drunken haze. “Please.” “We were married in our previous life.” The proud man bowed his head like a stray dog, as if he’d returned to that party where he’d gotten so drunk celebrating his return to single life. “I never wanted a divorce.” “I was just... too jealous.” He’d been so jealous he was going out of his mind, but never wanted a divorce. Xie Qingxun, however, had suggested one so easily, watched him fall apart, and then abandoned him. But given another chance, he still wanted to marry Xie Qingxun. (The bottom has no first love; both are virgins.) Theme: Find an anchor in life, and don’t let setbacks bring you down.