Wandering with a Cat [Campus]

[Revisions in progress. The complete novel will be posted all at once in 2024.]

Her wish throughout high school was to become a stray cat.

During school: clear-eyed, world-weary academic prodigy x unconventional, disillusioned stray-dog type

As adults: wandering poet x wandering lead singer

*

There were two legends in the senior class.

Yun Ying ranked first in the year, was lazy and gloomy, and kept everyone at a distance. She always looked as if she hadn't fully woken up, and whenever anyone asked about her plans for the future, she would dodge the question. No one realized that the talent everyone envied was her shackles, and that the stray cats she met every night were her only comfort.

Han Tianguang was nowhere to be found in the year rankings or school records. When people talked about him, all they could remember were a pair of amber cat eyes that made their hearts skip a beat.

They seemed like parallel lines: they attended the same school, but lived in different worlds.

Then academic prodigy Yun Ying seemed to be the first to lower her head and ask about the person who was like a cat.

Shocking! Is academic prodigy Yun Ying finally going to join the rest of humanity?

Yun Ying narrowed her eyes and rolled up her sleeve, revealing a scrape on her elbow. "I just want to know who knocked me down on the grass while I was feeding cats that night."

*

On an utterly ordinary night, the air hung heavy and humid. As usual, Han Tianguang went to the empty plaza to play guitar. No one stopped to listen, except for the stray cats lingering at his feet.

Suddenly, torrential rain poured down. The cats fled into the bushes, and he was drenched through. He slumped on a bench in the plaza.

A pair of white shoes he had once secretly given away, muddy with rainwater, stepped into his amber gaze.

He looked up and, as usual, fixed the newcomer with a fierce stare, trying to scare her off.

But she met his eyes steadily, her gaze calm.

That was the place he longed for but could never reach.

"The top student in science dreams of becoming a poet; the unconventional guitarist only wants to find his way home."

[Bonus scene]

Much later, Han Tianguang asked Yun Ying why she hadn't been afraid of him when he was filthy and disheveled. She said, "Back then, you looked just like a stray cat hissing at strangers."

"And you looked a lot like the cat I used to feed. You were both black and white."

"...Stop rubbing against me. You look even more like it when you do that."

Han Tianguang: ??? So I'm the stand-in, and her first love is a cat!

[Reader's guide]

1. Both leads are each other's first and only. The male lead is neither a thug nor a school bully. The heroine is no obedient good girl: she is independent and clear-headed, and doesn't support deadbeats. They grow together.

2. The story is mostly set at school, with a little urban life. They work hard and grow together during their school years, then pursue their dreams after graduation before starting a relationship. There is a little about the new college entrance exam system, but it won't affect your reading.

3. The characters are not based on real people, but the cat is. The cat is important to the story and is not just set dressing, nor part of the leads' romantic games!

Dedicated to the stray cat who kept me company in high school.

Next novel: Ascending the Tower, please add it to your collection!

Blurb:

Su Zhuoye opens her eyes and finds herself aboard a carriage.

It rocks back and forth, carrying her to an unknown destination.

Every passenger is hiding something.

The strange scholar who speaks in nothing but classical allusions secretly looks down on everyone. The seemingly sincere salt merchant is actually insatiably greedy. The bandit general meets her with weapons drawn, while the wealthy, bejeweled lady is all vanity and hypocrisy.

Reincarnated into the body of a powerless, defenseless opera performer, how can Su Zhuoye survive?

Su Zhuoye sneers. "Survive? I'll rule!"

Before long, the carriage stops. Its passengers are bundled up and thrown into an imperial maze. Su Zhuoye lowers her eyes, her smile hidden beneath her lashes.

By day, she pretends to flee through the maze to survive, making sure no one discovers the truth.

By night, she kills every last person who is scheming and hypocritical.

On the final day, Su Zhuoye climbs the emperor's tower.

The blade flashes, the sword's shadow cuts cold. The world will be hers to command.

Message: Face your heart and walk your own path freely.