"The Little Things"

You don't do this to a cat

Zhao Yunlan was putting on a jacket, ready to go to work, when Da Qing stormed into the flat. He didn't even look at Zhao, just went to his place, sat down, and started taking off his shoes.

"Looks like somebody's finally home," Yunlan smiled happily. "You wrapped up everything well on that mountain?"

"Don't talk to me!" barked Da Qing. Zhao frowned.

"What's gotten under that fur of yours, huh?" he stepped closer.

"I said, don't talk to me!" Da Qing's hand formed a claw, and Yunlan paused, hands slightly lifted, pacifying.

"All right. I won't. You tell me. What's wrong?" His deputy was folding and unfolding a small blanket, clearly upset. Zhao rarely saw him in such obvious distress.

"You abandoned me." He finally blurted out, lowering his head. Zhao rushed to him and sat right next to his hurt companion.

"Silly cat, I'm right here," the detective put his hand on Da Qing's nape but took it right back after feeling Da Qing tense.

"You promised me. You said that you were not going anywhere. And then you left me on that mountain, and we lost signal, and we didn't know what to do. And I..." Da Qing sniffed. "You don't do this to a cat." Zhao's right hand immediately went back to Da Qing's nape and rubbed gently.

"I'm sorry." Yunlan's voice was gentle. "I really regretted not taking you with us. But I needed my most trusted person to manage the situation." He put some pressure and guided Da Qing's head to his shoulder, then resumed stroking his head.

"When you were gone, everything was different, you know? Like, I didn't move a thing here, but this flat got so big all of a sudden. And the lights weren't on in the evening and..." Da Qing sniffed again.

"I know. But now, I'm back. And I will make it up to you. Best fish," the detective's left hand went to the sky for emphasis. "Even better than the stuff Professor Shen was giving you!"

"How do you know about that?"

"He told me. Also, mentioned that you liked to shed on his couch."

"I do not shed!" Da Qing exclaimed indignantly, raising his head.

"Yea, I have a laundry bag with ample proof of your not shedding."

"Shut up I'll scratch your face off!"

Zhao Yunlan patted his deputy's head again and stood up. "I'm heading for work. Get some sleep. You must be exhausted."

"I'm coming with you," Da Qing jumped up. "I can sleep at work."

"You are quite shameless saying it to your boss."

"I take after my master. You're coming or not? You still need to buy me the promised salmon!"

Zhao sighed in relief and smiled.

Huge crises averted.

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Hi! 

I didn't plan to write this at all, but my cat was staring at me the whole time I was editing the previous chapter, so I figured out she was hinting at something. So this short thing came to be because Da Qing's a cat. And he will be behaving like a cat later in the chapters too.

As a cat owner, I can say that whenever I return home after more than one day I get an earful at the door, and then silent treatment for half a day. 😢

This was also influenced by the poem "Cat in an Empty Apartment" by Wislawa Szymborska. It's beautiful and written from the cat's perspective. You should definitely check it out.

Thank you very much for reading.