Eight-tailed cat (6): Hidden temptation

After official intervention and three rounds of back-and-forth negotiations, the final debt amount for Tan Xiao’s family was set at ten million.

In truth, this figure was still unreasonable. After all, the person who originally got their family into trouble only borrowed ten million on paper, but the actual amount received would have been much less. The guarantor likely only got a few million at most. To cover this debt, Tan Xiao’s family had to put up their company and house as collateral, and they were still burdened with a massive debt.

They were merely guarantors, not the ones who directly owed the money. And the borrower they guaranteed had already died. As Tan Xiao put it, if they didn’t inherit the estate, they shouldn’t have to inherit the debt. Even if someone had to repay it, it shouldn’t fall on them.

If the other party were to use illegal methods—like taking a fancy to Tan Xiao’s looks and selling him off to repay the debt—that would have nothing to do with the guarantee and would simply be criminal robbery.

That would be illegal. If the opposing party had such powerful connections, Tan Xiao wouldn’t be standing here being bullied—he’d already have been tied up and imprisoned.

According to the law and evidence, while the other side made sky-high demands, Tan Xiao offered to repay a reasonable amount. In the end, the debt was settled at ten million, considered the principal amount.

As for the family’s company and house that had already been taken—those were treated as interest, or maybe as payment for the hired thugs’ “appearance fees.”

Since the other party resorted to tricks and couldn’t use force, the rules had to be laid out clearly. Tan Xiao essentially bought a stable life with ten million.

Of course, even if Tan Xiao sold himself, he couldn’t pay that amount all at once. So the agreement was to pay it back over ten years, at a rate of at least one million per year. Early repayment was allowed, but delays were not.

Being able to secure these terms had a lot to do with Tan Xiao’s strength and composure. If he had shown any weakness or fear, he wouldn’t have been able to reduce the debt—and might have been dragged into the mess himself.

If he couldn’t repay it, he would have to work it off for decades—in places that were far from pleasant.

But compared to the oppressive demand of repaying a hundred million immediately, ten million over ten years was a much smaller burden.

After all, it was just the first year. If his career didn’t take off right away, he could mortgage the family house for a loan. That would give him at least two years of breathing room.

“Mom, since I signed the contract, I’ll keep these papers,” Tan Xiao said. For various reasons, while he was willing to sacrifice some of his freedom for his mother, he didn’t fully trust her.

“Alright.”

The weak woman agreed. She wouldn’t argue with her son over such a small matter. In fact, her role had always been that of a weak but stubborn woman—not a fool.

“I’m off to work.” Perhaps finding the atmosphere stifling, the woman quickly grabbed her old bag and left the house, looking too ashamed to face her son.

Tan Xiao watched her leave, then got up, carefully sorted the documents, wrapped them in multiple layers, and locked them away in the cabinet with the house deed.

Although Li Li, his mother, acted like she loved him dearly—once a pampered housewife now willing to do hard labor for his sake—she still gave him a subtle sense of unease.

Like this massive debt that shouldn’t have been his burden in the first place. If she truly loved her son, she wouldn’t have let him agree to a contract that was essentially a slave agreement.

Sometimes, Tan Xiao felt like the little black cat that had appeared uninvited in their home might love him more than his mother did. But even after realizing this, he had no plans to leave.

After all, he was a grown man now, the pillar of the family, and he should shoulder his responsibilities.

However, in other matters, he wouldn’t back down for her anymore. He would focus on earning money and repaying the debt—that was all he could do for the family. Especially when it came to relationships, even if Li Li strongly opposed, he wouldn’t be swayed.

Not that Tan Xiao was currently seeking romance, but during those days of negotiation, he often dreamt of someone—eyes full of affection staring at him, like a destined lover.

He couldn’t clearly see the person’s face in the dream, and the details would blur after waking, but one thing was certain: his future lover was a man.

“Wen Yi, you feel it too, right? My mom doesn’t really love me that much.”

The kitten meowed and rubbed its head against Tan Xiao’s face. Its fur was jet black, but its tongue was pink and slightly rough as it gently licked his cheek, leaving a bit of saliva behind. “Meow meow meow (It’s okay, don’t mind that bad woman, I like you.)”

Tan Xiao liked the feeling of being responded to when he talked. The kitten’s presence successfully comforted him. “But she’s not a bad mother. At least she insisted on keeping you. And to be honest, I don’t think I love her that much either.”

When children are young, their love for their parents is pure and dependent. But as Tan Xiao grew older and began earning money, he also developed his own thoughts.

Before graduating high school, he had been the kind of well-behaved child any parent would love—focused solely on studying, top of the class, no puppy love, no bad habits.

But now, thinking about those dreams, Tan Xiao felt he could no longer be that perfect child.

After all, his destined partner in those dreams was undeniably a man. Homosexuality was still marginalized, subject to gossip, exclusion, and even parental rejection.

But it didn’t matter to him. Once Tan Xiao set his mind on something, he wouldn’t easily be swayed—not even by his own mother.

Being gay—was that scarier than owing tens of millions? Even if his parents objected, he wouldn’t care.

After a few days of careful feeding, the black cat’s fur had become much smoother than when it first arrived. On the second day after it came home, seeing that it didn’t resist, Tan Xiao gave it a bath and even bought a special grooming comb, brushing it daily.

He had only adopted the kitten a few days ago, but he’d already bought it a bunch of stuff. In addition to various handmade toys, whatever other people’s kittens had, his would have too.

There were only three rooms in the house. Tan Xiao originally planned to clear out the storage room to make a cat room for the black kitten, but it was way too clingy.

Every morning, Tan Xiao would wake up to find the kitten curled up beside his pillow.

Sometimes, even if he shut the bedroom door, the kitten would find a way in—it had even learned to open doors.

So, the storage room was turned into a workspace instead, and Tan Xiao made a soft cat bed for Wen Yi, placing it right next to his pillow.

After chatting with the kitten for a bit, he picked it up and began trimming its claws with a small nail clipper he’d bought especially for the task. As he worked, he couldn’t help but mumble: “The Tan Xiao Hei account has passed 100,000 followers on one platform, and across all platforms, it’s over 200,000. They’re even sending us prizes. Lots of people like our Wen Yi and say you’re smart and pretty.”

Wen Yi lay quietly in his arms, completely cooperative. The cat didn’t move at all. If this scene were broadcast, cat owners everywhere would probably scream in disbelief: “Fake, that cat must be fake!”

“It’s acting! I just showed this to my cat, and it said the whole thing’s staged.”

Of course, there were plenty of negative comments too. Some targeted Tan Xiao, accusing him of abusing the cat or drugging it (because no cat could be that obedient).

Some criticized Wen Yi, saying it was ugly and just a plain black cat with no pedigree.

But Wen Yi was just a kitten. Whenever Tan Xiao saw those negative comments, he would delete them, and if they were too harsh, he would report and block the accounts. He only read positive feedback to the kitten. Even though he didn’t believe Wen Yi understood the bad stuff, he didn’t want to expose it to it.

The kitten meowed smugly: “Meow (Of course!)”

After all, it was a noble eight-tailed demon cat. No two-legged creature could resist such an outstanding and beautiful feline. With such a massive platform audience, 200,000 followers was just the beginning.

Tan Xiao quickly finished trimming all four paws and then fed the cat some treats.

Full and satisfied, Wen Yi curled up on his lap and began to nap, its belly rising and falling, purring contentedly.

Tan Xiao had been in a pretty bad mood, but the purring sound calmed him.

He opened his computer to edit a video, and while waiting for it to process, a short story popped up on the platform.

Because the title mentioned a black cat, Tan Xiao clicked it out of curiosity.

It was a short piece, just a few hundred words, about a prodigal son who was once rich until his father died. He squandered everything and lost it all, except for one cat that stayed by his side.

The kind young man shared his food with the cat, and one night, he visited a cat shrine and made a wish. In return, he received a large sum of money, turned his life around, and became wealthy again.

Tan Xiao closed the story tab without much thought.

Money should be earned with hard work, not daydreams.

But as the story page disappeared, he didn’t notice the hidden text that appeared faintly at the bottom.

The prodigal son didn’t change because of sudden wealth. Easy money leads to carelessness.

He changed because the cat who stayed by his side paid the price. The gold had come at the cost of losing the cat.