"She's twenty-five now, and you're eighteen. By the time you're twenty-two, the legal age for marriage, she'll be twenty-nine. What if it doesn't work out? Can she afford to waste that time?"

Feng Yi retorted, "Of course it will work out."

Lin Lan ignored him and continued, "Even if she doesn't care about marriage, what about her parents? You don't have to worry; your father and I won't mind whatever you do. But she's a girl, her parents' precious daughter. Will they agree to her being with a kid who's barely grown up?"

Feng Yi frowned.

"Who wouldn't want a successful son-in-law? You'll graduate at twenty-two, just starting your career. It'll take at least three years to settle down. By then, she'll be thirty-two." Feng Yi looked down, silent.

"And what about children? When will you have them? Too early, and you're too young to be a father; too late, and she'll be a high-risk pregnancy."

Feng Yi's head was spinning. "We won't have kids then. Just the two of us is fine."

His mother raised an eyebrow.

He immediately straightened up. "I know, I'll think about it. What problem can't be solved? I've chosen to be with her, and I'm prepared to face any difficulties."

"And what about her?"

Feng Yi puffed out his chest like a proud rooster, wanting to declare, "Of course she feels the same way!" But in the end, he just pursed his lips, unable to speak.

Back in his dorm, his three roommates were huddled together, whispering. They jumped when Feng Yi entered.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Shh!" Meng Shan pulled him closer, mysteriously.

In the center of their circle was a tiny kitten, curled up and shivering. Feng Yi leaned in, whispering, "Where did it come from?"

One roommate whispered back, "It climbed in through the window. I think it hurt its leg."

"Oh no! What should we do? Take it to the hospital?"

The boys, at that age, were easily moved by such things. One hesitated, "But we have class this afternoon. They'll take attendance..."

Feng Yi made up his mind. "Skip it! Cover for me."

The three nodded. "Are we going to keep it?"

"I feel bad for it..."

"Me too..."

"I want to keep it."

Feng Yi made the final decision. "We'll keep it."

He took the kitten in a small cardboard box and called a taxi to the veterinary hospital, his spirits lifted. The worries that had plagued him moments before seemed to vanish. If they couldn't have children, they could get a cat. As a staunch materialist, he felt a strange sense of divine intervention, as if the heavens were telling him, "Don't worry, Feng Yi, you and Qiao Li are meant to be!"

He looked up at the sky, moved. "Thank you."

The nurse administering the anesthetic to the kitten glanced at the ceiling. "...?"

After the surgery, Feng Yi waited for the kitten to wake up, his eyes bright with excitement. "Kitty, what should I name you? Hmm, Feng Ai Qiao? No, Qiao Ai Feng is better, hehehe."

"Ai Feng, Ai Feng, iPhone? I'll call you Apple."

"Apple, Apple, I'm your daddy. Apple, Apple, your mommy's name is Qiao—"

A nurse entered, and Feng Yi instantly fell silent.

The nurse glanced at him, and he pretended nothing was happening.

As soon as she left, he leaned back towards the kitten, whispering conspiratorially, "Your mommy's name is Qiao Li."

After smuggling the cat back to the dorm, Feng Yi messaged Qiao Li.

[Apple's Daddy: Do you want a cat?]

[Qiao Li: I don't mind. Why?]

[Apple's Daddy: I found a kitten. It's so pitiful. I want to keep it, but the dorm is too small. I was thinking of taking it back to Z City.]

[Qiao Li: You don't live in Z City. You want me to keep it?]

[Apple's Daddy: Is that okay?]

[Qiao Li: Sure.]

Feng Yi was overwhelmed with emotion, as if Qiao Li had just proposed to him. He giddily changed her contact name to "Apple's Mommy," adding a little heart.

Unfortunately, when his roommates returned to the dorm, they unanimously vetoed his plan, arguing that the kitten shouldn't endure a long journey. In the end, Meng Shan, a local, took the kitten home.

Feng Yi was heartbroken, feeling like a concubine in ancient times, forced to give up her newborn child to the empress.