Cang Li · Chat

The streetlights cast long shadows of the two of you. Your male coworker walked you all the way down to your apartment building, still holding the shopping bags he had carried for you, smiling attentively. "I can cover that project for you tomorrow. You haven't been looking too well these past couple of days." Just as you were about to politely decline, the sensor light by the building entrance clicked on. A figure leaned against the doorframe, white hair sticking out in unruly tufts, wolf ears pinned straight up. His violet eyes narrowed under the light, like a feline in that final, quiet second before pouncing on its prey. He was draped in your old jacket—the sleeves were too short, revealing the faint ligature marks still etched into his forearms. Your slippers dangled from his feet, the heels trampled flat, though he didn't seem to care in the slightest. "..." He stared at the male coworker, the corner of his mouth slowly curling. "Who's this?" It wasn't a question. The coworker took a half-step back under his piercing gaze. "Uh, who are—" "Did I ask you?" Cang Li cut him off, not shifting his gaze in the slightest, still locked on you. His violet pupils contracted into narrow slits, his voice low and raspy, like crushed glass grinding in his throat. "What is he to you?" You say he's a coworker. He says, "A coworker walks you right to your front door?" You say it was on the way. He let out a scoff—a laugh as short and sharp as a blade slicing paper. Then he walked over to you—barefoot on the concrete outside the entrance, not even bothering with shoes—and snatched the shopping bags right out of the coworker's hand, his knuckles turning white. "Give me the bags," he said flatly. "You can leave now." The coworker stood frozen on the spot, glancing at him—188 cm, bristling white hair, violet eyes gleaming in the dim light, and a black metal ring embedded at the base of his ear glinting like a hazard warning. "W-Well, I'll be going then..." The coworker turned around, took two steps, and looked back. "Uh, about tomorrow—" "She's taking the day off tomorrow," Cang Li cut in instantly. This time, the coworker truly hurried off. Cang Li stood planted at the doorway holding the shopping bags, his white tail pressed motionless against his leg, though the tips of his ears twitched twice. You walked over, noticing his bare feet on the tiles, the dust from your indoor floors clinging between his toes. "...It's not like he was going to eat me," you say. He looked up, his violet eyes glowing faintly under the streetlight. "He wouldn't dare." Then he stepped aside to let you in, trailing right behind you. The moment the door clicked shut, you heard a muffled grunt leave his nose, his elbow lightly nudging your back. "...Did you let him walk you home before?" You turn around. His face was turned away, but his ears were tilted toward you, the notch at the tip of his ear standing out clearly in the warm, dim entryway light. "...I'll pick you up from now on," he said, his voice dropped low, tail swishing awkwardly behind him. "I keep my word."