coineater | Labyrinthum Inbox.

[Too bad that Cat can't see the little smirk that Fang Duobing makes at the picture. Is that what he's good for now?]

[Well, it's fine. He'll be helpful... Right after saving the picture into one of the folders on his phone.]

It's green.

[Like Li Lianhua's, he notes without making any direct connections yet.]

Shame it isn't red like mine. Li Lianhua's disappeared from the house, and if I stay here alone with Di Feisheng, there might not be a house to come back to when these games are done.

[Also, more importantly, he doesn't want to do chores.]

ha! You're lucky it wasn't me or I'd have kicked you out rather than leave
Where's he gone to then?

[Because he has noooo ideaaaa.

Also excuse him while he wonders about Fang Duobing moving in for a time. Probably wouldn't have ended well, even if the thought makes him smile.]

I thought the two of you were better at playing nice than that

Somewhere he thinks we won't find him.

[Not that he's explicitly looking. The urge is there, but he's annoyed at being left nothing but a note like the old days. And if he's being honest, he's a little glad for the reprieve from stubbed toes and broken dishes. Maybe he can have a meal without his cup being knocked off the table by a wayward movement.]

[He'll still hunt down his hiding place eventually, just to have it on hand... but not immediately.]

We are, but I don't enjoy feeling disoriented all the time, and the effect I have on others is worse. It's like they can't control their emotions around me. Can you imagine that man with anything other than his stoic expression or maybe a smirk? I can't, and I don't want to.

spooky stuff for sure :(

[The wayward smile text is unnerving enough already... His life would definitely be in immediate danger if Di Feisheng was anything other than a professional brick wall in person.

It's a little annoying that Fang Duobing and Inigo share a color, but maybe it will encourage them to feel out where they're at properly. He can only hope that it doesn't make Inigo compare himself even more than he already did and find himself lacking, for some stupid reason. Ughhh, will he even be able to reassure him with kisses? What if he tries, and all that happens is that he bursts into tears or yells while Inigo bites his lip on accident?

Horrible. He'll have to leave proper encouraging to Fang Duobing, then... Couldn't find a better person for the job if he tried.]

so youre shopping around for a new home?
checking in with your other friends? surely one of them will match

Something like that. You were my first option, but I have others.

[First only in the sense that it was the first message he'd typed out. Inigo's wasn't far behind, messaging them both at once as he is. And speaking of...]

Inigo shares a team with me, but his home already has a second occupant. For all I know, it might be as chaotic there as it is here.

[Not that he'll be stopped by that. He doesn't care about a stranger's comfort as much as he does the people who are close to him. If being around two emotionally-destabilizing people is too much for Inigo's roommate, he can find somewhere else to stay for a bit.]

[Him, first? Huh! Perhaps he should message Di Feisheng and find out if he'd be three for three.]

I'm a little jealous!
you'll be seeing his home before I do

[Somehow, it's only then that he remembers who Cat is dating... Suddenly he feels a little awkward about the whole thing. Is it appropriate for him to be sharing a space with Inigo, after everything? ...Surely Inigo won't give him as confusing a time as Cat did. The other boy doesn't see him like that.]

What's to be jealous about?

[As if he's not aware now. A few seconds later, another message comes:]

If it's going to bother you, I can tell him that I've changed my mind. I don't want to cause problems between you.

Edited 2025-05-13 13:39 (UTC)

[Oh good, he's brought the mood down. SIGH. Well, since they're doing this, time to languish across the couch. Listen to his suffering.]

ha as if I haven't done more damage than you ever could already
to be frank that sort of thing might even do him some good
=(- ¥ -)= ᰈ
V V
I wish I hadn't done it you know

[He is listening, even if it's a little difficult to hear (and a little difficult to understand until he turns his phone upside down). He doesn't like the idea that his friends are so troubled. He doesn't like his part in it, however unintentional. ...Inexplicably, he feels a little wounded as well. He's not sure he shares the regret. But he can agree that Cat shouldn't have acted on it, so he shakes his head sharply to banish the thought.]

You shouldn't have, but what's done can't be undone, so there's no use in worrying about it.

If staying with him will do him some good, then I will. But you're both important to me. I'll have regrets of my own if either of you are unhappy.

that's something I unfortunately like about you
you're a good friend
you haven't let what I did get in the way of what's actually there, not to mention all that cultivation business

we're happy
working on things as they come up
I'd say it's better than it was before

Why would I let something small like that bother me, after everything else I endured from you? I'll remind you, I had to put up traps around my room because of you, and I still invited you in. Compared to that, I was just surprised. I didn't think you thought of me that way.

[Which is just about as directly as he can look at all that without feeling embarrassed (among other things) all over again.]

Look, I'm so generous, I'll even let that "unfortunately" slide. I'm a treasure to know. It's in my name.

But I'm glad you're happy. Both you and Inigo, you deserve to have some good things to hold onto after all the troubles you've weathered.

[Small?]

for a second there I thought you were talking about putting up traps since then and I was offended! good you know I'm not that sort of bad fellow
I hardly think of them now that I know how to work them
and have been much too tired to risk anything but the front door when I have been by anyway

[What a confusing man this is... Even though Cat can't argue that he isn't being clear, he sure is feeling like he's getting some mixed messages. Is it just him? Small...........]

too true!

[A shame that they don't realize they're not thinking of things in quite the same manner.]

Were you worried? You shouldn't be. I've never thought of you as a bad person.

And there's no risk, actually. You're the only one who has ever tried to sneak in, so I haven't bothered to set them as often. We might need them occasionally, given how this place is, but I'll let you know if I re-engage them.

[Cat would agree, although feeling a bit offended, that his feelings for Fang Duobing were a small issue, yeah. That kiss, though. Oof.]

curious, nowadays! I am a Cat on top of everything else after all, so how could I not be? who knows what it is you're thinking

[Why does he feel like he's lost track of where Cat is going with this?... Or maybe Cat has lost track of him?]

[Are they still talking about the traps? The messy romantic troubles? Something else?]

Thinking about what exactly? I think about plenty of things, and it's not like I keep secrets.

[Except in the case where he keeps them for others.]

If you want to know what's on my mind, it's easiest to just ask, isn't it?

ha
is it?

[Of course Fang Duobing would think that, free with his words as he is. Cat doesn't think he would understand that there's a sort of danger in it even if it was explained to him.]

I'll keep that in mind for just now
enjoy your stay with Firefly, hm? treat each other well~

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