Chapter 4: This Kitty’s So Majestic Part 1

Person, even though you look pretty down right now, don’t be sad yet. Tell Mimi what this means about the abyss pollutant starting to surge again?!

Li You anxiously stamped his mountain bamboo paws, stretching out his soft mewling cries with a hint of tragic heroism.

Nooo, nooo! He’d worked so hard in his previous life, and now they were telling him those pollutants had appeared again?!

Li You was terribly anxious. His tail, like a cat-hair duster, swept back and forth across the ground. He hadn’t heard these two continue talking, so in his anxiety, he jumped right up, his front paws scrabbling at Li Ye’s pant leg, scratching and scratching.

Talk! Talk!

After a few swipes from the little cat, Li Ye’s pants bore several marks. He suddenly sensed something wrong. Then, a rough hand from behind grabbed the scruff of his neck and hoisted him up.

The cat’s crotch was exposed again. Li You hurriedly tucked his tail to cover it, twisting his head to meow meow at the one behind him.

“Your voice is really loud. Oh, sorry—you don’t seem to like being picked up like this.” Peisengke didn’t know how to hold a cat. In his haste, he shoved the cat into Li Ye’s arms.

“…”

Li Ye looked down at the cat he’d instinctively caught. He steadied it with one arm and was silent for a long while before bending down to set it on the ground.

Li You twisted his head to look at the approaching floor, then back at his brother’s face right in front of him. After pondering for two seconds, he stretched out two paws and hugged Li Ye’s neck, refusing to go down no matter what.

Li Ye: “…”

“It seems to really like you, Your Highness.” Peisengke crossed his arms, watching the cat in Li Ye’s arms with great interest. “Where’d this little fat cat come from? If no one’s taking care of it, why not consider adopting it?”

No sooner had Peisengke spoken than Li Ye and the cat both turned to look at him. He chuckled and raised his hands lightly. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m just making a suggestion.”

Li Ye straightened up, lowering his gaze to the cat sitting on his arm. After a few seconds of silence, he opened his mouth. “No…”

【No!】

“…” Li Ye’s words halted. He raised his eyes to Peisengke, then looked around left and right, seeing no one else.

He furrowed his brow, his face calm as he pondered. Finally, his gaze fell on the cat.

The cat was staring at Li Ye, its pair of sky-blue eyes perfectly round, its little cat face looking somewhat serious.

No no no!!

Li You screamed inwardly. He absolutely did not want Li Ye to adopt him!! He wanted his cat life to be free and unfettered!! Staying in this village was fine!!

Right now, he just wanted to know if it was true or false that the abyss pollutant was making a comeback!

“…” Li You blinked his eyes, lowered his head, and his drooping tail flopped softly twice.

He suddenly realized a problem.

If it was really as Li Ye and Peisengke had said, and the pollutants were rampant again, could he really stay peacefully in this town?

Li Ye was still looking at the cat, but the cat was no longer looking at him.

That “no” he’d heard earlier sounded a bit familiar, but the voice had been too indistinct—short and gone in an instant. It didn’t sound like anything from around them either.

Li Ye’s brow relaxed as he dismissed it as a hallucination. He then bent down and set the cat on the ground.

Li You had been lost in thought. After being put down, he blanked for a few seconds, then looked up at his brother’s arm moving farther away, drawing out his meows.

“This little guy’s not happy about getting down.” Peisengke laughed as he looked at the white, ball-shaped kitten on the floor, rubbing his chin. “This cat’s not just fluffy—it’s definitely fat too.”

Li You: “…”

Officer, that’s a bit rude.

Peisengke squatted down and pressed one palm on the cat’s head. Seeing the cat’s ears flatten, he found it amusing and chuckled. “You’ve got smart whiskers, kid.”

Of course! He was a smart little cat!!

Li You’s head was pressed down. He shrank his neck, his ears folding into airplane ears, and grumbled discontentedly a few times.

“Got quite the temper too. Let me see—your stubborn whiskers are practically flying out.” Peisengke didn’t let go and mercilessly teased the helpless little kitten. “You’re a smart, stubborn little fat cat.”

Li You got annoyed and tilted his head back to yowl at Peisengke.

“Alright, alright, I get it. I’m very sorry—you’re a very cute little kitten.” Peisengke was surprised by how spirited this cat was. He looked up and saw that His Highness had already left, so he quickly patted the kitten’s head, stood up, and followed. “Your Highness, this little cat is way too smart. It seems like it can understand us.”

“Mm.”

“You’re sure someone owns it? I sincerely suggest you adopt it.”

“…”

“Are we going to check the pollutant leak now? I’ll go with you.”

“Handle your own business. Don’t follow me.”

“Alright.”

Watching the two figures gradually recede, Li You stood up from where he was squatting and trotted after them on all fours, sticking tightly behind Li Ye.

You haven’t explained what’s going on yet!

Don’t go, don’t go!!

Li You couldn’t speak, so he anxiously meowed “mew mew.” He wanted to get the facts straight but couldn’t express himself, so naturally, he got no information.

Accepting reality, Li You plopped his butt down and stopped chasing. Watching Li Ye push open the glass door and walk farther away, he felt full of frustration, his irritation bubbling up.

Stupid Li Ye.

Li You stared sullenly at the departing figure, growling low “mewr miewr” from his throat.

Stupid Li Ye, stupid Li Ye!!

【Stupid brother! Big jerk!!】

Li Ye, who had just stepped out of the Sunlight Palace, paused. He scanned all around, then turned back and saw the Ragdoll cat sitting on the Sunlight Palace floor. His gaze lingered for a long time on the kitten’s blue eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Peisengke followed his gaze.

“…” Li Ye quietly watched the cat. For a fleeting moment, those cat eyes felt familiar. He withdrew his gaze and turned away. “Nothing.”

With the humans gone, Li You sulked alone for a bit. He circled in place, then finally sat in front of that saucer of milk, looking down at the floating flower petal in it.

Before long, the door to the Sunlight Palace was pushed open. The black-haired sister returned. She came over and squatted in front of Li You, puzzled. “Eh? You don’t like milk?”

Li You felt a bit aggrieved now. He rubbed his head against her hand and meowed sadly a few times.

The sister didn’t notice the kitten’s low mood. She cleared away the milk and picked up the cat before leaving the Sunlight Palace.

Night fell. Li You lay on the cat tree, gazing wistfully out the window. Moments later, he turned his head to look at the circle of cats gathered below the cat tree.

“…”

Li You didn’t know how to get along with the real cats.

After the black-haired sister brought him back, she’d put him in a room with these cats. The locals here all had good temperaments—no stress reactions or aggression toward Li You’s arrival. They were just curious about him.

Li You perched at the top of the cat tree, his tail dangling. A sweep to the left, and the cats below all looked left; a sweep to the right, and they all looked right.

They were treating his tail like a cat toy.

Li You set aside his melancholy for now and played with the cats. Just then, the black-haired sister, who had prepared the cat food, came in. His “audience” scattered in an instant, all crowding around the sister.

“Everyone gets some—don’t fight.” She set down the cat food and looked up at the Ragdoll on high, smiling. “Come down for dinner. I’ve got some for you too.”

Li You nimbly jumped down from the cat tree and came to the lady’s side.

Meows were iron, cat food was steel—a skipped meal left him starving and panicked. No matter how melancholy, he still had to eat.

This black-haired sister’s name was Li Yiwan—Li You had seen her full name on her work badge.

Little Wan Sis’s cat food was quite good, made with all healthy, nutritious ingredients. Li You polished off a full bowl clean, and afterward, he got a saucer of milk.

This time, he drank it all seriously.

Little Wan Sis, hugging her knees beside him and observing, laughed. “You didn’t drink it this afternoon because you weren’t hungry, huh?”

Li You meowed once and went up to nuzzle Little Wan Sis in response. Full belly, sated thirst—the earlier melancholy had mostly dissipated.

As night deepened, he nestled in the cat bed Little Wan Sis had prepared for him, listening to the chorus of purrs from the kittens around him. His bright eyes gazed out the window.

Suddenly, a massive boom shattered the night’s tranquility, startling all the cats in the room to scatter everywhere before they all ran to scratch at the door.

Li You poked his head out of the cat bed and went to the window. He saw a white flash in the distant night sky, a mushroom cloud exploding and expanding.

It was very far away, but the town could see it clearly, showing just how large the blast radius was.

Lights gradually came on in the village, noisy voices rising. Amid the room full of meowing, Li You calmly observed the mushroom cloud, suddenly recalling his brother and Peisengke’s conversation that afternoon.

Had the pollutant leak exploded?

Just then, the room door opened. Little Wan Sis came in and squatted to soothe the startled, stressed cats. She looked up at the Ragdoll calmly squatting by the window, paused, and beckoned. “Little Mimi, come to sis.”

Li You turned back and saw Little Wan Sis swarmed by a bunch of cats. The paw he’d just raised lowered again.

Mm…

Seemed like there was no parking spot for him anymore…

Little Wan was nearly buried by the cats. Worried the new kitten might be scared, she still warmly called it over.