Chapter 14: The Kitty’s Dependence Part 1

In the morning, Little Wan Sis cleaned the pet shop once, added cat food and water for the kitties, picked up the bamboo basket containing flower seeds, and left the pet shop. She had only taken a few steps before backing up and calling into the kitty room: “Little Meow!”

Not long after, the fluffy ragdoll cat dashed out from the kitty room, its fur Duang Duang shaking wildly with each step until it sat in front of Little Wan Sis and looked up: “Meow~”

Little Wan Sis squatted down, smiling as she said, “Did you sneak off again?”

“Meow—”

“Good good, no sneaking off.” Little Wan Sis rubbed its chin. “I’m going to the Memorial Garden to plant flowers. Want to come, Little Meow?”

She didn’t expect the cat to understand. When the ragdoll meowed in response, she took it as agreement.

Among all the little ones in the pet shop, only this new ragdoll, which hadn’t been there long, liked going out. The other kitties either got stressed or were too timid outdoors, so she rarely took cats out before.

She set down the bamboo basket, turned to grab a chest harness and leash from the counter, and upon turning back, saw Little Black, who had appeared at some point, now sitting right next to Little Meow and staring at her.

“…” Little Wan Sis blinked. “Little Black wants to come too?”

Little Black didn’t respond vocally but flicked the tail coiled beside it to the other side, its tip landing on Little Meow’s tail.

It was one aloof kitty.

Li You, whose tail had been touched, turned his head to look, glanced at the little monster pressed close beside him, pondered for a moment, then turned back to Little Wan Sis and answered for the little monster: “Meow—”

“Good, then you both come along.”

Little Wan Sis turned again to grab another chest harness and leash, but no matter how she tried, Little Black refused to wear it. In the end, only Little Meow wore the chest harness, while Little Black followed right on Little Meow’s heels.

Little Wan observed the whole way and fretted the whole way. Upon arriving at the Memorial Garden, she let out a breath of relief, squatted down, and stroked the ragdoll cat’s head: “Little Meow, you’re Little Black’s lure, aren’t you? It really likes following you.”

“Meow woo—” Li You rubbed against her palm, then turned to glance at Little Black, feeling a bit helpless inside.

What lure? He didn’t know why his bro—this little monster—insisted on sticking to him.

Little Wan Sis led the two kitties on a stroll through the Memorial Garden before taking them to the Sunlight Palace. As usual, she settled the kitties there and went off alone to plant the flower seeds.

The Sunlight Palace was vast, divided into front, middle, and rear halls. The front hall was filled with flowers, enclosed by a massive hemispherical glass structure like a giant glass greenhouse.

Li You didn’t know the layout here. Previously, he had wandered into the rear hall past the middle hall. The villagers working here never went there, and Li You hadn’t known then, nor did he now. So as he led Little Black wandering around, he got lost again and slipped into the rear hall.

After passing through a glass corridor and climbing a flight of stairs quite challenging for a kitty, he reached an area where the light was slightly dimmer. Li You poked his head around to look but hadn’t taken the next step when Little Black suddenly darted out ahead of him.

“Meow!” Li You’s heart jolted, and he hurried after. After winding around a few turns, he lost sight of it.

He stood there with his four legs splayed, looking left and right, seeing only towering plants and flowers. He shifted his paw toward the left path, felt it was wrong, turned to the right instead, but after circling around, he ended up back at the start.

Trouble.

He was truly lost now.

Li You circled several more times, each ending back at the origin.

Eventually, he got tired from walking.

The sunlight outside the window was perfect, but he lost his temper and simply flopped down on the spot, burying his four paws in his fur and curling up his feet to doze off.

In his hazy drowsiness, he recalled last night’s dream, and his sleepiness faded.

Li You blinked his eyes a couple times, letting out a purr from his throat, his mood gradually sinking. Then a shadow fell over him, blocking him out. Before he could look up, a pair of hands reached down and scooped him up.

“Hey, where’d this little kitty come from?”

Li You’s four warm, buried paws suddenly dangled in the air, feeling cool and breezy. His paw pads pedaled at empty air a few times. Hearing the familiar voice, he froze instantly and looked up to see a pair of smiling eyes.

Li Ze held the ragdoll cat by the armpits, pulling it close for a look, but its front paws pressed their pads firmly against his nose, pushing him away. He leaned his head back a bit, opening his narrow, squinting eyes: “This little guy’s got some temper. It can’t be that Li Ye guy’s cat, can it?”

“This is the Sunlight Palace. Mind your words.” Beside him, Li Weier glanced at the cat in Li Ze’s hands, narrowed her eyes, and quietly watched its blue eyes.

“This cat…” Li Ming, arms crossed on the other side, spoke up. “Its eyes look just like Youyou’s little guy.”

Li You: “…”

He blinked his kitty eyes and slowly looked left and right at these three familiar faces that had suddenly appeared, shrinking his neck and letting out a “meew”.

It was Big Bro, Second Bro, and Third Sis. Their appearances and auras had changed somewhat, but Li You recognized them at a glance.

Why… were they here?

Li Ze leaned in closer to inspect the little cat. After a serious look, he grinned: “It really is. The eyes are the most similar.”

His face got kicked away by another paw from the ragdoll cat. Moments later, the cat in his hands wriggled free and ran off.

“…Tch.” Li Ze rubbed his nose, watching the ragdoll flee in a disheveled mess, and clicked his tongue in wonder. “The temper’s a bit similar too.”

“Enough. We’re here to see Your Highness Li Ye.” Li Weier shifted her gaze from the fleeing cat. “This is already the rear hall. Further ahead is the sleeping palace.”

“Go straight in?” Li Ze asked.

“What else?” Li Ming tsked.

“No, we need to request permission.” Li Weier shot the two a glance and tapped on her light brain. “Did you two give all your etiquette knowledge back to Teacher Lisa?”

“…”

“…”

The two brothers fell silent, watching their little sister operate. After a moment, they saw the ragdoll cat circle back from the other side.

Li You had gotten lost again. He charged ahead only to look up and see the three once more. He slammed on the brakes, staring at them like they were enemies, his throat’s purr sounding like a low rumbling engine.

“Hey, back again?” Li Ze, ever the unserious one, squatted down and spread his arms. “Come on, little kitty, come to me.”

Li You approached with a stinky kitty face, sidestepped Li Ze, and ran off again.

“I bet it’ll come back.” Li Ze stood helplessly. After waiting a bit, sure enough, he spotted the ragdoll cat circling back on the same path.

“See, I told you.” He beamed at the slightly flustered little cat. “It’s definitely lost.”

“Permission granted.” Li Weier looked up. “Let’s go.”

“Bye-bye, little kitty.” Li Ze waved at the ragdoll cat and turned to leave.

Li You, feeling very stifled inside, watched the three head down another path. He paused in place, thought for a bit, then sneaked after them meow-meow style.

The kitty’s stealth skills were clumsy. The three highly trained Highnesses noticed it trailing them from the start. But they paid it no mind, because for now, what mattered more was facing Li Ye ahead.

At the end of the rear hall stood a tightly shut grand door, almost indistinguishable from the glass floor-to-ceiling windows. The frosted double doors were flanked by wall-hanging roses cascading from above, blanketing the ground.

The three stopped outside the sleeping palace and exchanged looks. Li Weier was about to knock when, before her hand touched, the door slowly opened on its own.

The light inside was good—brighter even—and the first thing that wafted out was the fragrance of tulips.

The three Highnesses kept calm facades, but their expressions grew graver one by one.

Li Ming pretended to be composed as he straightened his collar. As the eldest brother, he naturally had to take the lead. Even if he had to admit he felt a bit uneasy inside, he absolutely couldn’t lose face in front of his younger siblings.

Li Ming had just stepped one foot into the sleeping palace when a white blur shot past below him before the other foot followed.

At first glance, it looked like a floating white ball. On closer look, it was that ragdoll cat from earlier.

“Oh, little cutie, you—” Li Ze exclaimed first, following the ragdoll cat’s direction, but he abruptly shut his mouth.