Chapter 2
Among Shao Sui’s acquaintances, only Cheng Ke owned a cat.
He took the opportunity to ask, “Can cats understand human speech?”
Cheng Ke replied, “Similar to dogs, they can understand some simple commands after training, but their obedience isn’t high. My blue-and-white sometimes pretends not to even understand its name and completely ignores me.”
Fearing Shao Sui might dislike cats even more, Cheng Ke added, “But everyone is different, and so are cats. Calicos are generally quite docile and gentle.”
Shao Sui gave a noncommittal “oh.”
So docile. Their first meeting resulted in a rabies vaccine gift package for him.
Inside the carrier, the calico, as usual, huddled in the furthest corner. Its ears twitched, listening quietly to the humans discussing it.
“Poor little thing.” Cheng Ke squatted down and looked at the calico through the carrier door. “It must have been beautiful. Its face is so symmetrical. It probably encountered a cat-abusing pervert or a naughty kid while it was straying.”
Shao Sui had asked the property management to check the surveillance footage. The cat had crawled out of the flowerbed to the roadside on its own, already covered in blood. The security guard said small animals were spiritual and that it probably wanted to die quickly by getting rained on.
Shao Sui, who had been scammed and bitten, didn’t think so.
“Just unlucky.” Even its scam attempt failed to find a kind person; instead, it encountered him.
“It’s hard for stray cats to have a peaceful end. There are too many dangers around… Did you post a lost cat notice in the community group?” Cheng Ke asked.
“I also informed the property management, but no one has claimed it yet.”
Shao Sui lived in a community with a high population turnover, with many migrant workers, and not everyone in the group was a resident.
Cheng Ke sighed, “My cat is very jealous and doesn’t get along with other cats, otherwise I could adopt it.”
Cheng Ke knew clearly that since no one had claimed it after so long, it was highly likely they wouldn’t find the original owner. And injured like this, who knew how long it had been straying.
She offered a compromise: “You keep it for now. If you really can’t handle it, contact me, and I can help you find someone to adopt it.”
Shao Sui didn’t refuse: “Okay, thanks.”
“You’re welcome, we’re colleagues. Helping each other is what we should do.” Cheng Ke glanced at the pile of things by Shao Sui’s feet. “Did you drive?”
“No.”
“I drove. Want me to give you a lift?”
Shao Sui declined, citing the short distance, mainly because the cat on Cheng Ke’s back seemed to intensely dislike him and was hissing furiously.
“Then I’ll be going.” Cheng Ke ended the pleasantries, waved goodbye, and headed to the parking lot.
Taking a cat home was indeed troublesome. A carrier wasn’t nearly enough. Litter box, litter, cat food all had to be purchased. Considering the cat’s current inability to carry anything, he saved money on a cat teaser.
Shao Sui borrowed a trolley from the Cainiao Post Station, placed all the items, including the carrier, on it, and pushed it towards Building 8, where he lived.
Driving would indeed be more convenient, but it would also bring new troubles. If Cheng Ke hadn’t mentioned it, Shao Sui would have almost forgotten he had a Volvo in the underground parking garage. It hadn’t been driven in over half a year. He’d have to take it out for maintenance and inspection sometime.
Shao Sui’s apartment wasn’t large, a rented two-bedroom, just right for a single man.
While changing into his house slippers, he searched online for “how to settle a stray cat.”
Most of the cat-rescuing netizens already had pets at home, and stray cats might carry fleas, feline distemper, or other infectious diseases. Therefore, they usually chose to quarantine them in the bathroom for a period.
For the sake of his own mental well-being, Shao Sui also decided to put the cat in the bathroom.
As someone with mysophobia, Shao Sui’s bathroom was exceptionally clean. Not a single hair could be seen on the floor, every corner was spotless, and the air was filled with a faint sandalwood scent.
He put on gloves and took the calico out of the carrier.
The doctor had said, judging by its teeth and bone age, the calico was over a year old, but it weighed only a little over four jin. It likely hadn’t eaten its fill while straying.
Shao Sui said, “You’ll stay here for now.”
The calico, limping, leaned against the carrier, motionless, only observing its surroundings cautiously with its eyes. After confirming that it was in a bathroom, a look of humiliation inexplicably appeared in its eyes.
Shao Sui thought he must have been seeing things.
How could a little kitty have so many complex emotions?
He called out the generic cat name without any emotion: “Mimi?”
The cat curled up, resting its head on its tail, eyelids closed, either not hearing or unwilling to acknowledge the name.
“There are three rules for staying in my house to recover.” Shao Sui acted quite impersonal. “You can move freely in the bathroom, but you can’t touch anything here. Meow once if you understand.”
Silence.
Well, it wasn’t playing the victim anymore.
Shao Sui continued, “Secondly, you’re under my roof now, so please bear with me when I come in to use the bathroom. No biting or scratching.”
The cat still ignored him, as if it truly didn’t understand.
Shao Sui got up and washed his hands: “Lastly, no peeing or pooping anywhere.”
The little calico didn’t meow, just huddled against the carrier, the humiliation in its eyes even more pronounced than before.
Shao Sui glanced back, as if understanding: “You don’t want to stay in the bathroom?”
The little calico opened its mouth, seemingly clearing its throat, and then let out the same sound as the first day: “Ah!”
Hoarse, like someone pulling on an old bellows.
“You really do understand human speech…” Shao Sui narrowed his eyes. “Meow once, and I’ll change your location. Meow, not ‘ah’.”
The little calico closed its eyes, with a look of resignation, gathering its strength before letting out a strange, barely recognizable “Meow.”
Shao Sui chuckled, “That’s quite unpleasant.”
Fortunately, Shao Sui was a man of his word. He moved the cat to the study.
Shao Sui set up the food bowl, filled it with water and cat food, and placed the litter box by the window for ventilation. He didn’t buy canned food. One can cost ten or twenty yuan, more expensive than pork, but only weighed a few dozen grams. A total rip-off.
Shao Sui said coldly, “You better eat obediently. If you starve to death, I won’t be able to get your owner to reimburse me for the medical expenses.”
He didn’t take Cheng Ke’s words “cats sleep anywhere but their beds” to heart. In order to prevent the cat from shedding everywhere, he still spent a considerable sum on a cat bed, over a hundred yuan.
Honestly, for over a hundred yuan, he could buy a single bed frame for a human.
Shao Sui thus concluded that people who kept cats, like those who raised children, were all suckers.
He bent down and placed the cat in the soft bed. Even through the gloves, he could feel the cat’s hot body temperature and rapid heartbeat.
Its bones were prominent, somewhat uncomfortable to hold.
“The three rules from earlier still apply. Don’t run around, and don’t touch my things.”
The calico turned around, presenting its backside to him as a response.
“…”
Shao Sui understood that he wasn’t popular with animals. After all, liking something was a two-way street.
After settling the cat, he went out to return the trolley to the Cainiao Post Station and went to the supermarket to buy groceries for dinner.
Cheng Ke seemed worried about him taking care of the cat and sent him some temporary cat-caring tips, such as closing doors and windows, and not placing fragile items on tables.
Also, to wear thicker gloves when changing the cat’s bandages, as injured cats were generally more sensitive and might accidentally injure people. He should try to be patient.
Teacher Cheng: Absolutely don’t give it chocolate. It’s highly toxic to cats. Grapes too.
Teacher Cheng: It might not eat on its first day home, that’s normal. You can find a small room or the bathroom. Let it familiarize itself with the environment first, don’t force cuddles.
Shao Sui: Okay.
Shao Sui didn’t think he would force cuddles on a cat. That was a joke.
Just in that short time, his sleeves had already caught several cat hairs.
Before bringing it back, he considered asking the doctor to completely shave the calico, but then he thought, being injured while straying was already miserable enough, wouldn’t it get depressed if it became a bald cat? Although he didn’t know if cats could get depressed.
In any case, if someone shaved his hair, he definitely wouldn’t be happy.
Like a certain head teacher who insisted he become bald.
In order to get the medical expenses back from the cat’s owner, Shao Sui decided to treat this unlucky creature kindly for the time being.
Cheng Ke sent a voice message: “By the way, my nurse friend told me your cat isn’t refusing to eat, it just only wants to eat canned food. That’s why the doctor wanted you to take it home.”
After all, for hospitalized cats, they couldn’t charge the owners extra for food, nor could they let the cat starve to death.
Shao Sui didn’t comment on the phrase “your cat” and simply replied with an acknowledgement and thanks.
Teacher Cheng: You can post the cat’s information on social media and see if you can find its owner.
Shao Sui: Okay, I’ll try.
It was already late when he finished dinner. Shao Sui couldn’t rest yet; he had to mark the test papers the students had just taken in the afternoon. But as soon as he entered the study, he found the cat was gone.
Shao Sui looked around and called out indifferently, “Mimi?”
No response.
Shao Sui glanced at the security screen window. The handicapped but determined little calico shouldn’t be able to scratch through or open it.
He frowned, closed the door, and searched the room like a villain, calling out emotionlessly, “Mimi?”
Finally, he found the cat on the second-to-last shelf, in the far right compartment, curled up in the small triangular space between the books and the shelf. He didn’t know how it had climbed up there.
A tiny little ball.
Having been discovered, the little calico stared at Shao Sui with its round eyes, its bandaged paws tensely held in front of it, as if ready to draw blood from Shao Sui if things went south.
Where was the docility?
The book next to the cat was brand new, still in its transparent plastic wrap, so it wouldn’t get dirty. Shao Sui ignored the cat, sat down at his desk, put on his silver-rimmed glasses, and his entire demeanor instantly became exceptionally aloof.
“Don’t worry, I’m not interested in you. Once I find your owner, we’ll part ways.”
The calico trembled, unseen by Shao Sui.
The human in front of it kept writing, the only sound being the rustling of the pen against the test paper. It was very quiet.
Safe for now.
The little calico stared at the human’s back, but in the end, it couldn’t hold on. Its eyelids drooped, exhausted and sleepy. It curled its paws, turning itself into a ball.
Its consciousness gradually faded, and just as it was about to fall asleep, a “thump, thump” sound came from upstairs, like a child playing with a ball.
This sound, insignificant to humans, startled the calico awake. It propped itself up, vigilantly observing its surroundings. Just then, the human finished marking the papers and glanced back, misunderstanding its posture.
Shao Sui scoffed, “If only those students were as afraid of me as you are.”
The cat food bowl was still full, seemingly untouched.
Shao Sui said abruptly, “Is starving to death more comfortable than being poisoned?”
Logically, a cat shouldn’t understand such complex human language, but the calico in front of him trembled, seeming somewhat subdued.
Shao Sui didn’t know why he was imagining the cat’s expression. He shook his head, remembering Cheng Ke’s words about giving the cat time to adapt to the environment alone. He decided to leave the study to the cat and go to the living room to prepare his lessons.
Reaching the study door, he asked politely, “Do you need me to leave the light on?”
“Okay, no need.”
Shao Sui switched off the light with a “click.”
“…”
The darkness gave the cat enough security. After a while, it jumped down from the bookshelf. Its fractured leg caused it to lose balance, and it fell to the floor.
But hunger drove it to struggle to its feet and go to the food bowl, where it began to munch on the dry food.
None of the people at the hospital knew why it only ate canned food, but this human had guessed—
It wasn’t picky; it was afraid of being poisoned again. Only freshly opened canned food was safe.
But this human seemed poor and couldn’t afford canned food.
The rain had been heavy that day. It was dying and didn’t have the strength to choose its rescuer.
Usually, it would have chosen a female human with a pleasant pheromone scent and a cat-like smell, such as that Teacher Cheng, not this poor male human who disliked its hoarse voice.
But Teacher Cheng already had a cat, and it was very fierce.
It could understand. If it found a fragrant, wealthy owner who loved it dearly, it would also want to monopolize that affection and never allow a third party to interfere.
While eating the dry food, the little calico let out a pitiful, coquettish whimper.
The dry food was so hard, it hurt its teeth.
