Chapter 6
Shao Sui pinched the cat’s paw pad, holding it away from his face: “You’re a spy sent by Director Cao, aren’t you? Determined to ruin my face.”
However, for a human, a kitten’s unsheathed-claw attack could only be considered a reward.
Seemingly ferocious, but actually harmless.
Shao Sui coaxed it perfunctorily, “Alright, don’t be angry, I’ll open a can for you when we get home.”
Mimi tried to pull its paw back, but couldn’t.
The human seemed to have forgotten to let go, pinching its paw pad the entire way to the parking lot.
“Meow!”
The Great Meow King tried to remind Shao Sui.
Being held like this made it feel insecure.
“What’s wrong?” Shao Sui looked at his hand connected to the cat’s paw, then said as if suddenly realizing, “You have a fractured leg, I’m helping you maintain your balance.”
Cunning human.
Shao Sui had driven today and needed to go to the 4S shop later. The car wasn’t dirty, having been covered with a car cover in the underground parking garage for six months, but it hadn’t been driven in so long, so a checkup for safety’s sake was prudent.
He opened the trunk, intending to put Mimi in the carrier.
However, Mimi, still fuming, stubbornly resisted, arching its back against the opening, refusing to be put inside.
“Cats can’t sit in the passenger seat,” Shao Sui threatened. “The police officers will take you away.”
Mimi kicked him with its hind leg.
Finally, the human succumbed to the Great Meow King’s tyranny: “Just this once.”
Shao Sui took two pet pee pads, placed one on the passenger seat and one on the armrest, then put the cat down: “Don’t go anywhere else.”
As soon as Mimi sat down, it started licking its belly where the human had touched it.
What little belly? That was the primordial pouch every cat had! Very sophisticated, equivalent to a portable refrigerator, for storing excess food in case of emergencies.
What did this foolish male human know?
Seeing its disdain, Shao Sui couldn’t resist, reaching out to poke it again.
And once again, he received two swift punches.
“Ow!”
Whether it was because of all the canned food or good genes, Mimi’s recovery was swift, its voice no longer hoarse but now rather sweet, even its anger sounding delicate.
Shao Sui didn’t rush to start the car, first searching online for why cats don’t like their bellies being touched.
A top-rated comment said: Touching a cat’s belly is like putting your hand down someone’s pants. If it’s someone you know, they might just punch you, but if it’s a stranger, they might call the police and report you for sexual harassment.
So what?
Could a cat call the police?
With lightning speed, Shao Sui once again rubbed Mimi’s little belly.
Mimi, having just groomed its fur, was furious, turning to glare at Shao Sui.
Shao Sui couldn’t help but chuckle: “Why are you acting so cute?”
Spreading its legs like that, wasn’t it deliberately enticing humans to touch it?
If the Great Meow King knew what Shao Sui was thinking, it would probably scratch his face: It was clearly facing away from the driver’s seat!
Shao Sui drove to the 4S shop. His mysophobia reminded him to get a car wash; there were a few cat hairs on the driver’s seat.
And because he had held the cat, he was also in a “dirty” state, unsuitable for sitting in a freshly cleaned car. So he told the 4S shop staff, “Wash it first, I’ll come back later to check.”
“…Okay.” Shao Sui was unforgettable wherever he went. The 4S shop staff all remembered him. “Mr. Shao, you have a cat now?”
They always had to be extra meticulous when washing Shao Sui’s car because of his mysophobia.
And today, this mysophobic customer was holding a cat.
Shao Sui gave an unrelated answer: “Too clingy, had to hold it, quite troublesome, I don’t recommend you get one.”
The staff member: “…”
Did we ask you that?
The Great Meow King was even angrier, meowing and kicking Shao Sui’s arm.
You’re the clingy one!
The mechanic said, “Has your car not been driven for a long time? There’s a problem with the tire pressure, you might need to replace the tires.”
“Okay, replace them.”
Shao Sui was in a good mood today and didn’t question whether the tires truly needed replacing or if the staff was upselling him.
He hailed a taxi. Before getting in, he took out the disinfectant wipes he carried with him and wiped down the seat. The driver said impatiently, “My car is very clean, hurry up, you can’t park here for long.”
Shao Sui apologized sincerely: “Sorry, I have OCD.”
People with OCD often did things others deemed unnecessary when they were out, sometimes even causing inconvenience to others. In a way, it was an illness.
So when Shao Sui apologized and explained, he would always add the word “disorder” at the end.
He knew he had a problem, but there was nothing he could do.
Disinfecting his home twice a day also greatly impacted his life, especially with a busy profession like teaching. During class, if he recalled a spot in his house that wasn’t properly cleaned, he would feel extremely restless.
Mimi was back in the carrier, still in Shao Sui’s arms.
The driver glanced at the rearview mirror from time to time: “You have OCD and you keep a cat? Can you stand the mess and smell in your house?”
Shao Sui raised an eyebrow: “Whether a house is smelly or not depends on the person, not the cat.”
Even if a pet made a mess, people who couldn’t stand it would clean it up, and those who didn’t mind would let the house get dirty.
If you loved cleanliness but didn’t want to clean, then don’t get a pet.
It was the same as having children. It brought a lot of unnecessary worries and responsibilities.
Although Shao Sui didn’t own a cat and didn’t plan to have children, he still believed that if you chose that path, you had to shoulder the necessary responsibilities, instead of shifting the blame to the child or the pet.
Moreover, cats and dogs were slightly different. Cats were inherently clean creatures, like Mimi, who groomed itself countless times a day.
Yesterday, Shao Sui was very worried. This darn cat ate canned food every day, rich food, and didn’t brush its teeth. Would it transfer its bad breath onto its fur while grooming?
So he held his nose close and sniffed. It was actually fragrant.
Quite amazing.
The driver was still concerned: “It won’t pee in my car, will it?”
People who didn’t own cats always had this worry.
The Great Meow King glared at the driver through the carrier’s mesh. Unfortunately, its delicate features only elicited a wink from the driver.
The Great Meow King coldly retreated a few steps. Mind the road.
“They don’t usually pee indiscriminately,” Shao Sui said precisely. “There’s a pee pad in the carrier, even if it pees, it won’t get on your car.”
He used to have many stereotypes about cats and dogs, such as peeing and pooping everywhere, but apart from shedding, Mimi hadn’t caused him any trouble. Except for the daily canned food, which was a real money burner.
Even the shedding wasn’t as bad as Shao Sui had initially imagined. Just an occasional hair or two, perhaps it wasn’t shedding season yet.
Usually, Mimi would obediently stay in the study. Sometimes it wanted to sneakily follow him out, but if it was discovered, it would casually retreat as if nothing had happened.
And it never made a sound, never disturbed the neighbors, never affected Shao Sui’s work, only letting out a meow or two when annoyed.
“That’s true.” The driver laughed heartily. “If it really peed, your pants would be the first casualty. When you get out of the car, others might think it was you.”
“…” Shao Sui, with his mysophobia, instantly felt his goosebumps rise, almost suffocating from the driver’s words.
He remembered Cheng Ke saying in the office that cat pee was pungent, and once it got on the sofa or bedding, it was almost impossible to completely remove the smell.
Perhaps his legs would also be marinated in the stench.
“Meow!” Mimi swiped at him angrily through the carrier door.
“…” Shao Sui didn’t even dare to take a deep breath, feeling he could already smell it. It took him a while to calm down and ignore the driver.
Back home, he immediately ordered takeout – a cat toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as dry cleaning gloves and towels.
When the delivery arrived, he carried the cat into the bathroom.
Over the past few days, Shao Sui had learned a lot from the app recommendations, such as cats being more afraid of water than dogs and also fearing the loud noise of hair dryers.
Before washing, Shao Sui tested the hairdryer. As expected, Mimi retreated to the corner, watching him warily.
Looking closely, its body was trembling slightly.
Shao Sui turned off the hairdryer, his heart softening: “It won’t hurt you, it’s just to dry your fur. The weather isn’t as hot as before, you’ll get sick if you don’t dry off.”
The cat stared at him with its hazel, gem-like eyes, as if it didn’t understand.
Shao Sui said patiently, “Just a quick wash, no rinsing with water.”
The cat’s cowering made it hard to be stern.
Shao Sui couldn’t find a reason to be stern anyway. After all, he was the one forcing it to bathe with a fractured leg, which was quite unreasonable.
So he offered a compromise: “After the bath, you can roam freely. Except for the sofa and my bedroom, the living room and balcony are all yours.”
“Meow once if you understand.”
Just as Shao Sui was thinking he was being ridiculous, talking so much to a cat, and was about to give up, Mimi actually opened its mouth: “Meow~”
The sound wasn’t its usual threatening meow. Because it was still scared, it sounded exceptionally delicate, no different from a whine.
As if afraid Shao Sui didn’t understand, it even nudged the towel.
“…”
A coincidence, right?
It understood all that?
Shao Sui didn’t overthink it. He closed the bathroom door and took off his shirt to prevent it from being ruined by cat hair during the bath.
The mirror reflected Shao Sui’s well-defined upper body, his perfectly sculpted chest muscles flowing into his jade-like abs, but they were soon blocked by the cat.
For the first time, Shao Sui used his hand to stroke the cat’s chin: “It won’t hurt, I’ll be gentle.”
He placed the cat on the sink, petting it for a while until it started purring, and then began to rub it with the dry cleaning gloves. It wasn’t very dirty, just slightly yellowed.
Then he changed gloves and rubbed it again. This time, after he finished, the gloves were as good as new, completely clean.
He patted the cat’s backside with satisfaction. Mimi seemed to enjoy it, its tail raised like a tattered feather duster.
Shao Sui said, “One more wipe with the towel.”
Even though the dry cleaning gloves were supposedly clean, Shao Sui wasn’t convinced, feeling he still needed to wipe it down with water to be safe. Mimi loved licking its fur; it might really die if it got poisoned again.
But as soon as he finished speaking, the cat’s tail drooped between its legs.
The towel was wet.
Mimi struggled to jump down. Shao Sui had no choice but to scoop it into his arms and soothe it, “It’s okay, this is clean water, not like the rain outside. It’s warm, try it?”
Mimi gradually calmed down, lying motionless in his arms, nuzzling its head into his elbow.
Without the barrier of his shirt, Mimi felt even softer in his arms, its almost cuddly action irresistible to any human.
For the first time in his life, Shao Sui said this word to another living being: “Good boy.”
He first wiped Mimi’s neck, and seeing that the little creature wasn’t resisting too much, he started wiping its entire back, then its tail and forehead.
After finishing the back, he turned Mimi over: “Almost done, just a little bit more.”
Shao Sui avoided its belly, just wiping its chest fur.
The cat was already tense; touching its private parts might trigger a stress response.
“Meow!”
“Almost there.”
Mimi was furious.
He said no water, but he used a wet towel! He said a quick bath, but why did he keep pinching its paws!
It wasn’t a human toy.
Shao Sui lifted the kitten’s mouth: “Now let’s brush your teeth.”
Mimi bit Shao Sui’s finger: “Meow!”
He didn’t say anything about brushing teeth!
Shao Sui felt the cat wouldn’t actually bite down, so he simply explored its shallow mouth with his finger: “Nice teeth, very straight.”
And very white, but even white teeth couldn’t escape brushing.
Shao Sui pulled out his wet finger and squeezed some toothpaste onto a finger brush. Mimi, in its rage, seized the opportunity, twisting its head and biting Shao Sui’s abs!
Shao Sui instinctively arched his back, tensing his abdominal muscles: “Let go!”
Mimi held on, a stubborn meow escaping its mouth: “Mrow!”
Shao Sui reached around and pinched the kitten’s testicles: “Alright, let’s do this. A thousand damage to the enemy, eight hundred to myself.”
