How Could a Kitten Spirit Have Any Bad Intentions? 17

Chapter 17

Shao Sui cooked noodles while steaming cat food.

His phone buzzed incessantly with delivery updates – cat tree, cat snacks, cat toys, nearly twenty items in total.

If he really returned the cat, returning all these would be a major undertaking.

And there was also the homemade cat food in the freezer, a new batch he made just two days ago, enough for a week.

The whistling of the overheated steamer on the stovetop snapped Shao Sui back to reality.

He quickly removed the lid, took out the steaming bowl, and placed it in the sink filled with ice water to cool it down. By the time the food had cooled, the noodles were also ready. Not in the mood to make sauce, Shao Sui simply sprinkled some salt and brought it to the table.

“Mimi—” Shao Sui mixed the canned food into the cat bowl. “Dinner’s ready.”

After calling out several times without seeing the cat, Shao Sui got up to look for it. He found the living room empty, then went to the study and saw Mimi on the windowsill, pawing at the screen. It had actually managed to pry open a small gap.

“What are you doing!?” Shao Sui quickly carried the cat down. “Are you trying to jump out the window? This is the seventh floor!”

“Meow—”

Mimi’s meow was so desperate that Shao Sui’s heart sank. He swatted its backside: “You’re that eager to go back? At least finish your meal first.”

The cat bowl was on the dining table. Usually, Mimi would be punished with the ruler for jumping on the table, but today, Shao Sui placed it there himself: “Eat, don’t get too skinny, or your owner… that person will think I mistreated you.”

Mimi refused to eat, huddled in the corner of the table, motionless.

Teacher Shao said sourly, “So homesick you can’t even eat?”

Mimi looked up and hissed at him.

Shao Sui was taken aback. This hiss was different from before, a genuine threat, not playful.

He went to the kitchen, grabbed a spoon, and as he reached for Mimi, the little creature flattened its ears, its neck shrinking back.

Shao Sui laughed in exasperation, “Why are you hiding? Have I ever hit you? Well, yes, I have… but can that even be considered hitting? It’s not even as hard as swatting a mosquito, and don’t you enjoy it anyway?”

Mimi continued to flatten its ears against its head, its round eyes filled with fear.

What was it afraid of?

Him?

Shao Sui forcefully scooped Mimi up, sat down beside it, scooped a spoonful of food, blew on it, and brought it to the cat’s mouth: “I’m not forcing you. If you really want to go back, then go, but you have to eat first, okay?”

Shao Sui could sense that Mimi was different from other cats. It was too smart, understanding almost everything he said.

Of course, there were also many times it pretended not to understand and ignored him.

So Mimi should also understand his earnest words.

As expected, Mimi looked at him for a long moment, then lowered its head and licked the food from the spoon.

Shao Sui stopped talking, patiently spooning food into its mouth. By the time Mimi finished eating, his noodles had gone cold.

Shao Sui wasn’t one to waste food, so he quickly ate them. While cleaning, to prevent Mimi from causing trouble, he turned on the TV to the news channel as usual.

But today, the cat wasn’t interested, lying listlessly in the corner of the sofa.

Shao Sui felt a sense of disbelief.

Weren’t cats supposed to be less loyal than dogs, not remembering their owners? Mimi looked like it was missing its previous owner.

Shao Sui thought of the Monkey King emoji – so annoying!

He had been too exhausted these past few days, mentally tormented by the unknown thief, and physically drained by his cold and work.

After washing the dishes, Shao Sui locked all the windows, staring at Mimi with a cold smile, convinced it couldn’t open the window locks and jump out now.

He slept on the sofa as usual, pulling the cat into his arms.

Mimi didn’t struggle, lying obediently against his chest, its whiskers flattened, silent.

Unable to resist, Shao Sui lowered his head and nibbled on Mimi’s ear, pressing it against the sofa’s backrest: “Let’s squish our Mimi into a cat pancake, okay? Then you can’t run away.”

“Meow—”

Shao Sui’s ears perked up.

It was the first time he had heard such a soft, delicate meow from Mimi, drawn out and almost pleading.

“So you can make cute noises. You only use that raspy voice with me, don’t you?” Teacher Shao felt indignant. “Did you make these sounds for him too?”

Mimi fell silent, clinging tightly to Shao Sui’s neck with its front paws.

Shao Sui’s heart immediately softened: “You really are…”

The kitten’s warmth was comforting, and Shao Sui quickly fell asleep.

As the night deepened, Mimi remained wide awake, its mind filled with Shao Sui’s words, “The more things you damage, the more likely he is to abandon you.”

Mimi clung to Shao Sui’s neck, watching as the sky gradually brightened, until the shorter hand on the clock pointed to the number 6. It lightly jumped out of Shao Sui’s arms and onto the table.

Shao Sui’s sleep was also restless. He dreamt of Mimi running around mischievously, rubbing against his leg and saying it liked being with him, hoping they would never be apart. Then, the previous owner barged in, and the ungrateful Mimi immediately forgot about him, happily jumping into the owner’s arms, meowing innocently, “I don’t want you anymore.”

Shao Sui woke up in a huff. His neck, previously warmed by the cat, felt cold. He reached out, but found nothing. Just as he was about to succumb to sleep again, the image of the kitten jumping out the window flashed through his mind, jolting him awake.

“Mimi!”

He looked around and saw the cat sitting on the dining table, turning its head to look at him when he called.

Shao Sui tentatively said, “Mimi?”

The kitten stared at him for a moment, as if making a decision. It resolutely extended its paw and pushed the tray of water glasses.

A loud crash, followed by the sound of shattering glass.

“…………”

Shao Sui quickly got up and scooped up Mimi, who was about to jump onto the floor.

Mimi instinctively performed its ear-disappearing trick, tucking its head and closing its eyes tightly, bracing itself for the scolding to come.

But Shao Sui simply carried it back to the sofa: “There are glass shards everywhere, and you dared to jump?”

He checked Mimi’s paws, making sure they weren’t injured, then gently flicked its forehead.

Mimi cautiously opened its eyes and looked at Shao Sui.

Shao Sui didn’t speak, sighing internally. Could Mimi be smart enough to damage things on purpose, forcing him to send it back?

“Meow.” Mimi meowed listlessly.

“I know you miss home.” Shao Sui sighed. “Let’s have breakfast first.”

He cleaned up the broken glass, steamed a bowl of cat food, carried the cat to the table, filled a syringe with fish oil, and then put the pillow aside.

Shao Sui usually fed Mimi fish oil in the morning, so the fishy smell would dissipate by the evening, leaving only a faint scent when he kissed the cat, which he could tolerate.

But today, Mimi refused to eat, dodging the syringe, and when cornered, would nuzzle its wet nose against Shao Sui’s face.

Shao Sui’s heart fluttered from the nuzzling: “Fine, don’t eat if you don’t want to, why are you getting more and more affectionate…”

The thought of Mimi acting like this with its previous owner filled him with annoyance.

If this continued, he would just move, block the owner, delete the post, and disappear. At worst, he would be exposed online, which wasn’t a big loss…

Unfortunately, Teacher Shao couldn’t do such a thing. Since it had already happened, the best solution was to face it.

After feeding Mimi, Shao Sui steamed two buns for himself and started packing. The living room was scattered with Mimi’s toys – a big ball, a small ball, a fish plushie, a cockroach teaser, a squeaky mouse… Mimi liked carrying them around, and after being rolled on the floor, they were covered in dust.

While packing, Shao Sui realized he had unknowingly bought so many things for the cat.

He put all the toys in a bag, and Mimi started to panic.

Run.

But how?

The windows were locked. Even if it turned into a human, it couldn’t outrun Shao Sui. It would just end up being pinned down and meowing… or rather, yelling.

Until they left, Mimi didn’t get a chance to escape, caught by Shao Sui and put into the carrier.

“Meow!!”

Before closing the door, Mimi, in its desperation, bit Shao Sui’s hand.

Shao Sui was startled. Mimi looked genuinely ferocious, as if it wanted to bite him to death.

Mimi’s sharp canines pressed against the webbing of Shao Sui’s hand, but it didn’t bite down.

It released its teeth and tried to escape, but was pushed back by Shao Sui. In the end, it could only huddle silently in the corner of the carrier, its ears drooping.

Soon, Shao Sui left with the carrier and the bag of toys, choosing to drive this time.

The previous owner had chosen a pet-friendly cafe as their meeting place. When Shao Sui arrived, the owner was already there, sitting neatly in a corner, looking like a refined adult male, his hair slicked back with what looked like hair wax.

Mimi liked pawing at Shao Sui’s hair when he was lying on the sofa, so Shao Sui had recently switched to pet-friendly shampoo.

Seeing Shao Sui with the cat, the previous owner’s eyes lit up. He stood up and said, “Over here—”

Shao Sui walked over and placed the carrier on the side. The other man extended his right hand, introducing himself, “Hello, I’m Hu Yuan.”

“Hello.” Shao Sui didn’t shake his hand, nor did he introduce himself. “Sorry, I have a bit of OCD, not a fan of handshakes.”

Hu Yuan wasn’t embarrassed at all, his smile widening: “I understand. Would you like something to drink?”

“An orange Americano, please.” Shao Sui told the waiter, then wiped down his chair with a wet wipe before sitting down. “Could you tell me how you met Mi… I forgot to ask, what was his original name?”

Hu Yuan replied, “Pipi, because he was very naughty.”

“He’s quite well-behaved here.” Shao Sui continued his previous question. “Could you tell me how you met Mimi?”

“Still don’t believe me?” Hu Yuan chuckled, taking out his phone. “You’ve seen these pictures, and you said he had a collar when you found him. See if it’s the same one.”

Shao Sui glanced at the pictures: “It is indeed.”

Hu Yuan gestured with his hand, forming a fist-sized circle: “I have deep feelings for Pipi. He was this small when I first got him, and I raised him to this size. A while ago, when I opened the door, I wasn’t paying attention, and he darted out…”

Hu Yuan’s face was filled with guilt and distress. Any outsider would have believed his sincerity.

But Shao Sui frowned.

The waiter walked over with a tray: “Your orange Americano, and your latte.”

Just then, Shao Sui heard a click. Having learned his lesson, he immediately recognized the sound, scooping up Mimi, who was about to jump, into his arms.

Having failed to escape, Mimi trembled all over, desperately clinging to Shao Sui’s neck.

Held so close, Shao Sui could feel Mimi’s rapidly rising body temperature and its frantic heartbeat, as if it were about to die. Then, he felt a warm, damp patch on his shirt and a faint, pungent smell.

Mimi had peed itself in fright.

Shao Sui’s eyes turned cold, glancing at Hu Yuan before softly comforting Mimi, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid… it’s okay, I’m here. Anyone who dares touch our Mimi, Teacher Shao will beat them up…”

Hu Yuan also stood up: “He’s always been like this, very timid around strangers. Thank you so much for saving him, I’ll definitely take good care of him when we get back…”

Shao Sui couldn’t listen anymore, interrupting him, “I’m afraid only that last sentence is true.”

Hu Yuan’s smile faltered: “What do you mean?”

Even held tightly, Mimi continued to burrow into Shao Sui’s neck, refusing to even glance at Hu Yuan.