Chapter 29
Mimi, held by the scruff of its neck, froze, its large eyes darting around, clearly plotting something.
Shao Sui closed and locked the bathroom door: “Let’s see where you can run now.”
Mimi twitched its ears, planning to kick Shao Sui again when he let go. However, Shao Sui was prepared this time and didn’t give it the chance.
“…You’re really asking for it.”
Shao Sui’s tone was slightly menacing. Mimi jumped down and retreated to a corner, thinking Shao Sui wouldn’t hit him like that bad man, but what if he did?
Male humans seemed to value that thing very much, unlike some foolish cats who continued to eat and drink even after being neutered, even getting fatter.
Mimi, ever so clever, had quickly observed the pattern near the Chinese medicine clinic. Cats caught by humans wouldn’t die, they might even be adopted into a human family and live a comfortable life, but they would lose their two balls.
To protect his precious balls, Mimi had resolutely refused countless offers of adoption from wealthy families, eventually ending up in this tiny apartment with a poor teacher as his owner.
Shao Sui, unaware of the cat’s thoughts, felt it was indecent to spank a naked cat. He put on his pants and jacket, and just as he turned around to confront Mimi, he was tackled by a warm, soft body.
Shao Sui, slightly stiff, held Mimi’s waist: “You think I won’t hit you just because you’re human?”
“Then, then hit me gently.” Mimi said cautiously. “My cat body is too small, you’ll break it.”
A newly transformed cat spirit with an adult’s learning ability was truly fascinating, constantly coming up with new expressions. Humans said “human body,” Mimi substituted it with “cat body.”
“How do you know a human body can’t be broken?”
“I don’t know, you try?”
“…” Shao Sui sensed a hint of challenge in Mimi’s expression. “I won’t hit you, domestic violence is illegal. I was thinking of letting you sleep in the same bed with me tonight since you’re human, but you’ve been too naughty, so you’ll sleep in the study.”
The naive Great Meow King was stunned.
What to do! He had made a huge mistake!
“You can’t do this…” Mimi was utterly heartbroken, searching for the right words. “You’re going back on your word!”
Shao Sui was merciless, “So what? You made a mistake.”
Mimi looked like he was about to cry: “But…”
After a moment of staring at each other, Shao Sui felt like he had become his mother, who loved using the tactic, “I was going to take you to such and such, but seeing how hopeless you are, forget it.”
As a child, hearing those words always made him feel bad, as if something he could have had was taken away because of his mistake, and he would be filled with regret for a long time.
In reality, his mother never intended to give him any rewards; she just wanted him to feel bad and become more obedient.
Shao Sui averted his gaze, inexplicably unable to look Mimi in the eye, and pushed him away, feigning indifference, “Stay here, I’ll get you some clothes.”
Mimi swayed, his body lingering against Shao Sui’s palm.
“…”
If Mimi’s expression wasn’t so innocent, Shao Sui would have thought he was truly a “slutty cat,” as the internet slang went.
The small cabinet in the bedroom contained Mimi’s human clothes, mostly underwear and socks. Shao Sui hadn’t bought Mimi any outer garments yet, always feeling strange about spending money on a human Mimi.
But that was days ago.
“Wear my old clothes for now, I’ll take you to buy new ones later.” Shao Sui said as he walked towards the bathroom. “Do you want—”
He abruptly stopped.
Mimi stood obediently in the bathroom, his skin even fairer than in his cat form, almost translucent, smooth and delicate.
Although he wasn’t human to begin with.
He had somehow found the ruler, holding it in his hands, his eyes pleading, “Just spank me instead.”
Shao Sui’s throat felt dry, “…You want to sleep with me that badly?”
He immediately regretted the words; they sounded strange.
“Yes.” Fortunately, Mimi didn’t detect anything amiss, his voice soft. “Please, Shao Sui, spank me, I won’t bite you even if it hurts!”
“…”
Shao Sui took the ruler, feeling like a pervert.
For a moment, he actually wanted to spank human Mimi’s backside, hard enough to hurt but not injure, to see his reaction.
Shao Sui cleared his throat, “Take a shower first, then get dressed.”
Mimi said, “Why don’t you just spank me a few more times?”
“Showering is something every human has to do, you can’t avoid it.” Shao Sui said sternly. “Go inside, let me inspect the results of my teaching.”
Mimi reluctantly entered the shower stall and hesitated in front of the four piano-key buttons.
Which one was it again?
He peeked at Shao Sui, who remained indifferent, offering no hints.
Mimi took a deep breath and pressed the first button on the right. Before the water even came down, he squeezed his eyes shut, his face scrunching up.
Within a second, the water from the overhead showerhead drenched him, startling him into turning and running, straight into Shao Sui’s arms.
“This is the consequence of not paying attention in class.” Shao Sui, having anticipated this, had tightened his jacket to avoid getting wet.
Mimi clung tightly to Shao Sui’s arm, “I don’t want to shower anymore…”
Teacher Shao said patiently, “Press the second button on the right, the water pressure is gentler. You can slowly pour it on yourself. I’ve showered you before when you were a cat, it’s not scary at all, remember?”
Mimi remembered, “Will you stay here?”
“Yes, I won’t leave.” Shao Sui smoothed Mimi’s wet hair. “Go ahead, I’m right here.”
Mimi, summoning his courage again, stepped under the showerhead and turned on the regular shower.
This time, it went smoothly. The water pressure, terrifying for a cat, felt like a drizzle on his human skin, not scary at all, even a little fun, playing with the bubbles even more so.
Mimi tried to share his joy, “Shao Sui, I’m so happy I could… le bu si chong!”
Teacher Shao, after watching for a while, averted his gaze, “…It’s not le bu si chong, it’s le bu si shu.” (A Chinese idiom expressing such enjoyment in a place that one forgets to return home.)
Having mispronounced the idiom, Mimi felt a little embarrassed, “I haven’t been to school in a long time.”
Shao Sui took the opportunity, “Then you should study hard for your online lessons.”
Mimi agreed wholeheartedly, “You’re right, but there was a little dot moving on the screen yesterday, I really wanted to catch it.”
Shao Sui said flatly, “That’s the mouse cursor.”
Mimi said he understood, “Then can you make it stop moving?”
How could he make it stop moving? It was a video made by the online teacher, the cursor’s movement indicated which syllable was being taught.
“I’ll change the teacher for you tonight.”
“Thank you, Shao Sui.”
Mimi, still polite, reluctantly rinsed off the soap and dried himself with a towel under Shao Sui’s urging.
Although he did a messy job.
Shao Sui definitely wasn’t going to help him.
A minute later.
“Raise your arms. Lift your chin.” Shao Sui instructed.
He wrapped Mimi in the towel and quickly dried him.
Mimi looked down, “It’s itchy here.”
Shao Sui instinctively glanced at the two points Mimi was referring to, then quickly averted his gaze, “Stop talking.”
Mimi, ever curious, asked, “Why?”
Shao Sui said, “No reason, humans don’t talk while being dried – put on your clothes.”
Mimi didn’t move, clearly wanting to say something.
Shao Sui relented, “You can talk now, only one sentence.”
Mimi said anxiously, “Aren’t you going to spank me? I want to sleep with you tonight.”
Shao Sui instantly regretted his leniency, saying, “Put on your clothes first.”
In all his years of teaching, he had never met anyone so eager to be spanked.
Mimi put on his clothes and contentedly received a swat on his clothed backside. It didn’t hurt much, just a slight tingling sensation, which Mimi kept rubbing even as they were leaving.
Shao Sui was puzzled, he hadn’t used much force, “Does it hurt that much?”
“Not at all.” Mimi requested, “Can you spank me more like you used to?”
Shao Sui: “…”
He should have used all his strength earlier, so Mimi wouldn’t dare ask to be spanked again.
Perhaps he should search online for what to do with a masochistic cat.
“No, only when you make a—”
Shao Sui stopped himself. If he said only when he made a mistake, knowing Mimi’s logic, he might cause trouble on purpose every day.
Mimi eagerly sought confirmation: “Okay, then I showered, and you punished me, can I sleep with you tonight?”
Shao Sui wanted to say no.
After a moment of staring at each other, his heart softened again.
What did a cat understand?
It only knew that it used to be able to sleep with its owner, but now it couldn’t, and it was sad.
“We’re going out now, you can sleep with me after another shower when we get back.”
“That’s great!” Mimi, after his initial excitement, asked warily, “Where are we going?”
Shao Sui bent down to put on his shoes: “To buy you some clothes and shoes, and I was also going to ask if you wanted to visit the area near the Chinese medicine clinic.”
Mimi mumbled, “Not really…”
Shao Sui saw through the cat’s thoughts, “Afraid I’ll leave you there?”
“Are you really going to abandon me?” Mimi panicked, “I can sleep separately too!”
The pleading cat was truly heart-wrenching. Shao Sui, who had intended to tease him, abandoned the idea and said gently, “Abandoning family members is a crime in human society, I’ll be arrested by the police if I abandon you.”
Mimi believed everything Shao Sui said, and in turn, threatened him, “People get shot by the police when they’re arrested! You can’t abandon me, you’ll die!”
“Of course not.” Shao Sui said, “And our Mimi has such a good nose, you’ll find your way back even if you get lost.”
The Great Meow King’s confidence soared, “Exactly!”
He was the Great Meow King, the most capable cat in the world!
“When we go out, you absolutely cannot suddenly transform back into a cat, understand?” Shao Sui warned. “If other people find out you’re a cat spirit, they might capture you and conduct scary experiments on you.”
Mimi didn’t actually know what “experiments” meant, but since Shao Sui used the word “scary,” it must be truly terrifying.
“Okay!”
“I’ll protect you no matter what happens, so don’t be afraid.” Shao Sui continued his instructions. “When we go back to the Chinese medicine clinic and see familiar faces, you can’t tell them you’re Mimi the calico.”
“But…”
“Humans can’t accept cat spirits, they’ll be scared to death.”
Mimi was slightly touched. Other humans would be scared to death by cat spirits, but not Shao Sui, he had only become a little indifferent, still treating him very well.
Shao Sui was truly a good person.
Shao Sui opened the door, then paused, adding, “Don’t say strange things when we’re out, understand?”
“What are strange things?”
“Like…” Shao Sui felt everything that came out of Mimi’s mouth was strange. “You’re a cat spirit, you have to speak softly in human society, like a mosquito buzzing, so people won’t notice anything unusual.”
Mimi, understanding, leaned close to Shao Sui’s ear and whispered, “Like this?”
Teacher Shao’s ear felt like it had been bitten by a mosquito, incredibly ticklish, “Yes, just like that – let’s go.”
