Chapter 50
Shao Sui lowered his head, pressing it against Mimi’s, and wrapped his arms around his waist, “Don’t move, let me hold you for a while.”
Mimi relaxed completely, melting into Shao Sui’s embrace.
Shao Sui gently caressed him, asking softly, “Why did you lose so much weight? Was the food at the base not good?”
“It was good, they had fish every day.” Mimi explained, “The teacher said using your brain burns more calories than using your body.”
Shao Sui was surprised, “The training was that difficult?”
Mimi nuzzled Shao Sui’s neck, his voice muffled, “Not difficult, I used my brain to think about you, 360 degrees of thinking.”
“Oh, my baby.”
Shao Sui wanted to absorb Mimi into his very being, the emptiness from their month-long separation instantly filled.
He couldn’t resist pushing his luck, “How can you prove you thought about me every day?”
Mimi complained, “The teacher scolded me every day for being lovesick, for having my heart set on you even though I was physically at the base!” (This refers to a Chinese idiom about being physically present but mentally absent, often used to describe someone who is lovesick.)
“How could they scold our baby?” Shao Sui’s laughter shook his chest, his smile wider than ever. “Let’s cover our ears and ignore them.”
Mimi’s body vibrated with Shao Sui’s laughter, “Stop laughing, I’m going to fall.”
“Fall how?” Shao Sui rolled over, pinning the little cat spirit underneath him and tickling him. “In my arms and you still want to fall? I dare you.”
Mimi’s body shook with laughter, “Stop it, stop it!”
As they played, Shao Sui’s eyes darkened, his gaze turning heated. Mimi seemed to sense the change, his laughter ceasing as he became serious.
Shao Sui swallowed his words, rolled off the sofa, and pulled Mimi up, “Let’s eat cake.”
Mimi held onto Shao Sui’s hand, his lips curving downwards in displeasure when Shao Sui let go.
Shao Sui didn’t notice, feeding Mimi a bite of cake.
“So sweet.”
“I wanted to make it myself, but I’ve been too busy lately, no time to learn, I’ll make it for your…” Shao Sui suddenly realized, “What’s your registered birthdate on your ID card?”
Mimi said matter-of-factly, “The day you found me.”
Shao Sui was speechless. He wiped the cream from the corner of Mimi’s mouth, “Then I’ll make you a cake next year for your birthday.”
Hearing “next year,” Mimi instinctively smiled, then quickly suppressed it, saying seriously, “Okay.”
After finishing the cake, there was no room for durian, which was just as well, Shao Sui had bought a whole one, they could eat it tomorrow.
Shao Sui said, “You go take a shower, I’ll tidy up.”
Mimi agreed, “I didn’t wash my hair yesterday.”
Shao Sui didn’t mind, “You don’t smell bad, but it’s still best to wash it today.”
Mimi pursed his lips, glancing back repeatedly as he walked towards the bathroom. Before closing the door, he peeked out. Shao Sui was sitting on the sofa, looking at his identification documents, not even glancing up.
Mimi slammed the door shut.
Shao Sui looked up, feeling a pang of sadness. The little cat spirit had indeed grown up in the past month, no longer dependent on him for everything, even having his own household registration and ID card.
Legally speaking, Mimi was no longer Shao Sui’s possession, but an independent individual.
Before the Cat Spirit Mutual Aid Association appeared, Shao Sui had been conflicted. He knew Mimi needed an ID card to function in human society.
But he also liked the idea of Mimi not having one, being unable to leave him, always by his side, just his little cat, his “possession.”
Mimi’s appearance perfectly matched current beauty standards, fair skin, delicate features, even his ID photo wasn’t bad, his serious expression while staring at the camera incredibly endearing.
Name: Shao Mimi
Sex: Male
Date of Birth: …
Address: …
Shao Sui read each character carefully. He hadn’t known getting a household registration would be so easy, otherwise, he would have chosen a more proper name.
He felt a little resentful towards the association, why did they register him with such a casual name? They should have chosen a more formal, auspicious name, one with deeper meaning.
The sound of the shower stopping jolted Shao Sui back to reality. He quickly cleaned up the messy cake box, took Mimi’s clothes out of the suitcase to wash them, and disinfected the suitcase.
Mimi had brought back almost everything he took with him, except for the snacks and a small black bag.
Shao Sui squeezed it. It seemed to contain some boxes and bottles, skincare products?
He hesitated, then decided against opening it. Mimi had just returned, their relationship already feeling a bit distant, violating his privacy might upset him.
“Shao Sui!” Mimi called out from the bathroom.
“Coming!”
Thinking something was wrong, Shao Sui immediately opened the door and was met with Mimi’s steamy gaze, his naked body completely exposed.
“…What do you need?”
Mimi silently handed him the hairdryer.
Shao Sui understood this time, putting the hairdryer aside and wrapping Mimi in a towel. “Still think it’s autumn? You’ll catch a cold if you don’t dry yourself.”
He dried Mimi’s body and hair, then turned on the hairdryer.
Shao Sui chuckled, “Still afraid of the hairdryer even after your social training?”
Mimi said, “How can I suddenly not be afraid? Humans are also afraid of ghosts, even if they say ghosts don’t exist, they’re still scared.”
Shao Sui agreed, “Hmm, makes sense.”
Mimi wanted to hug Shao Sui’s waist, but seeing him step away, he pouted and turned his head away unhappily.
Shao Sui ruffled his hair, “Okay, I’ll go take a shower now.”
He spent some time in the bathroom, and when he came out, he found Mimi waiting by the door, instinctively averting his gaze.
“Are you cold?”
“A little.”
“Then go lie down in bed.” Shao Sui turned off the living room lights and led Mimi to the bedroom, saying casually, “You can sleep wherever you want after this, let’s chat tonight.”
Mimi pinched Shao Sui’s fingertip, a mosquito-bite-like sensation.
Shao Sui, puzzled, asked, “What’s wrong?”
Mimi looked down and mumbled, “Just playing.”
“…”
After a month apart, Shao Sui could no longer decipher the little cat spirit’s thoughts. Did he want to sleep with him, or not?
Shao Sui couldn’t tell.
He lifted the covers and lay down beside Mimi, their shoulders and legs touching. The little cat spirit remained silent, and Shao Sui, feeling anxious, tried to start a conversation.
“Did you make any new friends there?”
“Yes.” Mimi said, “There’s a cat spirit of the same breed as me, also a calico, even prettier than Milk Tea.”
Shao Sui’s alarm bells rang. Calico males were rare, it was probably a female cat spirit.
Mimi added, “We’re WeChat friends now.”
Shao Sui’s vision darkened, “Didn’t you say there’s no internet there?”
Mimi said, “No internet for contacting you, but there’s internet inside.” (Meaning no outside internet access, but internal network.)
Shao Sui caught the important part, “What did you send me?”
Mimi, unsuspecting, handed him his phone and continued talking about his friend, “Her name is Jiaojiao, she often asks me to eat with her.”
Shao Sui opened WeChat, a pang of jealousy in his heart. His previously empty chat list now had three group chats and over a dozen contacts.
“Are these all your friends?”
“Some are teachers and staff, everyone likes me.” Mimi said confidently. “All the cat spirits want to cuddle with me.”
Shao Sui, remembering Mimi’s “history” of kissing many cats, felt uneasy, “You guys don’t… greet each other with kisses like foreigners, do you?”
Mimi’s eyes widened, “How could we!? The teacher would scold us! The teacher said humans who kiss casually are trash, good people only kiss those they like.”
Shao Sui: “…”
Mimi hadn’t listened to a word he said, but learned it instantly from the association’s teacher, so was he a bad teacher?
Mimi continued, “The teacher said, when we become human, we have to follow human rules, and if humans become cats, they have to follow our cat rules.”
Shao Sui felt weary, imagining himself as a cat, and Mimi just yelling, “I’m straight!”
“This association of yours… they don’t mind… genetic pollution and arrange marriages, do they?”
“The association is very open-minded.” Mimi understood every word Shao Sui said. “Although the teacher doesn’t recommend we date humans, they don’t forbid it either.”
Shao Sui was slightly relieved, “That’s good.”
Mimi glanced at Shao Sui, “Especially for me.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t have… kittens.”
Shao Sui hadn’t told Mimi that male calico cats were infertile. Humans, especially males, minded such defects, and he didn’t want Mimi to be sad.
“Not being able to have children is a small matter, many humans dislike children nowadays.” Shao Sui coughed, testing the waters, “So do you want to be with a human or a cat spirit?”
Mimi fell silent, seeming a little unhappy.
Shao Sui didn’t dare to ask again, quickly changing the subject, “What else did you learn?”
“So much, I can’t even list it all, so many subjects.” The Great Meow King said proudly. “I even took the life skills exam in the first week and got a perfect score!”
Shao Sui praised, “So impressive.”
Mimi said, “No, no, it’s because Teacher Shao taught me well.”
Shao Sui suppressed a smile, was this modesty also taught by the association’s teachers?
He scrolled through Mimi’s phone, glancing at his contacts, then returned to the top and opened their chat, full of red exclamation marks.
Scrolling all the way up, Shao Sui discovered Mimi had sent him hundreds of messages, the little cat spirit’s month hadn’t been as cheerful as he appeared now.
The first message was sent on the night he left: Shao Sui, can you pick me up tomorrow? I don’t want to stay here anymore, I can’t sleep, I miss you so much.
Mimi, seeing the red exclamation marks, had then sent a voice message. Just as Shao Sui was about to play it, Mimi stopped him, “Don’t!”
Shao Sui paused, “Isn’t it for me?”
Mimi whispered, “It’s embarrassing, I only sent it because I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”
Shao Sui said with a heartache, “Didn’t I tell you there’s no signal there?”
Mimi vaguely understood that phone communication relied on signals, but he still panicked when the message failed to send, unable to call either, running outside barefoot in the middle of the night, calling out Shao Sui’s name, refusing to listen to anyone, determined to find him.
Only when Guan Jiu arrived, saying, “Shao Sui just messaged me asking me to take good care of you, he doesn’t want to abandon you,” and showing him the message history, was Mimi finally appeased.
Mimi said, “I kept having nightmares the first few nights, but smelling your clothes helped.”
Shao Sui felt a pang of guilt, “I’m sorry, baby.”
“It’s okay, I understand now, you did it for my own good.” Mimi thought for a moment, then added, his eyes darting around, “You can listen to it secretly if you want, I don’t want to.”
Shao Sui looked at Mimi, silent.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“I can’t?”
Mimi, slightly embarrassed, instinctively licked the back of his hand, pretending nothing happened.
Shao Sui chuckled softly. This association’s teaching wasn’t that effective.
Mimi lowered his hand, then suddenly called out, “Shao Sui.”
Shao Sui: “Hmm?”
Mimi said, “Let’s go to sleep.”
“So early?”
Shao Sui was surprised, but he still reached for the light switch. Just as he was about to turn it off, he felt a sudden weight on his lap.
Mimi sat in his lap, cupped Shao Sui’s face, and gave him a firm kiss, “This kind of sleeping, making love.”
Shao Sui froze, then after a long moment, asked, “…Do you even know what that means?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know it requires love?”
“Yes, the teacher said so.”
“The kind of love between partners.” Shao Sui asked seriously, “I love you, but do you love me?”
Mimi whispered softly, “Yes.”
Shao Sui took a deep breath, an unbelievable surge of joy in his heart. But why did his little cat spirit suddenly have this epiphany? Was it genuine, or just because he was afraid of being abandoned, or afraid of him being with someone else?
Shao Sui wasn’t sure, instinctively pulling back slightly when Mimi kissed him, “W-wait… we need… things for that.”
Mimi immediately jumped off the bed and ran to the living room. After some rustling sounds, he returned with a black bag, which he opened on the bed, spilling out a pile of condoms and lubricants.
“I have everything.”
“?” Shao Sui’s alarm bells rang, “Why do you have these?”
Mimi said, “The teacher said making love requires procedures, we can’t be reckless, we have to be monogamous, and we have to use condoms to prevent diseases… mmmph!”
Shao Sui pulled Mimi into his arms and covered his mouth, “Your teachers are quite thorough.”
Little cat spirits didn’t find these things embarrassing; they discussed them openly.
Mimi licked Shao Sui’s palm, who quickly pulled his hand away. Freed, Mimi explained, “We can get these for free from the association’s warehouse, I even checked your size.”
Shao Sui’s ears burned, “You have a good memory.”
Mimi hummed in agreement, rubbing his face against Shao Sui’s, “Why did you shave your beard?”
“Because it’s the holidays…” Shao Sui’s hand unconsciously moved downwards, “If you like it, I won’t shave tomorrow.”
“Then don’t shave.” Mimi said softly.
“Okay.”
Shao Sui lay down, pulling Mimi into his arms, his calloused hand gently caressing Mimi’s back, who instinctively arched into his touch.
“Are you sure? Whether you’re my partner or not, you’re my kitten first, in sickness and in health, I’ll never abandon you, never leave you, forever, so you don’t have to…”
Shao Sui’s kitten silenced him with a kiss.
Like the half-melted cotton candy that day, soft, sweet, the most wonderful thing in the world.
