Chapter 25
Shao Sui woke up to find Mimi gone.
He thought the cat had run away again and started checking the surveillance footage while calling out Mimi’s name. Just as he was about to go out looking for him, he heard a thud from the bedroom.
The wardrobe door opened from the inside, and Mimi, curled up in a ball, emerged clutching a pillow, his eyes brimming with tears.
Shao Sui squatted down, at a loss: “What’s wrong?”
Could not being allowed to kiss or sleep with him really upset him this much?
Mimi’s lips trembled, like a stubborn child trying not to cry.
For a moment, Shao Sui felt like a neglectful parent who only provided material support, not love.
He hesitated, then half-knelt on the floor: “Lift your head a little, and your knees too.”
Mimi in his human form was still very soft, easy to pick up. Up close, he still smelled like a cat, the scent even having top, middle, and base notes like perfume.
The first whiff was a faint milky fragrance, which Shao Sui associated with cat litter.
That scent quickly faded, replaced by a strange, sweet smell, not like perfume… more like the popcorn stand near the school.
The base note was like sun-dried blankets in winter, comforting and pleasant.
Shao Sui wondered if he had been hearing Mimi talk about “pheromones” so much that he was hallucinating.
He quickly placed Mimi on the bed and sat beside him, “Did you not sleep well on the bay window?”
Perhaps because he had finally equated Mimi with his cat, Shao Sui’s OCD symptoms lessened, though he still felt the urge to wash his hands and change his clothes.
Afraid of upsetting Mimi, he resisted.
Mimi’s first words were an accusation: “You’re so unaccommodating to a cat!”
Shao Sui had only ever heard “so unaccommodating to a person.” Hearing “unaccommodating to a cat” from a cat spirit was quite novel.
He readily apologized, “My fault, I haven’t interacted with cats much before, unlike our Mimi, kissing every cat he meets.”
Mimi, newly human, didn’t understand the sarcasm, only feeling that the apology was strange.
“You can go! I’m fine.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Mimi’s stubbornness.
How could he tell Shao Sui he had simply misjudged his size and bumped his head?
How embarrassing for a cat.
Shao Sui, after careful observation, finally noticed the bump on Mimi’s head. He started massaging it, teasing, “Aren’t cats supposed to have a high pain tolerance?”
Mimi wouldn’t be manipulated, “Being able to tolerate pain doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt!”
Shao Sui, hearing this, became concerned, “Does it hurt a lot? I’ll get some lard.”
Mimi froze, stammering, “Are you going to cook me because I bumped my head? But I’m human now! You can’t eat humans! The police will arrest you and shoot you—”
“What are you talking about?” Shao Sui, sometimes truly baffled by a cat’s logic, explained with amusement, “When we humans bump our heads as children, our family members would rub some lard on it to reduce the swelling.”
Mimi breathed a sigh of relief: “I thought you were going to stir-fry me.”
Shao Sui asked, “Where would I find a pot that big?”
“I’m very small.” Mimi said enviously, “Much smaller than you.”
Seeing that Mimi’s attention was no longer on his head, Shao Sui retracted his hand: “Eat more, exercise more, and you can also become bigger.”
“Really?” Mimi asked, while subtly trying to hold onto Shao Sui’s hand. “Rub it a bit more, please?”
“…Okay.”
Shao Sui glanced at the time. Forty minutes until work. “Let me steam some breakfast first, or I’ll be late for work.”
Mimi hugged the pillow obediently, “Okay.”
Unable to resist, Shao Sui smoothed Mimi’s messy hair before leaving the bedroom and going to the kitchen. He could skip breakfast, but he couldn’t let Mimi go hungry.
No seafood takeout places were open this early, so he steamed a basket of baozi.
He had been trying to get Mimi to eat some human food these past two days, and so far, there hadn’t been any adverse reactions. He should be able to adapt gradually.
In the bedroom, after Shao Sui left, Mimi sat up and stared intently at the spot where Shao Sui had slept. Then, with a burst of excitement, he jumped and pounced, burying his head in the sheets and nuzzling them.
He wanted to roll around.
But his clothes created too much friction.
Shao Sui, leaning against the doorframe, asked, “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” Mimi replied quickly. “I’m stretching.”
It did look like a cat stretch.
When Mimi was still a cat, he would stretch after waking up, hind legs straight, butt in the air, first extending his right front leg, then his left, then lowering his body, his eyes narrowing contentedly.
So cute he wanted to manhandle it.
Shao Sui asked, “Still need a head rub?”
“Yes!”
Mimi quickly lay back down, turning on his side, tilting his head back, waiting for his owner’s massage.
Shao Sui sat on the edge of the bed, brushed Mimi’s hair aside, and said bluntly, “You need a bath.”
Mimi was worried: “Do I smell bad?”
“A little.” Actually, he didn’t. Shao Sui was just trying to scare him. “Humans bathe and wash their hair every day, otherwise they’ll get fleas.”
Mimi, falling for it, panicked: “But I don’t know how to bathe!”
Even as a human, Mimi still had a natural fear of water. He had bathed before, but that was because Shao Sui was there, so he wasn’t afraid.
Standing alone under the shower like a human would be terrifying.
Being a cat was better, just lick himself clean.
Shao Sui hinted, “You can bathe yourself if you turn back into a cat.”
Mimi fell silent, turning his face away from Shao Sui.
Although he also thought being a cat was better, Shao Sui shouldn’t say it out loud.
“Are you angry?” Shao Sui admitted his craving for the cat was acting up, trying to coax him. “You can be a cat for three days and a human for one day. As long as you’re not human for more than a day, you won’t smell bad.”
Mimi, spotting a flaw in his logic, became even angrier: “Then I can be a cat for an hour, or ten minutes, so I’m never human for more than a day.”
He was harder to trick now.
It seemed not only children, but also cats, shouldn’t watch too much TV. They learned bad things.
After the massage, Shao Sui retracted his hand. Mimi, despite feigning anger, nuzzled against it, trying to make him stay.
Teacher Shao said, “If you like being human so much, you have to learn how to bathe, brush your teeth, and use the toilet.”
Mimi was sensitive now, he wasn’t one of those uncivilized cats who peed everywhere, “I know how to use the toilet!”
Shao Sui said, “I mean the human toilet. You’re human now, you can’t use the litter box anymore.”
“But you won’t show me how to use it.” Mimi said unhappily. “You always close the door!”
It was the same when he was a cat, he could only scratch at the door, afraid Shao Sui would be flushed away by the toilet and he wouldn’t be able to save him.
Although Mimi knew now that Shao Sui was too big to be flushed away.
“It’s not on TV either.”
Whenever a character used the toilet on TV, the scene would cut away, leaving Mimi with no learning opportunities.
“The holiday is in two days,” Shao Sui thought for a moment. “I’ll teach you then.”
Whether Mimi preferred being a cat or a human in the future, he had to learn basic human skills, otherwise, in his human form, he would be easily exposed in society. Since Shao Sui brought him home, he had the responsibility to educate him.
Mimi didn’t reply, only his slightly reddened ears twitched.
Shao Sui’s fingers itched to touch them, but he resisted.
“If you want to transform back into a cat, I mean if.” Teacher Shao, knowing Mimi didn’t like him mentioning this, chose his words carefully, “Make sure to close the curtains first, and also when turning human. You absolutely cannot be seen by others, understand?”
The buildings in this community were close together, and the high-rise opposite had a clear view of his balcony and master bedroom window. If Mimi was seen transforming, he might be captured for research.
Mimi mumbled, “Understood.”
“So why did you suddenly sleep in the wardrobe last night?” Shao Sui asked. “I thought you only used the nest when you were a cat.”
Mimi was annoyed.
He thought the male human was asking knowingly. Since Shao Sui wouldn’t sleep with him, he could only seek comfort from his scent in the nest made of clothes.
“Hmm? Speak.”
Mimi refused to answer, turning his back to Shao Sui.
After a while, the human still didn’t coax him, his footsteps even retreating. Mimi pouted, his eyes slightly wet.
Kittens didn’t cry, they just cleaned their eyes.
“Come and eat.”
Shao Sui had steamed baozi and boiled eggs, and even warmed some goat’s milk for Mimi.
Mimi’s diarrhea the other day was partly due to eating too much ice cream, and partly because it was milk-flavored, most cats were lactose intolerant.
Even as a human, Mimi still had this trait.
So Shao Sui had switched to other flavors and kept goat’s milk at home.
Mimi’s mood improved after eating his favorite food.
“There’s oil on your chin.” Shao Sui took a tissue and wiped Mimi’s chin. “If you can’t use chopsticks, wear gloves and tear it apart, use the plate to catch the drips.”
Mimi’s skin was delicate, reddening easily.
“Like this?”
“Yes, hold it with the opening facing up, then the oil won’t drip. Good… chew it before swallowing!” Shao Sui supervised while ordering a pair of training chopsticks for children.
The cat turning human also had its advantages.
For instance, when Shao Sui gave instructions, Mimi couldn’t pretend not to understand and disobey. Even if he was unhappy, he could only comply, like a little sulking child.
Almost late for work, Shao Sui quickly finished his breakfast and returned to the bedroom to change into his work clothes. He glanced at Mimi’s back at the dining table, then guiltily checked the nest Mimi had made. There were still two pairs of underwear inside.
Shao Sui felt it was strange, but mentioning it to Mimi would be even stranger. Cats had no concept of private undergarments.
And Mimi was very sensitive now; saying the wrong thing might upset him.
Shao Sui pretended nothing happened and said before leaving, “Drink a glass of water in an hour, I’ll check.”
Mimi, though not understanding the meaning of sarcasm, had already mastered a sarcastic tone: “Understood, Teacher Shao.”
“…” Shao Sui began his daily reminders. “Don’t open the door for anyone, stay away from the windows, don’t chase birds, okay?”
Mimi, ever arrogant: I’m not that kind of silly cat.
Shao Sui continued his warnings until he was almost late, bumping into his neighbor just as he was leaving. He greeted politely, “How’s Little Ginger?”
“He’s doing well, gained some weight.” The neighbor hesitated. “There’s just one thing…”
Shao Sui: “Go ahead.”
The neighbor explained awkwardly, “It’s not that I’m unwilling to buy him treats, it’s just that my Milk Tea has a sensitive stomach, she can’t eat many things. Thank you for sharing your snacks, but they give her diarrhea.”
“I didn’t…”
Shao Sui quickly understood, closing his eyes. He finally knew why some of his snacks had been mysteriously disappearing.
The neighbor practically said, “You’re responsible for my cat’s diarrhea.”
What a huge accusation.
Teacher Shao endured the humiliation and apologized: “I’m so sorry, it won’t happen again.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I know you meant well, it’s just that my cat is very delicate…” The neighbor was also embarrassed, changing the subject as the elevator doors opened. “Are you going to work?”
Shao Sui said, “Yes, but I just remembered I might not have closed the door properly, I’ll go back and check.”
The neighbor made a hasty escape: “Okay, then I’ll be going, goodbye.”
Mimi was kneeling in front of the refrigerator, choosing today’s ice cream flavor. He heard the door open and turned around, puzzled.
Seeing Mimi eating ice cream right after breakfast made Teacher Shao even angrier. He picked up the ruler from the entrance and gestured, “Come here.”
Mimi, forgetting to close the refrigerator door, but not forgetting to grab the ice cream, shuffled to the entrance, unsure what was happening, two strands of hair sticking up on his head.
Shao Sui ordered, “Extend your hands, palms up.”
Mimi, completely bewildered and slightly frightened, obediently raised his hands.
Shao Sui, exasperated and amused, said, “Are you making an offering?”
Although intimidated, Mimi still clutched the ice cream tightly. Only one a day, he had to fight for it. “You’re not a god, this is what I’m eating today.”
Shao Sui took the ice cream away, and with a “smack,” Mimi’s palm reddened.
“Do you know what you did wrong?”
Mimi, his palm stinging and itching, mumbled, “You already knew, why did you pretend to be asleep!”
Shao Sui: “?”
Mimi turned his head away, “I’m sorry, okay! I shouldn’t have secretly… sucked you while you were sleeping.”
Shao Sui thought he really shouldn’t have given Mimi VIP access. The phrase “I’m sorry, okay!” was definitely learned from some TV drama jerk, the tone infuriatingly similar.
As if his next sentence would be, “I already apologized, what more do you want!”
