Chapter 31
“Don’t you want to see Little Wu?”
“She won’t recognize you.” Shao Sui said, “I’ll bring you back when you transform back into a cat.”
Mimi didn’t understand: “I can transform now.”
Shao Sui felt a pang of inexplicable possessiveness: “There are cameras everywhere outside, if you’re caught on film, it’s over, some evil organization will capture you.”
Mimi, intimidated, abandoned the idea of transforming, feeling a deep sense of regret.
Although he was Shao Sui’s cat now, he still wanted to talk to everyone, to tell them, “I have a home now, and a human, although he’s poor, but cats, like dogs, don’t despise a poor family.”
The owner of the braised food shop still kept his bowl, what a good person.
He hoped they could understand his meows of farewell next time.
“That’s the grilled fish shop owner’s child.” Mimi knew everyone on this street. “She’s also on holiday today.”
Shao Sui glanced over. It was a little girl with a ponytail: “I’ll buy you grilled fish next time.”
Mimi was amazed, “Shao Sui, you’re so incredible!”
Shao Sui: “How so?”
The cat felt it was magical, “When I was a cat, you couldn’t understand my meows, but now that I’m human, even if I don’t say anything, you know what I’m thinking!”
Teacher Shao thought, so easy, it didn’t take a genius to figure out a cat wanted grilled fish.
Mimi decided to test him, “Do you know what else I want to eat?”
Shao Sui thought for a moment, “Durian?”
“You’re truly amazing!” Mimi’s voice unconsciously rose, “Can we buy some today?”
Shao Sui choked, “Durian is too smelly.”
“Ah… but everyone who buys durian says it’s fragrant, didn’t you bring enough money?” Having been human for two weeks, Mimi had learned to be considerate of the human’s pride, no longer bluntly asking if he was poor. “It’s okay, I can transform back into a cat, and she’ll give me a whole piece, she’s very generous.”
“I just think it’s too smelly.” Shao Sui said with a straight face. “…I’ll buy you a whole one when we get back.”
“That’s great.” Mimi really wanted to kiss Shao Sui a few more times. Today’s Shao Sui was truly the best owner.
The street was quite long, and they soon reached Mimi’s favorite fruit store. Seeing familiar faces, Mimi would peek furtively, hesitating, then quickly lower his head when they looked over, looking incredibly sneaky.
He wanted to greet everyone, to share the joy of becoming human, but Shao Sui said they would be scared to death, so he could only try to distract himself—
The cat said tactfully, “Do you want braised beef?”
Shao Sui, skipping the pleasantries, refused, “No.”
Mimi, holding the bag of beef, asked longingly, “Why not?”
Shao Sui pulled him through the crowd, “Because eating while walking is uncivilized.”
Mimi said without thinking, “But I’m a cat, cats don’t have to be civilized.”
Shao Sui said, “You should apply to study logic.”
Both the man and the “child” were attractive, drawing attention as they walked hand-in-hand down the street. Especially Mimi, whose skin was almost translucent in the sunlight, attracting envious glances.
“Really?” Mimi, slightly intimidated by the stares, whispered, “Can I also have a seat in the classroom?”
Shao Sui seriously considered it.
For Mimi to attend university, he would first need a household registration and an ID card, then he would have to study high school subjects, take the high school equivalency exam, continue studying, take the college entrance exam as a non-traditional student, and achieve a good score, only then could he enter university.
A hellishly difficult process.
“Cats don’t need to go to school.” Shao Sui said calmly. “Why do you think humans go to school?”
Mimi said firmly, “To learn more knowledge, become useful people, and serve the country!”
“…”
Mimi must have attended elementary school.
There was indeed an elementary school nearby, but it had relocated earlier this year.
Shao Sui said, “That’s not wrong, but that’s an idealistic view. Realistically, humans go to school to find good jobs after graduation, earn more money, and buy food.”
Mimi: “Oh, that’s different from what the teacher said.”
Shao Sui said, “I’m also a teacher.”
Mimi’s stance was easily swayed, “Then you’re right.”
Shao Sui said, “So you see, humans go to school to earn money to support themselves, and you have someone to support you, so you don’t need to go to school.”
Mimi understood, extrapolating, “You go to school to earn lots of money to support me!”
“…”
Not exactly.
Shao Sui still responded with an “mm-hmm,” “You could say that, so since I’ve gone to school, you don’t have to.”
Mimi, no longer concerned about school, obediently followed Shao Sui, not looking around, only staring intently at the beef in the bag, not even watching where he was going.
Shao Sui was holding his hand anyway.
Suddenly, he heard the rustling of the plastic bag. Shao Sui, thinking the cat was secretly eating, glanced over.
“…What are you doing?”
Mimi was actually carrying the plastic bag with his mouth, sniffing the beef inside, replying indistinctly, “I’m smelling the beef to stave off hunger.”
Humans had the idiom “quench thirst by thinking of plums,” cats had “stave off hunger by smelling meat.”
Several passersby gave them strange looks. Shao Sui quickly made Mimi let go of the bag, unable to help but chuckle, “Plastic bags are dirty, they have germs, you can’t put them in your mouth. You can eat it when we get to the restaurant.”
Mimi asked longingly, “How long until we get there?”
The heartless Teacher Shao said, “We’ll be there soon.”
About ten minutes later, the entrance to the shopping mall appeared before them.
It was only a little past eleven. He had planned to buy clothes first, but since Mimi said he was hungry, Shao Sui wasn’t that cruel. He decided to change the order of their activities and take the cat to eat first.
He chose a well-reviewed Korean barbecue restaurant for lunch. It specialized in beef, suitable for a cat’s palate, and less likely to cause digestive issues. The restaurant also had private booths, so Mimi could say strange things without being overheard.
Shao Sui wasn’t worried about embarrassment, he just didn’t want his cat to be mistaken for a simpleton by strangers.
Mimi, after his meal, declared, “Korean barbecue is even more delicious than braised beef!”
Shao Sui said, “We’ll come back again sometime.”
Mimi nodded, “Being human is great.”
He could eat so many delicious things.
He couldn’t enter shopping malls before when he was a cat and didn’t know there were so many delicious-smelling foods inside.
Teacher Shao, having just paid over three hundred yuan, wasn’t very amused, “Just being human is great?”
Mimi, lacking in human social skills, didn’t realize his human was fishing for compliments. He was fascinated by Shao Sui’s eyebrows and couldn’t help but reach out and touch them, “Why can’t I control my eyebrows?”
“Because you’re a cat.” Shao Sui moved Mimi’s hand away. “Do you need to use the toilet?”
Mimi shook his head.
He actually did, but this wasn’t his territory, it wasn’t safe, filled with the scent of unfamiliar humans, and there was even a silly dog that smiled obsequiously at everyone.
The silly dog, smelling a cat, turned around looking for the source, and seeing Mimi, excitedly tried to rush over, but was pulled back by its owner, who scolded, “Sit!”
The silly dog obediently followed the command, barking at Mimi, “Woof, woof!!”
Mimi glared at it and hid behind Shao Sui.
“Afraid of dogs?” Shao Sui led Mimi in the opposite direction. “Let’s go this way.”
Seeing Mimi leave, the silly dog barked even louder.
The exasperated owner smacked it, effectively silencing it, “Please, shut up, okay?”
Only Mimi knew that the silly dog was simply sharing its earth-shattering discovery, Look! There’s a cat pretending to be human!!
Even at a young age, Mimi was fluent in multiple animal languages, even a bit of bird language. When cats and dogs fought near the Chinese medicine clinic, he was the one who mediated.
The title of Great Meow King was well-deserved.
In the shoe store, the salesperson greeted the two new customers enthusiastically, “Who are the shoes for?”
“My younger brother.” Shao Sui said. “His feet are small, probably a size 40.”
The cat felt their relationship was a bit confusing. Shao Sui sometimes called himself “Daddy,” now he was calling him “younger brother.” But with strangers present, it wasn’t a good time to ask.
To prove their relationship, he even cautiously called out, “Older brother.”
Shao Sui’s heart skipped a beat.
The salesperson smiled, “Your brother is so well-behaved.”
His cat being praised, even though Shao Sui felt happy, he still replied modestly, “Only outside, at home, he’s a little tyrant.”
Mimi only caught the word “king.”
He was indeed the Great Meow King.
“Take a look at our selection, we usually have size 40 in stock.” The salesperson made recommendations diligently. “These are our classic styles, if you don’t like them, you can try our new arrivals.”
Shao Sui didn’t ask for Mimi’s opinion, picking a few styles and saying, “Try these.”
“One moment, I’ll get them for you.”
Shao Sui took out the disinfectant spray and wet wipes he carried with him and wiped down the shoe fitting stool before letting Mimi sit down.
The salesperson soon returned with several shoe boxes, “We have all the styles you chose except for the first one.”
Shao Sui half-knelt in front of Mimi, changing his shoes.
Mimi didn’t know how to put on shoes. He only wore slippers at home, the only time he wore sneakers was Shao Sui’s oversized pair, just slipping his feet in, the laces a tangled mess.
Shao Sui took off Mimi’s ill-fitting canvas shoes and put on the new ones.
Shao Sui’s actions were natural, and Mimi didn’t see anything wrong, only the salesperson was stunned, stammering after a moment, “Should I… help?”
“No, he’s shy around strangers.”
Shao Sui didn’t like others touching his belongings, and the same applied to his cat.
He tied a neat knot, stood up, and said, “Okay, walk around and see how they feel.”
Mimi obediently walked around, feeling the weight on his feet, wanting to shake them.
“Are they too loose?”
“They fit perfectly.”
Shao Sui patiently asked a few more questions as if the young man beside him was a clueless child. After confirming they fit well, he told the salesperson, “We’ll take these two pairs.”
The salesperson smiled, “Certainly.”
Shao Sui understood the salesperson’s expression. She probably thought he was a controlling parent, not even asking for the child’s preference.
But if he followed Mimi’s preference, he would be running around barefoot.
The salesperson carried the shoes to the counter. Her colleague, while processing the transaction, commented, “Those two are quite handsome.”
“Probably a couple.” The salesperson said, “The taller one is very controlling, didn’t even ask for the other’s opinion when buying shoes. The younger one seems used to it, doesn’t dare to speak up.”
Seeing Shao Sui and Mimi approach, she put on a professional smile, “Here are your shoes, do you need a receipt?”
“No.”
“Okay, please come again!”
As soon as they stepped outside, Mimi couldn’t help but say, “Shoe stores smell awful.”
Shao Sui said, “We were just here to confirm your shoe size, we won’t come again, we’ll buy them online in the future.”
Mimi understood vaguely, “Like my toys? Delivered to our home in boxes?”
“Yes.”
A nearby milk tea shop was offering free samples. Hearing the word “free,” Mimi’s eyes darted over. Shao Sui pulled the straying cat back, “Those sample cups don’t even have lids, who knows how many germs are in them.”
“Okay…”
Sensing the cat’s reluctance, Shao Sui sighed and turned back, “I’ll buy you a whole cup.”
Mimi was overjoyed, wanting to kiss Shao Sui, then remembering his manners, said considerately, “If you don’t have enough money, I can have it next time.”
“…” It wasn’t that bad. Shao Sui didn’t understand why Mimi always thought he was poor. If he was truly that poor, he wouldn’t have spent nearly ten thousand yuan saving a cat.
“Do you know how much those two pairs of shoes cost?”
Mimi had a good memory, repeating the salesperson’s words, “1898 yuan after the 12% discount.”
Shao Sui said, “And a cup of milk tea is only twenty.”
Mimi had no concept of money, but 1898 sounded much more expensive than twenty.
Shao Sui didn’t receive the expected praise, only the cat’s worried voice, “So much money! Can I still afford salmon?”
A cat could go without shoes, but not without fish.
Teacher Shao finally understood that teaching Mimi phonics and characters wasn’t enough; he also needed to learn math.
“Don’t worry, you won’t starve.”
Shao Sui started thinking about which app offered elementary school math lessons.
Mimi, still unaware of his impending academic career, pointed at the menu screen above the milk tea shop, “I want this one.”
Shao Sui casually replied, “Cats die from drinking cow’s milk.”
Mimi quickly changed his choice, “This yellow one is also okay.”
Shao Sui glanced at it, “Cats also die from eating chocolate.”
Mimi then chose his third choice, only to hear Shao Sui say, “Cats also die from eating grapes.”
The cat, who seemed to die from eating everything, couldn’t help but ask, “Can’t you afford it?”
Shao Sui, amused and exasperated, pinched Mimi’s ear, “It’s because there are too many things you can’t eat.”
Mimi made up his mind, “Then you choose for me.”
If Shao Sui chose, he would pick something affordable. Even if it didn’t taste good, Mimi would understand.
Shao Sui, oblivious to the cat’s thoughts, ordered a regular fruit tea, paid twenty-five yuan, and then led Mimi to the side to wait for their order.
The shop was popular, the line quite long.
Shao Sui saw a movie poster in the distance, “Want to watch a movie?”
“What’s watching a movie?”
“Similar to watching TV, but the screen is very big, and there are many other people watching with us.”
Mimi asked seriously, “Does it cost money?”
Shao Sui finally couldn’t resist flicking his forehead, “I have money.”
Mimi’s face clearly said, Really? I don’t believe you.
Just then, two women walked past them, stopping at the milk tea shop. One of them looked vaguely familiar from the side.
Shao Sui didn’t pay much attention, continuing to talk to Mimi, “Really, movie tickets are cheap.”
He heard a female voice beside him, “Remember that guy I liked in college? The one I suspected was gay and didn’t date?”
Shao Sui’s eyes flickered, but he didn’t turn his head.
The two women ordered their milk tea while continuing their conversation, “Of course, his last name was Shao, right?”
“Yes, Shao Sui.” The woman with short hair said, “I saw him in the parking lot earlier.”
Hearing Shao Sui’s name, Mimi’s ears perked up, and he craned his neck, trying to locate the source of the voice, “Someone’s calling… mmmph.”
Shao Sui quickly covered Mimi’s mouth and pulled him into the hallway beside the milk tea shop.
What a small world—
The woman with short hair was Yu Yifei, Shao Sui’s college classmate.
Their conversation drifted over, “Are you sure? Didn’t you go to university in another province?”
Yu Yifei said, “I’m sure, his hometown is here. He looks the same, just a bit older, and his character has deteriorated.”
Her friend asked, “Did he say something offensive to you?”
“No, he probably didn’t see me.” Yu Yifei scoffed. “But guess what I saw? He was kissing a guy in the parking lot.”
“Wow, he really is gay!”
“Being gay is fine, it’s the 21st century, sexual orientation is a personal choice.” Yu Yifei said, her tone disapproving. “But do you know how old that guy looked? Clearly a freshman, his face full of naive foolishness! I don’t know how he was tricked!”
Her friend was shocked, “Shao Sui is your age, right? Almost thirty.”
Yu Yifei scoffed, “That’s why I said his character is questionable. A grown man preying on college students, what kind of decent person would do that?”
“Good thing you didn’t date him…”
Mimi peeked out, wanting to say he wasn’t a college student, and also wanting to ask what “preying” meant, but before he could speak, Shao Sui pulled him back into his arms.
The curious kitten struggled, “They’re really talking about you.”
Shao Sui denied it, “No, just someone with the same name.”
