Chapter 38
The more Shao Sui thought about it, the more he felt something was off. It didn’t make sense for Mimi to suddenly want to sleep separately. He had been using all his tricks to act spoiled just to be close to him.
So at midnight, he quietly pushed open the study door, turned on the night light on the bookshelf, and vaguely saw a lump under the covers on the bed. It was a human-shaped figure sleeping on its side. Getting closer, he saw Mimi’s head was completely covered by the blanket.
Shao Sui narrowed his eyes, sat down slowly, and lifted the blanket from Mimi’s head, revealing a cat spirit.
The little cat spirit’s eyes were tightly shut, his eyelashes trembling slightly, his phone clutched under his arm, clearly not in a deep sleep.
Shao Sui lowered his head and nibbled on Mimi’s cheek.
“…”
Mimi almost jumped out of his skin!
What was Shao Sui doing? Trying to eat him? Cat spirit meat didn’t grant immortality, only Tang Sanzang’s meat did! (Tang Sanzang is a character from the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West.)
Mimi was incredibly nervous, his eyes darting around.
After a while, Shao Sui finally let go of his cheek, whispering in his ear, “So our little cat spirit sleeps soundly even without me, how heartbreaking.”
Mimi: I wasn’t even asleep! How would I know if I sleep soundly?
He then heard Shao Sui say, “I heard from experts that if you lift a sleeping person or cat’s hand, they won’t put it back down.”
Mimi: Huh?
He couldn’t help but twitch his ears. Shao Sui was too close, it tickled.
Shao Sui held Mimi’s hand, giving it a couple of squeezes, then lifted it high in the air.
Mimi had seen this short video.
It was true, those sleeping people in the video didn’t put their arms or legs back down!
He had to secretly exert himself to keep his arm raised.
“So Mimi really is asleep.” Shao Sui sighed. “Then I won’t disturb him any longer.”
Mimi heard the click of the night light being switched off, followed by Shao Sui’s footsteps leaving the room, and the door closing with a thud.
Mimi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, lowering his aching arm and rubbing it. After waiting for a while, sensing Shao Sui wasn’t coming back, he opened his phone, ready to continue where he left off.
Something felt off.
Why did he hear another person’s breathing in the room?
Mimi cautiously shone his phone screen around and saw a blurry figure behind the door.
“Meow!”
Mimi almost transformed back into a cat and jumped out of his skin. Fortunately, Shao Sui quickly stepped forward and scooped him into his arms: “No more pretending to be asleep? Coming to the study just to secretly play with your phone at night?”
Mimi stammered, “Th-then you can’t…”
The poor little cat spirit, lacking in life experience, didn’t know this was called entrapment.
Shao Sui swatted his backside, his expression serious: “Just a few days, and you’re already this addicted to the internet?”
Mimi said, “It’s not…”
Shao Sui swatted him a few more times, “Not what?”
“I… I don’t need you to control me!” Mimi pushed Shao Sui away. “Go back to sleep!”
Shao Sui was truly angry now. He turned on the lights, “Don’t need me to control you? Just for a stupid phone?”
Mimi, his eyes stinging from the sudden brightness, buried his face in Shao Sui’s chest, “It’s not stupid.”
Shao Sui’s heart softened. He lifted Mimi’s chin, forcing him to meet his gaze, “I’ll give you one more chance, come back and sleep with me.”
Mimi refused to compromise, “I’m not going back, you leave.”
Shao Sui said, “Fine, I’m taking the phone, I’ll give it back to you tomorrow morning.”
As he stood up, Mimi clung to the phone, his lips pursed stubbornly.
“Let go.”
“No…” Realizing Shao Sui was truly angry, Mimi’s voice softened, “Don’t be like this.”
Shao Sui asked, “Like what?”
Mimi didn’t reply.
During the long silence, Mimi’s eyes became visibly watery, as if he was about to cry.
Shao Sui sighed internally, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Fine, I won’t bother with you.”
He let go of the phone, turned off the lights, and left.
Mimi sat up, staring blankly at the door, “Shao Sui…”
The next day, Mimi woke up at 6 AM. He never liked sleeping in and wanted to wake Shao Sui up, but found him already cooking in the kitchen.
He shuffled to the kitchen door, “Good morning.”
Shao Sui didn’t respond.
Mimi tried again, “I had a dream last night.”
Shao Sui still ignored him.
Mimi mumbled, “Is your throat sore?”
Shao Sui placed the steamed baozi on the dining table and peeled the eggs, “Eat.”
Mimi said, “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet…”
Shao Sui glanced at him.
Mimi quickly ran into the bathroom and brushed his teeth more diligently than ever before, glancing at the corner of the dining table in the mirror, hoping Shao Sui would look over and praise him.
However, five minutes passed, and Shao Sui didn’t even glance his way.
Mimi sat down at the table, dejected, “Why didn’t you ask me about my dream?”
Shao Sui took a bite of a baozi, “What dream?”
Mimi tried to make it sound scary, “I dreamt I was captured again, in my human form, and he locked me in a dark room, wouldn’t let me out.”
Shao Sui thought, deadpan, I hope this person didn’t happen to look exactly like me.
He said, “Who could break into the apartment and capture you?”
Mimi looked down, silent, stuffing his mouth with baozi.
Shao Sui quickly finished his breakfast, warmed a cup of goat’s milk for Mimi, and then left for work.
“Beep – Door locked.”
Mimi looked at the closed door, unhappy. Shao Sui was wearing slip-on shoes today, and he didn’t kiss him before leaving or remind him to drink water.
“It’s okay,” Mimi patted his chest, comforting himself, “I’ll just find a job and appease him, and everything will be fine.”
The Great Meow King just had to swish his tail, and the human would give in.
Today was Mimi’s first day searching for a job.
After all the math lessons, Mimi had a basic understanding of numbers and knew how difficult it was for Shao Sui to support him.
Although he ate breakfast and dinner with Shao Sui, he always ordered takeout for lunch, sometimes even salmon sashimi, which cost one or two hundred yuan per meal.
Short videos said the average teacher’s salary was only five or six thousand yuan, enough for only thirty or forty servings of seafood. And Shao Sui also had to pay rent, utilities, his thousand-yuan allowance, and a ten-thousand-yuan phone.
How terrifying.
Mimi didn’t want to be abandoned after eating through Shao Sui’s savings.
He thought long and hard, if he wanted to be with Shao Sui forever, he also had to find a job.
Short videos said family members should support and understand each other.
Short videos also said that only by contributing financially could he have an equal relationship, otherwise, he would eventually be abandoned.
Mimi didn’t want to be abandoned.
He was determined not to be just a house cat.
Once he found a job, Shao Sui couldn’t just hit him anymore.
Netizens said it was domestic violence, which shouldn’t be tolerated, but Mimi decided to tolerate it, because he still wanted to be with Shao Sui.
Netizens called him lovesick.
What was “lovesick,” was it edible?
Before leaving, Mimi buried his face in the clothes nest in the wardrobe, taking a deep breath of the human’s scent, then put on one of Shao Sui’s jackets and resolutely left the apartment.
Step one: Take out the A4 paper.
The handwriting on it was messy, job postings and contact information Mimi had found online last night—
Security Guard: Ages 18-45, height above 160cm, no illnesses.
Secretary: Ages 18-25, young and beautiful.
Waiter/Waitress: Ages 18-35, gender no requirement.
Some jobs had incredibly high salaries, five digits, but they required university or postgraduate degrees. Mimi hadn’t even finished elementary school yet, and he was already qualified for these jobs.
But everyone said jobs were hard to find these days, the competition fierce, and Mimi was prepared for rejection.
Step two: Cheer himself on! Mimi told himself: Don’t be afraid, not everyone is bad, you’re human now, they can’t hit you!
Step three: Take a taxi to the job location.
The driver was a chatty person, asking as soon as Mimi got in, “Hey, it’s not the weekend, are you skipping class?”
Mimi didn’t reply.
The driver said, “Let me tell you, you can’t skip classes even in university, you’ll fail your exams!”
Mimi didn’t understand, apologizing politely, “Sorry, my brother told me not to talk to strangers.”
The driver: “?”
Autism?
After getting out of the taxi, Mimi paid the fare using Shao Sui’s linked payment.
He arrived at the security guard recruitment location, an industrial park. Of course, Mimi didn’t know what an “industrial park” meant, that’s just what the sign said, he couldn’t read the first few characters, he hadn’t learned them yet.
He took out his dictionary and looked them up, but he still didn’t understand.
Mimi thought learning could wait, finding a job was more important, what if someone else got there first?
The security guard stopped him, “What’s your business here?”
“I’m here to apply for the security guard position.” Mimi said, then added, “To be your colleague.”
The security guard thought he was joking, “So young and you want to be a security guard?”
Mimi said, “Doesn’t your ad say ages 18 to 45?”
The security guard choked, looking at Mimi’s not-so-imposing physique, “We have many applicants, what makes you think you’re qualified?”
Mimi said confidently, “My eyesight, hearing, and sense of smell are exceptionally good!”
The security guard: “…”
Mimi was rejected, although he didn’t know why. He assumed the security guard was afraid of being replaced and was eliminating the competition in advance.
The netizens were right, the competition was fierce!
Mimi didn’t want to steal anyone’s job, so he decided to move on to the next location—
Company receptionist.
The man said, “Sorry, you don’t have a resume, and you don’t meet our requirements.”
Mimi was confused, “Am I not young?”
The man: “…You’re young.”
Mimi: “Am I not beautiful?”
The man: “…You’re… pretty.”
Mimi thought so too. Shao Sui often praised his looks. Although his human appearance wasn’t as striking as his cat form, he was still very good-looking. The salesperson at the clothing store even said he looked like a celebrity.
Mimi added, “And I’m exactly eighteen.”
The man pushed his glasses up his nose, “Sorry, I’m straight.”
Mimi didn’t understand, “I’m also… straight.”
The man said bluntly, “I’m only hiring female secretaries, understand?”
Mimi said unhappily, “You didn’t write that on the ad!”
Making him look up all those unfamiliar characters in the dictionary, wasting half the night, honestly!
Before leaving, Mimi grabbed a handful of candy from the reception desk as compensation for his emotional distress. It was quite tasty, he would save a few for Shao Sui.
The third job was a waiter.
The interview went smoothly. The restaurant was satisfied with him. When asked about his strengths, Mimi said he could read and was studying hard, and the interviewer didn’t say anything.
“Do you have your ID card? We can sign the contract and you can start immediately.”
Mimi froze.
They needed an ID card!?
After a moment of hesitation, Mimi said awkwardly, “Sorry, I think the salary is too low.”
The boss readily offered, “Five hundred more.”
Mimi’s heart was racing, but he didn’t have an ID card.
He should have brought Shao Sui’s.
He made an excuse and left, dejectedly walking down the street.
Was he destined to be just a house cat?
After walking for a while, a long-haired man in a hat stopped him, “Are you looking for a job?”
Mimi’s eyes lit up, “Yes, do you have any?”
The long-haired man said, “This isn’t just any job, I’m a talent scout, understand? You have a good face and a decent physique, interested in becoming a celebrity?”
Mimi hesitated, “Working on TV every day?”
The phrasing was a bit strange, but he rarely saw such promising talent, so the scout didn’t want to give up, “Yes! You’ll become famous, and you’ll earn a lot of money.”
Mimi asked, “Then I won’t be able to see my family often?”
The scout: “Uh… that’s true after you become famous, you’ll be busy, and you’ll have to protect your privacy. But it’s okay, just send more money home, love follows money!”
Mimi refused, “Then no, thank you.”
He was working so he could be with Shao Sui every day, not to send Shao Sui money through a screen, unable to touch or kiss him.
No matter how much the scout tried to persuade him, Mimi didn’t look back, resolutely refusing to be swayed by money.
Finding a job was truly difficult.
Suddenly, a meow from the street caught Mimi’s attention, “Meow! Meow! Meow!”
Come here! Look at me! Over here!
Mimi looked towards the source of the sound. It was a cat cafe with a large floor-to-ceiling window. A fat ginger cat was pawing at the glass, frantically calling out to him.
Unable to find a job, Mimi was in a bad mood, “What do you want?”
The fat ginger cat meowed incessantly, “You’re a cat spirit too, aren’t you? I can smell it!”
“Yes, goodbye.”
“Don’t go, it’s rare to meet another one of our kind, don’t you want to chat?” the fat ginger cat asked. “What are you doing outside?”
“Looking for a job.”
“Come work here! Food and lodging provided!”
Mimi shook his head, “I can’t, my owner said his cat can only be touched by him.”
The fat ginger cat couldn’t understand, “Why do you care what he says? He doesn’t know.”
Mimi said, “It’s still not okay, he has OCD, if I’m touched by others, he’ll abandon me.”
“Okay.” The fat ginger cat thought for a moment. “Just come in and take a look, the entrance fee is only fifty yuan, and it comes with a free drink. Just take a look, you won’t regret it!”
Mimi hesitated.
Shao Sui went home during his lunch break.
After buying Mimi a phone, he checked the surveillance less frequently, but today, after checking several times, he still couldn’t find Mimi. For a moment, he even considered installing cameras in the study and bedroom.
Mimi was probably truly upset.
Not only had he not called, he hadn’t even sent a single emoji, and his typo-ridden WeChat Moments hadn’t been updated. Usually, at this time, he would have 99+ unread messages from Mimi.
Shao Sui comforted himself, who wasn’t addicted to their phone at first? Why get angry at a cat?
He bought Mimi’s favorite durian, planning to apologize for his cold treatment this morning, then have a serious talk about how excessive phone use could damage his eyes.
However, after searching every corner of the apartment, he couldn’t find the little cat spirit. A pair of outdoor shoes, however, was missing from the entrance cabinet.
Shao Sui felt like he had been struck by lightning, his breath catching in his throat.
He rushed out without even changing his slippers, checking the surveillance footage while running downstairs.
