Chapter 45
As soon as Shao Sui woke up, he heard a clear accusation: “You lied to me.”
Mimi was bundled in the blanket, having been sitting there for who knew how long.
Shao Sui’s mind instantly flashed back to the heated scene at 5 AM, a wave of arousal washing over him. He touched his itchy throat to distract himself.
“What did I lie about?”
Mimi coldly turned his phone screen towards Shao Sui.
Shao Sui, slightly nearsighted, put on his glasses, the words on the screen becoming clear: “Four minutes for a male is considered normal and healthy…”
Before he could finish reading, Shao Sui chuckled. He had forgotten Mimi could read many characters now and could search online for answers to his questions.
“Don’t laugh.” The little cat spirit, annoyed, covered Shao Sui’s mouth with his hand. “I told you I couldn’t hold it anymore, and you still kept squeezing!”
Shao Sui took the opportunity to pull Mimi into his arms and kiss his palm.
Mimi, feeling appeased, quickly retracted his hand and hid it under the covers.
He said unhappily, “You’re too much.”
Shao Sui asked innocently, “How so?”
Mimi, naive and trusting, fell for it, recounting the human’s offenses, “You kept rubbing me, and now my leg hurts!”
Shao Sui readily apologized, “I use chalk all day, my calluses are quite rough—want me to rub it for you again?”
Mimi’s logic was still functioning, “It already hurts from the rubbing, rubbing it more will only make it hurt more.”
Shao Sui coughed, “I’ll rub gently.”
Mimi turned around, his back to Shao Sui.
He thought he was expressing his anger, but for Shao Sui, he was still in his arms, just in a different position.
Shao Sui’s arms reached around Mimi’s waist, “Anything else I did that was ‘too much’? Tell me all about it.”
Mimi said, “It’s clearly normal to only last a few minutes, but you kept squeezing and telling me to hold on, lying that it’s unhealthy to finish too quickly!”
Shao Sui nodded, using Mimi’s head as a resting place for his chin, “Mm-hmm, anything else?”
“And… you made me touch myself!” Mimi said, aggrieved. “How could I even hold it? I couldn’t take it anymore, and you were still talking in my ear.”
“My talking was also too much?”
“Because… it just was!”
Mimi couldn’t explain it.
In that situation, Shao Sui kept whispering in his ear, and his body was out of control.
Shao Sui leaned in and whispered in Mimi’s ear, “Okay, I lied, what do you want to do about it?”
Mimi wished he could turn back into a cat and flatten his ears, “I want to punish you.”
Shao Sui asked, “How?”
Mimi wriggled out of his embrace, got off the bed, picked up the ruler, and imitating Shao Sui, said, “Extend your hands.”
Shao Sui extended his hands, “Which one do you want to hit?”
Mimi said coldly, “Both!”
Shao Sui asked, “Not the one that hurts the most from my rubbing?”
The little cat spirit hesitated, recalling the scene from 4 AM. When Shao Sui was behind him, was he using his left hand or his right?
Unable to remember, Mimi simply said, “They both hurt, hit both.”
“Okay then.” Shao Sui didn’t resist, saying dramatically, “Your Majesty, please bestow your punishment.”
Smack!
Mimi, using the ruler for the first time, misjudged his strength and was startled by the sound. Shao Sui usually hit him softly. He instinctively touched Shao Sui’s palm, silently reassuring him it didn’t hurt.
Then, he hesitantly smacked Shao Sui’s other hand, much more gently.
Mimi asked with a straight face, “Do you know what you did wrong?”
Shao Sui said, “Yes, I was too much, I apologize to Your Majesty.”
Mimi, easily appeased, said, “This King forgives you.”
He sat down in Shao Sui’s lap and offered his face, clearly expecting a kiss, “It’s already 9 AM, it’s not a ‘good morning’ kiss anymore.”
“…” Shao Sui suppressed his burgeoning desire, kissing Mimi’s cheek restrainedly. “It’s not that I’m being narcissistic, baby.”
“Hmm?”
“If it was someone else, you might not be able to get out of bed today.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re too tempting.”
“Of course.” The little cat spirit said confidently. “Everyone likes me, except for that bad man.”
But what did being tempting have to do with not being able to get out of bed?
Mimi couldn’t understand for now, only feeling there was still much to learn about human culture.
Shao Sui carried Mimi out of bed and into the bathroom before putting him down, “Brush your teeth, we’re going to look at apartments later.”
The single sink was a bit cramped for two people, they could only stand shoulder to shoulder. Mimi secretly stood on his tiptoes, the top of his head finally higher than Shao Sui’s ears in the mirror.
Not that short, only a meow-meow shorter than Shao Sui.
The little cat spirit, his mouth full of toothpaste foam, mumbled, “Shao Sui, how many millimeters are you?”
Shao Sui, after rinsing his mouth, said, “We don’t usually ask about height like that.”
Mimi, puzzled, asked, “Then how do you ask?”
Shao Sui said, “We usually ask, ‘How tall are you?'”
Mimi nodded, a very concise way of asking, “Shao Sui, how tall are you?”
“About 1.85 meters.” Shao Sui added, “Without shoes.”
Mimi didn’t quite grasp the concept, but he still exclaimed, “What did you eat growing up?”
“Height mostly depends on genes, not so much on what you eat.”
“What are genes?”
Mimi had been focusing on Chinese and math, he knew nothing about biology or English.
“Genes are also called genetic factors, which are DNA or RNA sequences that carry genetic information…” Shao Sui stopped himself, knowing it would only lead to more questions from Mimi, quickly shutting off the impending flood of inquiries, “You’ll learn about it in junior high biology class.”
Mimi, the eager learner, responded with an “oh,” and sat down at the dining table, “Can I not use these chopsticks anymore?”
Shao Sui also sat down, “What’s wrong?”
Mimi said, “I saw online that everyone uses chopsticks like yours, only little babies use these ones with the handles.”
“Aren’t you a baby?”
“…”
Mimi was stumped, saying after a while, “Then don’t call me ‘baby’ anymore, and I want to use your chopsticks.”
Shao Sui handed him his chopsticks, “Okay, try them.”
Mimi’s learning and imitation abilities were excellent. Having only used training chopsticks for a short while, he could already use normal chopsticks proficiently.
“Very good, these can retire now.” Shao Sui, too lazy to get another pair of chopsticks from the kitchen, used Mimi’s training chopsticks to eat his noodles. “Is it bland?”
Mimi shook his head, “Shao Sui.”
Shao Sui responded with a soft “hmm?”
Mimi’s ear twitched. Staring at Shao Sui, he said, “You’re a baby.”
Shao Sui’s heart melted. A little cat spirit still learning about human language was truly adorable, he wanted to kiss him to death.
After quickly tidying up, they were ready to go apartment hunting. While getting dressed, Mimi even spread his legs for Shao Sui to see, accusing him of being too rough earlier.
The little cat spirit didn’t realize this was considered blatant seduction in human society. Fortunately, Shao Sui still had a shred of moral decency and helped him pull up his pants.
While driving, Shao Sui asked, “Which of the apartments we saw last night did you like the most?”
Mimi asked, “We’ll buy whichever one I like?”
“Not necessarily, we have to consider various factors, but we definitely won’t buy one you don’t like.” Shao Sui handed Mimi his bank card. “Buying a house requires careful consideration, my responsibility is to assess the overall situation, and your responsibility is to have the final say. This is all my savings, you can use this to swipe for payment.”
Mimi suddenly felt a great sense of responsibility, carefully putting the card away, “I’ll protect it.”
Shao Sui was just trying to make the cat happy. Buying a house wasn’t a one-day process. Even with the current abundance of listings, it would still take at least a month to decide, comparing multiple options.
Shao Sui said, “After we buy a house, our daily life will have to be a bit more… frugal.”
Mimi understood, “Because of the mortgage payments.”
Shao Sui replied with an “mm-hmm.” “We can’t have salmon and durian every day anymore, will you be unhappy?”
Mimi thought for a moment, “Not even once a year?”
It wouldn’t be that bad.
But Shao Sui still said, “Maybe never again in your life.”
“Is buying a house that difficult?” Mimi said seriously. “But if we buy a house, we won’t be homeless anymore.”
“If you want durian, I can go back to the Chinese medicine clinic, transform into a cat, and ask the shop owner for some.”
“The shop owner would be very happy to see you.” Shao Sui struggled to contain his laughter.
“Yes, she loves me.” Except for those two months, Mimi had never gone hungry, always receiving delicious food just by waving his paw.
They arrived at the first apartment complex.
It wasn’t bad, the apartment was also nice, newly renovated, minimal signs of wear and tear.
The real estate agent felt Shao Sui was quite satisfied; this deal might actually go through.
After showering him with praises, he asked, “The landlord is willing to cover the taxes and fees, which is very rare, you might miss out if you hesitate. If you’re satisfied, I can arrange a meeting with the landlord to discuss the price.”
Shao Sui turned to Mimi, “What do you think?”
Mimi’s words, “It’s too high, I’m scared,” made Shao Sui immediately reject it, “Let’s look at the other options.”
The agent understood. Although the older client was the one paying, the younger client’s opinion was crucial.
They saw four apartments that day, each with its own issues. Mimi liked the last one, simply because it had a hanging chair.
He sat on it, swaying back and forth, finding it very entertaining.
The agent, trying to cater to his preference, asked, “What’s the purpose of this apartment? Newlywed home, or…”
“No!” Mimi suddenly said loudly, “He’s not getting married.”
The agent stammered awkwardly, “Then just… a personal residence…”
Mimi didn’t understand these terms, he just strongly disliked associating the word “marriage” with Shao Sui. “He’s gay.”
A second coming out.
Shao Sui was used to Mimi’s nonsense. The agent, however, was witnessing it for the first time and was stunned, just managing an “oh.”
Mimi said coldly, “Don’t show us any more newlywed homes, he doesn’t need one.”
The agent: “…”
No apartment was inherently a newlywed home.
Shao Sui said to the agent, “Could you excuse us for a moment? We need to discuss this privately.”
The agent tactfully left, “Okay, I’ll wait outside.”
After the agent left, Shao Sui said to Mimi, “Who am I gay with? You can’t be gay alone.”
“Oh… then with me.” Mimi added, “In front of others.”
“Not allowed at home?”
“No, humans and cats are different. In ancient times, spirits who were with humans would be hunted down and killed by Taoist priests.” Mimi said sadly. “I don’t want to die, I want to be with you forever.”
Shao Sui decided to secretly go through Mimi’s phone later and filter out some more… positive human-spirit love stories. What kind of crappy app kept recommending tragic endings?
He returned to the topic at hand, “This apartment has many problems, let’s look at others.”
Mimi swayed in the chair, “But it’s very nice.”
Shao Sui said, “It’s just a hanging chair, we can buy one separately.”
“Really?” Mimi looked up from the chair. “It’s attached to the wall.”
“It wasn’t when they bought it, they installed it later.”
“Okay.” Mimi was reluctant.
Shao Sui walked over, holding the hanging chair and looking at Mimi, “We really have to go, there are several more to see.”
Mimi negotiated, “Can I play a little longer?”
Shao Sui said, “No.”
Mimi leaned forward, offering himself, “Not even if I let you kiss me?”
Shao Sui was exasperated and amused, “You can do… things only couples can do just for playing on a chair a little longer?”
“No reward this morning, and you even… stuck your tongue in my mouth so many times… mmmph.” Mimi had learned how to manipulate Shao Sui, his muffled voice escaping through Shao Sui’s fingers. “Are you going to kiss me or not?”
Shao Sui’s eyes darkened, and he grabbed Mimi’s chin, kissing him forcefully, Mimi’s lips red and swollen by the time he pulled away. “Five more minutes, then we have to go.”
Mimi, having successfully sold a kiss, said seriously, “Okay.”
The real estate agent, waiting outside for a long time, felt uneasy. Were they doing something inappropriate inside? Just as he was about to knock, Shao Sui and Mimi emerged.
“Mr. Shao… are you…?”
“What’s wrong?”
The agent asked with concern, “Are you having an allergic reaction? Your chin and neck look a bit… off.”
Shao Sui said, “Just heaty.”
Mimi, holding Shao Sui’s hand, added, “It’s been like this for days.”
Shao Sui scoffed internally. Yes, for days, only able to kiss, nothing more.
But it did feel itchy and uncomfortable, his lips slightly swollen and sore, he had never had such a severe reaction before.
Shao Sui and Mimi drove to the hospital. Afraid the doctor would ask him to run errands, and Mimi didn’t know anything about hospitals, Shao Sui left Mimi in the car and went in alone. The diagnosis was an allergy, requiring IV treatment.
He was puzzled and asked the doctor for the reason.
The doctor said calmly, “You should know. You said it’s been going on for a while, sometimes getting worse, what were you doing before it got worse? If you’re not sure, you can get an allergen test.”
What was he doing…
Shao Sui’s mind went blank, “Does kissing count?”
The doctor asked, “Sure there’s nothing else?”
Shao Sui nodded firmly.
The doctor said sympathetically, “Then you might be allergic to his saliva.”
Shao Sui didn’t understand, “But he used to lick… when his saliva touched my skin, I didn’t have any reaction.”
“Because the amount was small.” The doctor pushed his glasses up his nose. It was rare to meet such an honest patient, he was curious under what circumstances saliva would directly contact skin, bypassing kissing.
“Allergies can also be cumulative.”
It took Shao Sui a while to accept the reality, “Is there a solution?”
The doctor said, “Either stop kissing, or change partners.”
Shao Sui, after a long silence, asked, “Can I take allergy medicine before kissing?”
The doctor: “…So you have to kiss him?”
