Chapter 5
The week’s work ended, and finally, it was the weekend.
Still no news from the cat’s owner.
Shao Sui, keeping a meter’s distance, used the feather teaser to tickle Mimi’s chin, his tone languid: “Did he abandon you?”
The Great Meow King pretended not to understand, too lazy to pay him any attention.
In the past few days, the relationship between the man and cat had rapidly improved. Mainly because Mimi’s front leg was fractured, and with the bandage dangling, it couldn’t reach many places to groom itself. The feather teaser became a lifesaver.
Of course, Shao Sui didn’t care about their relationship.
He’d have to send the cat away sooner or later anyway.
Most of Mimi’s injuries had healed. It just had to continue taking medicine for its liver damage from the poisoning, and the bandage on its fractured leg couldn’t be removed yet, probably for another ten days or so.
At least it was becoming increasingly proficient at jumping onto the bookshelf compartments.
Fortunately, it was still relatively well-behaved. Apart from the far right compartment on the second-to-last shelf, it rarely jumped elsewhere, its activity limited to the litter box, food bowls, and the floor-to-ceiling window.
Shao Sui also gradually mastered the art of petting a cat, his touch just right. Mimi, utterly relaxed, leaned its chin on the feather teaser, its eyes narrowing, unconsciously purring.
Shao Sui initially thought he’d misheard. While petting, he discreetly took out his phone and recorded the sound, then sent it to Dr. Ren: It sounds like there’s phlegm in its throat, does it have bronchitis or some other respiratory disease?
Dr. Ren replied with six ellipses: ……
He probably really wanted to ask if this cat was truly Shao Sui’s.
Dr. Ren: It’s purring, a sign of happiness and comfort, not a disease.
Shao Sui was relieved.
Good, no need to spend more money.
“Your fur is growing back so slowly,” Shao Sui said. “It’s not aesthetically pleasing.”
Although full fur might lead to more shedding, at least it would look symmetrical.
Shao Sui withdrew the feather teaser. Mimi, caught off guard, lost its balance with its weakened fractured paw and fell flat on its face.
The cat looked up, staring at him resentfully.
“Oops,” the culprit feigned innocence. “How did you fall? You’re less stable on three legs than I am on two.”
Just you wait, Great Meow King!
Mimi, having lost face, refused to admit it had fallen and nonchalantly began licking its paw while lying on the floor.
Shao Sui kindly reminded, “You’re licking your bandage.”
Mimi, embarrassed and angry, got up and swiped at Shao Sui’s leg. It looked fierce, but with his house pants as a barrier, it was just a feint, causing no harm.
Men are truly scum!
This cat’s expressions were too rich.
Shao Sui unconsciously opened his camera app, snapping several pictures in quick succession. By the time he realized what he was doing, his photo album was full of cat pictures.
“When did I take so many… must be a virus on my phone.”
Shao Sui opened the search bar and typed: How to make cat fur grow faster? It looked too pathetic right now.
Baidu’s answers were fish oil and egg yolks.
Easy, both were cheap.
Shao Sui found the app that most frequently recommended cat-related posts to him, did some quick brand research, and then opened the orange shopping app, buying the fish oil recommended by netizens.
Less than three hundred yuan, enough for two months, much more cost-effective than canned food.
As for egg yolks, he had those at home. He didn’t like them anyway, so from now on, he’d give the yolk from his morning boiled egg to the little creature.
Just as he was about to put down his phone, his colleague Cheng Ke messaged him: How’s the cat?
Shao Sui didn’t understand pet owners’ enthusiasm, but he still replied immediately: It just purred at me.
Teacher Cheng: It warmed up to you so quickly? Calicos really have good temperaments.
Shao Sui: Yes, loves being petted, very clingy.
Teacher Cheng: If you plan to keep it long-term, you should take it for a vaccine antibody test. If it doesn’t have any, it needs to be vaccinated again.
Shao Sui: Not planning to.
His next sentence was: How much does it cost?
Teacher Cheng: …Are you having a dissociative episode? Vaccine prices have gone up in the past two years. Three shots are about four or five hundred yuan.
Shao Sui: How long does it last?
Teacher Cheng: One year, then a booster shot every year after that.
Shao Sui: Owning a cat is such a hassle.
Teacher Cheng: Your Mimi is considered well-behaved. My blue-and-white is also a stray, abandoned. After I brought him home, he hid under the bed for a month before going from hissing at me to tolerating a touch.
Shao Sui: Oh.
Mimi was lying on the floor, using the cat bed as a backrest, leisurely watching the scenery.
Shao Sui took a picture and sent it to Cheng Ke, making sure to mute his phone beforehand, otherwise the cat would turn its head, its delicate face feigning a ferocious glare at him.
It was amusing.
Teacher Cheng: …
Teacher Cheng: Showing off, are we?
Shao Sui: Don’t misunderstand, no such intention.
Shao Sui didn’t tell Cheng Ke he’d given the cat a similar-sounding name, Mimi, fearing she would misunderstand that he intended to keep it long-term.
Owning a cat? Maybe in the next life.
It shed a few hairs on the floor every day. What would happen when all its shaved fur grew back?
Shao Sui brushed the cat aside and used the lint roller he bought yesterday to remove the hair.
Maybe he should buy a vacuum cleaner.
Before, with no cat and daily cleaning, he had no need for such a thing.
After washing his hands and disinfecting, Shao Sui started cooking.
He ate simply when alone, making a spicy coriander and beef mixed noodles, and boiling an egg in a small pot at the same time.
Shao Sui never ate anywhere but at the dining table. He separated the egg yolk and headed to the study. As soon as he entered, he felt something swipe at his leg.
Looking down, he saw a sneaky cat crouching by the door.
The funniest thing was that because its left front leg was fractured, whenever it failed to trip someone, it would sprawl on the floor, utterly ungraceful.
Mimi stood up as if nothing had happened, rubbed against Shao Sui’s leg, and turned to leave, pretending nothing had occurred.
Shao Sui: “…”
That cat had definitely tried to trip him.
He crumbled the egg yolk into the cat bowl and said casually, “We’re going out after you finish eating.”
The cat definitely understood.
Because its back stiffened.
It ate a few bites of egg yolk and then licked some dry food, as if saying, I’m not completely wasteful, dry food is fine too.
The Great Meow King hadn’t taken a liking to this servant.
It was just that his home, though small, was very clean, and he cleaned its litter box twice a day, which was very conducive to recovery.
Its body hadn’t fully healed yet, making it unsuitable for exploring the vast outside world.
At 2 PM, a reluctant Mimi was taken out by Shao Sui and brought into a pet hospital, a different one from Dr. Ren’s. Since that doctor wouldn’t even give the cat canned food, Shao Sui didn’t want to spend money there for the time being.
Shao Sui first weighed the cat. It had gained 0.5 jin, now weighing 4.8 jin, still too thin.
So it’s just a checkup.
Mimi relaxed, allowing the doctor to examine its bones, but quickly pulled away when he tried to take liberties. Did he think just anyone could touch the Great Meow King’s belly?
“This calico is actually a male!” The doctor was shocked. “So beautiful, like a little female.”
Mimi glared at him: You’re the female.
“Beautiful? It’s alright.” Shao Sui was indifferent. “When I brought him home, I didn’t know cats could have fleas. Can these things survive away from the cat?”
He had seen a short video about it while eating lunch and instantly lost his appetite. The thought of fleas everywhere in his home gave him a headache.
The doctor said, “Fleas generally don’t leave their host, at most they’ll jump from the cat onto you.”
“…” He should have just kept quiet.
“If you’re not itchy and haven’t developed a rash, then he probably doesn’t have fleas.” The doctor continued, “But to be safe, we should still do a deworming treatment. Even if your home is very clean, it’s best to do it every two or three months.”
He asked about the price. Internal and external deworming combined was less than two hundred yuan.
Acceptable.
The doctor suggested, “Do the internal deworming as well. He might have intestinal parasites.”
Before he’d even finished speaking, Mimi jumped from the table to the stool, then from the stool to the floor, and limped away.
Unfortunately, it was caught by the doctor before reaching the door: “Be good, it won’t hurt.”
Mimi resisted fiercely, hissing at the doctor.
Back when it was free, it lived near a traditional Chinese medicine clinic for a while, and an old human man often said, “Every medicine is three parts poison.”
It bathed itself every day, how could it possibly have fleas?
These two-legged creatures just wanted to poison it!
Unable to hold it, the doctor simply handed it to Shao Sui: “Hold him while I administer the medicine.”
Both man and cat froze.
Goosebumps erupted all over Shao Sui, as if he wasn’t holding a cat, but something filthy. The doctor tore open the deworming medication package and looked up, seeing Shao Sui’s murderous expression.
The doctor was puzzled: “Did its claws dig into you?”
“No.” Shao Sui closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and kept telling himself: My clothes are already dirty, I can’t change them now, just get this deworming done and go home.
He freed one hand and swatted the cat’s backside: “Behave, it’s not poison, it’s for your own good.”
When Shao Sui was serious, his voice was deep, with an indescribable quality, like thick hot spring water, soothing to the ears.
The Great Meow King twitched its ears and stopped struggling.
The doctor parted the fur on the back of the cat’s neck: “So well-behaved in its owner’s arms.”
Mimi rested its chin on Shao Sui’s strong forearm and hissed: Your whole family has an owner!
Unfortunately, the human didn’t understand its sarcasm.
Shao Sui asked, “He’s been eating a lot recently, almost two cans a day, but he never drinks water. Is that a problem?”
“Canned food contains a lot of moisture,” the doctor said. “It’s not a big issue, but it’s still best to find a way to make him drink some water, such as rehydrating freeze-dried food.”
“Okay, I’ll buy some later.”
The external deworming was done, but Mimi refused to eat the internal medication, burying its head in Shao Sui’s arm, refusing to let the doctor pry open its mouth.
Perhaps feeling it wasn’t safe enough, Mimi nuzzled further, burying its head even deeper.
“…” It was as if a soft, fine brush had tickled Shao Sui’s heart.
He held the cat with one hand and took the medicine from the doctor: “I’ll feed it to him at home.”
“No problem.”
“Do you have a clean cat room?” Shao Sui asked. “I have something to do, I’ll come back later to pick him up.”
“Oh, yes, we do.”
Mimi stiffened, clinging tightly to Shao Sui’s arm.
Was this male human trying to abandon it?
Mimi had seen many abandoned cats through the glass of the pet hospital before. Foolishly cute, they didn’t understand how to fight for dominance at home and were eventually boarded due to their owner’s partner’s dislike. After a while, they could never return.
“Do you have alcohol wipes?”
“…Yes.”
Although the cat room looked spotless, Shao Sui was still a bit apprehensive. Holding the cat in one arm, he wiped down everything with the other, ensuring nothing was missed before preparing to put the cat inside.
However, Mimi clung to his arm, refusing to let go.
“You’re going to pull my sleeve apart.” Shao Sui pried the cat’s paws open. A three-legged cat was no match for a strong man. He inadvertently touched the cat’s paw pads. Hmm… quite springy.
Pretending to accidentally pinch them a couple of times, Shao Sui promised, “I’ll be back to get you in an hour.”
Only then did Mimi relax its guard, its round eyes fixed on him.
If Shao Sui broke his promise, it would never trust a male human again!
Shao Sui went to the hospital next door—one for humans.
It was time for his fourth rabies shot.
Mimi lay closest to the door, staring intently at the clock opposite.
Almost an hour!
As the hour hand ticked to the next number, Mimi jumped up, but didn’t see the male human at the door.
Liar.
It turned its head away from the door, its body trembling.
So angry.
After an unknown amount of time, it smelled a familiar human pheromone. Its ears perked up, but it didn’t move. The glass door behind it opened, and a voice said, “Let’s go, time to go home.”
Mimi ignored him.
The Great Meow King had its pride.
Shao Sui instinctively reached out, then hesitated when he touched the cat’s fur. He had just washed and disinfected his hands at the hospital.
But his clothes were already dirty.
Holding it once more wouldn’t make much difference.
Having convinced himself, Shao Sui scooped Mimi into his arms without a second thought.
The cat struggled symbolically.
Shao Sui found it amusing: “What are you so angry about? It hasn’t even been an hour.”
He had left at 3:30, and it was only 4:20 now, only fifty minutes. The doctor had told him to stay for observation for thirty minutes, but he thought Mimi was quite a sensitive cat and might be furious if it had a sense of time.
So he only observed for twenty minutes before leaving, striving to be a promise-keeping temporary caregiver.
Mimi remained aloof, Mimi didn’t want to listen: It clearly passed the next hour mark, still lying.
“Such a temper, no wonder your owner isn’t looking for you.”
The Great Meow King’s paws were getting itchy.
Shao Sui greeted the doctor and walked out, thinking, how is it so soft?
Mimi’s softness wasn’t the softness of plumpness, but as if its bones were made of butter, melting into a puddle, inexplicably bringing to mind the phrase “warm, fragrant, and soft jade.”
Shao Sui rubbed Mimi’s belly: “You’re so thin, yet you have a little belly?”
Mimi froze, looking up in disbelief. Not only was this male human late, he also touched its crotch!!
This was absolutely intolerable!
The Great Meow King sprang up like a carp and delivered two swift punches to Shao Sui’s face!
