Chapter 8
Shao Sui bought a lot of toys – balls, feather teasers, little fish plushies. He lost track of time, playing with the cat while unpacking, and it was soon 9 PM. He suddenly remembered he hadn’t picked up his car, and the 4S shop had already closed.
Time for bed then.
“No getting on the sofa,” Shao Sui emphasized again. “If you scratch it, the landlord will make me pay for it. After I pay, I’ll ask your owner for reimbursement. So the more things you damage, the more likely he is to abandon you, understand?”
The Great Meow King lay on the coffee table, silent but seemingly deep in thought.
Shao Sui washed his hands and went into the bedroom. There was a small wardrobe by the door where he kept his pajamas.
After changing, he lay down in bed and caught up on sleep.
As a teacher, only during holidays could he get a good night’s sleep, especially teaching junior and senior high school, with its heavy workload and high pressure.
Shao Sui had a dream.
He dreamt he was back teaching seventh grade, and there was a new student in his class named Mimi, skinny and underdeveloped, coming to school with injuries every day, supposedly from domestic abuse.
Teacher Shao, softhearted, brought food for the student every day. Then, the student suddenly confessed to him in his diary, boldly proclaiming: “Teacher Shao, I want you to be my dog!”
…What a bizarre dream.
After the human went to sleep, Mimi waited by the bedroom door for a while.
Seeing he really wasn’t going to let it in, it punched the door a couple of times in frustration.
“Ow.” That hurt.
Mimi retracted its claws, leaned against the wall and licked them, then, taking advantage of the human’s absence, began to explore the apartment.
Very, very small, only meow-meow big!
Although one leg was fractured, it didn’t hinder Mimi from jumping around. It first checked the canned food the male human had stocked up for it. One, two, three, four, five… ten, twenty, thirty.
Not bad.
Two cans a day, that meant it could eat for… never mind.
Once it had spent all the male human’s money, it would quietly leave this impoverished place.
Mimi went to the kitchen door and checked. It was locked.
If it weren’t injured, it could open it in seconds.
“Meow!” Being a cat, meowing occasionally is perfectly normal.
Mimi strolled back to the living room. There wasn’t much furniture, but it was all very clean. It jumped onto the sofa. The slope was too slippery; it almost fell, scrambling before finally reaching the top.
He said no, it would do it anyway.
A bit of rebellion was only natural for the Great Meow King.
The sofa felt very nice, probably one of the human’s more expensive pieces of furniture. Mimi first kneaded it, then looked back nervously, afraid Shao Sui would suddenly appear.
This human was so poor; he probably couldn’t afford a new sofa.
The Great Meow King, feeling benevolent, decided to destroy something else. It scanned the room, spotting a TV across from the sofa, and a small table beside it with a black and white photo of a human.
It tilted its head, finally deciding to destroy the black slab on the TV stand.
First, it knocked the slab off the stand, then started kicking it around like a toy ball, completely engrossed, until it heard faint cursing from downstairs. It quickly hid behind the sofa.
After about ten minutes, confirming it was safe, Mimi continued to attack the black slab, but it seemed undamaged.
Remembering the kitten it had seen fall from a building, it picked up the slab and struggled to jump onto a chair, then onto the table, letting the object in its mouth fall from a height.
“Thud.”
Mimi flinched. Despite doing it on purpose, it still felt a bit guilty, afraid the male human in the bedroom would suddenly come out and punish it.
He was probably still asleep.
Humans were so unguarded, no wonder they died so easily.
There was a TV at the Chinese medicine clinic that often played the news. Today someone got hit by a car, tomorrow someone drowned… so fragile.
Mimi dropped the black slab repeatedly until it finally broke.
Exhausted from jumping, it returned to the sofa and closed its eyes.
The human didn’t know that kittens also had nightmares.
It dreamt of clothes hangers, lighters, sticks, and sharp needles. It had only taken a sip of water from the bowl, and then its throat felt like it was on fire, so painful.
…
Shao Sui woke up at 9 AM, stayed in bed for a while, then opened his phone to check his messages and the community group. Still no news from the cat’s owner.
But one comment caught his attention.
Little Wu Studies Chinese Medicine: Oh my god! Mimi! This cat used to wander near our Chinese medicine clinic. It was so aloof and smart. Because it was so beautiful, many people wanted to adopt it, but it was impossible to catch.
Little Wu Studies Chinese Medicine: And it’s definitely a female. We’ve never seen its testicles. I swear I haven’t misidentified it. [Picture]
Shao Sui looked at the picture. It really was Mimi.
Mimi looked much more lively in the picture, probably two or three jin heavier, its fur fluffy and shimmering in the sunlight. More like a little fairy than a little eunuch.
Shao Sui replied: It’s definitely him. Are you sure no one owned him?
Little Wu Studies Chinese Medicine: Not that I know of. It didn’t like being kept indoors. We tried to catch it several times without success. I don’t know how it ended up in your community, it’s several kilometers away. People around here miss it a lot. The owner of the braised food shop next door used to leave food for it every day, but it hasn’t been seen for almost two months.
Little Wu Studies Chinese Medicine: How did it become like this? So pitiful. If you don’t want to keep it, please bring it back to us. We’ll crowdfund your medical expenses!
What do you mean “bring it back,” is it your cat?
Shao Sui only grumbled internally, not typing it out.
Finding its previous roaming grounds was good news. At least if the owner didn’t want Mimi, it would have a place to go. The people there seemed nice and willing to reimburse his medical expenses.
However, Shao Sui didn’t reply immediately. He got out of bed and opened the curtains. It was overcast today, it might rain later.
He wondered what the cat was doing, where it slept last night.
He walked out and saw Mimi sprawled out at the corner of the sofa, its head almost touching the floor.
Shao Sui walked over: “No manners, even in your sleep.”
The Great Meow King was actually awake, but its current posture was too awkward. Any slight movement might send it tumbling down, which would be too embarrassing.
To avoid falling, it decided to play dead, squinting at the human’s approaching knees.
Shao Sui walked over and lifted its head: “Didn’t I say no getting on the sofa?”
Mimi nuzzled his palm and tilted its head, looking at him.
“…Trying to act cute.”
Shao Sui scratched its chin, then took out his phone and used the voice-to-text function to reply to Little Wu: It must have been adopted in the past two months. It had a collar when I found it, so I’ll wait and see. Wandering isn’t good for its recovery either. If I still haven’t found its previous owner after it heals, I’ll bring it back to you.
Little Wu asked if they could add each other on WeChat. Shao Sui agreed, and then the other party sent several “good people have good rewards” emojis.
“I’m no good person.” Shao Sui stroked Mimi’s chest fur, muttering to himself, “The fish oil should arrive today.”
Little Wu: Just call me Little Wu!
Little Wu: I can send you cat food!
Shao Sui took a picture of the row of cat food cans on the sideboard and sent it, typing coldly: It doesn’t eat cat food.
Little Wu: Those cans are quite expensive. Mimi is getting pickier… but those don’t look like complete food cans, they can’t be its main diet.
Shao Sui froze, not quite understanding this.
He searched online and discovered that cat food cans were divided into snack cans and complete food cans, the latter being more expensive.
Shao Sui replied: I understand, I’ll buy some later.
Little Wu: Such a beautiful little female cat, are you really not planning to keep her?
“…”
Why did everyone think he wanted to keep it? Shao Sui, faced with the question of keeping or not keeping, chose to nitpick: It’s a male. You didn’t see his testicles before because they’re small, hidden by his fur.
Mimi, unsure what he was doing, rolled over and peeked at the human’s phone screen from behind Shao Sui.
Hmm… human language is too complex, can’t understand.
Shao Sui scratched its chin, and the Great Meow King, enjoying it, purred.
Little Wu: Such a beautiful cat is a male? I told everyone and they didn’t believe me. Oh my god, the sky is falling!
Then, Little Wu sent a screenshot, educational information about male calico cats.
Shao Sui opened it and scanned it. The gist was that male calico cats have an extra X chromosome, also known as Klinefelter syndrome in the cat world.
Born infertile.
That wasn’t a big deal. For most animals, mating was just a reproductive instinct ingrained in their genes; they didn’t experience pleasure.
However, it also came with many genetic defects, such as poor health, being more delicate than other domestic cats, and having a temperament vastly different from docile female calicos, being relatively more aggressive.
Little Wu: But our Mimi is quite well-behaved, just a bit aloof, doesn’t like being touched.
Shao Sui pulled the cat onto his lap and took a picture of himself manhandling it, sending it over. He didn’t capture the whole cat, only its back and one ear.
Little Wu: …
Little Wu: I have to go to work, bye.
Mimi struggled in protest, but a three-legged cat was no match for a human with two arms and two legs. By the time it finally escaped, its fur was a mess.
Cats are so annoying.
It nestled into the corner of the sofa and started grooming itself. Shao Sui figured it had slept on the sofa last night too.
Forget it.
A cat was a cat. Now that it had access to the living room, how could it possibly listen to him and stay off the sofa? Even dogs couldn’t do that.
Shao Sui thought he should buy another vacuum cleaner specifically for upholstery.
Although the one he bought yesterday claimed to be suitable for both floors and sofas, he couldn’t accept using the same one for both.
Just as Shao Sui was about to go make breakfast, he noticed a black fragment on the floor: “What’s this…”
He picked it up and realized it looked like the back cover of the TV remote.
Placing a couple of tissues on the floor, Shao Sui knelt down and found the remote’s circuit board under the coffee table. As for the batteries, one was under the dining table, the other had rolled to the bathroom door.
While putting the batteries back in, Shao Sui looked at Mimi: “Did you do this?”
As he said these three words, Shao Sui had an air of authority about him.
Mimi let out a soft meow.
Before Shao Sui could figure it out, there was another knock on the door: “Knock, knock—”
Turning around, he saw the cat had already disappeared. Shao Sui went to open the door and found his landlord standing there: “Xiao Shao, are you seeing someone?”
Shao Sui was puzzled: “No, why do you think that?”
The landlord said, “I heard banging from your apartment late last night. We’re old, light sleepers. You should go to bed earlier.”
Shao Sui quickly apologized, “Sorry, I probably dropped the air conditioner remote last night.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” The landlord was very satisfied with Shao Sui as a tenant. Clean, young, handsome, and with a respectable profession. Finding a good tenant these days was difficult.
“Xiao Shao, my niece is coming back from abroad next week…”
Shao Sui smiled, “Please don’t inflict me on your niece. No one can stand my personality, and I’m not planning to get married or have children.”
“Oh, you!” The landlord chided playfully. “I’m going grocery shopping. Go to bed earlier in the future, watching TV late at night is bad for your eyes.”
Shao Sui agreed with a smile, and as soon as the door closed, his smile vanished.
He turned around and called out, enunciating each word: “Mi-mi, my dear stu-dent.”
The cat was nowhere to be found, until Shao Sui passed the hallway and was swiped at by a paw lying in ambush. Shao Sui didn’t flinch, looking down at the sneaky Mimi.
Having failed to trip the human again, Mimi simply flopped onto the floor and rolled around.
Shao Sui hardened his heart: “Acting cute won’t work.”
He took a large step and picked up the ruler from the coffee table. Mimi immediately bolted, its three-legged gait unsteady, but clearly not afraid, its tail held high, as if certain Shao Sui wouldn’t actually hit it.
Shao Sui, being manipulated, chased after the cat, pretending to be fierce. But even with only three legs, the cat was faster than him.
However, the apartment was too small. Mimi was quickly cornered on the balcony, forced to turn and face Shao Sui, its eyes gleaming with uncontainable excitement.
Teacher Shao also felt a flicker of excitement: “Run, let’s see where you can run.”
He hadn’t exercised in days, his heart rate soaring.
Mimi opened its mouth: “Meow~”
“Scream, scream all you want, no one will save you!” Shao Sui walked over and swatted Mimi’s backside. “Little pervert.”
The little pervert, not feeling any pain, raised its backside even higher, rubbing its head against Shao Sui’s leg.
“…”
Just like the students at school, even if they made mistakes, he couldn’t really punish them. They were too delicate, easily bruised.
Shao Sui bent down and flicked Mimi’s forehead: “Why did you break the remote? Hmm?”
Mimi clung to Shao Sui’s leg, trying to climb up.
“Explain yourself, stop acting cute.”
“Meow.” If this Great King truly explained, you’d be scared to death.
Shao Sui was speechless. He picked up the cat and returned to the sofa. He pressed a button on the remote and found it still worked. Mimi’s rampage last night had only caused superficial damage.
The cat didn’t understand. It had broken it last night, therefore it was broken.
Shao Sui’s hand unconsciously reached for Mimi’s belly, immediately receiving a flurry of kicks from its hind legs.
“Ouch—” Shao Sui cried out dramatically, then suddenly remembered, “Did you not eat your medication last night?”
He opened another can of food, hid the medication inside with his back to the cat, and mixed in some dry food. Since it couldn’t be its main diet, this would have to do for now.
With its increased roaming area, Mimi’s food bowls had been moved to the dining table.
The kitten walked over, gave Shao Sui a disdainful look, and then started eating.
Canned food mixed with dry food, how disgusting.
While cooking noodles, Shao Sui searched online for recommended complete food cans. The variety of brands made his head spin, prices ranging from a few yuan to several dozen.
He disregarded the ones that cost only a few yuan. Even dry food was more expensive than that. And the best brand recommended cost over thirty yuan per can!
Two cans a day for Mimi would cost sixty or seventy yuan. This darn cat… whoever wanted it could have it.
Shao Sui looked up. Mimi had finished eating and was heading towards the hallway.
Seeing that Shao Sui wasn’t following, the Great Meow King immediately jumped onto the toilet, spat the white pill into the water, then jumped onto the tank and flushed.
It wasn’t stupid. Did he think it wouldn’t notice the medicine mixed in its food?
Foolish human.
Shao Sui was debating whether to buy the expensive canned food, not even considering the cheaper brands, when he suddenly heard the toilet flush.
By the time he walked over, the cat had already left the bathroom, brushing past his leg without looking back.
Shao Sui’s eyelid twitched. Did the cat just use his toilet?
Could it be that smart?
He looked around suspiciously. Perhaps it was the sound of flushing from upstairs.
“Meow—”
Hearing the cat’s meow, Shao Sui remembered he was cooking noodles. He rushed back to the kitchen, opened the pot lid, and cleaned the spilled water.
The boiled egg was also ready. Shao Sui placed it in cold water to cool, peeled off the shell, and placed the yolk in the cat bowl: “If it’s too hot, wait a while before eating…”
It suddenly struck Shao Sui that canned food was just various meats. If he could boil eggs for the cat, he could naturally cook for it. Homemade food would have no additives, be healthier, and more cost-effective.
He searched online and found many cat food recipes.
Just chicken, fish, seafood, beef, organ meats, and vegetables. It didn’t look difficult, he just needed to buy some calcium supplements. He already had a meat grinder at home.
Just then, a voice message popped up at the top of his screen, the contact name “Dr. Ren, Too Cheap to Buy Mimi Canned Food”: “Mimi’s dad, you can bring Mimi in to have his bandages removed today.”
So after their meal, the man and cat went to the hospital again.
“Seems like he’s gained some weight.” Dr. Ren cut the bandages. “He might still favor his front paw for a while, but that’s okay, let him recover slowly. It could take a week, or up to half a month.”
Shao Sui said, “Okay, thanks.”
Dr. Ren: “You’re welcome. He can stop taking the medication in two days. You can buy him some fish oil, it can reduce shedding. We have some here…”
Shao Sui interrupted: “I already bought some.”
Dr. Ren touched his nose: “Then that’s all. The little guy looks much better after a few days at home! With a bit more care, he’ll be bouncing around again.”
“Yes, he’s managing.”
Shao Sui looked down at Mimi, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
As they were leaving, Cheng Ke’s nurse friend greeted him: “Next time you bring Mimi in for neutering, I can give you a discount with my staff card!”
Before Shao Sui could reply, Mimi in his arms turned and hissed at the nurse, its aggressive posture the epitome of “using one’s power to bully others.”
It had been so timid at the hospital just a few days ago, trembling whenever someone passed by.
Shao Sui suppressed a chuckle, flicking Mimi’s testicles: “So small, what’s the difference between neutering or not?”
“!”
Mimi tucked its hind legs, its beautiful eyes filled with rage, glaring at Shao Sui: Such an uncouth male human!
That was a cat’s private part!
And what did she mean small? All cats liked it, male or female, they all respected it! They wanted to rub against it and give it kisses.
Did size matter?
Not at all.
The Great Meow King thought… if it became as big as a human, its testicles would also become that big.
Don’t bully a young cat for being poor.
Annoyed, Mimi ignored Shao Sui the entire way home, until they reached the market and Shao Sui asked Mimi what flavor of complete food it wanted. It meowed as they passed the king crab tank.
“Too much seafood will give you gout.” Shao Sui pinched Mimi’s left front paw, trying to scare it. “Then not just this leg, but all four of your legs won’t be able to walk. Do you want that?”
Mimi struggled fiercely: “Meow!”
Just say you can’t afford it!
