Chapter 15: Meow
Big Black was a dog raised in the welfare institute. He was fully vaccinated, neutered, and dewormed regularly. Although he looked a bit scary, his personality was very docile.
Seeing the little kid clinging to the tree trunk crying in fear, Wang Qiuqiu hurried to lead Big Black away and tied him to a wooden dog house on the other side.
There was a small stool next to the dog house. Before Jing Mimi appeared, he had been sitting there drawing, and Big Black had been keeping him company.
However, this time he wasn’t drawing a dog.
After tying up Big Black, Wang Qiuqiu quickly returned to the source of the crying, looked up, and said to the little koala still crying up there, “I’ve tied Big Black up. Come down quickly.”
He can really climb. Such a small body, yet he scrambled up so high in an instant.
Jing Mimi looked at the big black dog not far away with teary eyes, blinked quickly to clear the tears welling up in his eyes, scrambled down swiftly, and landed steadily.
Although not as light and agile as his kitten body, he was considered quite impressive among human children.
Because of the tree climbing just now, his small hands and clothes were stained with quite a bit of dirt, and so was his tear-streaked little face, looking like a little calico cat.
Wang Qiuqiu originally wanted to explain, “Big Black approached you because he likes you,” but remembering what happened in the room today, he ended up saying nothing and proactively kept his distance.
It was obvious that this kid really, really hated dogs.
Jing Mimi raised his small hand to wipe his face, making it even dirtier. Before he could say anything, he suddenly heard a soft, cute sound: “Meow-woo.”
It was the cry of a kitten, a very young one.
Jing Mimi’s cat radar went off instantly.
Following the sound, that evil big black dog suddenly appeared in his field of vision.
The big black dog’s fur was sleek and shiny. Against the snow on the ground, it looked even blacker and more evil.
Although tied up, it had been staring in their direction since just now. If not for the leash, it would have pounced over long ago.
Jing Mimi swallowed unconsciously, instinctively wanting to look away, but stopped because of the kitten’s cry.
He saw them. The kittens were right inside the small wooden house next to the big black dog. There were three of them in total: a calico, a pure black one, and an orange and white one. They poked their little heads out in unison, meowing from time to time.
Jing Mimi’s slightly red eyes widened instantly.
In his eyes: three poor little fellows were held hostage by the evil big black dog. Maybe tonight they would be eaten one by one by the big black dog, without even spitting out the fur.
Jing Mimi was extremely anxious and scared. His gaze wandered around and landed on the child standing not far from him.
Although he didn’t like this child, he was the one who led the big black dog away and tied it up just now. He was stronger than the big black dog; he could rescue these kittens.
“Brother, can you rescue the kittens?” Papa said children should be polite. When asking for help, he naturally switched his address—a kitten must be able to bend and stretch.
Wang Qiuqiu was stunned, but quickly understood what he meant and explained, “Big Black won’t hurt the kittens. He likes kittens very much.”
Me too.
Wang Qiuqiu secretly added in his heart.
When he was still a police dog, he liked cats very much. Cats were small, soft, and their meows sounded very nice.
But dogs in the system were very busy with work and had almost no chance to pet cats.
Later, Police Dog Qiuqiu finally “retired” and was adopted by his mom and dad, given the surname “Wang,” and raised in a large private estate.
There were no cats in the estate, only cows and sheep. Although he was a German Shepherd, he had no interest in mooing and baaing, only in meowing.
Unfortunately, his mom and dad had no plans to raise a kitten. They only raised him, a puppy. Until he left Earth for Planet Woof, he never petted a cat again.
Dogs can’t speak; otherwise, he would definitely have told his mom and dad: I want to raise a kitten.
Mom was in poor health and couldn’t conceive. They had no human offspring. He was their only child, and he was very worried about them.
The Dog God said he was a dog with merit and could use all his merit to exchange for a chance to return to Earth. He agreed without hesitation.
To help him return to his mom and dad, the Dog God dropped him, now in a new human body, near a trafficker organization’s den that the police were already watching.
The traffickers took him and locked him up with many human children. Following his police dog instincts and experience from his previous life, he secretly left many clues for the search and rescue police.
Not long after, all the children in this den were rescued.
Because his parents couldn’t be found, he was sent to this welfare institute.
The Dog God said his mom and dad would take time to visit the children in this welfare institute every month. Once his notice period ended, he could try hard to get his mom and dad to adopt him again.
Just like many years ago, when they adopted the German Shepherd Qiuqiu among many police dogs.
He had been in the welfare institute for more than half a month. Perhaps because of the cold weather and slippery snow, his mom and dad hadn’t come here yet.
He hoped to see them as soon as possible.
Seeing that Jing Mimi didn’t believe what he said and still looked at the kittens not far away with worry, Wang Qiuqiu strode over.
Not long after, he picked up the three kittens from the dog house and placed them one by one on the big black dog’s back.
Jing Mimi’s little heart was in his throat.
What is he doing??!!
But soon, his little heart gradually sank back down.
The three kittens curled up comfortably on the big black dog’s back without any panicked reaction. The big black dog also lay obediently on the ground without bullying the kittens on its back.
Jing Mimi looked a bit confused.
Just then, a familiar figure approached quickly.
“Mimi, what’s wrong?”
It was Papa.
Jing Mimi looked at Papa, who had arrived in front of him in a few strides, with surprise and a little guilt.
“Papa…”
Originally, Jing Zhi wanted to lecture him a bit, but seeing the tear stains on his face and the dirt on his body, his heart softened instantly, leaving only deep worry.
He quickly took out a soft tissue from his pocket, wiped the little face, and asked, “Why are you crying? Did you fall?”
Having been with the little cub for only a short time, he had gradually developed many new habits, such as: always keeping a pack of tissues in his pocket.
Jing Mimi sniffled and explained in a low voice, “Chased by a dog, so scary.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the big black dog still carrying three kittens on its back.
His voice unconsciously softened on the last three words.
Jing Zhi roughly understood what had happened. He patted Mimi’s back and picked him up. “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Papa will take you back to wipe up and change into clean clothes.”
Jing Mimi nestled in his arms and gave a muffled “Mmhmm.”
When leaving, his amber eyes glanced at the big black dog again.
One kitten had fallen asleep curled up on the black dog’s back, and the other two were grooming themselves. The black dog still lay motionless in place.
The child holding the drawing paper and pens sat on the small stool beside them.
Because of the distance, he didn’t see the pattern on the drawing paper clearly.
It wasn’t a puppy, but a kitten.
…
After sending a WeChat message to Fang Yuan saying he had found Mimi, Jing Zhi gave Mimi a bath in the staff dormitory and changed him into clean clothes.
Although Jing Zhi’s dormitory was a single room, it was very small, and two adults inside would seem very crowded. Fortunately, Jing Mimi was a little cub.
By the time they finished washing, it was almost time for dinner. It got dark early in winter, and it was already grey outside.
Jing Zhi took the clean and fragrant little cub to the welfare institute’s cafeteria and found Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan was surrounded by several children, chatting and laughing. It seemed Teacher Little Fang was very popular.
The food in the welfare institute cafeteria was also quite good.
He heard that many philanthropists sponsored it, all prominent figures in Province A. The living conditions of the children in the welfare institute were impeccable.
Jing Zhi started letting Jing Mimi learn to eat with a spoon by himself, no longer feeding him like in the hospital.
After all, at his age, he should learn some independent skills.
Amidst Jing Zhi’s praises, Jing Mimi clutched the small spoon, ate until his face was covered with rice grains, and finished all the food on his plate by himself.
It was completely dark when they finished eating. Leaving the welfare institute, Fang Yuan zipped his jacket all the way up; the melting snow made it too cold.
He drove here himself, so he could leave right after getting in the car. But he didn’t forget the purpose of coming here today and said to Jing Zhi, “Let’s go, come see the psychiatrist with me.”
Jing Zhi decided to struggle again: “At this hour, the doctor should be off work.”
Fang Yuan: “There’s a night shift.”
Jing Zhi glanced at the little cub holding his hand and said helplessly, “I can’t bring Mimi. He clings to me. It’s so late, I have to stay with him. Let’s do it another time.”
Mimi was now a child of the welfare institute. Children in the welfare institute needed to apply for procedures to leave, and the review of procedures was strict. It wasn’t something that could be approved for just any reason.
Fang Yuan’s gaze also fell on the little cub.
Although Jing Mimi had some feelings against Uncle Fang Yuan because of the puppy head on his clothes in the afternoon, the shock of seeing the big black dog carrying three kittens later diverted most of his attention. He didn’t hold a grudge against Uncle Fang Yuan, but he didn’t take the initiative to talk to him either.
Now hearing that it was dark and Papa seemed to be leaving, Jing Mimi immediately hugged Jing Zhi, not wanting to be left behind.
Jing Zhi gave Fang Yuan a “See?” look.
Fang Yuan: “…”
Fang Yuan: “I’m really impressed. I’m genuinely worried about you.”
Jing Zhi knew it was for his own good, but he also knew there was nothing wrong with his mental health. He could only say kindly, “Don’t worry, don’t worry. Volunteering here and accompanying the children, I feel my mental health is getting better and better.”
Fang Yuan’s lips moved, but he didn’t refute. “That’s true…”
He passed the exam for a permanent teaching position right after graduation and had been teaching for several years, but this was his first time interacting with children in a welfare institute like this.
Although his mouth was dry from talking today, he gained a lot, the kind of gain on a spiritual level.
Fang Yuan: “Then find time to see a psychiatrist quickly. If you don’t go, I’ll really come here next Saturday and tie you up to go.”
No matter what, he had to come here next Saturday; today’s mythological stories weren’t finished yet.
Jing Zhi nodded hurriedly in agreement.
After sending Fang Yuan off, Jing Zhi led Jing Mimi straight back indoors, afraid he would catch a cold.
In the evening, the children would play games in the activity classroom. Jing Zhi took Jing Mimi to play for a while.
Mimi was a naturally social kitten and soon mingled with the children.
These kinds of games were much better than online games and wouldn’t let the little guy get addicted to the internet.
The welfare institute’s biological clock was very healthy. Washing up and sleeping started at nine in the evening, and breakfast was around seven in the morning.
For a game streamer who often stayed up late, it was definitely hard to adapt. Fortunately, he slept very early every night in the hospital for the past few days and had gradually gotten used to it.
After washing up, Jing Zhi sent Jing Mimi back to his dormitory.
Just like eating with a spoon by himself, Jing Zhi decided to train the little guy to sleep by himself tonight.
Mimi was too clingy and dependent on him, which wasn’t a good thing. He had to get used to being alone appropriately so that separation anxiety wouldn’t easily arise.
At the same time, he would let Mimi know that Papa would always be by his side and wouldn’t disappear easily.
Inside the dormitory room, the other child was already in bed, drawing something on paper by the light.
Afraid he was drawing puppies again and causing Mimi to reject him, Jing Zhi didn’t get close to look. He just stuffed the little fish doll into Mimi’s arms and said to him, “See you tomorrow morning, bravest little friend Mimi.”
Although Jing Mimi really wanted to sleep with Papa, he succumbed to Papa’s praise once again.
Isn’t it just sleeping by myself?
When I was the kitten Mimi, I slept by myself occasionally when Papas went on long trips.
…
Jing Mimi had insomnia.
The lights were out, and the clear moonlight outside the window spilled in, allowing him to see the outlines inside the room.
Jing Mimi tossed and turned under the covers, his round eyes closing and opening, not sleepy at all.
He missed Papa.
He wanted to sleep in Papa’s arms.
How did he fall asleep by himself when he was a kitten…
Jing Mimi couldn’t lie still anymore and crawled out of the covers.
He didn’t dare sneak downstairs to find Papa, afraid of leaving a bad impression of being a timid cat.
He decided to coax himself to sleep like a kitten used to.
First, he lay on the bed sticking his little bottom up, stretched comfortably, and raised his non-existent little tail.
Soon, he crawled around the bed like a kitten, smoothing every corner of the quilt and scratching it lightly with his small hands.
Just as he was imitating a kitten kneading dough on the little fish doll, he unexpectedly met a pair of dark eyes in the darkness.
Immersed in his cat persona, Jing Mimi was so scared that he almost blurted out a “Meow.”
**
Author’s Note:
Wang Qiuqiu: [Heart eyes] My chosen kitten.
