Chapter 6: Meow
When Papa turned to leave, a flicker of panic flashed through Jing Mimi’s heart. After reuniting, he was very afraid of being separated from Papa again and didn’t want Papa to leave his sight.
But the Cat God in his mind comforted him, saying, “Papa is just making a phone call; he’ll be back very soon.”
Only then did he relax.
The Cat God knew that according to the order of human society, finding a child suspected of being lost required calling the police. Handling it privately was illegal, so the police hurdle had to be crossed.
However, there was no need to worry. The DNA database wouldn’t match any “relatives” related to Mimi.
It didn’t explain too much to Mimi in advance. It wasn’t normal for a cub of Mimi’s age to know too much; it would only make it easier to blow his cover.
The door closed, and the little girl’s parents teased him for a while, asking him what his name was and how old he was.
Jing Mimi pursed his lips tightly, not knowing how to react. It was fine in front of Papa; he liked listening to Papa talk and could just throw himself into Papa’s arms to muddle through. But in front of strangers, he felt extremely uncomfortable all over.
Fortunately, seeing his nervous and constrained appearance, the little girl’s parents didn’t continue to “make things difficult” for him.
Just then, a few “meows” sounded from the tablet again.
Mimi’s attention was drawn over.
The little girl’s father took the initiative to carry him over to the little girl, thinking the two children might get along more comfortably.
The little girl had a warm and cheerful personality and generously shared her tablet with Mimi.
On the tablet, several cute cartoon kittens were jumping around, meowing from time to time.
Seeing Mimi staring blankly at the kittens on the tablet, the little girl proactively asked him, “Can you mimic a kitten’s meow?”
After asking, she mimicked one herself first: “Meow-woo~”
Jing Mimi felt her imitation wasn’t very accurate. It was too stiff and unnatural, obviously a human imitation.
As an authentic kitten, Jing Mimi decided to be a cat teacher for once and tried to use the throat of this body to make a sound: “Mi… meow.”
The first sound was a bit stuttered, but being able to make a sound smoothly was already a huge improvement.
Having listened to Papa talk so much today, when his little head was nestled in Papa’s arms, he could clearly feel the vibrations in Papa’s throat and chest.
He wasn’t a mute child; he had been imitating and learning very well.
Soon, a second and third “meow” popped out of his throat, each more natural than the last.
By the end, it sounded just like a real kitten meowing.
The little girl’s eyes grew brighter and brighter, and she praised him unreservedly: “You’re amazing! It sounds so real.”
Jing Mimi replied to her: “Meow.”
Before long, the two children were meowing back and forth. Accompanied by the cartoon kittens’ meows from the tablet, the ward seemed to have suddenly turned into a cat café.
Until the ward door opened again.
Jing Mimi fell silent instantly and looked eagerly towards the door. The little girl also quieted down and looked at the handsome uncle walking in with him.
Because he had just learned to make sounds with a human body, Jing Mimi was extremely happy and felt a great sense of accomplishment. His round eyes curved into a pair of cute little crescents.
The Cat God also praised him, saying he was a kitten with a talent for being human.
Seeing Papa come straight to him, he couldn’t wait to speak, wanting Papa to hear the voice of the little human Mimi.
“Meow.”
The Cat God didn’t stop this. After all, no one except Jing Zhi would associate it with the kitten Mimi.
To make Jing Zhi adopt the little human Mimi, he had to see the shadow of the kitten Mimi in the little human Mimi.
Hearing this lifelike imitation of a cat’s meow, Jing Zhi’s heart skipped a beat. The hand pressing on his abdomen applied a bit more force, and his breathing quickened slightly.
A strange feeling spread through his body more than once.
An absurd thought was about to burst out—
Suddenly, “Meow.” The little girl sitting close to the cub also mimicked a cat’s meow.
Jing Mimi glanced at her and meowed even harder, not wanting to be outdone by this kid in front of Papa.
When he was the kitten Mimi, he was afraid Papa would like other kittens. Now that he was the little human Mimi, he was afraid Papa would like other little humans.
The little girl wouldn’t yield either. Thinking Mimi was playing the meowing game with her like before, she also meowed along.
The little girl’s father smiled and explained to Jing Zhi, “They’ve been mimicking cat meows for a long time. They’re quite good at it.”
Under Mimi’s tutelage, the little girl’s meows were now much more natural than her first attempt. A child’s voice was naturally soft and tender, so there was no sense of incongruity in the imitation; she really sounded like a little milk cat.
Jing Zhi, who had been somewhat dazed, was pulled back to reality by the continuous meowing.
So that was it…
Right, what else could it be?
It couldn’t really be what he thought, that Mimi had turned into a human and come back to find him.
He really had been reading too many novels and playing too many games; he couldn’t distinguish between virtuality and reality anymore.
Jing Zhi didn’t want to hear the meowing anymore, but he couldn’t very well tell the two children to shut up. His gaze fell on the breakfast boxes on the bedside table. He walked over to tidy them up, picking up the packed breakfast boxes from the little girl’s bed as well.
“I’m going to throw out the trash.”
The trash can in the ward wasn’t big enough to hold so many breakfast boxes.
Papa left again. Jing Mimi stopped meowing. He didn’t want to watch the tablet or play with the other kid anymore. Instead, he leaned back on the pillow, nestled into a small corner of the hospital bed, and waited anxiously for Papa to return.
After all, he was sick and hadn’t fully recovered. His energy was limited, and he needed rest.
Waiting and waiting, Papa didn’t come back. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and unknowingly, he fell asleep.
…
When Jing Mimi woke up again, his heart gave a start. Before his eyes were fully open, he began looking for Papa.
Sleep blurs the passage of time. He didn’t know if half a minute, half an hour, or half a day had passed.
How did he fall asleep?
How long had Papa been gone?
Papa… Papa…
As soon as Jing Mimi looked up, he found himself nestled in Papa’s arms. His tense nerves instantly relaxed, and his palpitations gradually subsided.
Papa was back.
And he was holding him in his arms!
Jing Mimi was overjoyed. He wanted to turn over, stick his little bottom up, and raise his non-existent little tail high again.
But he stopped himself in time.
Because he saw two strangers in front of him looking at him.
Kittens are still a bit shy with strangers.
One of the older police officers smiled and said, “Little friend, you’re awake.”
Jing Mimi had indeed slept for quite a while. During that time, Jing Zhi had returned and carried the sleeping Mimi from the little girl’s bed back to his own.
Originally, Jing Zhi hadn’t held him; he just sat beside him.
Going out to dump the trash and getting some fresh air had cleared his mind a lot, but his body felt even more uncomfortable.
To be precise, his stomach was uncomfortable, probably because he drank alcohol last night without eating.
Actually, after deciding on Mimi’s euthanasia, Jing Zhi hadn’t had much of an appetite. If not for maintaining normal bodily functions, Jing Zhi wouldn’t want to eat anything at all.
Plus, back in his student days, he often didn’t eat properly and occasionally had stomach aches. Drinking on an empty stomach became the trigger.
Already feeling unwell, the sleeping little cub kept snuggling up to him. Jing Zhi endured it for a long time before pinching the cub’s little face as a punishment.
The fever hadn’t completely gone down; he was like a little heater.
Jing Zhi didn’t know what came over him, but he pulled the cub into his arms.
Maybe it was because of a past experience when he had a stomach ache and holding the warm, soft kitten helped soothe his stomach.
Good news: after being held, the little guy finally stopped squirming.
Good news: the little heater made his stomach feel quite comfortable.
All good news, no bad news.
So Jing Zhi had held him like this until now.
During this time, there was a knock on the ward door. The police had arrived.
On the phone, Jing Zhi had already explained the entire process of finding the little cub. The police station had also investigated recent reports of missing children and found that all had been resolved satisfactorily.
Which meant that this little guy’s family hadn’t called the police after so much time had passed.
The probability of finding a missing child is highest within the golden 24 hours. Now that at least half a day had passed, it was really too strange.
Perhaps the arrival of the police woke the sleeping little cub, who slowly came to.
Meeting those round eyes, the other police officer spoke again: “Little friend, Uncle is a police officer. Shall I take you home?”
Jing Mimi nodded his head dumbly.
So they were taking him and Papa home.
Seeing this, Jing Zhi lifted him out of his arms. Clutching his aching stomach, he stood up and said, “Then I’ll leave it to you guys. I’m going to register to see a doctor; my stomach hurts.”
Actually, he had wanted to register when he went to throw out the trash earlier. It wasn’t good to keep hurting, but fearing the police would suddenly visit, he held on until now.
Now that the little cub had met the police, finally reacted to their questions, and was willing to go home, his part was done.
Seeing that he was a bit weak when speaking due to the stomach pain, the police officer nodded and told him to go see the doctor first, adding that they would call him if they needed his cooperation.
Jing Mimi was stunned. He didn’t know why Papa was suddenly leaving. Weren’t they going home together?
But he caught the word “hurt.” Combined with Papa clutching his stomach in discomfort, he remembered that when he was the kitten Mimi, there were a few times when Papa hurt there too.
Jing Mimi looked at Jing Zhi with concern.
Sensing his gaze, Jing Zhi paused. After thinking for a moment, he bent down and said to him, “Be good. I’m not feeling well, so I’m going to see a doctor first.”
Maybe this was the last time they would see each other.
He had a pretty good impression of this little guy and didn’t want to say any final goodbyes, so he just said he was going to see a doctor.
Jing Mimi nodded his little head.
Mimi listened to Papa very much.
Papa was sick and in pain; after seeing the doctor, it wouldn’t hurt anymore.
Jing Zhi disappeared behind the door once again.
This time, Jing Mimi thought he would come back like the previous two times, so he waited obediently.
Until the two strange uncles asked him many questions one after another. Jing Mimi kept his mouth shut like before, not answering a single word, hugging his knees and curling up on the bed, watching the direction of the door.
Later, a doctor came with a needle, pricked his skin, and drew out bright red blood.
Drawing blood was to match the DNA database to find his family. Besides drawing blood, they also took samples of his fingerprints.
Because the surveillance cameras in Happiness Community happened to be broken, they retrieved all nearby surveillance footage but didn’t see how the little guy got to Mr. Jing’s door. There was no progress at all, so they could only pin their hopes on the DNA database.
Before drawing blood, the two police officers coaxed the little guy for a long time, afraid he would be scared and cry out. As a result, the little guy was calm and didn’t make a sound.
When he was the kitten Mimi, he had blood drawn too, so he was used to it.
Papa told him to be good, so he cooperated obediently.
But until it got dark outside, Papa didn’t come back.
The Cat God was gone too.
Jing Mimi finally began to feel anxious.
Learning from the little girl’s parents in the next bed that Jing Mimi could speak, one of the police officers returned to him and tried to reason with him.
But after he rambled on for a long time, the little cub still didn’t say a word.
The police officer sighed deeply: “Little friend, say something. Uncle is begging you, okay?”
Saying that, he put his palms together and bowed to him.
Jing Mimi finally couldn’t hold it back anymore. Biting his lower lip, he sobbed, “I want Papa.”
The police officer was overjoyed.
…
Jing Zhi, who had just completed the hospitalization procedures and booked a gastroscopy, had just lain down on a new hospital bed when he heard his phone ring.
It was a call from the police.
Jing Zhi thought of that little guy.
He wondered if they had found his family.
Jing Zhi answered the phone immediately.
As soon as it connected, he heard the little cub’s sobbing coming from the other end.
Jing Zhi, who had just lain down, sat up again, almost bumping the IV needle on the back of his hand.
Why was he suddenly crying?
Fortunately, the police officer’s voice sounded quickly: “Mr. Jing, the little guy finally spoke just now.”
Jing Zhi gave a dull “Mmhmm.”
He spoke? That’s good.
Why is he crying like this now?
Police Officer: “He said: I want Papa.”
Jing Zhi gave another dull “Mmhmm.” That’s even better.
Jing Zhi asked, “Did you find his father?”
The crying on the other end of the phone seemed to stop.
The police officer’s voice followed: “…We found him.”
Jing Zhi: “Who?”
Police Officer: “You.”
Jing Zhi: “?”
