The Cub Comes from Planet Meow 7p2

Chapter 7: Meow p2

While the little guy was taken by the care worker to wash up in the bathroom, Jing Zhi took the time to check his phone.

His childhood friend Fang Yuan didn’t have evening self-study duty tonight and had no other work. He went home after the last class in the afternoon and started playing games to vent.

He was a year older than Jing Zhi, 28 this year, but Jing Zhi started school a year early, so they were in the same school for junior high and high school.

Jing Zhi was 27 this year, but he took after his mother in looks. His skin was fair, making him look younger. Several times when he went home, neighbors in the same community even asked him what year of college he was in and when he would graduate.

Obviously, Fang Yuan’s plan to relax by playing games tonight met its Waterloo.

The screenshot of his record sent over was all red.

Fang Yuan: [God Jing—God Jing—we need you.]

Jing Zhi’s job was a game streamer. He was quite famous, considered one of the top streamers in the gaming section of the signed platform, mainly focusing on horror and entertainment games. He could handle almost any game on the market. Although his skills weren’t top-tier in everything, carrying a noob like Fang Yuan was more than enough.

Jing Zhi immediately took a photo of the IV needle on the back of his hand and sent it to him.

Fang Yuan: [?! What happened to you??]

Jing Zhi explained briefly.

Fang Yuan felt slightly relieved: [Doing a gastroscopy is good too, for peace of mind.]

Jing Zhi: [Yeah, don’t tell anyone else about this.]

Fang Yuan: [I don’t have Jiang Suifeng’s contact info.]

Although he was straight, keeping a distance from a friend’s partner was proper.

Jing Zhi: [……] Who mentioned Jiang Suifeng?

Jing Zhi: [I mean don’t let your mom know. Your mom will definitely tell my mom.]

He and Fang Yuan were childhood friends, and his mom and Fang Yuan’s mom were also best friends. Once one of them knew something, the other would know very soon.

He was the type to report good news but not bad, especially after becoming an adult. He wouldn’t tell his mother about any unhappy things he encountered.

Fang Yuan: [Oh oh, don’t worry.]

Fang Yuan sent another emoji zipping his mouth shut, indicating he would keep his mouth shut tight.

Jing Zhi pursed his lips, his fingers hovering uncertainly over the virtual keyboard on his phone.

Fang Yuan saw the name at the top of the chat box change to “typing…” several times. After waiting for a long time, a message was finally sent.

Jing Zhi: [Do you believe that soul possession exists in this world?]

Fang Yuan: [?]

Jing Zhi: [Like after a small animal dies, it possesses a child’s body.]

Fang Yuan: […]

Fang Yuan: [I know you are the horror game streamer with the most fans on the Cat Tail platform, but at this hour, can we talk about something more grounded in reality?]

Jing Zhi felt a bit exasperated: [Didn’t you walk through the graveyard with me at night when we were kids? How come you’ve become so timid now?]

Fang Yuan: [When we were kids, we didn’t know anything, so we weren’t afraid. Growing up, we fear everything: ghosts, people, poverty…]

Jing Zhi didn’t want to argue with him anymore and cut straight to the chase: [I suspect the little child I found last night might be possessed by Mimi.]

Fang Yuan was silent for a long time. Just when Jing Zhi was getting impatient, he finally sent a screenshot: [This is a very famous psychiatrist in City A. After you finish your gastroscopy and get discharged, I’ll pick you up for a consultation.]

Jing Zhi: […]

Fang Yuan’s worry wasn’t unreasonable. He had watched some of Jing Zhi’s horror game streams, which contained all kinds of supernatural elements. Now that Mimi had left, Jing Zhi couldn’t accept it for a while. In extreme cases, he might confuse reality with games.

Jing Zhi immediately sent over all the evidence from today that made him suspect the little cub was related to Mimi.

Fang Yuan: [I’ve seen the photo of his hair color. It’s slightly darker than Mimi’s fur color, and it’s not a rare color. He could be mixed-race or sick. There was a girl in our school whose hair was also light yellow. I thought she dyed it, but later I found out it was natural.]

Fang Yuan: [Mimicking a cat’s meow is a bit too far-fetched, right? You also said the meowing started from the little girl’s tablet. Kids this age are all like that. My nephew mimics dog barks every day, and it sounds super real. Once I took him out to play, and he barked at a dog for a long time. I was so embarrassed.]

Fang Yuan: [Do you remember I was also suddenly called ‘Papa’ by a kid on the street before? I thought he didn’t see my face clearly at first, but when I squatted down and told him he got the wrong person, he still called me Papa. He was just a little face-blind kid.]

Fang Yuan: [Combined with scratching the bedsheet with his hands… I really think this kid might have some congenital problems or defects. He’s been lost for so long without any family looking for him or calling the police. Maybe they just didn’t want to raise him anymore and abandoned him. There was a student in the class next to mine who was abandoned by his family because of congenital physical problems. Later, he was adopted by his current parents who took great care of him, and he grew up without any major health issues.]

Fang Yuan’s explanation was well-founded, but it would have been better if he hadn’t said anything. When he mentioned the point about “abandonment” at the end, the strange feeling in Jing Zhi’s heart grew heavier.

Mimi was also abandoned back then.

Jing Zhi couldn’t take it anymore and replied: [I’m going to verify it directly.]

Fang Yuan: […?]

So I typed all that for nothing.

Fang Yuan: [How are you going to verify it?]

Jing Zhi: [Ask directly.]

Not long after, the care worker walked out of the bathroom with the washed little cub and handed him to Jing Zhi on the hospital bed, saying, “I’ll wash up too, be right back.”

Jing Zhi nodded.

Seeing the bathroom door close, Jing Zhi couldn’t wait to call out to the little cub sitting beside him yawning: “Mimi.”

It was very sudden.

Jing Mimi shivered. Because of the yawn, his eyes were misty and watery.

Papa recognized him!

He knew it; no matter what he turned into, Papa would recognize him.

But he couldn’t answer or admit it, even though he wanted to tell Papa so badly—Yes, I am your favorite little kitten Mimi.

But the Cat God didn’t just give a verbal warning; it also placed a restriction on his body. No matter how much he wanted to admit it, he couldn’t do it.

So in Jing Zhi’s eyes, the little cub just stared at him blankly like before.

Jing Zhi’s Adam’s apple bobbed quickly, and he continued to ask with a dry voice, “Are you Mimi?”

The little cub didn’t answer but threw himself directly into his arms.

Kitten burying face.

After a while, he finally managed to call out coquettishly in his arms again: “Papa.”

…

After the care worker came out of the bathroom, Jing Zhi took his phone into the bathroom.

Fang Yuan: [How did the verification go?]

Jing Zhi: [He didn’t admit it, but I feel it’s very likely. I don’t dare to ask anymore. I suddenly remembered a setting in a horror game I played before: Spirits cannot admit their identity to humans, otherwise it will disrupt the order of the human world and they will disappear completely.]

Implication: He was afraid of asking Mimi out of existence.

And if Mimi could admit it, he wouldn’t have dragged it out until now. He decided not to probe anymore. He would take care of the little cub as best as he could, just like he used to take care of his kitten.

Fang Yuan was silent for a long time again on the other end, thinking, You also know that’s a setting in a horror game.

He was really losing his mind…

Fang Yuan: [Even if it’s possession, it’s impossible to possess for a lifetime, right?]

Jing Zhi: [Hard to say. In a horror game I played before, a child was frightened, his soul was scared away, and he became demented or even vegetative, irreversible. A spirit ghost took over his body and continued to live for him.]

Fang Yuan: […]

He really didn’t want to hear these horror game settings anymore.

Fang Yuan threw caution to the wind: [If you can’t find his family, don’t tell me you want to adopt him?]

Jing Zhi thought for a moment: [I think I can.]

He had never thought about raising a child, but if it was this little cub outside, he was quite willing.

Regardless of the truth, he now regarded him as the most trusted person and called him Papa. He couldn’t be completely indifferent.

Fang Yuan: [You really should see a psychiatrist.]

Jing Zhi looked at himself in the mirror. His complexion seemed a bit better, not as lifeless as before. He lowered his head and typed: [Isn’t it good to have emotional sustenance?]

For a moment, Fang Yuan couldn’t refute this sentence and didn’t know what to say, but he still decided to take Jing Zhi to see a psychiatrist as soon as he was discharged.

Fang Yuan: [Send me the ward number. I’ll make time to come see you tomorrow.]

Jing Zhi didn’t refuse. After sending it to him, he turned off his phone screen and started washing up.

When he came out of the bathroom after washing up, the little guy was waiting for him by his bed. The care worker lay on the bed on the other side, tacitly accepting that the little guy would sleep with him tonight.

Jing Zhi tossed his phone onto the bedside table, went around to the other side, and got into bed.

He was also a bit tired. Today, he had gone through a lot of checkups, X-rays, IV drips, and paperwork, and experienced several twists and turns with the little cub. Sleepiness hit him almost as soon as he touched the bed.

It was past nine in the evening. Although not early, it wasn’t late for young people.

The couple next door was still watching a TV drama together. Seeing that Jing Zhi was going to sleep, they quietly pulled the curtain around their bed.

Before sleeping, Jing Zhi tucked himself and the little guy in and patted his little head.

The little guy liked having his head patted, just like Mimi.

Jing Zhi decided to pat his head more tomorrow.

Because Papa recognized him and called his name, although they couldn’t acknowledge each other, Jing Mimi was still a bit too excited to sleep.

Papa and the care worker auntie fell asleep one after another, but he still stared with round eyes. Afraid of disturbing Papa’s rest, he just obediently pressed against him without moving.

No one knew what was going on in the kitten’s head.

The kitten’s head was full of thoughts about Papa and their home.

Who knows how much time passed before the phone on the bedside table suddenly vibrated.

Jing Mimi was startled. He propped himself up on the bed and poked his little head out to take a look.

It was a call.

There was a string of numbers on it, very similar to the one on the care worker auntie’s phone tonight.

Papa showed signs of being woken up by the vibration.

Jing Mimi quickly came to a conclusion—this was a bad call disturbing Papa’s sleep.

His small hand immediately tapped on the screen, ending the vibration.

He couldn’t read, but he saw the care worker auntie tap these two words to end the ringtone. His memory was very good.

Finally quiet, and Papa wasn’t woken up. Just as Jing Mimi was about to lie down, he saw the phone that had just hung up vibrate again.

It was still the bad call from that string of numbers.

Jing Mimi quickly tapped reject.

He thought it was finally over, but unexpectedly, as soon as he lay down, the vibration sounded again.

Jing Mimi got angry. After hanging up, he started guarding the phone. As soon as a call lit up, he tapped reject immediately.

The kitten’s reaction speed was extremely fast.

The kitten would guard Papa’s sleep and not let bad calls disturb Papa’s rest.

Just like that, after an unknown amount of time, the phone screen suddenly went black.

Complete silence.

Jing Mimi finally lay back on the bed with satisfaction, pressed against Papa, and closed his eyes.

After falling asleep, he had a dream.

In the dream, there were Big Papa and Little Papa, and they returned to their home together.

…

On the other side, Jiang Suifeng, who had just gotten off the plane, was getting into a car heading to the hotel and putting a newly acquired SIM card into his phone.

After the call was hung up countless times, a cold mechanical female voice finally sounded: “Sorry, the number you dialed is powered off…”

***

Author’s Note:

Filial Cat Mi.