Chapter Forty-One: The Little Kitten

When his phone rang, Shengyao was wearing his volunteer vest, chatting idly with residents from the neighborhood.

He saw Lu Meimei’s name on the caller ID and answered immediately.

“Hello, Miss Lu,” he greeted.

“Ah, hello.” Lu Meimei stumbled for a moment before continuing, “Sorry, my phone died earlier and I missed your call.”

“Is everything alright? I heard you haven’t been home for several days…” Shengyao hesitated, then asked, “I tried calling again last night but couldn’t get through. I even stopped by your place today.”

“I’m fine. I just went back to my hometown for a bit. Got busy yesterday and forgot to charge my phone. Thank you for your concern,” Lu Meimei replied.

Shengyao’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you went back home? Did you leave Maomao at a pet shop for boarding?”

He had knocked on her door upstairs and heard not a single sound. Judging by that, Maomao hadn’t been left home alone.

If Maomao was at a pet shop, he’d have a chance to interact with the cat away from prying eyes.

“No, I brought him with me,” Lu Meimei said, her voice tinged with a smile. “And this time, I’ll be bringing back another one as well.”

Shengyao felt a pang of disappointment but quickly rallied, asking, “Has Maomao found a girlfriend yet?”

Lu Meimei burst out laughing. “Not a girlfriend—he’s a father now. He picked up a little kitten.”

“I see,” Shengyao said, pondering Maomao’s intentions.

That was no ordinary pet or stray. Shengyao had already witnessed Maomao’s oddities and deduced that the cat’s intelligence was far beyond what could be described as “understanding human nature.” For Maomao to suddenly bring home a kitten, there had to be a reason.

“You called to ask about raising cats, right? How’s the kitten you found? Have you started litter training?” Lu Meimei asked kindly.

All the stray cats Shengyao caught were handed to Boss Le. He hadn’t shirked the responsibility of getting them vaccinated, but taming the wild cats had fallen to Boss Le; it wasn’t Shengyao’s area of expertise, nor did he pay much attention to the process.

He could only offer a vague answer. “We’ve started training, and it’s going pretty well.”

“Does it guard its food? Scratch people?”

“No, not at all.”

“That’s great, it must be a gentle little thing.”

“What about the kitten Maomao found?” Shengyao quickly shifted the topic.

Lu Meimei sounded a bit troubled. “It’s very young, not even weaned. I wanted to return it to its mother, but… sigh… Maomao loves it, keeps grooming it. We’re on the highway right now, heading straight to Pegasus for a checkup and to buy some supplies.”

“Oh.” Shengyao replied, “Once you’re settled, may I come visit again?”

“Of course. You can bring your own cat, too,” Lu Meimei replied with a laugh. “Maomao never had any feline friends before. Even at Pegasus, he showed no interest in other cats. He seems to have changed lately.”

She paused, as if something had just occurred to her, and a fleeting hesitation crossed her face.

She glanced at the cat carrier beside her. From this angle, she couldn’t see Maomao inside, only his snow-white paw resting at the opening.

Perhaps, it wasn’t Maomao who had changed.

Lu Meimei looked toward the driver’s seat ahead, catching Zhou Hai’s gaze in the rearview mirror.

She smiled.

“All right, thank you for your trouble,” Shengyao said.

“It’s no trouble. You’re actually the first friend I’ve made who keeps cats, too.”

After a few more polite words, Shengyao hung up.

Lu Meimei would soon be back. He couldn’t just keep wandering the neighborhood in his volunteer vest any longer.

These past days had been fruitful—he had finally figured out the story behind the previous tenant of Lu Meimei’s rental and the real issue with the landlord’s granddaughter.

---

Shengyao approached the group of residents at a table, exchanged a few words with a smile, greeted the community committee, and then took his leave.

---

After hanging up, Lu Meimei groaned in annoyance, “I forgot to ask his name. I never even asked…”

“Doesn’t he deliver parcels in your neighborhood? The delivery record should have his name, right?” Zhou Hai remarked casually, hands on the wheel.

“No, it just says ‘package out for delivery.’”

“You can ask next time,” Zhou Hai said, glancing in the rearview mirror and clearing his throat. “Isn’t that guy deliberately trying to chat you up?”

Lu Meimei paused, then burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny…” Zhou Hai’s ears flushed red.

Lu Meimei doubled over, laughing uncontrollably. “Me, at thirty, and him—he’s what, twenty? Interested in me? He’s good-looking, but why would he look at me? Besides, hasn’t he seen you already?”

Zhou Hai pouted. “Aren’t you just twenty-nine?”

Lu Meimei laughed even harder.

“All right, maybe he’s not interested in you, but I am,” Zhou Hai blurted out, raising his voice to drown out her laughter.

Lu Meimei bent over, tears in her eyes from laughing, and looked at Maomao and the kitten in the carrier. “Maomao, don’t you think this man is ridiculous?”

Maomao swished his tail in the carrier, his emerald eyes gleaming.

The kitten, sensing something, pressed its tiny paws onto Maomao’s and squirmed uneasily.

Maomao bent down and licked the kitten’s fluffed-up fur.

The kitten quieted.

“Hey—” Zhou Hai complained.

“All right, all right, I’ll stop laughing,” Lu Meimei said, though she couldn’t help but chuckle again.

“It’s not so strange for him to like you. He doesn’t know you’re twenty-nine, and maybe he’s twenty-five or twenty-six himself—just looks young. Maybe he’s a student working as a temp, wanting to get close to you,” Zhou Hai analyzed earnestly, clearing his throat again. “When you dress up, you’re just as pretty as those idols and celebrities. You have plenty of admirers.”

Tears streamed down Lu Meimei’s face from laughing. “Have you been watching too many dramas with me lately? I watch them for fun, I don’t believe such silly plots. Spare me the cheesy lines.”

She didn’t buy Zhou Hai’s awkward attempts at flattery. Since childhood, he was the only one who’d ever pursued her.

“I’m not being cheesy—I’m serious! You really are beautiful. Your eyes curve when you smile…” Zhou Hai protested, voice loud and earnest.

Lu Meimei laughed until she was out of breath, clutching her stomach and gasping, “Enough, it’s too much. Just drive, will you?”

Zhou Hai straightened up, both hands on the wheel, looking every bit the professional driver, but he muttered, “I should record you like this. Chi Ai and her husband say behind our backs that you’ll dump me for sure.”

“Why?” Lu Meimei was genuinely surprised.

“They think you’re too reserved, and I’m no fun either—two boring people together, doomed to break up. They’re both lively and dramatic.”

Lu Meimei remembered their past gatherings—playing board games and murder mystery, the group would be endlessly entertained just watching Chi Ai and her husband perform, forgetting the game altogether in their amusement.

After the laughter subsided, Lu Meimei felt her energy ebb and her thoughts drift.

She’d never laughed like this before.

In the cat carrier, Maomao squinted his eyes, ears perked, quietly listening to the rhythm of her breathing.

Lu Meimei’s phone beeped, pulling her back to reality. “It’s time. Drive steadily—I need to feed the kitten.”

She took a syringe and a thermos from her bag, drawing up warm goat’s milk.

“Kitty, time for milk.” She opened the carrier, gently scooping the kitten into her hands.

---

Maomao poked his head out, gently licking the kitten’s body.

“Raising a child is no easy feat—it’s much harder than caring for Maomao,” Zhou Hai said.

Lu Meimei smiled and leaned close to Maomao.

Maomao set his front paw on her arm, stretched his neck, and nuzzled her cheek.

“Maomao is special,” Lu Meimei murmured.

In Maomao’s emerald eyes, her gentle features were reflected.

---

Zhou Hai parked in front of Pegasus Veterinary Clinic. It was his first time in a pet hospital, and he wore a stern expression throughout. While filling out forms, he racked his brain for a name for the kitten.

“Let’s do the checkup first—there’s time to name her later,” Lu Meimei said, unconcerned.

Maomao’s original name had been simply “Cat.” It wasn’t “Mimi” because two other families in her village already had cats named “Mimi.” The idea to use the character “Mao” came from Chi Ai, who explained, “Your name means ‘rose,’ so the cat should also be named after a plant. It’s fate—we met on the day the cat was reborn. My name means a plant, too. Let’s give her a name with the grass radical, just like mine. Call her ‘Maomao’—it even sounds similar to her old name.”

Lu Meimei shared this story with Zhou Hai, who became even more determined to find the perfect name, right up until they entered Dr. Wang’s office.

Zhou Hai watched anxiously as Dr. Wang examined the kitten, muttering, “Is she healthy? Is she malnourished? Her parents are village strays—someone feeds them, so they eat both kibble and leftovers, oily and salty, and they’re all quite chubby. That can’t be good for a kitten, right?”

Dr. Wang smiled politely. “We’ll know once I’m done examining her.”

Lu Meimei nudged Zhou Hai. “Go think of a name.”

He fell silent, but refused to leave, never taking his eyes off the kitten.

Maomao sat by the kitten, taking advantage of any gap in Dr. Wang’s movements to nuzzle her.

When the checkup was finished, Dr. Wang confirmed the kitten was basically healthy, just mildly malnourished.

Zhou Hai immediately fretted.

“…That’s normal for strays. Maybe the mother isn’t very attentive, or perhaps there were too many kittens in the litter, and this one didn’t get enough milk,” Dr. Wang explained.

“Just like Maomao when she was little,” Lu Meimei said, stroking Maomao’s head.

Maomao squinted contentedly.

“What’s the treatment?” Zhou Hai asked anxiously.

“No treatment needed,” Dr. Wang replied with a smile. “Just feed her well. Hand-raising is hard work—she’ll need to be fed every three to four hours, and you’ll need to help her with elimination, too. If you’re too busy, you can board her here at the clinic until she’s weaned.”

Lu Meimei and Zhou Hai both hesitated.

They’d been busy with feeding and helping the kitten since last night—it was tiring, but doable. However, their vacations were ending soon, and once they were both back at work, they’d be away for nine or ten hours a day, making it impossible to care for the kitten.

Maomao licked the kitten’s head, tucked her little body beneath his belly, and looked up at Lu Meimei with those emerald eyes.

Lu Meimei smiled helplessly. “I’ll take care of her myself.”

“For now, I can bring her to work,” Zhou Hai said suddenly. “But come the national holiday, I’ll have to trouble you. I’ll be on duty alone then, so no time to slack off.”

Lu Meimei looked at him in surprise.

“We’ll care for her ourselves,” Zhou Hai told Dr. Wang with a smile. He patted Maomao’s head. “Maomao will help us, right?”

Maomao lowered his head, gently nuzzling Zhou Hai’s palm.