Chapter 81 ☆ Kitten (Part 2)

She pushed the plate of goat milk back to the kitten. It sniffed, lowered its head, and began drinking again, making smacking sounds.

Xie Zhao picked up the kitten and touched its round belly. “You can’t drink anymore.”

The kitten wasn’t happy and started to cry again. Its little eyes, not fully open yet, looked at Xie Zhao with tears. Xie Zhao remained unmoved. Cheng Yaoyao quickly took the kitten away. “Don’t bully my cat.”

Xie Zhao didn’t let go, saying, “If it drinks any more, it might die.”

“Give it to me!” Cheng Yaoyao pried his fingers apart with force.

The kitten dangled between them. Suddenly, it twitched, and white milk flowed out of its mouth and nose.

Xie Zhao: “!!!”

Cheng Yaoyao: “!!!”

Cheng Yaoyao forced herself to stay calm and handed the kitten back to Xie Zhao. “Here you go.”

Xie Zhao looked at the kitten’s teary eyes. “…Isn’t this your cat?”

Cheng Yaoyao yelled, “It’s already throwing up milk! Why are you still talking about it?”

As if in response to her, the kitten twitched its paws and spit out more milk. Xie Zhao hurriedly grabbed a towel to wipe its mouth and nose to prevent choking.

Cheng Yaoyao was on the verge of tears. “What should we do?”

“Don’t worry, sister,” Xie Zhao said as he placed the kitten on the table and gently rubbed its belly. “You’ve raised a cat before, right? What do you usually do when a cat throws up milk?”

Without hesitation, Cheng Yaoyao replied, “Take it to the pet hospital!”

Xie Zhao raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

“It’s… a veterinary station. You know, a place that treats animals.” She bit her finger nervously. “There must be something we can do. Let me think…”

The kitten, belly up and waving its paws, continued to cry. No matter how much Xie Zhao rubbed its belly, it wouldn’t calm down. “It threw up milk, but its belly is still so bloated.”

Suddenly, Cheng Yaoyao remembered. “I got it! A kitten this small can’t poop on its own. You have to help it!”

She had spent a lot of time on forums, reading about how to care for kittens, so she had some knowledge. Following her instructions, Xie Zhao used a wet cotton swab to help the kitten go to the bathroom. Its swollen belly finally went down.

When Xie Zhao returned from washing his hands, the kitten was fast asleep in the towel. Cheng Yaoyao rested her chin in her hand and looked at it. “It’s finally asleep.”

Xie Zhao reached out, pulled her up, and said, “You should go to bed too. It’s late.”

Cheng Yaoyao stood up obediently and fell into his arms. “What about the cat?”

“What should we do?” he asked.

“A kitten this small can’t sleep alone; it will freeze to death,” she said innocently.

Xie Zhao thought for a moment. “…There are chickens in the yard. Should I bring one over?”

Xie Zhao was strong and usually slept shirtless, but tonight he wore a vest, which was unusual for him. He lay on his back, with the kitten resting on his chest, its tiny paws kneading him. Whenever he moved, the kitten would purr.

He didn’t dare move. Staring at the ceiling, he wondered why he had brought this trouble home.

The next morning, Xie Zhao was awakened by something stepping on him. The kitten had woken up at some point and was crawling around on his face with its four short legs. It even nibbled his nose with its toothless mouth, leaving his face wet with saliva.

Xie Zhao had a gloomy face. He grabbed the kitten by the scruff of its neck, wiping his own face with his free hand. He then got up and headed to the yard.

He threw the kitten into a bamboo basket hanging on the wall and washed his face with cold water from a basin, scrubbing vigorously several times. The smell of milk still lingered at the tip of his nose.

The kitten, trying to climb out of the bamboo basket, raised its head and whimpered. Perhaps it had drunk some of the goat’s milk mixed with Jinsheng, and its cries were so loud that they seemed to pierce the sky. Grandma Xie hurried out with her shirt half-buttoned and asked, “Where is that crying child?”

Xie Zhao, squatting in the yard brushing his teeth, mumbled an indistinct reply and continued brushing.

The kitten cried for a long time, but when no one paid it any attention, it changed its tune: “Mee~Meewu~Ao~” If it kept this up, it might have even let out a dog’s bark.

Grandma Xie followed Xie Zhao’s gaze and noticed a tiny head popping out of the bamboo basket. Sparse hair stood on top of the kitten’s head, and its half-open eyes were wet and green.

Grandma Xie slapped her thigh, exclaiming the same question she had asked Cheng Yaoyao the night before, “Where did this rat come from?!”

When Grandma Xie learned that Xie Zhao had specifically picked up this kitten to cheer up Cheng Yaoyao, she softened and said, “Oh, kittens are all like this when they’re born. Just wait half a month, and it will look much better!”

After rinsing his mouth, Xie Zhao pulled the towel off his shoulder and wiped his mouth, saying, “It’s already half a month old.”

Grandma Xie kept smiling and immediately called out, “Xiao Fei, come and see what your brother has picked up!”

Both Xie Fei and Cheng Yaoyao, who had been woken up, came out with sleepy eyes to look at the kitten. Cheng Yaoyao seemed indifferent, but Xie Fei was smitten, exclaiming, “It’s so cute! So small! I want to make a little skirt for it!”

Xie Zhao, trying to save face, replied, “It’s a male.”

Cheng Yaoyao sighed in relief. Thankfully it was a male; its appearance wouldn’t matter as much. But what if it were a little princess?

A light drizzle fell from the sky, and the cool air was filled with moisture. Since Xie Zhao didn’t have to go out to work, the whole family spent time watching the kitten.

The kitten squirmed on the towel, lifting its tiny pink paws and putting them in its mouth to suck on. Xie Fei observed, “It’s hungry!”

Cheng Yaoyao noted, “It drinks goat’s milk.”

When the goat’s milk was warmed, Grandma Xie, who had experience with such things, placed a towel on her knee, picked up the kitten, and gently tilted its head back. She dipped a clean gauze in the goat’s milk and let the kitten suck on it, saying, “This way, it won’t spit up as easily.”

The kitten drank with a satisfied smacking sound, its little paws moving in the air. Soon, its belly was full, but unlike yesterday, it didn’t spit up.

Cheng Yaoyao exclaimed, “How do you know how to feed a cat?”

Grandma Xie smiled, “I had a cat when I was young, back at my mother’s house. That cat gave birth to several kittens at a time, and the weaker ones couldn’t get enough milk, so we fed them like this.”

After feeding the kitten, Grandma Xie rummaged through some old clothes, happily pulling out an old cotton jacket and spreading it in a shallow basket. “Here, this is Brother Zhao’s old jacket. The cotton is soft.”

Cheng Yaoyao carefully placed the kitten into the basket. The kitten sniffed, recognized the familiar scent, then turned over softly, revealing its round pink belly.

Xie Fei and Cheng Yaoyao gathered around the basket, making strange noises. “How cute!”

The kitten basked in the girls’ loving gazes, seemingly aware of how adored it was. It twisted its little body, stretched out, and occasionally let out soft meows in response to their gentle caresses.

Xie Zhao, somewhat ignored, sat under the eaves, cutting bamboo strips and weaving a bed for the kitten according to Cheng Yaoyao’s instructions.

In this harmonious atmosphere, a sudden knock came at the door. It was Lin Jiajun.

Cheng Yaoyao looked at Xie Zhao in confusion. Why had Lin Jiajun come?

Xie Zhao accompanied Cheng Yaoyao to the door and opened it. Lin Jiajun, wearing a raincoat, pulled a package and a letter from his coat. “I went into the city today and saw your letter and package, so I brought them back for you!”

Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, “Thank you.”

She hadn’t gone out that day, her hair casually draped over her shoulders, wearing simple, homey clothes. Behind her, the rain and the old blue brick house resembled a painting. Her face, however, was so radiant that it was hard to look away.

Reluctantly, Lin Jiajun tore his gaze away from her. “Well… I’ll be off then.”

“Goodbye!” Cheng Yaoyao waved, then looked down at the package in Xie Zhao’s arms and smiled. “I wonder what my dad sent me.”

Xie Zhao weighed the package. “It feels like a book.”

They returned to the yard, and Cheng Yaoyao opened the package. It indeed contained books and some canned food. Xie Zhao flipped through the books, which were all hard-to-find review materials.

Xie Zhao said to Cheng Yaoyao, “Your father sent you a letter. Aren’t you going to read it?”

“It’s probably just another reminder to study hard,” Cheng Yaoyao said as she opened the letter. But after reading a few lines, her expression changed.

Noticing her change in demeanor, Xie Zhao asked, “Sister, what’s wrong?”

Cheng Yaoyao’s eyes were filled with tears. “My father is sick.”

Though this father was not related to her by blood, Cheng Yaoyao couldn’t hold back her tears.