Chapter 66

The clear warm light of the day transitions into dusk as night falls.

Yan Zhao finished the last piece of pickled cucumber and put down his chopsticks.

Recently, he didn’t want to eat greasy food, so Shen Yuanting made him some plain porridge and small dishes. The thickly boiled white porridge paired with the refreshing pickled cucumber is also a delicacy.

Feeling a bit full, Yan Zhao put the bowl and chopsticks into the dishwasher and asked, “Shall we go for a walk?”

Shen Yuanting replied, “Hmm, you go change your clothes first.”

Yan Zhao changed into loose casual clothes, put on a baseball cap, and was sitting down to put on his shoes when Wang Zai jumped down from the hammock and meowed around him.

The cat had eaten its food and had been given treats, and Shen Yuanting had also played with it using a cat teaser toy. Wang Zai had just been napping but now seemed lively again.

Yan Zhao said, “We’ll be back soon, be good.”

Wang Zai ran to the front door and sat down by the crack, somewhat resembling a Shiba Inu waiting for its owner to leave.

Shen Yuanting asked, “You want to go out too?”

Wang Zai replied, “Meow.”

In Yan Zhao’s experience, most domestic cats don’t like going outside, or rather, they are afraid of unfamiliar environments. Strange bipeds, car horns, and dogs rushing to sniff them can scare them enough to puff up their fur. But Wang Zai is very brave, whether it’s the chaise lounge at home or the main road outside, it can sleep with its four feet in the air.

Yan Zhao suspects that Shen Yuanting has protected it too well, making it feel that nothing in the world can harm it – it even plays with dogs. Of course, when a dog wags its tail at it, it gets angry, because for cats, wagging tails is a provocation, which also means that Wang Zai’s friendship with dog friends can only last for ten minutes at most.

Since Wang Zai made such a request, Shen Yuanting couldn’t refuse, so he took out the leash and put it around its neck. Wang Zai is very experienced in going out and cooperates very well. When the red leash was put on, it even actively stretched its almost non-existent neck.

As for walking the cat, Yan Zhao has gone from being intrigued at the beginning to being calm now.

Wang Zai walked and stopped intermittently, and after ten minutes, it just stopped moving.

Shen Yuanting said, “Tired? You wanted to come out, so finish the walk.”

Wang Zai tried to win Shen Yuanting’s sympathy by acting cute, but Shen Yuanting stood still, expressionless.

Being looked at so coldly by its dad, Wang Zai bravely stood up, walked a few steps like a zombie, and suddenly its body swayed, walking staggeringly. Yan Zhao was startled, thinking it was sick, and was about to pick it up, when he suddenly found it holding one foot up, pretending to be lame.

Yan Zhao said, “…”

Yan Zhao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Alright, I’ll carry you.” So he picked up Wang Zai and held it in his arms.

Wang Zai clung to his clothes, looked at Shen Yuanting triumphantly, with a mischievous look in its eyes.

Shen Yuanting said, “…Overindulgence spoils the child.”

Yan Zhao replied, “What are you talking about? I’ll withhold its canned food for a month, let it know the cost of deceiving humans.”

Wang Zai: “!!!”

Even though it had been lying in Yan Zhao’s arms for a while, Wang Zai still stubbornly completed the exercise and even chased away a dog on the way home.

As Yan Zhao and Shen Yuanting were talking, they noticed that the leash was stretching back. He turned his head and saw Wang Zai standing on the cobblestone path, its yellow eyes staring at a bush.

Shen Yuanting said, “You can’t burrow in there.”

Wang Zai turned its head, innocently staring at the two of them, meowed once, and still darted in.

Yan Zhao called out, “Kid?”

It’s rare for it not to listen to Shen Yuanting’s words. Yan Zhao walked to the front of the bush, bent down, and looked in through the gaps in the branches. He could only see a few black and white pieces that didn’t form an image. The pieces moved and crawled out, with dead leaves on its head and something similar to a small white mouse in its mouth. Only then did Yan Zhao realize why he could faintly hear a cat’s meowing. It turned out that there was a cat hidden in the bush.

Perhaps using the word “hidden” to describe it is not very appropriate. This cat is very small, not sure if it’s three months old yet, skinny and bony, and its white fur is all dirty.

Compared to hiding here by itself, it’s more likely that it was forgotten or abandoned when the mom cat moved house.

Yan Zhao and Shen Yuanting looked at each other and decided to make a detour to the hospital.

The examination results were good, the kitten was a bit malnourished, but it didn’t have any diseases like cat moss or ascites. The doctor cleaned the fleas off its body and gave Yan Zhao and Shen Yuanting some advice on raising kittens.

When they got home, the stars were out.

The kitten drank some sheep’s milk and quietly slept in its nest.

Wang Zai lay beside it, licking its fur, exuding the air of a big brother taking care of his little brother.

Yan Zhao joked, “You’ve picked up a little brat to bring back, huh?”

Wang Zai replied, “Meow!” The sound was somewhat reluctant.

It even started to protest.

Yan Zhao stroked its back and said, “Alright, you’re still a young kitten that hasn’t been weaned.”

Shen Yuanting asked, “Do you want to keep it?”

Having one cat at home was enough. Although he thought the kitten was quite cute, he didn’t plan to continue raising it. Once it recovers and becomes healthy, Shen Yuanting can help it find a qualified new owner – of course, everything depends on Yan Zhao’s reaction.

Yan Zhao looked at the white kitten and thought. Being responsible for the cat is one thing, and the emotions entrusted to it is another. Apart from the days when he was amused by the cat, he might be annoyed by the cat mischief, he might be sad when it gets sick, and since a cat’s lifespan is about fifteen years, when raising it, he must be prepared for the farewell –

Yan Zhao’s gaze fell on Wangzi.

Its fur is still very smooth, and the results of the last physical examination were relatively healthy. But no matter what, Wang Zai is already quite old. It gets tired after chasing the cat teaser for a while, not as energetic as a two or three-year-old cat…

Yan Zhao didn’t want to think further.

Wang Zai looked at Yan Zhao with eager eyes, rolled over to expose its belly, and meowed pitifully.

Yan Zhao stroked it and said, “Let’s keep it, Wang Zai likes it.”  And he was also conflicted, wondering whether doing so would provide some comfort to Shen Yuanting when the time came, or make it even harder.

Shen Yuanting was silent for a while, then said, “Hmm.”

Wang Zai ran over, took the initiative to rub Shen Yuanting’s hand, and made a purring sound contentedly.

Shen Yuanting said, “Let’s give it a name.”

It should be a name that matches Wang Zai.

Yan Zhao looked at the kitten, which was pure white like snow, and suggested, “Let’s call it Snowball.”

Snowball grew very quickly, changing every day. In just a few weeks, one hand could no longer hold it. As its weight gradually increased, Snowball entered its boisterous adolescence, often running wildly from the kitchen all the way to the sofa.

In addition, the awakening of its hunting talent sometimes made it quite annoying.

After finishing filming, Yan Zhao was as tired as a dead fish, slowly walking towards the sofa. As soon as he lifted his leg, Snowball pounced on his calf!

“…”

Yan Zhao slowly looked down to find Snowball hugging his leg, staring up at him with big eyes.

The cat let go of its claws and hid in a corner, waiting for another target to come.

Yan Zhao didn’t give it a chance, picked it up, and patted its head, “No pouncing on people!”

Snowball’s eyes widened, it struggled hard, and its claws swung around.

Just a week ago, it was a well-behaved cat that would listen when it held by the scruff of its neck.

Yan Zhao sighed and grabbed its paw: “It’s time to trim your nails.”

Trimming Snowball’s nails was a major undertaking.

He had to prepare a cat washing bag to restrain its head from moving around before he could trim its sharp claws. No other method worked, not even food could tempt it.

“Yuanting!” Yan Zhao called, “Hold it down!”

Shen Yuanting held Snowball while Yan Zhao pressed its paw pad, and a nail clipper emerged, snipping off the nail.

Snowball kept meowing, obviously not happy about having its nails trimmed.

Wangzi crawled out of its nest and lay on the side to watch.

After trimming its nails, Snowball jumped off Shen Yuanting’s lap and slipped away, looking as if it had lost all interest in life.

Yan Zhao went to wash his hands with him, and casually asked about tonight’s menu, “What are we eating later? I’ll help you cook.”

Shen Yuanting started, “Sweet and sour ribs—” He stopped mid-sentence, lowered his eyes, and looked at Snowball clinging to his leg, “How about cat meat hot pot?”

Snowball was attacking Shen Yuanting again!

Yan Zhao was infuriated. This kitten was very mischievous and needed proper training to prevent it from scratching and biting people in the future.

Just as Yan Zhao was about to flick its forehead as a righteous punishment, Wang Zai pounced from behind and slapped Snowball’s head: “Meow meow meow!!!”

Snowball looked confused, backed up a few steps, and Wang Zai pounced again, scaring Snowball into arching its back, its airplane ears popped out.

Wang Zai had always had a soft meow, and this was the first time Yan Zhao heard it sound so fierce; it seemed genuinely angry.

Wang Zai pressed Snowball to the ground and rubbed it, Snowball meekly meowed a couple of times, and only then did big brother let it go.

Yan Zhao said, “What a filial son, even helping your dad take revenge.”

Wang Zai replied, “Meow~”

Yan Zhao asked, “What should we do if Snowball keeps pouncing on people?”

Shen Yuanting replied, “Flick its forehead, or spray it with a water bottle.”

Yan Zhao thought flicking its forehead was useless and wondered if he should look up “How to Discipline a Naughty Cat.”

Shen Yuanting said, “Wang Zai was like that when he was young, disobedient.”

Yan Zhao asked, “Did you spend a lot of effort correcting its bad habits?”

Shen Yuanting replied, “Not really, just a few hundred yuan for neutering.”

Yan Zhao thought, “…..” So losing its ‘eggs’ also meant losing its fighting spirit, huh.

Shen Yuanting added, “But we need to instill good habits in it over the next few months.”

Shen Yuanting looked back at Snowball, who was wrestling with Wang Zai, their four cat paws scratching around.

Yan Zhao asked, “Are they fighting?”

Shen Yuanting answered, “Just playing around.”

Yan Zhao watched them for a while longer, making sure they were just play-fighting. He didn’t want to raise a little demon that would cause trouble for Shen Yuanting…

Seeing his concern, Shen Yuanting said, “Cats have a slower pain response. It doesn’t know that scratching hurts people. Once Wang Zai teaches it, it will become more restrained.”

Yan Zhao asked, “By fighting?”

Shen Yuanting thought for a moment, lowered his head, leaned into Yan Zhao’s ear, and his hot breath sprayed out.

Yan Zhao thought he was going to whisper something, but instead, his earlobe was taken into Shen Yuanting’s mouth. The wet and hot tip of Shen Yuanting’s tongue swept over it, and his teeth gently bit Yan Zhao’s earlobe—

“By biting,” Shen Yuanting said.