Become The Domesticated Pet Cat of a Mature, Bossy Lady Superior - Chapter 59

One person and one cat faced each other in a psychological standoff. Meeting those slightly cold, amber-colored eyes, Ying Miaomiao genuinely felt the difference in Shi Xinyu.

The future Shi Xinyu’s eyes held tenderness and determination, unlike the current one’s confusion. The present Shi Xinyu’s eyes were filled with indifference and uncertainty; her path forward was not clear.

Finally, Ying Miaomiao broke the silence.

She sat primly on the ground and suddenly let out a small, yet remarkably clear meow: “Meow.”

“Shi Xinyu.”

Although Shi Xinyu didn’t understand cat language, she roughly knew that the kitten might be trying to communicate with her.

But no matter which Shi Xinyu it was, the first question seemed to be: “Are you hungry?”

Although Ying Miaomiao was indeed a bit hungry, that was absolutely not what she meant. Seeing Shi Xinyu squat down and rummage through her bag again, she felt utterly helpless.

However, Shi Xinyu’s bag had been searched once before, and nothing was found then, let alone now. She paused, suddenly feeling apologetic: “Sorry, I ran out of ham sausage.”

Ying Miaomiao couldn’t rightfully accept the apology. She rubbed forward a bit, her soft fur brushing against Shi Xinyu’s fingertips.

Sensing the kitten’s proactive movement, Shi Xinyu’s gaze softened slightly, but her face remained cold.

Observing her at such a close distance, Ying Miaomiao noticed another difference from the future—the current Shi Xinyu still had a bit of baby fat.

She was still immature.

Shi Xinyu rubbed Ying Miaomiao’s head and sighed softly.

“I can’t keep you.”

Shi Xinyu’s voice didn’t carry much sorrow, but was rather a calm statement.

Ying Miaomiao tilted her head, and Shi Xinyu’s reflection was captured in her sapphire-blue eyes.

The dim streetlamp stretched her shadow long, a dark silhouette leaning against the mottled, low wall. It was late at night, and this small alley was devoid of noise or crowds, containing only the two of them.

“Little cat, I really can’t keep you.”

Facing Ying Miaomiao’s eager gaze, Shi Xinyu reiterated.

But her hand continued to gently stroke Ying Miaomiao’s soft fur.

Ying Miaomiao felt frustrated. She thought for a moment; the most urgent thing she needed to solve was probably food.

Given her current physique, she could go home to sleep for shelter. However, Ying Miaomiao felt her limit was eating cat food; she really couldn’t bring herself to scavenge through trash cans or steal.

Shi Xinyu’s hand rested on the soft fur for a long time. The moon was flickering in and out, not as bright as the nearby streetlamp. “Are you following me because you’re hungry?”

Ying Miaomiao looked up. She couldn’t clearly see Shi Xinyu’s expression, yet Shi Xinyu gave her the illusion that she was very seriously considering the question.

“Wait for me here. I’ll be back soon, okay?”

Shi Xinyu was extremely serious, speaking in a negotiating tone.

“Meow.”

“Okay.”

She gave the kitten’s fluffy coat one last hard rub, slung her backpack on, and hurried away.

Ying Miaomiao stood beneath the dim streetlamp, her shadow stretching long now that Shi Xinyu wasn’t blocking her. Her ear twitched slightly, and the reflection on the wall moved with it.

She waited for a while.

Ying Miaomiao remembered that a round trip from here to Shi Xinyu’s house should take about twenty minutes. Although summer was approaching, the temperature difference was significant at night, and even with her fur, the wind still made the kitten feel a little uncomfortable.

She quietly huddled into a corner out of the wind.

Without a clock or phone to track time, Ying Miaomiao wasn’t sensitive to its passage. She just sat by the wall.

It was overcast tonight, with only a few stars visible, and the moon was constantly hidden and revealed.

Perhaps this was why she was prone to overthinking. Ying Miaomiao suddenly recalled Shi Xinyu’s so-called “first love” (literally ‘white moonlight’). Calculating by time, it should appear around this period.

Ying Miaomiao was certain she hadn’t misremembered; the high school listed on Shi Xinyu’s resume was not the one she was currently attending.

If it were, the school would definitely hang a banner after the Gaokao (college entrance exam) and boast about her as an outstanding alumnus mentioned by teachers.

It was only then that Ying Miaomiao suddenly realized she had seemingly never asked Shi Xinyu much about her past, leaving her completely ignorant of Shi Xinyu until now.

Shi Xinyu had never raised such questions either.

Amidst her scattered thoughts, a sound of quick footsteps suddenly echoed from the narrow alley mouth. Ying Miaomiao jumped in surprise. She turned her head and saw Shi Xinyu, holding a plastic bag and wearing a jacket, jogging toward her.

Her porcelain-white cheeks were slightly flushed, and her hair was a little messy from the run.

Shi Xinyu was looking around the alley she had just left, but didn’t call out.

Ying Miaomiao realized she had come back to find her. She quickly stood up and sat obediently behind Shi Xinyu.

“Meow-aow.”

“I’m here.”

Shi Xinyu turned around and felt a sense of surprise when she saw the kitten. She squatted down and opened the plastic bag, revealing a plastic takeout container inside.

Perhaps because she had come in a hurry, everything was a bit rushed. However, looking at the steaming ham sausage mixed with white rice, Ying Miaomiao was suddenly touched.

In the middle of the night, and so suddenly, Shi Xinyu was still able to bring food so quickly, making an effort to be kind to a little cat.

She buried her head and devoured the food.

It didn’t have much flavor, but it filled her stomach.

Shi Xinyu quietly squatted by the side of the alley, blocking most of the cold wind blowing towards Ying Miaomiao.

Because Shi Xinyu hadn’t been sure how much food to bring, even after trying her best, Ying Miaomiao still left a bit of rice uneaten at the bottom.

With a full, round belly, she looked up and meowed at Shi Xinyu after confirming she couldn’t eat any more.

Hearing the sound, Shi Xinyu rubbed the kitten’s head, collected the plastic container and bag, tied them up, and threw them into the trash can.

Without a single word of farewell, Shi Xinyu turned and left. Ying Miaomiao subconsciously followed.

It was as if she had eyes in the back of her head; she soon stopped and looked back at Ying Miaomiao.

“I can’t keep you. Go on, don’t follow me.”

The words sounded a bit harsh. The flush on Shi Xinyu’s porcelain-like skin had faded, and under the dim streetlamp, she looked unexpectedly aloof and lonely.

Warmth and coldness were abruptly separated.

Ying Miaomiao stopped, staring blankly at Shi Xinyu.

“Goodbye.”

Dropping this one sentence, she quickly left the alley.

Returning to her home from ten years ago, Ying Miaomiao felt at ease and began reminiscing about that time.

Summer, sunshine, the seaside.

She lived in the brilliant sunshine of summer. So, what about Shi Xinyu? Why did she suddenly transfer schools, and why did she leave this small town?

Ying Miaomiao thought for a long time and suddenly remembered what her past self was doing at that time.

Ten years ago, Ying Miaomiao was very happy during this period, a carefree student transitioning from primary to middle school. That summer vacation, Ms. Ying had taken her to the seaside.

There was a martial arts studio there, opened by Ms. Ying’s classmate.

She had an unforgettable summer there.

Like a primary school student’s stream-of-consciousness account, the happy memories were reduced to a few short sentences in an essay.

“070913.”

This string of numbers suddenly flashed in Ying Miaomiao’s mind. It was Shi Xinyu’s lock screen password.

She intuitively felt that this string of numbers was very important.

Perhaps it was a date?

By date, it was July 9th. But what about the ’13’ at the end? Was it her age at the time?

…

Lying on the sofa, Ying Miaomiao slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next day, what woke Ying Miaomiao was the alarm clock she had left in her room.

She groggily opened her eyes. Seeing it was 7:30 AM, her sluggish brain started turning.

When she was in primary school, classes started at 8:20 AM, so getting up at 7:30 AM was just right. However, due to being too excited about going out, the Ying Miaomiao of ten years ago seemed to have forgotten to turn off the alarm.

Ying Miaomiao, resigned, opened her room door and completely deactivated the alarm, leaving only the time display function.

After turning it off, she went back to her spot on the sofa and fell asleep again.

A moment later, Ying Miaomiao suddenly snapped her eyes open.

No wonder!

Ying Miaomiao suddenly remembered her past self wondering why the alarm clock still had battery after a whole summer vacation. Could it be because she had traveled back ten years and could change the course of history?

Feeling a little terrified, all the fur on Ying Miaomiao’s body stood on end.

She slowly calmed herself down, regretting again why she hadn’t talked to Shi Xinyu about her past.

However, Ying Miaomiao couldn’t sleep anymore.

Today was a day off.

It was a rare Sunday, which seemed to bring the whole town to life. Ying Miaomiao wandered aimlessly outside, pondering how a little cat could survive independently while also keeping an eye on Shi Xinyu.

But after wandering for a long time, not only did she fail to find a solution, but she actually saw Shi Xinyu.

She was wearing a mask and a hat, performing with the same group of people from yesterday in the square.

Yesterday’s lead singer was singing a popular contemporary song. A crowd had gathered around them. Ying Miaomiao struggled to squeeze in, carefully avoiding people’s feet while observing Shi Xinyu.

Although Shi Xinyu was wearing a mask and her facial expression was unclear, Ying Miaomiao felt she was very happy at this moment, for no particular reason.

Probably the joy of doing what you love and freely expressing your feelings.

She wasn’t wearing yesterday’s school uniform, and her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, swinging with her movements.

Ying Miaomiao genuinely admired these energetic high school students. Despite the pressure of their studies, they still had the energy to play music on their rare days off.

Hobbies really are important.

It wasn’t until nearly noon, when Shi Xinyu finished her last note, that the group finally dispersed.

For some reason, there always seemed to be a barrier between them and Shi Xinyu, something even Ying Miaomiao could perceive.

They had planned to eat barbecue together yesterday and lunch today, but without exception, they hadn’t included Shi Xinyu.

As the crowd scattered, and after the others had left, Ying Miaomiao quietly approached Shi Xinyu. Thanks to Shi Xinyu, Ying Miaomiao wasn’t hungry right now.

Shi Xinyu put her guitar into its case. Just as she was about to leave, she noticed Ying Miaomiao at her feet. It was the same familiar kitten, squatting in the same spot, looking up at her.

Shi Xinyu hadn’t expected the “goodbye” she had spoken last night to be nullified so quickly. Many people she had said goodbye to before she never saw again.

No one knows if this is the last time, especially with a little cat that doesn’t understand human words.

Shi Xinyu placed her guitar aside, squatted down, and her expression softened considerably: “Goodbye, little cat.”

“We meet again.”

Her reassertion of this sentence made Ying Miaomiao feel a bit strange. She blinked, her sapphire-blue eyes staring at Shi Xinyu.

“Meow-woo.”

“Shi Xinyu.”

Ying Miaomiao just wanted to say this, she wanted to call Shi Xinyu’s name, even if she couldn’t understand.

“What’s wrong?”

Ying Miaomiao asked.

But Shi Xinyu completely misunderstood her words. She rubbed her head and asked the same question: “Are you hungry and want to eat?”

Ying Miaomiao looked up. In the instant Shi Xinyu met those sapphire-blue eyes, she vaguely understood the kitten’s meaning: Was she concerned about herself?

A kitten she had only met once was concerned about her?

The feeling was so absurd that Shi Xinyu didn’t dare take it seriously. Shaking off the thought, she decided to treat the kitten like a human being.

“I can take you to eat, but you have to stay close to me.”

After saying this, Shi Xinyu watched the kitten for a moment. Only after receiving a response did she stand up and pick up her guitar.

One person and one cat wandered the streets for a while, eventually stopping in front of a dilapidated fast-food restaurant. Ying Miaomiao recognized the place; although the storefront was shabby, the food was excellent. Ten years later, the owner opened a chain restaurant.

“I’m going in to buy something. Don’t run off.”

Shi Xinyu deliberately reminded the kitten before entering the store.

Ying Miaomiao was not a real cat; she understood human speech and could remain calm. She stood at the entrance for a while and suddenly saw the others who had been with Shi Xinyu.

The three people were walking side-by-side, chatting. Their conversation revolved around current events, and there wasn’t much discussion about Shi Xinyu. Originally, Ying Miaomiao wasn’t in the mood to eavesdrop.

But one sentence caught her attention.

“Singing at the pub next week will bring in money.”

However, the other two only offered simple replies to this, without delving deeper. Ying Miaomiao thought about it; the small pub ten years ago didn’t seem to have any big news, but when she was in high school, the pub closed down, and she heard some rumors.

The pub was shady, in various senses.

Ying Miaomiao was worried about Shi Xinyu. If these people were getting paid to sing at the pub, and Shi Xinyu played the guitar, she would inevitably have to go too.

Would it be unsafe?

But Ying Miaomiao’s anxiety couldn’t change anything. Before long, Shi Xinyu walked out of the fast-food restaurant with a box of food in her hand.

More people were gradually entering the restaurant. Shi Xinyu hurried away, not forgetting to call for Ying Miaomiao.

Because she had the kitten with her, Shi Xinyu went to the park. It was close to lunchtime, and the park benches were deserted. She asked for an extra empty takeout container.

Mixing the ordered steamed egg with half a box of rice into the extra container, Shi Xinyu placed the rice in front of Ying Miaomiao.

Ying Miaomiao wasn’t particularly hungry, but she didn’t want to let Shi Xinyu’s kindness go to waste, so she slowly ate the rice.

Seeing the kitten start to eat, Shi Xinyu felt relieved and ate the remaining half of the rice with the side dishes.

…

This feeding routine continued for several days. Fortunately, Ying Miaomiao discovered another place where she could eat.

It was the same familiar fast-food restaurant.

Kitchens in the catering industry inevitably have a few mice. The owner was constantly annoyed. When Ying Miaomiao passed by, her first reaction upon seeing a mouse was fear, and her second was: Why is the mouse attacking the cat?

She realized that these mice were completely uncommunicative, scurrying around as if they had lost their minds.

Suppressing her nausea, she swatted a mouse away with her paw. Ying Miaomiao was surprised to discover her strength was so great—she was practically a super-strong cat.

The owner, delighted to see the cat, grandly offered Ying Miaomiao her three meals a day.

The owner was a capable middle-aged woman with meticulously combed hair. But when dealing with the little cat, she would cook unsalted meat for her to eat.

Since then, Ying Miaomiao officially became a mercenary for the restaurant, hunting mice.

However, before every visit to Shi Xinyu, Ying Miaomiao had a fixed routine: She had to wash her paws.

Otherwise, meeting her with mouse germs would be so dirty!

Fortunately, there was a low faucet behind the fast-food restaurant for washing vegetables or hands, which Ying Miaomiao could just reach.

The sensation of tap water wetting her paws wasn’t great, but the weather was warm, and her fur dried quickly. Ying Miaomiao kept the washing localized, so it wasn’t too difficult to endure.

It just made her time spent meeting Shi Xinyu a little shorter.

…

Another day, the poor high school student was still in class. After waking up, Ying Miaomiao sneaked off to the school.

Her alma mater from ten years ago was not much different from now; only the playground and desks/chairs had been renovated. The specific layout remained unchanged.

Ying Miaomiao knew the place well. She boldly entered the school through the main gate and went to the high school classrooms to look for Shi Xinyu.

It was morning reading time. Since the first, second, and third years of high school were separated, Ying Miaomiao could easily find the grade Shi Xinyu was in.

She quietly peered through the back door of the classroom. High schools back then didn’t yet have the custom of standing up to read, which made finding people easier.

Ying Miaomiao was quite lucky; she found Shi Xinyu after checking only two classrooms.

Because of her height, Shi Xinyu sat towards the back of the classroom, very close to the back door—easily visible upon entering.

Taking advantage of the noisy reading, Ying Miaomiao suddenly got a mischievous idea. She softly padded her way to Shi Xinyu’s feet.

Sensing something hit her calf, Shi Xinyu flinched. She looked down and saw the little cat.

Its black and white coat was slick and shiny, and those sapphire-blue eyes watched her, looking particularly mischievous.

Ten years ago, there wasn’t the saying that cow-patterned cats were crazy. Shi Xinyu only felt her heart leap. She quickly stood up, the chair scraping loudly.

The whole classroom fell silent for a moment. Fortunately, she didn’t react further, only coldly looked down and rummaged for something.

Shi Xinyu didn’t have many friends in class and usually spoke very little. Everyone subconsciously assumed she had something going on; otherwise, she wouldn’t be so clumsy.

So, after a brief shock, everyone returned to reading aloud.

Shi Xinyu finally found a school uniform she didn’t wear. She draped it over Ying Miaomiao, and scooped up both the uniform and the cat, running towards the bathroom.

Ying Miaomiao felt dizzy, enveloped in Shi Xinyu’s faint, cool scent.

So, her characteristic smell had been fixed since so long ago.

Entering the women’s restroom, Shi Xinyu quietly hid in a stall and finally dared to let Ying Miaomiao’s head out. But facing those clear, innocent eyes, she suddenly couldn’t bring herself to scold her.

After all, she was just an ignorant little cat.

But she still said sternly: “Don’t follow me!”

Ying Miaomiao flicked her tail and turned her head away.

Today was Saturday, and the pub performance was only a few hours away. She had to keep a close watch on Shi Xinyu today.

While hoping nothing bad would happen, it was better to be safe than sorry; if something did happen, she would regret it too late.

Shi Xinyu was helpless at the kitten’s obvious avoidance and stubbornness.

She was full of grievances. The kitten, which had only cooled down two days ago and wasn’t even enthusiastic about eating, had suddenly sought her out today.

Shi Xinyu knew that saying anything to this kitten was like talking to a brick wall. She snorted coldly and wrapped the cat in the uniform again.

She quickly went downstairs and reached the school’s side fence, where she let Ying Miaomiao out.

The side fence had gaps just big enough for a kitten of Ying Miaomiao’s size to pass through.

“Go find someone else.”

Shi Xinyu’s tone was stiff, but Ying Miaomiao detected an unwarranted hint of jealousy in it.

She suddenly wanted to laugh. The Shi Xinyu of ten years ago was still a childish and arrogant little kid, wasn’t she?

Ying Miaomiao was quite decisive. After listening to Shi Xinyu, she obediently slipped out the door and looked at Shi Xinyu through the fence.

“Meow-aow?”

“Like this?”

Although the kitten’s meow was cute, Shi Xinyu felt, for no reason, that the cat was teasing her. She pursed her lips, turned, and walked away.

Ying Miaomiao was dumbfounded. Why was the current Shi Xinyu so hard to coax?