I Really Want to Pet My Wife's Cat Ears - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Eighteen Cats

The Meow Power system sounded impressive, but researching it was actually quite simple. Shuoyu paused the upgrade research for the gathering robot and put in four tufts of fur combed from the different cats. No Cat Coins or other materials were required.

She watched for a bit as Ji Mianmian practiced archery shooting, missing, and walking back and forth to retrieve the arrows and within ten minutes, a notification popped up.

Meow Power System research complete! Congratulations, Player can now borrow Meow Power from Little White, Little Flower, A-Jin, and Ji Mianmian!

Shuoyu clicked into the system and found that whichever cat’s fur she put in, she could borrow Meow Power from that cat. Little White provided 6 points, Little Flower 5, A-Jin 8, and Ji Mianmian 22 essentially their favorability divided by ten. Extracting Meow Power caused no harm to the cats, and it would fully recover 24 hours after being borrowed.

Indeed, the cats in Cat Island Diary were resources!

Shuoyu squinted at the screen and mused, “I really need to attract more cats to live here. When I have time later, I must remember to place food at the map boundaries.”

She shifted her focus to Meow Power weapon research and found that any sharp part used to attack enemies could be condensed with Meow Power. For the bow and arrow set she gave Ji Mianmian, the bow, string, and arrow shafts didn’t need to change; she only needed to replace the front tips with Meow Power arrowheads.

Meow Power arrowheads would only be fully consumed when they hit an evil spirit or a malicious cat. Poking them elsewhere wouldn’t hurt at all; they would only suffer wear and tear based on the force of the impact.

Smiling, Shuoyu collected the Meow Power within the safe zone with one click, then selected the Cat-Eared Girl. “Mianmian, open your quiver for me. I’m going to enchant it for you.”

The straw-woven quiver had a small capacity, fitting only 10 Meow Power arrows. After replacing the tips, Shuoyu stroked Ji Mianmian’s ears and told her to continue practicing, then used stored materials to craft a spare quiver.

Seeing the other three cats staring longingly at Ji Mianmian as she ran back and forth to retrieve arrows, wiggling their butts in preparation for a hunt, Shuoyu realized that while the cats on the island were wild at heart, they also needed combat experience. She opened the research page and added cat scratchers, straw dolls, automatic cat teasers, and cat exercise wheels to the list. She intended to carve out a specific area in the safe zone dedicated to honing the cats’ fighting skills.

The time spent with the cats was pure joy. Shuoyu couldn’t help herself and pulled the tortoiseshell cat, A-Jin, over to knead for a long time, focusing particularly on stroking its tail.

When she looked up, she was startled to see the clock already at 5:00 PM. Since she had promised Shen Zhiyin she would dress up, she had to start getting ready early. Shuoyu reluctantly prepared to bid the cats goodbye.

Just as she put down the controller, she saw Ji Mianmian looking up at her. Although she knew the Cat-Eared Girl was just a game character whose gaze followed the player’s movements, Shuoyu felt a genuine illusion of locking eyes with her through the screen.

She heard the girl’s voice, usually as sweet as honey, sounding very dejected: “Are you leaving again?”

Usually, she would just give a general greeting before logging off, but today felt different. Piteous, aggrieved, and tearful emojis were popping up over Mianmian’s head; she looked truly heart-wrenching.

Shuoyu made her voice as gentle as possible. “Mhm… I have to go out for a bit, but it’s just next door. I’ll be back soon. We can keep playing together tonight.”

Ji Mianmian didn’t speak. Her eyes were watery as she looked at Shuoyu, clutching her bow so tightly her knuckles were turning white.

Little Flower was busy digging in the sand, but when it looked up and saw Mianmian’s sad expression, it immediately dashed over to Little White and A-Jin, meowing a series of exaggerated reports. Soon, all three cats ran over, peeking out from behind a coconut tree in a tidy row. Little White was the most protective; before Shuoyu had even said anything, her favorability with it dropped a bit.

It seemed that if she just logged off now, her Meow Power and favorability would likely be gone by the time she returned. Shuoyu moved the controller to shoo the other three cats away so they wouldn’t crowd around to watch. Then, feeling a pang of heartache, she stroked Ji Mianmian and said softly, “Mianmian, you have something to tell me, right? Let’s go back to the bedroom.”

She coaxed the Cat-Eared Girl back to the small house and watched as the door clicked shut.

“Shuoyu.” The girl on the screen called her name and took a long breath, as if making a major decision.

Ji Mianmian first hung her bow carefully on the wall, then took off her small leather shoes and sat on the bed. She reached her hands behind her back and began unfastening the white apron over her maid outfit.

“Is the clothing uncomfortable? Just bear with it for now; once the cotton grows, I can make you new clothes…” Shuoyu was halfway through her sentence when her face suddenly flushed red at the sight on the screen.

Ji Mianmian had removed her white apron and climbed onto the bed. She turned her back to Shuoyu, propping herself up on all fours. Kneeling there, she curled her tail upward and said, her eyes tinged with a rosy hue, “If you like stroking fluffy things, you can stroke my tail too.”

Shuoyu had wondered before how the tail was attached. Now she saw—it extended down from the tailbone, with a hole cut into her underwear and skirt. The hole was tailored perfectly, so when her clothes were neat, nothing seemed amiss; the tail looked like a natural part of her body.

But right now, Ji Mianmian had loosened her zipper so the tail could swing more freely. To Shuoyu, this looked almost like an explicit invitation from an adult game.

She felt her throat go dry, and her voice was slightly husky as she said, “Mianmian… don’t do this. I feel like I’m about to commit a crime…”

Ji Mianmian was even more confused now. Since they were all cats, why could the others have their bellies rubbed, yet Shuoyu wouldn’t even touch her tail? She wiggled her bottom and used her right hand to lift her tail, giving it a flick.

She looked puzzled. “Don’t you like stroking A-Jin’s tail very much? Do you not like my black tail-tip?”

Hearing this, Shuoyu finally understood the situation. Little White and Little Flower hated having their tails touched and would bolt if she accidentally brushed them. But A-Jin was incredibly affectionate and didn’t get angry no matter where she was touched, so Shuoyu had absentmindedly stroked it for a long time this afternoon…

Calculated this way, Mianmian must have been unhappy for quite a while, and she hadn’t even noticed. How negligent!

As Shuoyu’s mind raced, she watched as Ji Mianmian curiously squeezed and pinched her own tail. Her eyes held only pure confusion, so the action didn’t look erotic at all; rather, the black fur contrasted with her pale, slender fingers, making them look even more delicate.

Shuoyu desperately wanted to grab her hand and take a bite, then stroke her until she begged for mercy. But if she actually did that and Ji Mianmian’s favorability bottomed out, she might as well stop playing the game.

For a moment, Shuoyu’s mind was a mess, like an overturned palette one likely used for painting sunflowers, filled with clear orange and bright yellow.

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