I Really Want to Pet My Wife's Cat Ears - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Three Cats

“It’s only a few steps, I’ll just walk back. You go sing with your friends. See you tomorrow.” After dinner, Shuo Yu bid farewell to Shen Zhiyin and started walking home under the streetlights.

Looking at the dry sycamore leaves by the roadside, she remembered the snowy scenery photos of Yunxi City that Shen Zhiyin had sent her last month. It didn’t snow often in this city; it was a pity to miss it.

Passing by a pet hospital, Shuo Yu’s gaze uncontrollably drifted through the glass doors. Inside, a customer was registering their “fur baby.” A blue-grey British Shorthair lay lazily; even when its owner pulled it out of the cat carrier in this strange environment to knead it, its expression remained exceptionally calm.

Admiring cats through a glass door was the maximum Shuo Yu’s cat fur allergy could handle. If she actually touched one, she’d likely spend the night in the emergency room.

“A communicative cat-ear girl like Mianmian is much cuter anyway.” Shuo Yu withdrew her gaze, nursing a “sour grapes” mentality as she took out her phone and opened Cat Island Diary.

There were no lighting facilities on Cat Island. Aside from the shimmering moonlight on the sea, almost nothing could be seen. Some areas even had thick, dark shadow clusters, making it look like a horror game.

As she walked home, Shuo Yu swiped the screen several times to reach the spot where she had placed the cat food and the cat bed. It was pitch black here too; she could only faintly make out the outlines of the items.

Refusing to give up, she poked the cat bed, hoping for a discovery. After poking it three times with no response, she sighed, ready to quit.

Suddenly, a soft, waxy voice came through the speaker, tinged with a hint of indignation: “Aiyaya! Stop poking!”

“Mianmian, are you in there?” Shuo Yu couldn’t quite believe it.

This cat bed was a triangular tent style filled with hay and topped with two hydrophobic leaves. Proportionally, it was only the size of a suitcase. For a normal cat, it would be very spacious. But Ji Mianmian looked like a nearly adult young woman; she had no idea how she had managed to squeeze inside!

“Mm. I gave my home to One-Eye. I looked around and this was the only safe point not occupied by a bully cat.” Ji Mianmian huddled inside the cat bed, hugging her shins. The lines of her dialogue bubble were trembling, betraying her sense of grievance.

“Safe point?” Shuo Yu frowned slightly, extracting the keyword. “Is the night on Cat Island dangerous?”

Ji Mianmian hadn’t expected this woman—who floated behind the screen, could touch her across the void, and seemed omnipotent—to be unable to see the evil spirits. Hearing her ask again anxiously, Ji Mianmian explained slowly: “Evil spirits live off a cat’s fear. They disappear during the day and come out to hunt at night. To us, an evil spirit is a shifting mass of thick, black fluid. Sometimes they are human-shaped, sometimes animal-shaped.”

Through the small entrance of the cat bed, Ji Mianmian saw the worry on Shuo Yu’s face. To put her at ease, she hurriedly added: “I hide very well; I haven’t been captured by an evil spirit yet. According to other cats, once captured, they are taken to the evil spirit’s mental world for the night. They are thrown around, trampled, bitten… the cats suffer varying degrees of abuse before dragging their broken bodies back to Cat Island at dawn. But if you’re lucky, the spirit might have no interest in the cat, and it’s just a normal night spent in the darkness.”

The more Shuo Yu listened, the tighter she clenched her fist. She wanted to curse the game planner for such a twisted setting, yet she knew that real-life cat abusers existed; putting this in the open did serve as a warning.

A deep sense of helplessness washed over her. Shuo Yu poked the cat bed again and said softly, “Mianmian, don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

She couldn’t save the real cats yet, but she would protect the ones on Cat Island!

Shuo Yu hurried home. Without even taking off her coat, she opened the game store. She was only Level 3; most items were locked. The “Basic Survival Gift Pack,” priced at 200 Cat Coins, was the only thing she could buy.

Shuo Yu bought it in full immediately! The pack contained four items: “Bonfire Blueprint, Torch Blueprint, Fruit Knife, Flint.”

With the blueprints, finding the necessary materials became much easier. If the materials were within 100 meters, she could follow a guide line. Shuo Yu quickly found some dry pine branches in the dark forest. Following the instructions, she arranged the branches into a bonfire, shaved a pile of tinder with the knife, and used the flint. Soon, a bright flare of fire appeared on the West Ear Beach.

The bonfire was directly facing the cat bed where Ji Mianmian was hiding. Shuo Yu adjusted the perspective and saw clusters of joyful light in the girl’s eyes.

The girl didn’t hold back her praise: “Shuo Yu, the range of the safe zone has expanded! You’re amazing!”

Her voice was so sweet; listening to it felt like drinking a glass of fresh strawberry juice. Shuo Yu’s name had been called tens of thousands of times in her life, but this was the first time it gave her that tingling, itchy sensation, like a cat’s paw treading on her heart.

She immediately turned that softness into motivation. “Wait a moment. I’m going to top up a bit to buy stamina and level up!”

At Level 5, she could buy the “Newbie Blueprint Pack,” which contained five unknown blueprints. Surely they would bring much convenience to Mianmian and the cats! Shuo Yu hadn’t expected that in a single day, she would become a “whale” player of Cat Island Diary!

The 68-Yuan Monthly Card included 12 Cat Diamonds (premium currency) and 6,800 Cat Coins. During the card’s duration, she could claim two stamina bars and 200 Cat Coins daily, plus access to VIP outfits and bubbles. Additionally, it unlocked the Cat Food Vending Machine, Seawater Purification Machine, and Trash Recycling Machine. Most importantly, she could claim one “Interaction Fragment” per week.

Monthly cards were always the best value. Since she planned to play seriously, she had to get it. Shuo Yu immediately activated it, becoming a distinguished VIP.

The “Interaction Cards” in Cat Island Diary were pieced together from fragments. Fragments were divided into three categories: Time, Place, and Event. Once a set was collected, she could invite a cat into a scenario. The fragment Shuo Yu received for the first week was an Event Fragment—”Bathing”.

Most cats hated baths. Shuo Yu didn’t think this interaction would be healing at all. She even suspected that favorability would plummet after using it! However, Shuo Yu’s gaze drifted toward Ji Mianmian for a moment. If the card could be used on Mianmian, the scenario would be completely different! At the thought of a “beauty in the bath” scene, she wished she could fast-forward two weeks to get the three fragments and finish the card.

Shuo Yu scolded herself for being a “pervert” and continued scrolling. Two special functional packs caught her eye:

• Cottage Function (648): Permanent after activation. Allows you to build an upgradable cottage on Cat Island. Build a home for the cats!

• Gourmet Function (328): Permanent after activation. Unlocks the Cat Island Gourmet Encyclopedia and the Small Kitchen. Anything from the sea, sky, or land that can be made into food can become a dish.

Toping up a thousand Yuan at once for a mobile game was a bit painful. Shuo Yu decided to wait and observe for a bit longer, getting more familiar with Mianmian and the cats first. The “Five Senses Function” and various “over-the-top” props in the recharge page only appeared the first time it was opened; afterward, the page collapsed, turning them into hidden items that unlock automatically after completing achievements.

Shuo Yu had no idea how much of a fortune she had just missed.

As soon as she closed the recharge page, she saw Mianmian’s expectant gaze on the screen. The feeling that she hadn’t spent enough and had “betrayed” her 2D wife gave her a dull sense of frustration.

Ji Mianmian had clearly heard the sound effect of a successful payment, but when she didn’t see the woman produce anything new for a long time, she looked up curiously: “Shuo Yu, what did you just buy?”

“Just a little monthly card. It unlocked three machines. Wait until I set them up and we can study them together.” The girl’s voice successfully soothed Shuo Yu’s heart. Thinking carefully, she had already spent money on her first day—she was being very generous!

The Cat Food Vending Machine, Seawater Purifier, and Trash Recycler looked like large iron vending machines with flashing lights. Lining the three of them up on the beach was quite spectacular; the neon lights dispelled the darkness and expanded the safe zone.

Ji Mianmian stepped on the cool sand and went to the food machine, tapping and touching it. She was surprised to find it full of food, but it was blocked by glass and couldn’t be taken out. She had no choice but to look up at Shuo Yu pleadingly.

How could this little creature be so cute? Seeing her like this, Shuo Yu felt a surge of pity and affection, completely forgetting that she had started this game just to pet cats.

She opened her red lips and said with a smile, “I don’t know if you can eat these, so you choose first. Whatever you want, Sister will buy it for you.” After topping up, her wallet was fat and her words were bold!

“Sister, I want this one.” Ji Mianmian didn’t stand on ceremony, pointing at a piece of beef freeze-dried treat with a soft voice.

Mianmian actually called her “Sister”!!

Shuo Yu’s heart fluttered. She frantically tapped the screen and bought ten of them.

When Ji Mianmian knelt down to touch the items, she thought the machine was broken because so many treats fell out at once. But when she looked up and saw the unconcealed expectation in the woman’s eyes, she understood.

Ji Mianmian immediately looked up with a radiant smile: “Thank you, Sister. I like them very much. Sister, you’ve spent too much.”

Shuo Yu watched the continuous prompts: [Ji Mianmian Favorability +3], [Ji Mianmian Favorability +2]. She knew the girl truly liked them. She poked every button on the machines like a lavish, foolish ruler: “Mianmian, I’ve bought one of everything. Taste them and see which you like, and Sister will buy more for you in the future.”

“Thank you, Sister!” It had been a long, long time since Ji Mianmian had felt this kind of care. Her heart felt warm.

Shuo Yu enjoyed the praise immensely; her smile didn’t leave her face as she moved to the other two machines. The Seawater Purifier required stamina to dig a pipe into the sea from under the sand. Afterward, it worked like an automatic water dispenser; she could drink at any time. The Trash Recycler could take in various waste to keep Cat Island from being eroded by plastic; with luck, it would spit out materials and Cat Coins.

After studying the new things, the little figure on the screen sat back down by the cat bed. Now that the safe zone was larger, she didn’t have to huddle in a tiny ball. It was good to have met Shuo Yu.

Looking at the unlocked VIP outfit—a Maid Outfit—Shuo Yu raised her eyebrows, a hint of interest flashing in her eyes. She selected the cat-ear girl on the screen who was busy studying the treats, wondering if her favorability was high enough yet to get Ji Mianmian to change clothes.

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