I Really Want to Pet My Wife's Cat Ears - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Eight Cats

After finishing dinner alone, Shuo Yu went to the guest room to rummage through old belongings.

Her parents had always longed for Northern scenery. Ever since she bought her large flat, they had sold the old house and moved to Northern China to live as nomadic renters. This year, they seemed to be staying in Xin’an City; during their phone calls, they mentioned the food there was delicious—a literal “carb heaven.”

The things they hadn’t taken were piled in the guest room. A while ago, her mother called saying she wanted a red sweater she had bought for the New Year when she was younger. Shuo Yu had been on a business trip at the time and promised to find it once she returned to Yunxi; today, her mother had sent another message to nudge her.

Although Shuo Yu loved being a “hoarder” in games, she followed a minimalist lifestyle in reality. Her home had less than a tenth of the decorations Shen Zhiyin had. Consequently, the vibe of the guest room was completely different from the rest of the apartment; every time she entered and saw the jam-packed storage bins, her head would spin.

However, she had no say in her parents’ lifestyle, and those two didn’t interfere much with hers either. This “mutual non-interference” family dynamic was something Shen Zhiyin deeply envied.

Finally finding the boxes labeled “Winter Clothes,” Shuo Yu clicked her tongue and began searching. Winter clothes were thick and bulky; digging through them was a hassle, and after a while, she felt more exhausted than if she had been lifting weights. She simply opened the wardrobe and decided to take this opportunity to hang everything up. She had wanted to do this for a long time but never had the time or remembered to get around to it.

Organizing was like exercise: when you want to do it, it’s joyful and satisfying, but as lactic acid builds and fatigue sets in, the body starts to resist. So, after clearing a few boxes and finding the red sweater—feeling like her back was about to break—Shuo Yu nimbly closed the door, locking the chaos brought by her parents back inside the room.

She sniffed the red sweater and found it didn’t have any strange smell despite being boxed for several years. She put it on, snapped a photo for her mom, and after confirming it was the right one, scheduled a courier to pick it up tomorrow.

Cat Island Diary was still under maintenance, so Shuo Yu couldn’t say goodnight to Mianmian tonight. She lay on her bed idly browsing her phone, feeling an inexplicable sense of emptiness in her heart. Just as she was debating whether to call Shen Zhiyin to ask where she was hanging out, a friend request suddenly popped up.

Willow-Catkin Feifei: “Hello Sister! I’m Meng Xu, introduced by Sister Shen!”

Looking at the unfamiliar profile picture of a beautiful girl, Shuo Yu raised an eyebrow. Before she could ask Shen Zhiyin, a message came from her friend:

Song & Rhythm: “(Screenshot of Willow-Catkin Feifei’s profile) Xiao Yu, this is my boss’s daughter, a college freshman this year. She has great looks and seems to want to be a model. She has a lot of questions for you, so I gave her your contact info!”

Knowing it was indeed someone Shen Zhiyin knew, Shuo Yu felt safe adding her. Modeling was a profession for the young and a job of physical labor. She could still make money at twenty-six, but it was incredibly tiring. Shuo Yu was currently considering moving behind the scenes as an agent or finding another stable, long-term way to earn money. Since Shen Zhiyin said Meng Xu had potential, it was likely true. Perhaps this was the first step toward her transition?

As soon as the friend request was accepted, the other side sent four or five voice messages like a machine gun. Then, a barrage of photos followed—selfies and full-body shots. Young and beautiful, long legs, slim figure; though her poses were a bit stiff and her camera sense wasn’t great, there was definitely a lot of room for improvement.

Shuo Yu squinted to examine the photos. From looks alone, this girl truly had the potential to be a model. She went back to the voice notes and listened to them one by one, her brow furrowing tighter with each one.

[Willow-Catkin Feifei: “Ahhh Sister, you’re so beautiful! I saw your photo in an ad before and it was love at first sight!”

Willow-Catkin Feifei: “Sister Shen told me you’re a single ‘Ji-Zai’ (lesbian). What a coincidence, so am I! Do you think we have a chance?”

Willow-Catkin Feifei: “Sister, I’ve seen your photos and I’m sure I like you. I’m sending you my photos, see if you like me! if we click, we can start a long-distance relationship today and meet to raise cats together tomorrow!”

Shuo Yu’s gaze drifted back to the stream of “Selfie, Selfie, Full-body, Selfie, Half-body, Selfie” and she couldn’t help but palm her forehead. That idiot Shen Zhiyin got it wrong—this girl had no intention of being a model; she had tracked her down to confess…

Shuo Yu didn’t reply. She transcribed the voice notes into text and screenshotted them along with the photos, sending them to Shen Zhiyin with a question mark emoji. A moment later, Shen Zhiyin replied. She laughed mercilessly for half a minute before telling Shuo Yu not to reply yet; she would handle the communication.

Shuo Yu watched as the photos in the chat box with Willow-Catkin Feifei were retracted one by one, and she let out a sigh of relief. By the time she had scrolled through her phone enough to forget the incident, she saw a new message from Meng Xu. This time, Meng Xu had clearly used her brain. It was a typed-out “essay,” not the torturous long voice notes.

Willow-Catkin Feifei: “Sister, I’m so sorry. I misheard Sister Shen. It turns out you don’t have plans for a relationship right now. Focusing on your career is good; only when sisters are successful can we stand up! Just pretend the madness I sent earlier never happened. I’m sorry, the time limit passed so I couldn’t retract them.”

Willow-Catkin Feifei: “Sister, please don’t delete me. Regarding the career, I actually have something to discuss with you!”

While Shuo Yu was doubting if she actually wanted to be a model, Meng Xu sent another string of photos. But this time, the subject was a room rather than a person. it looked like an empty gallery; the plain white walls had distinct rectangular marks where paintings had once hung.

Shuo Yu: “This is?”

Seeing Shuo Yu finally reply, Meng Xu breathed a massive sigh of relief. As a hardcore “visualist,” she usually loved beautiful sisters with thin waists and long legs; the moment the “Sister” spoke, she started getting dizzy. Hearing from Sister Shen that her model friend was a lesbian and single made her heart beat like a drum. She was the impulsive type who acted on whatever she thought immediately. Previously, when making friends with beauties, she could never break the ice and ended up just being friends. This time, Meng Xu decided to take a gamble and go straight for the relationship, which is why she confessed immediately after adding her. She was prepared to be rejected, so she wasn’t too sad.

But at the thought of the beautiful sister hating her, Meng Xu felt a pang of bitterness. Shuo Yu was different from other sisters—if they couldn’t be lovers, they couldn’t even be friends! So her little brain had a brainwave and she sent the photos of the property she saw today to shift the awkward atmosphere of her failed “All-In.”

After Meng Xu’s “careful consideration,” Shuo Yu received this message:

Willow-Catkin Feifei: “Sister, my aunt’s gallery is moving and she gave the old place to me. I want to turn it into a professional photography studio specifically for photographers to shoot magazine editorials. What do you think? Since you’re a professional model, I wanted to see if we could collaborate.”

Shuo Yu was suddenly amused. This girl had come prepared with a Plan B—if she couldn’t be a lover, she’d be a partner? She curiously clicked on the gallery photos to re-examine them. The gallery was large, occupying two full floors of a commercial space. The lighting was excellent, and some angles even offered a view of the iconic Yunxi Tower. The majestic waterfall staircase in the center sparked a lot of inspiration in her.

Shuo Yu happened to be looking for a side hustle, so she started chatting with her. She found that when Meng Xu wasn’t being “manic,” she was actually quite interesting. And it wasn’t a whim; she seemed to have seriously considered the gallery’s transformation. She spoke organizedly and sensibly when asked about the house details. Since she was the boss’s daughter, Shuo Yu had to show some face.

Shuo Yu thought about it and replied: “Just call me by my name, don’t call me Sister anymore. Are you free tomorrow? We can meet around four or five in the afternoon to see the site.”

Meng Xu agreed immediately. Shuo Yu screenshotted the chat and sent it to Shen Zhiyin.

Shuo Yu: “You’re coming with me tomorrow.”

No matter how much Shen Zhiyin cried, she was determined to drag her along. This was the price for her bragging everywhere that her friend was a model and bringing “rotten peach blossoms” (bad romance) to her door.

The next morning, Shuo Yu was woken by her alarm at 7:30 AM. For a woman who usually slept in as much as possible during vacations, she actually climbed out of bed with ease this time. The Cat Island Diary update was finished, and she could go on her date with Mianmian!

Entering the game, a long list of update notifications popped up. Shuo Yu found that every point she had mentioned had been updated and optimized. The random “Unknown Blueprints” were gone, replaced by a Research Lab in the cottage where players could unlock designs through a tech tree.

Next to the Medical Station, a Trading Store had appeared. Customer Support 001, with a halo over its head, worked there, selling materials hard to find on the island, like the Mechanical Hearts and Metal Ores Shuo Yu craqued for. It also provided bounty missions where players could trade items for Cat Coins, Diamonds, and rare materials. The way to unlock new maps had changed to a mode where a certain number of resident cats were required to open the next area. Additionally, cats were given “Talent Skills,” allowing them to fight back against the evil spirits.

Shuo Yu was completely impressed that her suggestions had fundamentally changed the gameplay. She opened the update gift pack at the end and was pleasantly surprised to find the Gourmet Function (previously 328 Yuan) included. An independent kitchen had appeared next to her three-story cottage.

“So much integrity… the thing I was supposed to pay for is now free.” Last night, while looking through her photos, Shuo Yu had felt bad seeing Mianmian only able to eat standard cat food like the other cats. She had been prepared to pay for the gourmet function the moment the game opened, but now she saved 328 Yuan.

In a good mood, Shuo Yu switched out of the game to the app description page to leave a five-star review. Among the many games that treated players like “leeks” to be harvested, a “divine company” that adjusted gameplay immediately based on feedback and gave out premium packs for free was rare! However, when she opened the page, she saw the “Download” button was gone, replaced by:

“Due to Force Majeure, this game is temporarily delisted. Interested players please pre-register here.”

Shuo Yu thought: The content changed a lot, they’re probably adjusting their marketing strategy. Regardless, delisted or not, as long as the servers weren’t closing, she was fine. As a paying player, if her experience wasn’t guaranteed, she could sue the company.

Seeing it was almost eight o’clock, she hurried back to the game. At the thought of the game being delisted, meaning others wouldn’t be able to enter Cat Island and meet Ji Mianmian, the smile at the corner of her eyes couldn’t be suppressed.

Entering the game, she found Ji Mianmian was already awake and preparing food in the new kitchen. Shuo Yu realized Mianmian must have a “player-tracking” script; otherwise, how could she notice the moment Shuo Yu logged on every time?

Whether it was because she hadn’t found the “Young Lady” set that came with the cottage, or because the cat couldn’t change unless invited by the player, the girl was still wearing the full Victorian maid outfit. She was busy in the kitchen, carefully shucking oysters with a small knife. The morning light fell through the window onto Mianmian’s face, making her skin look white as snow and her lips rosy.

Shuo Yu’s heart raced at the sight. She used to hear people talk about how the “housewife attribute” was attractive, but as a fan of the “sweet-girl” type, she hadn’t thought much of it. Now, seeing the delicate girl cooking, the tenderness in her heart and the urge to pull her into her arms were undeniable.

Ji Mianmian looked up to see Shuo Yu with a glazed look and a smile on her lips, as if she were daydreaming. She flicked her ears in confusion. She didn’t notice that because the woman had appeared, her tail had stood up happily and swatted Little White, who was squatting on the table waiting for food.

The girl waved at Shuo Yu, greeting her with happy emojis: “Good morning Shuo Yu! Have you eaten? You must eat breakfast properly.”

Shuo Yu touched her flat stomach and shook her head. “Not yet. I planned to wait until after we finish pearl fishing. We scheduled for eight, so there won’t be time if I eat now.”

To her surprise, angry and indignant emojis appeared over the little figure’s head. Ji Mianmian stomped her foot and glared at the phantom of the woman in the air: “If you don’t eat properly, I won’t go with you!”

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