Strange Life of a Cat-Chapter 210 - 208 The Fate of Big and Little Rice

Chapter 210: Chapter 208 The Fate of Big and Little Rice

Chapter 210 -208 The Fate of Big and Little Rice

Fang Shaokang had taken a rare break today to come and check on the kittens. He had actually heard about Ermao’s cat giving birth a month ago. Wang Bin, Ermao’s brother, mentioned it in passing during a chat with Fang Shaokang, but at that time, Fang Shaokang didn’t take much notice. It was only after getting a call from his home in Beijing that Fang Shaokang learned his daughter had always wanted to keep a cat, but hadn’t found the right one yet.

What makes a cat “right”?

The family didn’t understand what exactly Fang Mengmeng was looking for in a cat. After all, to many people, a cat is just a cat, and those who are well-off and of status tend to prefer rare breeds when it comes to keeping pets. However, Fang Mengmeng never liked any of them. The family thought the child was just whimsically interested in keeping a cat and became indecisive when it actually came to choosing one.

Knowing this, Mr. Fang, who was always busy with his career and didn’t spend much time with his wife and child, felt a sense of guilt and made a spontaneous decision to come and have a look.

Zheng Tan watched as Fang Shaokang took out an instrument about ten centimeters tall with a camera on the front from the bag he carried. After adjusting it for a while, Fang Shaokang set the instrument aside and started playing with two kittens with some cat toys handed over by Ermao.

However, what interested Fang Shaokang was that when he played with the two kittens, they went from being initially cautious to slowly coming out of their nest and approaching him, and then they half-heartedly moved their paws a couple of times before squatting a step away from Fang Shaokang and stopping there.

Yet, as soon as Ermao came with the same cat toy, the two kittens would bounce and jump around as if possessed, playing very excitedly. They were still wary of Fang Shaokang, the stranger.

“They really pick and choose who to play with, huh?” Fang Shaokang wasn’t annoyed, pulled up a stool to sit down, and watched Ermao play with the cats while he closely observed the two kittens.

Zheng Tan squatted down and watched too, not expecting the two kittens to be quite individualistic. It made sense; inheriting the “Lord’s” special genes, they wouldn’t be the kind of cats that only grow in size but not in intelligence and should be smarter than the average cat.

When it was time for lunch, Zheng Tan picked up Little Youzi and went to eat at Jiao Wei’s restaurant. When he returned, he found Fang Shaokang still there. He didn’t know if Fang Shaokang had decided on which one to take, or if he was prepared to take both.

Out of curiosity, Zheng Tan pushed open the half-closed door and walked in.

In the living room, Fang Shaokang was fiddling with the little machine, then chose a spot to adjust the angle and pointed the camera towards the two kittens. At the same time, he was talking to someone on the phone.

“All set, can you see them now?… Alright, then take a good look and decide which one you want, Daddy will bring it home for you this weekend… No, taking both won’t do, they’ll fight if they’re together. Ever heard of the saying ‘a hill cannot hold two tigers’?… Hey, that’s other people’s situation, your brother Ermao’s case here is special. You see how these two are different from other cats, right?”

Fang Shaokang was just rambling on, and Zheng Tan didn’t think he knew what made these two cats different; he probably was trying to talk Fang Mengmeng out of the idea of keeping two cats.

Ermao was trying hard to amuse the two cats, and from Beijing, student Fang Mengmeng was closely observing the two kittens through the video transmission before deciding which one to keep.

Some people believe that keeping a cat is a matter of fate, and maybe Fang Mengmeng was one of them. She had liked these two kittens at first sight, even though it was just a video image, but the feeling was different. She had seen several cats in the past few days, but none compared to these two, or she wouldn’t have proposed the idea of keeping both.

Fang Shaokang was pleased to hear his daughter’s liking; as a father, he had found another way to please his daughter. However, he only wanted to take one, knowing from the temperament of these two that one was trouble enough, let alone two.

It’s a joke to say kids can take care of a cat, but if Fang Mengmeng can’t manage, there are others to help. Pleasing his daughter was one thing, but Fang Shaokang’s main goal was to cultivate Fang Mengmeng’s sense of responsibility. He didn’t have high expectations for Da Mi; after all, cats like the Black Cat beside him were a minority, and even relatively smart ones were not numerous.

“So, have you decided? Which one do you want?” Fang Shaokang asked.

“Umm…” Fang Mengmeng still couldn’t make up her mind. She thought both were good.

To help Fang Mengmeng observe the two cats better, Fang Shaokang even maneuvered the little machine closer to the kittens’ nest to see how they would react.

After waiting for half an hour and still unable to make a decision, Fang Shaokang thought for a moment and asked, “Ermao, these two cats are one male and one female, right?”

“Right, Da Mi is female, and Xiao Mi is male,” Ermao answered. It didn’t matter to him which one Mr. Fang took.

“Ah? I see,” Fang Mengmeng seemed to realize something and said, “I want a little female cat!”

“A little female cat? Then choose Da Mi.”

“Which one is Da Mi?” Fang Mengmeng asked.

“That one, the calico.” Ermao pointed to Da Mi, who was playing with a plush toy.

“A calico? Just like Dad with the ‘San,’ perfect, then let’s choose Da Mi,” Fang Mengmeng still regretted that Xiao Mi was male; otherwise, she would have tried harder to persuade her dad to get both.

After making a decision, Fang Mengmeng was urged by her mother to take a nap and reluctantly left the video call.

Fang Shaokang took out a pet carrier and asked Ermao, “If I just grab it like this, will it bite me? Even if it doesn’t bite, it’ll scratch, won’t it?”

“No worries, they’re just kittens, not that strong,” Ermao casually assured.

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Fang Shaokang looked at the couch in the living room that had been scratched so much it was “hairy”, and Ermao fell silent. These two kittens were really something else; they were far more troublesome than the usual ones.

Ermao had realized, ever since these two kittens could climb and walk, that they hadn’t inherited much of Heimi’s temperament. He figured they were probably more like their father, and would be difficult to deal with when they grew up.

Fang Shaokang stayed a while longer at Ermao’s, thinking he should spend some more time with Da Mi, so the kitten would start recognizing people better.

“After being taken away, it will probably fuss for a while, right?” Fang Shaokang said.

“All kittens are like that; they’ll settle down after a few days.”

Although he said this, Ermao still felt reluctant to put Da Mi into the pet bag. After all, he had been preparing for its arrival even before it was born, and watched it grow up. It was impossible not to feel somewhat emotional.

After Da Mi was taken away by Fang Shaokang, Xiao Mi looked around and meowed for a while. Ermao felt so conflicted, wondering if he should have kept Da Mi after seeing Xiao Mi like this. His heart felt heavy.

But then, after lunch…

When Ermao went to the bathroom to pee, he found that Da Mi’s nest had been dragged to the side of the couch at some point, with marks of biting and scratching on it. They usually didn’t bite their own nest. Looking at Xiao Mi, the little guy was lying there asleep in the nest. Ermao called him twice. Xiao Mi made only a slight noise through his nostrils in response, changed positions, and continued to sleep.

Ermao scratched his head, thinking maybe he was just overthinking.

As he looked at Heimi, who was sleeping in the bedroom, even after Da Mi’s departure, Heimi had only searched around and meowed for a while before settling back to sleep, continuing her nap and eating the same amount for dinner. Ermao didn’t know if other people’s cats were like this, but at least that’s how it was in his house.

But… now that Da Mi was gone, what about Xiao Mi? Who should he give it to? Qin Tao did say that Tang Cai wanted to adopt it, but everyone knew she couldn’t keep a pet for long. It was too risky to take a chance with her now; better not to let Xiao Mi suffer.

The next day, while Zheng Tan was at home sneakily playing online, he heard a knock at the door. Zheng Tan’s heart jumped. He quickly turned off the computer, pushed the mouse back to its spot, and wiped away any suspicious traces.

While Zheng Tan was shutting down his computer, he heard a voice from outside.

“Heitan, are you at home?”

It was Zhao Le.

What was Zhao Le doing here now? It wasn’t the weekend. Moreover, Zhao Le had graduated a long time ago. Whenever he came over, it was always on weekends or holidays, and often, when she didn’t have time, she would send someone to bring things over.

Why did Zhao Le have time to come over today?

Zheng Tan was puzzled but quick on his feet, moving to the door to unbolt the lock.

Zhao Le was standing at the door in professional attire, which suggested that she probably came straight from the company. Like always, Zhao Le brought a lot of food and cosmetics for Jiao Ma, which to her, meant little.

After setting the items on the sofa, Zhao Le helped herself to a disposable cup, drank some water from the water dispenser, and after catching her breath, said to Zheng Tan, “I sent a message to your cat mother about this; I’ll leave the things here. But, I came today for another reason.” Zhao Le said while picking up her bag and heading towards the door, “Heitan, let’s go and see Ermao’s kittens.”

She was here for the kittens as well?

Zheng Tan followed Zhao Le to the third floor.

Zhao Le must have contacted Ermao in advance, because when he opened the door, he didn’t seem surprised, just a bit drowsy, probably from staying up late playing games.

“There, Xiao Mi is sleeping in the nest. Go take a look yourself, but be careful, this little fella has quite the temper despite his size,” Ermao pointed to Xiao Mi’s nest.

Like Fang Shaokang the day before, Xiao Mi initially ignored Zhao Le, but there was a hint of curiosity in its eyes. Perhaps to it, the cat toy wasn’t as interesting as this new person.

After a while, Xiao Mi yawned leisurely, walked back into the nest intending to continue sleeping, but unfortunately, Ermao pulled him out.

Having put Xiao Mi into a pet bag, Ermao thought for a bit, then wrapped Xiao Mi’s nest in a bag and handed it to Zhao Le, “Let it sleep in its own nest during this initial period. It will probably not adapt to the new environment right away. Mr. Fang said that it was noisy all night, and he would send someone in the afternoon to take some of Da Mi’s belongings, suggesting that it might help reduce its anxiety. Hopefully, it won’t continue to cry tonight.”

Zhao Le nodded. Besides Xiao Mi’s cat nest, she also took a few plush toys. These toys were already on Ermao’s list to be thrown away, but since they were played with by the kittens, Zhao Le decided to take a few just in case.

With both Da Mi and Xiao Mi taken away, Ermao stared at the now much quieter living room, full of sentiment but not knowing how to vent it. After a while, he turned to Heimi, who was curled up asleep in the bedroom, and said, “My girl, you can reclaim your territory now! Look how thin you’ve gotten these days. From now on, all the little fish will be yours.”

(To be continued. If you liked this work, please feel free to vote for it or give it a monthly pass at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)