HCKSAB ~ 09

Chapter – 09

In the end, they didn’t buy the king crab.

Shao Sui glanced at the unit price—over three hundred. Judging by the size, one crab would weigh at least five or six jin, costing nearly two thousand, and that was assuming the vendor wasn’t ripping them off.

There was plenty of padding in the surrounding seafood markets anyway. And would a cat even taste the difference?

The cat’s paw poked out from his armpit, reaching toward the direction of the king crab.

“If you want to eat it, go work at a cat café.” Teacher Shao was impervious to persuasion, holding the cat as he continued walking inside: “Boss, give me a jin of beef tenderloin.”

“Cut it?”

“Just cut it into a few large chunks.”

“Sure thing.” The boss chatted with Shao Sui while cutting, glancing at the cat in his arms: “That’s a beautiful cat.”

Teacher Shao was modest: “Not bad.”

Almost every time they bought something, Mimi would receive a round of compliments. It was long accustomed to such adoration, so it paid no mind, lying in Shao Sui’s arms and licking its paw, its head resting in the crook of his arm.

Taking advantage of the fact that the kitten couldn’t call the police, Shao Sui poked its belly again: “How come you’re not afraid of people anymore?”

Before entering the market, he had wanted to put the cat in the carrier—a small enclosed space would keep it from getting too scared, or at worst he could take it home first.

But the cat clung to his arm and refused to go in, so Shao Sui had no choice but to compromise and carry it while shopping.

“Meow.”

King Meow didn’t understand; King Meow only knew that this male human was very good at holding cats.

Shao Sui had broad shoulders, a solid chest, and strong arms. He would circle the cat’s entire body in the crook of his arm, supporting its bottom and feet, steady and secure.

Even though the surrounding air was thick with the mingled smells of fish and meat, the kitten’s first scent was always the faint sandalwood on the human’s body.

Very reassuring.

Still, whenever someone tried to pet Mimi, it would get tense, and then Shao Sui would suffer. It was only September, the weather was hot, and his clothes were thin. The moment the cat got nervous, its claws would come out, hooking straight into Shao Sui’s flesh.

“You’re going to scratch me to death one of these days…”

“Alright, don’t be nervous.” Shao Sui carried a canvas bag full of groceries in one hand while holding the cat with the other, managing to pat its bottom in reassurance: “No one gets to touch our Mimi, right?”

King Meow answered proudly: “Meow!”

Shao Sui couldn’t help himself; he lowered his head and rubbed against its pink little nose: “Whoever dares to touch Mimi, Teacher Shao will hit them.”

From Mimi’s angle, all it could see was Shao Sui’s jawline hidden behind his mask. After soothing the cat, he went back to shopping, chatting constantly with people, using some words Mimi didn’t understand. But it knew that this poor human kept trying to haggle with the vendors.

Mimi reached out a paw pad and patted the human’s chin.

Shao Sui caught its paw pad: “The mask isn’t a toy.”

“Mreow~”

It wasn’t trying to play with the mask at all. This human had zero understanding of cats.

Shao Sui bought chicken, shrimp, fish, and meat—everything. Good thing he used to work out regularly; he could hold the cat, carry bags, and pull out his phone to pay all at once.

Even so, he was drenched in sweat.

Thank goodness he found the cat in autumn. If it were summer, wouldn’t he go crazy from the heat?

Though winter should be nice and warm—a portable little heater that could also interact with him.

“Teacher Shao, here’s your skinless chicken thigh meat. Seven pieces total.”

“Could you please put them in this canvas bag? Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it!” The chicken vendor was a parent of one of Shao Sui’s students. “I’ll have to trouble you to keep a close eye on our kid.”

Shao Sui exchanged a few polite words and left the market.

He used to think being a teacher meant just educating students. In reality, it was endless meetings, endless paperwork, and endless trivial matters.

He also had to maintain the image of a saint, without the slightest slack. If he was ugly, students would gossip behind his back and give him nasty nicknames. If he was good-looking, he had to guard against adolescent students letting their imaginations run wild.

Shao Sui pinched the cat’s tail: “How free must a little cat be…”

Find a soft-hearted human, and you’ll be set for life—well-fed, comfortable in winter and cool in summer. The only downside was being too small and weak, with no way to defend yourself. Encounter a bad person, and you’d end up bruised and battered.

Back home, Shao Sui disinfected both himself and the cat, then took out a wet wipe to clean Mimi’s paws.

They felt too good, so he couldn’t resist giving them a couple of squeezes.

King Meow saw right through the human’s true intentions—he just wanted to take advantage of the cat!

It immediately became as stubborn as an ox, bracing its hind legs against the floor and pulling back.

“Stop—you’ll dislocate it again.”

Shao Sui really couldn’t figure out the cat’s sensitive spots. Sometimes it was incredibly obedient—like just now, outside, when he poked its belly and it didn’t even get mad. But now, wiping its paws was like a matter of life and death.

“Meow! Meow!”

“You really are—!” Laughing in exasperation, Teacher Shao gave its bottom a slap: “With a temper this unpredictable, how does your owner even put up with you?”

The kitten went completely still, frozen in place.

It obediently let Shao Sui wipe its last paw, then lay down by the kitchen door without making a fuss.

“Changed your tune?” Shao Sui scooped up the cat and placed it on the sofa, turning on the TV: “If you’re tired, watch some TV. Don’t get too close…”

Shao Sui didn’t usually watch TV, so he didn’t have a subscription; he could only watch regular channels. Just as he was about to find a cartoon, Mimi suddenly pawed at his hand.

“You want to watch this?”

“Meow.”

A kitten that likes watching the news was certainly a rarity.

As he walked into the kitchen, Shao Sui glanced back. Mimi was sitting on the sofa, staring intently at the TV, just like those students of his who perked up for movies but wilted at the sight of schoolwork.

Teacher Shao shook his head, put on his apron, and turned to face the sink. After taking all the groceries out, he realized the counter couldn’t even hold everything.

“Bought way too much…”

Shao Sui really didn’t like the market environment—the mingled smells of poultry, pork, beef, and seafood were simply atrocious. But the advantage was that the food was fresh. Usually, he’d prepare a list in advance, head straight to his targets, and never wander around.

Today, he’d made a simple plan as well, but once he got there, he forgot it entirely. The moment the cat meowed, Shao Sui asked the vendor for prices, and in the end, aside from the king crab, he bought chicken, duck, fish, shrimp—everything Mimi had indicated wanting.

The kitchen was overflowing with all kinds of raw-meat smells. Shao Sui closed the door to contain the odors, put on a mask, and spent over an hour chopping everything into chunks.

He didn’t mix it all together like online tutorials suggested; instead, he portioned it into four flavors.

If a person ate the same thing every day, they’d get sick of it—so naturally, the cat needed variety too.

Shao Sui opened the kitchen door, took off his mask to get some air, and called out, “Mimi—what flavor do you want for dinner? Chicken, beef, salmon—”

“Meow!”

Mimi jumped off the sofa, trotted over to rub against Shao Sui’s legs, then hopped back onto the couch to keep watching TV.

Such a perfunctory display of affection.

Shao Sui closed the door again and carried on like a dutiful nanny. By the time he’d finished portioning all the homemade cat food and stashing it in the freezer, it was already 7 PM.

He’d forgotten to pick up the car again, it seemed.

Tomorrow, then.

Both burners on the stove were going—one pan searing steak, the other steaming the salmon-flavored cat food.

The sky had gone dark, and the living room lights were off. The TV’s flickering light cast shifting shadows on the wall.

“Hello, and welcome to today’s edition of Community News. Here are today’s local headlines—”

“Today, in the New Spring residential complex, a resident reported that 200 grams of gold jewelry had vanished from their home, along with the stray tabby cat they’d recently taken in.”

Shao Sui finished washing the cat bowl and filled it with the cooled homemade canned food: “Come eat.”

But when he turned around, he saw Mimi fixated on the news report, completely ignoring him.

“Mimi? Mimi!”

The little guy finally turned, jumped off the sofa, and rubbed against Shao Sui’s leg, meowing, “I know that tabby cat from the news! It always begs for pets from passersby, gets humans to take it home, and then steals stuff when they’re not looking!”

But all Shao Sui heard was a continuous string of “meow meow meow meow meow.”

He couldn’t understand a word.

With utter obliviousness, he said, “What’re you yapping about? Come eat.”

“Meow—”

Dumb human male.

Mimi ate while glancing back at the TV.

The anchor continued: “The resident, Ms. Jin, stated that she suspects the thief took the cat along with the gold because she’d had a custom gold lock made for the tabby and hung it around its neck. Ms. Jin’s husband, however, feels this is for the best—they shouldn’t have had a cat in the first place, and right now, recovering the stolen gold is what matters most.”

Mimi looked up: “Meow-ow!”

That cat did it!

Shao Sui cut his steak unhurriedly: “Forget about a gold lock—I don’t even have one myself.”

Mimi: “…”

The newscast continued: “At this point, the couple broke into an argument. Ms. Jin told reporters that if the thief would just return the cat, she’d be willing to drop the theft charges.”

“Ms. Jin’s husband strongly disagreed, and in front of our officers, resorted to physical violence. He has since been detained. The injured Ms. Jin stated that she strongly suspects her cat-hating husband staged the whole thing himself.”

Mimi ate with relish, ears twitching as he kept glancing back.

Shao Sui speared a piece of steak with his fork and chewed: “Eat properly—don’t keep staring at the TV.”

Did cats even get nearsighted? Would he end up like his students, wearing thick glasses every day?

“Latest update: police have confirmed that Ms. Jin’s husband is not a suspect. However, his temper will come at a cost—beyond detention, Ms. Jin has decided to file for divorce.”

“Meanwhile, after reviewing surveillance footage, police found no suspicious individuals in the hallways. An exterior camera from the shopping mall across the street captured blurry footage showing Ms. Jin’s cat climbing down the drainpipe and leaving on its own. As for the missing gold jewelry—there’s still no word.”

Mimi turned to Shao Sui: “Meow! Meow-ow!”

The cat did it! The cat did it!

Shao Sui scrolled through short videos, responding absently: “What would a little cat do with gold? It’d strangle itself.”

Furious, the Cat King charged at Shao Sui’s feet and bit him right on the ankle!

Talking to a human is useless—a total waste of breath!

“What’re you biting?” The germophobe teacher scooped the cat into his arms, grabbed a tissue, and wiped its mouth. “I haven’t showered yet—you’re getting a mouthful of bacteria.”

Suddenly, a deafening boom: “CRASH!!”

Shao Sui thought it was just the TV’s background noise at first. The Mimi on his lap froze for two seconds; at the second “CRASH,” the cat panicked and scrambled up Shao Sui’s body, hooking onto his collar halfway and diving inside. The five-pound bundle tumbled clumsily in, wobbling every which way.

Outside, a torrential downpour slammed against the windows with a crackling roar.

Shao Sui looked down and met Mimi’s startled gaze.

He remembered the joke he’d made in the office the other day—that he’d just become the parent of a one-year-old.

Shao Sui rubbed the little round belly and let out a low chuckle: “Now it really does look like I gave birth to you.”

At this moment, Mimi had no retort. Whatever the human said, that’s how it was—he absolutely refused to come out of the clothes. The kitten’s scorching body heat pressed directly against Shao Sui’s abs, and he could clearly feel Mimi’s frantic, racing heartbeat.

“How are you still scared of thunder?” Shao Sui cradled the cat with one hand and cleared the table with the other. “What’d you do when you were stray? Find someone to hold you too? You can’t be this timid—the world’s a dangerous place. You need to be a brave cat…”

“Mew…” The cat mewed softly through the fabric.

It nuzzled its head, tilting to listen to the strange echoes coming from behind the abdominal muscles. The human’s intestines were gurgling and rumbling, gradually drowning out the terrifying thunder and lightning, like a rhythmic lullaby.

Mimi’s eyelids gradually grew heavy, and he curled up trustingly, drifting into sleep.