The early spring morning was still chilly. The sky had just begun to lighten. The streets were empty of pedestrians, with only a few shops along the road open.
In the dim morning light, two figures—one tall, one short—entered from the street entrance.
The shorter one was a large orange cat, glancing left and right at the surrounding shops as it walked, speaking in a hushed voice, “It’s just ahead.”
The young man beside the cat took the supernatural phenomenon of a talking cat in stride, nodding in response before following the orange cat further down the street.
The young man, Pei Shiyi, was neither human nor a demon. He had died centuries ago and had only “resurrected” from his grave the previous week. Upon waking, he had incidentally saved a demon who had come to his gravesite, intending to commit suicide.
The demon claimed to have gone bankrupt and lost the will to live. Pei Shiyi, a “living antique”, initially didn’t understand what “bankruptcy” meant. After hearing the demon’s explanation, he finally understood. Wasn’t it just losing money in business?
The demon, named Feng Huang, was among the earliest to enter the human world to work. Over hundreds of years, he had painstakingly saved up enough to lease a storefront and open a cat café. Unfortunately, he was naturally inept at management. The café soon went under, leaving him with tens of thousands in debt. Faced with the inability to repay, he had followed human examples and decided to end his life.
After hearing the whole story, Pei Shiyi, to avoid further emotional distress from Feng Huang’s incessant weeping, casually retrieved a human-head-sized gold nugget and other treasures from his tomb to purchase Feng Huang’s shop.
With money in hand, Feng Huang stopped wailing and even proactively helped Pei Shiyi obtain an identity. Having navigated the human world for centuries by reapplying for identification every few decades, Feng Huang still had the right connections. With a bit of maneuvering, he secured the necessary documents.
Thus, within ten hours of being unearthed, Pei Shiyi became a modern individual with a registered identity. Feng Huang then crammed him with contemporary knowledge of the human world. Pei Shiyi developed a keen interest in modern high-tech gadgets, mastering the smartphone even more adeptly than Feng Huang.
Feng Huang felt he had nothing left to teach and promptly packed his bags. After bidding farewell to the tearfully grateful Feng Huang, Pei Shiyi found himself inexplicably stepping into the role of shop owner.
As for why Pei Shiyi, now fully aware, still chose to run the shop… it was simply because he had no money.
Most of the burial goods in his tomb were ritual artifacts. The little gold, silver, and jade that could be exchanged for cash had all been given to Feng Huang. After all, a shop in such a prime location could be considered exorbitantly priced. Feng Huang had spent centuries saving up to buy it.
The remaining funds in Pei Shiyi’s possession were meager. If he didn’t run the shop, he would have to find work. But the problem was that he had no formal education.
Still, having a shop was better than working for someone else, wasn’t it?
Pei Shiyi had been in good spirits until the orange cat led him to a stop in front of the cat café.
The café’s doors were tightly shut, its sign reading “Xian Chan Courtyard”. Though not dusty, the lettering had faded and peeled, clearly untouched for a long time. The lights inside were off. While the tables and chairs were neatly arranged, each was covered with a dust cloth. Even before stepping inside, the scent of failure seeped through the door cracks.
Pei Shiyi: “…”
On this supposedly bustling street, the shop stood out for its uniquely shabby appearance.
Pei Shiyi took a step back, pulled out a key, and unlocked the door. As soon as he flipped the light switch, a series of soft, delicate meows echoed. Two small kittens cautiously peeked out.
The orange cat meowed twice. The two kittens immediately ran over to snuggle up against it.
The orange cat sat down in front of Pei Shiyi: “Boss, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dan Huang, an adult male Jinhua cat. I currently work at this cat café as the manager. These two kittens have just begun their cultivation and have always been under my care. They are now ready to interact with customers.”
He introduced himself with utmost seriousness. But his chubby face and sturdy body somewhat ruined the formal atmosphere.
As an orange cat, he lived up to his fur color. Though not a large breed, he had proven his innate talent for eating with his ample physique. Despite his plump body, his head remained slim. His face was round but still carried a delicate, charming appearance.
Somehow, it gave off the impression of a muscular man with a doll-like face.
The two kittens behind Dan Huang were a sight to behold. They were identical tortoiseshell kittens with snow-white paws. When they huddled together, they looked as if they were cast from the same mold. Tilting their heads to look at Pei Shiyi created a strangely mirrored effect.
Pei Shiyi nodded and reached out with interest. “Come here.”
Dan Huang paused for a moment, then cautiously walked over and let Pei Shiyi rub his head.
He sat there in a daze, not snapping out of it even after Pei Shiyi straightened up.
Though the other had a human form, he exuded an aura that intoxicated cats. Despite only having his head petted, Dan Huang felt as if he had consumed an entire bag of catnip.
Dan Huang took two steps, wobbled, and collapsed beside Pei Shiyi’s feet. He rolled over, exposing his fluffy belly to Pei Shiyi. He let out a long, drawn-out meow.
Pei Shiyi glanced down at the paw pads Dan Huang had just used to tread on the street, still speckled with dust. His expression shifted subtly. He silently withdrew his hand.
Dan Huang, not receiving the expected petting, looked up in confusion only to see Pei Shiyi already standing up.
Sprawled on the ground, Dan Huang licked his thigh from his lying position, feeling dejected: Could it be that his plump, enticing orange cat physique failed to tempt the new boss’s iron will? But hadn’t he just petted him earlier?
Pei Shiyi neatly folded his cuffs twice, revealing his well-defined wrists.
It was unclear what kind of mistreatment this cat café had endured under its previous owner, but even the hidden corners exuded a lifeless gloom.
Thinking he was about to start cleaning, Dan Huang stuck close to Pei Shiyi, intending to help as much as he could.
Pei Shiyi stood still for a moment, still unable to muster the resolve to clean up personally.
So, he rolled his sleeves back down.
Pei Shiyi decided to skip this step.
Dan Huang sidled up and asked eagerly, “Boss, when are we reopening?”
Pei Shiyi replied, “We need to renovate, hire a chef, and most importantly, we don’t have enough cats.”
Dan Huang: “…Then, what about buying some?”
Pei Shiyi smiled faintly and spread his hands. “Not enough money.”
Hiring a chef and waitstaff meant paying salaries. Buying cats and renovating would incur significant costs. And pre-opening promotions also demanded resources.
The human-world currency Pei Shiyi had on hand wasn’t enough to cover both renovations and promotions. If spent on promotions, there wouldn’t be enough to hire a chef.
The man and the orange cat fell into deep thought.
The two kittens, unaware of what was happening, stumbled and tumbled into Dan Huang’s fur, letting out innocent, naive mews: “Meow~”
Dan Huang nearly jumped up, trembling as he said, “But their formula will run out tomorrow. Both kitten formula and kitten food are so expensive…”
Such young cat demons, with almost no cultivation to speak of, were essentially just slightly stronger kittens. They were completely incomparable to a robust adult cat like him. They absolutely needed milk.
Pei Shiyi, who was still single but suddenly forced to care for a family: “…”
He had originally thought that after his resurrection, he could live comfortably just by relying on the burial goods from his tomb. Now, it seemed his mind wasn’t working properly right after coming back to life. How could he have entertained such a naive idea?
Could he just sell the cat café?
Pei Shiyi lowered his head and met Dan Huang’s hopeful eyes. It was clear that the other hoped he would keep the cat café running.
So Pei Shiyi silently answered his own question: No, he couldn’t.
In this human-dominated society where certificates and education were essential for survival, he, a newly resurrected “person” from the mountains, had no choice but to run a cat café.
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Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152