The rescued kittens at the cat café were gradually adapting to their new environment. The bolder ones had already learned to slip through the cat holes and roam confidently around the second floor.
However, their outdoor playtime was limited. The beautiful Miss Penny preferred spending most of her time in the glass room, caring for the kittens. If the second floor became too crowded with customers, she would keep the kittens inside.
Today was Monday, and most office workers were struggling with post-weekend blues, leaving little time for leisurely outings. The cat café was noticeably quieter compared to the weekend.
With fewer people on the second floor, Penny didn’t stop the kittens from venturing out.
Among the twelve kittens, there was only one with curled ears: a caramel-and-white furball with a mischievous look and boundless energy. He was the boldest of the litter, completely unafraid of humans, with crescent-shaped ears that seemed almost ready to take flight. Every day, he’d scamper around on his tiny paws. The glass room had long been too small for his adventures.
As soon as he emerged, customers on the second floor couldn’t help but gather around.
“Come here, little sweetie, come to your sister.”
“His coloring is absolutely gorgeous.”
“Come here, little cutie, hurry up!”
A group of cat enthusiasts crouched on the floor, even those dressed in elegant Hanfu or Lolita fashion abandoning their usual poise in the face of such adorableness. They waved various cat toys and treats scavenged from every corner of the café, making all sorts of playful sounds to catch the little curled-ear kitten’s attention.
Among the twelve kittens, he was the one customers had seen the most often. Though he hadn’t yet been officially “listed”, he had already gained considerable popularity among the café’s patrons. With his delicate, handsome appearance and proud demeanor, he had earned the nickname “Little Prince”.
He held his head high, striding past the array of toys without so much as a glance.
The crowd let out disappointed sighs.
He made a beeline for the corner where the cat food bowls were placed. There, two orange figures—one large and one small—sat with their backs turned. The larger one was unmistakably Dan Huang, the café’s manager, who, next to the little orange kitten, resembled a majestic orange mountain of fluff. At the moment, he was watching the little orange kitten eat meat paste with a doting expression.
He sat down beside the little orange kitten, his tail gently entwining with the other’s. He let out a dignified meow.
The little orange kitten kept its head down, focused on eating.
Curely ear: “Meow?”
The little orange kitten continued eating.
Curled Ears: “…”
He glanced around, then suddenly dashed toward the crowd, eliciting gasps of excitement. Everyone hoped he would come to them. After all, this was the “hidden gem” kitten they could only admire from afar.
He stopped in front of the nearest young man.
The young man: “Holy—”
He quickly swallowed the last word, afraid of scaring off the little cutie.
The little cutie crouched before him, reached out a paw to gently pat the back of the young man’s hand, then snatched the treat from his grasp and trotted away without looking back.
The young man had thought he’d caught the Prince’s eye, only to realize the Prince had merely been after his snack.
Heartbroken, the young man thought: The worst part is losing a treat without even getting to pet the cat. Sure, he let me touch his paw, but it still feels like a loss. I might as well have used it to bribe Fondant instead.
He carried the treat bag back to the little orange kitten. The bag was already open, and he could easily tip out the dried meat inside.
The aroma of the dried meat was far more enticing than the steamed and mashed meat paste. The little orange kitten licked its lips and tilted its head toward him: “Meow?”
Curly ear nudged the small bowl, licked the little orange kitten, and meowed softly: “Meow.” Go ahead, eat. It’s for you.
Dan Huang watched in astonishment. Good heavens, he’s already learning to charm at such a young age?
Not to mention Dan Huang, even the customers were stunned by such a maneuver:
“If I could do that, would I still be single?”
“Even cats are better at flirting than me. Unbelievable.”
“Being single is too hard. I come here to pet cats and still get roasted? I might as well go downstairs.”
“Bro, downstairs, there’s Yun Chao and Fondant. It’s even more brutal.”
The two little ones soon huddled together, sharing a snack. Dan Huang felt increasingly out of place and silently turned to go downstairs, running into Tong Qian on his way up.
Tong Qian peeked behind him and meowed twice: Where’s your Er Pang?
Dan Huang stared at him in shock: What? What Er Pang1Fatty #2?
Tong Qian let out a string of meows: That little orange cat, the round and adorable one. Isn’t it still unnamed? I heard the humans say that giving it a humble nickname makes it easier to raise.
Dan Huang: “Meow…” Why hasn’t Yun Chao beaten you to death yet?
Tong Qian was confused: Why would Yun Chao beat him? He’s been avoiding Yun Chao all day today.
Dan Huang felt exhausted: The little orange is a girl. You deserve every beating from the boss.
Tong Qian was utterly shocked—What? A girl?
The litter of kittens were all delicate and pretty, what humans would call “hard to tell apart”. Tong Qian wasn’t a pure cat himself and had rarely been close to the kittens, unlike Dan Huang and the others, who could accurately distinguish their genders. So far, he still couldn’t tell which of the litter was male or female.
Dan Huang ignored him and hurried downstairs to find the boss. It was time to name the kittens quickly. That idiot Tong Qian kept giving them random names. Yesterday, he insisted on calling the little cow-patterned cat “Er Ha2silly but cute husky“. Giving a cat a dog’s nickname. How hasn’t this naming genius been beaten to death by the boss yet? Besides, the little orange isn’t even fat.
Pei Shiyi was redoing the introduction board by the first-floor floor-to-ceiling window. With new furry additions to the family, the board needed updating.
Director Bo was still fixated on getting himself included on the introduction board, but Pei Shiyi refused. The two had been at a standoff on the round sofa by the window for quite some time.
Thanks to the troublemaking Director Bo, Pei Shiyi had only managed to sketch most of Yin Zhou since starting work in the morning. He hadn’t even begun drawing the long-haired Miss Penny by lunchtime.
Bo Jin: “Just draw one here, just one.”
“No,” Pei Shiyi held the pen firmly. “You’re all black. How am I supposed to draw you?”
Last time, he didn’t include Bo Jin on the introduction board purely because he found him annoying. This time, it was because he thought Bo Jin was too plain-looking. All black and straight. Was he supposed to hang him on the cute introduction board as a gridline?
Bo Jin’s gaze slowly fell on the pen in Pei Shiyi’s hand.
Pei Shiyi’s internal alarm bells went off: “Stay away from me.”
Fortunately, Dan Huang arrived just in time to break the tense atmosphere between the two. Pei Shiyi quickly added the final strokes, then picked up Dan Huang as he jumped onto his lap.
“What’s wrong?”
Pei Shiyi stroked Dan Huang’s back.
Bo Jin’s fingers twitched slightly, only to be immediately slapped back into place by Pei Shiyi. The sound was surprisingly loud. Bo Jin looked up to see Pei Shiyi’s warning glare: Your drawing skills are terrible. Don’t even think about it.
Bo Jin: “…I just wanted to pet Dan Huang.”
Oh, really?
Pei Shiyi coughed and let go: “You should’ve said so earlier.”
Bo Jin said, “Don’t you think you should say something about that misunderstanding just now?”
Pei Shiyi raised an eyebrow: Apologize? No way! Wasn’t Bo Jin just thinking about grabbing the pen?
He decisively threw a jab at Bo Jin: “Well, the texture was nice.”
Bo Jin: “…”
Even with his face frozen stiff from the extreme northern cold, Director Bo couldn’t help but show a look of astonishment.
He fell silent for a few seconds before saying calmly, “So you really do flirt everywhere. Not extending your probation period would be a disservice to you.”
Pei Shiyi turned his head away: Damn, I forgot about that.
He lifted Dan Huang to change the subject: “What did our esteemed manager want with me?”
Dan Huang quickly leaned close to his ear and tattled on Tong Qian: Tong Qian keeps giving girls random names, insisting on calling that little girl Er Pang! I was thinking, we should also give the kittens names. Actually, many customers want to know their names, too.
Pei Shiyi: “…”
That silly cat will probably grow up to be a straight-as-an-arrow guy.
He picked up Dan Huang, thought for a moment, and patted Bo Jin: “Want to go upstairs and take a look?”
Better bring this troublemaker along, too. If left downstairs, who knows what mischief he might cause on the introduction board.
Bo Jin had no objections and followed him upstairs. He had overheard Dan Huang’s words and knew Pei Shiyi was going to think of names.
Cat Café, Second Floor
Five of the twelve kittens were outside the glass room. Miss Penny, worried about the kittens outside, had already left the glass room and was lying in a shallow cat bed, watching over them.
Tong Qian fished a piece of dried meat out of his bowl and placed it outside the glass room. The little black-and-white kitten inside was frantic. Even though there was a cat hole right beside it, the silly thing couldn’t see it. Separated by the glass, it kept pawing at it in desperation.
The customers were silently laughing so hard that some were nearly choking from holding it in.
Tong Qian was still munching on the dried meat outside the glass room.
The gentle Miss Penny was too busy being swarmed by the other kittens to intervene, and the heartless bipeds could only laugh. Before long, Yin Zhou, who was on the cat tree, couldn’t stand it anymore. He quickly climbed down, ran to the glass room, and pushed the dried meat through the cat hole.
Tong Qian: ??
Yin Zhou hissed at him and smacked Tong Qian on the forehead.
His legs were short, so he stood up on his hind legs to reach the head, looking imposing. But his four short paws made him look utterly adorable.
Tong Qian stared blankly for a few seconds before, under the curious gazes of the onlookers, suddenly pouncing and locking Yin Zhou in a chokehold. The two differently patterned black-and-white furballs soon tumbled into a rolling heap.
Just as Pei Shiyi came upstairs, the two little troublemakers rolled right to his feet. He shook his head helplessly, picked them up one in each hand to separate them, and scolded them while tapping their little noses: “It’s fine to play-fight, but at least watch where you’re going. Do you want to tumble down the stairs?”
Yin Zhou hung his head.
Tong Qian, thick-skinned, pretended to bite Pei Shiyi’s hand as if to act cute, only to get a flick on the forehead.
Pei Shiyi rubbed Yin Zhou’s round face: “Alright, alright, I won’t scold you anymore. Go play.”
The two glanced at each other before parting ways without looking back—one climbing the cat tree, the other heading downstairs.
Pei Shiyi went upstairs and opened the glass room. The kittens that had been inside immediately rushed over, scrambling to cling to his pant legs, soon giving him a furry hemline.
Pei Shiyi leaned against the door and sighed, then simply sat down on the carpet.
Bo Jin sat down beside him. Director Bo wasn’t as popular with the cats, so he quietly plucked two kittens off Pei Shiyi’s clothes and hung them on his own.
Pei Shiyi looked at the twelve kittens clinging to him for a moment before suddenly saying, “Let’s use the twenty-four solar terms as their nicknames.”
Names.
For any creature that has awakened to sentience, this holds extraordinary significance. After bestowing upon oneself a name that can be called out, it feels as though a faint sense of existence has been carved into this vast world. Even if one is but a grain of sand lost among the multitude, there seems to be a hint of uniqueness. For demons, a name is even more important. It is proof of breaking free from chaos and finally recognizing the “self”.
And the person who grants that name carries an irreplaceable weight throughout the demon’s long life.
The litter of twelve kittens at the cat café had been there for nearly a month, yet none had been given names. Pei Shiyi was a meticulous person. He would never need someone else to remind him of something as important as naming. Moreover, this litter of kittens possessed extraordinary potential and were likely to awaken to sentience in the future.
Perhaps Pei Shiyi never intended to name them himself. Not out of a lack of affection, but because he wished to leave this opportunity for someone more important to the furry little ones, or for the kittens themselves.
The nicknames Pei Shiyi used were more like terms of endearment from an elder to a young child.
Every call was an expression of love.
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wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 98.2