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Weekend chapter: 6/10
The third floor of the cat café fell into an eerie silence.
Pei Huang narrowed his eyes, their elongated shape sharp and piercing when open: “Little uncle? Is that following Xiao Shiyi’s way of addressing me?”
He turned to Pei Shiyi: “So, why didn’t my Xiao Shiyi think to introduce me?”
Before Pei Shiyi could speak, Pei Huang placed his hands on his shoulders and smiled: “Then, why follow Xiao Shiyi’s way of addressing me? Sworn brothers or… something else?”
Pei Shiyi sighed inwardly: Here we go again.
He glanced back at Pei Huang, resigned: “Little uncle.”
Pei Huang tilted his head and met his gaze for a moment. “Xiao Shiyi is siding with outsiders now, not even sparing his newly hatched little uncle?”
Pei Shiyi: “…”
Other phoenixes are eighty percent spiritual energy. His little uncle is eighty percent drama.
Pei Huang said, “Your mother and father were always busy, so you often came to me when you were little. I practically raised you myself. Why is it that now, you’re not as close to me?”
Pei Shiyi was both amused and exasperated. It was true that Pei Huang had raised him, which was why he knew his uncle’s personality all too well. The more you engaged, the more he’d escalate. So he simply shook his head without speaking.
Pei Huang sighed wistfully: “Our Xiao Shiyi has truly grown up. Indeed, Xiao Shiyi was crowned the Crown Prince of the Four Directions many years ago, a responsible adult capable of bearing burdens. Matters like choosing a partner don’t require reminders from elders. You have the judgment for it.”
Bo Jin looked up. Was this an acknowledgment of him?
Pei Huang raised his right hand slightly, as if to gently stroke Pei Shiyi’s head like he used to when he was a child, but he lowered it again. Pei Shiyi was no longer a child.
So Pei Huang patted Pei Shiyi’s shoulder instead: “Although I’m quite unhappy that a featherless Zhulong has whisked away my little nephew, a mature elder shouldn’t cause trouble for the younger generation. So, for now, I have no objections to Xiao Shiyi’s boyfriend.”
Actually, he did have some reservations. After all, who wouldn’t wish for their beloved junior to find a gentler partner? Someone like Bo Jin, at least on the surface, didn’t appear gentle. As for his true nature, Shiyi, who had spent time with him, would know better.
Pei Huang turned to Bo Jin: “Take good care of Shiyi. I’ll be watching.”
Bo Jin: “Thank you.”
…
Pei Huang had awakened, and his spiritual energy was gradually recovering, so he needed to register with the Supernatural Management Bureau.
Bo Jin: “Considering that the Four Directions are sealed off and you’ll need to stay in the human realm for a while, please go to the Supernatural Management Bureau to create a temporary file. It will also make it easier for you to live in human society in the future.”
Pei Huang: “I originally had an identity as Feng Huang, but it’s also nice to use my real name.”
Pei Shiyi squeezed his boyfriend’s hand. “So why did you deceive me in the first place?”
Pei Huang cradled Yuan Jing and smiled. “It wasn’t exactly deception. After all, Feng Huang was just a fragment of my soul, lacking complete consciousness.”
He lifted Yuan Jing to his lips and kissed him, then said slyly to Pei Shiyi, “So you can’t blame me for the mischief Feng Huang caused. By the way, is Dan Huang behaving well?”
Yuan Jing: “…”
You keep saying His Highness is no longer a child, but could you at least consider that I’m no longer a kitten?
Pei Shiyi: “…Dan Huang is very steady and can take good care of the kittens. When I first woke up, he helped me a lot. Initially, I didn’t plan to continue running the cat café. But because Dan Huang wanted to keep it going, I didn’t sell or rent out the house.”
Pei Huang: “To be precise, you just softened up, didn’t you?”
Pei Shiyi: “No, it’s more like being reborn and acting foolish for a month. Alright, alright, don’t stir things up. Let’s go to the Supernatural Management Bureau to make a record. On the way, we can check with the agency to see if there are any suitable shops for rent.”
Pei Huang sighed, “If you’re opening a branch, Yuan Jing and I will go together. Ah, when you get older, you’re not as popular with the little ones anymore.”
Pei Shiyi: “…”
Before recovering his memories, he felt sorry for him. After recovering them, he just felt like hitting him.
Yuan Jing struggled out of Pei Huang’s arms and transformed into human form: “Let’s go to the Supernatural Management Bureau first. Your Highness, can we avoid going downstairs? Jian Zhou will definitely cling to me if he sees.”
Jian Zhou had no interest in the adults’ conversation and had already gone downstairs while they were talking.
Pei Huang: “That’s fine. We can greet the other kittens when we get back.”
…
On the way to the Supernatural Management Bureau, while Yuan Jing was introducing various human-world novelties to Pei Huang, Bo Jin pulled Pei Shiyi to the back.
Pei Shiyi whispered, “What’s wrong?”
Bo Jin: “Can the branch be prepared within three months?”
Pei Shiyi: “…I’d have a better chance of turning into something else. What’s the rush? The bigger issue than the shop is the cats. Where are we going to get so many cats? Besides, I have some other ideas.”
Bo Jin: “Lacking funds? I…”
Pei Shiyi glanced sideways at a pair of stray cat eyes in the flowerbed’s grass: “I don’t need your money. I’m considering the possibility of merging stray pet adoption with the cat café.”
Pei Shiyi continued, “I still want to do something. Among the stray little spirits, there are some like Yun Chao who don’t care about anything as long as they can cultivate, and others like Fondant who long for a home. Of course, it’s even harder for ordinary stray animals. And then there’s my uncle. He’s really… whenever he sees a furry animal, he wants to take it home. If I don’t give him something to do, the cat café will be filled with the animals he picks up in no time.”
His unreliable uncle had raised a whole mountain of spiritual beasts back in the Four Directions.
Bo Jin was aware of the first point. The cat café’s accounts showed a monthly donation to a local TNR organization for stray animals in Yuchuan. As for finding stable work for the little spirits, that had always been part of Pei Shiyi’s plan.
Pei Shiyi: “Are you that eager to pet new cats? Isn’t having a fluffy boyfriend enough for you? You dragons…”
Bo Jin: “…”
He just wanted to send Pei Huang away sooner.
…
Bo Jin thought Pei Shiyi’s remark about “the cat café being filled with animals Pei Huang picks up in no time” was just a joke. But by that evening, he realized it wasn’t an exaggeration at all—
Pei Huang had only gone out for a short walk and came back with a cat.
A large black cat with a white left ear, wrapped in a black scarf, was trembling in Pei Huang’s arms.
Pei Huang didn’t go inside but knocked on the door: “Young lady, could you call Shiyi for me?”
The waitress at the door immediately noticed the wet, shivering cat in his arms. Without even glancing at Pei Huang’s face, she quickly turned to go inside, but Dan Huang was even faster, darting straight back into the cat café.
Dan Huang had initially thought new customers had arrived and went to greet them, only to run headlong into Yuan Jing and someone who felt strangely familiar.
Dan Huang instinctively moved closer to sniff. But before he could identify the familiar scent, he caught the smell of blood. He hurried into the cat café to fetch Pei Shiyi.
Pei Huang: “It looks like a fracture. Is there a hospital nearby?”
Pei Shiyi checked the large cat’s condition. It was in a terrible state. Although the bleeding had stopped, its fur was almost soaked through with blood. He replied, “There’s one on the next street. Let’s go straight there. Bo Jin, you stay and watch the café for a while.”
Bo Jin had no choice but to halt his steps as he was about to follow them out.
After sending the large cat into the hospital’s operating room, the three waited outside.
Pei Shiyi: “With that much blood loss, I’m not sure if it can be saved.”
While spiritual energy could stimulate blood regeneration and repair bones, it required a massive infusion of energy. For an ordinary animal, receiving such a large amount of spiritual energy at once would most likely damage its physical body.
Pei Huang shook his head. “It’s not the cat’s blood. It’s human. On our way back, Yuan Jing and I came across a car accident. We heard that a patrol officer had been hit by a car while trying to save a girl. By the time we passed by, the person had already died…”
He sighed softly, lowering his voice. “This cat nearby might have been hit, too. Fortunately, it’s still alive. I saw no one was taking care of it, so I decided to bring it here. Although I used spiritual energy to keep it alive, it’s still in critical condition.”
Pei Shiyi nodded, casually taking off his overcoat. “Uncle, wear this and head back first. I’ll wait here for a while and send Yuan Jing a message once it’s out.”
Unlike Pei Shiyi, Pei Huang’s cultivation hadn’t fully recovered. Maintaining his adult form for so long had already exhausted him. He rubbed his temples. “Alright. Yuan Jing and I will head back first.”
After they left, Pei Shiyi sat down on a bench in the corridor. He waited for about an hour before he heard light footsteps. Turning around, he said in surprise, “Why are you here?”
Bo Jin sat beside him. From within his smoke-gray scarf, Song Gao’s head popped out. He stepped onto Bo Jin’s shoulder before leaping into Pei Shiyi’s arms.
Pei Shiyi smiled. “Did our Song Gao miss me?”
Song Gao nodded, curling up in his arms and yawning.
Bo Jin unwrapped his scarf and draped it over Song Gao, letting him sleep.
“I chatted with Dan Huang and the others with your uncle for a while. It seems your uncle doesn’t want to reveal his identity as Feng Huang. They’re probably about to sleep now, so I came to check on things. How’s the cat doing?”
Pei Shiyi felt a bit warm. With no outsiders around, he casually rested an arm on Bo Jin’s shoulder. For once, he let go of his usual proper demeanor and leaned lazily against Bo Jin. “It’s still unclear, but there’s something strange about that cat.”
Bo Jin had been focused on his boyfriend’s profile and looked slightly confused. “Hmm?”
Pei Shiyi: “What I mean is…”
Just then, they heard light footsteps from inside the operating room, and the “Surgery in Progress” sign on the door went dark. Pei Shiyi immediately let go and stood up.
The door to the operating room opened, and a nurse pushed a small cart over. The large black cat lay on the cart, wearing an Elizabethan collar, with its fractured right hind leg immobilized and still receiving an IV drip.
This cat had the typical build of a northern feline. It was large, with a thick, soft coat that grew in for the winter. Its entire body, except for its ears, was black. Due to the anesthesia, its eyes were half-open and half-closed, but it seemed to have regained consciousness, struggling to open them fully.
The doctor said, “The surgery went smoothly. The injuries aren’t too severe. With proper rest and care, it should recover fully. This cat is a stray, right? Our hospital can help find an adoptive home, or would you be willing to adopt it?”
Pei Shiyi replied, “Yes. Once it’s fully recovered, we’ll adopt it.”
The doctor nodded. “That’s wonderful. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of it here. You can say hello to it and then head back. It’s late. You must be tired. I’m going to grab a late-night snack now. Feel free to leave after you’ve seen it. The nurses on duty will take turns watching over it tonight.”
Pei Shiyi smiled. “Thank you for your hard work.”
After the doctor left, Pei Shiyi gently stroked the black cat’s head. “You’ve had a rough time, little one.”
The anesthesia hadn’t fully worn off, but the cat managed to move slightly, placing its paw softly in Pei Shiyi’s palm. It let out a low whimper, its eyes welling up with tears that rolled down in large drops.
It was crying.
Pei Shiyi spread his palm, covering the cat’s eyes, and said gently, “Don’t be afraid. Everything’s fine now.”
Indeed, this was no ordinary cat.
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Maria Lian On CFRFGC Chapter 110