The open box was lined with a thick blanket, inside which lay a litter of six fluffy, milky-scented kittens.
They were all pitifully small and unweaned, only about the size of a palm. The blue film in their eyes had yet to fade, and their watery blue eyes seemed to brim with moisture.
The box landed with a thud, jostling the kittens into a heap.
One particularly lively little tabby cat found Pei Shiyi, tilted its head up, and let out a soft, complaining meow, as if to say, “Why can’t you be a little gentler?”
Pei Shiyi gently stroked the little tabby. The kitten’s fur was fine and soft, and the force of it rubbing its head against his palm was almost negligible.
“Sorry,” Pei Shiyi said softly.
Although he had deliberately lowered the box slowly, he hadn’t expected to still jostle the little kittens.
The little tabby chased after his fingers. “Meow—”
The golden retriever, squatting by the kitten box, couldn’t help but break into a goofy grin.
Kittens were just too wonderful. Even if he had to run his legs off today, it was all worth it.
Miss Penny craned her neck to peer into the basket, her eyes filled with relief. As long as the cubs were saved, getting bitten by a dog was nothing.
Miss Penny was a Norwegian Forest Cat, draped in a magnificent, thick, long coat. Her large tail was fluffy and plush, and her movements were as light as a snow sprite’s. She also had a pair of eyes like the light on a winter lake.
Unlike Yun Chao’s cold, ethereal air, Penny’s temperament leaned more toward the nimble and mysterious.
A thought stirred in Pei Shiyi’s mind. Speaking of which, the male-to-female ratio in the cat cafe was severely imbalanced. There were only two lovely young ladies. This was not conducive to internal harmony in the long run.
Penny looked at Pei Shiyi, speaking in perfect Mandarin, “Thank you for your help. They were all stolen or snatched through illegal means. If they had been taken away, they would have faced a life without freedom. Even if they returned to their mothers now, they would likely be abandoned. Could you adopt them? I know this is a huge request, but I truly can’t care for so many kittens by myself. I can cover their food expenses. I just hope you can give them a temporary home.”
As an older cat, her composure and thoughtfulness were naturally beyond those of the younger ones. Her words were gentle and sincere.
Pei Shiyi gently stroked the spot between Penny’s ears. “I will definitely give them a home. But this is my first time taking care of kittens this small. I’ll have to ask for your guidance, Miss Penny.”
It had been a long time since anyone had stroked her so gently. Penny savored the sensation, unable to resist rubbing lightly against Pei Shiyi’s palm, a soft purr rumbling in her throat. “Thank you.”
Pei Shiyi smiled faintly.
With the wonderful atmosphere of the Xian Chan Cat Cafe, he was confident he could make any cat stay.
Dan Huang’s fatherly instincts could no longer be contained. He carefully climbed into the box, gathering the kittens around his belly and giving each one a loving lick.
Dan Huang’s round belly gave the kittens a great sense of security. Their tiny, weak meows subsided.
One kitten was squeezed out by the others. It tried desperately to burrow into the fluffy pile, crying out repeatedly.
Its cries made Dan Huang’s heart ache. “Boss, they’re hungry. Let’s go mix some formula for them. And Miss Penny should get some medicine for her wounds. Does she need a rabies shot?”
So many cubs, so fluffy and cute, and they knew how to act spoiled. How adorable.
Dan Huang was already calculating with glee: once they were brought back to the cat cafe, they would belong to the cat cafe. When the kittens were a little older and weaned, they could set up a special kitten zone, separated from the other areas by a glass wall. That way, customers could admire the kittens from a distance, and the cat staff could also get their fill of the cubs.
Who wouldn’t want to dote on kittens?
The thought alone was beautiful.
Dan Huang lay flat on his back, letting the kittens knead on him and pounce on his tail.
Pei Shiyi simply picked up the entire box, kittens and all.
The tiny kittens sensed his presence and began to cry out more and more urgently. They pawed at the sides of the box, trying to climb out on their weak little legs, only to be grabbed by the scruff of their necks by Dan Huang and dragged back onto his belly.
Dan Huang flicked his tail to attract the kittens’ attention, preventing them from climbing out and disturbing Pei Shiyi.
The golden retriever quickly said, “The Director should be on his way. These two guys, I was watching them and…”
Pei Shiyi had already heard the footsteps before the golden retriever spoke and signaled for him to be quiet.
The golden retriever choked back a bark.
The hurried footsteps grew closer, and then a familiar figure appeared at the alley’s entrance.
Bo Jin did not look pleased. He was very tall, so his gaze naturally fell downwards. His lips were pressed into a thin line. Although he still had that usual aloof and weary look, Pei Shiyi could keenly sense the displeasure emanating from him.
Pei Shiyi understood completely. The operation had been botched, and he’d had to call his sworn enemy for help, losing face all the way to the neighbor’s door. Anyone in his shoes would be unhappy. It was normal.
Pei Shiyi cleared his throat and sauntered over to Bo Jin. Having just acquired a basket of kittens, he was in a good mood and found Bo Jin quite agreeable to look at. Not only was his tone unusually pleasant, but he even freed a hand to rest on Bo Jin’s shoulder. “Although you owe me a favor this time, you don’t have to be embarrassed.”
Bo Jin: “?”
Which eye of yours saw him being embarrassed?
Bo Jin opened his mouth, but Pei Shiyi cut him off. “And no need to thank me. You don’t have to be so polite with me. Just give me the cats.”
Bo Jin: “??” Who wants to be polite with you?
Director Bo swatted Pei Shiyi’s hand away. As he opened his mouth to speak, his voice was drowned out by a clamor of footsteps and voices—
“This is the alley! I saw them turn in here!”
“Damn, hurry up! That dog is huge. I hope it didn’t bite anyone. And that dog’s owner, why didn’t he have it on a leash!”
“That guy is so brave, he dared to go in alone!”
Guided by a group of enthusiastic onlookers, the head of security found the alley the dog had run into. He stood at the entrance, his heart sinking. He remembered this alley was a dead end. Once you were in, there was no escape. If someone was cornered in the alley by two big dogs, by now they were probably…
He quickened his pace, waving to his colleagues. “Quick, quick, keep up! Everyone get in there!”
The security head ran into the alley, already prepared to see a bloody scene. He took a deep breath and looked up, only to see two tall, slender young men standing there completely unharmed. Forget mangled, they didn’t even have a scratch on them.
The security head looked around and found the panting dogs and a foreign man collapsed like a puddle of mud in the corner. He hesitated. Wait, why did it now look like the victims were the dogs and the dog owner…
He had mistaken the burly man for the dog owner.
As soon as the crowd saw Pei Shiyi, they exclaimed, “Yes, yes, that’s the young man.”
The head of security said, “Hello, two big dogs just ran in here. Have you been physically harmed? Do you need us to contact a hospital immediately?”
Facing the phone cameras of the enthusiastic crowd, Pei Shiyi remained silent for a moment before improvising on the spot. “It’s fine, I’m not hurt. I run a cat cafe, so I’ve always been good at handling pets. Um… I saw from the cafe that this dog seemed to be out of control, and I was worried it might hurt its owner, so I rushed over to check… Oh, the dog’s owner was knocked over by the dog and seems to have gotten a fright.”
No matter how he thought about it, a cat cafe owner with superhuman combat skills who single-handedly made a burly man and his dogs cry didn’t seem like a fitting character profile. Better to revise it.
The “dog owner” was clearly scared by the bird, Bo Jin thought to himself.
That explains it. He runs a cat cafe, so he must be popular with pets.
The head of security readily accepted this explanation and said with a smile, “Alright then, as long as no one’s hurt. I’ll take this brother to the security booth for some hot water. He looks like he’s scared stiff. And this dog… I’ll take it away, too.”
“No,” Bo Jin said coolly. “He is a suspect in the recent major theft case in the city, primarily targeting valuable purebred pets. The amount involved is substantial, and the case has been transferred to our department.”
Bo Jin pulled out his credentials and handed them to the security head.
The Supernatural Management Bureau was an official organization associated with human government departments, so they had credentials like these for dealing with humans.
Recently, many pets had indeed gone missing in Yuchuan City, and it was even reported on local television. The security head himself had lost an American Shorthair. He immediately became indignant. “So that’s what’s going on! No wonder someone said this guy was chasing a golden retriever and another cat in here. He was trying to snatch them! Ptooey! I bet these dogs aren’t even his. He must have stolen them from someone else!”
The security head returned the credentials to Bo Jin. “Comrade, you must deal with them severely!”
People in the crowd who had lost cats or dogs joined in the condemnation. A few bolder ones walked up to Bo Jin to ask if their missing pets could still be found.
Bo Jin answered them one by one. By the time the onlookers and the people with serious inquiries had all left, half an hour had passed. He turned around to find that Pei Shiyi had already left with the cats at some point. The bureau’s stupid golden retriever had actually abandoned him, its director, and followed along.
Left behind were the half-dead gray wolf and the burly man.
Bo Jin took a deep breath, rubbed his temples hard, and notified Bai Jue to come and take the man and the wolf away. He himself started walking toward the cat cafe. With so many kittens, Pei Shiyi might not be able to handle them all. He could go over and help (cuddle cats).
The lights on the first floor of the cat cafe were already on. The kittens had been taken out of the box and were lapping up milk from a mat. All the fluffy residents of the cafe were awake, forming a circle around the mat, observing. The golden retriever was particularly conspicuous. Mao Mao was perched on the golden retriever’s head, looking down at the tiny kittens.
Dai Dai was greedy. The milky scent made her hungry. She crept over to lick the saucer the kittens had finished with.
Tong Qian: “They’re so small. I don’t even dare to touch them. Can something so small really grow up? Ah—Yun Chao, why did you hit me?”
Yun Chao retracted her paw and shot him a glance. “Jinx.”
Dan Huang said irritably, “You deserved that. Do you know how to talk?”
Tong Qian belatedly realized what he had said and quickly covered his mouth. “…My bad.”
Fondant, on the other hand, had dragged over a box of her own toys and pushed it in front of the kittens, her eyes shining as she waited for them to pick one.
Pei Shiyi was applying medicine to Miss Penny’s wound. Hearing the commotion, he chuckled. “Fondant, they’re still too little. They can’t play with these yet.”
Fondant pawed at the box. “Meow!” Then, when they’re bigger, I’ll teach them how to play.
Pei Shiyi: “Okay, our Fondant is the sweetest and gentlest.”
Fondant padded up his leg and rubbed her face against his, then meowed at Penny. “Meow.” Don’t be scared. I’ll blow on your wound so it won’t hurt.
She moved closer to Penny, about to lick her, but Pei Shiyi quickly held her head back. “There’s medicine on the wound, you can’t lick it. Hmm, your Mr. Bo is here. Go ask him to cook you all a late-night snack.”
Just now, when Pei Shiyi went upstairs to get the first-aid kit, Yun Chao also wanted to lick Penny’s wound. Fortunately, Pei Shiyi came down in time to stop her. He had to find something for this bunch of love-overflowing little rascals to do, lest they run off to lick the golden retriever next.
Bo Jin, who had just entered the door: “…”
He glanced back at the street, feeling he might as well have gone back to the Supernatural Management Bureau.
Fondant trotted over, circling Bo Jin. “Meow meow meow.” Are you really making a late-night snack? Can we have dried fish?
Tong Qian’s eyes lit up in a flash, and he secretly glanced at Bo Jin.
Bo Jin: “…”
The little rascals raised by that bastard bird.
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Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152