If Yun Chao’s eyes were a frozen vast sea, then this forest cat’s eyes were a tranquil winter lake, so gentle that one couldn’t bear to approach, fearing to disturb its calm.
Zhou Yan stared blankly for a long while before reluctantly tearing his gaze away to observe the rest of the second floor.
The glass room was the area with the best natural light on the second floor. Its entrance was locked, so customers couldn’t enter. Above the door hung an exquisite, solid wood plaque with the elegant cursive characters “Eastern Palace”. The font was both majestic and adorable. Around it were carved little cat paw prints.
Inside the glass room, a row of neat small boxes housed the youngest kittens, while the slightly older ones were already moving about freely.
Whether short-haired or long-haired, the three- to four-month-old kittens were all plump and round, running around like a string of bouncing cotton balls.
Zhou Yan pressed himself against the glass. A fluffy, meowing kitten with curled ears, fearless and carefree, ran too fast, tripped over itself, and tumbled all the way to the glass. It looked up at Zhou Yan and let out a soft meow.
This kitten was already over four months old, with an innate sweet and delicate tone. Its meows were thin and soft, almost resembling the chirps of a baby bird. Its two curled ears made it look like a little hamster.
Zhou Yan: Curled-ear baby! Ah, I’m dead!
He crouched by the glass door, playing with the kitten for quite some time before finally remembering that aside from taking pictures of the cats, virtually “sniffing” them from afar, he also had the responsibility of photographing the second-floor renovations. He needed to finish shooting in the morning, edit the photos in the evening, and then upload them to the official website.
Just as he stood up, the large cat lying inside the glass room slowly rose to its feet, walking with a slight limp. Only then did Zhou Yan notice that this forest cat, whose beauty rivaled Yun Chao’s, had its leg wrapped in gauze, making movement difficult.
The forest cat lifted its head and meowed toward Zhou Yan’s side. Zhou Yan quickly turned around: “Boss!”
Pei Shiyi was holding a shallow dish containing the kittens’ food—freshly prepared cat milk formula.
“Here to shoot a video?”
Zhou Yan: “Yes. I wanted to come quickly to take photos, edit them, and put them on the official website.”
Pei Shiyi opened the door to the glass room and smiled. “Then feel free to shoot. The entire second floor has been renovated. The room inside is a screening room with some films I bought.”
Only the wall of the original master bedroom remained on the second floor, now transformed into an enclosed screening room where one could enjoy a movie by simply closing the door. The walls of the secondary bedroom and the original kitchen had been removed. In place of the kitchen, a full wall of bookshelves stood, filled to the brim with books. Small square stools and fabric sofas were scattered around the shelves.
Opposite the bookshelves stood an almost sprawling cat tree, matching the color scheme of the shelves.
Zhou Yan turned and caught sight of it, exclaiming in shock, “Oh my god!”
This cat tree was nothing short of spectacular. Zhou Yan had never seen one that occupied so much space. It covered two walls, with its highest point nearly touching the ceiling. It was likely made of solid wood, standing firmly on the ground.
“Boss… how much did this cat tree cost?”
It must have been custom-made, right?
Pei Shiyi was inside the glass room feeding the kittens. The well-fed little ones, eager to claim a spot in his arms, climbed over one another. Hearing Zhou Yan’s question, he glanced back at the cat tree. “That? It didn’t cost much.”
That thing was his childhood toy. He removed a few boards, added some purchased cat beds and houses, and hung some butterfly pom-poms from dismantled cat teasers. With that, a massive cat tree was ready. No trouble at all.
As for why he went to the trouble of building such a large climbing frame. Well, who told him to adopt Yin Zhou? Mengji lived high in the mountains. While Pei Shiyi didn’t have vast mountains and seas for him to roam freely, he was still willing to go all out to give Yin Zhou a place to move around.
The first floor of the cat café already had a large climbing frame, originally prepared for the energetic Tong Qian. Now, with Yin Zhou added to the cat café, and considering that forest cats are also quite active large breeds. Even though Miss Penny appeared to be a quiet girl, cats, after all, still love high places and distant spots by nature.
So he simply built an extra-large one.
Could something like this be cheap? Solid wood items, could they be cheap?
Zhou Yan felt that his definition of “cheap” and the boss’s definition of “cheap” were probably not the same thing.
Just as Zhou Yan was about to marvel at the boss’s extravagance, he turned and saw the boss pick up the forest cat, cradling her in his arms as he gently removed the gauze from her hind leg to change the dressing. Meanwhile, the little kittens who had failed to claim territory and were instead left out began to meow in dissatisfaction.
Zhou Yan squatted at the glass door and pointed at the forest cat. “Boss, what’s wrong with this cat?” How could there be an injured cat in their cat café?
Pei Shiyi repeated the story he had used to fob off the reporters. Zhou Yan listened, feeling heartbroken. While snapping photos with his phone, he angrily denounced the thieves as utterly ruthless. It wasn’t until he heard Pei Shiyi mention that they had been interviewed by 《Major Event News》 a few days ago that Zhou Yan nearly dropped his phone.
“Wait, boss, what did you just say?”
Zhou Yan was stunned.
Yuchuan’s 《Major Event News》 was a program that had accompanied generations of Yuchuan residents as they grew up. Even now that Zhou Yan had grown up, he occasionally watched it and could still recapture that nostalgic feeling. Not to mention his parents and grandparents, who were all loyal viewers of this evening program.
If they could make an appearance on this show, wouldn’t their cat café become famous throughout Yuchuan?
Zhou Yan felt dizzy, convinced he must have misheard. This was on a completely different level from online documentaries like 《Small World》.
Tomorrow, the second episode of 《Small World》 will air, and next Monday, 《Major Event News》 will be broadcast. By then, the cat café—or, more accurately, the boss—would likely make an appearance. But it amounted to the same thing: the boss was the owner of the cat café, so his appearance meant the cat café would be featured.
Zhou Yan tightened his grip on his phone. With the second floor now open and the cat café developing so rapidly, he had to work even harder to support the publicity efforts, aiming to make the Xian Chan Cat Café a renowned big name in the pet community as soon as possible!
Having made up his mind, Zhou Yan pressed his face against the glass door. “Boss, can I come in and film?”
Pei Shiyi watched the kittens drinking milk, one hand gently stroking Penny as he smiled and looked down to ask, “Does our Miss Penny mind being on camera?”
He had already explained the daily operations of the cat café in detail to Penny and Yin Zhou. While Yin Zhou, having lived alone in the mountains for so long, still couldn’t quite grasp everything, Penny had already thoroughly understood the café’s usual promotional channels.
She knew the cat café had an account on a very popular video platform in China and had watched several of the posted videos. The cats in the videos displayed astonishing intelligence, but after spending time with them, Penny realized these cats, adored by fans, were even more charming and delightful in person.
The Bishui Station cat café account was an important channel for promotion. Penny wouldn’t refuse. However, she hesitated and looked at Pei Shiyi, her gaze soft as water: she had always been quiet and uninteresting, unlikely to be well-liked.
Pei Shiyi said, “It’s just for taking photos. Besides, our Miss Penny is adorable no matter what.”
Penny breathed a sigh of relief, extending her front paw to gently rest on Pei Shiyi’s hand. “Meow.” That’s good.
After obtaining her consent, Pei Shiyi said, “Come in, Xiao Zhou. I’ll get you a key later.”
Zhou Yan pushed open the glass door, stepping carefully, afraid he might accidentally step on one of the little furballs. His phone was on the whole time, striving to capture those moments when the cats revealed their charming personalities.
Pei Shiyi explained, “This is Miss Penny, a Norwegian Forest Cat. She’s a beautiful little fairy, just like Yun Chao. However, her injuries haven’t fully healed yet, so she’ll be staying in the glass room for a while. And the short-legged silver tabby you saw the other day, his name is Yin Zhou. He’ll start working this Friday.”
As the two were talking, the little American Curl that had been observing Zhou Yan earlier from behind the glass proudly hopped over to Penny, spreading its paws and burying itself in her fluffy tail.
With a soft jump, the entire kitten disappeared.
Penny simply turned around, gently picked up the little Curl with her mouth, and placed it in her embrace.
Pei Shiyi, sitting nearby, couldn’t help but chuckle.
Zhou Yan had already raised his phone to start recording. After capturing this scene, he pressed the stop button, saving the moment in his phone. Such a short video would be perfect as a “first meeting” between the new cats and the fans. Oh, and the other new cats needed videos, too. They could all be edited together as the first video after the cat café’s expansion.
Besides the new cats, many of the original members didn’t have individual videos either. Song Gao, as fluffy as a steamed cake. The little sweetheart, Fondant. The twin tortoiseshell kittens. He definitely had to make up for these missing videos.
Even without the fans urging him, Zhou Yan was determined to make a video for every cat, eventually compiling them into a series. From then on, every new member of the cat café would also have their own video, documenting each arrival and commemorating each existence.
In some places, the longer you stay, the more attached you become. Zhou Yan had originally seen the cat café as just a part-time job. But at some point, he began thinking more and more about its future, even setting long-term goals that couldn’t be achieved in a short time.
As Zhou Yan was lost in thought, Pei Shiyi said, “Your phone…”
Zhou Yan: “Huh?”
Pei Shiyi smiled. “It’s not very convenient for shooting videos. I’ll pick out a camera for you in a couple of days. Company expense.”
Zhou Yan was taken aback, then delighted. “Thank you, boss!”
He had originally been a game streamer and didn’t show his face, so he didn’t have professional filming equipment at home. At the cat café, he had always used his phone to film the cats, which many fans complained had mediocre quality.
If he could switch to a more professional camera, the viewing experience of the videos would definitely improve!
Zhou Yan happily fiddled with his phone, already looking forward to the new camera.
Having promised the new camera, Pei Shiyi stroked Penny, who had fallen asleep on him, while searching for cameras suitable for filming videos. Before long, he found himself overwhelmed by the dizzying variety of camera types.
So there were this many intricacies to cameras?
After looking for a while, Pei Shiyi had to admit that even phoenixes weren’t all-knowing. Humans had too many peculiar gadgets. As an “unearthed relic”, he might not figure it out anytime soon. Better to brush up on the basics online first and then pick a good one.
Just as Pei Shiyi was about to turn off his phone, Bo Jin called. Pei Shiyi glanced at the time. Bo Jin should have already brought Song Gao over by now.
Pei Shiyi answered the phone, “What’s up?”
Bo Jin said, “I’m tied up at the Supernatural Management Bureau for a bit. Can you pick up Song Gao, or should I drop him off later?”
Pei Shiyi carefully picked up Penny and placed her in the cat bed. “I’ll go get him. By the way, do you know how to…” He suddenly realized he was about to ask Bo Jin if he knew anything about cameras.
The question came to mind almost instinctively, without much thought.
Should he ask Bo Jin for help?
Pei Shiyi pondered for a second, then immediately tossed the idea into the trash. This was different from asking Bo Jin for a cat. Exactly how it was different, Pei Shiyi couldn’t be bothered to figure out.
Since coming back to life, he’d somehow developed a habit of asking others for help. It was all because he’d been spoiled.
The noble bird conveniently ignored the question of how he’d been spoiled into this habit.
The bird trailed off mid-sentence. After waiting a moment without hearing the rest, Bo Jin asked curiously, “Know what?”
Pei Shiyi replied dismissively, “Nothing.”
…
The cat café is open again!
The café’s official account had posted a panoramic view of the second floor on Thursday after the renovation was completed. The second floor followed a Chinese-style aesthetic, with solid wood furniture retaining its natural color, giving it a more dignified and elegant feel compared to the first floor’s fairy-tale palette.
After the panoramic photos were released, fans eagerly scrolled through images from every angle, marveling at how stunning the second-floor décor was.
The first floor was love at first sight, while the second floor was more subtle, graceful, and enduring. Within that subtlety, there was an unmistakable touch of “luxury”.
That carpet pattern is incredible. They’re handwoven, right?
All the furniture is solid wood, even the cat trees!
The screening room equipment looks great, and it’s the latest model.
And that glass room must have cost a fortune, right? Getting it done so quickly must have been a rush job.
…
Some eagle-eyed fans meticulously picked out these understated yet luxurious details, trying to calculate the costs. In the end, they were shocked. Damn, the owner must have a gold mine at home.
But that wasn’t even the most exciting part for the fans. At noon, the official account dropped a bombshell—
Xian Chan Cat Café: We have new friends!
Below was a large image.
When opened, the screen was filled with fluff, overwhelming fans with cuteness.
On a massive cat tree, fourteen cats had taken over.
Fourteen fluffy creatures, sitting, lying, or lounging, filled the cat tree from top to bottom, all curiously peering down.
Fans: Ah, I’m dead.
Moonlit: Pei Shiyi and Bo Jin are like a married couple living apart, and Song Gao acts as their child la~ It’s so cute. XD
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Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152