Although it was just about choosing nicknames, it was still a meaningful affair. Moreover, with only twelve kittens in the cat café, they would only use half of the twenty-four solar terms, so careful consideration was needed for which name to give to whom. That evening, Pei Shiyi deliberately kept the camera behind, planning to record the entire naming scene himself.
After seeing off the last batch of customers, the adult cats eagerly dashed up to the third floor. They had already heard about the naming ceremony for the kittens and were determined to witness it firsthand.
The mischievous Tong Qian even picked up a black-and-white kitten that had wandered out of the glass room on the second floor and brought it upstairs. As soon as he set it down on the third floor, the feisty little kitten hissed at him.
Pei Shiyi sat on a cushion, fiddling with the camera, muttering to himself, “Can this thing last until I turn to dust?”
He was quite the odd one. A divine being with a lifespan as long as the heavens, yet comparing his longevity to a man-made object.
Bo Jin said calmly, “You’re overestimating it. Even magical artifacts won’t outlive you.”
Pei Shiyi looked suspicious. “…Are you mocking me?”
Why did that sound so strange?
While the two were talking, Miss Penny had already brought the remaining eleven kittens upstairs. Some of the kittens were still very small and had to hop their way up the stairs.
Pei Shiyi’s attention was immediately diverted. “Why did you bring them up yourselves? Wouldn’t it have been better for me to come down and get you?”
He set the camera aside, and several kittens immediately scrambled into his arms.
Miss Penny sat beside Pei Shiyi, letting the kittens circle her, and said gently, “It’s just one floor. It would have been inconvenient for you to come down with the camera.”
Pei Shiyi smiled and gently stroked Miss Penny from her forehead down to her back. Unlike the other cats, Miss Penny didn’t have the habit of burrowing into people’s arms. Being older and having lived as a human for a long time, she was a dignified and composed lady. With the other cats, Pei Shiyi acted more like an elder, but with Miss Penny, he preferred to treat her as a friend.
Pei Shiyi said, “Alright, thank you, Miss Penny.”
With one hand holding the kittens climbing over him, he struggled to adjust the tripod with the other.
Bo Jin took the tripod, adjusted it to a suitable height, and mounted the camera. “Is this height about right?”
Pei Shiyi replied, “Perfect.”
He turned on the camera and said lazily, “The camera still isn’t great. I’ll get a camcorder later.” He hadn’t fully understood the detailed differences between a camera and a camcorder and had considered the café’s need for static photos, so he bought a camera. However, he realized the video recording quality was lacking.
Bo Jin said, “Don’t buy one. I’ll bring one over tomorrow. I bought it when Song Gao first came home. Since I’m not home during the day, it’s just sitting idle.”
Pei Shiyi’s interest was piqued. “Do you have videos of Song Gao?”
Bo Jin replied, “I recorded quite a few…”
Song Gao hurried over to stop Bo Jin from saying more. The good father Bo Jin obediently fell silent. Pei Shiyi’s curiosity flared up, itching with anticipation. He decided he would definitely force Bo Jin to hand over the videos later.
Song Gao nudged the camera. “Sir, shouldn’t we name the kittens first? Didn’t you say we’d choose from the twenty-four solar terms?”
Pei Shiyi pressed the record button and clapped his hands at the kittens pouncing on the adult cats’ tails. “Come here, all of you.”
Most of the twelve kittens were domestic cats, with only the American Curl and Maine Coon being purebreds. The Curl was a purebred cat of excellent quality, stolen from who-knows-where by the theft gang. Its pair of crescent-shaped ears had captivated countless hearts. It was a proud and lively little one, bold and spirited.
As for the Maine Coon, this kitten was astonishingly large even in its infancy. Its fur was a smoky color, with copper-colored eyes and a dignified face, resembling a handsome little lion. Its temperament was also different from the other kittens. It’s quiet and not fond of meowing, more composed than even Tong Qian and Tortoiseshell siblings despite its young age.
Since the exact ages of the kittens were unknown, Pei Shiyi could only estimate their months and rank them from oldest to youngest.
Pei Shiyi glanced at the camera. Since he still needed to upload a video, he said a few words before naming them. Suddenly, Bo Jin leaned over and plucked a kitten from him. Pei Shiyi gave him a brief look before turning his attention back to the camera.
The oldest was a black-and-white kitten over six months old, a little boy. He was uniquely patterned. He is entirely white except for a black patch on his back, resembling the “general’s seal” pattern.
Pei Shiyi tapped him and said, “Let’s call him Sui Shou.”
Sui Shou, another name for the beginning of spring.
The second oldest was a slightly younger calico kitten. Pei Shiyi thought for a moment and said, “Yu Shui sounds odd… Let’s call him Ling Ze.”
Although he was naming them after the twenty-four solar terms, many of them weren’t suitable as names, so he had to use alternative names or meanings that fit.
The third was the Maine Coon. Following the order, it was named Jing Zhe, which suited it well.
The fourth was a long-haired “dark clouds over snow” little brother, with a particularly elegant appearance, named Qing Ming.
The black-and-white kitten brought up by Tong Qian was a somewhat clueless little boy named Gu Yu.
The American Curl ranked sixth. Pei Shiyi rested his chin on his hand and thought before saying, “Meng Xia”.
The seventh was the all-orange kitten that Tong Qian had almost named Er Pang. Pei Shiyi tapped the little girl’s round face and said, “Xiao Man.”
The eighth was a boy with orange spots, named “Mang Zhong”.
The ninth was a pure black kitten without a single stray hair, perfectly blending into the darkness even with its eyes closed, named Xia Zhi.
The tenth had a “snow-dragging spear” pattern, though the spear was black-and-white. It was named Ru Fu, an alternative name for Xiao Shu.
The eleventh had already grown into a little chubby cat in just one month. Despite being a black-and-white patchwork cat, it was even chubbier than Xiao Man. It was named Da Shu.
The youngest, a little boy, was named Shang Qiu. It seemed destined to be an Xian Chan cat. It’s entirely black with two small white spots by its mouth. This pattern was also called “Xianchan” or “Xiandie”.
With all twelve kittens in the litter named in order, Pei Shiyi rubbed his forehead and said, “I’m actually a bit tired.” He felt a warmth on his cheek and looked up to find Bo Jin handing him a cup of warm water, which he pressed against his face.
Bo Jin asked, “Want a drink?”
Pei Shiyi touched his cheek, took the cup, and drank a few sips. “Thank you.”
After moistening his throat, he tapped the heads of these little troublemakers and chuckled, “All of you staring at me with big eyes, how many of you actually remember your names?”
The kittens looked at each other. Although they had gathered around Pei Shiyi during the naming, they had been too busy licking and cuddling with their owner or playing with each other to pay attention to their names. Of course, they didn’t remember.
The big cats around Boss Pei joined in the fun. Yun Chao lay on her side on the carpet, with Fondant and Miss Penny beside her. She had always adored the little ones. As soon as Boss Pei finished naming them, she subtly flicked her tail, drawing all the adorable kittens over.
Tong Qian and Yin Zhou were at it again. No one knew when they’d started squabbling. When these two furballs fought, they just rolled around. A bunch of kittens watched them intently.
Dai Dai and Mao Mao, taking advantage of being twins, huddled together to play mirror games, leaving the younger ones dizzy and confused.
Dan Huang, thinking Pei Shiyi couldn’t see, was in the corner rummaging through his stash—several cans of food—planning to open them for the kittens’ dinner later.
Song Gao was the most well-behaved, snuggled against Bo Jin, dozing off.
Jing Zhe, the Maine Coon who was a size larger than the other kittens, slowly leaned against Pei Shiyi’s hand and let out a soft meow.
Jing Zhe had a coat of smoky, soft long fur. At over five months old, the Maine Coon had mostly grown into his frame. Though he had the face of a regal, dominant cat, he was a gentle boy at heart.
Jing Zhe’s meow reminded the kittens pretending to be innocent. They all pounced, meowing, rolling, rubbing their heads, kissing, and licking—using every trick in the book.
Pei Shiyi sighed deeply. “The woes of a father in a large family.”
Bo Jin picked up the camera and took a photo, saying calmly, “I think they need another father.”
Pei Shiyi glanced at him and chuckled. “Do you think I don’t know what you mean? Dream on. Count how many cats you’ve freeloaded at the cat café.”
Pei Shiyi spoke earnestly. “As a dragon, you should learn to be content.”
…
Zhou Yan was almost ecstatic when he received the video from his boss. He hadn’t expected the boss to be so efficient. They’d talked about recording during the day, and by evening, it was already done.
The kittens had been at the cat café for a month now. Aside from the initial group photo of twelve kittens perched on the cat tree, there hadn’t been a proper introduction video for them.
Although fans were usually obsessed with the big cats, comments urging for kitten videos occasionally popped up.
Zhou Yan stayed up late editing the video and uploaded it in the early hours of the morning.
So, when some night owls were idly scrolling through Bishui Station, they suddenly stumbled upon this video.
At first, they thought it was just a new update from the cat café, as the café posted weekly, and this week’s video had already been released. But upon closer inspection, they realized it was indeed a new video, and the cover was absolutely breathtaking.
It was a family portrait! The cat café owner was sitting on the carpet, surrounded by fluffy cats either lying or sitting. Counting them, there were a whopping twenty-one!
Netizens: !!
They couldn’t even bring themselves to click on the video, staring at the cover again and again, frantically begging for a high-resolution version of the image in the comments. Unfortunately, the entire comment section was filled with people asking for the same.
Reluctantly, they clicked on the video. The opening shot was the cover. A carpet full of fluffy cats, with a black kitten leaning close to the camera, its little mouth marked by distinct white spots on both sides.
The cat café owner sat in front of the camera and gently clapped his hands. “Come here, everyone.”
Twelve kittens immediately swarmed toward him, obediently squatting in front of the boss, leaving twelve fluffy backs facing the camera.
Comments:
“Hahaha. This is exactly how I call the kids at kindergarten.”
“I can’t take it. This row of neat little backs and the boss’s stunning good looks, right in front of the big cats.”
“Big tails, oh my! All kinds of big tails! Is this an introduction video?”
Soon, the boss cleared up their confusion:
“To prevent a certain little rascal from always giving random nicknames, today we’re going to give the kittens proper little names.”
The live chat actively interacted from afar:
“Ooh, naming! I nominate the Full Manchu-Han Banquet!”
“Suggest snack names!”
The boss said, “Since there are many kittens, we’ll name them according to the twenty-four solar terms, with slight modifications based on the situation.”
The live chat continued to interact:
“Oh? That’s quite cute, haha. A whole series? Produced by the cat café?”
“Boss, boss, listen to me. Use snack names for the nicknames.”
The boss, appearing in the video, remained unmoved by the live chat. “Xian Chan has rescued twelve kittens in total. We’ll start naming them from the oldest to the youngest.”
Suddenly, another man appeared in the frame, picking up a little orange kitten from the boss’s shoulder. The boss only glanced at him.
Netizens: Ooh! It’s that man! The one who had Song Gao lying on his chest.
So the question is: It’s nighttime outside the window. Who would stay at the cat café until night?
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wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1