ARIOCC Chapter 48

Fondant seemed a bit camera-shy.

That was why Zhou Yan, as Fondant’s dedicated caretaker, had taken so long to capture satisfactory footage. Whenever he approached with a camera, Fondant would hide. No matter how many creative ideas Zhou Yan had in mind, without usable material, he couldn’t just conjure a video out of thin air.

Panting, Zhou Yan said, “Boss, Fondant really doesn’t want to be filmed. Can you think of a way?”

Zhou Yan had been chasing Fondant all morning. The usually sweet little darling simply refused to cooperate. As soon as he picked up the camera, Fondant would grab her small toy and dart around. Zhou Yan, being a full-grown human, couldn’t exactly squeeze into a tiny cat bed.

With a sigh of frustration, Zhou Yan handed the camera to Pei Shiyi and walked away, glancing back every few steps.

Only after he left did Fondant finally relax, snuggling up against Pei Shiyi and swishing a cat teaser wand, with her bright eyes fixed on him.

Pei Shiyi could tell at a glance that this precious little fluffball wasn’t really listening, so he asked again, “Why don’t you want Brother Zhou Yan to film you?”

Fondant let out a few soft mews: “Meow—”

Don’t want to be filmed.

She buried her little face into Pei Shiyi’s neck, her usually sweet voice sounding muffled: “Meow—”

I’m not pretty. Don’t want to be filmed.

Pei Shiyi froze, almost thinking he’d misheard. After a moment of processing, he leaned against the windowsill and laughed, shaking his head as he chuckled. Lowering his voice, he said, “Goodness, sweetheart, how could you think that?”

Since the cat café was open for business, Pei Shiyi couldn’t be too loud. He struggled to hold back his laughter, nearly choking on it. He covered his mouth as he coughed a couple of times.

Between light coughs, he said, “Sorry, sweetheart, I need a moment…”

Suddenly, he felt someone approach from behind and pat his shoulder. Without turning around, Pei Shiyi knew it was Bo Jin. He was the only humanoid creature in the entire cat café bold enough to pat him so directly.

Pei Shiyi grabbed Bo Jin’s hand and tossed it aside, raising an eyebrow. “Taking advantage of me while I’m coughing?”

Bo Jin set the half-filled mug of water down. “I’m afraid you’d choke.”

Pei Shiyi waved it off. “Not likely.”

He took a couple of sips of water, then glanced at Bo Jin with slight confusion. Given this dragon’s usual demeanor, shouldn’t he have said, “I’m afraid you’d choke to death”?

Bo Jin asked, “What were you laughing about just now?”

Pei Shiyi’s attention was immediately pulled back. “Guess what Fondant just told me?”

Bo Jin shook his head. He reached out to stroke the little fluffball in Pei Shiyi’s arms, eliciting a sweet chirp from the little princess.

Pei Shiyi said, “Our little girl just said…”

He cleared his throat, lowered his eyes, and softened his voice to a gentle murmur. “I’m not pretty.”

Bo Jin: “…”

For a moment, he was also stunned. Among all the customers who came and went at the cat café, every single one who saw Fondant marveled at how exquisite the little princess looked. How could Fondant possibly think she wasn’t pretty?

Fondant looked pitifully at the two adults, her furry paws pressed against Pei Shiyi’s chest, appearing utterly dejected.

“My precious,” Pei Shiyi murmured, leaning down to kiss her drooping ears. “How could you ever think you’re not pretty?”

Fondant nestled against his chest and softly replied with a string of meows: Because I’m a mixed-breed cat. Mixed breeds aren’t pretty.

Pei Shiyi and Bo Jin listened, then exchanged a silent glance for a moment. Neither had expected that Fondant actually cared about not being a purebred cat and firmly believed that, as a mixed-breed, she wasn’t good-looking.

After a moment of thought, Pei Shiyi said, “Alright, let’s hold off on the photoshoot for now, okay?”

Fondant rubbed against him, then turned and hopped down, picking up her cat teaser wand to find Yun Chao.

Bo Jin asked, “Aren’t you going to comfort her?” It was strange. These furry little ones were the apple of Pei Shiyi’s eye, yet he was actually holding back from consoling her this time.

Pei Shiyi replied, “How can I comfort her now? I haven’t prepared anything.” He patted Bo Jin. “Come upstairs with me.”

With that, he picked up his phone and casually strolled up to the third floor, scrolling as he went. He didn’t seem the least bit anxious. He’s clearly confident and already has a solution in mind.

He was like a treasure trove of clever ideas, able to come up with new ways to cheer someone up in the blink of an eye.

Pei Shiyi went straight into the bedroom, with Bo Jin following behind. Before Bo Jin could even ask what they were doing, Pei Shiyi turned around and handed him a pen and a stack of paper.

Bo Jin asked, “What’s this for?”

Pei Shiyi grabbed a stack of paper for himself and replied, “Copying comments.”

Bo Jin was puzzled. “What?”

Pei Shiyi smoothed out the paper. He propped his phone on a stand and pulled up the review section of a website the cat café collaborated with.

Pei Shiyi assigned tasks: “You’re in charge of copying comments for Dan Huang, Tong Qian, Yin Zhou, and Yun Chao. I’ll handle Fondant, Song Gao, Miss Penny, and the Tortoiseshell sisters. No need to copy too many. Just two each.”

He worked efficiently, already scribbling a line on the paper as he spoke. Bo Jin hadn’t even processed the instructions yet when Pei Shiyi gave him an impatient pat.

“Hurry up, my dear. I need these tonight.”

Bo Jin picked up the pen and began copying silently.

By evening, Pei Shiyi had seen off the last employee. All the adult cats were now gathered on the first floor, while the kittens had long since gone up to the third floor to sleep.

Pei Shiyi clapped his hands softly, signaling the adult cats to gather around him.

Dan Huang sat down, looking puzzled.

Yin Zhou whispered, “Does the boss have something to say?” Usually, after closing time, the boss would just usher them upstairs.

Dan Huang licked him gently and said, “Probably.”

As the adult cats gathered around, Pei Shiyi and Bo Jin each held a stack of paper. Pei Shiyi smiled and announced, “Starting today, the cat café will have a new activity after closing.”

The furry little ones on the floor tilted their heads in unison. “Meow?”

Tong Qian couldn’t wait. “Is it cat-walking? Boss, can we go out for a walk?”

Yun Chao swatted him. “Quiet. Let the boss finish.”

Pei Shiyi grinned and continued, “The new activity is—reading comments.”

The furry ones looked utterly confused, but Pei Shiyi had already raised his paper and began reading leisurely: “Customer Xiao Jiu’er’s review of the cat café: five stars. Review content: Finally visited Xian Chan Cat Café. I absolutely adore the cats here. Fondant is just too adorable. She’s a true fairy in this world. Her fur is so long and silky, her eyes like sapphires. She’s super affectionate and warm. How can there be such a sweet little angel in this world?”

Ooh~

All eight furry pairs of eyes turned to Fondant.

The little princess was stunned, staring blankly at her boss.

Pei Shiyi gave her a slight smile and continued, “A review from a client named Blue Butterfly, five stars. Comment: Fondant is truly my favorite. Every time I see Fondant, it feels like I’ve eaten a big piece of candy, yet it never gets cloying. Just being looked at by her eyes for a while makes me feel like I can forget all my worries.”

Fondant lowered her head, then suddenly raised her big tail to cover her face.

The other cats: Aww, she’s blushing!

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