Driven by curiosity, Tong Qian recklessly edged closer, trying to peek at Fondant’s expression through the gaps in her fluffy tail.
Only to be swatted aside by Yun Chao with a single paw.
Tong Qian seethed with silent anger as he backed away, only to bump into Yin Zhou. The two cats exchanged a glance, then clumsily leaped up at the same time, landing with a soft thud in front of Miss Penny, who gently held them down and gave them affectionate licks.
Seeing how shy Fondant was, Song Gao snuggled up and nuzzled her lightly. “So many people like Sister Fondant.”
Fondant revealed a pair of ocean-blue eyes from within her tail fur, only to quickly bury her face back into her fluffy tail in embarrassment.
Pei Shiyi waited for the furry troublemakers to settle down before leisurely continuing to read aloud. “Customer Mango Smoothie’s review, four stars. Comment: I’ve been following the cat café’s account on Bishui, and finally visited yesterday. Song Gao is even quieter and prettier than in the videos. He even has a milky scent.”
Song Gao, who had just been comforting Fondant, was caught off guard by the comment about himself and immediately forgot what he was about to say. Fondant lowered her tail and gently licked Song Gao’s ear.
Song Gao lowered his head, too shy to look up, even as his ear was licked and flipped over.
After teasing Song Gao, Pei Shiyi moved on to reading Miss Penny’s reviews. The composed Miss Penny had never heard such straightforward flattery before and stared at Pei Shiyi in stunned silence, her mouth slightly agape.
Pei Shiyi took a sip of water before continuing. “Customer Six Coins’ review, five stars. Comment: The twins are absolutely adorable, very lively, and they’ll even squat right in front of you. They have such good temperaments and let you pet them. Their fur is so beautiful, so luxurious. It really looks like satin.”
The twins exchanged a glance, feeling rather guilty at being praised as “good-tempered”. After all, they still wanted people to tell them apart.
Pei Shiyi glanced at the twins with a smile. They immediately clung to his pant legs, one on each side. Pei Shiyi cleared his throat softly. He finished reading the comments in his hand and nudged Bo Jin with his elbow. “Hurry up and read. Don’t just stand there.”
The remaining cats who hadn’t been mentioned couldn’t help but look at Bo Jin, eager to know how customers had reviewed them. Had they been praised as warmly as Fondant?
Bo Jin silently raised the paper in his hand and began reading the customers’ elaborate praises without a hint of emotion.
“Customer Yilu Pingjiang, five stars. The café owner truly lives up to the title, so attentive to guests…”
Dan Huang, who had been full of anticipation, felt all his excitement freeze over. Oh my, hearing Mr. Bo recite such flattery in that tone was truly terrifying.
Bo Jin successfully chilled several furry little ones with just a few reviews. By the time he finished reading, several fluffy creatures lay before him, looking half-dead.
Tong Qian randomly grabbed a furry paw to hug. “So scary, waaah.”
He nuzzled it for a while before realizing the paw in his arms was a bit short. He looked up and met Yin Zhou’s shocked golden eyes.
Yin Zhou yanked his paw back and smacked Tong Qian on the forehead. “Pervert!”
Tong Qian: “…”
He always knew Director Bo was his nemesis. Nothing good ever happened when he was around!
…
Reading comments was eventually designated by Pei Shiyi as a weekly routine activity at the cat café.
Meanwhile, to boost the cat café’s online promotion, Pei Shiyi and Bo Jin discussed launching an event. Pei Shiyi even prepared special gifts for the occasion.
He contacted a shop specializing in custom pillows and ordered over a hundred of them. For the twenty-one cats at the cat café, each kitten got one, while the adult cats received ten each.
The customer service representative asked him, “That’s a total of 111 pillows, all made to scale. We’ve received the measurements and images. Are you sure you want to expedite the order?”
“Yes, expedite it. They must arrive this week,” Pei Shiyi replied, resting his chin on his hand. After a moment of thought, he cleared his throat and added, “I looked at your sample images… Could you also order twenty-one phoenix-shaped pillows for me? For these, you don’t need to follow the exact shape. Just print the image on a square pillow.”
The pillows he wanted weren’t just ordinary square pillows with printed images. They were designed to faithfully recreate the chibi-style drawings he provided.
The deposit alone costs a considerable sum. With the expedited service, the total was even higher than the usual custom fee.
When the samples arrived on Wednesday, a group of fluffy cats eagerly gathered around.
They had been eavesdropping by the door when Pei Shiyi made the call and were all looking forward to the pillows customized with their chibi versions.
The samples included one of each design, packed into four large boxes and one small one, all securely wrapped. Bo Jin accompanied Pei Shiyi to retrieve them.
While Pei Shiyi turned to grab his camera, Tong Qian couldn’t wait and tore open the four boxes. Several adult cats pulled out their own pillows. Though freshly made, the pillows had no strange odors. The plush fabric felt incredibly soft and comfortable. The manufacturer had originally offered silk options, but Pei Shiyi had chosen plush after careful consideration. Silk was too seasonal and would likely be tucked away in a cabinet once the weather turned cold.
Bo Jin held a pillow shaped like Dan Huang in one hand while his other hand rested under Dan Huang’s belly.
Dan Huang, ever good-natured, let Director Bo pet him while he stretched out his paws to feel the pillow. “This fabric is so comfortable!”
“Of course it is. The fabric is ultra-soft short plush, and it’s filled with down-like cotton. It’s the most expensive kind.”
Pei Shiyi sat by the boxes, adjusting his camera to photo mode. He casually opened the last box.
“I ordered one for every child,” Pei Shiyi said, placing a chibi pillow into the arms of its respective cat. “But for the giveaway, we’ll only be giving away the adult cats’ pillows.”
The kittens’ pillows were, of course, included too, but they were about the same size as the kittens themselves. It was meant to comfort the little ones. These were part of Boss Pei and the kittens’ private collection and wouldn’t be given away.
Yin Zhou held his pillow in his mouth. But with his short legs, he kept tripping over it after just a few steps, tumbling head over heels until he landed behind Tong Qian.
Miss Penny circled her pillow, her demeanor steady but still thrilled. It was her first-ever custom-made plushie. She found it utterly delightful.
Song Gao’s pillow was even bigger than he was. He slowly curled up on it, flattening the pillow and using it as a soft cushion to snuggle into.
Fondant hugged her pillow, lying on her back on the floor as she fiddled with it. She chatted softly with Bo Jin, “Meow—” So this is what I look like? Mr. Bo, is my pillow pretty? Do you think people will like it?
Bo Jin freed one hand to gently stroke her forehead, mimicking Pei Shiyi’s tone when comforting the kittens. “You’re even prettier than the pillow.”
Yun Chao was gently kneading her own pillow while nibbling on its ear. With her own cool and elegant beauty, the pillow she held mirrored the same haughty expression, making even the kneading action seem dignified and reserved.
Pei Shiyi glanced over and chuckled, “We’ll use this for the giveaway later, just say it’s personally kneaded by the beautiful Yun Chao.”
Yun Chao always had a good temper with him, not getting angry even when teased, just lightly tapping him with her tail.
Pei Shiyi picked up the camera with a smile, “Come on, everyone, strike a pose for a photo. I’ll post it online later.”
The cats, each holding their own pillows, found suitable positions for Pei Shiyi to take the picture before scurrying off to their nests with their new toys.
Pei Shiyi flipped through the photos on the camera and laughed, “There’s plenty of novelty tonight, so they probably won’t bother me.”
Bo Jin asked, “What’s in this small box?”
“Well…” Pei Shiyi cleared his throat lightly, “Just a small pillow.”
Bo Jin was puzzled: The kittens’ pillows had all been distributed. Each had one, so why was there an extra one?
Pei Shiyi had ordered it with complete confidence. But now, as he was about to open it, he suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. He slowly opened the box and took out a square pillow printed with a lifelike phoenix pattern, which looked even better than the sample image. Holding the pillow up to himself, he asked, “Does it look like me?”
Bo Jin slowly reached out and tugged at a corner of the pillow.
Pei Shiyi instinctively tightened his grip on the pillow, “Hmm?”
Bo Jin: “…Since you didn’t show it to them earlier, wasn’t it meant for me?”
Pei Shiyi was utterly shocked, “You wish! I only made twenty-one, all for the kittens. This is a sample. Since there’s only one, I didn’t give it out.”
Bo Jin: “…”
…
The cat café launched a giveaway event on Weibo asking followers to share short stories or photos of their visits to the café in the comments section of the next post. The top ten most-liked comments would receive exquisite gifts, and fifty other accounts would also be randomly selected for prizes.
This was the cat café account’s first giveaway event. With nearly 100,000 followers on Weibo, the post immediately drew out many long-time lurkers. The event was also promoted on the Bishui account, attracting even more attention to the café’s official Weibo.
The photos attached to the Weibo post showed the gifts. It was a series of pillows arranged in a nine-square grid.
Followers eagerly clicked on the images and were instantly captivated by the pillows and the cats’ charm, their minds filled with just one thought: The boss really knows how to have fun. This is absolutely brilliant!
Dan Huang’s pillow featured a “farmer’s pose” with squinting eyes. He and his pillow squeezed into the oversized cat bed, both wearing identical expressions. The two fluffy orange chubby balls stretched the cat bed to its limits, teetering on the edge of bursting.
Song Gao slept on top of his pillow, looking even smaller than the cushion. His head rested on the pillow’s head, and his paws hugged its neck as he slept soundly, making viewers want to scoop up both the cat and the pillow into their arms.
Yun Chao and her pillow were locked in a gaze, as if scrutinizing the pillow’s appearance. Two similarly beautiful faces wore matching expressions of cool detachment, offering the camera a refined and reserved profile. Their eyes, captured by the lens, displayed patterns like cracked ice, almost mesmerizing.
Tong Qian was far less polite to his pillow, stretching lazily with his front paws planted firmly on it. The leopard cat’s fur was resplendent, and the pillow’s colors were even more vibrant. The patterns of the real and faux little leopard cats dazzled the eyes.
Fondant lay on her back, cradling her pillow, which was nearly as large as she was. Two pairs of sea-blue eyes faced the camera, one pair simply round dots, while the other resembled a gently rippling ocean.
Miss Penny’s style was the most unique. She didn’t appear alone in the shot. She lay to the side, her expression seeming rather resigned, while her pillow had been completely taken over by kittens, now covered in fluffy fur.
Yin Zhou stood beside his pillow, extending a paw to compare its length with the pillow’s. Tilting his head toward the camera, he seemed to ask, “Whose paw is longer?”
The final photo featured the tortoiseshell sisters. In the larger image, four tortoiseshell cats lay side by side in identical poses, creating a dizzying sight that made it nearly impossible to distinguish the real cats from the plush toys.
Netizens: I’m in! I want them all!
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wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1