Back in her room, Shen Wuqiu finally put the white cat down and casually gave her a couple of instructions: “Since you’ve followed me home, you have to listen to me.”
The white cat glanced at her, then swaggered up to the top of her wardrobe. In the 1990s self-built small foreign-style houses, the ceilings were built quite high, and the wardrobe wasn’t built-in, usually leaving nearly a meter of space between the top of the cabinet and the ceiling. The white cat squatted up there, looking down at all living beings like a queen.
Shen Wuqiu, however, was not in the mood to admire her queenly demeanor; she only had one thought in mind. This cat was filthy.
The top of the cabinet was so high that it probably wouldn’t get cleaned once from one end of the year to the other, so there had to be a thick layer of dust up there.
Precisely because the cabinet was too high, she was powerless against the white cat hiding up there, so she said helplessly, “I’ll take your silence as consent, so you better get down here right now.”
The white cat refused to consent: “Meow.”
Shen Wuqiu looked back at her own bed, “Then you can sleep up there today. Don’t even think about getting on the bed. Hey.”
Before she could finish her sentence, the white cat flew from the top of the cabinet straight onto the bed.
Shen Wuqiu blew a breath at the stray strands of hair scattered across her forehead, and after a few dozen seconds, she took a deep breath and walked over to the bedside.
Sure enough, the white cat was dirty. Her little paws, tail, lower belly that had been squatting on the ground, and cat bottom were all soiled, and incidentally, she had dirtied Shen Wuqiu’s sky-blue duvet cover as well.
Obviously, the white cat realized this too.
Therefore, when Shen Wuqiu looked at her, she tried her best to tuck away her dirty little paws with a hint of a guilty conscience.
Her little movements were completely transparent to Shen Wuqiu, who was scrutinizing her. It was so annoying; she was just too cute, making it completely impossible to muster up any anger.
A moment later, the self-loathing Shen Wuqiu simply chose out of sight, out of mind, turned around, grabbed her clothes, and headed straight for the bathroom.
Having walked the whole way under the blazing sun, she had worked up a sweat and felt sticky and uncomfortable.
The moment she finished stripping off her clothes, however, she heard scratching at the door. Knowing the white cat was making trouble, she didn’t plan to pay attention, but alas, the white cat was quite persistent, looking very much like she would keep scratching indefinitely if Shen Wuqiu didn’t open the door.
Ultimately, Shen Wuqiu caved, cracking the door open just wide enough for a hand to fit through.
Seizing the opening, the white cat squeezed through with nimble agility.
Stark naked, Shen Wuqiu hadn’t forgotten the way the white cat had violated her with its gaze last night, and she flurriedly used her hands to cover herself, “I’m going to take a shower, get out.”
“Meow.” The white cat stepped even farther away from the door.
“You perverted cat, you’re not allowed to look.” Shen Wuqiu always felt that the blue pupils with which the white cat looked up at her were glowing with a burning light.
“Meow.” The white cat remained unmoved.
The more the white cat acted like this, the more ashamed and angry Shen Wuqiu felt. Too flustered to care about much else, she reached out, intending to pick the white cat up and toss her out.
As if knowing her intentions, the moment Shen Wuqiu bent down, the white cat leaped onto the showerhead switch.
Whether the white cat bumped the switch unintentionally or not, a jet of cold water whooshed down right onto Shen Wuqiu, startling her into dodging away in a hurry.
She had originally wanted to lose her temper and teach this troublemaker a lesson, but who would have thought that the moment she dodged aside, the white cat would hop right underneath the showerhead instead?
Did this creature want to take a shower too?
Shen Wuqiu’s mood instantly grew terribly complicated, and all sorts of fairy tales and legends even began to bubble up in her mind. Fairy tales featured witches turning princes into frogs; could this white cat be a human transformed?
Guessing that the white cat hadn’t expected the water to be so cold, the moment it hit her body, she sprang back and shook her body in disgust, “Meow.”
Shen Wuqiu snapped back to her senses, reached her hand under the showerhead, and began adjusting the faucet handle.
After running for about a minute, the water temperature finally came up, and she stepped under the showerhead herself.
Seeing this, the white cat shamelessly squatted right in the gap between her two feet.
Shen Wuqiu still covered herself with both hands, shamed and annoyed as she raised a foot to gently push the cat away, “Get away from me.”
“Meow.”
With her hands occupied, washing was impossible. Shen Wuqiu looked down at the white cat, who was already drenched into a drowned rat. All her lovely, smooth fur was plastered flat against her body, making the whole cat look like a white sausage. Sending such a wet cat back into the bedroom meant she wouldn’t have peace of mind first. If this ancestor went ahead and crawled onto the bed regardless of anything, she wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight either.
Whatever, she was just a cat anyway, nothing to be so shy about.
After weighing her options, Shen Wuqiu threw caution to the wind, moved her hands away, pumped body wash onto a bath sponge, and quickly lathered a layer of foam all over her body. Skipping her usual careful scrubbing, she gave herself a quick rub, rinsed off the foam with water, dried off the water droplets with a towel, and started putting her clothes back on.
The whole process took less than three minutes.
The white cat clearly watched with a sense of lingering fascination, and as soon as Shen Wuqiu started dressing, she began meowing in dissatisfaction.
Shen Wuqiu wasn’t in the mood to deal with her right now. After getting dressed, she finally spared the white cat a direct look, and then, out of a spirit of retaliation, picked up the shower sprayer and began hosing the white cat down.
“Meow.”
“Didn’t you want to take a bath? I’m washing you right now.” Shen Wuqiu felt much more confident once dressed, and began to tease the white cat, even forcing her to expose her belly, “That’ll teach you to peek at me just now.”
“Meow.” With human and cat mismatched in strength, the white cat struggled to no avail and had no choice but to play dead, leaving her feline body entirely at the mercy of Shen Wuqiu’s torment.
Although this was an unruly cat, she had caught Shen Wuqiu’s eye, and there was no real intention to torture her. After rinsing the whole cat thoroughly front and back, Shen Wuqiu went out to fetch her bath towel from last night and carried the wet cat out.
As a novice cat owner, Shen Wuqiu didn’t understand cats very well and had no idea what to do with a cat right after a bath, so she could only turn to Duiniang for help:
[“If you don’t blow-dry a cat after a bath, it might catch a cold and could even develop skin diseases. Once it catches a cold, its immunity drops, and it may develop secondary illnesses.”]
[“Every cat hates bathing, they are afraid of water. If you give them a bath, they will scratch, bite, and scream miserably.”]
The more Shen Wuqiu searched for help, the more helpless she felt.
Why wasn’t the white cat afraid of water, and why did she even actively ask for a bath?
“Meow.”
The white cat was bundled up in the bath towel, which left her feline body completely lacking freedom. Seeing that Shen Wuqiu was still standing there dazed with her phone, she grew even more dissatisfied.
Hearing the white cat’s cry, Shen Wuqiu looked over at her. Catching sight of her wet chin and remembering the consequences of not blow-drying a cat after a bath, she quickly got out the hair dryer.
As soon as the hair dryer was turned on, the white cat curled her entire body deep into the bath towel, clearly disliking this contraption.
Seeing this resistant reaction from the white cat, Shen Wuqiu’s heavy worries lightened up a bit. This was the normal reaction a cat was supposed to have.
“Be a good girl, you’ll catch a cold if you aren’t dried.”
“Meow.” The white cat still resisted.
Shen Wuqiu had no choice but to dial down the temperature and fan speed of the hair dryer by a notch. As the roaring sound softened, the white cat finally stopped struggling.
After a full half-hour of blowing, the white cat’s fur was finally barely dry. Looking at her clean, pink little paw pads, Shen Wuqiu couldn’t resist repeatedly pinching them, “Since you’re all washed and clean, don’t run outside and mess around.”
“Meow.”
Shen Wuqiu rubbed her cat head, then set about stripping the duvet cover.
Once she finished washing and hanging up the clothes she had changed out of, Su Yunzhi called everyone down for dinner from downstairs.
The white cat was like a little tail. When Shen Wuqiu wanted to go downstairs, she stubbornly refused to stay in the room alone and insisted on following her down.
“Wuqiu, dear, it’s rare for your dad to feel a bit better today and want to eat with us. Why don’t you lock her in your room?” Su Yunzhi was dishing up rice in the dining room, and a wave of frustration welled up inside the moment she saw the white cat trailing behind Shen Wuqiu. But with Father Shen present, her expression and tone were remarkably pleasant.
Shen Wenjun was burying his head in his phone, but upon hearing about a cat, he immediately stood up to look toward Shen Wuqiu. Catching sight of this white fluffy ball, he was pleasantly surprised, “Where did this cat come from?”
“I picked it up while out for a walk.” Ignoring Su Yunzhi’s words, Shen Wuqiu walked straight over to sit beside Father Shen, “Dad, this white cat and I have some affinity. If you mind, I won’t keep her.”
Father Shen looked at the white cat, and the white cat tilted its head to size him up as well.
Father Shen’s expressionless face rarely revealed a hint of a smile, “This little thing is quite pretty.”
Shen Wenjun chimed in, “I think so too. It’s my first time seeing such a good-looking cat. Dad, let’s keep it.”
Watching her son constantly undermine her, Su Yunzhi felt a deep sense of frustration. Just as she was about to sharply scold him with a few words, Father Shen slowly opened his mouth, “What would I mind? Keep it.”
Su Yunzhi wasn’t convinced, “The doctor said your immunity is poor right now, you need to recuperate quietly, keeping such a…”
Father Shen cut her off: “Eat your meal.”
Su Yunzhi held her tongue, barely managing to avoid a fight with Father Shen.
After lunch, Shen Wuqiu decided to take the white cat to the pet hospital and pick up some daily necessities along the way.
Since she had decided to raise a cat, she was going to be a qualified cat slave.
Shen Wenjun had always been fond of this fluffy ball, and upon hearing that Shen Wuqiu was taking the white cat to the county town district, he immediately volunteered to be her chauffeur.
“Sis, did you give her a name yet?” With the white cat around, Shen Wenjun’s tone toward Shen Wuqiu was a lot more enthusiastic.
“Not yet.”
“Is this a boy or a girl cat?”
“A girl.”
“A girl cat. Right, didn’t you say you heard cats in heat crying out last night? Could it be this cat?”
Shen Wuqiu lowered her gaze, “Maybe.”
“This season is just like that. Should we take her to the hospital today and get her spayed? My roommate said sterilization is better for a cat’s health, especially female…”
The white cat, nestled in Shen Wuqiu’s arms, instantly puffed up, “Meow.”
Shen Wenjun was startled, “What’s wrong with her all of a sudden?”
Shen Wuqiu remained unperturbed, “I don’t know. Maybe because you mentioned getting her spayed, she’s cursing you out.”
Shen Wenjun looked astonished, “She understands what we’re saying?”
Shen Wuqiu shrugged, “Maybe.”
Disbelieving and in no rush to start the car, Shen Wenjun tilted his head to look over at the white cat, “I heard female cats suffer a lot during heat. How great would it be if she’s spayed?”
The white cat leaped up, “Meow.”
Frightened by her fierce look, Shen Wenjun instinctively shrank back, though his face grew even more excited, “Sis, this white cat has turned into a spirit. Where on earth did you pick her up?”
Looking at the bristling white cat, Shen Wuqiu felt a bit soft-hearted, “All right, stop teasing her. Start driving already, or we won’t be back until very late.”
Only then did Shen Wenjun go back to starting the car.