Chapter 14: Big Cat Saves Little Cat

“But, Sir, why didn’t you bring it home?” Ning Jiu asked.

Just like he had brought him home from the hybrid factory.

Now it was the humans’ turn for an encrypted conversation.

The little black cat, unable to understand, meowed anxiously and rubbed against Ning Jiu’s fingers.

“Wau, wa‘ao muii!” (Boss, I don’t understand!)

Ning Jiu poked the little black cat’s head but did not translate Mu Jingyi’s words for it.

‘They were both cats. It would have been a simple matter for Sir to bring the little black cat home. Why would he give the kitten his coat instead of bringing it home?’

“I have you.

Having you is enough.”

Mu Jingyi stroked his cat’s head, his palm getting covered in cold water droplets.

Ning Jiu’s cat ears shot up uncontrollably, and the tip of his tail swept across the ground.

A cat’s happiness cannot be hidden; it is all expressed through its feline traits.

Mu Jingyi stroked the restless tail and chuckled, “Is kitty this happy?

Your tail is wagging so fast.”

The thick cat tail, which had been covering the little black cat, was now swaying back and forth against its body, occasionally creating a little fanning breeze.

The black cat lifted its chin in protest, “Wau aui miao!” (Boss is going to give this cat a cold with all that fanning!)

Exposed by both the human and the cat for his wagging tail, Ning Jiu grew a little flustered.

He poked the black cat’s face and mumbled softly, “I can’t control my tail…”

He was, on a daily basis, not quite on speaking terms with his own tail.

Relying on the fact that Mu Jingyi couldn’t understand kitty language, Ning Jiu busied himself with an encrypted conversation with the little black cat, “Mi Wua Miao?” (Will you come with me?)

The little black cat grew excited.

Its half-broken tail wagged even faster than Ning Jiu’s had just a moment ago.

Its body was still in pain, but it used all its strength, its amplified voice raspy and heart-wrenching.

“Wau, ma’a, ma’a!” (Boss, help, help!)

Ning Jiu stole a glance at Mu Jingyi and quietly instructed the little black cat, “Miao ma’a mi, ma’ao…” (I’ll save you, not…)

He searched the entire kitty language dictionary stored in his genes and brain but couldn’t find the corresponding word for “Sir.”

After thinking for a long time, he squeezed out an incredibly distant word.

“Ma’ao wuii mi.” (The human is not the one saving you.)

The black cat didn’t understand Ning Jiu’s stubborn insistence.

It only knew that it seemed to be saved, that it had finally met a soft-hearted big cat like Ning Jiu.

It could live!

“Wau ma a!” (Boss, good cat! I like!)

The black cat stretched its neck, lifting its chin high, allowing Ning Jiu to scratch its soft chin with his finger.

Ning Jiu opened his palm towards it, crooking his finger.

“Wua Miao.” (Come with me.)

The little black cat obeyed the boss’s summons, crawling out from under Ning Jiu’s tail and into his palm.

The young kitten was only the size of a palm.

It curled its tail and huddled in Ning Jiu’s hand like a small, black, fluffy ball.

It had a lively nature and meowed in his palm, mostly saying things like “Boss, I will follow you forever.”

Ning Jiu stood up, cradling the kitten in his hands.

The blanket that had been draped over his shoulders slid to the ground.

Mu Jingyi quickly caught it and draped it back on him.

“Not running away from home anymore?

Let’s go home.”

“Sir, I wasn’t running away from home…” Ning Jiu couldn’t stand such a misunderstanding.

He cherished this home that sheltered him from the wind and rain more than anyone.

“Let me put it another way then.”

Mu Jingyi placed both hands on his shoulders, pressing the blanket firmly in place.

The height difference made it look as though he was hugging Ning Jiu from behind.

“Are you still angry with me?”

“I wasn’t angry either…”

The cat swished his white tail behind him, looking a little guilty.

He had wanted to apologize to Mu Jingyi for his recklessness in running outside and for being a little moody and making Sir coax him.

But before he could say the words, Mu Jingyi spoke first.

Mu Jingyi stroked the top of his head and smiled, “As long as you’re not angry, it’s fine.”

The big cat cradled the little cat, and Mu Jingyi protected the big cat, as they walked back along the path outside the courtyard wall.

Raindrops pattered on the umbrella Mu Jingyi held, a scene so similar to the night he had rescued Ning Jiu.

Only this time, it was the big cat saving the little cat.

Ning Jiu cradled the fragile kitten in his hands and murmured softly, “I saved you, and Sir saved me.

We’re the same, both just little pets who were rescued.”

“Ao?” the little black cat called out in confusion.

The boss was talking to it, but why couldn’t it understand?

It was not kitty language.

Ning Jiu had intended for Sir to hear those words.

Mu Jingyi’s hand, resting on Ning Jiu’s shoulder, paused for a moment, and his steps, which had been in sync with the cat’s, faltered for a beat.

He felt something was wrong.

But he couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong.

After a long while, Sir’s voice came from above Ning Jiu’s head:

“You’re not the same.”

Ning Jiu looked up, his bright blue eyes pure yet puzzled, reflecting an inverted image of Mu Jingyi’s face.

“How are we different?”

Perhaps Mu Jingyi had never considered this question either.

He was silent for a very long time.

The cold wind blew, ruffling the hair on Ning Jiu’s head and drying his damp hair and fur.

He sneezed, and an unhealthy flush appeared on his face, which was already red from the cold.

His thoughts were muddled, scattered by the wind.

The sounds in his ears grew faint.

In a daze, he heard Mu Jingyi’s answer:

“You were never a pet.”

***

The result of their escapade in the early winter night rain was that both cats, one big and one small, fell gravely ill.

Ning Jiu had a persistent high fever and often lay in bed in a stupor.

His cheeks were flushed an unnatural red, and his pale lips were dry and peeling from the fever.

The black cat’s condition was even more precarious.

It passed out several times, teetering on the brink of death, only to be saved each time by a highly skilled veterinarian.

Even though Mu Jingyi’s time management was already impeccably strict, he found himself overwhelmed trying to juggle the troublemaking from the other Mu family members, the black cat’s deteriorating condition at the pet hospital, and his own omega being bedridden.

“President Mu, are we going all out like before?”

The veterinarian at the pet hospital was used to Mu Jingyi being a frequent visitor and knew his habits well.

He would rescue one stray cat after another, sparing no effort in asking them to cure the strays, regardless of the cost.

Many of the sick kittens, abandoned by owners who couldn’t afford their care, would be saved at a high price.

Only a few cats who were too ill, beyond any hope of recovery, would eventually lose their lives.

Mu Jingyi handed the doctor his unlimited credit card, just as he had done before, but he paused when he heard the black cat’s weak meow.

The black cat looked very frail.

The fur on one of its legs had been shaved clean, and it was getting injections every day.

Its cries during the injections were painful and shrill, enough to make anyone who heard them sigh.

For the first time, the ever-resolute Mu Jingyi wavered.

Hearing such agonizing cries, perhaps the little black cat no longer wanted to struggle on the operating table.

Mu Jingyi hesitated for a moment, then called out to the doctor, “Wait, Doctor.

I want to hear what it has to say.”

That was the kitty Ning Jiu had saved.

He had no right to make any decisions for it.

Whether to persevere or to give up, he chose to respect the choices of the black cat and Ning Jiu.

“Kitty, if you’re really in too much pain, just tell me.

I don’t want to make this decision for you…”

Just as Mu Jingyi never knew if his past efforts to save those critically ill stray cats were just his own obsession causing them more pain, or if they truly wanted to live…

He did not lack money.

His almost stubborn insistence and lavish spending on saving stray cats stemmed entirely from a knot in his heart from his childhood.

The Mu family did not lack money, but all that money had failed to save the life of that little white cat, Yin Shuang.

The black cat meowed a few times at the phone, its voice so weak it was almost gone.

Mu Jingyi brought the audio recording home, feeling an uncharacteristic sense of apprehension.

He didn’t know what answer he wanted to hear.

Perhaps the little black cat would question him, asking why his obsession was making it suffer; or perhaps, the little black cat wanted to live, too.

He didn’t know what kind of answer could touch the knot in his heart.

The sound, transmitted through the phone, gained a bit of static, and reached Ning Jiu’s ears.

Ning Jiu sat on the bed, his fingers gripping the headphones tightly.

When the black cat’s familiar but fragile voice came from the phone, his eyes, like his cheeks, turned an unhealthy crimson.

Tears welled up, making his blue eyes seem even clearer and brighter.

The choked sob in his voice made his already nasal tone even thicker, and his repetition of the cat’s meow was incredibly soft.

“Wau au…” (Get well soon, Boss.)

“Miao wua ni…” (I want to be with you…)

Ning Jiu’s voice stopped.

The audio replayed that line of kitty language over and over.

The repeated phrase played on, but the final word was stuck on the tip of Ning Jiu’s tongue.

He opened his mouth, his lips forming the word, but no sound came out.

A single crystalline teardrop spilled from his eye, tracing a path down his feverish cheek to his chin.

His tear-filled voice finally repeated the word:

“Maou.” (Home.)

It was the word from the depths of Ning Jiu’s heart.

It was also the word at the core of Mu Jingyi’s unresolved pain.

And it was, even more so, the word of the black cat’s dream.

Ning Jiu lifted his face, tugging on Mu Jingyi’s sleeve, his trembling voice made unclear by sobs.

The blurred syllables translated the black cat’s words:

“Sir, the little black cat says it wants to go home.”

Mu Jingyi’s gaze sharpened.

He looked down, his eyes unfocused, somewhat lost in thought.

“Sir, please don’t give up on it…”

Mu Jingyi reached out and wiped the tears from Ning Jiu’s cheeks, forcing a smile.

“Don’t worry, kitty.

It hasn’t given up on itself, so we won’t give up on it either.”

His apprehensive heart found a stable anchor.

This small, weak life had given him the affirmation he needed for all he had done.

He embraced Ning Jiu, embracing this cat that had come into his life like a gift.

It was the best answer, one that Mu Jingyi himself had never even imagined.