At first, Xie Qi resisted, but soon relaxed, letting Qu Yanning rub his belly. Although shy, the cat wanted to be close to the little fool.
After enough belly rubs, Qu Yanning picked up the cat and examined him, concerned. “Guaibao, are you not eating well at home? You look thinner. You’ve lost some fat.”
Xie Qi twitched his ears and, thinking of the mountain food, let out a dissatisfied meow and rubbed against Qu Yanning’s chin, craving fish.
Qu Yanning immediately caught on to the ploy and kissed his ear. “Wait a bit. I still have some sea jelly left from Moonlight Island. I’ll make you some snacks.”
Xie Qi was placed on the sofa and lounged lazily, swaying his tail as he watched Qu Yanning busily prepare food.
Just back home, the fridge was nearly empty except for the sea jelly Qu Yanning had brought from Yue Liang Island.
After preparing it, he made a cold sea jelly salad and brought it out for the cat to nibble on.
“You eat a little first. I’ll go buy more ingredients and fry you some Little Yellow Croaker for dinner,” Qu Yanning said, petting the cat’s head.
Xie Qi’s wagging tail suddenly stilled, and he stood up, lightly leaping onto Qu Yanning’s clothes.
Climbing up to perch on his shoulder, he gave a soft meow and rubbed his furry cheek against Qu Yanning’s face, signaling he wanted to come shopping too.
Qu Yanning chuckled and pinched his tail gently. “Alright, you’re coming with me.”
One human, one cat— they set off together.
The supermarket was on Xiuping Road. Qu Yanning rode a tricycle, with Xie Qi perched on his shoulder.
The gentle breeze brushed against them, and the cat happily squinted, nuzzling heads with Qu Yanning.
At dusk, the supermarket was crowded with discount shoppers. Qu Yanning pushed the cart, placing the cat in the small basket, shopping together.
Besides food, they needed snacks. First, they went to the snack aisle. Qu Yanning picked up Chu Zhou’s and the cat’s favorite treats, then wandered around until they stumbled on a jelly brand promotion.
Xie Qi stood on his hind legs, gripping the cart’s edge, eyes locked on a plush cloth mouse displayed with the jelly.
The gray fabric mouse looked lifelike and cute, with long, soft fur. Xie Qi leaned forward hesitantly, staring longingly at the big mouse.
Qu Yanning thought the cat wanted the jelly and approached the clerk to ask the price. But before buying jelly, he saw his cat almost reach out to grab the plush mouse.
“…” It was a misunderstanding. Qu Yanning cleared his throat awkwardly and asked how much jelly needed to be bought to get the mouse as a gift.
The clerk laughed seeing the cat’s intense gaze and said, “Five jin of jelly gets you one.”
Qu Yanning nodded and weighed out five jin of jelly. The cart now held both jelly and the cloth mouse.
Placing the mouse in the basket, Xie Qi initially sat shyly, but after a while, he pawed at the mouse quickly, then flicked his ears.
Seeing Qu Yanning not watching, he crept closer and pressed a paw on the mouse.
Qu Yanning pushed the cart on, pretending to look elsewhere. Soon, the cat was wildly playing. Xie Qi bit and kicked the fluffy mouse, which trembled under his paws, shedding gray fur everywhere.
Qu Yanning gently coughed, holding back the overly excited cat. “Guaibao, let’s play again later?”
Xie Qi paused, ears flicking backward. He released the mouse but sat properly, one paw still pressing on the toy. His paw pads flexed, clearly pleased with his new plaything.
With the cart full, Qu Yanning checked out and headed home, victorious.
Along the way, Xie Qi carried the cloth mouse, sitting solemnly in the back compartment.
At home, Qu Yanning cooked while Xie Qi jumped onto the sofa with his new toy, immediately biting and kicking it wildly once Qu Yanning entered the kitchen.
Chu Zhou, refreshed from his nap, watched the crazy cat silently and asked Qu Yanning in the kitchen, “Why is the cat acting so wild?”
Qu Yanning peeked at the sofa and smiled, “He’s happy with his new toy.”
The disgruntled Xie Qi dropped the mouse and bared his teeth at Chu Zhou.
At dinner, Xie Qi was still obsessed with the new toy. Qu Yanning had no way to stop him, eventually falling asleep holding both cat and mouse.
The next noon, Qu Yanning brought the cat to the shop. It had been closed for a few days while he was away. Upon reopening, the Old Gourmet crowd flocked in, attracted by the smell of barbecue.
Xie Qi sat upright on the cashier counter with his new toy, drawing curious looks from customers.
Regulars knew the cat’s bad temper and avoided touching him, but newcomers couldn’t resist trying to pet his whiskers.
Zhao Dongqi had recovered enough at home and was restless. Shen City was hosting a major Wind and Water Grand Meeting, and he had come along with a group of friends for fun.
One Old Gourmet among them claimed this barbecue shop had the best flavors and led them inside for drinks. Zhao Dongqi immediately noticed the cat on the cashier counter.
“This cat looks a lot like a friend’s cat I know,” Zhao Dongqi teased, waving his car keys in front of the cat.
Seeing his face, Xie Qi recalled the ordeal on Yue Liang Island and instantly bristled. His golden pupils narrowed.
He arched his back slightly and swiped a fierce claw at Zhao Dongqi’s outstretched hand.
“Ow!” Zhao Dongqi yelped. “Why does this cat scratch people?!”
Before his friend could warn him, he saw Zhao Dongqi being clawed by the bad-tempered cat. Covering his hand, Zhao Dongqi howled.
Qu Yanning heard the commotion from the kitchen and came out to see Zhao Dongqi looking like a beaten dog.
Xie Qi lounged on the counter, looking down on Zhao Dongqi.
Noticing Qu Yanning, Xie Qi softly meowed and raised his fluffy little head.
Zhao Dongqi was about to lose his temper but stopped when he saw Qu Yanning. “Hey kid, is this your shop?”
Qu Yanning was surprised to meet an acquaintance here. Catching the jumping cat, he said, “Yeah, I opened it after coming back from Yue Liang Island.”
Zhao Dongqi stopped complaining, covering his still-stinging hand with a smile as he was guided to sit at a table. “I left in a hurry before. Now that fate has brought us together, I have to properly thank you.”
Xie Qi’s eyes settled on Zhao Dongqi’s grasp on Qu Yanning’s arm, warning with a low growl, golden eyes narrowed, sharply watching the claws pressing on the little fool.
Zhao Dongqi shivered and instinctively withdrew his injured hand. “Please, sit down. Let’s have a good chat.”
His friends sat as well. Zhao Dongqi recounted his past and praised Qu Yanning to the skies. Qu Yanning was embarrassed hearing it himself.
After a drink, Qu Yanning saw customers still waiting and went back to the kitchen. Xie Qi gave Zhao Dongqi a cold glance before resettling on the counter.
After drinking, Zhao Dongqi and his friends went off to have fun. Qu Yanning had thought it a simple coincidence but discovered Zhao Dongqi was persistent.
He liked Qu Yanning and wanted to be friends, so he kept coming to the barbecue shop every day.
Tall, handsome, and easygoing, Zhao Dongqi quickly won over the staff and female customers alike.
Xie Qi’s cat face grew increasingly sour, plotting how to make this human nuisance disappear without anyone noticing.
Qu Yanning, on the other hand, accepted it well. He didn’t have many friends, and having someone as open and chatty as Zhao Dongqi seemed pretty good.
One day when the shop was unusually quiet, Zhao Dongqi munched on skewers and spoke to Qu Yanning in a mysterious tone, “In half a month, Shen City will host a Wind and Water Grand Meeting. I heard it’s full of fun stuff. Are you going?”
“Huh?” Qu Yanning looked puzzled. “Wind and Water Grand Meeting?”
Zhao Dongqi waved his bamboo stick proudly. “You haven’t heard? It’s hosted by the powerful Qu Family here in Shen City. All the famous Wind and Water Schools in the country will attend. It’ll definitely be interesting.”
Qu Yanning gave him a look like a disappointed youth and said seriously, “Study hard and fill your empty brain. Superstitions like that are bad.”
Especially something like a Wind and Water Grand Meeting, which sounded like a gathering of all the national charlatans, scheming new scams to fool more ignorant people.
It was a miracle it wasn’t reported to the authorities, let alone attracting people to join.