“We’re good friends, aren’t we?”
Su Li typed the words after seeing the message Cat had sent her.
[Voice Message] 7″ (Mhm! Su Li is my best friend!)
Cat’s tone was very serious, and she spoke with absolute certainty.
“Since we’re good friends, why can’t I go see Cat? Why must Cat always come to me? Or is it that Cat doesn’t actually consider me a good friend?”
Su Li felt as if she were holding a cat wand to tease Cat. Her gaze remained on the cell phone screen, waiting for Cat to reply.
[Voice Message] 58″ (No, no! Su Li is my best friend! It’s just… just that my home doesn’t really have a place to stay… How about we go somewhere else? A restaurant or a cafe? My… my treat! I’ll treat Su Li to a meal! I don’t have a kitchen at home, so I can’t cook for Su Li, and there’s no place to set foot… I’m afraid I won’t be able to host Su Li properly.)
Cat sent a very long voice message. Su Li could hear the tension and worry in her tone.
She could feel that her Cat truly wanted to host her well, but her current circumstances were not very favorable.
It was just like when Cat was still a Little Kitten; whenever she found something fun or interesting, she would secretly hide it and eventually push it in front of Su Li to share.
Even with the Little Fish Snacks Su Li prepared for her, Cat wouldn’t finish them all.
She would save some for Su Li to eat when she returned home.
With a Cat like this, how could she possibly look down on her for not having the best living conditions?
“It’s okay, we’re good friends, aren’t we?”
“If we’re good friends, why would I care about the environment where Cat lives?”
“Besides, the money Cat is earning now will eventually let you move to a better place. Plus, the New Job I introduced to you includes room and board, so it doesn’t matter if your current place isn’t great.”
“Once Cat has the New Job, you’ll be able to live in a much nicer place.”
“This simple residence is only temporary. Cat will move somewhere better and then host me there, right?”
After Su Li sent the messages, Cat didn’t reply immediately. Su Li guessed that Cat must be staring at her cell phone, lost in thought.
Su Li felt that her Cat understood human nature quite well.
Back when she communicated with Cat as a pet, the feline would often fall into deep thought just like a human.
The only difference was that Cat couldn’t speak human words back then; she had to use her own ways to communicate.
Even though Cat had turned into a human, her personality hadn’t changed much from when she was a Little Kitten. Su Li was very familiar with her Cat.
Naturally, she knew exactly where Cat’s weaknesses were.
[Voice Message] 11″ (Alright then. Su Li, when do you have time? I… I’ll come pick you up! We’ll go to my house together!)
“No need to go through all that trouble. Just do what I taught you before and send me your current Address. If I can’t find you, you can come get me!”
[Voice Message] 2″ (Mhm.)
After Cat accepted the fact that Su Li was coming to her home, she didn’t say anything more.
Cat knelt on the edge of her Bed made of cardboard boxes, staring at the messages on the Chat Interface.
After a period of studying, she could now recognize many words.
Sometimes, she could understand what Su Li’s messages meant even without playing the audio.
Her fingers unconsciously picked at the pilled edge of a blanket that had grown stiff from washing.
She scanned her simple Room, her eyes filled with worry.
The smell of mildew mixed with the scent of bleach drifted in from the crack under the door.
She suddenly jumped up and rushed to the corner, standing on her tiptoes to take down a string of Dried Catnip hanging from the window crack.
The plastic string dug into her fingertips, turning them red.
She carefully gathered the crumbly, leaf-like fragments into a Tin Candy Box.
This was the only thing in the Room that could be called a fragrance.
Cat felt a bit of regret and self-reproach. If she hadn’t been so frugal with her money, perhaps she could have hosted Su Li properly.
Her home was currently far too simple. She could go out and buy some things to entertain Su Li now, but…
Su Li had told her that the New Job would allow her to move to a new place.
If she bought items that were too large, she wouldn’t be able to move them with her.
Soon, Cat had a good idea. She could buy some Fruits and delicious food to bring home.
That way, when Su Li came to see her tomorrow, she could give those Fruits to Su Li to take back!
There was no place to cook in the Room.
The Bento she had prepared for Su Li before had been made using the Convenience Store kitchen.
She wanted to make many delicious things for Su Li, but there was no Refrigerator here.
If she stored food, there was a high chance it would go bad.
‘If I really get a good job, I’ll be able to cook delicious meals for Su Li in the future!’
Cat was full of curiosity about the New Job Su Li mentioned, but she was also a little worried.
She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to do the work well and might even end up causing trouble for Su Li…
Stagnant water reflected the greasy light on the Hallway tiles.
Cat walked back and forth three times on her tiptoes, making sure no water would splash up when she stepped on the tiles.
If Su Li came to visit tomorrow and sewage splashed onto her Clothes, she would be devastated.
But there was no way for the water to drain out. It kept accumulating right in front of her Door.
She didn’t know what to do about it.
The plastic stool from the Convenience Store had been wiped so clean it could reflect a person’s image, but she couldn’t get the old stains out of the cracks in the stool legs no matter how hard she scrubbed.
When she lifted the waterproof cloth for the third time to count her stock of Little Fish Snacks, the lid of the tin box made a “click” in the silence.
It startled Cat so much that the Little Fish Snack in her hand fell to the floor.
She quickly crouched down and patted the dust off the packaging.
Cat’s fingertips brushed over the window covered with promotional posters.
The mottled patches of light on the concrete floor suddenly became dazzling.
She hurriedly tore off a half-section of a relatively clean packaging bag and pressed the four corners of the pilled blanket under the cardboard boxes.
The charging cable dangled overhead like a silver snake.
Standing on a wobbly stool, she adjusted the angle of the power strip, terrified that the hanging wire might brush against and dirty Su Li’s Clothes.
Finally, she crouched behind the Door and counted the number of times the key turned—twelve times.
Listening to the creak of the hinges, she imagined Su Li walking into the Room.
The smell of bleach suddenly became intense.
She grabbed an old Towel she had picked up and scrubbed the door frame desperately.
She didn’t stop until her knuckles hit the tin edging, turning them blue and purple.
No matter how she thought about it, Su Li’s experience coming to her home wouldn’t be very good.
A sad expression appeared on Cat’s face.
She was always so happy whenever she went to Su Li’s home, but she had no way to make Su Li happy when she came to hers.