After hearing Cat’s voice, Su Li snapped out of her thoughts regarding the girl’s future career plans.
She had smelled the aroma of the meal earlier, but she hadn’t felt much of an emotional shift.
Seeing how busy Cat was, she hurried into the kitchen to help her bring out the dishes.
“You made so much?”
“I… I didn’t know your taste, Su Li, so I thought making more would give you more choices. Even if we can’t finish it all, it’s fine. I… I can eat the leftover rice! I won’t let the food go to waste!”
Cat was a bit nervous. She simply wanted Su Li to enjoy her meal, so she had prepared a whole table of food.
There was indeed a high chance they wouldn’t finish it, but she wasn’t going to let it be wasted.
“Thank you for the hard work. I just feel that giving you only thirty-odd dollars for a meal is a bit too little. From now on, let’s say twenty dollars for a simple dish and fifty dollars for a more complex one,” Su Li said.
She had originally intended for Cat to just make something simple for the two of them, but she hadn’t expected Cat to spend so much time on it.
Spending time on cooking every day was quite a drain on one’s energy.
In the past, she had cooked for Chi Qingya every day, so she naturally knew how troublesome it was.
Not only did she have to choose the ingredients, but there was also a mountain of prep work.
Most importantly, there were the dishes to wash after eating.
Unless someone truly loved cooking, spending hours on it every day was like being in prison.
However, Cat seemed to enjoy it. Su Li could feel her happiness.
While she was busy, Su Li would occasionally peek into the kitchen and see the joyful expression on Cat’s face.
‘If Cat likes cooking, then it’s fine,’ Su Li thought. ‘But a hobby becoming a job can be a hassle.’
Su Li decided that she should take Cat out to eat sometimes.
Additionally, she had to go to school for classes often—though skipping wasn’t a big deal—but to keep Cat from getting too tired, Su Li needed to consider these matters carefully.
“Huh?”
Cat didn’t expect a raise so soon. It was too fast. She felt she hadn’t done much at all.
“No, there’s no need, no need, Su Li! Getting thirty-odd dollars for one meal is already a lot! Besides, I don’t even have to spend money on groceries to cook for you! I even get to eat for free. You’ve already given me too much!”
Cat shook her head like a rattle. Still, she was happy that Su Li liked her food.
“Fine. Then from now on, we’ll count how many meals you cook and pay based on that.”
Su Li spoke firmly. If Cat made several dishes for one meal, the girl would be losing out.
There was no employee who only thought about saving money for their boss, even if their relationship wasn’t strictly professional.
Su Li felt that if she offered cat food and cat treats as a reward for working, Cat would probably agree without hesitation. Cat was still too naive.
“Isn’t that still too much?” Cat whispered.
She had wanted to save Su Li some money, but Su Li had seen through her little scheme.
Seeing Cat lower her head, Su Li said, “We’re good friends, right? So, my money is Cat’s money. Friends should share what they have.”
Cat felt that Su Li’s logic was a bit off.
After all, if she shared with Su Li, she would be taking advantage of her since she had nothing else to offer in return.
She felt like she was holding Su Li back.
“I will work hard, Su Li!” Cat said seriously.
‘As long as I work hard to earn money for her, that counts as sharing my own things with Su Li.’
The two ate in silence. Su Li noticed Cat putting shrimp into her bowl while Cat’s own bowl had none.
Consequently, she moved three shrimp back into Cat’s bowl and started eating.
Cat looked at the shrimp and then at Su Li.
She wanted to say something, but ultimately saved the shrimp for last.
She liked to save the best things for the end of the meal.
The same applied to things Su Li gave her.
Cat was actually a bit reluctant to eat them, but since Su Li gave them to her, she would!
After the simple meal, Su Li tried to clear the table. Cat looked at her with watery, pitiful eyes.
“I-I’ll do the dishes! After all, this counts as part of the cooking!”
Cat was very earnest.
She was afraid Su Li would want to pay her extra for the dishes, so she added, “Washing dishes is included in the meal. If I didn’t cook, there wouldn’t be dishes to wash. So, if you want to pay me for the dishes, I have to finish them first.”
Cat used her own set of logic. Seeing how persistent she was, Su Li finally nodded.
Once Cat saw that Su Li agreed, she happily carried the dishes back to the kitchen.
Watching her leave, Su Li was momentarily dazed.
Living with Cat came with no worries at all.
Even though her little kitten could talk now, Su Li didn’t find it troublesome in the slightest.
She suddenly thought of Chi Qingya.
Her current perspective wasn’t much different from Chi Qingya’s back then.
She just couldn’t understand why Chi Qingya, who had so little to do, was still so full of dissatisfaction every day.
Su Li stopped thinking about those meaningless things.
Her relationship with Chi Qingya was just a transaction, but her relationship with Cat was not.
“Su Li, Su Li, I’m going to my room to study for a bit! If you need anything, remember to call me.”
Cat looked at Su Li as she spoke.
After being busy all morning, she couldn’t wait to see her little desk.
If possible, she wanted to see what it felt like to write on paper.
Although the name “Su Li” written on a cell phone could be saved for a long time, she wanted to write it on paper and look at it properly.
‘I wonder if Su Li will hate my writing if it looks crooked?’
“Okay. If you have any questions while using the computer, feel free to ask me.”
“C-can I learn to use the computer a bit later?” Cat asked, looking embarrassed.
It wasn’t that she had specific questions; she didn’t know how to use it at all.
“Sure, no problem. Everything is up to your own schedule.”
Su Li gave Cat a great deal of freedom.
She could feel that Cat was still a bit nervous.
Learning couldn’t be rushed.
Su Li watched Cat enter the room happily.
Although she wanted to follow her in, she ultimately just gently closed the door for her.
Cat was growing up and needed her own space.