He Yu was tall and sturdy, and when he approached the group of cats, the adult cats immediately guarded the two playful kittens behind them.
He Yu set down the snacks and then retreated to his original spot.
Once he left, the adult cats relaxed again, lay back down, and continued basking in the sun.
“First, make friends with the two kittens.” He Yu didn’t care whether he understood or not, and gave Xie Xiaobao a little push forward. “Go on.”
Xie Xiaobao glanced back at him, then trotted over on his short little legs.
Maybe because he didn’t seem threatening, the adult cat just lifted its head and gave him a glance before ignoring him, but the two kittens watched him curiously.
Xie Xiaobao meowed twice at the cat group in a friendly greeting, and the kittens echoed him with their own meows. One bolder kitten, curious, tried to approach, but was quickly picked up by the scruff by the nearby adult cat and carried back.
“Meow meow meow.”
Xie Xiaobao meowed again, pulled a dried fish from the snack bag, cautiously walked a bit closer, set the little fish on the ground, then retreated to his spot.
Young kittens were curious and energetic. One of them, a black-and-white cow-patterned kitten, glanced at the adult cat, then bravely ran up to the little fish, grabbed it in its mouth, and dashed back to the adult cat’s side.
The other calico kitten also came over. The two kittens sniffed the treat, found it to be a cat’s favorite, and, side by side, started eating the dried fish together.
The little dried fish wasn’t big, so the kittens finished it quickly, and then stared at Xie Xiaobao with eager, round eyes, ready for more.
Xie Xiaobao flicked his tail, a satisfied smile appearing on his cat face. This time, he put the dried fish a little closer to himself.
Once there was a first time, there was a second, then a third…
The kittens happily ate the dried fish, getting closer and closer to Xie Xiaobao. Maybe because they saw Xie Xiaobao meant no harm, even the adult cats who had been keeping an eye on things relaxed and let them be.
So, before long, the two kittens had been lured right up to Xie Xiaobao by the dried fish.
Feeling he was now a big cat, Xie Xiaobao imitated what his older brother did to him, affectionately rubbing against the two kittens, then grooming the fur on their heads for them.
The two kittens were lively, and after eating the dried fish, quickly started playing with Xie Xiaobao.
After playing with them for a while, Xie Xiaobao trotted back, and began dragging bag after bag of snacks out of the bag.
At first, the two kittens were still afraid of He Yu and didn’t dare come close, but after watching for a while and seeing nothing happened to Xie Xiaobao, they ran over and joined him in moving the snacks out.
Once all the snacks were out, Xie Xiaobao divided them into three portions: one for the two kittens, one for the adult cats, and one for himself. He pushed the snacks in front of the adult cats and meowed softly.
The biggest tabby cat stood up, tail raised, circled Xie Xiaobao twice, sniffed him, and meowed to its companions, “Still just a kitten.”
Xie Xiaobao meowed back in protest, “I’m already a big cat!”
The tabby cat gave him a sidelong look, leaned over and licked his head, then dragged the snacks over to its companions and lazily said, “Go play with the kittens.”
Xie Xiaobao puffed up his cheeks, looking at the kittens playing with a little ball, then at the calm adult cats eating dried fish, and felt a subtle sense of being underestimated.
With the snacks distributed among the cats, the only portion left was what He Yu had prepared for the dogs.
Xie Xiaobao picked up a bag of jerky and, huffing and puffing, ran toward the dog group. The adult cat behind him kindly reminded, “Don’t go over there. Those dumb dogs will bite cats, and you can’t beat them.”
Xie Xiaobao paused, hesitated with the jerky in his mouth, glanced at the much bigger dogs, and cautiously edged forward.
He pressed his ears down, pushed the jerky forward with his paw, and meowed.
No dog came forward. Xie Xiaobao patiently waited for a while, and suddenly, the dog group became restless—a strong, gray-furred Husky walked out from the house.
This Husky was missing an ear. It was different from the Huskies Xie Xiaobao had seen at the pet shop, with blue-gray eyes that were icy cold, lacking any of the usual Husky liveliness and enthusiasm.
Xie Xiaobao shrank back a little in fear, letting out a soft “miiw” sound in his throat.
Watching from behind, He Yu grew worried and wanted to step forward, but was stopped by a staff member. “It’ll be fine, Da Zhuang has a good temper.”
Sure enough, the Husky walked up to Xie Xiaobao, stared at him for a moment with those blue-gray eyes, then suddenly lowered its head, picked up the jerky in front of him, and gently nudged Xie Xiaobao with its paw before turning and leaving.
Once the Husky left, the other dogs quickly gathered around, sniffing and inspecting Xie Xiaobao, no longer showing any of their previous coldness or hostility.
With all the snacks handed out, Xie Xiaobao’s eyes sparkled, his tail wagged happily, and he bounced over to He Yu, half-standing as he meowed joyfully.
He Yu squatted down, patted his head, picked him up and nuzzled his face, praising, “So impressive.”
Xie Xiaobao squinted his eyes and purred contentedly.
Waiting for Xiaobao like this, the whole morning quickly passed.
He Yu carried Xie Xiaobao out for lunch. The meals at the shelter were all cooked by the staff themselves. He Yu got a portion for himself, then fetched Xie Xiaobao’s cat bowl and canned food, poured the food for Xie Xiaobao first, and only then started eating himself.
After lunch, it was still early. Xie Xiaobao had just gotten familiar with the shelter, and He Yu wasn’t in a hurry to go back. He let Xie Xiaobao play on his own, while he handled some work nearby.
Xie Xiaobao was now fast friends with the two kittens. He was chubby, while the two kittens were small enough to perch on his back.
Good-natured, Xie Xiaobao carried the two kittens around as he ran. The kittens clung tightly to his fur, letting out happy “mi” sounds.
Little Black, returning from outside, sat atop the wall watching for a while, then shook her head and meowed, “House cats are just too weak. So chubby—if they meet an enemy, they can’t even run away.”
The black cat leapt nimbly to the ground and, with graceful feline steps, walked up to Xie Xiaobao.
Suddenly blocked, Xie Xiaobao froze, but when he saw it was Little Black, he relaxed and greeted her.
The two kittens, seeing their mother, jumped off Xie Xiaobao’s back and affectionately rubbed up against Little Black, wriggling under her belly.
Little Black watched Xie Xiaobao for a moment, stepped forward, and licked his head twice—a sign of acceptance. She led the kittens to another spot, and when she saw Xie Xiaobao hesitating, she turned and flicked her tail, signaling him to follow.
Xie Xiaobao happily meowed and trotted after her.
Little Black was a robust adult cat, with sleek, well-toned muscles on her limbs. Her black fur gleamed healthily in the sunlight.
She was clearly the leader of the cat group. As she walked by, the sunbathing adult cats got up and gave up the sunniest spot for them.
Imitating Little Black’s posture, Xie Xiaobao sucked in his belly, pressed his front paws together, curled his tail around, and sat up straight in a very serious manner.
The two kittens followed suit and sat together as well.
Little Black was a rather strict cat mom. She looked sternly at the three cats before her and meowed seriously, “Today, I’m going to teach you a new hunting skill.”
Xie Xiaobao tilted his head, a bit confused.
Little Black glanced at them, then nimbly jumped up onto the wall and dashed out.
The three kittens looked at each other, not understanding why the adult cat suddenly left.
Not long after, Little Black returned carrying a sparrow in her mouth. The sparrow had a broken wing and struggled desperately in her jaws.
She tossed the sparrow onto the ground. The injured bird flapped its wings, trying to fly away, but was pinned down by the adult cat’s paw.
She sternly meowed, “Today, we’re learning to catch birds.”
“Whoever catches it first gets to keep it.”
With that, Little Black lifted her paw. The wounded sparrow tried to fly up but couldn’t get far. The two kittens meowed and chased after it.
Xie Xiaobao hesitated as he looked at the injured sparrow, his expression uncertain.
Little Black sat down beside him and asked, “Aren’t you going? Fresh sparrow tastes great.”
Xie Xiaobao shook his head hesitantly.
Little Black turned her head to look him over. Her emerald cat eyes were deep—anyone familiar with cats would know she was a smart and fierce old cat, not to be trifled with.
Xie Xiaobao shrank his neck, mumbling for an excuse, “I don’t know how…”
“Your human has pampered you too much,” Little Black meowed. “You’ve already lost your hunting instincts.”
Xie Xiaobao pressed his ears down, his eyes drooping, and let out a low meow.
Little Black crouched down, rubbed against him, and licked his neck. “Humans can’t take care of you forever. You need to learn some survival skills, so you can survive if you’re ever abandoned.”
She pointed toward the dog group. “Otherwise, out there, even a random dumb dog could eat you.”
Xie Xiaobao was stunned by her words.
Actually, even his older brothers and Xie Meili had learned these skills. When he was little, his eldest brother would teach him too. But ever since his health problems started, he’d become the family’s protected one, and over time, he’d forgotten his instincts.
Seeing him lost in thought, Little Black nudged him with her paw. “Go play with them. You’ll need these skills someday.”
Xie Xiaobao looked at the sparrow being chased all over by the kittens, let out a low purr, then stood up to join in.
But catching a sparrow wasn’t as easy as it looked. Even injured, the sparrow was agile, and the kittens, lacking skill, only knew how to pounce. The sparrow escaped every time.
Little Black lay nearby, tail swaying leisurely, occasionally offering tips on how to corner the bird or gather strength for a catch. Following her advice, Xie Xiaobao chased the sparrow all around the yard.
In the end, none of the three kittens managed to catch the sparrow. With a final burst of strength, the wounded bird flapped its wings and flew into the sky, leaving behind three exhausted, panting kittens, frustrated and biting their tails.
Little Black watched from the side, offering no help. The three kittens were worn out and, having let the sparrow escape, were all quite dejected.
“If you can’t catch prey, you go hungry.”
Little Black picked up the tired kittens one by one and set them down in a row.
Xie Xiaobao sat listlessly, the two kittens leaning crookedly against him. All three were dusty and gray from rolling around.
He Yu came to fetch the cat, and what he saw was a dirty, dispirited Xie Xiaobao.
“What happened?”
He Yu picked up Xie Xiaobao, ignoring the dust and dirt, and took out a tissue to wipe his face.
Little Black, seeing He Yu approach, led the two kittens away. Before leaving, she told Xie Xiaobao to come again next time.
Xie Xiaobao lay in He Yu’s arms, covered in dust. After resting a while, he regained his strength and happily meowed at He Yu.
He Yu had thought he’d been bullied, but seeing him bounce back so quickly, he finally relaxed and pinched Xie Xiaobao’s paw. “Time to go home.”
Xie Xiaobao looked back at Little Black’s family, said his goodbyes, and then lay in He Yu’s arms to be carried out.
Back in the city, He Yu looked at the dirty cat and changed direction toward the Pet Hospital. Although the shelter was regularly disinfected, with so many cats and dogs living together, it was bound to get a bit unsanitary.
He Yu planned to buy some deworming medicine first, and also pick up some pet shampoo for bathing the cat at home.
The Pet Hospital was busy on weekends. When He Yu walked in with the dirty Xie Xiaobao in his arms, he drew quite a few stares.
But when people saw the dusty Orange Cat in his arms, they all hugged their own pets and moved a little farther away.
The receptionist came over, glanced at Xie Xiaobao—just an ordinary Orange Cat, and dirty at that—and smiled. “Sir, you have a kind heart. This Orange Cat is lucky to have been picked up by you.”
“Would you like to give the cat a bath?”
As soon as Xie Xiaobao heard that, he was unhappy. Did he really look like a stray? He looked down at his own fur, but got a nose full of dust and sneezed twice, hard.
He Yu patted his back and politely said to the staff, “This is my cat. He’s just a little mischievous and playful. Sorry to trouble you.”
The staff froze for a moment—so this was a customer’s own cat. She looked a bit embarrassed but quickly recovered. “An energetic cat is good—very friendly.”
He Yu nodded casually and asked, “Do you have deworming medicine and shampoo?”
“We do,” the staff, realizing she’d said the wrong thing, stopped making small talk and efficiently brought out the most expensive options for He Yu to choose from.
He Yu frowned and looked them over for a while, but couldn’t tell the difference, so he just bought them all to let Orange Bao choose at home.
After paying, He Yu put the items in the trunk and went home with Xie Xiaobao.
After sneezing, Xie Xiaobao was unusually quiet. When they got home, before He Yu could even let go, he jumped down on his own, scurried to the bathroom door, and meowed, indicating he wanted a bath.
He Yu understood his meaning and couldn’t help but laugh. “So you do care about cleanliness.”
He carried the shampoo and deworming drops into the bathroom, picked up the impatient, meowing Xie Xiaobao, and set him on the sink, then started filling it with water.
There was no bath tub at home, and the bathtub was too big. He Yu checked and found the sink was just the right size.
Once the sink was full of warm water, before He Yu could do anything, Xie Xiaobao jumped in himself, splashing water all over He Yu’s shirt.
Xie Xiaobao glanced at his now-soaked shirt, guiltily pressed one ear back against his head, and sat obediently still.
He Yu opened the shampoo and showed him one by one. “Which one do you want?”
Xie Xiaobao looked and chose the orange-scented one. He Yu put away the rest, squeezed out a dollop of shampoo, mixed in some deworming liquid, and gently started lathering Xie Xiaobao.
Soaked, Xie Xiaobao looked a whole size slimmer, but even like this, he still felt chubby to the touch.
He Yu pinched his round belly and gently scrubbed his back.
Soaking in the warm water after a day of play, Xie Xiaobao couldn’t help but hum contentedly. He rubbed his wet face against He Yu’s hand, and ended up with a face full of bubbles—even his mouth was covered.
He spat twice to get the bubbles out, then dunked his mouth in the water to rinse it off.