Chapter 2: Talking with the Cat

Click.

Accompanied by the sound, warm orange lighting illuminated the darkness in the room and chased away much of the chill from the heavy rain.

“Here is your home now.”

“Meow?”

Set down by the young girl, Bai Ziyu jumped to the floor and sat there, staring at the house in front of her. 

She… the cat was still a little dazed right now.

This didn’t feel like being adopted. It felt more like being kidnapped. 

And she had clearly chosen the tall girl, yet this young girl had snatched her away and brought her straight home.

She had hoped for the kind of home invasion that came with love.

Not something like this.

Bai Ziyu’s gaze swept around the room. 

Then she couldn’t be bothered to look any further. 

The disgust was almost blatantly obvious on her face.

This was just an old, rundown little place. 

Whether it was the furniture or anywhere else, everything gave off an ancient feel. In some spots, the wall plaster was even peeling off.

Bai Ziyu lifted her head.

She stared at the young girl.

“Huh? You don’t like it?” 

Although cats usually couldn’t show much expression—especially since the other party was a black cat.

But Luo Yunzhi, in her daze, still read that meaning from the black cat’s eyes. 

“The house may be rundown, but don’t you think it’s quite warm and cozy?”

She smiled rather embarrassedly.

“Meow.”

I don’t.

“Huh? You’re really picky.”

“Meow.”

That’s right.

“I didn’t have a choice either.”

Luo Yunzhi shrugged her shoulders. 

She picked up a towel from the nearby cabinet and wiped her hair, messing up her strands from the careless motion.

She seemed carefree and heartless, smiling happily as she started explaining to the cat, “I don’t think that person was a good one.”

“So I just carried you away.”

To this answer.

The black cat remained noncommittal.

Bai Ziyu naturally knew… that tall girl, she had never seen her before, and she had never fed her. 

Why would a stranger suddenly appear wanting to adopt her?

Especially on such a heavy rainy night. 

If the other party had no ulterior motives, she definitely wouldn’t believe it. 

Although as a cat, there wasn’t much to plot for anyway.

“Meow meow.”

But I didn’t want to go with you.

“She’s really a bad person.”

“Meow.”

I don’t care.

“You have to trust me.”

Luo Yunzhi looked anxious all over her face, but in the next moment, her words suddenly halted. 

She pressed her forehead, full of helplessness, and hung the towel back on the cabinet.

“How could I possibly be talking to a cat?” 

She stared at the ceiling in a daze for a long time, feeling like she had gone crazy, believing she could understand what the cat was saying.

Luo Yunzhi slowly let out a breath. Then she smiled gently at the black cat. 

“After talking to you for so long, you must actually be hungry, right?”

She reached out and stroked the black cat’s head.

It felt very soft.

“I’ll go make you something to eat.”

After saying that, Luo Yunzhi ran into the kitchen, busy with who knew what, leaving the cat standing there watching her back.

Bai Ziyu shifted backward a bit, finding a comfortable position. 

She hadn’t really felt that the other party understood her words earlier, but she still liked meowing back and forth.

There was nothing she could do about it. 

Although she had only been a cat yokai for a few days, the loneliness was very real. 

She really wanted to talk to someone more.

After all, she couldn’t exactly talk to the walls.

She wasn’t crazy yet.

“Meow~”

I’ll stay here for now.

Bai Ziyu simply curled up where she was, waiting for Luo Yunzhi to bring food. 

Although she disliked the place, it was still a good spot to take shelter from the rain.

Compared to that makeshift cardboard nest outside, at least here she wouldn’t get rained on or blown by the wind, leading to getting cold and catching a cold.

The black cat yawned, feeling a bit bored. Days without a phone were indeed tough. 

Usually, she spent her time sleeping through it.

“Meow meow meow.”

Gotta find a way to get an ID card.

“Meow~”

So boring~

In the kitchen, Luo Yunzhi heard the sounds. Her hands paused in their movements. 

She glanced back at the black cat by the door. Was this cat actually a chatterbox?

She hadn’t actually interacted with Bai Ziyu before. She had only heard from classmates that a black cat had recently appeared in the area nearby, and it was especially cute.

At the time, Luo Yunzhi had just listened. 

Until yesterday when she passed by the alley entrance and heard the cat meowing inside, her gaze catching sight of this beautiful black cat.

Then she had walked on.

After all, she was very poor. After school, she still needed to work part-time at the supermarket to earn living expenses. 

Otherwise, without any savings, she would just end up starving.

Who would have thought that today, right after finishing her shift, a torrential downpour started outside. 

As she passed by the alley again, she inexplicably remembered that black cat.

After much internal conflict.

She felt she couldn’t just ignore a life.

So she brought her back.

“I don’t have any cat food prepared at home.” 

Luo Yunzhi muttered to herself in the kitchen, looking at the ingredients on the stove. 

They were only the things she usually ate.

After a brief hesitation, the young girl simply pulled out her phone and opened a search engine, looking up what foods cats could eat besides cat food.

“Broccoli, carrots, pumpkin, and so on?” 

Luo Yunzhi glanced at those ingredients again. 

“Hmm, there are actually quite a lot of things cats can eat.”

That put the young girl at ease. 

She wasn’t picky, and she had these vegetables. 

She just had to remember not to add any seasoning when cooking for the cat.

Luo Yunzhi got to work.

Humming a tune.

“Meow.”

That’s pretty nice.

At the same time, the curled-up black cat lifted her head. 

She watched the young girl not far away, quite surprised to find that she liked the music the other was humming.

Bai Ziyu lost any desire to sleep. 

She simply propped herself up and stared at Luo Yunzhi for a long time. 

Suddenly she noticed something falling from the girl onto the floor.

It was water.

“Meow?”

Rainwater?

Only then did Bai Ziyu realize that the young girl’s clothes were still completely soaked. 

Clearly, while outside, she had been drenched through.

She lifted her own paw and shook her sleek fur again. 

There wasn’t a single drop of water on her—only a dry, refreshing feeling.

Bai Ziyu frowned. 

She walked over to the umbrella, glanced at the towel on the cabinet, and couldn’t help looking deeply at the young girl again.

The matter was very obvious.

When she had carried her back, Luo Yunzhi had been afraid the black cat would get caught in the icy rain outside, so she had tilted the umbrella toward her. 

As a result, the young girl herself had been soaked through.

“Meow meow.”

She’s unexpectedly a really good person.

“Meow.”

I’ll forgive you for now.

Bai Ziyu gave a light snort and curled back up on the floor. 

She simply remembered this incident in her heart and had no intention of forgetting it.

She was just a cat right now. 

Once she got an ID card later, found a job, and earned a lot of money, she could repay the young girl. 

She couldn’t exactly have this cat go steal money, right?

She might get caught.

And then euthanized?

Bai Ziyu shivered at the thought. 

Just as she was about to close her eyes, a delicious aroma drifted into her nose. 

She opened her eyes and saw that the young girl had already come over carrying a plate.

“Meow meow?”

Is that food for me?

“Food’s ready.”