No one knew how much time had passed, but the bath was finally over.
For Bai Ziyu, this meant the torture had come to a complete end.
After being dried off with a bath towel, the black cat couldn’t wait to slip through the open door crack. She hurriedly ran to the windowsill to bask in the sun.
Since there was no dryer at home and the towel could only absorb some moisture, she was still slightly damp.
The black cat groomed her fur with her paws.
She looked rather listless.
“Meow.”
Being a cat is really troublesome.
“Meow~”
I want to become human~
It was noon.
The sunlight streaming in from the window fell warmly on the black cat’s body.
She half-closed her eyes in contentment.
Her fur had dried considerably under the sun and was no longer as tangled as before.
Bai Ziyu let out a sigh of relief, arched her back, and stretched lazily.
Once she finished, she turned her head to look at Luo Yunzhi, who had just walked out of the bathroom.
The girl had also dried herself off.
The black cat couldn’t help but snort softly.
It was a good thing the girl hadn’t shamelessly walked out naked, or she would have had to close her eyes again.
In the bathroom earlier… she had let the girl do whatever she wanted—touching here, washing there—like an unresisting doll.
After all, if she resisted…
It would only take even longer.
“Little White, don’t be mad anymore.”
Seeing the black cat look over, Luo Yunzhi smiled gently and picked up the clothes she had prepared on the sofa.
The girl was quite frugal when it came to clothing.
She wore a blue shirt paired with jeans that had faded a bit from many washes.
Luo Yunzhi didn’t care much about looking fashionable. Or rather, when living in poverty, such things weren’t a priority.
Just being able to eat was already difficult enough.
The black cat silently looked away.
“Meow.”
Since you’re so pitiful…
“Meow.”
I’ll forgive you.
***
The weather today was quite nice.
The sunlight was warm but not scorching.
Beams of light filtered through the tree leaves, casting small patches of shadow on the ground.
The girl carried her school backpack and walked slowly along the sparsely populated street.
On top of the backpack stood an adorable black cat.
Luo Yunzhi had actually wanted to carry Bai Ziyu in her arms, but the black cat hated it.
Whenever she tried to pick her up, the cat would resist fiercely.
With no other choice, she had to let the black cat ride on her backpack like before.
If it wasn’t too big, it actually looked quite like a fluffy keychain.
With every step the girl took, the black cat’s body bounced up and down like a particularly springy spring.
Bai Ziyu had no choice but to climb inside the backpack.
She was feeling a bit dizzy.
“Little White, we’re almost there.”
Noticing the black cat’s movements, Luo Yunzhi smiled softly and reduced her body movements.
Soon after she spoke, they arrived at their destination. The girl lifted her head and looked at the modest sign above.
The black cat looked over as well.
“Meow?”
Sister Li’s Convenience Store?
Bai Ziyu had some impression of this place. It seemed to be where Luo Yunzhi currently worked part-time.
The store owner had also given the girl a day off.
Although the black cat had never been here before, the store owner seemed like a good person overall.
Losing interest, she crawled back into the backpack.
Luo Yunzhi paused at the entrance for a moment before pushing the door open and walking inside.
She saw a middle-aged woman busy at the checkout counter.
“Huh? Little Luo?”
Sister Li looked surprised to see her. “Didn’t I give you the day off?
Why aren’t you resting at home? What are you doing here?”
She smiled as she grabbed a drink from the side and tossed it into the girl’s arms.
“Here, help me taste this new drink that’s going on the shelves. Tell me if it’s good.”
Luo Yunzhi caught the drink, paused for a second, then unscrewed the cap and took a small sip of the new beverage.
It was sour and astringent.
Not particularly good.
“This… tastes a bit strange.” The girl shook her head.
After thinking for a moment, she took off her backpack and placed it on the checkout counter.
Then, under Sister Li’s astonished gaze, a black cat poked her head out of the backpack, sat on the counter, and lazily yawned.
Bai Ziyu glanced at the middle-aged woman and quickly lost interest.
She looked back at the girl, understanding why she had been let out.
“Little White, come try this.”
“Meow.”
Fine, fine.
Luo Yunzhi tilted the bottle and poured some of the drink into the cap, then pushed it in front of the black cat, watching expectantly.
Bai Ziyu blinked, lowered her head to give it a small lick, and then… pushed the cap away in disgust.
Her meaning was very clear.
It tasted terrible.
“Aiya, neither of you likes it?”
Sister Li gave the girl and cat a strange look. She opened another bottle and tasted it herself.
It really was awful.
“Looks like I got scammed.” The middle-aged woman sighed helplessly but didn’t make much of a fuss.
“It’s fine. I can just return all of them later.”
Sister Li waved her hand. Doing business was like this, and it wasn’t a big loss anyway.
“By the way, Little Luo, whose black cat is this?”
She was even more curious about this.
Did Luo Yunzhi actually keep a pet?
She hadn’t heard about it before.
Sister Li stared at the black cat for a long while. Suddenly, a flash of realization crossed her mind, and she looked shocked.
“Wait, could this be the cat from the internet?”
“From the internet?”
The girl’s curious voice sounded.
“It’s that one from Carrot Tissue.”
Sister Li paused, then continued, “You know, that super popular black cat that’s been going viral lately. Now that I think about it, the voice in the video sounds a lot like yours, Little Luo.”
She pulled up the video, played it, and carefully compared the voice.
“It really does sound alike… Don’t tell me this account actually belongs to you?”
Sister Li looked very puzzled.
“Uh, well…”
Luo Yunzhi tugged at the corner of her mouth.
She never expected to be recognized again so soon. Was her voice really that distinctive?
After a brief hesitation, the girl nodded and chose not to hide it. “Yes… Sister Li, Little White is the black cat from the video.”
“Wow, I actually met an internet celebrity.”
Sister Li laughed.
“I’m really lucky.”
To this, Luo Yunzhi only responded with a polite smile.
She hadn’t forgotten her original purpose for coming—to buy some treats for herself and the black cat as a reward.
The girl didn’t want to dwell on the “internet celebrity” topic.
She moved toward the shelves. “Sister Li, I actually came to buy some snacks.”
She suddenly turned back.
“Employee price, right?”
“Of course?”
Sister Li chuckled.
She sat down on the chair behind the counter and gave the black cat another look, a strange glint flashing in her eyes.
But she didn’t show it and soon stopped looking at Bai Ziyu.
“And since I already gave you the day off, I’ll give you an even bigger discount today.”