The pale fingertips gently rubbed the cat’s forehead twice before Shang Xuci withdrew his hand and placed the cat back into its nest.
By the time Jian Xun woke up, night had already fallen.
“Meow~” Jian Xun trotted to the bedroom door and called softly inside.
He knew the big boss was a light sleeper, so he only meowed once and waited. When there was no response, he turned and padded toward the cardboard box. If he opened the door now, he would wake Shang Xuci.
Over the next few days, Shang Xuci was constantly busy—leaving at eight every morning and coming home at exactly six every evening.
At first, the little cat was a bit anxious whenever he went out, but once his schedule became regular, Jian Xun felt reassured again.
Aside from work and studies, Shang Xuci visited Gu Ming every month for a health check-up. Without the old medicinal formula, his condition had improved significantly. Combined with regular exercise, his physique had grown stronger.
Shang Xuci also met with Shang Jue twice. The old man gave him a subsidiary company. Seeing that its location was rather far away, he looked into a residence a bit closer—a three-story standalone house with a small courtyard. Not too big, not too small, just right for living with a cat.
Moving wouldn’t be troublesome, though he wasn’t sure if Sui Sui would adapt. But he figured the cat would probably like it—after all, there would be a yard to play in and more space to move around.
He decided to wait until he officially took over the subsidiary before making the move.
As Shang Xuci grew busier, he had less and less time to spend with his cat, only playing with him for a while after coming home from work.
Jian Xun understood. Going out to work was exhausting.
He did game livestreaming himself, so he knew all too well how hard it was to earn money.
During the day, the cat stayed home alone and often felt bored. After tiring himself out with toys, he would start hunting mosquitoes, having the time of his life.
Sometimes, during work, Shang Xuci would check the security cameras. The little cat’s movements looked as if he was swatting at air, leaping into corners here and there, his mood clearly quite good.
When he got tired, he would jump onto the sofa to rest—and he even knew how to use the remote to turn on the TV. Every day, he watched the same channel: sometimes cartoons, sometimes melodramas. Either way, the little cat watched with rapt attention.
His Sui Sui was really smart—he even knew how to turn on the television.
While Shang Xuci was silently praising him, the video feed showed the little cat lying quietly on the floor.
Shang Xuci looked away and continued reviewing documents.
When he finished the last few files on his desk and glanced back at the monitor, the cat had shifted his gaze from the TV—now playing commercials—and was showing the camera only the back of his head.
He was facing the kitchen.
His fluffy tail gave a swish.
Sui Sui stood up and walked toward the door, meowing once. After pausing for two or three seconds, he stealthily padded toward the kitchen.
Shang Xuci switched the feed to the kitchen camera. His pen paused mid-stroke, and he propped an elbow on the desk, fingers interlaced, chin resting on the backs of his hands, eyes fixed on the monitor.
The little white cat sat crouched on the kitchen floor for a long time, his beautiful feline eyes locked on the pantry cabinet, his tiny face full of conflict.
Ever since he was caught sneaking snacks last time, he hadn’t had any treats in a long while.
Jian Xun swallowed a mouthful of drool and pawed at the cabinet door.
The big boss wasn’t home today… If he stole just one dried fish, surely no one would notice. Just one!
He swore to himself, lifted his head to glance at the security camera with a guilty look, then quickly looked away. No way—it was too much of a coincidence to think the big boss, being so busy, would be watching the surveillance feed at this exact moment.
Decision made, the little cat began his operation. With practiced ease, he opened the cabinet door, tore open the dried-fish packet, grabbed one in his mouth, kicked the door shut, and bolted for the living room.
Heehee, mission accomplished!
Last time, he’d been caught because of breadcrumbs left on the floor. This time, Jian Xun was smarter—he grabbed a plastic bag, dropped the dried fish inside, then carried the bag onto the sofa.
A whole string of moves, swift and fierce.
Jian Xun was panting from exhaustion—not so much from the work, but from the guilt making his heart race.
Phew—
Alright, now to find a soft spot with a nice backrest to sit down.
Jian Xun had no idea the big boss was watching his every move through the cameras. At this moment, he was sprawled on the sofa like an imperial concubine, hugging the plastic bag to his belly and nibbling the dried fish in small bites.
See? Watching TV is so much better with snacks!
One bite of dried fish, one bite of TV.
In that moment, Jian Xun felt his feline life had reached its peak. His tail swished even harder.
By the time another melodrama episode ended, his dried fish was gone. Without him even realizing it, his four legs carried him to the kitchen again—and when he came to his senses, there was another dried fish lying on his fluffy white belly.
Jian Xun: Meow?
Well… this will be the last one.
Shang Xuci’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly as the pen in his hand twirled twice. He had already recorded the first time the little cat committed a “crime,” and now here came a second offense.
If this kept up and the cat got any fatter, this video would be played for public shaming.
On the feed, the cat suddenly let out a small sneeze.
Jian Xun gave a bewildered little meow.
This time, the commercial was a bit long. Jian Xun glanced at the intimacy meter on the panel. Ever since the last incidents—sleeping together and sleeping on his lap—the intimacy value had risen a lot, but recently, it had barely moved.
After observing for a while, Jian Xun came to a conclusion:
Sleeping together made the intimacy grow slowly but steadily and was easy to maintain. Next was physical contact, which increased it quickly—especially cuddling. Then came playing together, which barely made a difference, and finally, basic feeding, which had the least effect.
But there was no way he could keep sleeping with him all the time!
He decided it was time for a change!
When the TV switched to a cartoon, Jian Xun seriously watched an entire episode of Tom and Jerry.
At the same time, a fresh stack of documents landed on Shang Xuci’s desk.
He shifted his focus back to work.
…
Over on the sofa, Jian Xun accidentally pressed “Play” on a recommended video—A Cat Raising a Human in Daily Life, a heartwarming story about a cat who goes to work to support its human. After watching, Jian Xun felt inspired and searched for reviews of the show on his tablet.
[So jealous of the main character. I want a cat to take care of me too!]
[My cat says no way. The cat in the show must be acting—there’s no such thing as a cat with a nine-to-five job!]
[Looks like it’s time to make my cat start doing housework.]
[I bought it an apron, and the ungrateful brat beat me up and refused to admit it.]
[Look at other people’s cats, then look at mine—eating, sleeping, and occasionally throwing tantrums. I wish I could send it to work!]
[Same here, same here! My damn cat never listens—spends the whole day secretly messing with poop. I’m losing my mind!]
[My lazy cat…]
[Forget working—if my cat could even do housework, I can’t imagine how happy I’d be!]
[I can’t even picture it. Coming home to find my cat cooking dinner and waiting for me… that’s pure bliss and healing! Heaven, please let me dream!!]
[Whose cat can cook, mop the floor, and tidy up? Give that poor, depressed office worker a big hug—this is outrageous…]
[Agreed. Who wouldn’t want a cat that can do chores?]
…
Housework.
Jian Xun thought about how Shang Xuci had a touch of OCD—rooms were cleaned regularly by a housekeeper, and meals were prepared and delivered by a chef.
All of that must cost quite a bit of money.
If he did the chores himself, not only could it save money—wouldn’t the big boss be happy too?
Who could possibly refuse a capable Cat-san?!
Jian Xun checked the panel to see what he could redeem with his points. After a bit of searching, he selected the “Cat Agility” skill.
He had already conquered the big boss’s lap. The next step was… the big boss’s stomach! Uh… he didn’t have the courage to climb onto his belly, but he could conquer his appetite!
In his past life as a human, Jian Xun already knew how to cook a few dishes. Now, learning new recipes felt easy.
Checking the cat skills again, he noticed one for hypnosis—perfect for when he needed to go out and buy groceries.
Decision made, Jian Xun resolved to start tomorrow!
He would let the big boss know that Sui Sui wasn’t just a freeloader who only ate—he could take care of him too!
And even make money!
Remembering Xu Tutu’s advice, Jian Xun thought it over carefully. In the pet channel, the most popular videos were indeed of cats showing their faces.
When Shang Xuci came back, he would ask for a smartphone so he could livestream himself playing games with his face on camera.
Jian Xun was excellent at execution—right on time, he crouched by the door to wait.
6 p.m.
When Shang Xuci opened the door and came home, Sui Sui greeted him with a meow right at the entrance.
As always, he followed him everywhere.
After taking a shower, Shang Xuci towel-dried his hair with one hand and walked into the living room. Just as he was about to sit down, he remembered the cat’s antics on the sofa earlier today and decided to check it.
Aside from cat fur, there were no crumbs.
His actions caught Jian Xun’s attention. The little cat hopped onto the sofa and watched him pick up cat hair.
“Meow~”
That wasn’t on purpose, okay~
He had guarded against crumbs but hadn’t thought to guard against his own fur.
Luckily, the big boss didn’t say anything. After picking up the fur, he washed his hands and sat back on the sofa to watch the news.
Jian Xun sat beside him, inching his butt closer and closer until there was only an inch of space between them.
Since he couldn’t understand the news, he withdrew his gaze.
Cats didn’t like watching the news.
Instead, Jian Xun brought over the tablet and practiced the fruit-slicing game diligently.
Shang Xuci sipped his tea, and by the time the half-hour news ended, Sui Sui was still gaming.
The fruit-slicing game had turned into a mouse-catching one.
His white paws tapped quickly on the screen, movements agile, body poised, eyes unblinking.
When he noticed the big boss watching him, Jian Xun opened his own account page and meowed at him.
Shang Xuci took a look—it was the account Shen Huan had helped the little cat register: [Super Incredibly Adorable Sui Sui].
He casually took out his phone and recorded a full video of Sui Sui playing the game, added some background music, typed a random short title, and uploaded it to the [Super Incredibly Adorable Sui Sui] account.
“All done.”
Jian Xun looked up blankly. “Meow?”
Then went right back to playing.
This wasn’t the first time Shang Xuci had seen the cat using a tablet—but what stood out was that this cat had also watched TV the entire day!
Shang Xuci took an old tablet and set up anti-addiction restrictions.
Jian Xun looked innocently at his own tablet being confiscated. He reached out a paw to grab the big boss’s phone.
“Meow~!”
Sui Sui wanted a phone too.
Shang Xuci raised an eyebrow but didn’t stop him—he wanted to see what the cat was planning to do.
When Jian Xun saw the big boss hand over the phone so quickly, he gave his head a quick affectionate bump, then clamped the phone in his mouth, hopped down to the floor, and trotted off toward the cardboard box, moving his front and back legs in sync.
Tsk.
This cat really had his eye on the phone.
Shang Xuci went to get his own device.
Inside the cardboard box, Jian Xun’s round cat eyes were wide with confusion.
“Meow—”
Weren’t you giving it to me?
Nom, nom.
The little cat didn’t want to give it back.
But he was just a small cat—how could he win against a human?
The cold and ruthless man neatly took back the phone, gave the cat’s butt a pat, and turned away without a second thought.
Jian Xun hugged his tail sadly.
Knock, knock—
The cardboard box was tapped twice, gently.
The cat lifted his head.
A pale, slender hand was slightly curled, palm holding a small black object.
The little cat curled his lips and leaned back warily.
Hmph, I’m not eating cat treats! (If I wanted to, I could just steal them myself!)
“Phone.” The man’s clear, magnetic voice sounded. “Don’t want it?”
Jian Xun: !!!
Whoosh—!!
His head shot up through the box’s top opening, both short front paws clutching the edge.
“Mua~?”
Estoy entrando en desesperación, ya conviertete en humano!!! Estiy sufriendo sabiendo que mañana tengo que trabajar!!! QAQ