Jian Xun hesitated for a moment, then ran to squat beside the grass to take a look.
“Meow~”
Another soft, milky cry rang out. This time, Jian Xun didn’t mishear—it was the sound of a kitten.
This is my home!
What am I afraid of?!
Summoning his courage, Jian Xun looked closer—and to his surprise, it was one of his own kind.
A small, dusty-gray calico kitten, about two or three months old, was curled up in the grass. Its eyes were matted shut with some kind of grime, and its tiny, trembling paws were clutching a blade of grass, nibbling weakly while letting out faint, kittenish whimpers.
Jian Xun observed it for a moment. The little one was clearly very weak—looked like it might be sick.
He quietly approached and reached out a paw to gently touch it.
The calico only let out another frail meow.
It was as if it were asking for help.
Never mind—save first, questions later.
Jian Xun darted back inside, his gaze sweeping between the cardboard box and the cat bed. Finally, he grabbed the cat bed in his mouth and ran back to the yard, placing the kitten onto the soft cushion.
The little calico didn’t resist at all.
He carefully turned the kitten over, confirming there were no external injuries.
Grrr~
The kitten’s flat little belly rumbled in protest.
Jian Xun went back inside, fetched some kitten milk, poured it into a small dish, and set it beside the calico.
Catching the scent, the kitten sniffed around, found the source, and began lapping up the milk frantically.
Its tiny tongue never stopped moving.
Jian Xun sat nearby, letting her drink at her own pace, his tail swishing lightly against the ground.
She didn’t seem like a house cat—was she a stray? Jian Xun was puzzled. He had no idea when she had come into this yard.
Once she’d had her fill of milk, Jian Xun gave her a cat treat stick.
Since dry kibble and dried fish were too hard and might be difficult for the kitten to digest, he decided to stick to milk and soft treats for now.
About ten minutes later, the calico tried hard to open her eyes, but no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t. Jian Xun fetched a damp towel and carefully wiped her face, checking to see what was causing it.
Fortunately, it wasn’t an illness. Once the grime was cleaned away, the little calico managed to open her eyes at last.
Facing her rescuer, she wasn’t afraid at all. She wobbled forward to stand in front of the handsome Maine Coon, as if to give thanks.
“Do you have a name, little stray?”
“Xiaohua, I have a home—but it’s not with humans.”
With a few questions and answers, Jian Xun learned a bit about Xiaohua.
It turned out the little calico had gotten separated from her grandfather, an old cat.
Poor thing… she must have been through a lot.
Jian Xun only asked a few simple questions—Xiaohua was far too weak and needed rest—so he let her lie down comfortably on the cat bed.
“Is it really okay for me to stay here?” the little calico asked cautiously, having met the first cat who was kind to her.
“Aren’t you already lying there?” Jian Xun replied. “I don’t need it—the ground is nice and cool.”
“Thank you,” Xiaohua said gratefully, curling up in the warm bed and drifting off to sleep.
Jian Xun returned to his cardboard box to rest. But he couldn’t help thinking—if Xiaohua couldn’t find her grandfather, and she was so weak… what would happen to her in the future?
Should he ask the Boss to adopt her?
No, no, no—he wanted to be the Boss’s one and only cat.
And it wasn’t just possessiveness talking—Boss didn’t even like cats in the first place. Adding another would only make it harder to care for them.
…Alright, fine, Jian Xun admitted he had a tiny bit of selfishness in the matter.
When he was human, as the youngest child in the family, he never got special affection because of his age. Instead, his lack of excellence made him the target of disdain—he was never as good as his eldest or second brother, and barely better than his cousins.
No matter what he did, Jian Xun could never get the love from his family that he longed for.
He had always dreamed of receiving all of one person’s love, even if he knew it was difficult.
Right now, Shang Xuci only had him as his one and only cat—but who’s to say one day he wouldn’t bring another cat home? At that time, whether Jian Xun accepted it or not wouldn’t even matter.
The Maine Coon’s eyes dimmed, his furry head resting on the floor. If that happened, once his task was complete, he’d just leave and wander as a stray.
…Oh. Maybe he was thinking a bit too far ahead.
Pulling his thoughts back, Jian Xun took out the tablet and searched the map to get familiar with the surrounding area.
The supermarket and fish pond from before were gone. Now, a much larger new environment was waiting for him to explore.
And since the cat had started cooking, Shang Xuci kept the fridge stocked full, trying his best to meet Sui Sui’s needs.
Not having to go to the supermarket for groceries left Jian Xun a little disappointed for a while—he couldn’t go see the fish anymore, and he didn’t know if he would ever find fish that suited his taste as perfectly as before.
Still, Jian Xun really liked this new house. It was especially high-end—there was a smart washing machine and a robotic vacuum cleaner to help him with chores.
That evening, when Shang Xuci came home, the little white cat obediently greeted him at the door. He instinctively glanced toward the dining table—seeing it empty, he let out a sigh of relief.
Jian Xun circled around his feet, rubbing against him again and again. Once Shang Xuci changed into his indoor shoes, Jian Xun tugged at his pants leg, trying to lead him out toward the yard.
“Meow, meow.”
Jian Xun wanted to show him the little stray he’d picked up.
He dashed out the door first, running to the cat bed—but the little one was gone.
“Sui Sui, I’m heading to the supermarket. Do you want to come out for a walk?” Shang Xuci called from inside the house.
But Jian Xun was too busy searching for the kitten to answer. He patrolled the courtyard carefully.
No sign of the little calico.
Had she left?
If she’d disappeared by the roadside, Jian Xun would be far more worried about accidents. But here… it seemed Xiaohua had left on her own.
Would she come back?
The little white cat craned his neck, gazing into the distance with a worried expression.
After sitting outside for a while, he returned to the house—only to find the Boss was gone too.
!!
Jian Xun meowed as he opened door after door.
Kitchen—no.
Bathroom—no.
Bedroom—no.
Study—no.
Guest room—no.
Where was he?!
The cat was missing. The human was missing. Jian Xun spun in anxious circles.
Thankfully, Shang Xuci returned just a few minutes later, carrying a small bag in one hand and a book in the other.
The familiar sound of footsteps made Jian Xun leap toward him, inspecting him from head to toe.
So he wasn’t hurt—he’d just gone out to buy something.
The tense little cat instantly relaxed.
Shang Xuci crouched down and petted the cat, his expression gentle.
“Didn’t cook today?”
“Meow?” Jian Xun tilted his head.
When he realized what Shang Xuci meant, he meowed excitedly.
You like the food I make?!
You like it, right?!
Right?!
The Maine Coon waved his paws in excitement, placing his two snow-white front paws on Shang Xuci’s knee, locking eyes with him. His clear, vivid blue eyes shone brightly, almost glowing.
His tail brushed against Shang Xuci’s calf, tickling lightly.
Shang Xuci reached out to scratch the cat’s chin.
Jian Xun tilted his head back to enjoy it, his body rumbling with purrs.
Ever since they’d moved, Shang Xuci had, on a whim, stocked the fridge with plenty of groceries. The kitchen cabinets now held only condiments, all neatly replenished.
But Sui Sui hadn’t cooked a single meal for him since then.
The fish dishes might not have tasted all that great, but somehow… he still looked forward to them.
It was strange—when he first picked up the cat, it could barely walk steadily, and now it could even do chores.
Every day, the cat waited for him at the door. Shang Xuci hadn’t felt this sense of “home” in a long time. Compared to his old, work-obsessed life, he felt much more fulfilled now.
His lips curved faintly. He pinched the cat’s fluffy ears and asked casually, “Will you be cooking every day from now on?”
Jian Xun instantly retracted his paws, his mouth falling open in disbelief, eyes wide with shock.
What—did he want a cat to cook every single day?
Humans get lazy, and cats do too!
Catching fish every day was exhausting!
And besides, he hadn’t even seen a fish pond nearby!
He quickly calculated the cheapest fish at the supermarket and glanced at his thin wallet—in less than a month, he’d be bankrupt!
From the look on the cat’s face, it was as if he had understood every word. Shang Xuci rubbed the fur between his fingers, then gently patted the cat’s head and said lightly, “Just kidding.”
Standing up, Shang Xuci opened a can of cat food, called him over, and then headed upstairs.
Jian Xun didn’t rush to eat. His gaze fell on the book lying on the table.
It looked like there were pictures of dishes inside.
Hopping onto a chair, he stretched out his paw to pull the book closer.
It was a cookbook!
…What did that mean?
Had things already progressed to the point of ordering dishes?
Jian Xun swallowed hard and carefully flipped through the cookbook.
After just two or three pages, the cat’s head was spinning from the dense rows of text.
So hard!
The little white cat lay sprawled across the chair, sighing.
When bedtime was approaching, Jian Xun instinctively went to grab his cat bed—but that bed had been given to Xiaohua, and it was now covered with dust from the ground. If he brought that into the bedroom, both cat and bed would definitely be thrown out together.
No way. He hadn’t slept with the Boss for two whole days—two days!
And this was a new bed—he couldn’t let it get dirty.
After thinking for a moment, Jian Xun grabbed his fish-shaped plush pillow and headed upstairs to find Shang Xuci. Right in front of the man, he pulled a wet wipe onto the floor, stepped on it with both front and back paws, and scrubbed hard, cleaning his paw pads before licking them.
While scrubbing, he meowed at Shang Xuci—he wanted him to see that he was washing his paws, so that he could justifiably hop into the bedroom and sleep on the bed.
His soft, pink paw pads spread wide, every inch spotlessly clean.
He held them out toward Shang Xuci as if to say: Look, I’ve washed up.
And in the end, he successfully climbed onto Shang Xuci’s bed.
The next morning, after breakfast, Jian Xun strolled around the courtyard—and saw the little calico again.
He noticed the kitten always appeared around his mealtime, stayed for a short rest after eating, and then left.
From then on, she came every day to play with him, and Jian Xun often fed her.
One day, when Jian Xun came to see Xiaohua, he stood on the courtyard steps and gave a meow. Xiaohua, who had been hiding, immediately rushed out to rub against him.
He promptly gave her a small dried fish to eat.
That’s how it went for the first few days—until one day, he brought out the online-bought dried fish he’d purchased with his own earnings, planning to give the little calico extra treats. But no matter how long he meowed, Xiaohua didn’t appear. Just as he was about to give up, there came a reply.
Behind her followed a tortoiseshell cat. Judging by its gait, it was already advanced in age.
After Xiaohua’s introduction, he learned that the tortoiseshell was her grandfather.
The old tortoiseshell gave Jian Xun a thorough, assessing look—from the state of his fur to his build—then nodded and thanked him for saving his granddaughter.
Jian Xun quickly shook his head and pushed a big bag of dried fish toward the two cats.
The old cat didn’t seem to be in good health, so Jian Xun helped however he could. Over the next few days, he continued to feed them and also noticed that both cats seemed somewhat wary of humans. Whenever the Boss came home, the two would hide, only to reappear punctually at mealtime.
Jian Xun’s life gradually grew fuller—cooking, mopping, feeding cats, live-streaming games… utterly exhausting!
Whenever he had a spare moment, he’d take a nap, curling up to doze.
On his way home from work, Shang Xuci passed by a gym. What caught his attention was the bright sign at the entrance:
Exclusive Pet Gym — Let Your Cats and Dogs Fall in Love with Exercise!
Shang Xuci went inside and signed up for a membership. Recently, his cat hadn’t been as lively as before—always looking like he could sleep at any time—so this was the perfect chance to bring him along for some exercise.
Jian Xun had been to a gym before, and figured it was just a new place to sleep. He happily agreed, stepping into the cat carrier with a light, eager gait.
The new neighborhood’s gym was three times larger than the old one.
The little white cat curiously looked around, carefully avoiding people who wanted to pet him, and found an empty spot not far from the Boss—a perfect place to slack off and nap.
But Shang Xuci had brought him here specifically to exercise. At home, the treadmill was just gathering dust; here, he wouldn’t have to worry about that.
He even got Sui Sui his own special “Meow-Meow Fitness Card.”
After the gym trainer heard about the situation, he walked straight over to greet the cat and, without hesitation, scooped up a bewildered Jian Xun, carrying him into the pet exercise area.
Meow??
This guy’s huge! And he smells so intimidating!
The pet training zone was an area Jian Xun had never explored before. One glance, and his eyes widened—What the heck… All the cats and dogs were obediently working out.
A ragdoll cat was doing pull-ups to train its core.
An orange tabby was dragging its heavy body while jumping rope.
There was even a Maine Coon—just like him—running on a treadmill…
Every single cat was exercising with great focus.
The Boss spoke to the cat trainer specifically about Sui Sui’s situation, and the professional quickly drew up a plan.
Jian Xun sneaked a glance at the huge trainer, only for their eyes to meet. The muscular man studied him thoughtfully, as if realizing something, then gave him a small smile.
That smile startled Jian Xun so much his fur almost stood on end—he felt as though the man could see right through him.
The “devil coach” leaned down to his ear and murmured, “I know you can understand human speech.”
Jian Xun froze instantly, his body stiff, and took a step back.
Coach Liu continued,n“Your owner bought you a pet fitness pass here. One month costs this much.”
He held up four fingers.
“If you lie around on the floor for even one second, that’s a whole day’s worth of dried fish money down the drain,” the burly “devil coach” murmured.
“You don’t want your owner to be a total sucker, do you, little Sui Sui? Humans aren’t like us animals—working just one extra day can shorten their lives by half…”
Jian Xun only clearly caught four words—us animals.
His nose twitched. That unusual scent coming from this man… it smelled dangerous!
Frightened into alertness, he immediately straightened up and behaved, ready to follow along.
Fortunately, Jian Xun was a well-behaved cat. He cooperated with the coach and was also curious about these strange pieces of equipment that were completely different from the ones humans used.
After one round, Coach Liu decided on a yoga module for him.
“You’re a cat. Yoga should be easy for you,” Coach Liu said, fixing his gaze on the Maine Coon before starting the lesson.
“Pose one: Cat Pose.
Front paws on the ground, back paws with the tops against the floor, spine arched upward, hips lifted, tailbone raised.”
Jian Xun obediently followed. Yeah, this one was no problem for a cat.
“Alright. Fill out your shoulders and back, curl the tailbone downward, hind legs vertical to the ground… now you can lower your head to look at your navel.”
Look at my navel?
Jian Xun lowered his head—only to see a round, chubby belly.
…
Pose two: Big Cat Stretch.
Jian Xun did this all the time—easy.
Pose three: Downward Dog.
Jian Xun: Dogs probably love this one.
Pose four: Crescent Pose.
Jian Xun: Two words—pure elegance.
Pose five: Pigeon Pose.
Jian Xun: Huh? Birds can do this?
Pose six: Camel Pose.
Jian Xun: What? Camels too?
…
The basic set was no challenge for a Maine Coon, and Jian Xun even started showing off.
“Meow!”
Increase the difficulty!
Sure enough, Coach Liu seemed to understand his meows. He gave him a look and said, “Standing Forward Bend. Push your hips back, inhale, draw in your navel, extend your back without hunching, let the crown of your head lead the spine in extension. Inhale.”
This time it really was harder. Jian Xun moved through each step slowly and carefully.
Following Coach Liu’s instructions, he had to think about the differences between a human body and a cat’s—where the knees were, where the pelvis was.
Seeing that his form was still fairly standard so far, Coach Liu nodded in satisfaction.
“Exhale, press your belly against your hind thighs, chest against your knees, rotate the pelvis forward. Exhale, tighten and lift your thigh muscles. Exhale, straighten your knees, stretch the backs of your thighs, shift your weight into your paw pads. Exhale.”
For a beginner cat, this set was… so… tiring!
Jian Xun felt like this pose could practically let him see his own butt.
If he spread his legs just a little and stuck his head through a bit more…
Wouldn’t he be able to see his cat butt and… cat eggs?
When a cat gets curious, it will try anything.
The result?
His balance gave out, and he tipped to the side, landing on half his butt.
“What are you doing!” Coach Liu’s brows furrowed, his tone stern.
The commanding scent coming from him scared Jian Xun so much that he didn’t even dare rub his sore behind.
He immediately sat down obediently, waiting for his next instructions.
Good grief, just what is this coach’s background?!
Under the watchful eye of the musclebound instructor, Jian Xun painfully yet happily finished the entire set of movements.
So tired!
“Don’t slack off. I’m going to the restroom. I’ll be back to check your results later.”
Jian Xun (obedient face): “Meow.”
The Maine Coon stretched and continued his exercises.
Meanwhile, Shang Xuci had just finished his last set.
His T-shirt was soaked with sweat, clinging to his body—not showing exaggerated muscles, but enough to reveal the perfect, lean definition of his abs and waist.
Heat radiated from him after the workout, and paired with his strikingly handsome face and aristocratic air, the nearly explosive surge of hormones made his whole presence exude an irresistible masculine charm.
A few women exercising nearby couldn’t help sneaking glances at him, quietly appreciating the view while whispering about topics that made them blush.
After finishing, Shang Xuci wiped the sweat from his forehead with one hand, twisted open a water bottle, and drank.
Thinking of Sui Sui, he headed toward the pet area with the bottle in hand.
…
Pet Zone
The pets were all exercising obediently, their owners cheering them on.
There was a wide variety of moves and… questionable “creative” techniques.
This was Shang Xuci’s first time seeing cats and dogs working out.
His gaze lingered briefly on a few unrelated animals.
He scanned the area for his own cat and spotted Coach Liu’s clothes hanging near the yoga section.
Shifting his gaze a little, he caught sight of the tip of a snow-white tail with black spots.
Shang Xuci walked closer for a better look.
On top of a yoga ball, the cat was sprawled belly-up, all four paws dangling down, fast asleep.