Chapter 79

After lunch, Li Miao took Pei Huai back to her room to rest.

Pei Huai curiously observed Li Miao's room, and when he saw the decorations on the wall made of clusters of beautiful feathers, he felt a surge of admiration.

It's obvious at a glance that this is Li Miao's trophy.

Little Cat Wuwei.

There wasn't much else special about the room: a bed, a table, a wardrobe, and a floor fan—a very basic room that you could see at a glance.

Pei Huai picked up the photo frame on the table and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

In the photo frame, Li Miao, still a creamy white long-haired cat, is held in the arms of Li Xuan, who is wearing a high school uniform. The kitten is bathed in sunlight, and its creamy white fur seems to be glowing.

"Do you have any photos from your junior high or high school years?" Pei Huai asked curiously.

Li Miao was silent for a few seconds, then muttered softly, "I didn't go to junior high or high school, so I don't have any photos of myself wearing a school uniform like my brother."

"You didn't go to junior high or high school? So you only spent a few months preparing for the college entrance exam and still managed to pass? Wait, how did you get your student registration?"

"Well, maybe it's because my brother used to teach me and guide me, so I'm not completely ignorant about knowledge."

"As for the college entrance examination, due to the training of the spirit cat, once you pass the undergraduate admission line, you can enter a very special enrollment program. As for the student status issue you mentioned, I don't know about that. It should be resolved by the elders of the clan."

Li Miao sat back on the bed and said listlessly, "Do you know if people will look down on Miao Miao for not having finished junior or senior high school?"

Pei Huai could almost see Li Miao's drooping ears and tail because she was unhappy.

"Of course not, Miaomiao is educated, she's a university student at Peking University now." Pei Huai sat down next to Miaomiao and patted her on the shoulder to comfort her.

"What I really want are photos of Miaomiao when she was younger, to see if you were this cute back then, regardless of whether you wore a school uniform or not."

Pei Huai earnestly told Li Miao, "I won't look down on Miao Miao for things like that."

"Oh, I see. There should be photos, let me look through them." Li Miao got up and opened the bookshelf to find a photo album.

Soon, Li Miao found a thick photo album, which was full of photos of Li Miao, her brother, and her grandmother, or individual photos of the family.

There are only a few photos of Li Miao, who is a few years younger.

Back then, Li Miao was much shorter than she is now, with a slender and delicate figure, but her eyes still shone with a moist luster, just as beautiful as they are now.

“Li Miao looks beautiful even now.” Pei Huai lowered his eyes and stared at the amber eyes in the photo, a gentle and tender smile on his lips.

"That's right, I've never looked bad." Li Miao was in a much better mood. It was good that Pei Huai didn't look down on him for not having read many books, as he was a cat without a proper diploma.

What surprised Pei Huai even more was that the album also contained many photos of Li Miao as a kitten and a young kitten.

So cute! So cute! So cute!

The tiny little thing looks like a soft, fragrant glutinous rice ball, the kind you could swallow whole in one bite, chew and chew and chew, or hold in your hands and kiss it to death.

"How can such an adorable creature exist in the world? I can't help but want to kiss you in the photo," Pei Huai exclaimed.

The kitten, Miaomiao, looked so unsteady on its feet, staring longingly at the camera, easily evoking the pity of any cat lover.

"Hehe, I won't let you kiss it." Li Miao stopped Pei Huai from kissing the old photo, "Mainly because the photo has been stored for so long, it might be a little unsafe for you to kiss it now."

"Okay, then I won't kiss her." Pei Huai put the photo back in his hand, his heart stirred slightly, and he turned his head to look at Li Miao.

"Can I see Miaomiao in person?" he asked with a smile.

Li Miao's face immediately turned red. Who would ask someone to kiss them in front of their face?

"Miaomiao's face is red, so red, and getting redder and redder." Pei Huai was also maliciously broadcasting Li Miao's changing reactions in real time.

When it comes to shamelessness, Li Miao is simply no match for Pei Huai.

"Hmph, no, I won't let you kiss me." Li Miao tilted her head arrogantly.

Pei Huai closed the photo album he had just finished looking at, wiped it with a tissue, and slowly moved closer to Li Miao.

Li Miao was pushed to the edge of the bed, and if she moved any further she would fall off. Li Miao subconsciously tried to stand up, but Pei Huai grabbed her wrist.

Face to face, Pei Huai looked intently into Li Miao's eyes.

"Miaomiao's eyes have always been so beautiful, sparkling and radiant, like flowing resin and amber, so lovely," Pei Huai praised sincerely.

Kua Deli Miao was overjoyed and couldn't help but let the cat's ears out.

Upon seeing the pair of erect ears on Li Miao's head, Pei Huai knew that Li Miao was both happy and embarrassed.

He rubbed Li Miao's ears, kissed the soft fur, and kissed the almost transparent blood vessels winding inside the ears.

"Ugh." Li Miao let out a soft moan, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Pei Huai was just at Li Miao's house, so he didn't really want to kiss Li Miao passionately or do anything more intimate.

Pei Huai gently nibbled on Li Miao's cat ears, then lowered his eyes and smiled at Li Miao's shy reaction before releasing his lips and sitting back down.

Without any warning, the door was suddenly pushed open.

"Grandma cut some apples and pears for you, so you can chat and quench your thirst..." Grandma Li was halfway through her sentence when she realized that the timing of her arrival seemed a little off.

Guai Miaomiao watched as her face turned bright red, while Miaomiao's classmate sat very close to her, their bodies pressed together, creating a very ambiguous atmosphere.

"Oh dear, Grandma has disturbed Miaomiao's courtship. Grandma has put the fruit outside. You can take it if you want to eat it later. Grandma won't bother you anymore." Grandma Li turned around and closed the door, her footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

"..." Li Miao was stunned for a long time.

Pei Huai blinked, licked his dry lips, and said to Li Miao, "Grandma seems to have misunderstood something. She seems to think we were secretly kissing in the small room."

"Pei Huai, it's all your fault, you're so mean, you did it on purpose." Li Miao was both ashamed and angry. She opened her mouth, revealing her sharp teeth, and grabbed Pei Huai's long and strong forearm to nibble at it.

"Hiss." The reckless Pei Huai was delighted to receive a kitten's tooth mark.

Pei Huai spent a long time coaxing Miao Miao in the small room before finally calming her down.

When Liang Yixuan sent a message to Pei Huai to ask if they had arrived at the village, Pei Huai was grooming Li Miao, who had turned back into a cat.

Pei Huai took a moment to reply to his friend's message: [Arrived. Grandma Li Miao made lunch, and everyone has finished eating.]

Pei Huai had just taken some photos to commemorate the occasion, and now he's sharing them with his friends.

Liang Yixuan: [Wow, this looks really delicious! It's clear that Grandma Limiao is very hospitable to you. Not bad at all!]

Liang Yixuan: [So what are you and Li Miao doing now?]

Without thinking, Pei Huai typed the message. Before he could even send it, the words "combing hair" appeared in the message box. He broke out in a cold sweat and quickly deleted the message to edit it again.

Pei Huai said that he and Li Miao didn't do anything; they were just playing on their phones and taking a nap.

Liang Yixuan: [Okay, then you guys get some rest and have fun.]

Pei Huai was about to reply to the message when he didn't feel the grooming motion for a long time. The cat, Miao Miao, turned its head and meowed unhappily.

"Meow~ Meow~ Meow~" Don't get distracted, okay? Time to groom!

Even though he couldn't understand kitten language, Pei Huai could sense that Li Miao was urging him to continue grooming.

"Okay, let's continue combing now." After sending Liang Yixuan a message saying we'd chat next time, Pei Huai turned off his phone and focused intently on combing Miao Miao's fur.

The comb's teeth are loose, so it won't hurt the kitten when you're brushing its fur. Miaomiao meows comfortably.

"He's being cute again." Pei Huai couldn't help but lower his head and kiss the kitten's head.

"Meow~" No cuteness intended~

Li Miao whine and wag his tail. It's all because he's so cute. Everything he does in Pei Huai's eyes is just him being adorable. It's impossible for any two-legged creature to resist his cuteness.

Pei Huai brushed Li Miao's fur from head to toe.

Li Miao loves to groom herself, and her fur is not tangled much, so the whole grooming process went smoothly.

They didn't throw away the accumulated wool either.

I've already used felting to create a miniature kitten from the cat figurines I collected earlier.

Even if these wool fibers are no longer used to make felted ornaments, they can be crumpled into a ball and decorated as a cute pendant that can be hung on your backpack.

Li Miao also saw Pei Huai carefully putting away the fur ball.

Why not just throw it away? Why collect his cat hair and keep it? Pei Huai is truly a hardcore cat lover.

"Alright, almost done combing." Pei Huai patted Li Miao's fluffy tail after putting the furball away. Li Miao stood up and stretched, doing a very standard cat stretch from yoga.

The cat's round, plump butt sticks up to the sky, and its dandelion-like tail sways leisurely.

Pei Huai kept staring at the kitten, feeling like a pervert himself, and wanted to hug the kitten and suck on it hard, and nibble on its butt.

Suddenly, Li Miao, being a small animal, had an innate sensitivity to danger signals. Sensing the approaching gaze of danger, her whole body felt a chill.

He turned around and stared straight at Pei Huai.

"Meow?" Is your cat urge acting up again?

This time, they wouldn't let her suckle her belly, so Li Miao easily jumped up to a high place, away from Pei Huai, that big guy.

Pei Huai resisted his sudden urge to kiss Li Miao again.

Pei Huai, lying in bed, was a little sleepy. After all, he had been traveling by plane and car all morning and was quite tired.

He told Li Miao that he wanted to lie down for a while, pointed to Li Miao's bed and pillow, and asked Li Miao if he could just lie down and sleep.

"Meow~" Of course!

Realizing that Pei Huai couldn't understand the cat's meow, Li Miao nodded the cat's head.

Having received Li Miao's permission, Pei Huai lifted the very thin blanket and slept in the spot where Li Miao used to sleep, using Li Miao's pillow as well.

Many of the pieces of furniture in the old house have a sense of age and look worn.

But it didn't smell bad.

Pei Huai could even smell the warm scent of sunlight streaming into the room. As he drifted off to sleep, he waved to Li Miao.

The pampered little cat, standing high up, seemed to ponder for a few seconds. In Pei Huai's view, the cat easily jumped down, got onto the bed, and finally nestled in Pei Huai's arms to sleep, adjusting itself into a more comfortable position.

"Meow~" Go to sleep~

Li Miao took a nap with Pei Huai.

Pei Huai gently stroked the cat's broom-like tail with his warm, large hand, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

In the yard, Grandma Li scattered some grains and vegetable leaves for the chickens she raised, and also swept the yard a bit.

Back inside, I saw that the apples and pears, cut into small pieces, hadn't been touched, and the cut surfaces of the fruit were oxidizing more and more.

Grandma Li gently pried open the door with fruit in her hands. The door hadn't been closed since she had closed it earlier.

Grandma Li opened the door and saw a very warm and cozy scene in the afternoon.

On the bed, a tall, slender boy was lying on his side taking a nap, while Miaomiao was curled up in the space between his chest and head, her tail affectionately rubbing against his chest and chin. She was sleeping soundly, snoring softly. It seemed that Miaomiao felt very safe when she was with Pei Huai.

Grandma Li felt a warmth in her heart as she watched this heartwarming scene. She took out her phone and snapped a photo, planning to send it to them when they woke up. After taking two or three photos, Grandma Li felt that still images would miss the kitten's adorable purring and the leisurely sway of its tail, so she also took a video to record this beautiful afternoon before quietly leaving the room.

As for the apples and pears that had oxidized quite a bit and had dried up, Grandma Li ate some of them herself, and then chopped the rest into even smaller pieces to feed the chickens.

If the two kids wake up and want fruit, she'll just cut it for them.

***

After a good night's sleep, Pei Huai opened his eyes and instinctively hugged the little dumpling next to him. He fumbled for his phone and checked the time; it was almost 4:30.

He was still sleepy when he checked for new messages. His parents had asked him in the family group chat if he was getting used to life in the village.

Pei Huai replied: [It's a habit. There are many cats in the village, and the environment is quite nice.]

Many cats? Pei Huai's mother was surprised by this information. After asking, she learned that the village her son went to was the well-known Lingmao Mountain.

[Mom: Oh, you went to the cat village! I've been there before. The cats there are very friendly to tourists.]

Pei Huai smiled casually and said, "Really? I've never heard of you being here before."

[Mom: It was a trip I went with my best friend when we were young. It's normal that you haven't heard of it. It happened many years ago. Back then, I especially liked the cat named Xiaoxi in the cat village. I don't know if she's still around after all these years.]

Pei Huai: [Do you have any photos? If I see them, I can look for them.]

[Mom: Okay, okay, let me look through the photos and I'll send them to you when I find them.]

Pei Huai: [Good]

Pei Huai's rustling noises also woke up Li Miao, who was sound asleep.

Li Miao yawned, transformed back into human form, greeted Pei Huai, and then went to the courtyard to wash her face and wake herself up.

Grandma is watching a TV series, one that Li Miao isn't particularly interested in.

"Are you hungry? We can heat up the food later." Grandma Li asked with concern.

Li Miao shook her head: "I'm not hungry. Let's eat later."

Grandma Li asked Pei Huai, who had come out of the house, if he wanted to eat now. Pei Huai shook his head and said he wanted to take a stroll around the village with Li Miao.

"Okay, then remember to come back before dark," Grandma Li instructed them.

Li Miao and Pei Huai both nodded in agreement.

So the two of them went out for a stroll together. Pei Huai wanted some soda, so he went to the village store at the entrance to buy some food. He also bought some snacks to feed the cats at the tourist spot.

"Didn't we bring a lot of cat treats in our suitcases this time? If you want to feed the cat, just take what you brought," Li Miao asked curiously.

Pei Huai paid the bill and explained, "Those are for Grandma. Let's buy new ones for feeding the cats."

"Oh, okay." Li Miao could understand Pei Huai's thoughts and decision.

After quenching their thirst with a couple of sips of iced soda, Pei Huai and Li Miao went together to the place where the village cats gathered.

Li Miao petted the cat at noon, but Pei Huai hadn't had a chance to pet it yet.

Right now, I'm thinking of using cat treats to lure him in. If the cats still reject and dislike him, then I'll have to ask Li Miao to see if she can communicate with these little kittens and let him pet them.

Pei Huai tore open the bag of cat treats, and as soon as the smell filled the air, cats with all sorts of patterns came over, drawn by the aroma.

“They don’t seem to reject me.” Pei Huai looked at Li Miao.

Li Miao squatted down, raised her hand and casually patted the back of one of the calico cats. The calico cat loved Li Miao's scent; they were old friends. It nuzzled against Li Miao's palm with its head.

"It's probably because we live together; you and I have been inseparable for quite some time now," Li Miao said casually.

Pei Huai looked down at the cats walking around his feet, a gentle smile on his face: "It should be, Miaomiao is my little lucky star."

Li Miao laughed at him: "You're getting better and better at sweet-talking cats."

Li Miao glanced at the meowing cats that had gathered around her, then looked up at Pei Huai, who was still standing with a cat treat in his hand.

"Aren't you going to stand there instead of squatting down to feed and pet the cat?" Li Miao was surprised that Pei Huai's reaction was a bit too slow.

"Can I pet them? Didn't Miaomiao say before that I could only serve Miaomiao, the only cat, and be Miaomiao's personal servant for life?"

"..." Li Miao's ears turned slightly red. He licked his dry lips with a flushed face and said in a very low voice, "It's not that strict. These cats are all my old friends. You can pet them."

Pei Huai chuckled softly before squatting down to feed the cats cat treats.

For a moment, all I could hear were the meows of kittens, rising and falling in a lively chorus.

As the sun set, its golden rays bathed the two people and a group of cats, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

Pei Huai and Li Miao looked at each other.

"The cats are cute, but after petting them all, I still think my cat Miaomiao is the cutest."

Li Miao's cheeks flushed red. "You ask me? Of course I know I'm the cutest."

Pei Huai's lips curved into a distinct smile, and a low, husky laugh echoed in his throat.