Chapter 22: Life in a cat cafe is not easy, cats serve customers
When Chang Xile walked out of the apartment door, she didn't trot over to An Ping as usual. Her usual upturned lips were flat. An Ping noticed this subtle change immediately, straightened up, and tilted his head to observe her expression.
"I have two questions for you," she said.
An Ping nodded. His breathing hadn't yet completely calmed down, and beads of sweat still clung to his temples, wetting the tips of his hair. But he didn't complain at all about Chang Xile's sudden change in attitude.
Chang Xile stared at him for a moment, then sighed, seemingly helpless. She pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped his sweat. As she did so, she asked, "First of all, how did you know I was in this building?"
Anping stared into her eyes and said, "My friend saw it and told me."
"What a coincidence?" Chang Xile was a little suspicious. In fact, she really wanted to ask, "So you have friends too?" But this question was really hurtful, so Chang Xile held back and didn't ask.
"Is this the second question?" An Ping did not answer directly, but asked her instead.
"You're still nitpicking with me!" Chang Xile flicked his forehead in displeasure. "Second question, why did you tell me to be careful of my roommate?"
Anping's expression became tangled. After a long while, he said with difficulty, "It's just a feeling."
It was a truly unconvincing excuse, yet Chang Xile had heard it twice today. She suddenly remembered that the atmosphere between Yang Guisi and An Ping had been off the mark the day they first met. They say some people, even if they have no grudges against each other, are born with incompatible auras, ready to fight the moment they meet.
Maybe the two of them just disliked each other, even though neither of them could give any convincing reason.
Chang Xile patiently asked, "Anping, if someone told me to be careful of you and stay away from you, what would you do?"
Anping's expression suddenly turned a little sad, and he said, "It depends on you."
If you agree, then I'll just leave.
"I don't believe it." Chang Xile raised her hand and smoothed his furrowed brows. "I'd rather see for myself than listen to others. I don't think you're a bad person, so I don't care what others think of you."
"Similarly, although you have opinions about Yang Guisi, I don't think she's a bad person. I also have the right to choose my friends." Chang Xile continued, "Since I met Yang Guisi, everything she has done has been good. I want to be good friends with her. It's up to me, right?"
Anping thought about it seriously for a long time and nodded.
The matter was over. Chang Xile asked with concern, "How is the kitten from yesterday?"
Anping's lips curled slightly, and he seemed to be in a better mood. "It's fine, just too hungry. It has recovered now."
"Have you sent it to the pet hospital? I want to go see it." Chang Xile followed Anping out of the community. She was still worried and hoped to go and see it in person.
Anping's eyes flickered slightly: "Once it recovers, we will release it."
"You've recovered so quickly?" Chang Xile was a little surprised. Then she remembered something and said, "I'm planning to go to a cat cafe this afternoon. Do you want to come with me?"
Anping nodded happily.
When the two of them were standing side by side on the subway, Anping suddenly asked, "What is cat cafe? Is it a kind of coffee?"
As he continued to speculate, he began to doubt his own words: "Coffee made from cats? That's terrible."
"No!" Chang Xile said with a smile, "It's just a cafe with a lot of cats. You can pet the cats while eating dessert!"
It seems that Anping didn't even know where he was going and just followed Chang Xile without thinking.
Anping paused for a few seconds, his expression suddenly becoming unpredictable. He raised his chin slightly and commented, "It turns out the situation is even worse."
Chang Xile complained in his heart, what could be worse than making cat into coffee?
An Ping seemed to have endured it for a long time before he asked Chang Xile again: "What's the difference between this kind of shop you're talking about and a brothel?"
"What are you reading lately?" Chang Xile burst into laughter. Anping, at her suggestion, would occasionally borrow books from the school library. It seemed he'd been reading some county annals from past dynasties. She held Anping's shoulders, and only after he'd finished laughing did she seriously discuss his question. "Actually, it does seem a bit like it, but life isn't easy. Cats entertain guests; that's their job."
"Why would a cat be willing to be petted by a complete stranger?" Anping was puzzled.
"But when I occasionally go to a cat cafe, I feel that the kittens whose fur I stroke are quite happy." Chang Xile recalled, touching his chin.
"It lacks integrity." Anping was disappointed.
The two of them ended up at a famous cat cafe near the university town called "Meet the Cat." Because it was still early, there were only a few people in the cafe.
The shopkeeper carefully disinfected their hands and clothes before opening the partition fence and promoting their products: "Please be careful not to touch the black cats; they have very bad tempers. Also, we have snacks here for ten yuan each, you can buy them to feed the cats!"
The purpose of this little treat is self-evident. The people inside the fence can be divided into two types: those who, if they put their hands on the cats, would be easily avoided; and those who, holding a small can of cat treats, were surrounded by a crowd of kittens.
Chang Xile sighed slightly - if he wanted to pet the cat, didn't he have to buy this snack?
However, as soon as the two entered, something strange happened.
Whether they were sleeping, playing, or eating, the cats all looked up at the door. Some of them stood still and watched, while others slowly walked towards the two of them.
In fact, they seemed to be coming for Anping. Many cats bypassed Chang Xile and squatted at Anping's feet. A white cat nuzzled against his trouser leg and opened its mouth slightly. Before it could meow a single syllable, Anping put his index finger to his lips and let out a soft shushing sound.
The white cat really calmed down.
Not only it, all the cats in the store became quiet.
"Wow..." Chang Xile marveled at this rare sight.
Anping, however, seemed to be accustomed to it and continued walking up to the second floor with Chang Xile. The dozen or so cats scattered, but looking at the direction they were moving, they were still moving with Anping as the center.
The female guest who was feeding the cat suddenly found herself empty. She stared at the two uninvited guests and muttered in dissatisfaction, "What are you doing..." However, when her gaze shifted to the face of the man who had just entered, her eyes were filled with surprise again.
There were many cats lying on the second floor. Anping found a sofa and sat down. In the end, there were more than twenty cats around him.
"Oh my god, Anping, I've never seen anyone so popular with cats." Chang Xile sniffed at his collar and said threateningly, "Tell me the truth, did you secretly spray some catnip perfume on yourself?"
An Ping remained unmoved by these twenty or so cats, all considered adorable by humans. A hint of impatience crossed his brows. He raised his hand and waved, and the cats finally dispersed, returning to their original activities. Only one or two white cats remained, unwilling to leave, and found a spot at his feet to lie down.
Chang Xile ran to a low table with great interest. On it lay a gray cat, taking a nap. She pretended to sit down at the low table casually, and this plan worked well. The gray cat only raised its head to glance at her and then lay down again.
Chang Xile looked around again, then pretended to be nonchalant and placed his palm on the gray cat's head. The gray cat still showed no intention of leaving.
Great! Chang Xile made a "yeah" in her mind. She slowly smoothed the fur on its neck and asked softly, "Kitten, kitty, can you tell me something?"
That’s right, this time Chang Xile came just to verify the accuracy of what he heard from the cat.
The gray cat didn't say anything, just yawned. Anping, who was not far away, coughed, and the gray cat rolled over and climbed up, moving to another table to continue sleeping. Now Chang Xile was truly left without a cat.
Chang Xile stared at Anping and made a "hush" gesture to him from a distance. The meaning of his complaint was self-evident - you scared my kitten away!
She had no choice but to get up and look for another target.
Anping leaned back on the sofa, bored, watching Chang Xile harassing the kittens everywhere. But under his watch, almost all the cats ignored Chang Xile.
He suddenly felt the sofa beside him sink. Turning around, he saw a woman he had never seen before.
The woman, holding a small can of cat treats, was the same customer who had been feeding the cats on the first floor. She made eye contact with Anping and smiled, saying, "Hello! I noticed you the moment I walked in. How do you manage to get so many cats to hang around you?"
This woman was quite outgoing. Seeing that Anping didn't say anything, she guessed to herself, "Is it because you have white hair? It feels so smooth and shiny, just like cat hair. How do you maintain it? Can I touch it?" As she spoke, she stretched out her hand, wanting to touch his hair.
An Ping turned his head away from him. If Chang Xile looked over here now, she would know that An Ping was unhappy. He did not listen to a word the strange woman beside him said, but just stared at Chang Xile.
She was standing by a cat climbing frame, staring at a black cat. Chang Xile was so intimidated by Anping's popularity that she had forgotten the clerk's instructions: black cats have bad tempers, so don't mess with them.
She tentatively reached out her hand, wanting to touch the black cat's head to make it talk. To be honest, even if the black cat's meow was scolding her, she would accept it.
However, before his fingertips touched the fur, the black cat raised its head and breathed at Chang Xile in a threatening manner. Chang Xile was so scared that he immediately withdrew his hand: "Okay, okay, I won't provoke you anymore."
Chang Xile used to be a cat-loving person, but she did have some affinity with animals. This was the first time she'd encountered so many cats. She looked at her hands and sighed softly, "Am I really that annoying to cats?" Could it be that her luck had turned sour?
From an observer's perspective, Chang Xile looked depressed, as if he was thinking about some difficult problem.
Anping still didn't know Chang Xile well enough. Otherwise, he would have known that Chang Xile was just struggling over whether to buy some cat snacks.
Chang Xile: Damn it, I always feel like once I buy something I really become a patron.
The words of the woman sitting next to the sofa gradually became unclear to Anping, and she was talking so much that her mouth was dry.
"I think we have some fate. Can we add each other's contact information? Handsome guy? Handsome guy—" She looked at Anping, who had been expressionless all the time, and suddenly stood up. He walked to a corner and pulled out a half-grown white kitten.
Because of its small size, this little white cat is very afraid of strangers. Normally, no matter who approaches it, it will run away as if frightened, let alone touch it.
However, it was extremely well-behaved in Anping's hands, not struggling at all, and just let him carry it to Chang Xile and gently place it on her knees.
The little white cat turned over on Chang Xile's knees and snored peacefully.
Chang Xile had already exclaimed in her heart a hundred times, "What kind of cute creature is this?", but in order not to scare the kitten, she had to hold it back.
However, she hadn't forgotten the purpose of her visit to the cat cafe. She was struggling over whether to poke the little white cat and tease it into saying something, but Anping, as if anticipating it, made a "hush" sound.
He lowered his head and looked at the snoring kitten with Chang Xile. His eyes were gentle, and he whispered a reminder: "It's asleep, don't disturb it."
Chang Xile nodded quietly. She reached out and slowly stroked the fur on the little white cat's head, feeling the kitten's belly rise and fall on her knees with its breathing.
The two of them walked out of the cat cafe only when the sun set. Chang Xile stretched, smiled and sighed.
Although today seemed to be a day of nothing - she turned her head to look at Anping, who was looking down to see if her hand was accidentally scratched by the cat - it was a happy day.
So many things happened in the past few days, one after another. It had been a long time since she had been able to stay with Anping like this with nothing to do.
The two walked side by side in the sunset, not hearing the front desk clerk's whisper:
"Strange, why are these little guys so quiet today?"
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