Chapter 1
At the foot of Lingmao Mountain lies a village.
The midday sun was shining brightly, and smoke rose from the chimneys of every household in the village as they prepared their lunch.
In a private courtyard closest to the foot of the mountain, an elderly woman with half-gray hair was slowly stirring the fish soup in a pot with a wooden spatula.
The fish was tender and fresh, the fish soup was milky white and fragrant, and a handful of green scallions were sprinkled on top as a garnish. Grandma Li smiled, revealing deep wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
Just imagining her little Miaomiao's bright eyes as she munched on the fish soup, her hands practically blossoming with joy, Grandma Li smiled broadly.
"Meow~ Meow meow meow~~!" Grandma, look what I found!
An excited and thrilling meow came from outside the yard.
Grandma Li put down the spatula and looked out into the yard.
A creamy white, long-haired cat swaggered in, carrying a wooden basket bigger than its head in its mouth.
Li Miao moved with light steps, his cat-like body was smooth and upright, and his head held high showed his pride and smugness.
Grandma Li looked closely and saw that the small wooden basket was full of fresh termite mushrooms, still covered in mud. There had been a heavy rain a couple of days ago, and today the sky cleared up, so many people from the village went up the mountain to pick mushrooms.
Similarly, Li Miao would carry a wooden basket up the mountain before dawn.
Today was truly fruitful.
"Wow, Miaomiao managed to pick so many termite mushrooms all by herself! That's amazing! Let Grandma see them."
"Meow!" Li Miao placed the wooden basket in her mouth next to her grandmother's feet.
The midday sun shone brightly, and a warm ray of light poured down from the clouds, bathing the grandfather and grandson in the courtyard. A flash of golden light, and the cat transformed into human form.
Li Miao, who had transformed into human form, was slender and tall, with light chestnut hair in the same color family as a cat's fur, fluffy like a very pettable dandelion.
The boy had a delicate and beautiful face, with skin as smooth and delicate as milk, without a single blemish. His cheeks were slightly rounded and smooth, with a bit of baby fat. It was clear that his grandmother had taken good care of Miaomiao.
His eyes were a light amber color, cat-like, with thick, curled eyelashes like small fans. He had red lips and white teeth, and smiled with his eyes narrowed. The sunlight behind him seemed to lose some of its brilliance against the backdrop of the boy's stunning good looks.
"Wow, Grandma, your fish soup smells so good! Miaomiao is hungry, Grandma, let's eat!" Limiao said excitedly, her eyes crinkling.
"Alright, alright, let's have lunch now." Grandma Li put away the termite mushrooms that Li Miao had picked, preparing to take them to the market to sell tomorrow morning. Termite mushrooms are highly nutritious and expensive, so they could fetch a good price.
Grandma Li was planning to save some of the money and use the rest to buy some chicken, fish, shrimp, and the high-end salmon that Miaomiao liked.
Inside the house, the grandfather and grandson were having dinner. Miao Miao preferred to eat fish in his original form. Cats have sharp teeth, so he can chew smaller fish bones, making it easier for him to eat the fish meat and soup. Moreover, he is more relaxed in his cat form.
After lunch, Miaomiao watched a TV series with her grandma. The TV was showing a melodramatic love story set in a wealthy family. Grandma clicked her tongue and said that the male and female leads couldn't explain themselves clearly.
Miao Miao, who doesn't understand love and romance, looked heartbrokenly at the exquisite lunchbox that the beautiful female lead had casually tossed aside. "Ugh, such delicious salmon! If you're not going to eat it, then I'll eat it!"
"Meow meow." Miao Miao cried out mournfully.
Grandma Li chuckled softly as she heard the emotion in Miao Miao's cry.
After lunch, Grandma Li took out the chilled watermelon from the well, cut it up and ate it with Miao Miao. Cats with weak stomachs can't eat too much watermelon, but Miao Miao and Grandma, who belong to the spirit cat clan, can eat human food.
The old electric fan was blowing hot air, and Miao Miao was lying on the floor eating watermelon, while his grandma was fanning him with a palm leaf fan. Life was comfortable and pleasant.
When Miaomiao's brother saw this during the video call, and compared it with his own miserable life of staying up all night every day to do experiments and write papers under his university professor, his desire to jump off a building became even stronger.
"Miaomiao...you and Grandma are having such a great time in the countryside...?" The eldest brother, Lixuan, was so envious and jealous that his eyes turned red.
He had obvious dark circles under his eyes, and his face looked haggard from staying up all night. He stared sullenly at the camera.
"It's very comfortable. Look, there's a big watermelon to eat." Li Miao lazily wagged her fluffy tail.
"Oh, I envy you." Li Xuan chatted with her younger brother and grandmother for a while, and then Grandma Li got up to hang up the laundry.
Inside the room, Li Xuan thought of the rules established by the Spirit Cat Clan over thousands of years, and the tasks entrusted to him by his predecessors, and composed himself.
He said seriously, "Miaomiao, you're almost an adult. According to the rules and guidelines set by your tribe, are you mentally prepared to come to human society for trials?"
"How are your studies in Chinese, Math, English, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology going? The college entrance exam is in three months. Although we have special circumstances, as long as we pass the undergraduate admission line, we can get into Peking University, but passing the line is still very difficult..."
Li Xuan recalled the difficult days he spent studying late into the night a few years ago and was filled with emotion. If he had known that studying would be so hard, he would have been better off cutting off his cat bell and becoming a eunuch cat once and for all!
Thinking of this, Li Xuan inadvertently recalled the neutered cats his classmates kept at the academy. They cried bitterly for days after their neutering, their cries filled with sorrow, and Li Xuan couldn't help but shudder. Forget it, he didn't have the guts to actually become a neutered cat.
Listening to her brother's nagging, Li Miao thought about her own academic plans, which were progressing poorly, with only three days of studying and two days of rest. Her eyes darted around guiltily.
"Oh, that's just studying, meow, pretty much... Actually, it's okay if I don't get in. I don't want to study in a big city. Staying at home with Grandma is great. I can pick mushrooms, catch butterflies, and in the summer I can go fishing in the stream~~"
Li Miao kept muttering to herself, showing no longing for big cities or any desire to experience human society.
Li Xuan sighed: "Well, actually staying in the countryside is quite nice. Although you can eat salmon and all kinds of cat treats whenever you want in a big city, the pressure is really high."
Li Xuan didn't notice that Miao Miao's cat eyes were brighter than a kilowatt light bulb, and her pointed cat ears twitched lively.
"You can have any salmon you want?" Li Miao's mouth watered, and he swallowed hard.
"Yeah, spending a few hundred dollars to eat at a high-end restaurant buffet, I ate a lot last time... But human studies are really hard, and the final exams at Kyoto University are even harder... It's better if you don't come."
Hearing her brother say that studying was hard, Li Miao's desire to eat endless salmon lessened considerably.
It's okay if he can't eat it all the time, because Grandma can buy him salmon at the market. Markets aren't as well-stocked as big cities, and salmon in shopping malls is actually quite expensive, but Grandma and Miaomiao can afford to buy it occasionally.
Li Miao: "Meow~ Meow meow~!" Hmm, I'm not going.
"Since you're not coming to human society, you should have your testicles removed before you reach adulthood and reach puberty, otherwise you'll suffer terribly during that time."
"Meow, meow meow?" Egg. Egg? Li Miao's lazy and relaxed nerves suddenly tensed up, and her body, which was lying on the floor, straightened up. She looked at Brother Xuan with surprise and confusion.
"Miaomiao, what's with your reaction? I told you so much last time, but you didn't listen at all. Our feline overgrowth is hundreds of times stronger than that of ordinary cats after we reach adulthood. We can't survive without mating. The only way to get through this is to have our testicles removed."
It is even more difficult for a cat to develop intelligence and transform into human form. The number of spirit cats is small, and the instinct to expand the clan and reproduce is engraved in their genes.
Reproduction cannot be done by simply finding any cat. Ordinary cats lack intelligence, and besides, after transforming into humans, spirit cats gradually learned about culture and civilization, making it even more impossible for them to mate with ordinary cats.
They can only alleviate the heatiness they experience during their adult febrile period by mating with civets or humans with exceptionally good genes.
"If you've decided on the path of Gadan, I'll let the seniors know, and they'll arrange for a veterinarian connected to our clan to come to your home."
Li Miao was completely dumbfounded, her cat head buzzing, and she couldn't speak for a moment.
"It's good that society has progressed. They'll even give you anesthesia. I asked those eunuch cats at school, and the process doesn't hurt at all. It's just that the wound healing is a bit painful later on, but it's much easier than the pain of having a fever and not being able to mate."
Li Miao appeared to be listening to Brother Xuan, but her mind was actually already in a daze.
Li Miao: "Meow! Meow meow meow! Meow meow!"
What do you mean by cutting off my testicles? I don't want to cut off my testicles! My cat bell is so round and cute, I won't cut it off!
Li Miao yelled at the camera, her claws flaring with anger, and she slammed the phone down.
After hanging up the phone, Li Miao was still breathing heavily with anger.
Once his anger subsided, he stood up and wiggled his cat rear end, feeling the two bells on his head. There was absolutely no way he would lose his dignity, his manhood.
Grandma Li returned from the yard after hanging up the laundry. She knew that Li Xuan's call was probably to remind Li Miao not to slack off on her upcoming exams.
"Miaomiao, there are only three months left until the college entrance examination. Remember to study hard!"
Lingmao was intelligent. Back then, Lixuan spent half a year intensively reviewing and his exam score was more than 100 points above the undergraduate admission line, so his grandmother thought that the learning and assessment were not difficult.
Li Miao licked her lips, not wanting her grandmother to worry, and responded softly that she would prepare well.
Grandma smiled with satisfaction.
Back in her room that night, Li Miao thought of her brother's words, took out the textbook she had only half-read, and sat down at the table to study.
Gradually, the characters in the textbook became crooked and twisted. Li Miao yawned, transformed back into her original form, curled up on the bench, and fell asleep.
For several days in a row, Li Miao's desire to study hard began to wane again, and she gradually gave up, spending her days catching fish and picking fruit in the back mountain and playing around.
Until a special letter from the pet hospital reached Li Miao's hands.
If Li Miao does not accept the experience of living and learning in human society, the veterinarian will personally visit Li Miao before the fever stage of adulthood to perform testicular surgery.
The letter also included a brochure from a pet hospital, which featured pictures of pets being strapped to an operating table and veterinarians performing surgery on them.
For Li Miao, this was an absolutely bloody and horrifying scene!
—Meow!! Woof!!
Li Miao's entire body was covered in cat fur that stood on end.
If I don't pass the exam, I'll be kicked out!
Waaaaah.
Why is his cat life so difficult!
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