Ch4 - Interaction

The protagonists’ new names must be supreme

Editor: Vez 

The decision came so easily and naturally. After the decision was made, Xin Qin felt the pressure was lifted off his chest. This was probably the first major decision he had made since his resignation. However, after a short period of relief, came the next heart of the matter. The first real question was, how should he support both himself and his new cat?

In fact, after his resignation, Xin Qin never took the time to give a thought about his future or how to survive. Now with an extra responsibility, he could no longer escape his life problems. After graduating from university, he worked in a good IT company. Working overtime was the norm in this high-pressure work environment which brought him a good income and a stable life. 

However, he did not like this life. He yearned for more free time for himself. Which brought up a good question, what was considered more free time? He never arrived at a clear answer. Half a year ago, his grandma passed away. That was when he firmly chose to leave and began to live alone, idling his time away. He did not spend much apart from his daily necessities. Although he was a full-fledged homebody, or an otaku as people would make him out to be, he had little involvement in the expensive two-dimensional hobbies of donghua or manhua. He had only purchased games these days, and still had some savings. However, without a growth in his income, it was an unsustainable lifestyle. 

How with the arrival of the Dragon Li cat, he must begin to face his own problems.  

He carried the cat home, which was a small duplex with a simple design. Upstairs was his bedroom and game room, below were the kitchen, living room and balcony. He closed all the doors to limit the area Dragon Li cat could explore, helping the cat adapt to its new home as soon as possible. He planned to set up a space for the cat in the living room’s corner near the balcony, which used to be Coffee’s territory. Everything belonging to Coffee had mostly been cleaned up and Xin Qin had to look for a few cardboard boxes to function as the cat’s temporary bed and litter box. Fortunately, he brought home a bag of cat food from the clinic, so there was no need for him to worry about feeding the cat. He just hoped the cat would eat the food. 

A-Li was put down after entering the door. Currently, his human was walking back and forth, holding a box doing something. A-Li watched him for a while before quickly losing interest. Then, being in a new place, his nature to scout a new area stirred as his instinct to conquer territory began to hoot. First, he started small, circling around an area before checking on his human. When he saw that the other party paid no mind, he finally set aside his apprehension and sniffed around with his nose, trying to leave his scent in all corners. He was patient as he skillfully restrained his curiosity and kept vigilant at all times, but nothing happened. Soon after the inspection of his new territory on the ground was completed, A-Li looked up and narrowed his eyes at the huge object high above. There were claw marks left by another cat, which made it a field that had to be conquered. 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

After Xin Qin tidied up, he took out a bowl from the kitchen. It was one he usually ate in. He wiped the bowl, poured out an appropriate amount of cat food and grabbed a cat treat given by the kind Dr. Yu. This treat was for disguising medicine, which Xin Qin planned to mix with the anti-inflammatory medicine and give it to the cat. 

Clinking, cat kibbles fell into the white porcelain bowl, creating a crisp sound. Hearing this, the Dragon Li cat, who was out of sight patrolling his territory, quickly showed himself between the gap in couch cushions. The cat crouched to hide his body and sneakily observed Xin Qin from his hiding place. 

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Cats usually go by their owner’s surname, so the first name that came to Xin Qin’s mind was Simba, which in pinyin was Xin Ba, the same Xin. However, spotting the scar above the cat’s left eye, he found that name not appropriate enough. But if he used Scar, he would be naming his cat after a villain, which was not as cute. As his thoughts wandered, he swirled the bowl in his hand, creating crisp tinkling sounds. 

When A-Li heard the sound, there was an itch in his heart as he curiously leaned over. He had just toured his new territory. This house was very big. Although it could not be compared with his abandoned factory in the countryside, it was enough for a cat. In particular, the room was full of his human’s smell that he liked, which made A-Li very happy. 

The smell was mixed with a faint scent of another cat in the room. He guessed the strange smell must be the aunt who he had never met. He hoped she was in a better and happier place. As A-Li was lost in his thoughts, the human began to make strange sounds again. A-Li was indistinctly aware that his human was calling him, but he was suddenly feeling shy. Meow, should I be friendly with a human so early? This is my first time. The tip of his tail curled as he meowed softly.  

Xin Qin was somewhat astonished. He did not expect the cat to be quite courageous. This was the first time for the cat to be here, yet he showed neither panic nor uneasiness. Fearful and insecure cats usually show fear of humans, or have an unusually aggressive and territorial nature, which are unhealthy emotions. 

But on the contrary, after the Dragon Li cat entered the house, he first quickly and carefully inspected the territory, then relaxed and slowly strolled back and forth. His tail stood high, looking very confident and willing to interact. Although he was currently hiding in the corner, his posture revealed more of curiosity and playfulness. This was a good sign. It appeared that his Dragon Li cat enjoyed its new home very much. 

Xin Qin attempted to softly click his tongue, “Come here and eat.”

A-Li stared at his human, took a small step forward before stopping again. The staring continued. He wondered whether he should give his human a name? His sisters have the habit of naming their humans, as do other cats with families. Since he also has a human and now in a ‘family’, A-Li thought he should take responsibility as soon as possible. For example, think of a nice name.  

What name?

One human and one cat were thinking about the same question side by side, and they were both lost in their thoughts. Xin Qin continued to patiently shake the white porcelain bowl. A-Li fixed his attention on the human. He did not know what was considered good-looking in human eyes, but his human must be beautiful. His human had symmetrical limbs, and the fact that humans could walk and run on two paws also remained an unsolved mystery. As well as his shiny eyes and soft lickable hair on his head—pity those were the only hair his human possessed on his entire body, and his human was even incapable of cleaning his hair, his tongue would not reach . 

A-Li suddenly remembered that when he was very young, so young that he could fit into a mouse hole, and his mother was still alive. She had a soft body and fragrant smell. She would always lick his fur from head to paw after he had a full belly of milk, and tenderly called him ‘Miwu’. His mother had told him that Miwu was a nickname. Humans liked to call their beloved cat that way, although their pronunciation is very strange. How he had wished one day, he would meet a human who loved him and called him ‘Miwu’. His mother was separated from her human family by accident. A-Li knew that his mother must have missed those humans that once belonged to her. 

A-Li decided that he would name his human ‘Miwu’.  

“Miwu!” A-Li called out to his human, “What are you calling me for?”

What Xin Qin heard was the Dragon Li cat meowing to him. He did not know what message the cat tried to convey. Seeing this would take a while, he might as well sit cross legged and continue shaking the bowl. “Come here and eat. Aren’t you hungry?”

A-Li hesitated for a moment before coming out of his hiding place. “I will go over just this one time. Miwu, you have to remember your name.”

“Come here.” Xin Qin smiled and watched the Dragon Li cat slowly pace back and forth on the sofa before stopping. Then he saw the cat sitting with his chest puff out, chin up, looking his way seriously and meowing a few times. Xin Qin wondered what the cat was trying to say.  

“Miwu, your name is Miwu. This is the name I gave you.” A-Li repeated it several times. It was said that human memory and understanding are very poor. He has to teach his human well. He gazed down at his human from the higher ground and solemnly announced, “Now that I have assumed responsibility over you, from now on, you are my human and I will look after you. I will treat you well, play with you, make you happy and content every day to the best of my ability. If you cannot learn to catch mice, I will catch them for you. If you want other prey, then I will try my best to fulfil your request. This is my responsibility. I am not your first cat, nor will I be your last cat. But in the days that I assume responsibility over you, I shall be your only cat. That’s right…”

A-Li gave his declaration of responsibility in disjoint. His mother left early so he could not be taught on how to gracefully assume responsibility over a human in the future. Most of the content A-Li used in his declaration were from hearing other cats. He could not remember them word by word and could not improvise well on the spot, since this was his first time taking control over a human. Although A-Li was an uneducated countryside cat, he knew that only by reciting an oath could he officially assume responsibility over his human, share his human’s house, share his food and his love. “I may not be the best cat yet, but I will work very hard. One day, I will be the best cat. I will make you proud, Miwu!”

Watching the serious Dragon Li cat meowing things he could not comprehend, it was hard for Xin Qin not to chuckle. He put down the white porcelain bowl, stretched out his left hand with his palm facing up and curling up his fingers to attract the cat. The Dragon Li cat finally calmed down. He dignifiedly lowered his chin, stood up and lightly stomped on the back of the sofa. Turning around to give Xin Qin a glance, he then kicked with his hind legs to leap upward. He twirled his flexible body, stretched his limbs in the air, and quickly landed half a metre away by Xin Qin before sitting down upright again. 

“Miwu, here I am.” A-Li greeted.  

Xin Qin could not hold back, extending his hand out and rubbing the cat’s round furry head. Fortunately, the other party did not look provoked. It appeared that the cat did not mind at all, instead, he obediently bent down and approached to sniff the bowl of cat food. 

Miwu’s food smelled fishy but very delicious. Is this human food? Thank you, Miwu. A-Li muttered out a thank you, took a few steps forward and buried his head in the white porcelain bowl to chomp down food. Meow, it tastes strange, but the flavour is good!

Xin Qin breathed a sigh of relief. Since the Dragon Li cat did not reject the food, the food problem was considered to have been solved temporarily. He recalled the cat’s graceful posture jumping from a high place, and a sudden flash of inspiration appreard. “Leonidas!” Leonidas I was the king of Sparta, the valiant warrior as well as Xin Qin’s favourite character from a game. Leonidas also had a scar on his left eye in the film. The serious Dragon Li cat had some resemblance with the ferocious king. He chuckled and said to the Dragon Li cat. “How about calling you Sparta?”

“Miwu?” L-Ai looked puzzled.  

“Hello, Sparta.” Xin Qin smiled at him. 

A-Li did not know right now, but from this moment, he had a human exclusive to him, a new home and a new name. At the moment, he only knew that human food was very delicious. The night breeze blew from the balcony carrying the cool autumn air. But with his human by his side, A-Li’s whole being was warm.