XIV

"Kitty! Kitty!"

Mu Mu anxiously searched, the chances of finding a cat who had ran away due to going into heat on a night like this was practically null.

"Meow——"

A familiar hoarse meow sounded and Mu Mu's heart raised [1].

[1]心一提 – literal translation is 'heart raised', means to be on edge.

"Kitty, is that you?"

A drenched Siamese climbed out of the underbush, clumps of fur sticking out randomly with water plants of dubious origins tangled around its body, its appearance was quite miserable.

"Meow——" It hoarsely called again, practically bewailing its mournful, wretched experience to Mu Mu: went into heat, ran out to find a female cat and didn't find one, but rather fell into a ditch.

Mu Mu hurriedly took off his jacket and wrapped it up in a distressed manner, "Are you alright? Why did you run off? I was worried to death."

The Siamese shivered as it shrank into Mu Mu's jacket, it was unknown whether this was because of shock or cold.

"It's alright, it's alright, " Mu Mu comforted it, "let's go home immediately."

Ling Mao Er once again returned to the warmth of Mu Mu's home, except this time, it didn't have the look and grandeur of a cat with royal blood, cutting a rather sorry figure comparable to that of a stray cat instead.

"Come, I'll give you a bath." Mu Mu carried the Siamese towards the washroom.

Hearing that it needed to bathe, Ling Mao Er could no longer mind anything else. As a human, he adored bathes, but as a cat, it rejected bathes—shower head, shampoo, blow dryer; for it, each activity was considered torture .

For the second time tonight, Ling Mao Er tried to run away, but Mu Mu already had experience. Before it had taken a few steps, something wrapped around its hind leg ( and forcefully dragged it back.

Ling Mao Er was perplexed: What method was Mu Mu using to catch me every time?

"What's wrong, you don't like baths? That's not good, look how dirty you are now, even your face is black. You can only go on the bed after you take a bath."

If Ling Mao Er could speak, it would begin cursing: That's not dirty! That's my colour point!

Without listening to its protests, Mu Mu sent the Siamese into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Now Ling Mao Er was completely unable to escape [2].

[2]插翅难逃 – Idiom meaning "to be unable to escape even if given wings", completely immobilised.

"Be good, I'll wash you quickly."

Ling Mao Er gave blood-curdling shrieks, each scream more mournful than the last, those that didn't know the situation may even think that atrocious cat abuse was taking place.

Mu Mu softly coaxed it, using the fastest speed to wet its fur. Who knew what body of water the Siamese had fallen in, it would be terrible if the water happened to have parasites.

Ling Mao Er smelled a disgusting scent, a combination of disinfectant and cheap pet shampoo. Anticipating that it would now have to live with this smell for at least a week, Ling Mao Er's heart was immediately filled with despair.

Mu Mu carefully rubbed [3] every inch of its body from head to tail with pet shampoo. Although Ling Mao Er's whole body had already been touched by Mu Mu who knows how many times, this time was the most humiliating.

[3]揉搓 – means "to rub" but could also mean "to torture" or "to torment", I put this here because "to torment" is so fitting XD

Eventually, the Siamese was too tired to continue howling, it's already hoarse voice appeared even more coarse. Fortunately, Mu Mu was near the end and used a soap bubble covered hand to tap its little head.

"We need to rinse you clean, don't move."

Mu Mu turned on the shower, adjusted the water temperature and rinsed all the white foam off its body, carefully avoiding the Siamese's face.

Ling Mao Er wasn't an ordinary cat and was fully aware that the shower posed no danger, but cats instinctively hated water, causing it to not feel safe , yet it couldn't run away. It could only closely lie motionless on the ground, looking like a cat that had been scared stiff.

This round of torture finally came to an end after half an hour. Mu Mu used his towel to wrap it up, the lingering smell of Mu Mu's unique scent on the towel provided Ling Mao Er with a bit of comfort.

"You've been so good." Mu Mu coarsely wiped it once with the towel. The sight of the Siamese with all of its fur sticking flat to its body was pretty funny; with its sharp snout and long limbs, it looked as if it was malnourished.

"Why are you so thin? Looks like I have to feed you a bit more."

Ling Mao Er sprawled on the bed and dispiritedly thought, I am the type that doesn't gain weight no matter how much I eat, many people are envious of my high metabolism, much more fortunate than those models who don't even dare to eat a grain of rice.

"You'll get sick if you don't blow dry your fur, bear with it for a bit longer." Mu Mu turned the blowdryer to medium, considerately testing the temperature on his wrist before directing it towards the Siamese.

Knowing it couldn't escape this calamity, Ling Mao Er acquiesced lo

oking as if it already had a foot in the grave[4], even Mu Mu was curious as to why it suddenly became so obedient.

[4]已经半条死狗模样 – I wanted to translate it as "with the look of a half dead dog" cuz its more literal but "half a foot in the grave" is the English equivalent.

"Done." Seeing the Siamese restored to its original beautiful appearance, Mu Mu finally let out a breath and secretly resolved himself: he won't hit it no matter how much it chews on his hanging orchids in the future; worst comes to worst, he'll just plant a few extra pots for it to chew on. Everyone says that Siamese cats are hot-tempered, hopefully it doesn't hold a grudge against him because of this.

Yet Mu Mu was greatly mistaken, the Siamese left home as usual the next morning but didn't return that night or the day after. It was only then did Mu Mu remember that the Siamese wasn't originally his cat, it had its own home and owner, or maybe it wanted to go find a new owner the way it found him and went to a new home.

But it might also meet a bad person.

The more he thought about it, the more worried Mu Mu was. Day after day, he wasn't in the mood to work, it was as if he had lost an important member of his family.

Heaven knows how badly he wished that, the instant he opened the door, he would see the disorderly scattered leaves of his hanging orchids, the mischievous fellow flusteredly scampering under the sofa and refusing to come out because it knew it was in trouble, a pair of round eyes glittering in the dark.

Unfortunately, he eagerly returned home every night only to be greeted by disappointment when he opened the door. The Siamese had already disappeared for an entire week, Mu Mu no longer dared to wish for its return, he only hoped to ensure that it is still safe and well.

A travel worn Ling Mao Er flagged down a taxi, he had been sent to Australia for a week of outdoor shoots and Ke Le took this chance to request leave to return to his hometown, so there wasn't a single person waiting for him at the airport.

He was shocked by the poster he saw on the bulletin board as soon as he entered the community gate, his picture was conspicuously plastered in the center with two large words below:

——Lost Cat

followed by words in smaller font:

——Please contact ASAP, large reward available

——Mu 13XXXXXXXXX

Ling Mao Er: "… …"