Two Cats

Food!

Ji Mianmian immediately clenched her fist, deciding to sneak over and check the situation.

Resources on Cat Island were extremely scarce. Every time delicious food appeared, it would be instantly taken by the stronger, more dominant cats.

Most of the cats here were already adults, independent and solitary, and they weren't very friendly toward kittens. Male cats were even openly hostile toward Little White and Little Flower.

Although Ji Mianmian was quite large, she still looked different from the other cats.

While everyone else ran on four paws, she was the only one with a human-like form.

Two fists couldn't fight against four claws.

Whenever she had to protect the two abandoned kittens, she could never snatch the best food.

As a result, Little White and Little Flower—already weak from being abandoned by their mother—were malnourished and underdeveloped.

West Ear Coast was always the most barren area on the island, mostly filled with inedible plants.

At best, it could provide some emergency rations when starving—but never enough to fill a stomach.

Because of this, most cats weren't willing to come here.

Ji Mianmian also knew another reason:

The beach directly met the ocean, and cats digging for crabs or clams often got swept away by the waves.

Most cats were terrified of water. But she wasn't.

She actually found the feeling of seawater flowing over her feet to be pleasant and liberating.

If only it didn't leave a layer of salt crystals on her fur afterward!

The sand had been baking under the sun all day, making it hot to the touch. Ji Mianmian carefully stepped through the shaded areas as she walked.

Her intuition told her something about West Ear Coast was different today.

But what exactly had changed—she hadn't figured it out yet.

Meanwhile, the greedy Little Flower, with its superior sense of smell, was practically bursting with excitement.

"The food is right ahead!"

Ji Mianmian hid behind a coconut tree, peeking toward the direction Little Flower had indicated—

And was shocked to see a metal can of minced meat and a fried chicken leg placed there!

The chicken leg was coated in crispy golden breading, fried to perfection.

It looked exactly like something from Kenji's Fried Chicken, making her mouth water!

At that thought, Ji Mianmian frowned slightly.

She had woken up on Cat Island two months ago, with no memories of her past.

All she knew was that she was a human-shaped cat.

But from time to time, strange things would pop into her mind—things that didn't belong on Cat Island.

And one of them was—Kenji's Fried Chicken.

She hesitantly asked the kittens,

"There are two types of food ahead. Which one do you want?"

"Canned food!"

Little White and Little Flower answered in unison.

The metal can filled with minced meat was irresistibly tempting to them.

Meanwhile, the fried chicken leg smelled far too overwhelming—it didn't seem like something edible at all.

Ji Mianmian pursed her lips.

She was slowly being forced to accept a fact—

It wasn't just her appearance that was different from the other cats.

"Then," she said, looking at the chicken leg, "I'll eat the other one."

* * * *

Shuo Yu leveled up to Level 3 halfway through chopping trees, fully restoring her stamina.

But Sparse Rain Leaves had a very low drop rate. The cat house required two pieces—she had only collected one, so she had to keep chopping.

Finally, after much effort, she obtained the second Sparse Rain Leaf.

Just then, three glowing paw print icons appeared in her field of view. She immediately swiped the screen, switching her perspective back to the beach.

When she saw what was on the screen, Shuo Yu froze in place.

Squatting there eating food—was a girl with cat ears on her head and a long tail behind her.

The girl looked like a high school student, with fair skin and big, watery eyes. She wore a slightly tattered white dress, and when she sensed someone's presence, her gaze turned wary and anxious, staring up at the sky.

She was very beautiful, and her movements were fluid.

Right now, because she was scared, her ears had folded back into 'airplane ears'—the kind of detail that showed the artist and modeler must have put in a lot of effort when creating her.

Shuo Yu was a bit conflicted.

She had only wanted to raise little kittens, not a catgirl.

The emotional attachment and time investment humans dedicate to pets versus human-like characters were completely different.

Back in school, she was the kind of person who played anime-style mobile games and called the characters 'wife'.

But that was just youthful enthusiasm—now that she'd been working for years, if she still did that, Shen Zhiyin would absolutely roast her!

After thinking it over, Shuo Yu decided to cut her losses.

She sighed, saying, "Sigh… maybe I should just stop playing this game here. I only wanted to raise cats, not a cat eared beauty."

—Ji Mianmian, who had been wondering why a bright and beautiful woman had suddenly appeared on the floating screen in the sky, panicked when she heard this.

The girl swished her tail, quickly thinking of a countermeasure.

She lowered her head, pretending to keep eating the chicken leg, but subtly shifted her body, revealing Little White and Little Flower, the two little kittens.

At the same time, she mentally counted down—

Three, two…

She hadn't even reached one before the woman on the screen gasped:

"Ahhh, what adorable little kittens! Come here, let Auntie give you kisses!"

The intense enthusiasm on Shuo Yu's face made Ji Mianmian feel… strangely irritated.

They were all cats—

Why were the four-legged ones more popular and loved than she was?

She couldn't understand.

Ji Mianmian slowly finished eating the chicken leg, then stood up and hurled the bone into the ocean.

After that, she grabbed a handful of sand to scrub the grease off her hands, then walked to the water to wash them clean.

Once she had tidied herself up, she looked up and made eye contact with the woman on the screen.

"Hello, my name is Ji Mianmian. These are Little White and Little Flower. May I ask how I should address you?"

She saw the woman's eyes light up, then heard her muttering to herself:

"This must be the game's tutorial guide… I was wondering why I reached Level 3 and still hadn't gotten to the naming stage… Wait, why can't I open the chat box?"

Ji Mianmian didn't fully understand what this woman was saying.

But after living here for two months, she knew one thing—

This woman was the only new change that had appeared.

She didn't want to miss this opportunity.

Ji Mianmian clenched her fist slightly, feeling a bit nervous.

"Just tell me your name directly—I can hear you."

The girl's sweet voice came through the speaker.

And a speech bubble also popped up above Ji Mianmian's head.

Shuo Yu hadn't expected the game to be this advanced—it even had AI-generated voice responses!

The voice was incredibly natural, smoother than most smart voice assistants on the market!

Excited by this discovery, she immediately answered:

"Mianmian, hello! My name is Shuo Yu—Shuo as in 'sparkling,' Yu as in 'feather.'"

Ji Mianmian nodded in understanding, then crouched down and lifted Little White and Little Flower, each in one hand.

With a lively smile, she said:

"Shuo Yu, nice to meet you! These are Little White and Little Flower. Welcome to Cat Island! Do you love cats?"

Shuo Yu:

"I do! But in real life, I have a severe allergy to cat fur, so I can only enjoy petting cats in games."

She tapped on Little White, and a few interaction options popped up above the kitten's head:

[Greet, Pet, Pick Up, Kiss, Tummy Rub, Change Outfit…]

Currently, only 'Greet' was available—the rest were locked due to low affection levels.

Shuo Yu tapped 'Greet'.

Little White immediately perked up, looking toward the sky and meowing softly.

A system prompt appeared:

[Little White Affection +2, Added to Cat Codex]

Shuo Yu had zero resistance against kitten cuteness.

Excited, she rubbed her hands together, then repeated the action for Little Flower.

[Little Flower Affection +1, Added to Cat Codex]

Each cat's 'Greet' action had a 24-hour cooldown, and the other interactions still required more affection points.

But after chopping trees all day, hearing the kittens meow finally made her feel like her hard work had paid off.

Meanwhile, Ji Mianmian listened to Little White and Little Flower describe the strange sensation of being "touched by air."

She waited patiently for the feeling herself—but nothing happened.

Pouting slightly, she felt unfairly discriminated against.

Then, a new speech bubble popped up above her head:

"Why didn't you greet me? I'm a cat too!"

Shuo Yu was stunned—so the catgirl NPC actually had this kind of setting?!

She found it adorable.

She had always loved straightforward and direct anime characters—so without hesitation, she tapped the screen to greet Mianmian too.

Ji Mianmian suddenly felt a warm sensation on her head—

A gentle, invisible hand was patting her.

Shuo Yu was really good at head pats—Ji Mianmian felt her whole body relax, as if her bones were melting.

She couldn't hold back and softly purred—"Mew~"

The moment the sound left her mouth, her cheeks flushed red.

Embarrassed, she quickly placed Little White and Little Flower back in front of the food, then looked up at Shuo Yu and shyly waved.

[Ji Mianmian Affection +5, Added to Cat Codex]

Shuo Yu gaped at the screen.

She had thought a special catgirl character like Mianmian would be harder to befriend—but surprisingly, her affection level had risen the fastest!

And her reaction was even cuter than the kittens'!

Shuo Yu was instantly charmed.

Since her stamina hadn't overflowed yet, Shuo Yu didn't rush to chop more trees. Instead, she patiently held her phone, watching the cat-eared girl take care of the two little kittens as they ate their canned food.

She wanted to see what the cats would do after finishing their meal.

The kittens' appetites were small—they only ate half of the canned food before they were full.

Ji Mianmian wanted to pack up the leftovers, but due to system restrictions, the can was stuck to the ground like it had been welded there.

Several thought bubbles popped up above her head, indicating she was thinking.

Shuo Yu simply watched quietly—the small creatures on her screen felt so alive, as if they were really living on Cat Island.

She couldn't get tired of watching them.

The game's time seemed to sync with real life.

As the half-set sun sank into the sea, Cat Island quickly welcomed the arrival of dusk.

Ji Mianmian looked toward the ocean, a red prohibition icon appearing above her head—she gave up on taking the leftover food.

She gently picked up Little White and Little Flower, placing them back into the woven grass backpack.

Then, she waved at Shuo Yu, saying,

"It might get dangerous at night—evil spirits could appear. I have to go now!"

When Shuo Yu didn't respond, Ji Mianmian waited a few seconds—then turned and ran.

Some big cats had already set their eyes on her hiding spot. If she went back too late, her home might be stolen.

After replying to Shen Zhiyin's message urging her to hurry out, Shuo Yu switched back to the game—and was dumbfounded.

Just a moment ago, the beach had been full of life—

Now, only a trail of footprints remained.

Shuo Yu suddenly felt like she had become a lonely old person left behind at home.

Without the kittens, Cat Island Diary didn't seem as fun anymore.

Expressionless, she continued gathering materials, gradually emptying her stamina.

Then, following the crafting steps, she built the cat house and placed it next to the canned food.

Since the food wasn't finished, Mianmian would probably bring the kittens back tomorrow.

When that happened, she could invite them to live here permanently.

Setting an alarm for when her stamina would recover, Shuo Yu closed the game, changed her clothes, and prepared to go out.

Meanwhile, Ji Mianmian had lingered too long at West Ear Beach.

By the time she hurried back to the sand pit under the reef, it had already been taken over.

A scarred old cat, crippled in its left front leg and blind in one eye, was hunched over, baring its teeth and hissing at her.

"Staying out at night is dangerous. If the evil spirits catch you, they'll torment you.

This was the only safe place I could find."

The old cat, known as 'One Eye', was a tortoiseshell cat.

Its fur was dusty and dull, as if it had rolled through a pile of ash.

Its voice was hoarse, and its entire body radiated an air of despair, as if it was on the verge of death.

"Mianmian, I'm sorry… I can't take the torture from the evil spirits anymore…

I got here first today… I don't have the strength to find another safe spot…"

A safe spot could only shelter one adult cat and several kittens.

Ji Mianmian knew that if she forced One Eye out, the old cat wouldn't be able to fight back in its current state.

If it had been any other strong cat, she would've fought to the death to reclaim her home.

But for an old, crippled, and dying cat like One Eye… she decided to let it go.

She took Little White and Little Flower out of the backpack and placed them beside One Eye's paws.

Then, she arched her back and hissed, putting on a threatening act:

"You can stay here for tonight, but you have to take care of Little White and Little Flower for me.

I'll come back for them at sunrise."

Seeing One Eye pull the kittens close, tucking them under its thin belly, Ji Mianmian finally felt relieved.

Ignoring the kittens' cries, she turned and walked away alone into the night.