New Year's Day, a national holiday.
It was also a prime opportunity for major businesses to launch massive online and offline promotions. Opening your phone, you could see various shopping apps frantically notifying you of all kinds of discounts and markdowns. Putting your phone down and walking on the street, you could equally hear many stores with banners or loudspeakers shouting about various promotional activities.
Tang Xiaoya was an ordinary office worker taking advantage of the holiday to go shopping, the kind who works six days a week with one day off and sometimes has to work overtime.
Young people nowadays face immense pressure in both life and work. Many have even lost interest in socializing because of it, let alone finding someone of the opposite sex to date.
Are games not fun enough, or is catching up on sleep not satisfying enough? Our own free time is already scarce, why waste it on others?
Tang Xiaoya, who was tired of the hypocritical pleasantries in the workplace, declared she would rather wander the streets alone, letting her mind go blank, than exhaust herself figuring out how to properly interact with someone beside her.
"Buy two get one free? Storewide 70% off? Everything 50 yuan... and up? Could you make that 'and up' any smaller?" Passing by store after store, Tang Xiaoya muttered complaints under her breath while eating her egg waffle. "So unoriginal. Every holiday, every promotion, it's the same old tricks. They haven't changed their methods in all these years."
Just then, a strong wind blew, making Tang Xiaoya shiver.
"So cold! The winter sun really is useless!" she complained offhandedly. Actually, the weather was quite nice today; the sun felt warm on her skin. But any winter wind would make it uncomfortable.
At that moment, she felt like buying a hot drink. It didn't matter if it was bubble tea or coffee, as long as it warmed her up from the inside.
"Hmm... I think there's a bubble tea shop around here, right?" Tucking her neck and chin further into her scarf, Tang Xiaoya searched for the shop based on vague past memories. It couldn't be helped; she hadn't been to this neighborhood for months. Being able to roughly remember what shops were here was already quite an achievement.
When she finally found the exact location based on familiar landmarks from her memory, she discovered the old bubble tea shop was gone, replaced by...
"Wow—!"
The young woman couldn't help but exclaim aloud. Her eyes were completely captivated by a Ragdoll cat standing on an ornate, flower-shaped shelf behind the store window.
The soft, warm winter sunlight filtered through the clean glass window, illuminating the cat, which sat in a poised posture. The light cast a gentle halo around its already fluffy, neatly groomed long fur. Its pink little nose and sapphire-blue, glass-like eyes were set in a head marked with a beautiful double V pattern. The snow-white ruff around its chest made it look exceptionally elegant and charming. If not for its fluffy tail occasionally swishing gently, it truly looked as beautiful as a plush toy.
“Such a beautiful Ragdoll cat!” Tang Xiaoya was already pressed rather inelegantly against the display window glass, her eyes shining as she stared at the kitten. Even though the shelf holding the cat inside was still some distance from the glass, it couldn't dampen her enthusiasm. “Ahhh, so cute!”
Seemingly accustomed to being stared at with such otaku-like devotion by humans, the Ragdoll cat remained unruffled. It lifted a paw and began grooming itself. Through the thick plate glass, Tang Xiaoya couldn't hear any sounds from inside, but she could see the little Ragdoll meow towards the side while grooming.
Subconsciously, she followed the Ragdoll's gaze to the side and only then noticed she had been staring at the right half of the store window. There was another shelf on the left half, and it was a heart-shaped shelf of the same style.
This shelf was even more extravagant—a large, peach-heart-shaped outline. Six black cats were perched on it: one sat at the top indentation of the heart, two sat on each of the curved outlines on the left and right sides, and one sat at the bottom tip of the heart.
The shelf was cleverly designed. The four black cats sitting on the left and right sides had their dangling tails resting against the shelf's outline, perfectly forming a complete heart shape.
If the flower-shaped Ragdoll shelf on the right made Tang Xiaoya's heart flutter and exclaim about its beauty and cuteness, then the black cat heart formed by the six black cats on the left left her astonished.
These kittens were so well-behaved and obedient, especially the black cats. Although Tang Xiaoya liked small animals, she had never been fond of black cats; an encounter with one at night had once scared her quite a bit. But seeing them in the display window today, she unexpectedly found that black cats were more elegant and beautiful than she had thought.
Especially now, under the sunlight, their sleek, glossy black fur shimmered with a faint golden sheen, looking particularly high-end.
Tang Xiaoya stared blankly for a moment, then took a few steps back to look up at the store's sign again—a somewhat fairytale-esque signboard reading "Cat Teahouse" hung above the glass door to the left of the display window.
"A cat cafe..." she murmured.
Then, without hesitation, she stepped forward and pushed open the glass door to enter.
The moment she stepped inside, Tang Xiaoya heard the meows of the cats, as if the black cats and the Ragdoll in the display window area were communicating with each other. If she could understand cat language, she would know she wasn't mistaken.
Ragdoll: "Meow..." (Mom was right, another human has been lured in by my beauty.)
Little black cats: "Meow meow meow!" (Lots of humans are lured in by us too!)
Ragdoll: "Meow!" (Mom says I'm the prettiest!)
Little black cats: "Meow meow meow!" (Lanlan says we're super cute now too!)
The black cat mom anchoring the tip of the heart: "Meeoowwrr—" (Stop arguing! Lanlan told us we need to be good poster cats today. If you mess this up, don't blame me for hitting you!)
Instantly, the lively display area quieted down. The poster cats returned to their duties diligently. After all, Lanlan had emphasized that whether many cans of cat food would come their way in the future depended entirely on today.
Tang Xiaoya was completely unaware of these meow words. She walked in excitedly, her eyes still fixed on the display area, which was separated by a glass wall into a special exhibition zone. Only staff could enter, so she could see a few other customers who had also been drawn in, pressed against the interior glass wall to look at the cats.
It was still morning, so it wasn't surprising that there weren't many people in the shop yet.
"Welcome to the Cat Teahouse!" A greeting sounded in her ear. A pretty girl wearing an apron printed with the shop's name stood by the entrance, smiling as she received her.
...Couldn't tell if she was staff or the owner. She looked so young and cute, probably staff. Just as Tang Xiaoya was irresponsibly guessing, the staff member continued speaking to her.
"Customer, if you'd like to relax in our shop, please come here first to wash and disinfect your hands."
Following her gesture, Tang Xiaoya saw a separate washbasin, also enclosed by a glass wall, to the left of the entrance. Inside, one could wash and disinfect hands without worrying about splashing water into the main shop area.
Visiting a cat cafe requires a simple disinfection process. Having been to a few such shops before, Tang Xiaoya knew the rule and cooperatively went inside for the disinfection. After coming out, she looked around and asked, "Aren't there any shoe covers for me?"
"Shoe covers are right here." Seeing her so cooperative, the shop assistant smiled even more warmly, pointing to the floor next to the partitioned area where a shoe film dispenser was placed. "Just step on it, and a film will automatically cover the soles of your shoes."
Tang Xiaoya had seen this type of shoe film dispenser on Taobao before. At the time, she had considered buying one for home use online, but after the spending impulse cooled down, she realized she hardly ever had guests over, so there was no need to buy it and dismissed the thought.
She never expected to experience it at a cat cafe.
The entry process ended quickly, and Tang Xiaoya began to move freely. She looked around at the decoration and furnishings of this new shop. Her first impression upon entering was that the entire store was bright and warm, with a style dominated by light yellow and soft green tones that was very relaxing.
Both the front and back walls of the shop used glass panels, making the space appear much brighter and more spacious. The spacious reception area was furnished with several different styles of tables and chairs. Against the walls were fabric sofas with matching long tables, or side tables built against the wall with high stools. In the center were soft cushions and low tables where one could sit cross-legged, or spherical beanbag chairs that could be squished into any shape. Even near the glass wall by the back door, there was a bed-sized soft cushion; guests in need could simply lie down on it and enjoy leisurely time with the cats.
On the clean floor, cats walked by from time to time. Tang Xiaoya secretly identified them and found that the ones walking around were all pet cats with excellent appearance—British Shorthairs, Siamese, Munchkins, all very beautiful. She even saw a golden-red Abyssinian being held and played with by another guest, who was feeding it cat food from a can with a look of doting, like a proud father.
Although Tang Xiaoya found that expression a bit off-putting, she could understand it.
Perhaps because it was newly opened, there wasn't much of the unpleasant smell she often encountered in cat cafes due to too many cats. On the contrary, there was a pleasant aroma of milk tea.
Reminded by this scent, Tang Xiaoya remembered her original intention of just wanting to order a cup of milk tea.
She directly sat down at a table with cushions nearby, picked up the small menu stand on the table, and glanced at it. It listed not only various teas and pastries but also different types of cat food cans for feeding the cats. It even mentioned services like pet boarding or taking in stray cats.
The prices were generally not expensive, at least at a level completely acceptable for an ordinary office worker like her. Setting her last worries aside, Tang Xiaoya ordered a 40-yuan tea set according to her preference: "I'll have this one, please."
After saying that, she decisively scanned the payment QR code printed on the stand and paid directly.
The taste of tea and snacks in cat cafes is usually just average, and Tang Xiaoya didn't have high hopes. She just wanted something hot to drink, and then she'd go find a cute little cat to hold and pet...
Her peripheral vision caught the bed cushion she had seen earlier. On it, a slender and majestic-looking beautiful creature had lain down at some point.
It was a beautiful large cat with silver-gray tabby markings, over a meter long. Its golden vertical pupils were lazily narrowed, and the white ruff below its neck was just as beautiful as the Ragdoll she saw earlier. Its fluffy tail swished rhythmically. Winter was the peak shedding season for cats, considered their most beautiful time, and this cat was especially so. Tang Xiaoya even felt as if an aura of kingly dominance was constantly emanating from this cat.
Tang Xiaoya's eyes instantly widened, and she pointed tremblingly, "A M-Maine Coon? Your shop even has a Maine Coon!" The legendary Maine Coon, majestic and aloof in appearance but actually super gentle in temperament!
"Yes, customer," the accompanying shop assistant replied with a smile. "This is the largest cat in our shop. Its name is Mercury. And not just Maine Coons, there are other little cuties too,"
Tang Xiaoya no longer paid attention to the shop assistant's following words, "Your order will be right out, please wait a moment." Her mouth agape and eyes wide, she unconsciously stood up, raising her eager hands to pounce towards that silver-gray large cat.
...And then was directly dodged by the big cat with a swift move.
Tang Xiaoya lost her balance and fell face-first onto the empty bed cushion, even bouncing a couple of times. When she hurriedly got up, she saw that the Maine Coon, having dodged her, had now jumped onto a cat tree nailed to the wall and was looking down at her from above.
"Meow." (Human, you want to pet me? No way.)
The Maine Coon Mercury's intended mockery and disdain were completely ruined by the exposure of its voice, destroying the majestic, lofty image it had just projected. It saw the human below getting even more excited.
"Ahhh, Maine Coons really are both majestic and adorable!" The girl clasped her face with her hands, extremely excited. "Mercury, I must pet you!"
At this moment, although human and cat languages were never mutual, Mercury correctly interpreted the meaning from her gaze and tone. The big cat continued to let out a disdainful meow, flicked its tail, and continued stepping higher along the cat tree and ran off into the distance.
Chasing after the Maine Coon's figure, Tang Xiaoya only then noticed the clever design on the walls—cat walks were installed high up on all four walls. They were interconnected, not hindering people's movement below while also giving the cats a large activity space to come and go as they pleased. The convenience of being able to observe their territory from above at any time would give the cats a great sense of security and comfort.
Oh, and there might be a hidden function—allowing cats that don't want to be petted to avoid human groping hands at any time.
No! She would not give up!
Although half her health bar was critically depleted by the Maine Coon's rejection, Tang Xiaoya, holding onto her remaining 50% HP, declared she would absolutely not admit defeat and was determined to get her hands on this cat!
The poster cats were very effective, attracting so many customers on the first morning of the New Year's Day opening. Previously, they hadn't dared to hold the usual ceremonies like setting off firecrackers for fear of startling the cats. They had thought only some familiar people from the neighborhood would come to show support, like young tenants who happened to be free, or their parents and Cheng Fengyang who came to help. But the situation was better than Lin Lan had imagined; there were quite a few strangers.
The cats in the shop were all very popular, basically quickly claimed by the guests. Some, relying on their good looks, even managed to get more than their share. Like that Chinchilla...
"Meow meow! ...Nom nom nom... Mew...!" (This servant, lower your hand holding the can, you're poking my face! And that servant over there, I don't like this brand of cat stick, don't bring it over! ...What are you doing, servant over there? I forbid you from being fickle and sharing the can you got for me with that Dachshund cat, meow!)
That sweet, almost coquettish little voice—who would have thought its true translated meaning was so foul? Watching the three burly men holding cans, feeding it while being cursed at, their faces still wearing a doting, besotted expression of "It's so adorable, it's acting spoiled with me," Lin Lan felt she couldn't bear to watch any longer. Her face expressionless, she continued walking forward, carrying the freshly made tea snacks she held.
To be fair, not all the little cats in the entire shop were willing to cooperate with her work so readily, using their ultimate "act cute" move to get themselves canned food or cat treats.
Take, for example, that Maine Coon who still hadn't let a single customer touch it, even hiding away all this time. It seemed she really would have to use some trick to make it behave...
"Boss, give me one... no, three cans!" As she delivered the tea snacks to a newly arrived female customer, she heard the girl shout at her with fierce determination.
Tang Xiaoya remembered that Maine Coon cats were said to have big appetites; one can definitely wouldn't be enough. She refused to believe three couldn't lure down this big cat!
Lin Lan: "..."
So that's how it was. She had almost forgotten that besides acting cute, cats had another skill for captivating people.
Casting a meaningful glance at the Maine Coon still on the cat tree, Lin Lan thought it was just fine for the big cat to keep this up. Turning back, she wore her professional, friendly smile: "Of course, customer. I'll get them for you right away."
The big cat, Shuǐyín (Mercury), was utterly bewildered.
"Kitty, come down here!" The woman below waved a can at it, calling out, "Come down and I'll give you something tasty!"
Why?
"Is this enough? Is it? You can have all of this!"
It had deliberately acted so aloof, neither gentle nor affectionate—so why were these humans clinging to it even more stubbornly than before!
