It's always said that people bully others by flaunting their power, but now Shopkeeper Lin doesn't even blush when using her influence to bully a cat.
She is a civilized person, after all. How could a civilized person hit a cat? But if other cats go and beat up a cat, that's none of her business.
The Bengal leopard cat, carrying its defiance towards humans, bravely accepted that impossible challenge.
So the two employees waiting anxiously outside saw their shopkeeper step out of the back room, firmly close the door behind her, and immediately afterward, all sorts of hissing and tumbling sounds typical of a catfight erupted from inside.
"Is this okay?" Listening to the commotion inside, the young lady was terrified, and Song Xinmin also frowned, pressing his lips together.
"It's fine." The shopkeeper was utterly calm, looking back at them. "Six against one, are you still afraid things will go sideways?"
The two: "..."
"Relax, I've instructed Mo Mo and the others. It's just to teach the little guy a lesson; there won't be any bloodshed." Shopkeeper Lin had already planned this and didn't mind sharing it with her employees. "Gray refuses to listen to people, so it must learn to listen to other cats."
The sounds of the catfight couldn't be hidden from the other customers in the teahouse. At first, they could pretend to be calm and stay seated, but later, they all curiously glanced towards the direction of the back room in the staff area.
"Is the shopkeeper training the cat? Why does it look like she's letting cats in to fight?"
"That's a Bengal leopard cat, as expensive as a Ragdoll. If I hadn't seen how fierce it was even in the cage earlier, I would have almost wanted to pet it. It's so beautiful."
"Forget it. Didn't you see how its owner's hands were all scratched up? Even if you could, you wouldn't dare touch it."
"Like you would dare either. Such aggressive cats are hard to get close to."
"Stop talking, the fighting noises inside have stopped. Wonder what the outcome is."
In less than five minutes, to be precise, about three minutes, the sounds from the back room completely ceased.
But everyone in the teahouse had their interest piqued. If Song Xinmin and the others hadn't politely stopped them and asked them to return to their seats, they might have even crowded around the door to see what happened.
Lin Lan, who had caused all this commotion, paid no mind to the minor stir. Upon hearing Mo Mo's victorious cry, she immediately pushed the door open and went in. Outside the door were two employees who didn't dare enter but were curious to watch the spectacle, with the young lady clinging to the doorframe and leaning in most eagerly.
Probably anticipating the fight, the small items in the back room had been cleared away beforehand, leaving the small room looking quite empty. On the open floor, six black cats surrounded a leopard cat in the middle.
A few tufts of fur from the fight were scattered on the floor, mostly the tawny fur of the leopard cat. The owner of that fur was lying on its back, claws out and teeth bared, its tail tightly pressed against its belly in fear.
In cat fights, only a cat that's losing uses the tactic of lying on its back and kicking with its hind legs to fight back and struggle. Clearly, the leopard cat had not only lost but also didn't know which of the black cat gang to deal with first.
As Lin Lan approached, Mo Mo swatted Gray again. The leopard cat, which had been on its back, immediately rolled over and crouched down, shrinking into a timid, trembling ball.
"So?" Lin Lan squatted down, speaking casually to the leopard cat encircled by the black cats. "Have you figured out who's the boss in this territory and who you should listen to from now on?"
Then, Wang Jiayi heard the leopard cat let out a low whimper, like a wronged little wife who had no choice but to submit?
Just as this analogy popped into her head, the shopkeeper laughed and, without any hesitation, reached her hand out towards the leopard cat. "Good that you've submitted. So you know what to do now, right? Come here."
"No way, Lan Lan?" Wang Jiayi couldn't help but speak up to stop her. "That cat is really fierce! Reaching out like that without any protection, you could easily get hurt!"
Song Xinmin chimed in from the side, "Should I get you some thick gloves or something?"
"No need, I know what I'm doing." Lin Lan turned her head to reassure her employees, then looked back at the leopard cat. "I promised earlier I wouldn't hurt you. Shouldn't you show some goodwill now too?"
The leopard cat didn't move, and Lin Lan was very patient. In contrast, Wang Jiayi outside the door was watching nervously, biting her lip, not daring to speak.
The atmosphere suddenly became very quiet.
After another three minutes, it was Mo Mo who grew impatient. It let out a low growl at the leopard cat, then actively made a path. The other five black cats immediately followed suit.
Wang Jiayi saw the leopard cat shudder at the growl, no longer daring to stay curled up. It began to move forward in a half-crouch, taking small steps.
Soon, it reached Lin Lan, but stopped hesitantly about ten centimeters away from her hand.
Human hands all look similar. Seeing the five slender fingers before it, Gray's body involuntarily trembled slightly. For a moment, it even instinctively wanted to extend its claws to scratch this hand.
But just as the leopard cat made the preparatory move, Mo Mo, who had been watching it closely from the side, pounced. The two cats tumbled aside, and the black cat, which had held the upper hand all along, swiftly delivered several consecutive slaps to the leopard cat. Finally, it let out another intimidating hiss at the leopard cat, whose ears were already flattened back so much they were almost invisible, then herded the leopard cat back in front of Lin Lan like a prison guard driving an inmate.
Behind the door, Wang Jiayi tightly covered her mouth, while Song Xinmin beside her had his jaw dropped, staring dumbfounded at the scene.
They looked at the seemingly supernatural, protective black cat, then at the shopkeeper who had maintained a kind smile the whole time, and suddenly felt that this fellow human exuded an inexplicable aura of a boss.
How do they show it on TV? The much-abused poor little thing (the leopard cat) is given a harsh lesson by a group of enforcers in black (the black cat gang), then brought before the mastermind (Lin Lan). Now, these enforcers in black are forcing the poor little thing to submit and pledge allegiance to the boss.
What to do, the scene feels inexplicably tragic.
The "much-abused poor little thing," the leopard cat, now seemed thoroughly beaten into submission. Under Mo Mo's intense stare, it walked back to Lin Lan's hand. Having just been slapped, the leopard cat no longer dared to raise a claw towards Lin Lan. It just lifted its head and cautiously sniffed the scent on her fingertips. It discovered there were many cat smells there—not just from the black cats that had beaten it, but also from many other cats. Besides that, the scent of food it liked was mixed in.
It was a smell that made a cat relax and feel at ease.
The humans who had hit it didn't have this smell.
Seeing the leopard cat still only cautiously sniffing her hand, Lin Lan remained unhurried, keeping her original pose so as not to startle it, quietly observing. This cat had been hit by people. Even after successful communication, it was perfectly normal for it to not immediately shake off its fear. Patience was essential.
A few minutes later, the turning point finally arrived. The leopard cat tentatively rubbed its head against her fingertips, then instinctively narrowed its eyes, pressing its ears back into "airplane ears" as if bracing for a coming slap. When it discovered Lin Lan wasn't going to hit it, it cautiously gave a few more gentle, shallow rubs.
The leopard cat's scent was now transferred to Lin Lan's fingertips, mingling with the other smells, which made the cat relax a bit more. Finally, it tentatively placed one of its front paws into Lin Lan's palm.
It didn't scratch, and allowed Lin Lan to gently squeeze its paw pad.
Wang Jiayi covered her mouth, successfully stifling a near-scream, her eyes brimming with excitement. Song Xinmin beside her was also secretly thrilled, clenching his fist.
"See, I didn't hit you, right?" Lin Lan set down the leopard cat's little paw and also reached out to tentatively stroke its head. Under her palm, she could clearly feel the kitten was still trembling, its whole body tense. However, under the watchful gaze of a certain dark force, it completely dared not flee. This allowed Lin Lan to smoothly pet the leopard cat, applying her long-honed "Eighteen Petting Techniques."
Feeling very comfortable, the leopard cat soon began to gradually lower its guard, its body no longer stiff and rigid. Upon realizing this human truly wouldn't hit it, it simply flopped over, surrendering to the pets.
"So fast…" Although she had witnessed the entire process, the young lady was still astonished. "It was super fierce before."
"Not that strange," Song Xinmin could understand. "Animals aren't complicated; their thinking is often straightforward. It found humans hurt it, so it rejected and resisted. Now it's found the shopkeeper won't harm it, so it's showing trust. It doesn't need the emotional transition process humans do."
As they spoke, Lin Lan had already successfully picked up the cat, cradling it in her arms. The leopard cat lay quietly on her arm, completely devoid of its previous ferocious demeanor from inside the cage.
When she walked out of the partition holding the cat, the tea guests in the main hall who had been watching erupted in chatter, utterly amazed.
"Wow, how long has it been? Less than an hour, and the 'ferocious cat' is tamed?"
"Incredible! I always thought the shop owner was skilled with cats from watching the performances here, but seeing this today shows her real talent wasn't even on display before!"
"So… can I pet it too?"
Some focused on the speed of taming, while others purely wanted to pet the kitten. Wang Jiayi was one of the latter. The little cat with its leopard-like gorgeous fur was very appealing, and the young lady couldn't help but reach out toward the kitten in Lin Lan's arms.
"Don't pet...!"
"Hiss—!"
Lin Lan's warning and the leopard cat's unfriendly paw-swipe and threatening hiss sounded simultaneously. The young lady, who had almost been scratched, looked at the five sharp claws extended from the paw pad with a mix of fear and relief. Luckily, she had also been tentative; if her reaction had been slower, she'd definitely be bleeding.
"I've only just established Gray's initial trust in me. It will take more time for it to stop being wary of other humans," Lin Lan said helplessly to Wang Jiayi. "Don't be so rash next time."
"Mhm, mhm, I won't," the young lady replied sheepishly, then quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Lan Lan, where are you taking it?"
Lin Lan looked down at the cat, giving its head a stroke. "To give it a bath and groom it."
This cat hadn't had a proper cleaning in over a year because it wouldn't let anyone near. Fortunately, cats are naturally clean animals, or who knows how dirty it would be.
"Little one, you don't mind me giving you a bath, right?" Stroking the leopard cat from head to tail, Lin Lan asked down at it.
The leopard cat lifted its small head and looked up with a "meow." Its exceptionally docile appearance made many cat lovers in the room light up with delight. It's so cute!
Only Lin Lan, who understood cat language, rolled her eyes inwardly. If they knew this fellow had just said, "Even if I said I didn't want to, you'd definitely have other cats beat me up. What I want doesn't matter at all," probably no one would find it docile and cute anymore.
"Then behave for me." Giving the cat's head another stroke, Lin Lan took it into the shop's cat bathroom. "Perfect timing for a bath before joining the other cats for dinner."
And so, Lin Lan went into the bathroom, with Mo Mo following behind her. It wasn't until the bathroom door closed, blocking all view, that the main hall became lively again.
The human tea guests enthusiastically discussed the shopkeeper's cat-taming feat. The cats who had also been observing the situation were similarly discussing the leopard cat about to join them, though their communication was relatively silent.
(This scene looks so familiar.) On the cat tree, the Russian Blue Huihui swished its tail, silently exchanging information with the Munchkin cat La Chang sitting next to it in a "loaf" position.
(Of course it's familiar.) La Chang swished its tail in agreement. (That's how Mo Mo boss stared down Mercury last time when it was being disobedient.)
The one-meter-long large cat lying on the bed-shaped cushion against the back wall wasn't having it. It looked up at the two cats. (What's it got to do with me? I reformed long ago.)
The tea house cats didn't discuss it further, just glanced toward the bathroom again.
Yes, before long, this fierce cat would get used to life here, just like Mercury, and enjoy a happy life with daily food, drinks, grooming, and frequent canny hunts for treats.
