It has been proven that cats are far more obsessed with kotatsu tables than humans.
Lin Lan and the regulars at the shop went from initial surprise to complete acceptance in just a few days. If they ever noticed many of the tea house cats were missing, lifting the quilt would surely reveal them all hiding under that table.
Tea customers agreed that while the table made it hard to stretch their legs, it was very convenient for retrieving cats—each scoop guaranteed a catch, which was quite nice.
Cheng Fengyang wanted to visit the cat tea house frequently, but reality didn’t allow it. After the Spring Festival, his company entered a busy period, with a pile of clients waving contracts and cash, waiting for their contractors to get to work.
Fortunately, there was still some good news.
“When you finish this project, I’ll treat you to a meal,” Lin Lan said with a smile when he left that day. “Thank you for the raffle chance—the table is great. This time, you can pick where to eat.”
Reciprocity is the way to get along; Lin Lan didn’t want to take advantage of Cheng Fengyang’s interest in her by enjoying benefits without returning the favor.
Cheng Fengyang was delighted: “Great! I know a grilled fish place that’s really good. Let’s go together then!”
Barbecue and hotpot have always been top choices for young people’s gatherings, so the two happily settled on it.
More importantly, he had secured another chance to spend time alone with her. Cheng Fengyang went home in high spirits, happily petting his dog Xingxing’s head.
“Mom, Uncle looks so silly when he smiles,” little Li Mengmeng said in the living room of the Cheng family villa, tugging her mother’s hand to share her observation.
Seeing her brother like this, Cheng Xingyu, who was visiting her parents, was speechless: “He really does.”
He’s known the girl for several months, yet this is all the progress he’s made? Getting excited over just a second meal together… Her brother’s dating skills really aren’t up to par.
“That’s not it at all!” Feeling judged by his sister, Cheng Fengyang was naturally aggrieved. When you finally meet a girl you like, who wouldn’t want to win her over quickly? But it’s not that easy. “You don’t know anything, so stop talking nonsense!”
Cheng Fengyang didn’t want to share what happened before Lin Lan returned to Xicheng with his family. Lin Lan trusted and respected him enough to tell him about her time in Shanghai, but that didn’t mean he could casually discuss it with his relatives. So he could only vaguely explain that the girl was currently focused on her career and hadn’t considered dating.
“Fengyang, maybe… you should think about getting a cat too?” Hearing this, his sister could only suggest, “Xingxing won’t help you find common ground. If you want to talk to her, you need a proper reason to visit often.”
“Get a cat?” Still rubbing the dog’s head, Cheng Fengyang looked stunned. “Another pet?”
The Border Collie in his arms immediately started whining and yelping upon hearing Cheng Xingyu’s words. The dog half-leaped onto its owner’s lap, nuzzling into his chest again and again. Anyone could tell the pitiful barks were a performance, as if saying, “No, no, don’t get another one! I want to be the only child! Don’t abandon me for a second pet, woof woof!”
“Okay, alright, I won’t! I won’t get one!” Cheng Fengyang quickly hugged the excited Border Collie. “There’s only you at home, just Xingxing, no other cats or dogs!”
“Wow, Xingxing is jealous!” Kindergartener Li Mengmeng clapped and laughed beside them. “Mom, Xingxing is so smart!”
“Smart enough to be a little schemer, knowing a second pet would steal its spotlight.” Seeing how the dog was carrying on, Cheng Xingyu knew her brother wouldn’t consider getting a cat now. She had to change tactics. “Oh right, didn’t you say Lin Lan is really skilled at handling cats? Even aggressive cats that scratch and bite become tame in less than half a day with her. You could start from there!”
“Huh? Handling cats?” Soothing his “dog son,” Cheng Fengyang looked up blankly before realizing what his sister meant. “Are you saying I should refer clients to Lanlan?”
“Yes. You’ve been an interior designer for years—you must have many old clients. Some of them must own cats, right?” Cheng Xingyu strategized for her brother. “Those pet cats probably have one or two habits that give their owners headaches. They might have even complained to you, asking for design solutions when you worked on their houses. You could start from there.”
Pets aren’t human; driven more by instinct, they often have less-than-ideal behaviors. Reminded by his sister, Cheng Fengyang recalled several past clients who fit this description. Some had even moved or renovated specifically because of pets or plans to get one.
“Sis, you’ve been a huge help!” The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Excited, Cheng Fengyang thanked his sister and headed to his room. “I’ll go through my client records and try to follow up with the cat owners!”
Lin Lan didn’t like owing him favors, so if he referred business her way, she could help clients with cat issues, while he and his company would earn goodwill from old clients. A win-win situation—nothing wrong with that, right?
While Cheng Fengyang was actively working to shed his single status, across the street, the unaware Lin Lan was facing a leave request from her employee, Xiao Song.
“Boss, I’d like to go photograph the cat boss,” Song Xinmin said, his eyes brighter than usual when mentioning his main profession. “Just for three days during the daytime, not too long. I’ll still help open and close the shop in the mornings and evenings.”
Song Xinmin’s leave request reminded Lin Lan, who had enjoyed being boss for a few days, that he was only a temporary worker. However, she wasn’t surprised he wanted time off to photograph the cat boss: “No problem, go ahead. With me and Jiayi here, the shop will manage fine.”
At the start of the new year, not only were office workers getting busy, but many people were urgently seeking new jobs. Every workplace experienced some personnel changes. This period was inevitably a slow season for the tea house—business wouldn’t be too hectic, and it was also easier to hire new staff.
“Hmm…” Watching Xiao Song leave, Lin Lan stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Right, none of them are staying long. Hiring a permanent employee really is difficult.”
Whether it was Song Xinmin, the wandering photographer, or Wang Jiayi, the young lady experiencing life, neither would work long-term at her tea house. It was time to seriously consider hiring someone new.
Although Xicheng was no longer snowing, the weather in the first lunar month remained bitterly cold. Fully equipped, Song Xinmin, with his beloved camera, once again visited the abandoned house where stray cats gathered.
Outside, the wind cut like ice. Hunched against the cold, Song Xinmin pushed open the roughly repaired broken door and saw the group of wild cats sheltering inside from the chill.
Thanks to his boss putting in a good word, he finally met the lead cat he had been searching for.
The tabby cat sat upright on a high perch, its golden vertical pupils quietly watching him.
"Hello there, Boss Cat." Song Xinmin greeted it, mimicking the shopkeeper's earlier manner. "We had a deal—you let me take photos. So then…"
He had just raised his digital single-lens reflex camera when Boss Cat leaped to the ground in one fluid motion. With a nimble twist of its body, the entire cat slipped out through a cat flap at the back of the house.
"Hey, wait!" Song Xinmin hurriedly ran out of the building and circled around to the back to chase it.
He had assumed the lead cat would vanish without a trace, but when he rounded the corner and gave chase, he found it perched atop a dilapidated wall, looking down at him.
"You didn't run off." Song Xinmin breathed a sigh of relief, then realized, "Were you waiting for me?"
The mackerel tabby offered no response. Instead, it continued walking along the top of the wall, and Song quickly followed.
The cat's pathways were arduous for a human to navigate. Much of the time, Song Xinmin could only scramble awkwardly in pursuit, with no chance to adjust his camera settings or find a good angle for a proper shot. He could only snatch opportunities when they felt right, pressing the shutter quickly. Whether the photos were good or bad would have to be sorted out later at home.
"Lost it again." After chasing the cat across more than half the neighborhood, Song was both exhausted and disheartened.
This was the fourth time he had lost track of Boss Cat. Fortunately, just as he was about to start searching aimlessly in panic, the cat would always reappear in his line of sight as if by chance, allowing him to pick up the trail again.
During these gaps when he lost sight of it, Song Xinmin would often see the lead cat carrying something in its mouth—sometimes a bird it had hunted in winter, other times a chicken leg or a piece of fish it had scavenged from who-knows-where… He had no idea how it managed it, but it left him utterly astonished, completely revising his understanding of a stray cat's survival skills.
This lead cat was truly perceptive and clever. Song Xinmin even felt it was the smartest little animal he had ever seen.
On the second day of chasing the cat for photos, he witnessed firsthand how it stole a live fish right under people's noses. Before the owners even realized a fish was missing, the cat had already nimbly trotted away along the roof ridge.
"Honey, didn't you say you bought three fish? Why are there only two here?"
"That can't be. I listened to you and bought three. There's no way there are only two… Huh? Where did the other one go?"
While the bewildered owners, now missing a fish, milled about behind their kitchen window, Song Xinmin downstairs quickly walked away, following the direction Boss Cat had gone.
After shadowing it for over a day, the young photographer knew the cat would wait for him.
Sure enough, in front of an uninhabited old house, Song saw it, still holding the fish in its mouth.
"Meow—" Just then, a cat's cry came from inside the deserted dwelling.
Song Xinmin was taken aback. He looked down at the overall state of the old house and noticed a layer of dust on the doors and windows, clearly untouched for a long time.
Yet, from a broken corner of the windowpane on the old house's sill, a calico cat emerged.
Boss Cat placed the fish from its mouth on the ground and offered it to the calico.
The calico picked up the fish and slipped back through the window. Boss Cat sat where it was, quietly watching until the calico had fully entered the house before moving away.
Why? The young photographer was puzzled.
Just then, someone came out from the house next door. Song Xinmin quickly approached. "Excuse me, is anyone still living in this house?"
The elderly man who was asked looked him over first, seemingly confirming he wasn't a troublemaker, then waved his hand and shook his head. "No. Only an old man lived there. He passed away from illness last year. His children don't live here either. The house has been empty for a long time."
"But… but I just saw a calico cat inside."
The old man fell silent for a moment. "That was the old man's cat. After he died, it refused to leave. It's still waiting for him at home."
