The electronic lock beeped twice, and a sliver of darkness appeared through the crack in the door.
Cheng Lin stepped into the entryway and switched on the living room light. “Maimai?”
No response.
He removed his coat and checked the water bowl and cat food in the corner. Everything was exactly as he had seen on the monitor—Maimai hadn’t come out to eat or drink all day.
Maimai was a cat Cheng Lin had found in a bush a year ago. At the time, the cat had been near death—no bigger than the size of a palm, with eyes glued shut and fur plastered damply to its body.
But when it caught Cheng Lin’s scent, it managed to weakly meow a couple of times, stumbling toward his palm.
Cheng Lin had bundled the cat up and taken it to the vet. After examining it, the doctor gave a cautious warning, “I’ve listed the costs, but just so you know, there’s a chance it might not make it. Are you sure you want to proceed with the treatment?”
Unless this stray had some special significance, the high medical fees would be enough to buy several purebred cats. It wasn’t worth it at all.
“Do it.” Cheng Lin agreed to the hefty bill without hesitation.
When he went to pay at the front desk, the receptionist enthusiastically offered help. “Have you had a cat before? You can ask Xiao Mei about what to prepare. She’s the most experienced.”
“Oh, okay.” Cheng Lin paused before responding. In truth, he hadn’t decided to keep the cat; he had just happened to find it and couldn’t bear to let it die.
After all, what if it didn’t survive?
It was the end of the year, and Cheng Lin was busy with a project. He didn’t visit the cat for a couple of days, but then the hospital called. “Do you have time to visit the kitten? It’s recovering well and might be ready to go home in a few days.”
Cheng Lin hung up the phone and rushed over. The moment he stepped into the isolation room, the kitten seemed to sense his presence and immediately stood up.
Wearing gloves and an isolation gown, Cheng Lin awkwardly held the cat, watching as it wolfed down its food. The nurse praised it, saying that seeing its master had even improved the kitten’s appetite.
As he was about to leave, the cat began to meow again, as if sensing what was happening.
“It doesn’t want you to go and is trying to keep you here.” The nurse laughed. “What a smart little kitten.”
Cheng Lin didn’t really believe the cat recognized him, but he jokingly said to the kitten on the blanket, “I’ll come get you the day after tomorrow. Just stay here a bit longer.”
The kitten stared at him and, perhaps understanding, obediently lay back down. At that moment, Cheng Lin finally made up his mind to take good care of it.
Since it was an ordinary mixed-breed cat with orange stripes, resembling a field of golden wheat, Cheng Lin named it Maimai1Wheat is “Mai” in Chinese.. That day gloriously became Maimai’s birthday.
Over the year they spent together, none of Cheng Lin’s initial worries came true. Maimai grew from the size of a palm to the size of a basin, but unlike other orange cats2
(I’ll put pictures of the different cat breeds because they’re so cute)
, it stayed lean, with only its face and eyes rounding out. Maimai had a surprisingly high IQ and an obedient nature. It never jumped on the fridge after being taught not to, never crossed the threshold to the balcony, and only scratched the two large cat scratchers provided for it.
But Maimai was also incredibly spoiled, a chatterbox, and very clingy. As long as Cheng Lin was home, Maimai would follow him everywhere. Whether Cheng Lin was working or sleeping, Maimai insisted on being on his lap or cuddled up under the covers like a warm hot water bottle.
Even when Cheng Lin took a shower, Maimai would patiently wait outside the glass door.
Maimai seemed to understand every word Cheng Lin said and would respond with a serious meow.
After carefully washing his hands, Cheng Lin opened the bedroom door. “Maimai?”
This month, Maimai suddenly started showing signs of excessive sleepiness, and its appetite wasn’t as good as usual.
Cheng Lin didn’t say anything but took Maimai to the vet several times.
After two thorough checkups, the vet repeatedly reassured him that Maimai was a healthy cat. The changes were probably due to the change in seasons.
“Its health is great, and all vitals are normal, but it’s still a bit on the skinny side. The increased sleeping could be because of the colder weather,” the vet explained. “You mentioned your place has floor heating? Even people get sleepy when it’s warm, so it’s no surprise a cat would, too, right?” At that moment, Maimai shifted positions, pressing its paw against Cheng Lin’s chest, and continued to sleep soundly without a care.
Cheng Lin reluctantly accepted the vet’s explanation, but he still felt uneasy.
Just yesterday, on its first birthday, Maimai had been full of energy and even finished off the salmon cake Cheng Lin had prepared.
Before bed, Maimai had been a bit too excited, kneading the pillow and meowing incessantly into Cheng Lin’s ear until he firmly told it to “Sleep!” Only then did it settle down.
The bedroom lights were off, and the glow from the living room stretched to the foot of the bed, gradually fading toward the headboard.
The winter quilt was thick, but Maimai still preferred to burrow completely under it. It even had a habit of nibbling on the collar of Cheng Lin’s pajamas, like a child who hadn’t outgrown an oral fixation.
“Maimai,” Cheng Lin called.
Maimai realized he had transformed into a human.
He wasn’t surprised because he had always known he had the ability to become human; this was just the moment it finally happened.
He looked down and carefully examined his body—long arms and legs—and felt very satisfied. He had finally become like Cheng Lin.
With that thought, he tried to speak, “Cheng Lin.” Sure enough, what came out wasn’t the usual “meow, meow, meow” but human words that Cheng Lin could understand.
Cheng Lin heard him and came in from the other room, looking at him in surprise. “Maimai, you’ve turned into a human!”
“Yep!” Maimai happily pounced on him, just like he used to as a cat. “Now I can take care of you too!”
Cheng Lin gently stroked his head and said, “Maimai.”
Then, overcome with drowsiness, Maimai slipped deeper into sleep.
Cheng Lin turned on the warm-colored bedside lamp.
For some reason, he felt like the quilt was puffed up higher than usual, as if there was a huge dough bun hidden underneath.
He slowly lifted the quilt. “Are you still sleeping?”
The light from the lamp filtered underneath, and the first thing Cheng Lin saw was a patch of pure black hair, with a curl at the top.
Maimai’s color had changed.
Cheng Lin pulled the goose-down quilt back into place.
He straightened up, took a couple of deep breaths to stay calm, and looked around to confirm that he was in his own house, in his own bedroom.
A person? Was it really a person?
Did a neighbor accidentally enter the wrong apartment?
Impossible. Not only was the electronic lock secure, but even if a stranger managed to get in, the security system would have recorded it, and his phone would’ve immediately received a notification.
Did the person climb in through the window?
Even less likely. Because Cheng Lin worried about Maimai climbing out, he had installed screens on all the windows, which were always locked. There was no way someone could open them from the outside. Besides, this wasn’t the first floor.
Cheng Lin started to doubt his own eyes.
He took a couple of steps back, quietly slid open the wardrobe door, and reached inside to pull out the metal baseball bat he had stashed there.
Then, he stepped forward and yanked the entire quilt off the bed.
Sure enough, there was a person.
A man.
He was lying on his side, eyes tightly shut, fast asleep.
No clothes on, completely naked.
Where was the cat?
Cheng Lin’s eyes darted around, searching for any sign of Maimai as he tightened his grip on the baseball bat. He shouted, “Wake up!”
Maimai struggled to break free from his dream. It had been a good one.
Groggy and feeling cold, he instinctively tried to roll back under the quilt. That’s when he heard Cheng Lin’s voice, “Don’t move!”
Maimai’s eyes snapped open. He thought he’d done something wrong and had made Cheng Lin angry. He scrambled to sit up.
The view was wider than he’d ever seen before.
He looked down and saw his newly elongated arms and legs, bare of fur.
It wasn’t a dream—he had actually turned into a human.
Maimai examined his arms and legs in awe, then tried speaking again, “Cheng Lin.” The words came out in clear, crisp Mandarin.
Cheng Lin’s hand shook slightly as he gripped the baseball bat. “Who are you?”
Forget the naked guy who had appeared out of nowhere—his cat was missing.
Yes, the cat. Where was the cat?
Cheng Lin turned and yelled, “Maimai, Maimai…!”
On the bed, Maimai heard him shouting loudly and replied, “I’m right here!” He scooted closer, still tangled in the quilt. “Look, I’m a human now too!”
“Don’t move!” Cheng Lin stepped back, raising the baseball bat and aiming it at Maimai.
Maimai froze. The look in Cheng Lin’s eyes was fierce as if he were staring at a stranger. It scared Maimai a little. “What’s wrong?” Everything was so different from the dream.
Cheng Lin paused, then slowly lowered the bat.
He noticed that the man had a red string tied around his right wrist—with a pure gold lock charm attached to it, the very same charm he had personally hung around Maimai’s neck yesterday as a first birthday gift.
Translator’s Note:
I’m so excited to share this cute short story with you! If you’re a cat lover, you’re in for an absolute treat. ❤️🐱
![Poor Little Thing Reborn as a Spoiled Child [ABO]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/529280897e9ecfdd9f221749897bd3c6.jpeg "Poor Little Thing Reborn as a Spoiled Child [ABO]")
