Maimai Chapter 17

Since Maimai agreed, Cheng Lin quickly sat on the bed.

He carefully checked the cat for any injuries after being out in the world for what felt like a century. Starting from Maimai’s face and moving down to his paws, he gently patted him before attempting to flip him over to inspect his belly.

The cat didn’t speak Mandarin, but his body language made it clear to Cheng Lin that he was reluctant.

“Have you lost weight?” Cheng Lin said, “Let me weigh you.”

He fetched the scale and stepped on it first. After a few seconds, the small screen displayed his weight, along with other data like body fat and bone density.

Maimai crouched next to him, earnestly leaning in to look at the number that seemed enormous to him.

Cheng Lin stepped off and picked him up. “Come on.”

He stood on the scale again, and the number increased slightly compared to before, just a small fluctuation in the single digits.

“You’ve lost a catty,¹catty is a Chinese unit, equal to 0.5 kg” Cheng Lin said, holding the cat. “That’s quite a bit. It’s not good.”

“Have you not been eating well?” he asked. “Was it the takeout, or was my cooking that bad?”

Maimai responded with a “meow,” but who knew what he was trying to say.

Cheng Lin gazed at the cat in his arms, now so close, but remained silent.

Although the cat had only run away for a day, it felt like ages to Cheng Lin since he’d last seen him like this as Maimai had been in human form before.

Maimai was well-behaved in his arms, his fur like golden wheat, with big eyes, a pink nose, and a sweet scent.

Cheng Lin remembered how Jin Li had exclaimed in envy when she found out he could hold Maimai freely. Her cats at home didn’t like being held, kissed, or huffed, and sometimes they even bit her.

He figured Jin Li’s cats probably weren’t magical kitty people.

He rubbed Maimai’s head, then squeezed his paws. The soft pads spread out, revealing the sharp tips of his claws.

Cheng Lin said, “It’s been a while since we trimmed these. How about a little nail trim?”

Maimai meowed, and Cheng Lin went to get the nail clippers. He sat cross-legged on the bed and patted his lap to signal Maimai, “Come here.”

Maimai hesitated, stepping over the clothes scattered on the bed, but eventually climbed into his master’s lap, where he was gently held from behind.

Every time Maimai got his nails trimmed, he was nervous, and this time was no exception. The nail clippers were cold, making a clicking sound with each cut. The cat pressed his head against Cheng Lin’s arm, refusing to watch.

Cheng Lin reassured him, as usual, “Almost done. You’re being so good.”

As soon as the trimming was finished, Maimai wriggled free from Cheng Lin’s shackles. He regretted letting Cheng Lin share the bed, realizing there had been an ulterior motive all along.

Once Cheng Lin cleaned up, he decided it was time for a talk.

He pulled out his phone, opened the photos Jin Li had sent him earlier, and gave Maimai a gentle tap. “That day, the cat smell on me was from the four stray cats at the office. Over the New Year, we were worried they’d freeze outside, so we let them stay in our office. But now that the holiday’s over, they’ll move back out.”

He slyly took the moral high ground. “Stray cats are really pitiful. No one to take care of them, and in this cold winter, they have nowhere to go. Letting them stay in the office was the least we could do, right?”

Maimai wasn’t sure if Cheng Lin was hinting at something, so he let out a couple of anxious meows.

“Don’t worry. Take a closer sniff.” Cheng Lin reached out to the cat again and opened his arms. “There’s no other cat scent on me anymore.”

Maimai stared at him seriously, hesitating for a moment. Then, he carefully stepped onto Cheng Lin’s lap and began sniffing intently.

Even though Cheng Lin knew he had nothing to hide, he couldn’t help but feel his heart race with nervousness during the inspection.

He said, “Now are you convinced?”

After Maimai finished sniffing, he looked up at Cheng Lin and let out a long “meow,” followed by a short one, like he was speaking in Morse code. It was obvious he was trying to express something complicated.

Cheng Lin couldn’t understand it, but he knew Maimai was probably still accusing him of being unfaithful. This made him miss the days when Maimai could speak perfect Mandarin.

He ruffled the cat’s round head. “Silly cat.”

There was still something left to explain. “I was watching cat videos because my friends went on a trip. They sent me the video clip.” Cheng Lin pulled up the video on his phone, intending to explain why he watched it a second time, but the words got stuck in his throat.

How could he explain that he was testing to see if the cat still cared about him?

That sounded weird and embarrassing.

So, Cheng Lin skipped right to the conclusion. “If you’re mad, you can hit me, but why did you run off on your own?”

He leaned in close. “Go ahead, hit me a couple of times.”

Cheng Lin waited.

After a few seconds, Maimai finally lifted his paw and gently placed it on Cheng Lin’s left cheek. Then, he leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Cheng Lin suddenly sat up straight, not daring to look at the cat again.

The spot where Maimai kissed him felt like it was on fire, a warmth spreading all the way to his ears.

—Even though there was a cat in front of him, all he could think about was Maimai in his human form.

He imagined the human version of Maimai being weighed in his arms, lying in his lap while he trimmed his nails, and kissing him.

It was like they were sharing a bed but dreaming different dreams. On the other side, Maimai was overjoyed to have learned the truth and even managed to kiss Cheng Lin.

The kind and generous orange cat, who held no grudges, stood in a pile of clothes, purring like an engine and huffing as he kneaded them with his paws.

Cheng Lin turned off the light and awkwardly suggested they go to sleep. Maimai, after testing the waters and seeing that Cheng Lin wasn’t rejecting him, quickly curled up in his arms like before, nudging him to keep petting him.

 

Seven business days later, Maimai’s membership card arrived.

Cheng Lin was in charge of receiving the package and even paid a handling fee of fifteen yuan to the courier.

Unlike the blue employee badge Shi Jing had shown, this one had a dark red cover with the same gold logo and organization name—The Kitty People Alliance.

Inside, there was a photo of Maimai taken at the cat cafe, with his name, gender, and birthdate printed underneath in the standard GB2312 font²character set for typing on computers, using Simplified Chinese characters. Maimai had chosen the day he was found as his birthday.

The photo was ridiculously adorable.

Cheng Lin secretly took out his phone to snap a picture of it. The cat below was excited and kept biting at his pant leg, eager to see it.

He had no choice but to crouch down and return the card to its rightful owner.

Besides the cat’s card, Cheng Lin also received his own temporary pass. It wasn’t as fancy, just a piece of paper, but it included his license plate number so he could park for free.

Following Shi Jing’s instructions, now that Maimai had his membership card, it was time to visit the organization.

On another day off, wanting to give the cat a more comfortable ride, Cheng Lin decided to forgo his usual hobby and pulled his long-unused car out of the garage. He headed toward the address Shi Jing had given him.

The organization was in the suburbs, and they passed large fields along the way. Maimai kept his eyes on the scenery outside curiously, showing Cheng Lin only the back of his head.

The weather was still cold, so Cheng Lin, being extra cautious, had dressed the cat in a warm outfit.

Just thinking about the possibility of Maimai turning back into a human made Cheng Lin’s heart race with anticipation, though he’d never admit it.

After pulling over to the car in the free parking lot, Cheng Lin slung his bag over one shoulder, held the cat securely, and headed down an alley. As he walked toward their destination, he felt a sudden wave of confusion and nostalgia.

As a former steadfast skeptic of the supernatural and a genuine human, it was strange to have accepted so many new realities in such a short time. He now believed that his cat could turn into a man, that other cats could also transform into humans, and that they even had a somewhat official organization.

The world suddenly felt unfamiliar.

But at least Maimai was still Maimai, and he was still Maimai’s master, which meant he had responsibilities to raise him—though in a moment, Maimai might change back into Cupid again.

Bigger is better than smaller, and a talking being is definitely more interesting than a silent one.

What would Maimai say first? Cheng Lin figured it would probably be a crisp “Cheng Lin.”

The place was shaded by trees, giving it a quiet, secluded feel despite being in the city. After rounding two massive locust trees, a modest building came into view.

Cheng Lin held Maimai close and first showed his temporary pass to the security staff outside. Then, he scanned Maimai’s membership card to get through the gate, passed through security inside, and finally entered the lobby.

The lobby was divided into sections. On the left was a seating area with a floor-to-ceiling LED screen on the wall, an automatic machine that dispensed cat treats, and a few self-service kiosks for convenience.

On the right were three service counters dedicated to cat-related matters, with one kitty person seated and handling some paperwork.

After calling Shi Jing, Cheng Lin began waiting. In the meantime, he glanced at the nearby LED screen.

News scrolled across the screen, including an announcement about the successful hosting of the 16th Kitty People Labor Skills Competition the previous Friday, followed by a public service announcement about scam prevention. It warned against trusting unwarranted acts of kindness, emphasizing that free cat food doesn’t just fall from the sky.

As he watched, a “Good Deeds” section flashed on the screen, showing a photo of Rongrong and Maimai sitting side by side.

The caption read, “Do good deeds, be practical, foster new values.”

Cheng Lin fell silent for a moment, then a voice from behind said, “You’re here.”

Shi Jing glanced at the cat in Cheng Lin’s arms. “Wow, not even walking on his own, and he’s got clothes on too. What’s in the little bundle³?”

“I brought him a phone,” Cheng Lin explained as he followed Shi Jing into the elevator. “So, after Maimai’s training today, will he be able to turn into a human?”

“We can’t guarantee success on the first try, but Maimai’s smart, so there’s a good chance,” Shi Jing replied.

Cheng Lin asked another question, “Will he turn back into a cat afterward?”

Shi Jing said, “Not today. He’ll need to be present for getting his human documents, so it wouldn’t be convenient.”

After leaving the elevator and walking down a corridor, Shi Jing began to introduce the different areas. “Most of the departments are upstairs. My sister is out today, so she’s not here. This classroom here is the testing area.”

They then passed a room filled with cat trees and a few giant exercise wheels.

Shi Jing: “This is the gym.”

When they reached the training room, Cheng Lin reluctantly handed Maimai over to Shi Jing, along with the backpack slung over his shoulder. “There are some clothes for him in there.”

Shi Jing took the bag and said, “Why are you so reluctant? It’s not like we won’t give him back.”

With a kind smile, she handed her ID card to the worried human. “Go wait in the lounge downstairs. You can use my card to get free coffee.”

After shutting the door, Shi Jing set Maimai down on the floor, and the cat let out a “meow.”

Maimai then spoke, “Sister Shi Jing, I don’t want to turn into a human anymore.”

Shi Jing sat down cross-legged, bringing herself closer to Maimai’s height. “Why not?”

“Cheng Lin likes me better as a cat,” Maimai replied.

“Really?”

“Mm. If I were still in my human form, Cheng Lin wouldn’t call me ‘baby’ like he does now. He wouldn’t touch my face, kiss me, or be willing to sleep next to me,” Maimai explained.

“…Your caretaker seemed like a pretty cool guy, but in private, he’s so mushy.” Shi Jing’s expression turned blank. “No wonder you were so eager to turn into a human at such a young age.”

Maimai didn’t fully understand what “mushy” meant. He only knew that he preferred this way of interacting with Cheng Lin.

“But you can’t live just for him,” Shi Jing said with concern. “You’ve worked so hard to become human. Don’t you want to do something for yourself?”

“If Cheng Lin hadn’t picked me up from that bush, I wouldn’t have survived,” Maimai replied. “I want him to always like me.”

“I think the reason Cheng Lin is less… intimate with you when you’re human isn’t because he doesn’t like you, but because, in human society, it’s rare for two guys to act that way,” Shi Jing explained. “Things like kissing, touching, and hugging are usually reserved for lovers or married couples.”

“Though my mom did kiss me when I was little, but that’s different,” she added.

“So only lovers or married couples do that?” Maimai thought for a moment and then asked, “Like the male and female protagonists in TV dramas?”

“More or less. Lover, you know?” Shi Jing said, “I’m not being super precise, but I just wanted to explain why Cheng Lin might be distancing himself from you. As long as you get the gist of it.”

Maimai asked, “Are lovers the most important people to humans?”

“Well… they’re almost the most important,” Shi Jing replied with some difficulty. “The quality of a romantic relationship can really affect your quality of life. You can’t choose your parents, but you can choose your partner.”

Maimai analyzed this, realizing that since he was also a man, Cheng Lin might distance himself because they didn’t fit into that category.

He then asked, “Will Cheng Lin get married and have his own lover?”

• 1
  catty is a Chinese unit, equal to 0.5 kg
• 2
  character set for typing on computers, using Simplified Chinese characters
• 3