China.
Summer. A high-temperature red alert.
On a lazy day off, Cheng Maimai, seeking relief from the heat, finished a popsicle, took off his clothes, and transformed back into an orange cat. Fully relaxed, he sprawled out on the cool floor, lying on his side to enjoy the chill.
After their wedding, they began planning a trip around the world. The large world map scroll was permanently spread out on the living room floor, now covered with markings from the cat.
These days, Maimai didn’t often take his cat form. Walking by, Cheng Lin quickly pulled out his phone to snap a picture of the cat. Just then, the doorbell rang.
The cat immediately sprang up and trotted after the human to the door. Standing outside were Huang Guigui and Cheng Xianxu. The couple had come to say their goodbyes. After attending the wedding, they were about to continue their own journey.
Cheng Lin instinctively glanced down and made eye contact with the cat. Feeling guilty, he stammered, “M-Mom, Dad, y-you’re here!”
“Oh, a kitten!” Huang Guigui’s eyes lit up at the sight of the cat at her son’s feet. “You really got a cat.”
She crouched down and called out, her voice so gentle that it changed tone, “Baby, how old are you?”
Maimai let out a happy “meow,” indicating he was a year and a half old.
“Wash your hands before petting him.” Cheng Xianxu wanted to pet the cat too, but since his wife was already doing so, he settled for changing his shoes at the entrance. Casually, he asked his son, “Hey, where’s Maimai?”
The test had arrived. Cheng Lin wasn’t sure if his parents would be open-minded enough to accept an interspecies relationship, nor did he want to give them a scare at their age. Putting on a bold face, he lied, “He’s at work. On duty today.”
“Even working on a weekend?” Father Cheng asked. “You might not like what I’m going to say, but Cheng Lin, if a marriage is going to last, both partners need to be on the same page. Enjoy life together when it’s time for fun, and face challenges together when things get tough. You can’t have him working hard while you’re lounging around. Understand? It’ll cause conflict.”
Cheng Lin closed his eyes and said, “Understood.”
The parents finally changed their shoes and entered the house. After washing their hands, they settled on the sofa. Huang Guigui patted her lap, inviting the hardworking orange cat to sit on it. She asked, “Where’s Maimai? We were hoping to chat with him. Is his work really this demanding?”
Maimai lifted his head and meowed at Huang Guigui, trying to tell her that he was Maimai. Thankfully, no one understood.
Hearing the meow, Huang Guigui’s heart melted. She lowered her head to study the orange cat carefully. What a beauty—with delicate features, a soft and healthy body, and fur that was clean and fluffy. The more she looked, the more the cat reminded her of Maimai.
She extended her hand to let the cat get used to her scent before lovingly petting his head and asking, “You’re quite the chatterbox. What’s your name?”
Maimai: “Meow.”
Though she spoke to the cat, she obviously didn’t expect an answer.
There was no time to think too much. Cheng Lin’s mind raced—any name would work, as long as it wasn’t the cat’s real name to avoid unnecessary connections.
Cheng Lin said, “He’s called Cheng Dexing.”
“Eh?” Huang Guigui was momentarily stunned, unable to hide her astonishment. “Dexing? What does that even mean?”
“High moral character and great joy,” Cheng Lin replied calmly. “It’s a meaningful name.”
“Why would you give such a cute little cat a name like that?” Cheng Xianxu scratched his head. “Even your grandfather doesn’t have a name like that.”
Ask that tuxedo cat from the founding of the nation, Cheng Lin thought.
“Dexing it is.” Resigned to the name, Huang Guigui adapted quickly, saying affectionately, “You’re so adorable.”
Although Maimai didn’t understand Cheng Lin’s intentions, he felt reassured seeing how much his in-laws liked him. He eagerly leaned into their affection, inviting more petting.
Cheng Xianxu managed only two strokes down the cat’s back before reluctantly pulling out his phone. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”
Taking advantage of his mother’s momentary distraction, Cheng Lin quietly scooped the cat back into his arms and asked, “Where are you headed?”
“We’re planning to visit Georgia this time,” Huang Guigui replied. “Let me pet Dexing a bit more.”
“It’s my turn.” Cheng Lin showed no sign of courtesy. Tightening his hold on the cat, he said, “I haven’t had a chance to pet him in a long time.”
When she learned that the newlyweds were planning an overseas honeymoon, Huang Guigui brought out her collection of travel photos and videos from around the world.
After his parents finally left, the cat leaped onto the bed and transformed back into human form. Without bothering to put on clothes, Maimai announced, “I want to skydive in Queenstown.”
Cheng Lin sat down beside him and tossed a piece of clothing over his head.
Even as he tried to keep his gaze under control, his eyes drifted to the hickey he had left on Maimai’s waist. “Got it. We’ll make it our first stop.”
Maimai pulled the shirt off his head and asked, “It’s so hot. Can’t I just not wear anything?”
Without hesitation, Cheng Lin refused, “No. Humans wear clothes.”
Maimai exposed him. “But you didn’t wear clothes at home before when it was hot.” He flipped over and rolled smoothly into Cheng Lin’s arms. “You used to hold me just like this, without wearing anything, and even sang songs.”
Those memories were too painful to revisit. Cheng Lin held the cat’s waist, feeling its smooth texture, but deliberately avoided looking. “Regardless, it’s not acceptable. I was uncivilized back then.”
Maimai studied Cheng Lin’s profile before blurting out, “We’re really married now.”
Cheng Lin turned to him warily. “Why are you suddenly thinking about that?”
“It just hit me. Because today, your mom and dad couldn’t understand a word I said.” Maimai said, “You used to be like that too. Being human is definitely better.”
“Really?” Cheng Lin looked up at him and smiled. “What is it you always say? You’re not secretly scolding me, are you?”
“Of course not!” After Cheng Lin kissed the corner of his mouth, Maimai added seriously, “I always say I like you.”
–
France.
Today was an important day.
The page switched to text-to-speech mode, and an AI female voice began reading aloud in an emotionless tone: “The word ‘I’ in French…”
The voice was louder than expected. Maimai flinched and quickly covered his phone to lower the volume. Pressing his ear close to the speaker, he listened intently, mumbling along, Je—t—aime—
“What are you learning now?” At an outdoor cafe, Cheng Lin pushed his sunglasses up to his forehead and watched the studious cat. Whenever they visited a new country, the cat eagerly picked up a few words in the local language. In Hawaii, he’d greet people with “aloha,” and in Tokyo, he’d say “arigato.”
Maimai smiled to cover up his inexplicable guilty conscience and said, “Merci. I’m learning French.”
Luckily, his smile was enough to fool the human for a few seconds, concealing the subtle nervousness and tension in his expression.
The truth was, Maimai had learned what he needed long ago. But today, he felt like a student cramming for an exam, nerves unavoidable.
Today was an important day.
Maimai glanced around, shifting his gaze left and right, before finally saying expectantly, “Do you want to try that ice cream they’re eating?”
“Not really.” Cheng Lin tried to refuse. He had just polished off the leftovers of the cat’s French meal and, even after a walk, still felt uncomfortably full.
Ever since they started traveling beyond Asia, Cheng Maimai had shown signs of struggling to adapt.
Traveling around meant trying different foods, but as a Chinese mixed-breed cat, his palate wasn’t suited for Western cuisine. Cheng Lin had thought Maimai wasn’t picky, but it turned out he had an Asian stomach that loved Chinese food.
Even though the human garbage disposal was nearly full, Cheng Lin maintained an air of aloofness and said, “If you say you want to eat it, I’ll buy it for you.”
The cat nodded. “You want to eat it, so go buy it.”
“…Just watch the bag and don’t get kidnapped.” The human stood and gave instructions. “What flavor do you want?”
As soon as Cheng Lin walked off to find the ice cream cart, Maimai sprang into action. Grabbing his bag, he quickly headed inside to the cafe counter. Pointing at a cake, he declared righteously, “I want this one, thank you!”
When Cheng Lin returned, he noticed a small cake had appeared on their tiny round table.
“You bought it yourself?” Cheng Lin handed the ice cream to Maimai and asked curiously, “Did you speak to them in French?”
Maimai shyly admitted, “No, I used sign language.”
Cheng Lin sat down, already calculating how much of the cake he’d inevitably have to eat, but he didn’t expect to hear the cat say, “Cheng Lin, happy birthday.”
After saying that, Maimai quickly rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a carefully wrapped gift. “This is your present.”
It was a delicate porcelain figure, about the size of a palm, depicting a little boy in overalls holding a red umbrella, with an orange cat looking up at him.
The surface was smooth and glossy, and the colors were gentle and beautiful. The only mishap had happened when Cheng Maimai had glanced at the price tag and thought it was reasonable, so he used the same trick to distract Cheng Lin and paid for it with his own salary.
Only when the payment screen popped up did he realize the price was in euros. After converting to RMB, it turned out to be seven times what he’d expected, leaving him teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.
“This is you, and this is me.” Placing the porcelain carefully on the small table, Maimai introduced it, “It’s a pity—the boy’s hair is light-colored, and the cat’s paws are white, so they’re not exactly like us.”
After presenting the gift, he added, “Happy birthday…”
Then, he continued:
“Wo ai ni.”
“I love you.”
“Aishiteru.”
“Je t’aime.”1These were in the original languages: 我爱你。I love you. 愛してる. Je t’aime.
Afraid that pausing for breath might affect his performance, the cat didn’t blink as he delivered the speech in one go, using all the knowledge he had accumulated over his life. Licking his lips, he said, “That was so nerve-wracking. Did I say it correctly?”
Cheng Lin had forgotten how old he was when he last celebrated his birthday. Every time he tried to recall his age, he had to mentally calculate it with a bit of addition and subtraction.
Wait. How old was he this year?
He was speechless for a moment, then finally said, “Yes, that was perfect. Thank you.”
After that, he turned away from the cat and looked into the distance.
He thought about the cat darting through flower fields, weaving through stretches of purple lavender, passing sunflowers, his fur blending with the vibrant orange hues. He remembered Maimai waiting at the wishing bridge for a padlock, insisting on hanging it at the highest point, with their initials engraved on it. He pictured the cat’s paws pressing into the white sand of the beach, leaving a trail of tiny footprints close beside his own.
Today was an important day.
Around them, cafe patrons chatted and laughed, and the world outside was alive with people coming and going. The scent of vanilla pods from a nearby bakery drifted in on the breeze.
At the peak of noon, the lively bustle suddenly went quiet.
“Wife, are you crying?”
“No, I never cry.”
–
A few days later.
“Hello?” A boy’s voice came from the other end, cold in tone yet polite. “Is this Maimai? I received your postcard from Furano. Thank you.”
Early that morning, Maimai had been woken up by his vibrating phone. Still half-asleep, he mumbled, “Yes, it’s me. You’re welcome. Who is this?”
“It’s Maomao.”
