Maimai Chapter 5

Cheng Lin sat at his desk, pretending to focus on the work files displayed on his monitor, but he was actually keeping track of Maimai’s movements out of the corner of his eye.

He admitted to himself that his earlier reaction had been over the top. Maimai was clearly frightened and had even apologized.

Now that he thought about it, what did it matter if Maimai touched him? He was a guy, and Maimai was a male… cat. What could a cat understand? The cat was only one year old and didn’t grasp concepts like benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, or trust. Cats didn’t usually wear clothes, so Maimai had just been open and straightforward with him.

Right, exactly.

So what if Maimai touched him a couple of times? Was he really going to hold a grudge against a cat?

Cheng Lin managed to convince himself that he was the one who should apologize.

But being stubborn as usual, he didn’t know how to say sorry and figured he had already missed the best moment to do so. So, he just dropped it.

Meanwhile, Maimai was feeling guilty, convinced he had done something wrong to make Cheng Lin angry. It felt like he had messed up, like when he hid toys behind the washing machine or knocked Cheng Lin’s pen off the desk.

Maimai wasn’t fully aware of his new size. He paced back and forth in front of the desk, sneaking glances at Cheng Lin, thinking he was being subtle.

Cheng Lin stared at his computer coldly without saying anything, showing no sign of forgiveness.

The video sent by the collaborator finished playing, but Maimai was still pacing.

This only made Cheng Lin more irritated, unable to concentrate on his work. He closed the video and slid his chair back, looking at the wandering Maimai. “Why don’t you sit down for a bit, huh? Stop pacing.”

There wasn’t another chair in the study, so what Cheng Lin meant was that Maimai should leave the room and give them both some space to cool off.

Sit down. Maimai only understood the literal meaning and thought this was a sign they were making up.

He knew exactly where he liked to perch, so he happily agreed.

Maimai quickly walked around the desk to Cheng Lin and plopped himself right onto Cheng Lin’s lap.

Cheng Lin felt like his thighs had been scalded with hot water. He twitched, ready to pick Maimai up, but then remembered his earlier resolve and reluctantly endured it.

His cat. His cat.

Maimai was thrilled to be close to Cheng Lin, his mood lifting from the gloom of being human. He shifted his buttocks to get comfortable, then looked up and noticed the screen, turning his head with excitement. “It’s me.”

The monitor displayed Cheng Lin’s computer desktop. The wallpaper was of an orange cat lounging on a cushion by the window, sunlight streaming through the glass, outlining its fluffy silhouette.

“…Let’s have a talk.” Cheng Lin gestured for him to turn around, awkwardly placing a hand around his waist to keep Maimai from falling off.

He took another close look at Maimai.

In his human form, Maimai’s eyes and slightly curled hair weren’t exactly black, but more like amber.

…How did this guy go from being a kitten to looking like he was in his teens or twenties overnight?

Cheng Lin had slight face blindness, so he wasn’t sure how to rate Maimai’s looks. As a cat, Maimai had a certain charm, so in this human form, he was quite good-looking. Maybe even popular with girls.

As a grown man, he couldn’t deny Maimai’s attractiveness either.

“Go ahead,” Maimai said, leaning into Cheng Lin’s chest.

That was a bit too much. Cheng Lin pushed him back slightly. “Just sit there. No more leaning, or you’re getting off.”

After being pushed away, Maimai finally realized that now that he was human, Cheng Lin was very particular about any physical contact between them.

They were both men and in human society, two men didn’t usually get that close. Maimai struggled to grasp this concept.

Although he felt disappointed, he didn’t want to make Cheng Lin angry again, so he agreed and straightened up.

Cheng Lin took a moment to consider his first question. “Can you turn back into a cat?”

Maimai hesitated, then answered, “I don’t know. I’ve tried, but I can’t change back.”

“Are you really only one year old? Why did you turn into a human?” Cheng Lin continued, “Or do you have family with this kind of magical ability?”

Maimai: “I only remember lying in a bush, nearly dying, and you were the only one who found me and saved me.”

Cheng Lin: “Then why did you want to become human?”

“Because you’re human too,” Maimai answered.

“And what’s the point of that?” Cheng Lin asked. “Put yourself in my shoes—if I suddenly turned into a cat one day, how would you feel?”

“That’d be great! We could play together.” Maimai’s eyes lit up. “Can you really turn into a cat?”

“I can’t,” Cheng Lin replied, deadpan. “But think about it—if we were both cats, who would clean the house? Who would make money? Where would the food come from?”

Maimai offered, “We could just go hunting together. I’d let you eat first.”

Cheng Lin rested his elbow on the arm of his chair, tapping his forehead with a finger in frustration. “Being human and being a cat are completely different things. Life as a human is complicated. To put it simply, do you have an ID card? A household registration?”

Not understanding, Maimai asked, “What’s that?”

“Exactly! You don’t even have the most basic identification that every Chinese citizen has.” Cheng Lin explained, “If you go outside now, without an ID, without education, without money, do you know how dangerous that is? If some bad guy grabbed you, the police wouldn’t even be able to contact me.”

Maimai asked, “Then what should I do?”

Cheng Lin didn’t have an immediate answer.

After all, Maimai was the cat he had rescued. Even though he had turned into a human, Cheng Lin couldn’t just abandon him.

Maimai’s expression grew worried as he considered this new and somewhat threatening reality, leading to a more profound reflection.

Cheng Lin noticed and recalled how the orange cat would occasionally show a similar expression. His heart softened. He gave Maimai’s head a rough pat. “I’ll figure something out.”

Over the next two weeks, Cheng Lin often felt like slapping himself, just to ensure he wasn’t caught in some bizarre illusion. But the world kept spinning as usual—people went to work, had meals, and eagerly awaited the New Year.

Except for the fact that his orange cat, Maimai, had turned into a human.

To help Maimai adjust and broaden his horizons, Cheng Lin dug out an old smartphone for him. He explained what he could and couldn’t do, taught him how to use the internet, selected some online courses, and even registered a WeChat account for him.

Now they could communicate through advanced instant messaging.

Even though Maimai had no concept of privacy, Cheng Lin maintained his human decency and never peeked at the phone, which had no password.

Maimai started messaging Cheng Lin while he was at work. It felt like no matter how far or high the kite flew, there was always a string pulling it back.

However, Maimai wasn’t very literate and could barely recognize a few characters. So when he did try to send a message, it was usually a voice message, but most of the time, he just sent emojis.

Maimai: [Smile]

Maimai: [Heart]

Maimai: [Kiss]

Maimai: [Spin]

Maimai: [Hug]

…

Cheng Lin didn’t reply, but half an hour later, he called Maimai and told him to grab the food delivery.

Maimai picked up his lunch from the front door and resumed watching TV as usual.

He carefully unwrapped the beautifully packaged food, layer by layer, while on the screen, the once ruthless CEO Duanmu Ze, now with red-rimmed eyes, desperately pleaded, “Qin Wenwan, Wenwan! Please, give me a chance. Tell me, what can I do to make you love me again?”

Duanmu Ze tried to embrace Qin Wenwan, but she shoved him away and slapped him hard across the face.

What can I do to make you love me again?

Maimai pondered this. His daily life hadn’t changed much. In fact, the salmon tasted even better than canned food.

But he’d be content with canned food too. Even dry cat food would be fine. He’d eat less if he had to.

None of that really mattered.

He had wanted to become human so he could be closer to Cheng Lin. The TV shows he watched only told stories about people, and the only movie he knew about animals was Hachiko. He had never heard of a story about a loyal cat like Maimai.

So he didn’t understand why things seemed to have gone the opposite way. Cheng Lin was still Cheng Lin, and Maimai was still Maimai.

But now Cheng Lin often kept his distance. He didn’t cuddle him anymore, didn’t kiss his face or head, or say he liked him. They didn’t play games together or sleep together.

If he wanted to smell Cheng Lin’s scent, he had to rely on the coat he’d secretly hidden away.

So, with his cheeks stuffed with food, Maimai mimicked the scene on TV and said to the empty room, “Cheng Lin, what can I do to make you love me again?”

For some reason, saying it out loud felt embarrassing. He was also afraid that if he asked, Cheng Lin might not reply. So Maimai decided he’d solve this great life dilemma on his own.