020: The Clever Cat Shows Off His Might
Xia Moye had no idea why Sang Zhao looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown.
To him, a dog mixed rice wherever he went. Food was food, and life was good.
One of the girls from the secretary’s office pulled out her chicken jerky and fed it to the Samoyed. Once he finished, he flopped straight onto his back and showed off his big soft white belly.
Sang Zhao: …
Good grief. He even looked proud about it.
For a moment, Sang Zhao didn’t even know where to start.
Should he contact the black panther and demand to know how those big cats managed to lose Yeye at a breakfast shop?
Or call Director Li and figure out how to extract the dog without blowing everyone’s cover?
Cats weren’t particularly reliable to begin with, and drunk cats were ten times worse. A whole crowd of them, the black panther, the manul, the lynx, all together, how did five or six full-grown cat monsters manage to lose one pitiful Samoyed?
And to lose him in downtown Central Garden of all places? Just his luck that a kind-hearted human like Tang Yu passed by and “rescued” him.
Tang Yu was warm and soft-hearted, and the Samoyed was fluffy, clean, and obviously not a stray. So he just loaded the dog into his car, drove him straight to the company, and started preparing to find his owner.
The problem was… Sang Zhao couldn’t possibly tell the truth now.
And he couldn’t pretend to be the nonexistent owner either.
He’d already missed the best timing. If he spoke up now, Tang Yu would definitely suspect him.
He wanted to call the black panther to retrieve the dog, but that cat was probably still drunk and staggering around somewhere. Even if he did come, no way Tang Yu would buy that performance.
Damn it! What a cursed world!
He just wanted to eat barbecue and play with other cats, how did it turn into this mess?!
He racked his brain desperately. He didn’t have many ideas, and his mind felt completely empty.
Meanwhile, Tang Yu was already thinking about calling the police.
Fine. If all else failed, he’d call Director Li… If he got scolded, then he got scolded. Last time he rode a cat-scooter, he got yelled at too!
Whatever! Get yelled at enough and you get used to it!
Before he could take out his phone, An Tihu walked in from HR with her laptop bag.
The moment she saw the dog, her eyes flew open. “Ah!”
That startled Tang Yu.
Tang Yu already had a psychological shadow from her; getting spooked by her again made him press a hand to his chest. “Why is everyone reacting like that? Is the dog supposed to be scary?”
Sang Zhao muttered inwardly, Scary? No. Terrifying to a monster? Absolutely.
A monster came to work, saw a full-sized dog monster sitting here in its original form, who wouldn’t panic?
He could practically see the scenes playing through her head: the Yao Bureau destroyed, monsters rampaging, humans and monsters at war, apocalyptic chaos…
Good thing he and Xia Moye knew the whole story behind the barbeque party. Otherwise they’d be panicking too.
If it were anyone else walking in right now, they’d probably be having a full mental breakdown. Hahaha… ha… ah… wait.
Hold on.
He suddenly realized something important.
Sang Zhao slowly turned his head to look at An Tihu.
She was pale, anxious, and visibly rattled, the normally cool and capable Little An was so frantic that she didn’t even notice Sang Zhao’s suspicious stare.
She just grabbed her phone, started dialing, and rushed out of the department.
Then Sang Zhao turned back to the Samoyed.
The dog met his gaze with the empty-eyed confusion of someone whose skull was full of fresh snow.
And right then, in that blank dog stare, something clicked in Sang Zhao’s mind.
Like a spark catching dry grass, a sudden burst of clarity lit up his whole brain.
He whipped out his phone and called Director Li.
And heard:
“Please do not hang up. The number you’re dialing is currently in another call…”
Aha. Aha.
He hung up and fell into the kind of suspicion only a little cat could have.
Suspicious, but also extremely proud of himself.
Who said he was a dumb little cat?! His brain was fantastic! He’d immediately caught the flaw in Little An’s behavior!
A moment ago he’d been near collapse. Now he felt light enough to fly.
He glanced at the Samoyed gnawing chicken jerky and thought smugly:
Heh. Silly dog. This little cat is very, very smart, okay?
Dogs were fools. Cats were not. “Dumb cat” was pure slander and should be abolished from history!
Soon, Director Li called him back and confirmed his suspicions while also yelling him into cat-shaped ashes.
Her cold voice came through the phone:
“Wonderful. Truly wonderful. A bunch of cats went to the wilderness for barbecue. Do you know how lucky you are that your CEO picked up the Samoyed?! I’ve already lost the Pallas cat and still have no updates!”
Sang Zhao thought for a moment and muttered, “The Pallas cat probably drank too much and fell asleep in some alley…”
“So what?! And how am I supposed to find him?! Sang Zhao, I’m asking you, where is my very large Pallas cat?!”
Sang Zhao was scolded so hard he almost cried. “I don’t know! We only met for the first time yesterday!”
Ask the black panther!!
Except the black panther was still drunk, running around the Bureau, forcibly giving the staff free rides and launching several of them into the sky.
Director Li was massaging her temples so hard she was about to drill into her skull.
“Still… you’re the most reliable one out of them,” she said after her temper cooled. “You drank the least. Honestly, losing the Samoyed is partly the dog’s fault for being drunk too. I guess I can’t blame you entirely.”
Exactly!!
Anyway, the aftermath would now be handled by Director Li.
Not long after, someone contacted Tang Yu.
He took the call, nodded with a gentle smile, and very earnestly relayed the company’s address and the dog’s condition.
After hanging up, he hugged the Samoyed happily. “Your owner called, baby. They’ll pick you up after work.”
“Thanks for staying with us until then, baby.”
Sang Zhao stared, shocked, as Tang Yu called Xia Moye “baby.”
Why was he… so soft and tender?? Unbelievable!
What was so cute about this big dumb white dog?!
His belly and paw pads weren’t even orange like a proper cat! Why did this dog get all the “baby” treatment?! Why not call cats baby?!?
Tang Yu crouched down again and hugged the dog.
The Samoyed tilted his head against Tang Yu’s neck, burying that fluffy white fur against his face and collarbone.
Tang Yu chuckled low in his chest and murmured, “Good baby. Such a good doggy.”
Sang Zhao stared, lips twitching, picking at his fingers.
Damn it… this is so annoying.
He started missing the days he’d been a housecat.
Back then, he didn’t have to do anything, he was always praised as a good baby, a good kitty. Being loved felt so warm. Hearing “baby” over and over felt even warmer.
He crossed his arms, frowning faintly, watching Tang Yu cuddle that big foolish-looking white dog.
His eyes kept following Tang Yu’s hands unconsciously.
Tang Yu really was so gentle. Great temper, too. He crouched there hugging the dog, his little ponytail drooping neatly down the back of his neck, slightly curled at the end.
And Sang Zhao thought sourly… Now that he was human, no one would ever call him baby again.
…He was about to start cursing feline swear words. Being human sucked.
He rubbed his face, walked back to his desk, and threw himself into work.
The Samoyed, having nothing better to do, wandered around the secretary’s office.
And when he passed An Tihu’s desk, her reaction was… strange.
Someone at the neighboring desk was teasing the dog: “Come here, little doggy, come here!”
An Tihu’s expression tightened instantly.
The coworker asked her, “Little An, why don’t you play with him?”
An Tihu covered her face and muttered, “Don’t call him like that. It’s not very respectful.”
Huh? Respectful… of the dog??
The coworker didn’t get it at all, but Sang Zhao understood.
Little An definitely wasn’t human.
But she probably wasn’t a cat either.
Because she hadn’t been invited to the cat-only party last night.
Guess who wasn’t invited? You! (he imagined himself bouncing around smugly)
The black panther was very fair; he wouldn’t exclude fellow cats. So by process of elimination… she wasn’t a cat.
Sang Zhao started thinking.
He hadn’t used this much brain power in twenty years. “Thinking” was practically an ancient ritual to him.
Little An… liked fish… had been suspected of wanting to eat coworkers… grabbed things with her claw-like feet…
Just then, the Samoyed ran over.
Yeye deliberately shoved his head under Sang Zhao’s desk and wedged himself under his legs like he was volunteering to be a footrest.
Forced to bend down, Sang Zhao whispered sharply in his ear, “Xia Moye!”
Just that one call.
Boom. Thunder splitting the sky.
Sang Zhao muttered, “…So that’s what it is.”
He’d never felt so smart in his life.
Of course! The dog’s name, Moye and An Tihu… Pelican.
It matched. Perfectly.
Suddenly everything made sense. He let out a breath, feeling wonderfully enlightened.
Hahaha! Birds and dogs who’d never been house pets clearly named themselves lazily!
Look at him, his name would never reveal he was an orange tabby! His name sounded great! Housecats were just different!!
He was so happy after uncovering such a huge secret.
He waited until he saw An Tihu leave the secretary’s office, then instinctively followed.
He just wanted to talk nicely with her!
But the moment he reached the CEO’s door, Tang Yu grabbed him.
Tang Yu had seen him tailing An Tihu and that terrified him.
He immediately pulled Sang Zhao into his office. With Sang Zhao pressed against the wall, Tang Yu lowered his voice.
“Don’t go talk to her alone. Her psychological assessment results came out.”
He looked genuinely shaken. “She shows signs of aggression. You must be careful.”
Sang Zhao lifted a brow, completely confused. “Huh? Aggression?”
A pelican… aggressive? Would she just pick someone up by the head? That wasn’t even attacking, that was harmless bird behavior.
So what part of the test had exposed the monster flaw?!
He rushed to defend her: “No way, Little An has a great temper.”
Great. Now not only did he have to pretend to be human, he had to help the pelican pretend too.
What kind of life was this?
Pretending to be human was exhausting. Little cat grumbling noises!!
Author’s Note:
In the cat’s opinion, Yeye being “ugly” is subjective. White cats aren’t considered pretty, calicos are the most beautiful, and orange cats have the best cat karma. White cats have no color, so housecats don’t like them. And Yeye is a big white dog, in a cat’s eyes, that’s the “plus pro max” version of not pretty. But Yezi himself thinks he’s adorable.
They’re just weird and funny friends, hahaha~
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