Parent-Teacher Conference, Cat Edition!
Sang Zhao had no idea how to explain it clearly. After all, there was only one “Black Panther brand motorcycle” in existence.
Even if the panther liked being a mount, it wasn’t like anyone could just hop on without consequence, right?
Sang Zhao figured that the panther must at least have some sense of dignity and bottom line. Not much, maybe, but at least a little!
So he guessed it’d be difficult for Tang Yu to “try riding a motorcycle.”
After all, riding a panther wasn’t something an ordinary human body could handle...
The matter was complicated, and since Sang Zhao couldn’t really explain it, Tang Yu grew even more puzzled.
He saw that Sang Zhao looked uneasy, so he didn’t press further, just reminded him to be careful on the road.
Sang Zhao nodded earnestly, said goodbye, and went back to his desk.
Tang Yu watched his back as he left, sighing softly. Why were there so many strange things happening in his company every single day?
Was it a sign that he was getting old? Maybe he just couldn’t understand how young people thought anymore.
That afternoon, Sang Zhao was taking half the day off for the parent-teacher conference, but he didn’t wait until the afternoon to leave.
As soon as the lunch break began at eleven-thirty, he happily got up and waved to his coworkers in the secretariat.
“Bye-bye! Bye-bye!”
Grinning from ear to ear, he left work early and went to pick up the Samoyed.
Since the kid’s school was holding a parent-teacher conference, classes ended early for them too.
The dog had secretly texted him, saying he’d be waiting at the milk-tea shop near the school gate.
When Sang Zhao got there, the dog had already eaten two ice cream cones.
The moment he saw Sang Zhao really show up as promised, the dog beamed and handed him a cup of cheese green tea. His bright eyes sparkled like stars.
Outside the apartment, the Samoyed wasn’t in his big fluffy dog form anymore.
He was wearing a school uniform and a red necktie, with round eyes and chubby cheeks. The very image of a sweet little schoolboy.
Just sitting there in the shop, he looked so adorable that even delivery guys passing by couldn’t help but tease him with a smile.
Of course, now that they were in public, Sang Zhao couldn’t go around calling a human-form dog “dog.” The Samoyed had a proper human name too.
He whispered to Sang Zhao, “I’m Xia Moyè.”
He really liked his name, and when he introduced himself, he gave a giggly little laugh like a mouse sneaking oil.
“Heheh, because I like summer!”
Sang Zhao took the milk tea and drank two sips.
Watching Xia Moyè stand there with his little backpack, waiting so obediently, he couldn’t help feeling itchy inside and that itch reached his hand too.
With a sharp smack, he patted Xia Moyè on the back.
The slap landed right on the schoolbag, and the little dog, no, little boy, stumbled forward a few steps.
He barely managed to steady himself, then looked back at Sang Zhao, still smiling like a squishy dough ball, not mad at all.
People in the shop stared at Sang Zhao with odd, disapproving eyes.
Wow, seriously? Hitting a kid in public?
Feeling guilty under their gaze, Sang Zhao quickly put a hand on Xia Moyè’s shoulder and pushed him toward the door like he was steering a tricycle.
“Let’s go! You haven’t eaten yet, right? I haven’t either. Let’s go to KFC!”
Even though he only had less than a thousand yuan left, he could still treat the kid to a meal.
KFC might sound expensive, but two meal sets wouldn’t bankrupt him.
It wasn’t like yaoguai had much sense of “saving plans” anyway. Money’s enough? Then spend it!
He ordered Xia Moyè the new children’s combo and got himself a regular one.
But the children’s meal came with a tiny toy car.
Sang Zhao held the toy car in his hand, pushing it back and forth across the table like a kid.
Meanwhile, the “dog boy,” now in human form, had dropped the “Ye-ye” self-referential speech. He quietly sipped his cold Coke and watched Sang Zhao play, amused.
“You like cars, huh? I’ve got lots of them at home,” he said, waving his hands excitedly. “After the conference, wanna come over? I’ve got tons of cars!”
He started counting on his fingers, listing them proudly.
“There’s a fire truck, a dump truck, a police car, a train, a Rolls-Royce, a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, a Porsche…”
Hearing that, Sang Zhao perked up immediately. “Whoa! Real ones?!”
So the fluffy white dog was actually rich, huh?
Xia Moyè crushed his fantasy in one sentence. “They’re models.”
Sang Zhao deflated instantly.
“Right, right. I got ahead of myself,” he muttered pitifully. “Cats are broke enough; it’s not like dogs can be that rich.”
He wasn’t interested in visiting anymore. “I’m not going. I need to sleep early tonight.”
Working was exhausting, and if he could sleep a little longer, he’d take it.
“Come on, visit! I’ve got frozen pizza at home. I’ll treat you tonight!”
That got Sang Zhao’s attention.
Playing with a dog? Nah. But pizza he’d never tasted before?
Interest: instantly maxed out.
Food was his weakness.
He’d never even had a proper hamburger before.
Well, not properly. His former owner had once given him a tiny bit of the soft center bun just to let him try it.
Technically, that counted.
But now, he could take huge bites of a spicy chicken burger, get sauce on his mouth, and wipe it away with a napkin like a civilized human.
Thinking about it that way, being human wasn’t so bad, at least when it didn’t involve work.
Still, he glared at the kid dog across from him.
Why could dogs go to school while cats had to work?
School had to be easier than a job, right?
But Xia Moyè sighed. “You think too much. School’s annoying too.”
He was only in third grade, but it already felt like a slog. There’d be entrance exams, middle school exams, high school exams. One after another.
Just mentioning them made him want to move to the Siberian plains and pull a sled instead.
“If I didn’t have to pretend to be a kid, I wouldn’t even go. Working sounds way better, you can slack off. If you slack in class, the teacher throws chalk at you.”
...Fair enough. Being human really wasn’t easy either.
Otherwise, their lives, one orange cat, one Samoyed, would’ve been perfectly carefree.
They finished their fries, chatting idly.
Sang Zhao asked, “We only just met, so why’d you ask me to go to your parent-teacher conference. Don’t you have other friends?”
He did, actually.
Just… not ones he could see anymore.
“I used to have lots of good dog friends. Everyone liked Ye-ye.”
The small boy gave a long sigh.
“But after I turned human, I couldn’t play with dogs anymore. My best friend was a beagle. When I went back to visit, I found out he eats his own poop.”
The fry in Sang Zhao’s mouth froze halfway.
“And cat poop, too,” Xia Moyè added helpfully.
“Stop! Don’t! D-don’t say another word!” Sang Zhao cried and horrified.
“They say cat poop’s covered in litter, so it’s crunchy like a chocolate crisp bar—”
“If you keep talking, I swear I’ll hit you! Stupid dog!!”
After they finished eating, they walked leisurely toward Xia Moyè’s school.
Along the way, the dog kept greeting every human they passed.
“Hey, class rep! Wow, your dad’s here for the meeting?”
“Hey, you! Does your teacher talk about math first or Chinese first?”
“Hi, auntie! Remember me? I used to sit next to your son! Yeah, the transfer kid!”
Watching this nonstop chatter, Sang Zhao thought grimly that this dog clearly had social anxiety in reverse.
He grabbed Xia Moyè by the collar and hissed, “Shh! Stop talking already! Let’s just get to your classroom.”
“I’m not really your parent, okay? What if people start asking me about you and I give something away?”
The dog nodded quickly, “Oh, oh, right.”
They sneaked through the side gate, tiptoeing along the corridor toward the third-grade building.
Halfway there, Sang Zhao suddenly stopped dead at the corner.
The kid behind him turned and smacked right into him. Well, technically into his lower back.
Clutching his forehead, Xia Moyè yelped, “Bad cat!”
But Sang Zhao didn’t even respond. His eyes were wide, staring straight ahead.
“Oh no… of all the bad luck! How do I run into my boss while on leave?”
Peeking around him, Xia Moyè looked in the same direction.
Tang Yu was standing there, talking to the vice principal.
He looked effortlessly composed, smiling politely. In the middle of summer, he was still in crisp dress pants, with a light khaki shirt and a brown jacket draped over his arm. He stood tall and broad-shouldered, every inch the perfect gentleman.
Tang Yu must’ve sensed Sang Zhao’s gaze, because his eyes brightened.
He wrapped up his conversation with the vice principal and walked over.
Sang Zhao had asked for leave from the section head, who reported it to HR. So the request never reached the president himself.
Tang Yu had noticed Sang Zhao was missing from his desk, but he didn’t know it was an approved leave.
So to him, this chance encounter felt like a pleasant surprise.
But for Sang Zhao? Pure panic.
Oh no. Not only was he caught skipping work, but he was also with the dog!
He’d have to act human with a dog acting human, right in front of his boss! If they slipped up, they were done for!
With a stiff smile, Sang Zhao quickly shoved Xia Moyè behind him.
“Ha-ha, President Tang! You’re here too?”
Tang Yu smiled. “This is my alma mater. They’re holding parent-teacher meetings today, and I’m here to give a small charity talk to the sixth-grade parents. Just sharing some experiences and easing their stress, you know.”
While he spoke, his eyes drifted to the small child Sang Zhao was shielding.
Assuming the kid was just shy, he crouched down so their eyes were level and said kindly, “Hello there, little one. I’m Tang Yu. What’s your name?”
Sang Zhao screamed internally: Please, Ye-ye, I’m begging you, don’t use your “Ye-ye” baby talk habit right now!
Don’t expose yourself as a dog!
Thankfully, Xia Moyè had much more experience passing as human than Sang Zhao.
He answered smoothly, “I’m Xia Moyè. I’m in third grade. I’m a boy. My special skills are tracking and sled pulling—”
Before he could finish, Sang Zhao lunged forward and clapped a hand over his mouth.
“That’s enough! Just the first part’s fine!” he said, forcing a wobbly smile. “He’s… a lively kid. Very, uh, lively.”
Tang Yu didn’t seem to mind at all. He actually found the whole scene rather cute.
Both the child and Sang Zhao were adorable in their own ways.
Smiling, he asked patiently, “So, little one, what’s your relation to Sang Zhao?”
Xia Moyè tilted his head, thinking hard. What had they agreed on earlier?
And then, with utter confidence, he declared, “He’s my brother-in-law!”
Tang Yu froze mid-bend, completely stunned.
“…Brother-in-law,” he repeated slowly.
Then again. “…Brother-in-law. Brother-in-law.”
Xia Moyè blinked at him.
“Uh… are you lagging?”
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