Is My Cat Secretly Crushing on Me?! - Chapter 13
Lin Miao’s belly was round from eating, and he let out a small burp softly on the way back.
“This guy is drunk, we’re leaving first.”
“Lin Miao, come play again next time.”
“When I go to the hospital to adopt a cat, you must introduce one to me.”
Everyone left one after another.
Lin Miao replied to each of them, his tone much more relaxed: “Goodbye, everyone.”
Lan Shen had also had a little to drink, his tone much lazier: “Was it fun?”
Lin Miao nodded heavily: “Everyone is so nice.”
“Yeah, socializing isn’t so scary after all,” Lan Shen said softly.
Lin Miao lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.
Just when Lan Shen thought he had been too abrupt, he heard Lin Miao say softly but firmly.
“I think so too… I’m much better now, aren’t I?” Lin Miao raised his head, gathering his courage, and looked at Lan Shen.
Lan Shen’s eyes softened, and he ruffled his hair: “Of course, our Miaomiao has made progress, that’s amazing.”
He deliberately called him “Miaomiao” in a light and familiar tone, as if imitating a cat’s meow next to Lin Miao’s ear.
Lin Miao’s ear tips turned red.
Seeing his reaction, Lan Shen’s smile deepened by two points.
He casually changed the subject and draped his arm over Lin Miao’s shoulder.
“I asked around for you these past two days. No one is secretly keeping a cat in our dorm building.”
“But don’t worry, Orange Cat Darling is smart and can live well as a stray cat.”
Lin Miao nodded.
The two separated downstairs at the dorm building.
Only after Lan Shen disappeared from his sight did Lin Miao dare to secretly reach up and touch his hair.
It was soft, warm, as if it still held the warmth of Lan Shen’s palm.
—
Since it was confirmed that Orange Cat Darling was a stray cat, Lin Miao began to plan for its capture and neutering.
The stray cat rescue department at S University had been using the TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) method for some time, adopting a more humane way to control the number of stray cats on campus by catching, neutering, and either releasing them or finding adoptions.
Cats that have been neutered have a small corner clipped off their ear tip for identification.
Essentially, most of the kittens on campus have already had their ears clipped, and the newly arrived Orange Cat Darling needed to be neutered quickly too.
Otherwise, once he went into heat, there would be litters and litters of kittens.
Lin Miao analyzed with Xie Xinlan: “The orange cat is very friendly with me. I think I can just hold him directly into the carrier, so he won’t be traumatized by the cage.”
“That’s true, but you still have to be careful not to get scratched when you hold him. Do you want to wear gloves?”
Lin Miao thought for a moment and shook his head: “He’s very smart. I’m afraid any slight abnormality will make him alert.”
“Alright, then observe him for a couple more days. We’ll carry out the capture next weekend. Don’t feed him on Friday; he’ll be easier to catch if he’s a little hungry.”
Lin Miao readily agreed.
He knew the orange cat was smart, so the word “neutering” was never mentioned in front of him.
Lin Miao fed the cat as usual.
Recalling the issue the senior student had mentioned, Lin Miao wanted to test the orange cat’s level of friendliness.
While feeding him a cat treat stick, he stroked the orange cat from head to tail with his hand.
The orange cat did not resist at all; instead, it purred comfortably.
Lin Miao smiled slightly and proceeded to the next step.
He let the orange cat climb onto his lap and tentatively grasped the orange cat’s paw.
Excellent, still no resistance.
Lin Miao felt relieved.
He squeezed the orange cat’s paw pad, even making the tips of the claws poke out, but the orange cat didn’t resist at all.
It even rolled over, exposing its belly to tempt Lin Miao.
“Come here, wife, hug me, kiss me!”
Lin Miao smiled, taking out a pair of nail clippers from his bag: “Be a good boy, darling, I’ll clip your nails.”
The orange cat was enjoying itself.
After Lin Miao finished clipping, having reduced the orange cat’s fighting ability, Lin Miao couldn’t help but exclaim again: “Darling is so well-behaved, like a fake cat.”
The orange cat meowed affectionately.
Lin Miao was bored and wanted to play with the orange cat again.
He held a freeze-dried treat in one hand to lure the orange cat, and with the other hand, he grabbed the orange cat’s front paw and shook it: “Shake hands.”
Then he fed him the freeze-dried treat.
He repeated this several times, trying to teach the orange cat to shake hands.
Then Lin Miao held out his hand: “Shake hands.”
He waited for the orange cat to place its paw on his hand, shook it, and then fed him the freeze-dried treat: “Too cute, too smart.”
He played a few more times with high spirits.
The orange cat patiently played along.
The freeze-dried treats were all gone, but Lin Miao still didn’t want to stop.
Lin Miao’s eyes darted, and he pinched three fingers together, pretending to hold a freeze-dried treat: “Shake hands.”
The orange cat gave him a helpless look but still cooperated.
Lin Miao brought his hand to the orange cat’s mouth and opened it: “Hahaha, I tricked you, no food.”
The orange cat sniffed, unconcerned, and stuck out its tongue to lick Lin Miao’s finger: “Meow.”
“Delicious.”
It deliberately rubbed its tongue on Lin Miao’s finger, seemingly savoring the taste.
The orange cat narrowed its eyes, a flicker of slyness passing through its vertical pupils.
Lin Miao only felt a wet warmth on his fingertip and awkwardly withdrew his hand.
Looking at the orange cat, he somehow felt he saw the shadow of a certain mean person.
Speaking of which, their eyes did look quite similar…
Lin Miao shook his head, pushing the unrealistic thought out of his mind.
The orange cat was so adorable, much cuter than a person.
In short, it was finally confirmed that the orange cat was very friendly and could definitely be caught by hand.
Lin Miao and Xie Xinlan confirmed everything and got ready over the weekend to carry out the capture.
Weekend, after lunch.
Downstairs at the dorm building.
Lin Miao squatted at the spot in advance, while Xie Xinlan hid behind the corner wall, holding the cat carrier, ready to move at a moment’s notice.
He held cat food to lure Orange Cat Darling at the feeding spot.
Lin Miao cleared his throat and called out in an unusually sweet voice: “Darling? Orange Cat Darling, come out for food.”
“Mimi, come quickly—”
A rustling sound came from the bushes.
The two people, one visible and one hidden, held their breath.
“Meow.” The orange cat shook its fur and appeared as expected.
Lin Miao secretly sighed in relief: “Come quickly, darling, have some food.”
He fed the orange cat some cat food to make him drop his guard.
Just as the orange cat happily ran over, about to eat, a sudden unexpected interruption occurred.
A Jianzhou cat with black and brown spots on its head and back suddenly jumped over the wall, uttering a muffled sound: “Mee?”
The orange cat twitched its nose, and the two cats exchanged greetings.
Lin Miao was afraid the Jianzhou cat would interfere with the capture: “Hey, Little Jian! Don’t come over, go eat over there.”
The Jianzhou cat looked up at the sound, and Lin Miao realized it was holding something dark in its mouth, no wonder its meow was so muffled just now.
Lin Miao recalled its usual habits, and his scalp tightened.
As expected, the Jianzhou cat put down the thing in its mouth.
It was a dead mouse, already bitten and partially eaten.
“A-a-a-h, how many times have I told you, don’t catch mice and small birds, they’re so dirty! Isn’t the cat food I give you enough!”
Lin Miao was distraught and wanted to use a branch to move the dead mouse to the trash can.
The Jianzhou cat swiftly lowered its head, picked up the mouse, and ran next to the orange cat.
The orange cat was clearly shocked too.
It took two steps back, not daring to move.
The Jianzhou cat circled him, put down the mouse, and meowed: “Meow meow.”
“Little baby, eat quickly.”
Lin Miao sighed deeply, here we go again.
The Jianzhou cat had been neutered, but its motherly love was still overflowing.
It didn’t want to eat these things, usually just taking a couple of bites and abandoning them.
But it especially liked catching mice and small birds, giving them to people or other cats, whoever it came across.
Lin Miao quickly called out: “Orange Cat Darling, don’t eat it! Come over here to me.”
He saw the Jianzhou cat turn its head again, looking at Lin Miao: “What else do you want to eat, baby?”
“You should leave quickly. We don’t eat that.”
“Don’t catch things again next time!”
Lin Miao gently stomped his foot, driving the Jianzhou cat away.
The Jianzhou cat reluctantly jumped away and walked off, feeling wronged.
Fortunately, the orange cat also seemed disgusted by the dead mouse and didn’t go near it at all.
Lin Miao sighed in relief, dealt with the dead mouse, and then gently called the orange cat.
“Come, darling, have some cat food.”
After the orange cat took a few bites, Lin Miao lifted the cat food bowl: “Come, darling, let Daddy hug you. Will you eat on my lap?”
The orange cat tilted its head: “Mee?”
“Wife is so proactive today.”
Lin Miao’s heart skipped a beat, but he maintained an unperturbed expression and smiled slightly at the orange cat.
“Doesn’t darling like me anymore? Why aren’t you coming up to rub against me?”
The orange cat was instantly overwhelmed by the ‘beauty trap’: “Wife must have fallen for me, I’m coming!”
It was like a small orange cannonball, jumping into Lin Miao’s arms in one leap.
While purring and kneading, it rubbed cat hair all over Lin Miao, intentionally leaving its scent.
Lin Miao had no time to worry about such trivial matters. His fingertips trembled slightly, but he pinched himself hard to calm down.
He gently stroked the orange cat’s nape and tentatively squeezed it.
Seeing the orange cat had no reaction.
Lin Miao became a little bolder.
He held the orange cat by the neck with one hand and supported its butt with the other, firmly restraining it.
“Mee?”
The orange cat tilted its head: “What game are we playing today?”
It sweetly submitted to being handled, not resisting at all in Lin Miao’s hands.
Lin Miao didn’t answer him, instead calling out in a voice that was as steady as possible: “Senior, senior! Come quickly, I’ve caught him!”
Afraid of startling the orange cat, his whole body was stiff and dared not move, and his voice wasn’t too loud, but the anxiety in his tone was undeniable.
Lan Shen, in his cat form, felt a sense of foreboding.
He struggled lightly.
Sensing Lin Miao’s control, he nervously stopped.
“Senior, hurry up, he’s trying to run!”
Xie Xinlan rushed over in one stride, holding the open cat carrier.
“Quick, quick, put him in!”
Lin Miao held the cat and pushed him inside.
Lan Shen’s sense of foreboding grew stronger. He felt like he had overlooked something.
He pressed his two front paws firmly against the carrier, unwilling to go in.
Lin Miao was fumbling, yet dared not relax his grip, afraid the orange cat would escape.
He could only coax him in a low voice: “Be a good boy, darling, go inside quickly. We’re taking you to the hospital for a check-up, it’s nothing.”
Lan Shen absolutely refused to go in.
The two of them were sweating profusely from anxiety.
Xie Xinlan was anxious; how could one cat be so strong?
She touched the orange cat’s paw: “Go in quickly. All stray cats are like this. It’s okay. You won’t suffer from being in heat then.”
“Orange cat, you’re a big boy now, it’s time to be neutered.” Xie Xinlan tried to reach out and pull the orange cat’s paws away.
The orange cat’s pupils contracted, and it let out a piercing, tragic cry: “Mee—”
“What!!”