The Little Bookworm Marked Her Ex-aunt - Chapter 3: What Exactly Is Cute About Cats?

Chapter 3: What Exactly Is Cute About Cats?

Ji Shiyi raised her hand to wipe her hair with a towel, slowly tidying her wet long hair. She turned on the phone’s speaker, saying carelessly, “If it ran away, it ran away. It’s not a real cat anyway. It can’t get into trouble, and nothing will happen.”

Shu Yue paced anxiously in the room, saying in a flustered tone, “Did you forget why you left it with me?”

Ji Shiyi said, “I’m not that stupid.”

Shu Yue’s voice suddenly rose in anger, “Then why aren’t you worried?”

Ji Shiyi said, “Didn’t you say it left because it smelled something? It’s probably chasing a pheromone scent it likes. Maybe it sneaked off to someone else’s place for a buffet. You know this cat—it’s always been picky. If it weren’t, I wouldn’t keep using suppressants.”

Even though Ji Shiyi said this, Shu Yue still felt uneasy, “But that’s your spirit body. What if someone does something bad to it?”

Ji Shiyi chuckled lightly, “Shu Yue, have you been around cats so long you forgot what it actually is?”

“Besides, spirit body synesthesia has a distance limit. No matter how wild it gets out there, it’s ten thousand miles away. It doesn’t affect me at all.”

Ji Shiyi was on a business trip abroad. Before leaving, her spirit body, Eleven, entered a frenzy period because it hadn’t absorbed satisfactory pheromones for a long time. Ji Shiyi could inject herself with suppressants to handle the troubles of her omega body, but unfortunately, she couldn’t do the same for her spirit body.

She tried, as before, to pull Eleven back into her mind and forcibly suppress it, but found this method suddenly didn’t work.

She went to Shu Yue, who, after checking, said it was the consequence of Ji Shiyi’s long-term use of suppressants.

“You’re not young anymore,” Shu Yue said after reading the report. “Can’t you at least try some alpha pheromones? Just a bit, two whiffs? You don’t want your spirit body to be stuck outside forever, do you?”

“You think I don’t want to?” Ji Shiyi felt she wasn’t that picky. She was a goal-oriented person—any solution would do. She coldly glanced at her spirit body, “Ask her how many times she suddenly jumped out in her true form and scared alphas away.”

Eleven lazily sprawled on the table, licking its paws, completely ignoring their conversation.

Shu Yue said with a headache, “Old Ji, we took ABO basic physiology together, didn’t we? Don’t you remember what the teacher said? The spirit body is an externalization of the owner’s subconscious. It’s not Eleven being picky—it’s you.”

Ji Shiyi didn’t buy it and said to Shu Yue, “The teacher also said spirit bodies are just urban legends. No one’s actually seen one. If that’s true, where’s the data or research to prove she wasn’t just making it up?”

Shu Yue couldn’t argue with her then, and she couldn’t now either.

“So I just leave it alone?” Shu Yue asked. “Not look for it?”

Ji Shiyi hmm-ed, “Don’t worry, it won’t die. It’s smart.”

After hanging up, Shu Yue sighed at the phone.

Good thing Eleven wasn’t a real cat.

Otherwise, if Ji Shiyi’s words got posted online, she’d probably get torn apart.

She sat back on the sofa, scrolling through her phone. The usually quiet neighborhood group chat suddenly had 99+ new messages.

Probably some new neighborhood gossip.

Curious, Shu Yue clicked in and found the gossip was about her own situation.

It started with the property management auntie posting a lost cat notice, and the dead group went wild over a single cat picture.

[Building 4-902]: Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! Such a beautiful cat!

[Building 4-304]: A cat this gorgeous got lost? Anyone claiming it? If not, I’m lining up to adopt.

[Building 4-1101]: Line up +1

[Building 4-2703]: Honestly, this is my cat. Auntie, where’s the cat? Can you bring it to my place?

[Building 4-2701]: Bullshit, I live next door to you every day and never heard a cat!

[Building 4-2701]: Auntie, I’m reporting 2703 for lying! Talking nonsense!

[Building 4-604]: Looks like a Bengal cat, maybe a rare silver one. Auntie, you have to verify carefully—don’t let anyone scam you. This cat’s expensive.

Shu Yue got nervous reading this and quickly messaged the auntie.

[Building 4-1403]: Auntie, hi, I’m the cat owner’s friend. Can you tell me where the cat is now?

[Building 4-1403]: [Picture][Picture][Picture][Picture]

[Building 4-1403]: These are photos of it at my place.

[Building 4 Manager]: Not AI?

Shu Yue’s mouth twitched, thinking, what on earth had the auntie been through in such a short time?

[Building 4-1403]: [Video]

[Building 4-1403]: This is my home surveillance video. Look, it’s not AI-generated.

[Building 4 Manager]: Oh, sorry, owner. Too many people have asked me, so I have to be cautious.

[Building 4-1403]: It’s fine, Auntie, I understand. Thanks for being so careful.

[Building 4 Manager]: 157****9302.

[Building 4 Manager]: The phone number of the girl who found the cat. Owner, try contacting her.

[Building 4 Manager]: Oh, if it’s convenient, please apologize to her for me. I misunderstood earlier, thought she was trying to abandon the cat. She said the cat insisted on climbing into her bag, and I thought she was lying.

Shu Yue stared at the phone screen, rereading certain words.

What?

What thing?

Who insisted on climbing where?

Having known Ji Shiyi for years and cared for Eleven for nearly half a month, Shu Yue fell silent.

“Xiao Yue, phone,” Chen Mi called, handing the phone to Shu Yue from the staff room.

Shu Yue wore the grey uniform of the bar staff, her hair tied back, glasses still perched on her nose. She looked out of place in the bar’s vibe, exuding a quiet, scholarly air. She shook a cocktail shaker with her right hand, took the phone with her left, answered it by sliding, and held it between her shoulder and cheek while the vodka in the small shaker swirled quickly.

“Hello? Yes, it’s me. Of course, you can come pick it up now. Hold on, I’ll send the address once I’m done.”

After hanging up, Chen Mi served a drink to a customer and leaned over curiously, “Who was that?”

“The cat’s owner,” Shu Yue said, a faint hint of joy appearing on her usually expressionless face. “She’s coming to pick it up soon.”

Chen Mi sighed, “No way? That fast?”

Shu Yue said, “Yes, great, so fast.”

Chen Mi glared at her, “You don’t know how lucky you are! Do you realize how rare it is to be chosen by such a beautiful cat? Do you know how many people dream of this? If you posted a photo on Xiaohongshu, you’d get flooded with offers!”

Shu Yue shook her head, saying, “Sorry, I don’t know.”

She asked earnestly, “What exactly is cute about cats? What’s beautiful about them?”

She didn’t understand at all.

Chen Mi said, “Everything’s cute, everything’s beautiful!”

Shu Yue: “Huh?”

Chen Mi rested her elbow on the counter, sitting across from Shu Yue’s work area, lifting her chin to ask, “Then tell me, what’s cute about Meng Zhiyu? What’s beautiful about her that makes you run back to her every time?”

Shu Yue’s throat caught, and she couldn’t speak for a while.

Chen Mi sensed something was off, exclaiming, “No way, you broke up again?!”

Shu Yue hesitated, nodding slightly.

Chen Mi covered her ears, “Don’t tell me why, I don’t want to hear.”

Shu Yue said, “I wasn’t going to.”

Chen Mi lowered her hands, “Well, now that you say that, I kinda want to hear.”

Shu Yue really didn’t plan to talk. She realized she didn’t have the energy. Talking about Meng Zhiyu, about why they broke up today, felt like draining oxygen from her bl00d—exhausting and painful.

“Just a small thing,” Shu Yue said.

Chen Mi said, “Figured. You two always break up over small things.”

Shu Yue’s expression dimmed. Her glasses slid down, and she pushed them up with her fingertip, using tweezers to place a plump red cherry on the edge of a liqueur glass.

Chen Mi sighed, getting serious for once, “Xiao Yue, I told you before, sometimes small things seem small, but what’s behind them is never small.”

Shu Yue wasn’t stupid; her memory was sharp.

She remembered every word Meng Zhiyu said during their fights—how many times Meng Zhiyu called her dull, boring, uninteresting, and how many times Meng Zhiyu said she regretted being with her.

Chen Mi saw the dark cloud over Shu Yue’s head, pinched her brow, and said, “Why don’t you talk to her again? You two need to clear things up. You’re both in your twenties—stop breaking up all the time. A hand’s only so long; keep cutting, and there’ll be nothing left.”

“I don’t know,” Shu Yue said, head lowered, a bit lost. “She says I don’t like her at all, that I haven’t improved in two years. I’m not mad at her, Senior, but I’m mad at myself.”

“I thought about it, and maybe I really am bad at this relationship… I’m not doing well, but I don’t want it to be like this.”

Chen Mi opened her mouth, wanting to say a lot but saying nothing, finally just patting Shu Yue’s shoulder, saying earnestly, “Only you know if you like her, but I can tell you don’t like yourself right now.”

“Take it slow, think it over, and find a chance to talk properly with Meng Zhiyu.”

Shu Yue nodded, saying, “Senior, thank you.”

She didn’t have many friends. Chen Mi was one, who invited her to work at her beta bar, Grey Domain, when she was strapped for cash, offering a salary well above average.

“Is Miss Shu here?” The bar door opened, and Shu Yue walked in, asking the person who looked most like an alpha, Chen Mi, “Are you Miss Shu?”

Chen Mi flicked her freshly curled red hair, pointing to the bar, “Wrong person. She’s Miss Shu.”

Shu Yue looked over, paused, and asked, “You’re an alpha?”

Shu Yue nodded and replied, “You’re the cat’s mom?”