novelraw Chapter 162
Chapter 162
Chapter 162: Teacher Xia’s Class Begins
To stockpile some manuscripts for the next two days, Xia Li typed away at the keyboard all afternoon.
Work had just finished, and it was already six o’clock in the evening.
This time, Wuqi returned home on time, raising a white-gloved cat paw to pat the balcony door.
『Why is the door closed so tightly!』
Wuqi shivered as he walked inside.
“It’s cold, and windy outside.”
Xia Li casually closed the door again and picked up Mianhua, who was also trying to peek at the outside world, from beside his feet.
Wuqi jumped into the nest he brought from his “mother’s” house in two steps, warming himself up, then looked up and asked Xia Li.
『I’m hungry, what time is dinner?』 “Right now.”
Xia Li took out the bread he bought last night and made Wuqi a cup of hot milk.
Most cats can’t drink cow’s milk because they are lactose intolerant, so Xia Li specifically bought goat’s milk.
He had done his research when he was raising Mianhua.
But Mianhua was too young then, and he hadn’t had the chance to put his research to use. Instead, it was now being used on the stray cat, Wuqi.
Wuqi glanced at the steam rising from the kitchen and then at Xia Li.
『Hey, don’t you have food at home? I want to eat rice.』
Xia Li pretended not to hear and placed the food next to Mianhua’s bowl.
Mianhua meowed, thinking it was for her.
She sniffed at it with her pink nose, but she didn’t like human bread, so she turned away in disgust.
『Hey!!』
Wuqi called out to Xia Li again.
“Da-da-da,”
Lucia was carrying two plates to the dining table. Today’s meal was stir-fried pork with bell peppers, boiled green beans, and a tomato and egg soup.
As the little chef’s cooking skills gradually improved, the food at home became more and more delicious, and Xia Li was really enjoying it.
Wuqi watched, his mouth watering.
It had been a long time since he had eaten home-cooked food.
And… the home-cooked food at Brother Xia’s house didn’t look spicy at all.
“That was made by my girlfriend.”
Xia Li stepped forward, blocking Wuqi’s view.
Wuqi: 『…』
How could this Brave Hero be both generous and stingy at the same time??
“Here, here, let me open another can for you.”
Xia Li was indeed generous. He rummaged through the box he brought from Wuqi’s “mother’s” house and took out a can of cat food and opened it.
Wuqi sniffed at the smell, somewhat wavering.
Judging by a cat’s stomach and taste, these foods were obviously more suitable for him, and their nutritional value was more in line with his own needs.
But perhaps because of the human soul residing in his body, Wuqi’s desire for food was not only to evoke his memories of being human but also a reluctance to accept his current situation.
To be a cat for the rest of his life…
Although he had already come to terms with it, when it came to actually acting on it, he always wanted to resist this fate.
If he could become human again…
He would probably become an unregistered resident just like his brother’s girlfriend.
Thinking about it this way, it was better to be a cat.
“Not eating?”
Xia Li tapped the can of cat food. While Wuqi was hesitating, Little Cotton timidly approached.
The beautiful calico kitten first glanced warily at the adult cow cat, then tentatively stretched out her little paw to pull the can closer and sniff it.
She stuck out her tongue and licked a bit of the canned meat. After discovering that the cow cat had no intention of guarding his food, she tucked her tail and started eating with gusto.
Wuqi glanced at Little Cotton and snorted.
『Let her eat first!』
Well, there’s another tsundere.
“It’s not good for your cat body to eat human food for a long time.”
Xia Li took out his phone and took 360-degree photos of Wuqi from all angles: “Don’t put on that grumpy cat face, smile.”
『How can I smile? My face would scare my former owner to death!!』 Wuqi yelled.
So, a photo of an indifferent cow cat was sent over. This grumpy look was very much in line with Wuqi’s usual temperament.
Even the little sister at the pet hospital who replied said, ‘Wuqi hasn’t changed at all. It seems he’s already adapted to his new family!’
Wuqi lay on the ground, feeling a little dejected.
『It’s true that eating too much human food gives me diarrhea, but it’s nice to have a change of pace once in a while.』
“Then what do you want to eat?”
『Salted duck.』 Wuqi answered immediately.
“Salted duck…”
Xia Li had heard of this delicacy, which showed that it must be quite famous. Thinking that it was probably a local specialty, Xia Li took out his phone and searched for it.
『Forget it, I’m just a cat, I can’t eat that much.』
Wuqi thought Xia Li was going to order takeout for him, but he came closer and found that Xia Li had opened a search engine.
Salted duck, also known as Guihua duck, is one of the representative dishes of Jinling cuisine.
Wuqi had been a cat longer than he had been a human, and he had forgotten many things, but this word was deeply ingrained in his mind.
◈◈◈
“Are you from Jiangsu Province?” Xia Li looked back in surprise.
Although Jiangsu Province and Sichuan Province only differed by one character, they were thousands of kilometers apart.
Since Wuqi subconsciously uttered this word, it at least proved that he had been exposed to it frequently as a child, so he should be from around there.
『I, I don’t know… It doesn’t matter.』
Wuqi listlessly flicked his tail and jumped onto Mianhua’s cat climbing frame in two steps.
Mianhua had been bribed by Wuqi with a can of food and didn’t object to him playing with her toys now, burying her head and continuing to eat the canned food.
Xia Li took the can away. Mianhua licked her nose and let out a soft “meow.”
“Kittens can’t eat too much, the rest is for your Uncle Wuqi.”
“Meow~~”
Wuqi quietly watched this scene and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.
Xia Li placed the rest of the can by his bowl and didn’t say anything more.
If Wuqi didn’t want to face it, then he wouldn’t force him.
Everyone had times when they wanted to escape.
“Xia Li, dinner’s ready!”
Lucia knocked on the empty bowl, calling Xia Li.
The stinky dragon was still making “bleh bleh bleh” sounds.
Xia Li: “…”
Wait, why did this scene look so familiar?
It sounded a lot like the pig-feeding videos on Bilibili.
“Hehe…”
“Stop laughing!”
As soon as Xia Li saw the little fangs of the stinky dragon when she smiled, he knew she was doing it on purpose.
“You’re treating me like a pig, aren’t you??”
“Yep,” the dragon nodded honestly.
“Dragon livestock technology isn’t as advanced as humans’, but we still raise pigs!” the dragon said.
Xia Li was speechless.
I treat you like my wife, and you treat me like a pig??
“Stop giggling, my mom and dad are coming over tomorrow afternoon. Come to my room later, I’ll give you a lesson!”
Teacher Xia fiercely placed a chopstick full of shredded meat into the dragon’s bowl. He was ready to start class. The dragon shovelled the rice into her mouth and nodded vaguely.
“I know, you shaid lasht time, if I don’t undershtand, jusht nod…”
“Swallow before you speak!”
The dragon’s cheeks were bulging, and her words sounded like they were encrypted.
The more Xia Li urged her to speak clearly, the more mischievous she became, teasing Xia Li. In the end, she just stuck her tongue out and made a bunch of gibberish sounds.
“Gulp gurgle #@￥%&;…”
◈◈◈
On the other side, on the cat climbing frame.
This row of cat climbing frames had been modified by Xia Li. The central pillar of the frame went straight up to the ceiling.
Wuqi lay in the topmost compartment, eyes closed, ears eavesdropping on the playful banter in the dining room. His black cat tail swayed back and forth.
He didn’t fit in with the cat world, and neither did he fit in with the human world.
There was no place on Earth for a species with a cat’s body and a human’s heart.
This feeling of being abandoned by the whole world…
Wuqi thought about it and felt it must have been similar to how Lucia felt when she came to Earth.
But as a dragon, Lucia was lucky; she was picked up by a kind Brave Hero and taken home.
Oh… so, he was also picked up by a kind Brave Hero?
“Meow?”
He felt a cat paw patting him.
Wuqi opened his eyes and smelled the scent of canned cat food.
The little calico kitten had climbed up at some point and was patting his head with her small paws.
It seemed like she was timidly greeting Wuqi.
“Meow.”
Wuqi helplessly returned a meow.
These cats’ language was different from his. Instead of using sounds to communicate, felines on Earth seemed to communicate more through body language and expressions.
Wuqi saw a look of “concern” in Mianhua’s eyes.
Did she notice his mood and come to comfort him?
“Meow…”
Mianhua meowed at him again.
When she raised her paw again to pat Wuqi, Wuqi also raised his paw, giving her a strange high five.
“Meow!”