A leisurely life starting in a bar after being reborn

"That little boy was quite interesting, like a mixed-race child," Fu Yan said. "He was only three or four years old, but he came in and immediately started walking around with the cat, like he was strolling through his own vegetable garden."

"Zhuangzhuang?" Xu Wenshu smiled. "I've heard people at the station say that he does have foreign ancestry, but I forget which country exactly. He's probably from Europe or America. That kid is very mischievous. I heard from Sister Zhou that he's a notorious little tyrant in our alley. He Gang is busy and doesn't have time to take care of him, and Teacher Ma is pregnant and can't look after him either. He's basically left to his own devices."

"It's good to let kids roam freely, they're all kids!" Fu Yan recalled that she herself had been raised in her hometown of Anqiu for a period of time when she was a child, "It was carefree."

"Is that what you call free-range? That's called independent raising." Xu Wenshu rolled her eyes at him. "It's not the same."

Fu Yan didn't argue with her, and changed the subject: "What do you think about keeping a small pet? I'd like to get a cat."

"cat?"

"Yeah, I saw that orange today and I'm really craving it."

Xu Wenshu thought for a moment and said, "It's fine to keep it or not, I don't mind. Keep it if you like!"

"Aren't you afraid of shedding?"

"I'm not afraid."

"Aren't you afraid of scratching the sofa?"

"Your sofa must cost hundreds of thousands of yuan, right? As long as you don't mind, I can remain completely unmoved."

Fu Yan understood—she meant that the two of them were not yet at the stage of discussing marriage, so she would not interfere in family matters for the time being and would leave it to Fu Yan to decide.

"Alright, let's raise it then." Fu Yan slammed his hand on the table. "I'll go buy one tomorrow."

"You can buy your own stuff, just don't make me scoop the poop."

"...That's your cat too, what's wrong with you scooping it occasionally?"

"You chose to raise it yourself, so you need to take care of it yourself. Don't just like it but not care for it, okay?"

Fu Yan shut up.

……

In the middle of the night, Fu Yan had a dream.

In his dream, he was sitting under a grape trellis, with a cat lying on his lap—not the orange kind, but completely black, with glossy fur like a piece of black velvet. He reached out and stroked the cat's back, and the cat purred softly, warmly and comfortably.

He touched it once, then touched it again.

It feels so good, soft and smooth.

Touch it again.

"Snapped!"

I got slapped on the head.

Fu Yan suddenly opened his eyes, only to find himself facing a pitch-black ceiling.

"Where are you touching!"

Xu Wenshu's voice boomed from the side, full of morning grumpiness and brimming with hostility. Fu Yan turned his head and saw Xu Wenshu lying on her side, the collar of her pajamas pulled askew, her hair a mess like a bird's nest, glaring at him with eyes that could kill.

"I..." Fu Yan looked down at his hand—it was resting on Xu Wenshu's waist, still in the position of petting a cat, his five fingers slightly spread, stroking it gently.

"I was petting the cat..." he explained instinctively.

"That's not a cat you're touching!"

"No—I was dreaming, I dreamt about—"

"Slap!" Another slap.

Fu Yan withdrew his hand and lay down obediently, like a salted fish that had been flipped over.

In the darkness, Xu Wenshu took a couple of breaths, clearly quite angry. After a while, Fu Yan thought she had calmed down and was about to turn over...

"Stay away from me!"

……

A few minutes later.

"Little kitty..." Fu Yan mumbled incoherently before drifting back to sleep. It was quite a skill to keep a dream going, something most people couldn't do.

Xu Wenshu, who was still half asleep, was about to have her mind explode: "..."

She took a deep breath, pulled the blanket up, wrapped herself up like a silkworm cocoon, turned her back on him, and ignored him completely.

Fu Yan tugged at the blanket in his sleep, not knowing if he was dreaming about the weather changing, but he was still able to subconsciously cover himself with the blanket.

When Xu Wenshu woke up the next morning, her anger had subsided considerably—or rather, she had laughed in exasperation. Fu Yan, half-asleep, had not only touched her but also kept muttering "little kitten," his infatuated expression showing he cared for her more than she did.

"If you ever dream about touching me again," Xu Wenshu mumbled a warning while brushing her teeth, "I'll chop your hand off."

"Okay, okay." Fu Yan hunched her shoulders and went to the kitchen to heat up the porridge.

-

At 10 a.m., Fu Yan called Cai Yunfei.

"Mr. Fu, what can I do for you?" Cai Yunfei stood at the office door, clutching a folder in her hand.

"Nothing else, I just want you to come with me to buy a cat."

"...Buy a cat?"

"Hmm, I think girls are more meticulous, so they'd definitely be better at choosing cats than that roughneck Zhao Gang."

Cai Yunfei opened her mouth, wanting to say something but swallowed it back. She had only been working there for a little over half a month, and she was still getting used to her boss's style of doing things—yesterday he invested 20 million in a movie, and today he was going to buy a cat; the pace was indeed a bit erratic.

Zhao Gang was waiting nearby when Fu Yanchong waved to him, "Come on over, let's drive."

The three of them got into the A8 and drove towards the pet market in the south of the city.

The Yanjing pet market is located in a commercial area outside the South Third Ring Road. The storefront is small, but the interior is surprisingly spacious. Upon entering, you're greeted by a long corridor lined with over a dozen shops of varying sizes, selling dogs, cats, birds, fish, hamsters, and lizards. The air is thick with a mixture of smells—cat food, dog food, wood shavings, disinfectant, and a distinct, indescribable animal odor.

Fu Yan was stunned when he went in.

It's not because of the taste, it's because there are too many choices.

There are seven or eight cat shops alone, each with at least twenty or thirty cats, ranging from British Shorthairs to American Shorthairs, from Ragdolls to Siamese, from Garfield to Sphynx—all breeds, colors, and sizes, crammed into cages. Some are sleeping, some are playing, some are scratching at the cage door with their paws, and some are squatting in the corner looking at visitors with that "who are you?" look.

"Mr. Fu, what kind of animals would you like to raise?" Cai Yunfei leaned closer and asked in a low voice.

"How would I know what breeds they have..." Fu Yan stood at the entrance of the first shop, looking at the wall full of cat cages. "Let's take a look first."

The three of them wandered from the first store to the last, their eyes dazzled by the sights.

Cai Yunfei pointed to a blue-eyed Ragdoll cat and said, "This one is pretty, its fur is so long." Fu Yan glanced at it and thought it looked too princess-like; she didn't want it.

Zhao Gang pointed to a tabby cat and said, "President Fu, this one is strong and looks easy to raise." Fu Yan glanced at it and thought it was too strong, like a little tiger. He was afraid Xu Wenshu wouldn't be happy.

Fu Yan took a fancy to a British Shorthair blue cat with a round face and big eyes. It looked kind of silly, but when he asked about the price, it was eight thousand—that was too expensive. Eight thousand for a cat? That's robbery!

They saw another orange cat, just like the one in the picture. Fu Yan liked it, but Cai Yunfei reminded him, "Mr. Fu, your neighbor already has an orange cat. If you get another one, won't the two cats fight?"

Fu Yan thought about it and it seemed to make sense.

After wandering around for a long time, Fu Yan stood at the door of the last store, empty-handed and looking bewildered.

"How come buying a cat is harder than investing in a movie?"

Cai Yunfei pursed her lips to suppress a laugh, while Zhao Gang stood expressionless beside her, like a door god.

Just as Fu Yan was about to give up, the shop owner brought out a kitten from the backyard—a black and white kitten with patches of ink all over its body, its face half black and half white, looking like it was wearing a mask.

"This little guy was just weaned," the shopkeeper said, placing the cat on the counter. "It's a Chinese domestic cat, free of charge. Take it or leave it."

The kitten stood on the counter, tilted its head and looked at the three people in front of it. Then, it walked straight to Fu Yan with its short legs, stretched out a little paw and put it on his finger.

Don't grab or scratch, just gently place it on your body.

Fu Yan looked down at the little paw—pink paw pads, nails not fully grown, soft and warm.

"That's it."