Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

After saying this, Xiaoyu fell silent.

She nestled her head in Ai Qing's arms, and after a long while, she finally nodded gently.

"Don't be so sad," Ai Qing chuckled and patted her head. "What if no one adopts her?"

“How could that be! They’re so cute!” Little Fish immediately retorted loudly, making anyone who didn’t know better think they were her own children.

Chapter 202 Falling in Love

Xu Jiani is very happy today.

During class, she would often unconsciously start laughing and shaking her head.

By the time school let out in the evening, she was already very impatient.

But she still obediently packed her schoolbag and followed the class's dismissal line, walking in an orderly queue towards the school gate.

After leaving the school gate and arriving at the pick-up point for parents, Xu Jiani, carrying her pink schoolbag, stood on tiptoe and looked around. Soon she saw the figure under the tree where her mother usually picked her up.

Haiper Garden is very close to the school here; it's just two traffic lights away from home.

So Xu Jiani, who is already in fourth grade, goes to and from school by herself every day. She is already an independent and strong good girl.

But today is different.

Her mother came to pick her up from school because there was something very important she wanted to do with her.

"mom!"

Xu Jiani ran excitedly towards her mother, her face beaming with undisguised anticipation.

"Slow down, don't run so fast, be careful not to fall." Xu Jiani's mother smiled at her, then gave her a few more words of advice before taking Xu Jiani's little hand. "Let's go."

The two left the school gate and walked towards the cat cafe.

……

"Meow~"

"Meow."

"Meow meow meow……"

"Meow meow."

A sound could be heard from the lounge every now and then.

Li Qiqi was greeting guests at the entrance of the cat petting area and didn't have much time to come over and take a look.

A short while later, Ai Qing and Xiao Yu came out from inside, with Xiao Yu holding the little black cat in her arms.

Once they reached the cat petting area, Xiaoyu let go of the cat on the ground, and the little black cat immediately regained its freedom.

It curiously surveyed its surroundings and saw many other creatures of its kind here.

Two or three guests were sitting there petting the cats. The cats were doing everything they could to get freeze-dried, while the Japanese man relied on his skills to earn his reward by doing a backflip.

The little black cat looked at all this, recalled what the little fish had told it earlier, and began to stroll around.

Soon, it jumped onto the tree stump, ran into the cat villa for a visit, strolled around for a while, and finally returned to the little fish's feet.

"Look, they've arrived."

Ai Qing looked towards the shop entrance, where Xu Jiani and her mother were already standing.

Since they were there to adopt a cat, they didn't need to buy tickets. Li Qiqi invited them to come in directly. Xu Jiani immediately saw the little black cat at Xiaoyu's feet and her eyes lit up.

"Mimi, it's Mimi!"

"Don't scare it," Xu Jiani's mother said with a helpless smile, pulling Xu Jiani back.

"It's okay, it shouldn't be scared now." Xiaoyu squatted down, patted the little black cat's back, and then waved to Xu Jiani across from her. "It's very well-behaved now, and it's had its vaccinations. Do you want to come and pet it?"

"Can I?" Xu Jiani asked expectantly, but still looked up at her mother.

After hearing what Xiaoyu said, Xu Jiani's mother let go of Xu Jiani's hand and squatted down, tucking a stray hair behind her ear: "Then be careful, don't hurt the cat."

"Yes, yes, I will be very careful." Xu Jiani nodded vigorously, then ran to Xiaoyu's side and squatted down to look at the little black cat.

"Like this." Little Fish gently stroked the little black cat's head, then slid down its neck to its bottom, "stroking it along its fur."

"Let me try." Xu Jiani swallowed hard with anticipation, and finally reached out her little hand. Very carefully, she gently placed it on the top of the little black cat's head, and then gently stroked it, just like Xiaoyu had done earlier.

The smooth and realistic cat fur, with its vibrant warmth, allows you to feel the tremor of life itself when you touch it.

The little black cat looked up at Xu Jiani, and even affectionately raised its head slightly to rub against her palm.

"Wow~" Xu Jiani felt the pressure from her palm and exclaimed in surprise, "Mimi just rubbed against me on her own."

"That means it really likes it." Xiaoyu said with a smile, then took out a bag of freeze-dried fruit and handed it to Xu Jiani. "Here, take a freeze-dried fruit, put it in your palm, and then put it to its mouth as a reward."

Xu Jiani blinked, then immediately took out the largest freeze-dried fruit from inside, placed it in her palm, and carefully handed it to the little black cat.

The little black cat smelled the aroma, immediately turned its head, buried its head and opened its mouth, and began to enjoy the delicious treat without any hesitation.

"Kittens have barbs on their tongues, so when they lick you, your palms will feel a little itchy. Don't be afraid, it's a normal feeling," Xiaoyu explained from the side.

"Mmm!" Xu Jiani nodded quickly, and could clearly feel the little black cat's whiskers, nose and mouth brushing against her palm as it worked hard.

When the large freeze-dried pieces were eaten and the little black cat began to use its tongue to collect the remaining scraps, Xu Jiani immediately understood what the itchy feeling that Sister Xiaoyu had described was.

Xu Jiani giggled. It tickled a little from being licked, but luckily Xiaoyu had warned her beforehand, so she was prepared and didn't pull her hand back.

After the little black cat finished licking it with relish, she wondered if she should take out another freeze-dried cat.

"You can reward it with this bag of freeze-dried food slowly, but don't feed it all at once," Xiaoyu suggested gently. "For example, if you pet it for a while, reward it with one piece. That way, it will always let you pet it obediently in the future."

"Mmm!" Xu Jiani nodded vigorously, already reaching out her hand again impatiently.

Seeing that she and the little black cat got along very well, Xiaoyu felt relieved and stood up to look at Xu Jiani's mother and Ai Qing.

The two people had already sat down at the table and chairs in the corner.

Ai Qing took out an adoption agreement, in duplicate, and handed it to Xu Jiani's mother to fill in the detailed information.

After confirming with both sides, Ai Qing went on to explain a bunch of precautions and sent a file to Xu Jiani's mother via WeChat, which contained a detailed guide to raising cats.

"If you encounter any problems, you can contact us on WeChat at any time."

"Thank you." Xu Jiani's mother thanked them politely, and then transferred 1000 yuan to Ai Qing as required by the adoption contract.

This money isn't an adoption fee; it's more like paying for a membership.

Originally, Xiaoyu never intended to charge money, but for many people, things that are truly free are easily taken for granted.

So Ai Qing still drew the line at 1,000 yuan.

However, this money is not a pure adoption fee; it's just that the guest has temporarily left this thousand yuan here.

Then the cat cafe will give you an adoption gift package.

Includes a litter box, a carrier, two cat food bowls, a bag of cat food, a bag of cat litter, and a box of freeze-dried food.

This gift pack is free.

If you run out of cat food and litter later, you can contact the cat cafe directly to get more cat food and litter, and the price will be deducted from this 1,000 yuan until it's all used up.

Generally speaking, a cat's monthly litter usage, if it only eats cat food and uses cat litter, would cost at most two or three hundred yuan.

This credit limit of one thousand yuan can last for three or four months, which should be enough to build a certain bond with your cat.

Given their current income and the profitability of the cat cafe, there's really no need to consider making money through cat adoptions anymore.

As long as she can help stray cats find a good home, Xiaoyu will be very happy; making money is secondary.

After all, cat cafes are like brothels in ancient times, with the kittens in the shop being the courtesans who entertain customers, and adoption being like wealthy families redeeming the girls from their servitude.

But ultimately, there are still some differences.

"If you're not in a hurry, you can play with Nini here a little longer." Xiaoyu glanced at the adoption contract that had already been signed, still feeling a bit reluctant to part with her.

Although they've only spent a few days together, Xiaoyu has already developed a strong affection for the little black cat.

However, Xu Jiani's family are clearly very good people, and their family environment should be very harmonious, making them very suitable as adoptive parents.

“There’s no rush today. My husband has to work overtime at the company, so it’s okay if we eat dinner a little later.” Xu Jiani’s mother did not refuse Xiaoyu’s kindness.

But since they entered for free, neither Ai Qing nor Xiao Yu intended to charge them.

So Xu Jiani's mother stood up, walked over to Xu Jiani and asked her a few questions. Then she went to the window of the beverage area, ordered a milk tea, a glass of orange juice, and a dessert.

That counts as spending some money.

When Xu Jiani heard that she could play here a little longer, she jumped up with joy.

Meanwhile, one or two of the other cats, who hadn't come over because Ai Qing and Xiao Yu seemed to be doing serious business, wandered over and rubbed against Xu Jiani's ankles, successfully tricking her into giving them a bite of freeze-dried food.

Xu Jiani also touched the bodies of the other cats and immediately tasted the pleasure of being a playboy.

Fortunately, she still had a deep affection for the little black cat, and most of the freeze-dried food in her hand ended up in the little black cat's stomach.

At this moment, Ai Qing took out her phone and asked Xu Jiani's mother for her opinion. After receiving her consent, she asked Xu Jiani to ask Xiaoyu to help her hold the little black cat in her arms.

Ai Qing then took a picture of Xu Jiani and the little black cat.

"Let's give it a name," Ai Qing said with a smile. "Then we'll hang a photo of you and it on the photo wall over there, and you'll be our store's first adopter."

"Hmm..." When it came to naming, Xu Jiani suddenly struggled, looking up at her mother, "Mom, what do you think would be a good name for Mimi?"

“You’re its owner now, so you have to name it.” Xu Jiani’s mother squatted down beside her and coaxed, “Look at it, its whole body is covered in black fur, what does it look like?”

"Hmm...it looks like a fluffy dark cloud!"

"anything else?"

"It was still as black as a lump of coal."

"Think about it again?"

"It's like a blanket~ It feels so comfortable to touch."

"So what name do you think is appropriate?"

"Huh? Call it Dark Cloud?" Xu Jiani shook her head repeatedly. "No, no, it doesn't sound good. And why does a black nipple have to be related to black?"

“Of course it doesn’t have to be that way. If Nini has other names she likes, we can choose those too,” Xu Jiani’s mother said patiently. “Then think about it again. Is there anything you like?”