Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

"Okay, bye-bye." Xiao Youqian waved goodbye to Ai Qing, then looked at Xiaoyu, "Remember to bring Xiaoyu with you next time you catch cats."

"okay."

Ai Qing patted the little fish's head and smiled in agreement.

……

After returning home in the evening and having dinner, Ai Qing followed her grandmother to the yard to help feed the cats.

Of course, before feeding the cats outside, the three male cats inside had already eaten delicious canned food while their brothers and sisters outside were still preparing for dinner.

Right now, these three guys are squatting inside the glass door of the balcony, engrossed in their work.

Hearing Lang Xiangying clattering a bowl outside, the cats that came running from the sound jumped over the courtyard wall and noticed the three people inside.

Ai Qing stood by the balcony door, watching this scene with a smile.

Of the dozen or so cats that usually come to eat, only three are female; the rest are male.

Among the female cats, the one named Maple Leaf is the prettiest. There is also a tabby cat named Green Flower and a silver shaded cat named Cloud.

Among the male cats, the most eye-catching one is probably a black cat, completely black, which becomes very conspicuous when it walks to the balcony door and is illuminated by the light.

Ai Qing calls it a black hole.

There was supposed to be another golden shaded dog, but the little golden one got captured today and is still in jail at the vet.

Besides these, there's Milk, who has white fur just like the little fish; Erhu, who has an exceptionally long beard; Tangyuan, who has an exceptionally round head; Lightning, who runs and climbs trees incredibly fast; and Speaker, who loves to make gurgling noises.

These dozen or so cats are regulars in the yard.

Besides them, there are other stray cats like Huabi and Erbing that we caught today, who occasionally come over for a meal, but they don't come often. They are usually taken care of by other elderly people.

Seeing their old communal meals suddenly moving into a brightly lit mansion and eating delicious canned food, the cats couldn't help but gather around the glass door to watch.

However, with delicious food in front of them, the sheriff and his men only glanced at it before immediately burying their heads in their food and continuing to eat, paying no attention to the stray cats outside.

"Tsk tsk, the social class has changed so much in a short time." Ai Qing squatted down to the side, patted Maple Leaf's head, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, the three of them will come out to keep you company in a few days."

"Oh no, maybe you'll be able to go in and stay there in a few days. Don't rush, you'll all have your chance."

As they were talking, Ai Qing suddenly felt a pain in her ear.

A suppressed, resentful voice came from beside me: "Meow~"

"Ouch..." Ai Qing covered her ear. It didn't hurt much; it was just a light bite from Xiao Yu. "Xiao Yu, what are you doing?"

"Meow..." The little fish jumped off his shoulder, pushed aside the maple leaf that Ai Qing was touching, and rubbed its head against his palm, as if trying to wipe away the scent left by the maple leaf.

After doing all that, the little fish jumped back onto Ai Qing's shoulder, completely satisfied.

Ai Qing: "..."

OK OK.

I won't let you near the male cat, and you won't let me touch the female cat.

Reasonable.

Ai Qing was convinced and simply stood up to avoid getting bitten by the small fish again because her hands weren't clean.

I just didn't expect Xiaoyu to be so jealous.

Fortunately, Lang Xiangying was preparing cat food nearby and didn't see this scene, otherwise she would have thought that Xiaoyu was a little too clever.

However, this level of intelligence is not bad.

As long as the little fish can't speak human language in its cat form, it's fine.

Ai Qing poured cat food for each of the cats in the yard, then took the cat bowl from Lang Xiangying and simply carried it to the balcony door, placing it face to face with the cats inside.

“Come on, Maple Leaf first.”

"Ladies first, Cuihua and Yunduo, come on over too."

After feeding the cats in the yard, Ai Qing planned to take Xiao Yu upstairs.

However, halfway there, he suddenly remembered something and went back to the living room on the first floor. He asked Ai Zhongguo, who was looking at his phone on the sofa, "Dad, do you still have the tablet I left at home?"

"A tablet?" Ai Zhongguo thought for a moment, "It's in a drawer in the living room upstairs, I think it's there."

"OK."

After asking the question, Ai Qing immediately went upstairs to the living room, rummaged through the drawers, and successfully found the tablet lying there gathering dust.

This tablet is an older version from several years ago, but it should still work.

After taking it out, Ai Qing took it to her bedroom, plugged it in, and turned it on to take a look.

Curious little fish also came over, surprised to find such a large phone.

Compared to this, the phones she and Ai Qing usually use are quite small, practically miniature.

"This is a tablet computer, not a computer or a phone, but it can still access the internet like both of those," Ai Qing explained simply. "I think it will be quite troublesome for you to use a phone after you turn into a cat. This tablet is the perfect size. I'll bring it back for you to use tomorrow."

Even though the little fish can turn back into a cat, it can remove its phone before turning back into a cat and then continue using the phone.

But cat paws are so big, they're not easy to press on the phone screen, making operation inconvenient.

It's much more convenient now that I've switched to a tablet.

"Meow~" The little fish stretched out its paw to try it out and felt that it was indeed much more convenient. It immediately became happy and rubbed its head against Ai Qing's arm.

"If you like it, that's fine." Ai Qing rubbed her head. "When I earn more from my writing, I'll buy you a computer. Then you'll be a cat with a three-piece set."

Ai Qing had always wanted to build a computer with better specifications.

Then I might as well just let Xiaoyu use the laptop, and I can play on a high-spec computer myself.

Chapter 92 You're here for barbecue too?

Ai Qing wrote in her bedroom until 9 p.m.

After a long day, he stretched in his chair and turned his head to see the little fish on the bed, which had somehow transformed into a human.

However, the tablet screen is big and more enjoyable to watch. Even after turning into a human, Xiaoyu still lies on the bed and watches videos on the tablet.

At this moment, the little fish is watching a food video, its white and tender little legs dangling and its toes swinging.

Ai Qing leaned closer for a look and discovered that it was a documentary, seemingly a film about different types of barbecue across the country.

Watching this stuff in the middle of the night is a bit of an upset stomach.

"It looks so delicious." Xiaoyu looked at the barbecue on the screen, which was sizzling and smelling very good. Even though she couldn't smell it, she could still feel the aroma.

Then she turned to Ai Qing, who had sat down next to her, and asked softly, "Can we make this ourselves?"

“It’s possible, but making barbecue ourselves would be a lot of trouble.” Ai Qing shook her head. “Besides, we’re not professionals, so it’s more convenient to eat barbecue outside.”

"Let's eat out!" Little Fish's eyes lit up, and she swallowed hard. "Will it be delicious?"

"It must be delicious." Ai Qing hadn't had barbecue in a long time, and after watching the video with Xiao Yu, she was honestly a little tempted.

He glanced at the time, then at the little fish, and asked, "How much longer can you hold on?"

"Hmm..." Xiaoyu felt the warm current in her body, and then said, "About three or four hours."

“Okay.” Ai Qing nodded, pointed to the time on the tablet, and said, “We’ll wait until eleven o’clock, then I’ll sneak you out and we’ll find a barbecue restaurant.”

"Huh?" Little Fish tilted her head, somewhat puzzled. "Would anyone still be open at this hour?"

“That’s how barbecue restaurants are,” Ai Qing said with a smile. “They usually stay open from 6 p.m. until 2 or 3 a.m., which is different from regular restaurants. After all, barbecue isn’t considered a main meal; it’s more like a late-night snack.”

The little fish nodded, indicating that it had learned something.

“Actually, I can take you to eat grilled fish.” Ai Qing added, “There are plenty of grilled fish restaurants at night, and some barbecue restaurants offer both. We can look for them later.”

"Mmm!" Upon hearing the word "fish," the little fish immediately became excited.

But just then, there was a knock on the bedroom door, which startled Ai Qing.

Ai Qing and Xiao Yu exchanged a glance on the bed, and then they heard Yao Qiang's voice coming from outside the door.

"Ai Qing? May I come in?"

Fortunately, Ai Qing's parents respected their son's privacy and would knock on the door and ask questions every time they came in.

However, Ai Qing had locked the door, so Yao Qiang couldn't come in even if she wanted to.

Ai Qing jumped out of bed with a whoosh, pretending to be working hard, while pulling Xiao Yu out of bed and towards the wardrobe.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Ai Qing called out towards the door. "I'm writing."

"I cut you some fruit, please open the door."

"Oh, just a moment!"

As Ai Qing responded, she opened the wardrobe door.

Little Fish cooperated well, nimbly jumping into the wardrobe. Her petite figure was easily stuffed into the wardrobe, and the hanging coat concealed her shape.

Ai Qing gently closed the wardrobe door, let out a long sigh of relief, and then pretended to have just gotten up from her chair before going to the door to open it for her mother.

Yao Qiang stood outside the door carrying a plate containing sliced ​​apples and pears.

Ai Qing stepped aside to let her mother into the house.

Yao Qiang placed the fruit on Ai Qing's desk, glanced at his computer screen, and then instructed, "Eat the fruit and rest for a while, then go to bed early. You need to develop good sleep habits, otherwise your health will suffer."

"Okay, I got it." Ai Qing took a bite of the apple. "Thanks, Mom."

"Okay, I'll be going now." Yao Qiang nodded, not noticing anything unusual. But as she walked out the door, she suddenly asked curiously, "Where's Xiaoyu?"

"Uh... this..." Ai Qing panicked when asked the question, and then quickly said, "I was typing just now, and she kept jumping around and disturbing me, so I put it in the living room. I guess it's lying somewhere."

"No wonder." Yao Qiang suddenly realized, and then didn't ask any more questions. "Then I'll go back to sleep first, and you should also go to sleep early."

"Okay, goodnight, Mom."

After seeing Yao Qiang off, Ai Qing immediately locked the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

He returned to the wardrobe door, opened the cabinet, and was about to release the little fish, but his expression quickly froze.

At this moment, Xiaoyu buried his head in his pile of clothes, inhaling the scent with a look of intoxication.

to be frank.