Chapter 443 - 442: What-if: Did the Big Shots Vie for Favor Today? 11

Chapter 443: Chapter 442: What-if: Did the Big Shots Vie for Favor Today? 11

Kittens don’t have human inhibitions. They don’t worry in the slightest about whether snatching human food is crossing a line.

Her nose twitched, her eyes glued to the food on the table. She couldn’t resist and started walking toward Jiang Xia’s plate of large shrimp.

"Hey, kitty, over here."

Seeing her about to snatch a shrimp from Jiang Xia’s bowl, Mu Tangfeng quickly called out to stop her. Jiang Xia was very protective of his food; if this cat dared to eat his things without permission, he’d probably beat it up.

The cat was already so frail, it couldn’t possibly withstand a punch from him.

Shi Lan stopped and glanced at him, tilting her head in confusion.

Mu Tangfeng generously picked up a piece of abalone from his bowl. "Here, eat this."

As he spoke, he placed it on the lid of a nearby serving dish.

Mu Tangfeng was usually a picky eater. He only had two pieces of abalone, but each was as large as a fist and looked incredibly plump.

He used the abalone to entice the kitten over, and sure enough, Shi Lan was tempted. She turned and padded toward him.

Annoyed, Jiang Xia also picked up a shrimp. "Mu Tangfeng, who said you could call the cat over? It clearly wanted my shrimp."

"Hey, kitty, come over here. You can have this shrimp."

He even quickly shelled the shrimp as he spoke, waiting for Shi Lan to take a bite.

Mu Tangfeng shot him a curious glance and gave a soft ’tsk’.

’Usually, if I want to try any of his food, I have to trade him for it. And now he’s just giving it away to a cat?’

Shi Lan stood in the middle of the table, looking first at the abalone, then back at the shrimp.

’I’m hungry, and I want both. Why do I have to choose?’

So she stood her ground, waiting for the two boys to figure it out themselves.

Just then, however, Wang Xiaotao nervously interrupted their attempts to feed the cat. "This food is too heavily seasoned. It’s not healthy for a cat. Besides, it would be better for her to have something easy to digest for the next two or three days, like rice porridge."

"I haven’t fed the kitten the rice porridge you guys brought this morning."

He immediately pulled a food container from his backpack, opened it, and placed it in front of Shi Lan.

The container they had brought was insulated, so even after the whole morning, the rice porridge was still slightly warm—the perfect temperature for a cat.

Shi Lan looked at the feast on their table, then glanced down at the plain-looking rice porridge before her. For the sake of her health, she abandoned the thought of stealing their food and lowered her head to drink.

Her eyes lit up. ’This rice porridge is much better than I expected.’ The flavor was rich and complex, with a clean, sweet aftertaste.

Shi Lan began to eat contentedly.

Disappointed, Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng put their food back on their own plates.

Mu Tangfeng hadn’t had much of an appetite, but watching the cat lap up the porridge with such gusto stirred his own. He couldn’t stand how plain Wang Xiaotao’s meal looked, so he passed over some of the dishes he wasn’t interested in that day.

Wang Xiaotao was stunned by the gesture and quickly shook his head, refusing. "You don’t have to. I—I have enough."

He had purposely gotten a large serving of rice so he wouldn’t be hungry in the afternoon.

"I said eat, so eat. Stop dawdling."

Mu Tangfeng couldn’t be bothered to argue. After giving him the food, he started to eat slowly, all while keeping an eye on the little cat.

As for Jiang Xia, he hesitated for a moment before also giving Wang Xiaotao two dishes. Any more than that was out of the question, since he liked everything else.

Wang Xiaotao was once again too embarrassed to accept, but Jiang Xia glared at him. "What? You can take Mu Tangfeng’s food, but not mine?"

Wang Xiaotao was too intimidated to argue back. But sensing their kindness, he felt a wave of warmth spread through him and offered his sincere thanks. "Thank you both."

Wang Xiaotao ate that meal with reverence.

He had never eaten anything so delicious. It was better than even his favorite drumstick from the cafeteria. He was tempted to pack some to take home for his grandmother, but this was a gift from Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng. How could he possibly eat his fill and then ask for a doggy bag?

All he could do was eat and quietly encourage himself. ’When I make big money in the future, I’ll make sure Grandma gets to eat food this good, too.’

After eating her fill, Shi Lan lay down on the table, feeling drowsy.

Mu Tangfeng was a neat freak. In the past, if he’d seen a cat on his dinner table, he would have swatted it away without a second thought, sending it flying for miles. He wasn’t some benevolent saint. It was just that the longer he looked at this particular cat, the more he found it... agreeable.

’Yes, even its ugliness suits my tastes.’

Mu Tangfeng didn’t know how to describe it. In any case, seeing the cat curled up on the table, its head starting to nod, he instinctively started eating more quietly.

Jiang Xia, on the other hand, with his booming voice, blurted out, "Whoa, is the kitty falling asleep?"

Startled, Shi Lan’s eyes snapped open. She shot him a look of utter exasperation before trying to coax back the drowsiness she had worked so hard to find.

As if sensing her displeasure, Jiang Xia rubbed his nose sheepishly and muttered under his breath, "What the heck? I could’ve sworn I just saw anger in a cat’s eyes."

"Was it just glaring at me?"

He mumbled to himself, his face a mask of astonishment. Nearby, Mu Tangfeng, who had been watching the cat the whole time, had also witnessed the exchange.

’Looks like my gut feeling was right,’ he thought. ’This cat is very smart; it seems to have human-like emotions. In any case, there’s something peculiar about its eyes when it looks at you. They’re full of a lively spirit, not at all dull like a normal cat’s.’

’I’ve seen cats before, after all.’

’Mu Tangfeng’s older sister had a Chinchilla cat whose eyes always looked vacant and dopey. It couldn’t understand a word anyone said and was always trying to rub against his legs. He couldn’t stand long-furred creatures like that.’

’Not like this little ugly cat. Well, it’s hairless right now, and it’s also very clever.’

The more he thought about it, the more Mu Tangfeng felt that this was the cat for him. Of course, he still couldn’t bring himself to touch it. After all, the ugly little thing hadn’t been bathed in ages.

Jiang Xia mulled this over for a moment before pushing it aside. He’d just remembered something important: they couldn’t just keep calling the cat "Ugly Cat." After all, they’d made her cry the first time they said it, so she definitely wouldn’t be happy with that name.

So he started discussing a name for the cat with Mu Tangfeng.

"Hey, what do you think we should name the ugly cat?"

When he said the words "Ugly Cat," Jiang Xia deliberately lowered his voice. Shi Lan’s ears twitched, and her claws unsheathed for a moment before retracting.

’I’ll put up with it,’ she thought.

Completely oblivious, Jiang Xia excitedly suggested, "How about we call her One-eyed? After all, that patch over one eye is pitch-black. Haha, she kinda looks like a pirate cat."

Mu Tangfeng thought that sounded awful. "We’d be better off calling her Big Beauty. She cried the first time she heard us laughing at her, so she must be a cat who values her looks. We should obviously pick a name she’ll like."

He was confident the little ugly cat would choose his suggestion.

Jiang Xia’s mouth twitched. "Could you at least try to have some class? Your name isn’t any better than mine. If we’re going that route, we might as well call her ’Supreme Beauty,’ the most beautiful in all the land."

"Of course, One-eyed still sounds better."

"You’re just being difficult. The cat will definitely hate the name One-eyed."

Mu Tangfeng didn’t back down an inch, and the two of them started bickering over the name again. Shi Lan couldn’t possibly fall asleep now, so she stood up.