Chapter 444 - 443: IF Line: Did the Big Shot Vie for Favor Today? 12

Chapter 444: Chapter 443: IF Line: Did the Big Shot Vie for Favor Today? 12

The moment she stood up, the two boys instantly focused their gazes on her.

They had been getting into trouble and messing around together for so long that a single glance was all it took to know what the other was thinking.

Jiang Xia called out "One-eyed" to her.

Mu Tangfeng called out "Big Beauty."

They wanted to see whose call she would answer. Whichever side she went to would decide her name; they were determined to pick one.

Both pairs of eyes stared at Shi Lan, brimming with anticipation. The boys’ dark pupils burned with a fiery intensity. Shi Lan lifted a paw where she stood, silently cursing herself for waking up at this exact moment.

’These two names are even worse than Pumpkin.’

She didn’t want to choose either of them.

Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng waited for a long time, but Shi Lan just feigned a stretch and lay back down. She hadn’t listened to either of them.

The two of them couldn’t help but smack their lips in disappointment. "Alright, looks like it doesn’t like either of those names."

Just then, Wang Xiaotao suggested, "How about drawing lots? You guys can write down a few more names, and we’ll use whichever one the kitten picks."

Their eyes lit up. "Yeah, yeah, let’s do that."

"You, go get some paper and a pen."

The two young masters spoke only in commands. Having finished their meal, they had no intention of moving a muscle. Later, cafeteria staff would even come by to clear their dishes for their butlers to take home.

Wang Xiaotao simply pulled a sticky notepad and a pen from his school uniform pocket. He used the notepad to jot down vocabulary or study plans, so he always carried it with him.

The two shot him an appreciative glance, then racked their brains as they took turns writing down names.

Shi Lan’s eyes darted around as she curiously watched them, their faces looking so serious, as if naming a cat was a matter of life and death. She couldn’t help but laugh to herself.

’These two young masters are pretty interesting.’

’But I have to admit, their ’character models’ are quite good. They could rival that top celebrity who debuted last year.’

’My best friend isn’t usually into celebrities, but every time she sees this super popular star, she can’t help but scream about how handsome he is. But that star really does have talent. He has a handsome face, but he’s a true performer.’

’He’s an all-rounder—dancing, singing, acting—and he even studied abroad.’

Thinking of her best friend, Shi Lan couldn’t help but worry again. ’I wonder how my real body is doing.’

’Now that I’m in a cat’s body, does that mean I’m dead?’

She wanted to go see her body, but the place she was in now was a four or five-hour flight from her home—an impossible journey for a cat.

"Phew, finally done writing."

Jiang Xia exclaimed in delight, pulling Shi Lan back from her wandering thoughts.

She looked up to see a circle of folded sticky notes, each with a name written on it, arranged around her.

This was, of course, Wang Xiaotao’s doing. The two young masters stared at him, worried that the names they wrote might be placed too far from the cat. But Wang Xiaotao had mixed them up, so they couldn’t tell which was which and could only pretend to be serious.

"Here, kitty kitty. Get up and pick a name."

Wang Xiaotao said softly, and then three pairs of eyes fell on Shi Lan in unison.

Not wanting to be called "ugly cat" anymore, Shi Lan thought for a moment before cooperatively standing up. She randomly chose a piece of paper on her right, intentionally batting it around with her paw.

"Quick, what does it say?"

Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng couldn’t wait and urged Wang Xiaotao on.

Wang Xiaotao snatched the note from under Shi Lan’s paw and opened it. He was surprised that even though the two young masters had such poor grades, their handwriting was actually quite good.

He read the name on it. "Onyx."

"Hahaha, that’s the one I wrote!"

Mu Tangfeng roared with laughter, shooting a triumphant glance at Jiang Xia. Then he excitedly called out to Shi Lan several times, "Onyx, Onyx, Onyx..."

"What do you think? Doesn’t it fit perfectly? This cat has black fur around its eyes, and the rest is mostly yellow fur. The name sounds so classy, right?"

Mu Tangfeng raised an eyebrow at Jiang Xia with a proud look. Jiang Xia retorted sourly, "Tch, that’s so lame. It’s not even as good as my ’One-eyed’."

He was still hung up on his "One-eyed," while Shi Lan, though she found "Onyx" a bit strange too, thought it was much better than "One-eyed." Afraid they’d try to change it again, she cooperatively took a couple of steps toward Mu Tangfeng.

"Hey, Onyx likes the name!"

Mu Tangfeng’s laughter grew even louder.

Jiang Xia, furious, stomped on his foot under the table. "You’re so loud."

Then he shot a glare at Wang Xiaotao, blaming him for not putting his suggestion in a better spot.

Wang Xiaotao timidly lowered his head, trying to make himself smaller.

In any case, Shi Lan’s new name was temporarily decided. Later, when the two boys got curious about the other names and opened up all the notes to read them, she couldn’t help but feel relieved she’d chosen this one.

The other names included One-eyed, Big Beauty, Little Beauty, Lucky, Riches, Fortune, Hairless, Xiao Hei, Little Yellow, and Little Gray...

This was the result of the two young masters racking their brains for so long. Every single one was tackier than the last.

A cat’s fur grows back relatively quickly. Within a week, a layer of soft fuzz had already started to cover her skin. After two months of meticulous feeding—with the young masters specially consulting their butlers on what cat food to buy—Shi Lan’s coat had almost completely grown back. She was gradually putting on weight, and her ringworm had fully healed. Finally, Wang Xiaotao took her for a much-needed, fragrant bath.

Her bath was scheduled for after school, and neither Jiang Xia nor Mu Tangfeng went home.

During this period, Wang Xiaotao brought the cat to school every day. The two boys would visit her whenever they had a free moment, and after school, they would play with her for a while before reluctantly leaving.

Perhaps because Onyx was a cat they had watched grow up and get healthy, they felt a deep sense of satisfaction. As her fur grew in, even though her face was still a bit ugly, they found themselves liking Onyx more and more. It was like they were seeing her through a special filter, thinking she was getting cuter the longer they had her.

Unfortunately, one was a neat freak and the other was allergic to animal fur, so even now, they could only watch sourly as Wang Xiaotao held their cat, satisfying themselves by just looking.

In order to see more of the cat, the two started coming to school earlier and earlier. Their parents, from the Jiang and Mu families, found this so strange that they worried something was wrong and came to the school several times. In the end, they learned the truth: it was all for a stray cat.

The Jiang and Mu parents had never seen a cat with such a great influence that it could actually change their sons’ personalities. For that reason, with a grand wave of their hands, they bought Shi Lan a luxurious cat bed.

’Even though our sons still aren’t studying, at least they aren’t late anymore. That’s progress.’

Shi Lan finished her bath under the watchful eyes of Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng. Once her fur was blow-dried, she felt light all over and smelled wonderfully clean.

Mu Tangfeng finally couldn’t take it anymore and swept the cat into his arms.

"Wow, she smells so good! Our Onyx is so beautiful!"

He buried his face in the fur behind Shi Lan’s head, rubbing his cheek against her again and again with a blissful expression, the corners of his rosy lips turned up in delight.

’After waiting so long, I finally get to hold a clean cat.’

’So this is what a cat feels like? So soft.’

He let out a sigh of pure satisfaction. Jiang Xia couldn’t hold back any longer. Forgetting all about his allergies, he yelled, "I want to hold her too!"