Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Upon entering the shop, Ting Ying glanced around casually. The first thing that caught her eye was the cat god sculpture—it was hard not to notice, as it was simply there, squatting next to the second automatic door, almost like a guardian staring indifferently at the passers-by.

  She got close to it, squatted down, and read the card in front of the sculpture, which told the history of this cat god. She didn’t know why, but this sculpture reminded her of the golden cat she had once seen in the church door. She couldn’t get the cat out of her mind since then.

  “Can a take a photo of the cat god sculpture?” She asked.

  No one responded.

  She then asked again. Lu Yiyun answered without raising her head, “Whatever.”


  Ting Ying took out her phone and took a selfie with the cat god sculpture, then posted it on her WeChat moments. She noticed that Luo Qingyu was still talking to other people. Feeling bored, she wandered outside. She had thought Lu Yiyun was just sitting behind the cashier and playing games with her head down, but then she saw her pen moving quickly, and took a longer look out of curiosity.

  “Wow! You are a great artist!” Ting Ying said in awe.

  Lu Yiyun’s nose was itchy, which made her want to sneeze, so she rubbed it. She found a long black hair just under her nose. Hearing what Ting Ying said, she blushed a bit. Although she had heard the compliment from her customers a lot recently, she was still not used to it.

  “Huh? Are you drawing a comic series on Weibo? Your name is Yun Xin, right?” Ting Ying was looking at the bottom right hand side of the screen and recognized Lu Yiyun’s signature.

  Lu Yiyun was shocked. “You know about it?”


  “Of course, I am a loyal subscriber!” Ting Ying said excitedly. “Why did it stop? Has it been moved to another website or something?”


  “No, I didn’t continue painting because no one saw it.” Lu Yiyun then shook her head, seeming upset.

  “But I do! I really like your painting style, and I am kicking myself for missing the final part!” Ting Ying said, pointing to herself.

  Lu Yiyun was delighted. She had not expected to meet a fan here, but she was not used to expressing her feelings. It took her a long time before she finally said, “I’m sorry…”


  “No worries. So are you still up to drawing other comics?” Ting Ying asked seriously as she put her arm on the counter.

  Lu Yiyun hesitated, then said quietly, “There will probably be one published soon…” She had drawn a short story about Zhang Zian, Kathy, and an Abyssinian cat before, and was pretty satisfied with it. She was thinking about making a longer one based on this short story.

  “Wow! That’s great! I sometimes cosplay characters from stories I like. When your comic becomes a hit, what do you say I cosplay the character in it?” Ting Ying asked.

  “Oh…okay.” Lu Yiyun nodded.

  “Then, it’s a deal!” Ting Ying clapped, then stood up. “I’ll leave you to painting.”


  Although it had only been a short exchange, it had felt like a shot of adrenaline for Lu Yiyun, and had brought her a strong sense of pleasure. Someone had read her comics and liked them. It felt so good to be liked and supported!

  At the same time, Luo Qingyu waved and asked Ting Ying to come close, saying, “You remember him? We met in the church before the cosplay.”


  Ting Ying took a look at Zhang Zian and shook her head. “I don’t remember.” Luo Qingyu said perfunctorily, “It’s okay, he is just an average guy, and it is normal to not remember him.”


  “You’re an average guy!” That was the last thing Zhang Zian wanted to hear. How could you describe such a handsome man as average? He pushed Luo Qingyu aside and introduced himself, “I’m the shop owner, Zhang. Are you here to buy cats?”


  Luo Qingyu came close again, and said to Ting Ying, “Whatever you want, just tell him. He promised to give you discount. His cats might be more expensive than those in other places, but I can assure you that one, the lineage is pure, and two, they can dance!”


  “They can dance?” Ting Ying was shocked and thought she had misheard.

  “It’s true. If you don’t believe it, the shopkeeper can show you, right?” Luo Qingyu tired to persuade Zhang Zian, and secretly took out his camera from his shoulder bag.

  Last time, during the opening, Luo Qingyu was so shocked by the dancing cats that he forgot to take photos. Especially when the four Abyssinian cats were dancing ballet, the lights were all turned off, and he was told by Wang Qian and Li Kun that using flash was forbidden. Besides, he wasn’t good at shooting, therefore, all the pictures he took were blurry and messed up. This time, he wanted to seize the opportunity as Ting Ying was here, and take some pictures.

  However Zhang Zian already knew what he was thinking. He ignored him but asked Ting Ying, “What kind of cats are you looking for? Any special requests? You can tell me and I’ll help you.”


  “Umm, the cats here really can dance?” Ting Ying was still thinking about this.

  Zhang Zian slightly nodded. “Yes, every cat here can dance. But dancing is more like a bonus thing. Don’t buy a cat only for its dancing talent. Otherwise, you will feel weary and bored once the initial excitement wears away, just like ‘getting the casket and returning the pearl.’*(see footnote) You should really think about the original reason why you wanted to buy a cat, and your own needs.”


  Ting Ying was a little bit confused. Apparently, the biggest selling point for the seller was the dancing talent of the cats. If the seller was anyone else, he would definitely sell that point and brag about it. However this shopkeeper didn’t take advantage of this fact. On the contrary, he even advised her not to “get the casket and return the pearl.” She thought about his words, and realized it was really a good metaphor—the cats were the pearl, and the dancing skill just embellished the value of these cats. It would be totally wrong if you buy the “pearl” when you actually wanted “basket.” And because of this, she had a good first impression of the shop owner and started to trust him.

  Luo Qingyu, on the other hand, didn’t understand the meaning of Zhang Zian’s words. All he wanted was to take pictures. He was very disappointed when he heard Zhang Zian, so he kept mumbling, while Zhang Zian just ignored him.

  “Hmm, I am not really sure for now. Would it be alright if I just look around?” Ting Ying looked at the kittens that were playing inside.

  “Sure.” Zhang Zian answered immediately. Just looking around was a good thing. What if she found something she liked?

  Ting Ying walked a few steps and suddenly felt an unusual gaze on her. She was too concentrated on the kittens on the floor and didn’t notice other things. She raised her head and saw Fina on the cat tree. Wow! It was exactly the golden cat she had met at the church door!

  Ting Ying walked excitedly towards Fina and waved to it. “Hi! How are you, kitty?”


  Fina looked at her because it thought she seemed familiar, but it hated being called as “kitty”, so it closed its eyes and started napping.

  Ting Ying knew about its Tsundere*. She didn’t feel she was left out, but liked it even more. It would be nice to have it as her own cat, but without doubt, it was not for sale. She could tell without asking.

  She looked at Fina for a while. The longer she looked at it, the more she liked it. She had to turn her head around, otherwise she could not help herself from touching it.

  There were plenty of kittens in the store, running and playing, rushing beside her feet. There were several kittens friendly with one another, cuddling in a circle, and lovingly licking each others fur.

  She heard something above her head. When she raised her head, she made eye contact with some pairs of eyes. On the dark brown wooden shelf, there were a few cats squatting in a line. The strong bodies, the cute face, and the chocolate brown hair were shining under the light, mysteriously. The eyes in particular looked like they had seen a lot of things throughout history. She didn’t know it was an Abyssinian cat. It was just this scene that triggered her memory and reminded her of something, something that used to touch her soul.

  Ting Ying turned around and gazed at Zhang Zian, then asked quietly, “Store manager, may I ask how you taught them to dance?”


  “Because I am a cat trainer,” Zhang Zian responded naturally.

  Cat trainer? All of a sudden Ting Ying’s heart wrenched. She asked immediately, “You also understand the cat’s language?”


  What? This word “also” made Zhang Zian shocked.

  Note:1. In the period of Spring and Autumn, a jewelry dealer from Chu state was trading pearls in Zheng state. To make his pearls more popular, he put them in small caskets made of precious wood and luxuriously decorated these caskets with perfume and gemstones. A person was very fond of these exquisite and beautiful caskets and bought one. After paying the money, he opened the casket, took the pearl out and gave it back to the dealer. He then left with the casket only. This term “getting the casket and returning the pearl” is used to describe people who attach more importance to the appearance than the inner beauty or the quality.

  2.Tsundere (ツンデレ, pronounced [ts?nde?e]) is a Japanese term for a character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing a warmer side over time.