Study Monster Cultivation System - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Cat Chief

Lin Yujing didn’t release the Russian Blue after she finished feeding it the medicine. Instead, she propped it up by holding its body and handed it over to Li Zheng.

Happiness came too quickly. Li Zheng was caught off guard.

“I… Can I do it now?”

“Hm!” Lin Yujing shoved the cat forward.

Li Zheng licked his lips, then gently reached out and touched the Russian Blue’s belly.

[Relaxation activity detected: Playing with cats.]

[Energy recovery rate: 2.8.]

[Recovers up to 60 minutes of energy daily.]

[Energy recovery rate cannot be improved through the use of Game Coins.]

“Wish it had told me that earlier!” Li Zheng thought.

Li Zheng was excited. He couldn’t help himself from rubbing the cat’s belly, his energy recovery rate soaring steadily as he did.

The Russian Blue was forced to work. It kicked with its hind legs pitifully but couldn’t stop the boy in front of it.

“Meow…” It turned its head back and begged Lin Yujing.

However, Lin Yujing pushed the cat toward Li Zheng once again.

Li Zheng swallowed and asked, “Can I hug it?”

“Yes.”

Li Zheng took a deep breath and recalled Lin Yujing’s posture while she was hugging the cat. He moved his left hand past the cats back and propped up the cat’s butt with his right hand, cradling the cat gently.

Lin Yujing loosened her grip.

The Russian Blue started to struggle.

Li Zheng was still a newbie. How could he have dealt with the situation? The Blue Russian stepped on his arm and bounced out of his grasp.

The situation was urgent. Li Zheng instinctively reached for the cat’s tail.

“Hm!!!” Lin Yujing was anxious. She raised her hand and slapped the back of Li Zheng’s.

Li Zheng felt both cold and limp. Even though the slap wasn’t painful, he released his grip and asked, embarrassed, “I can’t grab its tail, can I?”

Lin Yujing nodded, then grabbed the back of her neck. “Hm, hm.”

“Yes, yes, the back of its neck, right? I’ll follow your teachings.”

Li Zheng didn’t study during the time that followed.

Instead, he caught cats and fed them medicine together with Lin Yujing.

However, Lin Yujing wasn’t welcoming. She didn’t talk or give Li Zheng pointers about how to catch a cat. All she did was let Li Zheng watch.

They would sometimes trap a cat from both sides.

Li Zheng could only observe her and learn in secret. He would also sometimes find an opportunity to snag a handful of cat fur as a cheap thrill.

Zhang Xiaoke occasionally looked up at the two of them. She didn’t know how to describe the situation.

“I guess it’s…” she thought.

“I’ve been disturbed by the Cinderella of a cat shelter and the overbearing school uniform monster?”

“Darn it, let’s go to a dog shelter if you have the guts. I’ll let you see my techniques.”

Li Zheng finally finished feeding all of the cats their medicine after secretly learning for about an hour.

After that, Lin Yujing headed downstairs and got busy with other tasks while Li Zheng began his practical training.

Even though his capture rate wasn’t as high as Lin Yujing’s, he did manage to capture the cats three to four times out of ten. It was gradually becoming a non-problem.

Along the way, Li Zheng also stroked every breed and every variety of cats in every position.

It was extremely satisfying, but Li Zheng didn’t do it just for the sake of it being satisfying.

In reality, he was choosing a Cat Chief.

The so-called Cat Chief was the cat that was the most satisfying to stroke and gave him the highest energy recovery rate.

His efforts paid off. He found the cat.

It was a stubborn English Shorthair that was hard to catch.

It was gray and black. Its back, tail, and head were gray, while the rest of the body from the neck down was white.

It had round eyes and an even rounder face. The tip of its nose was moist, and it had a soft purr.

It seemed to have a dumbfounded expression on its face.

Not only that, but it also despised humans and was extremely cautious.

Thus, the high of successfully capturing it and petting it all over would obviously be much greater.

At the same time, Li Zheng had also found the most satisfying position for playing with the cats.

That was to bury his face into the cat’s belly.

He would rub his face in their bellies from all directions.

Li Zheng named this position “High-speed Spiral Rub.”

In that position, with this Cat Chief, his energy recovery rate could reach a peak of 7.

Playing with it for ten minutes every day was equivalent to having an extra hour of study time the next day.

It was both satisfying and allowed him to relieve his stress.

Sometime later, Li Zheng had recovered the quota of 60 minutes of energy. He even took some photos of the cat.

When he returned to the table and saw that Zhang Xiaoke was still seriously completing her questions, he sent the photo of the cat to his family group chat.

[15: 42]

[Li Zheng: I want to keep this cat.]

[An Ning: Ask your dad. He’s the one who cleans the house.]

[15: 55]

[Li Yi: How much is it?]

[Li Zheng: I don’t know if they’re selling it yet. Let me ask first. What’s the most you’re willing to pay?]

[Li Yi: Hm… Up to 3000 yuan is fine. I’ll make it clear to you first. If you keep a cat, you’ll be responsible for sweeping and mopping the floor from now on. The litter box will also be placed in your room. You have to be responsible for feeding it, cleaning its box, and bathing it. You also have to take it to the vet and finally bury it when it dies.]

[Li Zheng: Why did you talk about burying it…]

[Li Yi: I’ve also kept cats in the past. I know what the most difficult part of keeping one is.]

[Li Yi: I’ll mentally prepare you now. The lifespan of a cat typically doesn’t exceed 15 years. They normally start to move less when they reach ten years old. It’s like old people having dementia.]

[Li Yi: If it’s a purebred, it’s also possible it’ll die from a genetic disorder before then.]

[Li Yi: You have to be responsible for all of this. You have to bear all of this.]

[Li Yi: If you’re determined, you can choose a cat you fancy that’s under 3000 yuan.]

[Li Yi: If you can’t handle the responsibilities I listed above, I’ll give it away while you’re not at home.]

[Li Yi: Also, one last thing: Don’t get a Scottish Fold. Scottish Folds have a genetic defect and usually die before their time. We shouldn’t support the cruel act that is breeding Scottish Folds.]

[Li Zheng: Thank you, I understand.]

[An Ning: What a lad. Teacher Li managed to give you a lecture on the simple topic of getting a cat. How much worse will it be when you’re going to marry someone?]

[Li Yi: @An Ning, my wife, I don’t have enough money to spend. I won’t be able to pay for my petrol soon.]

[An Ning: Then ride a bike.]

[Li Yi: (Crying Emoji)]

Li Zheng heaved a long sigh after putting his phone down.

Even though it was troublesome to rear a cat, it brought more benefits than just going to the cat cafe.

Furthermore, he had a visceral enjoyment of the process.

Next was the question of how he could ask if the cat was for sale.

He was thinking about that when the lady boss and Lin Yujing came up to the second floor together.

“You should have told me that you were Jingjing’s classmate before this.” The lady stepped forward passionately.

Lin Yujing held a tray and followed behind her. On the tray were two small pieces of cheesecake.

Li Zheng and Zhang Xiaoke stood up and hurriedly returned the formalities.

Lin Yujing placed a plate of cake rather unhappily in front of Li Zheng, then stood over to the side and took a huge bite of her piece.

“Sit, sit.” The lady sat down on the sofa to the side after getting everyone to sit. “In the past, the students from your school would come frequently after school. Then, there was suddenly a period where a discipline mistress would come to see if any students were dating here. No one dared to come anymore after that—only Jingjing, who would come here alone to study.”

Lin Yujing turned her head. She was even more unhappy now.

Thus, she took another large bite of cake.

Li Zheng smiled but remained silent.

“Relaxing by playing with cats is indeed a mainstay of Lin Yujing’s routine,” he thought.

“However, frequently coming to the cat cafe or even working here would inevitably waste some time.”

“I’m a little more intelligent.”

“If I like it, I’ll bring it home. I’ll pet it whenever I feel like it. It’s free no matter how long I pet it for.”

“Madam.” Li Zheng pointed at the English Shorthair that was crouching on the windowsill, admiring the scenery. “Is that cat for sale?”

“?!” Lin Yujing exploded. She stopped eating her cake.

“It’s for sale. We also act as a cat shelter,” the lady laughed. “Student, you sure have an eye for cats. That’s one of the best cats out of the younger cats in the cafe.”

“Then how much is it?”

Lin Yujing staggered once again.

“Wait a moment, I have to ask the boss.” The lady stood up, smiling, then took out her phone and started chatting in front of the window on the other side.