Ling Xiaoxiao and I walked into the Cat Cafe.
The warm yellow light inside cast a gentle glow on the natural wood floor, while the off-white walls were adorned with watercolor paintings of cats, haphazardly arranged. In one painting, an orange tabby was rolling around with a ball of yarn.
By the window sat several sets of low, fabric sofas, deep green cushions scattered with paw-print patterned pillows. A long-haired calico cat was curled in the corner of a sofa, licking its paw.
The bar counter was built from vintage red bricks, with glass jars on top, filled with Tuna Freeze-dried and Catnip Biscuits. On the wooden shelves next to it, all kinds of cat food cans were neatly stacked.
In the corner, a Cat Climbing Frame, two meters tall, had posts wrapped with sisal rope and dangling colorful plush balls. A few kittens chased each other up and down the ladder-shaped steps, the patter of tiny paws mingling with the lingering sound of wind chimes in the air.
After scanning the whole place, I didn’t spot a single customer, and quietly let out a sigh of relief.
As expected, choosing this place was the right call! Because there’s never anyone here, no matter when you come!
But for some reason, there wasn’t even a staff member in sight?
I was about to ask, but Ling Xiaoxiao beat me to it.
“Excuse me, is anyone here?”
Several seconds passed before a lazy, drawling voice came from behind the bar.
“Mm~ coming.”
There was a rustling sound from behind the counter, and then a head topped with teal fox ears popped out from beneath the counter.
The girl rubbed her sleepy eyes, obvious dark circles at the corners, her waist-length green hair tied haphazardly in a low ponytail, stray strands falling over her cheeks.
Her white apron was dotted with cat fur, and the fluffy teal fox tail behind her was still sweeping the floor absentmindedly. Clearly, she’d just woken up from a nap.
Ling Xiaoxiao and I both froze, our cat ears and rabbit ears shooting upright uncontrollably. This was the first time we’d seen another beast-eared girl besides each other.
The Fox Girl’s gaze swept over us, and when it landed on Ling Xiaoxiao’s pink and white rabbit ears, her eyes lit up, her fluffy tail curling into a tight excited circle. “Ah! Are you New Species customers? What would you like? Tuna Freeze-dried or Catnip Specialty Coffee?”
Huh? New Species customers??
I wanted to say something, but as I caught sight of our beast ears reflected in the glass jars on the bar, all desire to complain vanished.
Fine, we really are New Species… QAQ
I quickly waved my hands, my cat tail nervously winding around my ankle. “No, we’re here because we saw your recruitment notice. We want to apply for a job.”
At my words, she yawned, her dark circles growing more obvious. “Apply, huh… Well, you’ll have to wait for the Boss Lady to come back. She went out to restock today.”
As she spoke, she pulled a phone from her apron pocket and waved it, then slumped lazily over the bar again. “I pulled an all-nighter last night. My brain still isn’t working~”
Looking at this messy Fox Girl before me, Ling Xiaoxiao and I exchanged a glance. For some reason, I felt that if we ended up as coworkers with someone like this, it would be nothing but trouble.
I edged forward, probing, “Um… I actually have a friend who knows the Boss Lady. Could we start working first, and finish the formalities when she comes back?”
The Fox Girl lifted her eyelids and glanced at me, the tip of her tail sweeping the counter weakly. “Mm… That’s not up to me~”
She buried her face in the crook of her arm and rubbed it, her muffled voice drifting out. “I’m just a part-timer. As long as the boss agrees, of course it’s fine.”
As soon as the Fox Girl finished speaking, Ling Xiaoxiao suddenly tugged at my sleeve and led me outside the shop. Her pink and white rabbit ears quivered as she lowered her voice, “You really have a friend who knows the Boss Lady? How come I never heard you mention that?”
I blinked at her, my cat tail unconsciously hooking around her wrist, a helpless smile tugging at my lips. “That person is me.” Seeing her freeze, I could only add, “She was my classmate. She opened this shop after she graduated.”
Just like I told Ling Xiaoxiao, the Boss Lady of this place is Yue Ran, my classmate—from kindergarten all the way to university.
But it’s more than just being classmates! That woman is my lifelong nemesis!
From stealing my swing in kindergarten, to bickering with me in Debate Competitions at university!
What’s worse, in all these big and small battles, I’ve never won once!
When we were kids, as soon as she cried, the teacher would make me stand next to the podium for the whole class.
Then in university, just because I scratched my leg across from her in the library, she made me let her team win the Debate Competition or else she’d accuse me of sexual harassment.
What? Why was I afraid just for scratching my leg? Are you kidding? That’s Beihu Hanwu University!
But after graduation, I finally got my revenge!
As for what I did? Of course I drew a comic slandering her, claiming she mixed mysterious ingredients into the bread at the shop and force-fed them to poor part-timers!
Was it a pathetic form of revenge?
Yeah, I think so too… QAQ
But what else could I do? Beat her up?
Yeah right, she’s a black belt. She’d have me folded into N shapes in ten seconds!
Ahem, back to the point—although we’ve been rivals for years, it shouldn’t be a problem for me to ask her to hire one more person at her shop.
So how should I talk to her next?
Should I speak to Yue Ran as my old self, and have her agree to let the current me work as a temp here? It’s best to message her. If she doesn’t hear my voice, she won’t realize I’ve turned into a cat girl.
I took a deep breath and opened the chat box, hesitating a moment as my fingers hovered over the screen. Her smirking, provocative face immediately surfaced in my mind—especially that teasing, taunting smile! If I ask her for a favor, I know she’ll look at me like that again!
But I really need this job, so I gritted my teeth and typed out the message.
[Gui Yun: Yue Ran, do you still need help at your shop? My friend is looking for a part-time job, she’s a girl.]
The moment I hit send, my phone vibrated. She replied almost instantly, but it wasn’t an answer—it was a round of sarcastic sniping.
[Yue Ran: Oh my, if it isn’t our Lord Gui Yun, who’s never beaten me even once since we were kids! What brings you here?]
Tsk! This woman!
[Gui Yun: You don’t need to remind me of that every time! Also, answer my question, will you!]
Ugh! Someday, I swear I’ll beat her at something! So I don’t have to see that smug face every time we meet!
[Yue Ran: Just have her come.]
Seeing those few short words, I couldn’t help but ask,
[Gui Yun: Aren’t you afraid I’ll recommend some gangster or something?]
[Yue Ran: Not at all. I trust you.]
She trusts me? Did she really just say something so touching? After twenty years, that’s not easy.
[Gui Yun: Really?]
But the warm feeling lasted only a few seconds…
[Yue Ran: I trust that someone as moldy and homebound as you, who doesn’t go out for half a month at a time, couldn’t possibly know any gangsters.]
At that, I froze in place.
Give me back my fleeting sentiment, you fiend!!
Just as I was grumbling to myself, Yue Ran sent another message.
[Yue Ran: All right, let’s say you owe me a favor for this. There should be a staff member at the shop, just let her arrange the work. I doubt there’s much to do anyway, we’ll talk about everything else later. I’m still out restocking.]
Seeing her message, I put away my phone, feeling my face flush. Sure enough, letting her get me worked up like this…
Forget it, at least I have a temp job now, no matter what.