CAT - 36

Chapter 36

Tan Xu was actually a bit surprised to hear Yun Xing say he knew how to write. Logically, Yun Xing had spent the last few years as a kitten; how could he possibly know how to write?

Half-skeptical, Tan Xu pulled out a pen and paper. Yun Xing immediately grabbed the pen, balling his right hand into a fist to clutch it in his palm. Just seeing this starting posture, Tan Xu knew the kitten was boasting again.

Gripping the pen, Yun Xing scribbled a few strokes on the paper, and a five-pointed star appeared. He then looked at Tan Xu. "Look!"

Tan Xu was genuinely a little shocked. Honestly, if a kitten on its very first day of being a human could draw a five-pointed star, anyone who saw it would have to praise him for being brilliant.

"Impressive." This came from the bottom of his heart.

Hearing Tan Xu's praise, Yun Xing lifted his chin proudly again. Tan Xu looked at him, his gaze gradually softening. "I'll teach you how to hold a pen for a couple of days, and then I'll send you to school."

Hearing that Tan Xu still intended to send him to school, Yun Xing felt a little sad. He didn't want to go to school at all. Originally, with Tan Xu going to classes, there would be long periods where he wouldn't see him. Now that he had to go to school too, didn't that mean they would only have a tiny bit of time to spend together?

"Then can I play on my phone while at school?" Yun Xing asked.

"No. When you're at school, you have to listen to the lessons carefully, and you can't eat anything either."

Yun Xing let out a gasp. "That's not school at all! I saw it on the internet—only places where they lock up bad guys don't let you play on your phone!"

Tan Xu raised an eyebrow slightly. "So you've been secretly playing on the tablet quite often, huh? You're a bad kitten now, so we'll have to lock you up."

"No I'm not." Yun Xing puffed out his cheeks. Tan Xu was teasing him again. He didn't want to pay Tan Xu any attention at all; he was just too childish. After a thought, he added, "Then, can we just go to school a little bit less?"

Tan Xu considered this. Actually, adult literacy centers should be different from regular schools; they were likely divided into hourly sessions. If Yun Xing didn't want to, he could just attend for half a day. Tan Xu didn't want to make the kitten study for too long anyway. "We'll ask about it when we go."

Seeing him compromise so quickly, Yun Xing let out a soft cheer. Where he couldn't see, Tan Xu lowered his head and smiled gently.

To prevent Yun Xing from being so illiterate at the literacy center that it raised suspicions, Tan Xu had been tutoring him at home for the past two days, starting with Pinyin.

Pinyin was actually quite simple. Even when walking down the street with Tan Xu, Yun Xing couldn't help but quietly recite his vowels: Open mouth wide, ah-ah-ah. Round lips, oh-oh-oh.

After learning Pinyin for a few days, he could now type and send messages himself without having to send voice notes every day, though his typing speed was still a bit slow.

Sometimes, He Mi would send a dozen messages before he managed to reply with a single sentence. But he was still very happy because he felt he had taken another step toward becoming a high-achieving student.

Over the past two days, he hadn't just learned Pinyin; he had also learned some basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. 

He would excitedly recite them during video calls with He Mi and the others. 

This delighted Yun Hao so much that he kept saying Yun Xing had incredible learning abilities, would soon become the smartest cat in the family, and was even on track to become the cat with the highest academic credentials in the family.

Tan Xu also constantly praised him for learning quickly. Encouraged by everyone, his enthusiasm for studying grew stronger and stronger. 

Sometimes, lying in bed, he wouldn't even play with his new phone, but instead close his eyes and mutter the multiplication tables.

This home tutoring lasted for over a week. Tan Xu’s own semester was about to start. He was preparing for his graduate entrance exams and needed to finish a portion of his graduation thesis as soon as possible, along with sorting out his internship paperwork. 

Because of this, picking a school for Yun Xing was finally put on the agenda.

Fortunately, there was an adult literacy center right near their apartment complex, considered one of the larger educational institutes in the area. When the two arrived, a teacher was still conducting a class.

Tan Xu led Yun Xing to stand at the classroom door and peek inside. Many people were seated below the podium, most of whom were elderly folks sent by their children to learn how to read.

After they watched for a while, an admissions counselor came over. She first greeted the two of them, then asked, "Did your elderly relative not come?"

Yun Xing blinked and said very seriously, "My grandpa is at home, and Grandma Tan didn't come either."

"I'm enrolling him," Tan Xu said, looking at Yun Xing. When the kitten was at home talking to him, he always seemed quite sharp, but the moment he stepped outside and spoke to strangers, that cleverness seemed to vanish.

The admissions counselor seemed taken aback that someone of Yun Xing's age hadn't completed his nine years of compulsory education. But she quickly regained her composure. 

Maybe he comes from a backward, remote mountain village, she thought. Wanting to learn is nothing to be ashamed of; it would be wrong of me to judge.

"Alright, let me show you two around," she smiled, returning to professional mode.

The three chatted as they walked. Although it was the three of them, Tan Xu did almost all the talking. Yun Xing just tugged on the hem of Tan Xu's shirt, listening in from the side.

Sometimes Yun Xing couldn't quite understand what they were discussing, especially when Tan Xu mentioned things like "middle school math" and "spoken English." Yun Xing had no idea what those were.

Chatting while touring, they eventually reached the institute's entrance. The counselor held the glass door open. "Once he's studied up to about that point, we can figure out a way for him to take the adult college entrance exams or something similar."

Tan Xu, however, didn't want to push Yun Xing too hard. After all, no matter what, Yun Xing was just a cat. As long as he could distinguish good intentions from bad and not get scammed when going outside, that was enough.

If worst came to worst, Tan Xu would always be by his side. Ever since Yun Xing transferred spiritual energy to him last time, his own health had improved a lot. There shouldn't be any major issues.

After Tan Xu scanned the QR code at the door to pay the tuition, Yun Xing watched the money leave Tan Xu's account. Once the counselor left, he asked, "Tan Xu, do you still have money?"

"I do." Tan Xu slipped his phone into his pocket. He usually received a lot of scholarships and also made a decent amount of money taking photos and submitting them to magazines or websites.

He Mi had also transferred quite a bit of money to him a while ago. He had opened a bank account for Yun Xing and deposited all of it there. But ultimately, Tan Xu still felt that since Yun Xing was the cat he was raising, it was his obligation to spend money on him.

Besides, Yun Xing didn't really cost that much to keep anyway. He turned his head to look at Yun Xing. From this angle, he could clearly see the small mole on the young man's earlobe, half-hidden in the fine hair at his temples.

"Now that you're enrolled, I need to buy you a backpack," Tan Xu suddenly said, his eyes still on that tiny mole.

"A backpack?" Yun Xing's eyes lit up. He had seen a cat-shaped backpack at the mall—a black one with two little cat ears on top. He had really liked it at the time, but since Tan Xu had already bought him so many things that day, he had been too embarrassed to ask for it.

Seeing him so excited, Tan Xu instantly guessed the reason. "Do you already have a style you like?"

Yun Xing nodded. "When I went to the mall with you last time, there was a really pretty backpack."

---

The black cat backpack at the luggage store hadn't been sold yet. After paying, Yun Xing hugged the bag and took a sniff. New bags always had a distinct smell. He wrinkled his nose. "It smells bad."

Tan Xu took the backpack from his arms. "I'll wash it when we get back."

Seeing that Tan Xu was going to carry the backpack, Yun Xing whipped out his phone, opened the short-video app, and turned the screen toward Tan Xu, finally revealing his true motives. "We haven't taken any photos today."

Tan Xu took the phone and looked. The kitten's account already had over three hundred thousand followers. "How are you feeling lately?"

Yun Xing tilted his head. "My spiritual energy seems to be enough."

Tan Xu gave a slight nod. "We'll take a few more photos when we get back today, and keep them in reserve to post later."

Yun Xing loved taking photos because every time he posted them, tons of people would praise him. He loved being praised; it deeply satisfied his feline vanity, not to mention that it helped him maintain his human form.

"Tan Xu," Yun Xing said, trailing behind him and stepping on his shadow. "I'm going to school."

"Yeah."

"From now on, I'll be a high-achieving cat." Thinking about how his grandpa said he was the smartest cat in the family, Yun Xing couldn't stop his lips from curving up. "Grandpa and the others say I'm the most educated cat on Mount Mingwu."

Tan Xu suddenly stopped walking, causing Yun Xing to crash right into his back. Yun Xing rubbed his head. "What's wrong?"

"Are there even any other cats on your mountain besides your family?" Tan Xu asked, pointing out the obvious.

"Nope." Yun Xing entirely missed the point of the question. He even thought Tan Xu was being a little dense. All the cats lived at the bottom of the mountain now because there were other, very fierce animals up on the mountain.

Stifling his laughter, Tan Xu walked forward a few steps. "Let's go, time to head home."

---

The moment they got home, Yun Xing dashed into the bedroom. When he emerged, he was already a beautiful little calico kitten. He swished his tail with poised reserve. "Please photograph me to look tall and imposing."