Chapter 35: Ranking of Cats
Translated by Lime
1/3 updates today ｍ（｡≧ _ ≦｡）ｍ
Lin Lan’s mood was quite unstable.
The past weekend had been very eventful: Miss Wang called her friend who had reclaimed his lost cat, Qian Xuan asked Lin Lan to look after her cat Niu Niu, Tang Xiaoya rented an apartment, Miss Wei wanted to switch apartments, and now with the incident with soup being splashed into Cheng Fengyang’s eyes… It seemed like events were continuously being thrown at Lin Lan and her life seemed much busier these past few days.
Yup, her unstable state of mind was definitely caused by all the overwhelming events recently, not the shocking realization she came to about Cheng Fengyang.
As expected, Lin Lan’s parents questioned her since it was so late when she arrived home. Leaving some specific details out, Lin Lan told them about Cheng Fengyang’s unlucky incident where soup was splashed into his eyes. After successfully distracting them from scolding her for returning home so late, Lin Lan began to feed the kitties the roasted fish treats.
“Come eat!” All the kitties had already smelled the tasty scent and their tails perked up when Lin Lan motioned them to come over. Lin Lan called out, “Everyone, line up! Kitties who don’t line up in an orderly fashion will not receive a fish treat and it will be given to another well-behaved kitty!”
How could this be?!
When the kitties first smelled the mouth-watering scent, they naturally became muddle-headed and desperately wanted to gobble up the treats, but Lin Lan’s warning reminded them to behave. Every single cat lined up in three neat lines from largest to smallest and waved their tails in anticipation. Lin Lan inspected her army of cats before giving them the roasted fish.
Since Uncle Zhou loved his cat dearly, he knew the perfect way to grill the fish to appeal to the taste buds of cats. His family’s tri-colored cat, Huahua, was now plump because of this. These fish treats were also the favorite snack of Snowflake. Now that they had their first taste, all the kitties in the cafe began to long for Uncle Zhou’s roasted fish.
The orange kitty and the tuxedo cat were caged and still separated from the other cats. This was their first time eating the treats and they instantly fell in love.
The two kitties had been stray cats before being taken in by Lin Lan and they quickly wolfed down their food. They meowed at her, saying: “It was so yummy” and “I’ve never eaten something so delicious before”.
As it is commonly known, orange kitties can usually eat a lot. As soon as the pretty orange cat finished eating its fish treat, it brushed against the cage and raised its head to peer at the food of other kitties.
Suddenly, the little orange kitty noticed that one large white cat had two roasted fish treats in his bowl.
Little orange kitty: ! ! !
All the other cats only had one treat, even the boss cat, Momo, only had one!
The two-legged creature it relied on was biased!
“Miaow, miaow!” (Lan Lan, I want to eat more! I want to eat another fish treat!) The orange kitty pressed against its cage and meowed.
Lin Lan glanced at the cage and then at all the other cats. Most of them were only halfway done with their fish, but this orange cat had already finished and was now asking for more, drawing Lin Lan’s attention.
At the top of Lin Lan’s head, an invisible red exclamation mark popped up.
She had not forgotten the saying she saw online: “For every ten orange cats, nine are overweight and the other one grows rapidly”. Although it wasn’t 100% accurate, orange cats were known for being able to eat a lot.
(T/N: The third part of the saying isn’t correct. For the sake of being concise, I altered the meaning a bit. The real meaning is that the last orange kitty isn’t fat at first, but gains weight rapidly. So basically, “all” orange cats are fat according to this saying.)
Lin Lan glanced down at the orange kitty. His little white mittens and white scarf below his neck made him look very handsome, but if he put on weight…
No way, she would not allow unhealthily overweight cats in her cafe, whether it was for health reasons or attractiveness!
“I don’t have anymore, Gentleman, I only bought so many. Each kitty is allowed only one roasted fish,” Lin Lan patiently explained as she stretched out her arm. Sticking her fingers through the holes in the cage, Lin Lan gently rubbed the orange kitty’s head.
Yes, this orange kitty was named Gentleman like his appearance suggests.
(T/N: ‘绅士’ directly translates to ‘Gentleman’ and I really can’t think of another name other than ‘Mister’. I kind of dislike both names but I don’t know another good option. Maybe ‘Shenshi’ which is the pinyin? Please let me know if any of you can think of one or if you prefer ‘Mister’ better >.<)
However, this kitty was not graceful and elegant like his name suggested, instead, he was overly impatient: “Miaowow!” (So why does that white kitty get two fish treats?!)
“Are you talking about Snowflake?” Lin Lan smiled and used her index finger to scratch under the cat in question’s chin. She was still patient as she answered, “Snowflake is special. He has been a regular customer for almost four years of the restaurant that sells the roasted fish treats. The owner specifically gave Snowflake an extra fish treat.”
The little orange cat widened its golden eyes and his pupils dilated.
The other cats who heard her answer were also restless. After they finished eating, the kitties all crowded around Lin Lan and started meowing. All the kitties wanted to become regular customers!
“You will all get some more as long as you continue working at my cafe!” Lin Lan was surrounded by fluffy lumps that continuously rubbed against her arms and legs. In her lap, she petted a few kittens. “As long as we exceed a sales goal this month, everyone will receive another roasted fish! To celebrate the Chinese New Year, I will make kitty food and we will have a sumptuous feast the night before. All kitties of the cafe will be allowed to attend and your stomachs will be stuffed to the brim!”
With her enthusiasm, the tails of all the kitties rose in excitement and they began frantically meowing again.
The two kitties separated in cages also reacted in a similar fashion.
“Miaowow!” The tuxedo cat, Diandian, was exceptionally excited. If only he were not stuck in the cage, he would also have gone over to rub against the two-legged Boss. Unable to do so, he happily meowed at the orange cat in an adjacent cage, “Miaow!” (Gentleman, Gentleman, this place is awesome! We were right to join this two-legged creature’s group. Good thing we were chosen!)
(T/N: I would translate ‘点点’ Diandian to Spotty, but I like the Chinese name better. Let me know if you would rather have Spotty instead.)
However, the orange cat next to him didn’t share the same amount of excitement. He kept staring at the big white cat slowly finishing his roasted fish. Although the orange kitty had only been here for about a week, he already noticed that this white cat was given special treatment. It never came to the cafe to join in on training and it was a tomcat (T/N: male cat). Even the leader, Momo, let that cat do as he pleased.
Now, he even got to eat two fish!
The orange cat continued to glare at the white cat, who had jumped onto Lin Lan’s knee and rubbed against her face. His claws unsheathed from his white mittens and he clawed at the fabric in his cage.
This cat was definitely a problem!
After the lights were turned off and the humans washed up and retired to bed, Gentleman, who had been pretending to sleep, opened his eyes. He observed the calm cats dozing off on the heating pad.
Cats were naturally nocturnal creatures. In the daytime, they could sleep for more than ten hours and in the nighttime, they would go out to play. But when working at the cat cafe, this practice was no longer allowed. During the daytime, the kitties were expected to play and humor the customers, leaving little time to sleep. If the cat was cute, there was a chance they might receive canned cat food while napping. After the cats were transported back home at night, they would lose privileges if they caused a disturbance once the lights were turned off. The next day, they wouldn’t receive the special hand-made cat food; instead, they would receive the ordinary bagged cat food. The comfortable massage the kitties received once every few days would also not be given.
At the very beginning, some cats refused to follow the rule. They could only watch on as the other cats ate tasty food while they received dry cat food. While other cats received a soothing massage, they bitterly watched on. Soon, all the cats began to follow the rule.
Afterward, there were a few restless cats who were unable to change their bad habits. The black kitty, Momo, would then use her claws to teach them how to become an exemplary employee cat.
Gentleman learned the rules and obediently complied—even if Momo wasn’t there to threaten him, he was still locked in the cage. In the pitch-black living room, he used his night vision to scan over the group of cats, only to discover that the big white cat and the Ragdoll kitty were not present.
They must be sleeping together with the two-legged creature!
Mister was very unhappy. This was the two-legged he had chosen to follow and it had already been taken by those two cats!
The Munchkin kitty, Sausage, who had been emitting soft snores, was awoken by the restless cat in the cage and looked over.
The two kitties used their language to silently communicate with each other.
Sausage: “You don’t know yet? Although Momo is our leader, Snowflake is Lan Lan’s and Lan Lan’s mother’s treasured cat. He doesn’t need to go hunting; Lan Lan will provide for him.”
Mister: “ …! ! Then, then what about Sapphire?”
Sausage: “Lan Lan told us that Sapphire is a Ragdoll kitty and is loved by many humans. She tends to eat more than Snowflake so she hunts at the cafe using her beautiful looks. You’ve probably noticed too: she’s exceptional at hunting food. Not only that, Sapphire was raised by Lan Lan herself so of course she’s special!”
Gentleman: “…”
Sausage: “You should go to sleep soon, we have to go hunt at the cafe tomorrow. If you aren’t full of energy, how will you sell meng to earn canned food?”
After speaking, the adorable Munchkin cat yawned and huddled into a lump. Shortly after, it started softly snoring. The automatic heating pad was just too warm and comfortable.
The foolish orange cat crouched in his cage, not once removing his eyes from the door of Lin Lan’s room.
He thought back to when the American Shorthair, Weiwei, was picked up by her owner. When that two-legged gazed at his pet cat, the look in his eyes was extremely similar to how Lin Lan looked at Snowflake.
The orange cat softly meowed and crouched even lower to the ground. He stared at Lin Lan’s room with a longing gaze.
He had always been a stray cat and constantly faced hunger and the harsh weather. Secretly, he also wished for a two-legged that truly loved him.
The night quickly passed. In winter, the days are short and the nights are long, so when the sun rose, it wasn’t very early in the morning anymore.
Not long after Lin Lan opened up shop, Qian Xuan entered with a huge bag of cat litter and cat food.
“I tried making my own cat food, but for some reason, Niu Niu refuses to eat it.” Qian Xuan helplessly explained. She copied the exact steps Lin Lan used and precisely measured all the ingredients, but the result was completely different from Lin Lan’s cat food. After wasting a bunch of ingredients, Qian Xuan gave up. “These are Niu Niu’s favorite foods and snacks and the litter she’s used to. Thanks for agreeing to take care of her for the next three days.”
Taking all the items from Qian Xuan, Lin Lan smiled and answered, “No problem, just leave it up to me.”
Even though all the official cat employees of the cafe all knew how to use the toilet, there were still litter boxes placed inside the kitty bathroom. These were used by the new cats who were still training to use the squat toilets. Lin Lan could also determine if the new cats were healthy by examining their poop. When she made sure that the new cats were healthy, they could begin training to use the squat toilets.
(T/N: If the cat poop is irregular, it can mean that something is wrong with the cat.)
Niu Niu was accustomed to using litter and the owner had especially made a request, so Lin Lan wouldn’t try to change the cat’s bathroom habits. Whatever Qian Xuan brought would be used, whether it be the cat food or cat litter.
Looking at Lin Lan’s carefree appearance, Qian Xuan suddenly remembered her behavior towards Snowflake a few months ago and spoke, embarrassed: “I’ve pampered Niu Niu a lot and she is delicate and picky. If she starts treating you coldly or gives you dirty looks, I’m sorry in advance. You’ve raised your cats to be more obedient and it seems like they don’t fight a lot. If Niu Niu gets tired of being cooped up in a cage, please let her out for a bit if it’s not troublesome.”
Lin Lan nodded in agreement.
Without any other option to stall for time, Qian Xuan reluctantly parted from her beloved kitty. Waving her hand at the bag, she called out, “Niu Niu, I have to go on a business trip for the next few days and I can’t stay with you. I hope you can get along with Lin Lan and the other kitties in the cat cafe. Don’t worry too much, Mommy will be back soon.”
As the British Shorthair in the cat bag watched as her owner waved her hand, the cat rushed towards the mesh part of the bag and meowed: “Miaow!” (Slave, where are you going?! Why are you leaving me here?)
Seeing this, Qian Xuan was even more worried: “I have no other choice, Niu Niu. Oh no, I need to leave soon!”
With this, Qian Xuan turned and quickly left the cafe.
“Miaow, miaow!” (Slave! Where are you going!!)
The author has something to say:
A stormy situation will soon arise among the cats—
Citruslimetea Translations 
… Even cats are so complex.
Thanks for the chapters! Welcome back. I missed this novel a lot all these times. I’m so grateful that you’re back to updating. （*＾3＾）/～♡
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You updated! Thank you so much for your hard work translator-san 🤗
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— Thanks for the chapter~ ^^.
Hope you are doing fine.!
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