Chapter 77: The Little Matters
Even though the little note had said that Goldie was healthy, Mu Le and Xiao Yuze still took the time the next day to bring it to a pet hospital, just to be safe.
After the necessary check-ups, they went shopping for all the messy stuff. Cat litter, cat food, a litter box, and so on.
After the trip, Xiao Yuze didn’t feel much, but Mu Le was completely exhausted.
She finally understood what Xiao Yuze had meant before, raising a pet was actually pretty complicated.
And this was just the beginning, she already felt a little overwhelmed.
Of course, when faced with Goldie’s bright, shiny eyes, Mu Le quickly gave in.
Since she had decided to keep it, she naturally had to take responsibility.
Determined, Mu Le went online as soon as they got home, searching for all sorts of things she needed to know about taking care of cats.
Seeing her so fired up, Xiao Yuze could only shake his head, a little amused and helpless at the same time.
Just as he was putting away the things they had bought and thinking about setting up a little bed for the new member of the household, he saw Mu Le rush out of the room in a hurry.
In Xiao Yuze’s twitching gaze, after being fussed over most of the day, Goldie, who had just settled comfortably on the sofa, was picked up again by Mu Le. The girl then began to inspect the area between the cat’s legs with a slightly mischievous expression.
“Lele, what are you doing?” Xiao Yuze finally asked after a brief pause.
Mu Le didn’t look back, her expression still serious. “Of course I’m checking whether it’s male or female. I just read that male cats should be neutered at a certain age.”
And female cats don’t need it?
Xiao Yuze could only cast a sympathetic glance at Goldie, who was struggling in Mu Le’s hands.
Once Mu Le’s curiosity was sparked, it was clearly hard to put out. After adjusting Goldie to a more comfortable position in her arms, she suddenly looked at Xiao Yuze with curiosity. “By the way… neutering a cat is kind of like a vasectomy for men, right?”
Hearing that, Xiao Yuze’s expression darkened.
“How would I know?” After a long silence, he sighed helplessly, then said halfheartedly, “Try it sometime and you’ll find out.”
“Hmm… but Goldie seems to be female, so a vasectomy wouldn’t work anyway.”
Xiao Yuze was speechless. Did she really want to do a vasectomy on it?
No, just discussing these things with Mu Le in the first place was already a mistake.
To prevent her from saying something even more ridiculous or dragging out some absurd topic, Xiao Yuze quickly shook his head.
“Alright, let’s leave these things for later. We’ve been out all day, rest a bit and then get ready to eat.”
Mu Le touched her stomach. She was indeed a little hungry, so she didn’t argue.
She casually replied and plopped onto the sofa with Goldie, pulling out the remote to turn on the TV.
Compared to Mu Le’s relaxed mood, Goldie was a bit stiff. Clearly, it was still adjusting to this overly enthusiastic new owner.
But it seemed to sense that the human in front of it meant no harm. Under Mu Le’s gentle petting, it slowly began to relax.
Feeling the soft little body in her hands, Mu Le couldn’t help but squint her eyes happily.
Petting a cat, there’s nothing quite like the happiness it brings.
If the sofa had more space, she would have loved to roll around with Goldie while cuddling it.
“Why does it feel like I’m raising two cats?” Xiao Yuze rubbed his nose and muttered in a slightly weird tone as he looked at Mu Le on the sofa, holding the little timid furball in her arms.
Come to think of it, taking care of Mu Le isn’t that different from taking care of a cat.
……………………
Life after Goldie arrived didn’t really change much. At least for Xiao Yuze, everything was pretty much the same as before.
Mu Le, however, spent a lot of her free time every day happily playing with the increasingly confident little cat.
At first, Xiao Yuze was a little worried. He thought maybe Mu Le’s enthusiasm was temporary. After all, she was naturally a bit lazy, what if she felt it was too much trouble and just left Goldie alone?
But after observing her for a few days, he realized he had probably overthought it. Mu Le seemed to care more about Goldie than even she did about him.
And maybe it was just his imagination, but in just a few days, Xiao Yuze noticed that the once slightly skinny Goldie had gained a noticeable bit of weight.
Mu Le, who hadn’t really been into posting updates before, had recently taken a lot of photos of Goldie and uploaded them online, calling it… “raising progress”!
Xiao Yuze was a little speechless, but seeing Mu Le so happy, he didn’t say anything.
What bothered him, though, was that she was putting almost all her energy into Goldie, and paying less attention to him.
After a few days of this, Xiao Yuze was thinking about doing something to remind her of his presence. But just before midnight, Mu Le, still in her pajamas, suddenly knocked on his door.
“Aze! It’s over, it’s over!”
Before he could say anything, Mu Le rushed in, grabbing his clothes with a panicked expression, looking like she might start crying.
Xiao Yuze raised an eyebrow, slightly confused. “What happened?”
“I forgot to study!”
“What?”
“You didn’t forget, right? The final exams are coming soon! Ahhh… it’s over, it’s over! Why do universities even have finals? I’ve been having too much fun lately, I completely forgot!”
Xiao Yuze: “….”
Of course, he knew Mu Le’s grades. They weren’t terrible, but they weren’t exactly impressive either.
She rarely skipped classes, though she had skipped some that she could get away with.
For most exams, she crammed a bit beforehand. While she wouldn’t get shocking scores, she usually passed without failing.
It was only after Mu Le reminded him that Xiao Yuze realized the semester was almost over. He hadn’t really spent much time at school lately, so he hadn’t noticed.
Seeing Mu Le’s teary, worried eyes, he patted her head helplessly. “Why panic? There’s still plenty of time, isn’t there?”
“But January has so many new anime series, lots of new games, and I still have to write my novel! When you add it all up… Wah!?”
Before she could finish, Xiao Yuze tapped her head sharply. “You came to bother me in the middle of the night for fun, didn’t you?”
“Of course not! I’m seriously venting to you, okay?”
Seriously? Xiao Yuze raised an eyebrow. How was that serious at all?
Finally, he sighed a little helplessly. “Go back to sleep, and make some time to cram a bit. If all you do is pet the cat or play on the computer every day, you’re going to turn into a full-time lazy cat.”
“Jealous?”
“Jealous? Are you talking about the cat or the computer?”