Chapter 198: Chapter 198 Da Mi and Xiao Mi Chapter 198: Chapter 198 Da Mi and Xiao Mi Zheng Tan lay on the bamboo mat-covered sofa inside the house, yawned, turned over, and looked at the calendar hanging on the living room wall.

It was already July today. Recently, Little Youzi and Jiao Yuan had been busy with their final exams. Summer vacation was coming soon and, to have a better summer life, they were all putting in great effort to achieve good grades.

As for the college entrance exams, they had ended long before. Two weeks earlier, when Zheng Tan had gone out for a walk, he had passed by a construction site and seen Zhong Yan, who seemed to be in a good mood, probably having performed well. Perhaps, this was the most relaxed he had been in years during an exam, not needing to hide his abilities or worry about anything else, just doing his best.

At the end of June, the college entrance exam scores had already come out, but Zheng Tan didn’t know how well the guy did, as he hadn’t traveled far recently, mostly wandering around the school.

A few households in the building knew that Heimi from Ermao’s family was about to have kittens. However, cats are not like dogs; they are more cautious around people, so not everyone visited often. They just occasionally bought something for Heimi to eat. Jiao Ma was like this, bringing something over every few days.

Zheng Tan had only visited once recently, following Jiao Ma. Heimi was doing fine, but it was Ermao who seemed to be the problem. He acted like a neurotic and even had dark circles under his eyes; Zheng Tan wondered what he was anxious about. Would he be anxious for ten months straight if his wife were having a baby?

Wei Leng and Qin Tao had come over a few times but didn’t enter the house; Ermao wouldn’t let them in. When they did visit, they would find a spot outside to eat and talk, ensuring they didn’t disturb Heimi.

As Zheng Tan was thinking about when Heimi would give birth to the kittens, his ears twitched, and he looked towards the door.

“Black Coal, let’s go out to eat!”

It was Ermao knocking at the door. Although Wei Leng didn’t visit Ermao’s place when he came by during this time, he always called both Ermao and Zheng Tan to a grove not far from the East District Courtyard to chat a bit. Each time, he would bring some food. Despite the abundant bird droppings, it was quite comfortable to sit there with stone tables and stools.

Zheng Tan and Ermao left the building, where Wei Leng was already waiting outside. Like before, he held a bag with some food and beers inside.

Once in the grove, they wiped the bird droppings off the stone benches and a man and two cats sat down.

Wei Leng set out disposable paper bowls, served some cold dishes, and also brought some sliced duck from a shop by the school gate. Finally, he had gotten engaged and was planning to hold the wedding in October.

“You’re settled then? When I have time, I’ll prepare a big wedding gift … oh, and maybe buy a pair of mandarin ducks to give you,” Ermao said.

“No, don’t give mandarin ducks. I saw in the news recently that mandarin ducks swap partners; they’re not as wonderful as people say,” replied Wei Leng.

“Then I’ll just give a pair of small figurines of you two.”

“That’s not bad either. Hey, talking of your family, Heimi still hasn’t given birth?” asked Wei Leng, looking at a visibly sleep-deprived Ermao.

“I’m annoyed too. Wasn’t it supposed to be two months? It’s already been two months and still no signs. I called the veterinarian and he said some cats really do deliver late, sometimes more than a week late. Just a few days ago, someone’s cat in the veterinarian’s friend circle was pregnant for 65 days before giving birth.”

Wei Leng snorted, still feeling that Ermao was being overly anxious. It’s just a cat, why such fuss?

“Don’t you laugh. When your wife gives birth, you might not be in a better state than me,” retorted Ermao.

“That’s my wife, of course, I’m nervous. But is that your wife? Look at you. If others knew, they’d definitely be shocked. I didn’t know you liked cats this much before,” Wei Leng paused, then added, “You’ve become a real cat slave.”

Ermao just grunted twice and carried on eating and drinking silently.

Zheng Tan squatted nearby, eating and listening to their casual chat. They discussed what to do with the kittens once they were born—whether to give them away or keep them. Ermao hadn’t decided yet. He definitely wouldn’t sell them or give them to the Pet Center. “If Heimi chases them out of the house when they grow up, we’ll see. If not, I’ll keep them all,” he said.

“Tsk, your place is too small for three cats. You’re asking for trouble,” Wei Leng didn’t think it was a good idea. Moreover, not every cat was like the Black Cat present. Three cats might cause enough noise to bother Ermao.

After eating and drinking, the afternoon sun remained harsh. Wei Leng went back to his company. He had some business to deal with nearby, so he stopped by to chat.

Knowing that Heimi’s delivery was nearing, the most anxious person in the Jiao family was Jiao Ma. She went every day to check on Heimi. When Zheng Tan was at home, he would also listen for any noises from the third floor. If everything seemed normal, it probably meant the kittens hadn’t been born yet.

Days passed, and Ermao’s neuroticism intensified. He would check his study frequently, too distracted to browse the internet. He called the veterinarian several times a day and even had a veterinarian come over to check, but when the veterinarian stood at the door, Heimi hissed, and Ermao immediately pushed him out. Still, the veterinarian was competent. Although he didn’t observe Heimi for long, he could tell there was nothing seriously wrong. If the delivery was a few days late, it was fine as long as the cat was healthy.

Several days passed, and Ermao got up in the morning to pee. Still not fully awake after watching horror movies late into the night to distract himself, he had trouble getting up this morning but was eventually woken by the urge to pee.

Groggily, he walked to the bathroom, finished up, and out of habit, headed towards the study. Every morning after peeing, he had to check the study; otherwise, Ermao found it hard to fall back asleep even if he went back to bed.

However, this look, due to his grogginess, made his half-open eyes widen in shock.

Through the dim light filtering in from the curtains, Ermao saw an extra little heap in the nest—an addition whose color was different from both the nest’s and Heimi’s.

Shit!

Ermao was now fully awake.

Carefully approaching the cat’s nest, he took a step, then remembered something and tiptoed back to his room to fetch the pair of gloves he had prepared in advance and returned to the study.

Heimi was probably tired and was sleeping there. As she sensed Ermao approaching, her ears twitched and her eyes cracked open slightly, giving Ermao a look before continuing her sleep. She didn’t show the wary vigilance towards her owner like some cats do, which reassured Ermao greatly. True to form, his “daughter”.

Ermao tentatively reached out to touch the kitten. Seeing that Heimi had no reaction, he boldly picked up the kitten and examined it—it wasn’t missing any limbs and appeared very healthy. The two soft, fur-covered little ears were not yet erect, reportedly, they wouldn’t be until about three weeks later. The eyes weren’t open yet, which would take another week. This was a tortoiseshell cat, with black and orange fur covering its back extensively, while its belly was predominantly white.

Ermao wasn’t skilled at determining gender, especially for such young kittens, but he had heard that tortoiseshells were almost always female. Ah, Heimi had a daughter now. After carefully observing the tiny bundle in his palm, Ermao remembered there should be another one and softly placed this kitten back down.

He had read in a book that if the kittens retained human scents, the mother might find them strange and refuse to feed them, or might even harm or kill them. So, Ermao had prepared gloves, not only to avoid leaving his own scent on the kitten but also to prevent any germs from his body, which could transfer to the cat since he usually did not pay much attention to personal hygiene. While laying her down, Ermao gently rubbed the kitten against Heimi to mix their scents.

After placing the tricolored kitten down, Ermao looked in the nest, which he hadn’t paid attention to before, and now realized that the second kitten’s fur pattern, similar to Heimi’s, was black and white, with slightly different placements of the color patches.

Ermao gently picked up this kitten, which also seemed healthy, but…

Looking at this little kitten’s face, Ermao felt his mood drop slightly.

This black and white kitten had a black “mole” next to its mouth, a trait it shared with its father, though the color was different. Seeing this little one reminded Ermao of its worthless father.

Although he didn’t particularly enjoy seeing the mole next to the kitten’s mouth, Ermao still carefully placed it next to Heimi, petted her for a while, and prepared to leave.

Standing up, he remembered that he hadn’t been present when Heimi gave birth last night and didn’t know which one was born first, so which one was Da Mi?

Looking closer, Ermao thought both kittens seemed about the same size, so he couldn’t judge based on that.

Thinking of the black and white kitten’s “mole”, Ermao decided that this one would be Xiao Mi, and the tortoiseshell one would be Da Mi. With his mind made up, Ermao looked at the black and white kitten nursing and thought: why did you have to grow a “mole”? It would be so much better without it, why learn such a trait from your dad?

As he left the study, Ermao was still excited and looked back at the room—newborn kittens are said to be afraid of light, and with the curtains drawn, it should be all right.

Zheng Tan had heard the unusual activity from Ermao’s place that day. Usually, at this time, Ermao would be napping; he wouldn’t be so “diligent” unless the kittens were born. However, he waited until the next day to check with Jiao Ma.

Jiao Ma didn’t enter the study, just peeked from the doorway. Heimi was still very wary of anyone but Ermao, even Zheng Tan couldn’t come close without her hissing and growling. For now, Heimi wouldn’t let the kittens out of her sight; she mostly stayed near the nest. Ermao had moved her food bowl to the study so she wouldn’t have to walk far, only leaving briefly for necessities like defecating or stretching her legs.

When Zheng Tan saw the mole on the kitten’s face, he couldn’t help but feel overjoyed—such a precise resemblance! Just like its father.

Little Youzi and Jiao Yuan also wanted to see the kittens, but Jiao Ma suggested waiting a while longer, now was not the time to disturb them.

When Zheng Tan went with Jiao Ma to see them a week later, the two kittens looked much sturdier than at birth, their fur was thicker, and their eyes were slightly open, not fully yet.

Zheng Tan noticed that both kittens had grayish-blue eyes. From chatting with Jiao Ma and Ermao, he learned that kittens’ eyes are like this when they first open and start changing color around three weeks after birth, then settling into their permanent eye color. (To be continued. If you like this work, we invite you to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep