ARIOCC Chapter 13: Cat Meal

 Li Tong was a die-hard fan of the J-site uploader "Right-Click the Mouse." This uploader usually made walkthroughs for indie games, never really achieving major popularity, but to Li Tong, they were her absolute favorite.

Today, Li Tong had a day off. After waking up in the morning, she casually opened J-site to scroll through her feed—only to find an unexpected update in her following list.

She clicked on it and was shocked to see that Right-Click the Mouse had uploaded a new video.

Wait, that couldn’t be right. Mouse usually uploaded videos on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Today was Thursday.

Looking closer, she realized it was actually a shared video. The thumbnail featured a large cat that looked like a leopard. She glanced at the title:

"Bengal Cat’s Bad Guy."

Oh. A cat.

As a hardcore gaming fan, Li Tong wasn’t particularly interested.

She felt a wave of disappointment.

Still, since she had nothing else to do that morning—and out of loyalty to Mouse—she clicked on the video.

As soon as the muffled drumbeats kicked in and the eerie BGM started playing, Li Tong, a horror game addict, instantly felt a slight thrill.

But the very next second—she burst out laughing.

The cat was dancing!

On screen, the beautifully patterned Bengal cat flicked its tail and started scratching the board to the beat of the BGM. With each motion, the muscles hidden beneath its fur rippled smoothly, forming a sleek and powerful line from its front shoulders to its lower back.

Li Tong suddenly thought of herself sweating profusely at the gym—except her figure was nowhere near as good…

As the BGM played, she couldn’t help but start bouncing her leg. The rhythmic scratching sounds of the Bengal cat on the scratching board were oddly satisfying, bringing back the same cathartic pleasure as tearing up scratch paper after finishing an exam.

So satisfying.

And the Bengal cat was truly beautiful—well-proportioned, powerful limbs, paws slightly larger than a typical house cat. The black spots on its fur were shaped like copper coins, while its base coat was a light yellow, making it look like a miniature leopard with a wild and untamed beauty.

But precisely because of that, it made the whole thing even more ridiculous!

While shaking her leg, Li Tong scrolled through the comments. Thanks to the knowledge-rich netizens in the comment section, she learned that the Bengal cat in the video belonged to a cat café in Yuchuan City called Xian Chan Cat Café.

Wait… Yuchuan?!

Li Tong rolled out of bed in excitement and clicked into the uploader’s homepage. The bio included the cat café’s address—it wasn’t far from her at all!

Right as the video finished playing, she hit replay and casually shared it to her social media with the caption:

"AAAAAH, a cat café in my city! Who’s coming with me this weekend?!"

Meanwhile, Xiao Zhou, who was working the morning shift, knew nothing about this. He had almost overslept and rushed to work in a hurry. The moment he stepped into the cat café, he was hit with a wave of fruity fragrance.

Even though he had just eaten breakfast, he suddenly felt like he needed a drink to wake himself up.

Zhang Yu, who was in charge of beverages, was also struggling to hold back his drool. He greeted Xiao Zhou, and the two of them stood there, staring longingly at the fresh fruit.

These were all ingredients from Xu Tuzhi’s farm. Starting today, Xu Tuzhi was supplying fresh milk, flour, seasonal fruits, and a small amount of meat to the cat café.

The first three were replacing the café’s usual ingredients, while the meat was mainly for the cats. While commercial cat food could fill their stomachs and was indeed nutritionally balanced, for cultivated cat demons and other mystical beasts, it was just a basic snack. Spiritually enriched food was far superior.

Zhang Yu swallowed and peeled a peach, revealing its soft, pinkish-white flesh. The peach’s fragrance was light and refreshing—sweet without being overpowering.

He was making juice. He chopped up the peach and pineapple, and as the fruit was cut open, the sweet and slightly tangy aroma became even more distinct.

Xiao Zhou, watching from the side, nearly drooled. "I swear, if the boss didn’t run a cat café, he could totally go into the juice business…"

At this point, he had completely forgotten about the video.

Meanwhile, in some forgotten corner of the internet, the silly yet perfectly synchronized video he made was skyrocketing in views, likes, and shares.

Zhang Yu nodded enthusiastically as he continued cutting fruit.

Regular customers soon noticed that the café’s drinks and fruits had changed.

The milk was now richer and naturally sweet. When mixed into coffee, it was pure bliss. The "coffee with milk" combo was humorously dubbed by the café’s female customers as a "caloric bomb worth every sip." And when served plain, the milk’s pure aroma was even more indulgent—perfect for curling up with in the air-conditioned café, where one sip made you want to nap on the spot.

The fruit juices had also changed. They were lighter than before, but their natural sweetness had only increased. It became the go-to drink for those with a mild palate or a love for "punk health preservation"—a drink so addicting, you could never get tired of it.

With the weather heating up lately, the juice was perfect for cooling off. Some customers, unwilling to part with their drinks but eager to watch the cats, ended up wandering all over the café with their juice in hand.

In just one afternoon, some people had walked back and forth across the shop multiple times.

And naturally, with people carrying drinks while moving around, the frequency of spilled drinks increased. The café’s carpet replacement rate was also significantly higher now.

Of course, with better ingredients, the final products didn’t just taste better—they also carried traces of spiritual energy, providing a subtle "health-boosting" effect.

Even the café’s chefs were curious about where their boss was getting such high-quality ingredients.

Some customers, after consuming the new food and drinks for a while, started noticing changes:

"My throat doesn’t hurt anymore!"
"I can yell in class again!"
"Even my cursing has more power now!"
"Boss, can I order this for delivery?!"

Pei Shiyi: "…???"

Xu Tuzhi’s farm really was just a small-scale operation. Half of his supply was already going to the café, and the rest was sold in small batches. There was no way to provide more.

But compared to the upgraded human menu, the food for the fluffy ones had undergone an even bigger transformation.

The chicken, fish, eggs, and meat that arrived were of the highest quality and brimming with spiritual energy. The café had completely switched from feeding store-bought cat food to making fresh, handcrafted cat meals.

And the improvement in flavor was immeasurable.

Today was the first day of making cat food from scratch.

Pei Shiyi stood before a raw chicken drumstick, knife in hand, hesitating. He traced the meat with the blade a couple of times but just couldn’t bring himself to make the cut.

In the end, he and the raw meat ended up locked in a staring contest.

Bo Jin, seeing that Pei Shiyi had been standing there motionless for a while, could guess that his phoenix-born cleanliness obsession was probably acting up.

And judging by his expression, it was winning.

At any moment now, Pei Shiyi might just throw down the knife and walk away.

Bo Jin remarked, "Are you having an out-of-body experience just to cut some meat?"

Pei Shiyi: "…And how is that your business? Why don’t you try cutting one yourself?"

Bo Jin took the knife, and with a few swift strokes, he deboned the chicken drumstick, then repeated the process with the rest, preparing the meat before steaming it.

After wiping the knife clean, Bo Jin turned his head and gave Pei Shiyi a look.

Pei Shiyi was almost flustered with anger. "Is it that strange that I don’t know how to cook? It’s not like I’m going to starve to death."

"You misunderstood," Bo Jin said slowly. "I meant—do you want to learn from me?"

Most demons didn’t know how to cook, simply because they had neither the interest nor the need. But in Pei Shiyi’s case, it was clearly due to being spoiled rather than survival instinct.

Pei Shiyi gave him an intrigued look. "And you think I’d agree to that?"

Why would he, of all people, overcome his cleanliness obsession to learn cooking from Bo Jin, of all people?

Bo Jin replied, "If you consider Yolk, Yunchao, Fondant, Tongqian, Songgao, and the little tortoiseshell who’s already started eating solid food."

Pei Shiyi: "…You win."

Since there were no ordinary cats in Xianchan Cat Café, the chicken drumsticks weren’t just plain boiled. A small amount of seasoning was added, which further enhanced the natural umami of the chicken.

For the first time in a long while, Pei Shiyi actually felt a little hungry.

Thinking back, ever since he was revived, he hadn’t really eaten much at all. It was as if dying once had dulled even his appetite.

Feeling the slight pangs of hunger, Pei Shiyi lazily tore at the chicken drumstick, debating whether or not he should go downstairs for some dessert later. The sweet aroma filled the air, making the corners of his lips curl slightly upward. He reluctantly gave a bit of praise:

"Not bad cooking skills."

His tone sounded reluctant, but his expression said otherwise.

Bo Jin glanced at him.

Pei Shiyi was good-looking to begin with. Even just tearing apart a chicken drumstick looked refined and elegant. His fingers, long and slender under transparent gloves, contrasted against the faint red mark around his ring finger, which gleamed under the sunlight.

Bo Jin withdrew his gaze and took out a piece of chicken from the pot, deboned it with chopsticks, placed it into a small bowl, and set it in front of Pei Shiyi.

"This is yours."

Then, without another word, he put five small plates onto a tray and carried them downstairs.

Pei Shiyi: "…"

He had no issue eating cat food, but Bo Jin’s attitude toward feeding cats was downright irritating.

Holding his chopsticks, Pei Shiyi debated whether he should go downstairs and get mad or not.

Downstairs

Bo Jin was feeding the cats.

The fluffy ones’ sense of smell was far sharper than a human’s. They had already caught the scent of steamed chicken drumsticks from downstairs.

Even Yolk, who was usually calm and professional, was starting to fidget—let alone the little tortoiseshell, who was still a child at heart.

The tiny tortoiseshell hurriedly waddled over, bouncing and hopping up the stairs while letting out small, eager meows:

"Meowww—!"

Fondant, unable to resist, bit down on her own front paw. She was hungry too.

Just as all the fluffy ones were on the verge of losing control, Bo Jin finally came downstairs with the tray.

Originally, Tongqian had followed the scent upstairs, but as soon as he saw Bo Jin, he immediately scurried back down. On the way, he even grabbed Songgao, who hadn’t reacted in time, and dragged him along.

Songgao, caught completely off guard: "…"

Among all seven cats in the café, Tongqian was the only one afraid of Bo Jin.

As for Songgao, he was basically raised by Bo Jin and spoiled rotten. Bo Jin never got mad at him—even if he climbed onto his head to sleep.

(Though, Songgao himself would never actually do that.)

As the café manager, Yolk always followed the rules. Every time Pei Shiyi brought their food, he would sit properly at Pei Shiyi’s feet, waiting.

Only Tongqian was always climbing and jumping around, impatiently eyeing the food.

But today, since it was Bo Jin instead of Pei Shiyi, Tongqian instantly behaved.

The café’s regulars couldn’t resist pulling out their phones to record.

To them, this was a rare and fascinating sight.

Most of them were long-time customers who had seen how hyperactive the Bengal cat usually was.

So witnessing the usually chaotic, roof-climbing, energy-filled Tongqian suddenly sitting obediently was shocking.

But to be fair, the boss’s best friend didn’t seem nearly as easygoing as the boss himself.

You could only say that Tongqian had an extremely strong survival instinct and a very keen sense of judgment.

Zhou Yan was also recording the scene with his phone, watching with great interest.

After saving the video, he suddenly remembered the one he had shared that morning. He quickly opened the app to check.

The video had been approved and uploaded five or six hours ago.

Zhou Yan thought to himself: By now, it should have a few thousand views.

His own videos usually averaged around 60,000 to 70,000 views, with better ones reaching over 100,000. Since this was just a shared video, it would have even less reach—a few thousand views would already be decent.

He clicked into the reposted video from his account—
and was instantly stunned by the view count.

It had already surpassed 500,000.

Zhou Yan hurriedly checked the daily trending page—and sure enough, the video was right at the bottom of the daily recommendations list.

The exposure was what caused the views to skyrocket.

For a few seconds, Zhou Yan just stood there, dazed. Then, after quickly scanning the café, he finally spotted Pei Shiyi and suddenly leaped to his feet.

"Boss!"

Pei Shiyi had just washed the dishes upstairs.

As he was coming down the stairs, he saw Zhou Yan rushing toward him like a gust of wind.

Rolling down his sleeves, he asked, "What’s wrong?"

Zhou Yan shoved his phone over, stammering in excitement.

"Th-the video, Boss, look at this!"

Pei Shiyi lowered his gaze.

It was clearly a video player screen. The video itself wasn’t playing, but the bold title stood out prominently below it:

"Ultimate Stress Reliever: Bengal Cat’s Bad Guy."

The view count had already broken the 500,000 mark.

Zhou Yan tapped the screen. The video started playing, and the moment the comment overlay appeared, the screen was instantly flooded with a barrage of multicolored ‘hahahaha’s.

The sheer density of text was overwhelming.

Pei Shiyi wasn’t used to watching videos with so many comments flying across the screen. It actually made him a little dizzy.

He blinked a few times, ignoring the image of Tongqian wiggling on screen, and focused on reading the comments instead.

"This is way too addictive, hahahahaha!"

"This cat is dangerous. I’ve been cursed."

"Three minutes in—someone tell me EVERYTHING about this cat!"

"AAAAAAHHH Bengal cat! The wriggling RMB!"

Zhou Yan swiped up, switching to the comment section.

Unlike the character-limited barrage of flying comments, the comment section was pure chaotic madness.

The top comments included:

@Little Ah Song is Mine:
"Boss, your orange cat isn’t purebred. I’m an expert at pig farming—do you need my help?" (doge emoji)

@Do Sweet Biscuits Have a Discount Today:
"The timing is TOO perfect. I seriously suspect this cat has achieved enlightenment. Post-1949, demons aren’t allowed to cultivate—this cat is violating regulations. Reported."

Pei Shiyi read a few lines and couldn’t help but laugh.

These kids were really something else.

They could joke about literally anything.

They called this… a meme, right?

Besides the meme posts and absurdly well-timed jokes, there was also a top comment from a regular customer at Xianchan Cat Café:

@Little Leopard Ji:
"AAAAHHH my precious Tongqian! I just went to Xianchan a few days ago and completely fell in love with all the little babies there. I NEVER expected to randomly come across a Xianchan video while scrolling J-site today!! Tongqian is TOO cute, wuwuwu. That’s it—this weekend, I’m going back to Xianchan to pet some cats! Why does Xianchan have so many sweet, adorable babies? QAQ When will I ever have a cat of my own?"

A cat café.

The people clicking on this video were likely split into two groups:

  1. Those obsessed with Bad Guy.
  2. Those who wanted to see cats.

And this comment successfully grabbed the attention of the latter group.

Underneath, people were flooding the replies with questions—

"Wait, where is this cat café?!"
"What kind of cats do they have?!"
"Someone tell me the address!!"

The comment thread had already stacked up several hundred replies.

If not for the lower number of likes, it probably would have overtaken the top comment.

Some people who lived nearby had already started shouting in the comments—

"I’m going to Xianchan this weekend!!"

Zhou Yan refreshed the video.

In just the few minutes they had been talking, the view count had already increased by another 600.

J-site had a rule: within 24 hours, the same account could only contribute one counted view to a video.

In other words, in just the past five minutes, 600 new people had watched this video.

Zhou Yan stared blankly and muttered,

"Boss… I think we’re about to blow up."

Justmisty

Just translating the novels I love

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