White’s Expectations

Today, the weather god seemed displeased.

A new day dawned, fresh and bright, yet a gentle, wavering rain began to fall.

The sun still shone, and the dark clouds overhead were not dense; perhaps the rain had drifted in from elsewhere.

This phenomenon was known as a sun shower.

Bai lay by the window, flicking her tail with a hint of impatience, watching the weather outside and waiting for the rain to cease.

Her anticipation stemmed from pure excitement.

Just yesterday, with the help of Reincarnation Cat, she had successfully established her ideal chat group.

She had been overjoyed, watching her companions chat throughout the entire night.

[Chen Miao: It’s so boring always cooped up in the dorm.][Chen Miao: I’m tired of my puzzles and books.][Chen Miao: I really want to go out and run around.]

[Li Xiao: Rural cats certainly have boundless energy, that’s truly wonderful.][Yun Juan: Anyway, with your daily mental energy quota, transforming into a human only lasts a maximum of three hours.]

[Yun Juan: Why not turn into a cat?][Yun Juan: You could run around outside for fifteen hours!]

[Chen Miao: Eh?]

[Chen Miao: Oh, you’re right, meow!][Chen Miao: That’s a great idea!][Yun Juan: Just be careful not to run too far, so you don’t get lost if a task comes up.]

[Yun Juan: Or, you could strap your special phone to yourself.]

[Gao Xin: Just avoid crowded places, and you’ll be fine.][Gao Xin: Your strength won’t diminish as a cat, so you generally don’t need to worry about reverting to your original form.]

[Chen Miao: I see… I’ll try that next time.][Chen Miao: But I definitely can’t go shopping at the supermarket like that.]

[Xuan Bai: Supermarket?][Chen Miao: Mhm, they sell so many things there, it’s really interesting!][Yun Juan: Our leader, meow, you’ve never been?][Jump: Meow meow? Our leader, meow!]

[Yun Juan: Uh, so, who exactly is this?]

Bai truly hadn’t been to a supermarket.

She could only recall a small, quaint, yet surprisingly well-stocked general store from her days in the old city.

Extracting that memory, Bai sent it into the chat.

[Xuan Bai:[Image]]

[Gao Xin: It’s similar to that, but with many, many times more items.]

[Yun Juan: Meow-aoh?!]

[Yun Juan: You can send pictures?]

Ignoring the other questions, Bai’s curiosity was piqued by the mention of the supermarket.

Her eyes, shining faintly, stared into the void as she fell into thought.

She envisioned the supermarket, understanding the meaning of a ‘super’ market.

She also grasped the sheer scale of ‘many, many times more’ as Gao Xin had described.

It truly lived up to its name: super many, super, super many.

Immediately, Bai found a new purpose.

Her spirits lifted, her tail stood high, and without hesitation, she tagged her most familiar companion in the chat group.[Xuan Bai: @Wei the Cat Go, take cat~]

[Wei the Cat: Why did my name change?][Wei the Cat: Huh?]

[Wei the Cat: Go where?][Wei the Cat: Oh, I see it.]

[Wei the Cat: The supermarket.]

[Wei the Cat: How about tomorrow?]

Wei the Cat, of course, would not refuse such a simple request.

Although she had been somewhat dejected and worried about herself, her companions, and Bai’s future a few days prior, she had since come to terms with it.

Why fret over hypothetical troubles?

Wei the Cat set aside her work, sitting on her specially made, slightly smaller desk and chair.

No sooner had she replied to Bai’s message than a large, fluffy white shape appeared on the desk before her.

Bai joyfully wagged the tip of her tail, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Wei the Cat.

The emotion of anticipation was almost overflowing, striking Wei the Cat’s heart.

“Mmm-woo~”

A soft, coaxing sound pierced Wei the Cat’s heart.

Bai nudged her head closer, rubbing and licking.

Who could resist such a charming display from a cat?

Wei the Cat’s heart softened further, and with a helpless, amused smile, she gently stroked Bai, who was nuzzling her palm.

“I already said yes.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll take you tomorrow morning, okay, meow?”

Wei the Cat’s voice had grown so tender that she no longer consciously suppressed her usual verbal tic.

However, Bai showed no intention of leaving.

Instead, she stayed, engaging Wei the Cat in various inexplicable cat games to unleash her excitement and anticipation.

She might lie by the desk, pouncing to bat at Wei the Cat’s pen whenever it moved, or sprawl across the keyboard, kneading with her paws.

Then, she would stare intently at Wei the Cat.

When Wei the Cat, feeling uncomfortable, looked back, Bai would nonchalantly turn her head, only to resume her watchful gaze once Wei the Cat returned to work.

Fortunately, Bai was no ordinary cat.

After thoroughly expelling her excess, boundless excitement, she regained her composure, found a sofa, and, resting her head on her paws, drifted into sleep.

Alas, the next day, following her companions’ advice, Bai transformed into her human form, shortened her long hair, donned appropriate clothes, and put on a hat, ready to go.

Yet, she discovered it was raining outside.

While the rain didn’t entirely prevent their outing, Bai preferred to walk rather than take a car.

Knowing that this sun shower wouldn’t last, she chose to wait.

Nevertheless, this couldn’t stop the girl, brimming with expectation, from feeling a touch of impatience.

Lying by the window, Bai watched, mesmerized, as dark clouds intertwined with the pale blue sky.

Fine raindrops, carried by the autumn breeze, brought a gentle dampness to everyone passing by.

Her flicking tail gradually slowed, then settled, as she realized that experiencing such a rare sun shower wasn’t so bad after all.

Tilting her head, she waited a little longer.

Then, her tail shot up again, and she pattered over to Wei the Cat, who was waiting nearby.

Happily, she grabbed Wei the Cat’s small hand and shook it.

“Water, water stopped!”

Wei the Cat looked puzzled.

“Water stopped?”

“That shouldn’t be.”

“Falling water, falling water stopped!”

Listening to Bai’s explanation, Wei the Cat finally understood.

“That’s called rain.”

“Rain, stopped, supermarket, together!”

Bai’s linguistic abilities remained… full of room for growth.

“Alright, alright, let’s go!”

The two cat-girls clasped hands and set off.

The autumn temperature was just right.

The ground and pavement, still slightly damp from the recent drizzle, met a cool breeze, carrying a subtle scent of earth.

The sunlight, no longer intense, felt comfortable and gentle, perfectly harmonizing with the cool air and damp ground.

The slightly wet stone path reflected a golden shimmer as the two cat-girls stepped out of the base, taking a deep breath of the air.

“This feeling is quite nice,” Wei the Cat stretched broadly, watching Bai’s clothes and skirt flutter in the breeze beside her.

She pulled two ribbons from her pocket and tied them around Bai’s wrists.

These were the same ribbons Bai had modified to reduce her presence, adorned with simple stick-figure drawings of Bai, drawn by an unknown hand.

“Shall we go?”

Although the supermarket wasn’t far, which was why Wei the Cat had agreed to Bai’s request to walk, the journey still took longer than Wei the Cat had anticipated.

This was due to Bai’s usual manner of walking.

Even in human form, Bai’s steps were lively, but she would invariably stop after every few paces.

She would squat down, curiously examining a patch of grass—be it Bermuda grass, Zoysia, tall fescue, or ryegrass—watching the dewdrops roll.

Bai extended a finger to touch one, and the droplet tumbled to another spot.

From this, Bai derived a joy that ordinary people could not comprehend.

In this manner, Bai gave equal attention to every passing object: grass, mushrooms, insects, trees, moths, birds, walls, stones, or even a fleeting wisp of wind.

Wei the Cat was in no rush.

Her sole purpose was to accompany Bai, so as long as Bai was happy, that was enough.

She strolled along leisurely, smiling as she watched Bai stop and start, squat and rise, and gaze around with an upturned face.

Now in human form, Bai’s actions were imbued with a youthful vitality and curiosity, every movement a delight to behold.

Wei the Cat, curious about what held Bai’s attention, took a couple of steps closer and quietly asked.

“Bai, what are you looking at?”

Bai tilted her head, confusion in her eyes, as she looked at Wei the Cat.

‘What am I looking at… I’m looking at these.’

Without knowing what thoughts passed through Bai’s mind, she pulled Wei the Cat down to squat beside her, pointing to a tall plant with large, round leaves by the roadside.

“Below, there are bugs, tasty.”

Having said this, Bai looked at Wei the Cat with sparkling eyes.

Although her expression remained blank, the meaning she wished to convey was clearly communicated to the cat-girl before her: ‘Do you want to eat them?’

Wei the Cat’s mouth twitched.

She quickly held Bai back, just as the other girl was about to pluck out the ‘tasty’ bug she spoke of.

“No, no, no, thank you!”

“I don’t eat them, and you’re not allowed to either!”

“What I mean is, we have much tastier things.”

“Don’t eat that; it’s bad for your image.”

“Hmm, not cute, that’s not right either.”

“How should I put it?” Wei the Cat stammered, trying to explain to Bai not to eat such strange things.

Bai tilted her head, nodded uncomprehendingly, and twitched her ears twice.

Then, she pulled Wei the Cat along, pointing as they walked.

“This one, on tree, bird, sparrow, tasty!”

“Yes, that bird is called a sparrow, and it is edible… hmm, but it’s probably best not to catch and eat it in human form,” Wei the Cat said, listening to Bai happily tell her things, yet not forgetting her role as an educator.

“This one, grass, not tasty, stomach comfortable, eaten.”

“Eating vegetables should have the same effect, right?”

“This one, mushroom, yucky.”

“No, no, no, this one is poisonous, isn’t it??”

Beyond these, Bai joyfully introduced other elements of her world to her companion.

“This one, sleep, comfortable!”

Bai pointed to a black car, warmed by the sun, with natural curves and indentations, perfectly suited for a nap.

“This one, tree, sharpen claws!”

Bai indicated a tree with rough, evenly cracked bark, explaining it thus.

These were all experiences Bai had gleaned from her life.

“This one, suitable, go high up!”

This was her description of an air conditioner’s outdoor unit mounted on a building.

Cats, who always loved climbing high, needed to be confident in their jumping abilities.

This particular AC unit looked ideal as a springboard to reach the rooftop, its height and position perfectly suited.

“This one, meow~”

While in the midst of her introductions, Bai spotted a cardboard box.

Unable to resist, she tried to jump into it, only to flatten the poor little box with one foot.

She knew she couldn’t fit even as a cat, but she simply couldn’t help herself.

Listening to Bai’s soft, sweet voice happily describing everything, Wei the Cat smiled, taking in her clumsy words, and her thoughts drifted back to their previous conversation.

Had Bai done anything wrong?

She merely wanted to play with her companions and help them solve their difficulties.

Yet, this unique ability destined her to be scrutinized, perhaps even targeted—no, certainly targeted—by the despicable methods of those from other continents.

Wei the Cat secretly clenched her fist.

“Not happy?”

Bai sensitively detected the shift in her companion’s emotions, tilting her head in concern.

“No, I just zoned out for a moment.”

“The supermarket is almost here, you know,” Wei the Cat said, pointing to the building ahead.

Because of its location outside the city center, the supermarket wasn’t massive, but Bai was still delighted, her tail standing even higher.

Would the delicious treats she had seen in the cat cafe’s TV commercials be here?

Bai was filled with anticipation for this.