Dust Ball felt a lump in her throat as memories flashed across her head, "The first breath felt a little choking, yet it was rather comfortable. And then I took my second breath, many cats around me had already fallen to the floor, but I continued taking in a few more sniffs.
I just felt that all my unhappiness and sorrow had evaporated and I felt so happy. I didn"t want to think about anything, and I didn"t want to do anything."
Zhao Yao sighed as he heard Dust Ball"s voice in his head, "What happened after that? How long did you use the catmint for?"
Dust Ball lowered her little head and replied, "I began using it on a daily basis after my first encounter with catmint. My entire body felt uneasy when I go one day without it."
Zhao Yao continued asking, "So you became friends with the big cats?"
"No," Dust Ball replied with tears in her eyes, "After a few months, I wasn"t contented with simply sniffing it. I took a bite every time I saw it. One day, the cats in bas.e.m.e.nt realized that I had been secretly eating the catmint and chased me away.
I had no other options but to find catmint in other neighborhoods. Over that period, I relocated 20 times. Whenever the big cats realized that I had been secretly eating the catmint, they would chase me away. The cycle repeated itself for every district. I had to relocate myself every two weeks."
Zhao Yao asked out of curiosity, "Didn"t you try to kick your addiction?"
Dust Ball only shook her head and replied, "I did try to kick it. It was difficult enough for a tiny cat like me to survive in the wilderness. Coupled with my addiction, I did not even have time to hunt for food, and I grew thinner by the day.
However, I just couldn"t overcome my addiction. Every day I was in pain. However, one sniff of the catmint would elevate me from h.e.l.l to heaven, albeit ephemeral. At that moment, I was infinite.
One day without sniffing the catmint and my entire body would be in agony. I did not want to groom myself or wash my face. I didn"t even want to eat or drink until I found my catmint."
Dust Ball sank into despair as she covered her tiny face with her little paws, "After getting exposed to Celestial Beats, all my bodily aches and pains have slowly disappeared. I thought I had kicked my addiction to catmint; I really didn"t know …"
Zhao Yao began scratching the bottom his chin as the crisp and clear female voice rang in his head, he reflected, "Because of dwarfism, her bones, muscles, and nerves have been suffering every day. The catmint was able to alleviate somewhat her pain which ended up as a dependence on it.
When she met me, she was surrounded by the inaudible frequency from Celestial Beats and temporarily stayed clear from catmint, until today."
Zhao Yao brought the food bowl to Dust Ball and said, "Do you want to take a sniff of it?"
Dust Ball nodded her head vigorously. She craved for the catmint in Zhao Yao"s hand, "Just let me take one sniff; one sniff would do. I can let the customers touch, caress and even hug me. They don"t even have to put on any gloves."
Zhao Yao sighed as he carefully lay the catmint on the floor. In her eyes, the catmint was equivalent to the most delicious food in the universe as she sprinted towards it. She stuck out her tongue and began to lick the catmint frantically.
Dust Ball"s loyalty had also increased by one point because of Zhao Yao"s action.
"This cat …" Zhao Yao stared at the catmint in his hand and mumbled, "Such a pity that it can only be used against Dust Ball temporarily. It seems like other cats are not attracted to it."
Zhao Yao raised his head to see Matcha busy chasing after Roly Poly. Matcha yelled, "How dare you pluck away my fur!"
Apparently, Matcha, Mango, Roly Poly, and the other cats were not addicted to catmint. They had even forgotten the comfort which they had enjoyed a while ago.
Zhao Yao began to aimlessly browse through different websites as he waited for the café"s opening time.
Currently, the café opened for business at ten thirty am. s.h.i.+ Yu and Baiquan would take this time to clean the cat litter box and counter top to ensure that it was ready for the day"s business.
It was a lot more relaxing for Zhao Yao and the cats. They just had to wait for the clock to strike ten thirty.
Elizabeth was licking the fur on her belly, just like how a model would put on makeup before a fas.h.i.+on show. She had to ensure that she was in her best form before the customers came. After completing her "makeup", she took her phone out and went on the internet.
Roly Poly was sitting against the wall, with both eyes in a daze. A fine trickle of drool leaked from the side of his mouth as he imagined himself eating KFC"s finger licking good chicken.
Dust Ball was sitting at a corner, immersed in her thoughts of catmint.
Obviously, Matcha was resting in the toilet on the highest shelf, secretly playing Mobile Legends. Because of his work commitment, he had significantly less time to spend on it.
"Hmm, this is the price to pay for stepping into society, where you can only depend on yourself. I"ll be happy just to be able to complete the daily missions."
Matcha sighed as he took a look at the updates on WeChat.
The first contact he saw was a picture of Elizabeth"s selfie. On top of it was a profile shot of Elizabeth. In these photographs, Elizabeth was staring out the window, with a look of sadness visibly reflected on her face. Her large blue eyes were s.h.i.+ning like sapphire stones.
Even though Matcha often got into fights with Elizabeth, he could not help but admit …
"Elizabeth is so beautiful," Matcha licked the side of his lips before leaving a comment, "You seemed to have gained some weight, please watch what your diet."
Next, he saw Roly Poly"s post which was a poster of KFC"s newest hot and spicy hamburger.
"Boring," Matcha commented with a bored Spongebob GIF.
Matcha continued scrolling through his newsfeed when he chanced upon Zhao Yao"s post. He had uploaded a photo of his Panamera.
"d.a.m.n, this guy is just trying to show off," Matcha uttered before leaving a like and commented, "So stylis.h.!.+"
Beneath it was a photo shared by Chubby Luban a.s.sa.s.sin, it was a screenshot which showed that it had been promoted to the rank of Grand Master on Mobile Legends.
"How is this possible? A rookie like him is a Grand Master?"
Matcha scanned the comments and saw lots of ids.
Omnipresent commented, "Congratulations for reaching the rank of Grand Master, may your legacy continue to live on!"
Leopard Head commented, "That"s so sick, please carry me in the game!"
No. 1 Dried Fish Fan commented, "Please carry me!"
Meow Gibson commented, "Please carry me!"
Matcha felt a tinge of jealousy as he pondered, "Even that fatso can reach Grand Master? Hmm, it is just a sore loser in my eyes," He immediately switched over to the group chat and noticed Elizabeth chatting with Sweetie Pie.
Sweetie Pie typed, "Elizabeth, have you watched Autumn in My Heart?"
Elizabeth replied, "No, I"m still catching up on Game of Thrones. It"s so good!"
Sweetie Pie said, "I"m telling you Autumn in My Heart is so much better. Gyun He is extremely handsome; I just want to bury my head in his chest. Game of Thrones is so gory, just join me and watch Autumn in My Heart."
"What?" Elizabeth replied with a disbelief emoji, "Can there actually be a better TV series than Game of Thrones?"
Matcha rolled his eyes as he read the conversation between the two cats, "So boring!" Matcha commented as he declared, "@Chubby Luban a.s.sa.s.sin, I heard you had gotten better at Mobile Legends."