Coco Sun tightened her grip on her tiny backpack.
"I think it"s worth a try. It might just turn out to be super awesome," she said confidently.
She pointed at the board on the storefront. "Check this out. They use the latest biotechnology from MIT to improve the customers" well-being. How cool is that?"
Leigh Zhao, the girl with long, silky hair, scoffed.
"Seriously, Coco, you"re falling for that? It"s utter bull."
Her words fell on deaf ears. Coco was not to be deterred. She was extremely curious about this cafe and its lofty claims, so she dragged Leigh inside despite her loud protests.
Leigh"s frown deepened at the sight of the play area, which was devoid of customers if not for Xiao Qing. None of the cats were particularly interesting. They were mostly the kind of tabby cats that roamed the streets.
"Oh em gee, Leigh! Look at that cat!" Coco exclaimed, holding onto the girl"s arm, "She"s beautiful. She"s purrfect. Don"t deny it."
Leigh"s gaze followed Coco"s pointed finger and landed on Elizabeth, who was currently being cuddled by Xiao Qing. She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow in surprise.
"It is pretty cute," she admitted, "What breed is that?"
"That, ladies, is a ragdoll cat," Baiquan announced, approaching the two girls with jest, "Her name is Elizabeth."
He was quite delighted by their appearance in the cafe. Coco and Leigh were the type of popular girls he would never have had a chance to talk to under normal circ.u.mstances.
He motioned for them to enter the playpen.
The moment they stepped foot in it, a rush of relaxation coursed through their bodies, spreading from the tips of their fingers to their ends of their toes.
"What"s happening? I feel…good," Coco"s voice trailed off as she basked in the soothing sensation.
Leigh nodded once in agreement, eyes widened in surprise. All morning, she had been suffering an annoying bout of cramps. It went away the moment she entered the play area. It was like magic.
"What"s going on? Like, I can literally feel good vibes radiating from me right now," she looked to Baiquan for an explanation.
This was, of course, a result of Elizabeth"s Celestial Beats. The sound waves were capable of restoring balance and harmony in the body. They could soothe any ailment or malady in existence.
Unfortunately, there was no way Baiquan could divulge this truth to the two girls.
He could, however, mislead them with an intricate and carefully weaved web of lies.
"Well, our cats aren"t just normal cats. Only the best were selected as kittens. Since birth, they"ve been fed the most premium food, even nano-pharmaceuticals…" he started.
Baiquan layered one lie over another with absolute confidence. This was not his first rodeo after all. He had single-handedly convinced dozens to join his Troll-Faced Demon cult before.
Persuading people was his forte.
He used hand gestures to emphasize certain things and paused after important points. The girls did not stand a chance.
Leigh was the first to buy into his ridiculous stories.
"This improves my complexion?" she asked, eyes s.h.i.+ning.
Baiquan nodded sagely, "If you visit frequently enough, it"ll slow down your skin cells" aging process."
Technically, this statement was not a lie. Celestial Beats made people happy. Maintaining a good mood was crucial for good immunity, hormonal balance and, consequently, a healthy rate of skin regeneration.
Pleased with what she heard, Leigh took a seat and ordered a cup of coffee. Unlike Xiao Qing, she did not bat an eyelid at the extortive prices.
Coco Sun was delighted as well. While rapid skin regeneration sounded good, her main reason for being here was to play with the adorable cats.
One of them had just moved to sit by her feet. It looked up at her with a vacant expression.
"h.e.l.lo, kitty. Whatcha looking at?" she cooed, squatting down so she could rub Mango"s head.
Mango continued to stare at her with a blank look. Instead of backing away from her touch, it burrowed the top of its head into her palm.
Coco was bowled over by this gesture. It looked like Mango was yearning for more pats.
In one swift motion, she scooped Mango into her arms and held it close to her chest.
"You really like me, don"t you?" she laughed, patting its head lovingly.
The more she looked at it, the cuter it seemed. She was bewitched.
This amused Zhao Yao, who was still in his corner, watching the girls with a knowing smile.
He understood cats. He knew they made really popular pets because their natural habits were often misinterpreted as signs of affection.
For Mango, rubbing against humans was for the very practical purpose of territory marking.
To Coco, however, it was seen as a lovely show of adoration and endearment.
After playing with Mango, she then started taking photos with it. Leigh was doing the same. They each held a cat to take selfies alone, then wefies together. Everything was uploaded on social media.
"Oh? Who knew that ragdoll cats would cost so much?" Leigh remarked, looking up at her phone.
"They"re expensive, huh?" Coco asked, taking a peek at Elizabeth.
She had wanted to play with the beautiful ragdoll the moment she spotted her, but Xiao Qing had been hogging her.
Leigh nodded, "I just checked. Each one costs, like, five digits at least."
She followed Coco"s gaze, which was still on Xiao Qing.
"Let"s get a couple of shots with her when she"s done."
This excessive photo taking was great news for Zhao Yao. Pretty girls like Coco and Leigh were always popular in school and online. Their selfies will be shared with tons of followers, which equated to many potential new customers for the cafe. This was free publicity. He loved it.
His good mood, however, did not last. It was disrupted by the glaring absence of a certain supercat.
"Where is Matcha?" he wondered, running his thumb across his chin thoughtfully.
As if on cue, Roly Poly scuttered out of the cat bathroom, a sneaky expression on his face.
"Zhao Yao," he said telepathically, "I just saw Matcha playing Mobile Legends in the bathroom."
"That brat…" Zhao Yao pursed his lips, getting on his feet.
As he made a beeline for the bathroom, Roly Poly followed up with a gentle reminder, "Zhao Yao, please don"t tell on me."
Two minutes later, he emerged from a room, a chubby LiHua cat in his arms.
Coco, Leigh, and Xiao Qing watched as Matcha violently struggled to get out his grip.
"That doesn"t look right."
"That cafe staff is, like, super rough with that cat."
"Seriously, what"s wrong with him?"
While the girls looked on with disgust, Matcha was throwing a ma.s.sive temper tantrum telepathically.
"I don"t want to work!" he whined, "Why must I work? I wanna stay home all day to play games!"
"You need to work to earn money. You need money to survive. Do you know that cat food, internet access, mobile games, and even air-conditioning all need money?" Zhao Yao retorted.
"Well, that"s none of my business! I"m just a cat! Have you ever seen a pet cat with a job? What"s wrong if I don"t wanna work?" Matcha continued defiantly.
"You rascal! If you still refuse to entertain the guests, I"m destroying all the emblems you"ve painstakingly collected in that stupid game of yours."
This shut Matcha up. He stopped struggling and fell limp in Zhao Yao"s grasp.
"Alright, I"ll do it," he conceded, crestfallen.
His despondence made Zhao Yao feel a tinge of guilt.
"Okay, how about this. As long as you do a good job, I"ll get you a monthly card as a reward," he offered, rubbing Matcha"s chin gently.
"Sure," Matcha responded half-heartedly, pursuing his lips.
He was still glaring at him from the corner of his eyes.
This was not the response Zhao Yao had hoped for. He had a.s.sumed that the cat would be delighted and energized by this promise.
"Fine, fine" he gave up, "If you don"t slack for the rest of this month, I"ll buy a character skin for you, okay? We"ll get one of those fancy ones."
"Really?" Matcha asked, eyes bright and innocent.
"Of course," he replied, rubbing the cat"s furry ears.
This boosted Matcha"s spirits immediately.
"Alright!" he announced, "Just watch me. I"ll show these humans what true cuteness looks like. Every girl in this college town will go crazy over me. They"ll never know what"s coming!"