First, Shen Xin made sure he wasn't hearing things.
He had definitely heard a high-pitched voice clearly say, 'Content.'
Or more accurately, he hadn't "heard" it so much as it had simply appeared in his mind.
There was no one else in the room.
Da Mei was curled up on the sofa, her three little ones nestled in her embrace. Her eyes were half-closed, a look of pure bliss on her face.
Evil Bully lay beside her, grooming her fur.
Without a doubt, a cat wasn't going to open its mouth and speak.
So Shen Xin figured the voice he'd heard was more like Da Mei's inner thoughts—what she was feeling in that moment.
Her kittens in her embrace, her mate by her side, no worries about food, drink, or danger. That's why she felt so content.
"Da Mei."
Shen Xin reached out and poked Da Mei.
She remained languid, merely cracking her eyes open to let out a meow.
"Can you hear me when I talk? Or maybe... understand me?" Shen Xin tried to communicate.
Then he concentrated, hoping to hear a response.
Da Mei just meowed once, lazily extending a paw to touch him.
Shen Xin didn't hear a voice.
'Looks like I still haven't figured out how this works.'
But one thing was certain: he had only heard Da Mei's thoughts after the icon had changed.
The bar had probably filled up because he'd brought Evil Bully over, making her environment even more comfortable.
During the green icon phase, as her favorability had increased, Shen Xin had been able to understand Da Mei's emotions more clearly.
Shen Xin thought of a word to describe this stage.
Empathy!
'By continuously raising her favorability, I can perceive her emotions more clearly.'
For example, back when they were looking for the tuxedo cat, Shen Xin could clearly feel Da Mei's anger and what she intended to do.
And now that the icon had turned yellow, he must have entered a new stage.
'Listening?'
Shen Xin thought for a moment and came up with another word to describe it.
It was a natural progression. The empathy had deepened, the favorability was high enough, and a quantitative change had triggered a qualitative one. He wasn't just feeling the animal's emotions anymore; he could now directly hear their inner voices and understand their thoughts more precisely.
That also explained why he couldn't hear her thoughts now.
The stage had just changed, and the favorability was at zero bars. Only by continuing to raise her favorability could he eventually hear more of an animal's thoughts, anytime and anywhere.
Shen Xin felt his theory was probably on the right track. He stroked Da Mei's head, and she stretched her neck to rub against his hand, letting out a deep purr.
'Right now, it's just listening. If I raise her favorability even more, will I eventually be able to have a full conversation with Da Mei?'
Shen Xin thought that was a real possibility.
'I'll have to be more careful from now on. This favorability is hard to raise, but it's all too easy for it to drop.'
He pulled his hand back.
Just then, Shen Xin suddenly heard another voice.
'Continue.'
It was Da Mei's inner voice.
She didn't look at Shen Xin. Her eyes were still half-closed as she settled back down, and she didn't make a sound.
Shen Xin realized something else.
'Before, it was 'Content,' and now, 'Continue.' Maybe when her favorability is low, I can only hear her more basic, or rather, instinctual thoughts.'
This would actually make it easier for him to understand Da Mei's needs and raise her favorability.
"Fine, continue it is."
It was rare to have a day off. Shen Xin sat down next to the little family, turned on the TV, and resumed binge-watching *Monk*, which he still hadn't finished. All the while, he continued to pet Da Mei's head.
Her entire body went limp, and she lay there like a puddle, purring nonstop.
Without a doubt, she was feeling absolutely blissful.
The only problem was that after a while, his hand started to get sore.
'Grinding favorability really isn't easy.'
Fortunately, Da Mei seemed to have had her fill of purring. She shook off Shen Xin's hand, snuggled up next to him, curled into a ball, and fell fast asleep.
Above her head, one bar of the yellow icon slowly materialized.
Shen Xin was secretly pleased. 'The favorability is rising pretty quickly.'
She slept until evening, only getting up when her three little ones grew hungry and started to cry out.
First, she stretched languidly, then began to nurse her three kittens.
Once they were fed, she helped them with their... business, and only then did she hop off the sofa.
'Hungry!'
Shen Xin heard her voice again.
Without a word, Shen Xin hurried to get some cat food.
To supplement her nutrition, Shen Xin also mixed up some goat milk formula.
She seemed to like it, too.
She lapped up most of it unhurriedly, ate a little cat food, and then went to use the restroom.
Shen Xin had bought a litter box, but Da Mei still preferred to use the human toilet.
She squatted on the toilet seat like an acrobat, stuck her butt out, and did her business in one smooth motion.
'If only she knew how to flush. That would be perfect.'
Then there was Evil Bully. He woke up, finished the leftover canned food, and immediately tried to mount Da Mei.
Shen Xin's head throbbed. He had been thinking about officially adopting Evil Bully.
But at this rate, if he left the two of them alone here while he was at work, they were guaranteed to produce another litter.
Fortunately, this time Da Mei seemed uninterested and rejected Evil Bully.
'No!'
Shen Xin even heard her inner voice.
Evil Bully didn't care. He chased after Da Mei, trying to force himself on her.
This was animal instinct. Shen Xin couldn't exactly judge him from a moral high ground. All he could do was wait for an opening and shove Evil Bully away with his foot.
He didn't dare use his hands.
The cat was too vicious.
Da Mei dodged away, and Evil Bully let out a series of low growls at Shen Xin.
The single bar on the icon above his head vanished instantly. He was furious. 'She's my mate, what are you stopping me for?'
Gritting his teeth, Shen Xin grabbed a t-shirt, waited for the right moment, and threw it over Evil Bully.
The cat struggled furiously, screeching nonstop.
Even Da Mei was startled. She flipped like a switch, rushing over and hissing at Shen Xin.
This made Shen Xin suspect that the pair's relationship wasn't actually all that great.
Evil Bully was, after all, just a cat. No matter how clever he was, he was no match for Shen Xin's strength.
Wrapped tightly in the shirt, he couldn't break free.
Shen Xin quickly scooped him up and stuffed him into the pet carrier.
Neutering. He's getting neutered today!
'His favorability is already low anyway. If I forcibly take him to get neutered now, I won't have to worry about it dropping any further.'
'But what about Da Mei?'
'Getting her spayed would be good for her.'
When a cat goes into heat, not only are they miserable, but they also turn on everyone.
'The problem is, I worked so hard to grind her favorability this high. If I take Da Mei to get spayed, her favorability will definitely plummet.'
'She might even hold a grudge, and I'll never be able to earn it back.'
'Do I have to put on a show?'
Shen Xin recalled some guides he'd seen online. For example, the owner could act out a scene, pretending to be incredibly reluctant to part with their cat, to make the cat think the veterinarian was the bad guy, not its owner.
That was a problem for another day. Right now, he had to deal with Evil Bully first.
"Go on, be vicious," he muttered. "Let's see how vicious you are when your balls are gone."
Inside the carrier, Evil Bully crouched in an attack pose, hissing endlessly.
Da Mei circled the carrier's entrance, hissing at Evil Bully as well.
The icon above her head still showed one bar; her favorability hadn't dropped just because Shen Xin had captured her 'husband'.
"Da Mei, be a good girl and stay home."
Shen Xin said, then carried the carrier out the door.
Not only did he have to take Evil Bully to be neutered, but he also had to go to the emergency room for a rabies shot.
That was another two thousand out the window.
"You still dare to be vicious with me!"
He went downstairs, put the carrier in his car, and gave the box a hard smack.