Chapter 12 â Cat Dadâs Shamelessness
Xiaomao reluctantly accepted Liu Beiâs invitation. He got into the car and coughed, trying his best not to munya.
The driver and the black-suited man on the front seats were scar-faced middle-aged men, who seemed to be in a shady business. Xiaomaoâs expression was stiff when he saw their faces through the rear mirror.
Liu Bei noticed Xiaomaoâs expression. He teased him, âDonât be afraid. Theyâre very kind uncles. They donât bite.â
The driver looked at the rear mirror and beamed Xiaomao with a bright smile, showing his golden canine teeth, âWe donât bite. We only nibble.â
ââ¦â
âHahaha! Uncle Jian, donât bully my friend. Oh, hey, bro. Here.â
Liu Bei tossed a box at Xiaomao. The latter caught it and looked at it.
It was a brand new box of iPhone 69.
âA gift from me. Didnât they break your phone?â
âIsnât this expensive, mun-*COUGH* *COUGH*! Excuse me. Isnât this like⦠15,000 RMB for the latest model?â
âMeh. My game guild can make that in minutes. You take it.â
âErr.â
âYou helped me beat up two of those BT buffoons. You can take it as compensation for your trouble.â
Xiaomao was taken aback. He had only seen Liu Beiâs brutal side in his previous life, and he didnât know that he could be this generous.
Since life gave him a lemon, he should ask life for tequila and salt.
âThanks, mun-*COUGH* *COUGH*! By the way, what do you think about my medical fee?â
âMedical fee?â
âYou see. I got hit hard by a metal pipe. My arm hurts, and Iâm planning to go to a hospital later for a check-up. I think my arm is broken, munya.â
â⦠But you were okay back then.â
âOUCH! It hurts! The delayed pain is killing me, mu-*COUGH* *COUGH*!!â Xiaomao held his right arm and pretended to be in pain. He also struggled not to utter the MUNYA.
âErr, didnât you get hit on your left arm?â
â⦠Oh, right. Thanks for the reminder, munya⦠OUCH! MY LEFT ARM! IT HURTS!â
ââ¦â
Liu Bei was astonished by the thickness of Xiaomaoâs face. This new friend of his was too shameless.
The two middle-aged men burst into laughter. One of them wiped their tear, âBoss, this kid got the nerves of steel. AHAHAHAHAHA!!â
Xiaomao pursed his lips and tried to look as pitiful as possible. His puppy eyes reflected in the rear mirror, âBut it really hurts back then, m-*COUGH* *COUGH*â
âTAHAHAHAHA!! Look at this guy!â
The driver also cackled. He stomped on the brake panel and almost hit the car in front of him.
Liu Bei sighed, âFriend, donât be greedy. Youâre not supposed to scam your friends.â
Xiaomao dryly laughed, âThat was a prank. Donât worry about the detail, but can I have some pocket money, please?â
âAm I your parent?! Why should I give you the money?â
âBecause youâre richer than me, and weâre friends?â
ââ¦â
Again, the two men in front were dying laughing.
âForget it. Give back my phone. I changed my mind.â
Xiaomao immediately hid the phone in his shirt. He hugged it and shook his head, âNope. Youâve given it to me. Itâs mine now, mun-*COUGH* *COUGH*.â
ââ¦â
The two adults laughed again. The driver held his stomach and hit the wheel several times as he couldnât take it.
âYoung master, this is the best friend you have ever had! DAHAHAHAHA!â
The uncle in the front passenger seat also couldnât stop laughing, âHeâs gold. He has my respect. HAHAHAHA!â
Liu Bei was speechless. He snorted and leaned back. He also pulled out his wallet from his pocket and gave Xiaomao a stack of cash, âTake it and stop pretending.â
âThanks!â
Xiaomao took the cash and counted it. A hundred bills of 100 Yuan Notes made it 10,000 RMB.
That was enough for Xiaomao to last another month without relying on his parentsâ allowance.
âMake sure to go see a doctor. Did you get Covid or something? Youâve been coughing.â
ââ¦â
â¦
A few minutes later, Liu Beiâs men dropped off Xiaomao in front of Qin Yunâs Convenience Store and drove away.
In the car, the driver still chuckled as he found Xiaomao interesting.
Liu Bei was annoyed, âWhatâs so funny about him?â
âIsnât he ballsy? Does he even know who you are?â
âProbably not. I never told anyone about my father.â
âWell, you should befriend him,â the driver smirked while the man on the front passenger seat still suffered from the aftereffect.
âHim? That greedy bastard? I gave him a gift, and he asked for more! Heâs an ingrate!â
âThatâs because heâs honest, young master.â
âHonest, my ass. Heâs shameless, arrogant, stupid, and moronic! Why should I befriend a fool like him?â
âDo you think your henchmen at school dare to openly extort your money?â
â⦠They wonât. None of them has the guts to argue with me.â
âIs that so? Well, thereâs a friend thatâs gutsy enough to scam you, though.â
âAnd your point?â
âYoung master. Iâm in this business for decades. Do you know the most precious thing you can have?â
ââ¦â
âAn honest friend, young master.â
âI already have friends at school.â
âIf you refer to the henchmen at school or your subordinates in the game, those are not your friends, young master. Theyâre leechers that pretend to be loyal. But when youâre down, they will step on you without hesitation.â
ââ¦â
âYoung master. People wear masks in society. They pretend, they act, they scheme behind our back, and they secretly do things to satisfy their selfish desire. You should know that best since you are running a game guild.â
â⦠Yeah. They do.â
âThatâs my point, young master. Honest people are rarer than virgin school girls these days.â
âAnd you call that fool âHonestâ? Heâs a scammer!â
âHonest scammer if I must say. Heâs naïve, silly, and funny. But when it counts, he can be courageous⦠and ruthless.â
The driver glanced at his friend in the passenger seat. The latter passed his iPad, which displayed the image of a document.
âWhatâs this?â
âWe asked the police to investigate your friendâs background and find out what he did. Look what we found.â
ââ¦â
Liu Bei read the document in the image.
Xiaomaoâs father was the Security Director of Pangu Incorporate while his mother was a refugee from another country. Their wealth and social status were above average.
âObviously a low elite-class family. Otherwise, how could they afford the private schoolâs tuition fees?â
Liu Bei swiped the screen to read another page. The next page was the policeâs investigation detail of Xiaomao.
There was nothing worthwhile. He was just another ordinary student with so-so grades.
But then, the police record interested Liu Bei.
âExcessive Violence Charge?â
The passenger-seat uncle added, âWeâre surprised, too. If it wasnât because of the mayor, that brat would have been charged with Excessive Violence.â
âWasnât it a self-defense?â
âThe two guys that Miao Xiaomao knocked out are still in the hospital. The first guyâs nut busted so hard that the doctors had to cut it off to save his life. The other one got a concussion and a broken jaw. Heâs now a sleeping prince.â
âIsnât that a normal occurrence in fights? He might have attacked them too many times.â
âWe have the CCTV camera footage from your school. He defeated those two men in two moves.â
â⦠Huh?â
âHe defeated them in two punches, young master.â
ââ¦â
âAgain, this is advice from your senior. That brat might look like a naïve scammer, but heâs a starving tiger in sheepâs clothing. This type of person is goofily honest in front of their friends. But in fights, they can be vicious. And that comes to our advantage, young master.â
âIâm listening.â
âBecause heâs greedy, you can seduce and control him with wealth or woman. And because heâs dead honest and shameless, you can tell what he is thinking through his actions. Once he joins your game guild or becomes our brother, he will become a reliable comrade. You can also let him work as your bodyguard at school or train him as a hitman. Isnât he better than those idiotic grunts that only know how to fight and bully the weak?â
Liu Bei widened his eyes and reread the report that the police station had sent them.
After rereading the detail three times, Liu Bei smirked, âYouâre right, Uncle Jian. An honest and courageous scammer is better than pretentious leechers.â
â¦
Even though Xiaomao came to work late, Qin Yun didnât mind. After all, Xiaomao was wrongly arrested by the police.
In the convenience storeâs staff room, Qin Yun complained to his employee, âDonât get involved in a fight. Havenât I told you that?â
âBut theyâre armed, mu-*AHEM*.â
âOh, never mind then,â Qin Yun coughed. âSo, did you win?â
âYes.â
âHow many did you take down?â
âTwo, mu-oof.â
âWere you harmed?â
âOnly my phone is broken, munya.â
âMunya?â
âI-I mean, my phone costs money, mu-*COUGH*!â
âGood. Well done,â Qin Yun laughed and patted Xiaomaoâs back. âNow, go back to your duties. Iâm clocking off now. Also, the missing hours will add up to your pay cut!â
âMunyaaa,â Xiaomao cried.
â¦
After work, Xiaomao got home.
His parents didnât wait for him. They were already asleep as it was midnight.
Xiaomao greeted the mama cat that he had picked up many months ago. He petted her, âHi, mama cat, munya.â
Meo
The mama cat rubbed her body on Xiaomaoâs leg, leaving her scent on him. As for Mu-Nyang, Nyanko, and Mir, they surrounded Xiaomao and stared at his face, greeting him with their eyes.
Xiaomao sat in front of them and petted everybody. Nyanko avoided Xiaomaoâs hands, but Mir, Mu-Nyang, and Mama didnât resist.
Mu-Nyang simply stared at Xiaomaoâs face while the rest of them sniffed him as he carried a new scent from the police station and Liu Beiâs car.
âHave you all eaten, munya?â
Munya
Mew
Nya
Meo
The four reacted as soon as Xiaomao mentioned food.
Xiaomao sighed. He went to the kitchen and gave them dried cat food. Then, he took a bath and returned to his bedroom.
It was half past midnight.
Xiaomao was in his casual clothes. He got in the game capsule.
No cat got in his room this time. Xiaomao also wore new sets of clothes.
He sighed and closed his eyes to rest for a moment. However, the game screens were visible behind the eyelids.
Words and numbers on the status screen became clearer, but it was still hazy. It showed the symptom that his game character had integrated with his real body.
As soon as Xiaomao could read everything, the process would be completed. And Xiaomao would be able to import his real-life skills into the game. Vice Versa, every status attribute in-game would affect his real body!
Xiaomao bit his lower lips. He didnât know whether to laugh or cry.
âMy life is going to be complicated soon, but this is my choice. Itâs too late to regret it now!â
He put on his game helmet and entered the game.
â¦
Ding