Senior sister Snow Leopard’s complexion was a cool white, with her long black hair draped naturally. Her eyebrows were somewhat boyish and shaped like swords, while her eyes were pale colored. She looked very aloof.
Compared to senior sister Snow Leopard, senior sister Lu Sha looked much more cordial. When she smiled, she looked like a good-tempered lion.
Zhou Mingming sat next to her immediate senior sister and rubbed her paws. Senior sister Snow Leopard had a much gentler attitude towards her junior sister as she stretched out her hand to rub her chin and smooth her fur.
Qi Xiaohan, Lu Ling, and senior sister Tabby Cat assigned some spots. Qi Xiaohan and Tabby Cat sat next to Lu Sha, while the little lynx was surrounded by the ones beside senior sister Snow Leopard. The six cats were then divided into two groups and began to pick up their chopsticks to start eating.
The condiments and other ingredients had been prepared a while ago and plates and bowls were placed upon the floor. Half a plate of meat rolls was already placed into the pot and just after their color changed, they were quickly picked up by Lu Sha and placed on a small plate to pour the seasoning on.
“Would you like an oil dish or sesame sauce?”
Lu Sha casually asked.
Qi Xiaohan: “Oil dish, oil dish! Sesame sauce is fine too!”
Tabby cat: “Sesame sauce!”
The little cat’s bright eyes stared at the hot pot. Her whole body showed excitement as she pawed while her little nose happily sniffed at the aroma.
Lu Sha dipped the newly cooked meat into an oil dish and placed it on Qi Xiaohan’s small plate. She then saw the little cat lower her head, open her mouth wide, and stuff the meat inside her mouth. She meowed as it scalded her.
“Meow, it’s delicious!”
The snow leopard at the side was eating hot pot too. Senior sister Snow Leopard picked up the plate of juicy beef balls and said, “I’ll add it in.”
“Pour it in!!!”
When the juicy beef balls were poured in, they gradually expanded and after some time, floated down to the bottom of the pot. The two big adult cats then fished them up one by one.
“Tripes! I forgot about the tripes!” Qi Xiaohan lifted her cat claws, pointed at the two large pans of tripes placed at the edge, and meowed. The plate of tripes then flew over and was given to Lu Sha.
The little cat released her claws’ grip, her eyes green. She opened her eyes and looked at the senior sister: “Senior sister, I want to eat it with sesame sauce!”
The little cat told them like that.
Lu Sha took a new sauce dish from the side, poured in the sesame sauce prepared by Qi Ning, added sesame oil and coriander peanuts, and finally sprinkled the chili oil brought by Qi Xiaohan’s family at the top. The newly fished out tripes were dipped into the sauce and delivered into the little cat’s mouth. Its deliciousness made the cat roll over.
The pork belly, mutton, and beef disappeared plate by plate. When there were fewer meat and vegetables, they moved to eating the kelp, fish, tofu, and the beef balls, and then had another plate of fragrant chewy beef tendons. They used the pungent broth in the pot to boil it and then dipped it into an oil dish. The more delicious ones disappeared quickly.
“My shrimps, where are my shrimps!”
The little cat’s belly rolled as she kept looking for her shrimp.
“The shrimp is still in the refrigerator, I left it at room temperature. The temperature in the dormitory is too high. I’m afraid that it’s too early to take it out.” Said the little lynx Lu Ling. She got up and opened the refrigerator, pulling the shrimp out with the spell she had learned from Qi Xiaohan.
Lu Sha’s handiwork was quite good as she molded the shrimp into a ball and floated them to the broth one by one. Its meat was tender, smooth, and was refreshing to eat while the broth was spicy. Within the delicious smelling dormitory, the six cats meowed.
“Do you still have tofu and quail eggs?” Senior sister Snow Leopard asked, holding a plate.
The little white cat revealed her small snow-white furred belly as she digested her food. She leaned on the arms of senior sister Lu Sha, stretching her little feline head and meowing, “Down! Let it go down first and we wait ‘til we digest it then we eat again later for the tofu!”
At this time, the door of the dormitory wasn’t able to stop the hot pot’s aroma. Many big cats came to this direction when they smelled it and when they pushed the door open and entered, they saw them eating the food in a frenzy and immediately yelled to be invited. They joined in and squeezed among the cats however, some of them were afraid that there wouldn’t be enough space and became statues as they waited for their classmates and friends to eat meat.
When the plates ran out, the big cats from other dormitories brought more and also waited for the meat.
For a while, the dormitory was crowded with big cats and kittens, all wailing and meowing, smiling with excitement.
Fortunately, Xunhai United University’s dormitories had no limit to its electricity, otherwise, an auntie would come to knock on the door at this moment.
The classmates and senior sisters ate the meal for three hours and before they left, they helped the residents of 412 clean up their dormitory. Senior sister Lu Sha waved her hand, and the smell of the hot pot’s flavor in the dormitory disappeared.
(T/N: The smell of hot pot flavor had a strong odor so what Lu Sha did was wipe out the smell of hot pot from the dormitory.)
Qi Xiaohan lay on her cat cushion, meowing contentedly.
The other three cats also lay on their own beds, squinting their eyes, remembering the hot pot meal.
The golden cat Xiao Mengmeng came back early on at the second wave. She looked in shock at the big cats and kittens in the dormitory, then she firmly set her things down and then ate another meal. At this moment, she was struggling to get up and move around.
“…It was so delicious.”
The little lynx was spread out flat on the floor like a pancake.
“Xiaohan, your family owns a hot pot restaurant, right? Its taste is so delicious, family business must be great, right?”
Qi Xiaohan: “It’s not bad. After Mom and Dad passed away, my sister was the only one left to open the store, it was difficult for her. She wanted to open another branch last year, but it didn’t happen.”
When her roommates heard that Qi Xiaohan’s parents had passed away, they respectfully became silent to give tribute then spoke again:
“Fortunately, our school doesn’t require tuitions. After you earn a scholarship, you can go back to your sister and provide funds to open a shop in the future.” comforted the golden cat Xiao Mengmeng.
“Your elder sister is amazing for still running the business. Is she a little white cat like you?”
The big cats of the roommates imagined a little white cat similar to Qi Xiaohan, running a hot pot restaurant with her little sister, her feline paws laboriously counting the money, and they suddenly felt very sad.
Qi Xiaohan raised her head up and looked at them strangely, “What were you thinking? How can cats set up shop in the human realm! I wasn’t born within their family, I was picked up and raised by them when I was a child. I have the same surname as them.“
The little cat turned over and lay next to the litter of cats, “Sister Lu Sha asked about the situation at home before, and I always said that the humans at home felt odd, that’s why I just called them Mom, Dad, and Sister. Mom and Dad always called themselves that way, but I usually call my sister’s name directly at home. Her name is Ningning and she’s a very well-behaved human.”
“So it’s like that…” Her roommates nodded.
The four big and small cats relaxed in the dormitory and pointed the air conditioner to themselves. They chatted with each other and began a midnight meeting.
“I don’t want to go to school but if I don’t go, the elders in the family will break my legs.”
“It’s great that you could attend school, there are some benefits to that. I was the only one in our village who passed the exam. I worked hard reviewing for a long time for the exam and practiced various methods at home every day before I could attend.”
“Hey, my parents started companies in the human realm, and the ones they created were quite big and all were listed. If I don’t attend school, I’m allowed to go to the company and boss others around.”
“I heard that senior sister Lu Sha owned a large territory before she attended university, a really big one, and she sacrificed a lot for it. After she entered the school, the territory was handed over to her sisters to manage. She was the former leader of the lions.“
“Woah, that’s difficult. Senior sister’s looks are good. It’s hard to blame senior brother Duo-en for chasing after her.”
“It’s hopeless for senior brother Duo-en…”
…
Late at night, Lang Chen’s Moments was flooded by pictures of hot pot.
The most recent was from Lu Sha’s Moments,
[Today, I went and ate my little junior sister’s hot pot, so happy. ]
(朋友圈 or WeChat Moments is similar to Twitter or Facebook, you can refer to this article.)
In it, big felines and kittens gathered and piled up upon one another. From the picture, the bottom of the pot was bright red from the heat, and a lot of large and small plates beside it were used to eat. Lang Chen zoomed in on the sauce dishes that were all filled with a layer of red oil. It was simply outrageous.
There were many comments below:
- The scum lion died away: Xiaohan’s ingredients were absolutely perfect. Opening that fragrant pot could make a cat go to heaven. When will you arrange another one?
- Little White Cat Qi Xiaohan’s reply to the scum lion dies away: I need to buy ingredients first then my family will deliver it to put into the bottom of the pot.
- Big raccoon is very powerful: Oooh so happy! Thank you for your generosity!
- The first handsome lion in the universe: I want to eat too… Can you take me there next time?
- My sword will be colorful. Mary Su Guang: F*ck, is it too much for you to cook instant noodles in a cauldron? Laugh and cries.
(丹炉 is a tool that alchemists and cultivators use to create pills and elixirs, they’re called cauldron or pill furnaces in English.)
…
- Lang Chen: Heavy oil and salt tend to shed fur.
Lang Chen put away his phone to the side and closed his eyes.
After a while, he picked up his phone again. Even when the wound on his back healed, he couldn’t sleep peacefully. Lang Chen didn’t feel sleepy. He held the phone in his hand and looked at the empty darkness for a while, then opened his phone and accessed Moments again.
Moments was still bustling and lively. Lang Chen’s gaze stayed on the hot pot photo. The bottom of the pot was a boiling bright red and seeing it suddenly made his empty stomach rumble.
He couldn’t eat spicy food, and he probably wouldn’t have much of a chance to attend such gatherings.
In fact, there weren’t a lot of people added to Lang Chen’s WeChat account and most were his close friends. As for why this little cat appeared in his Moments—he helped her carry her luggage and the little cat raised her small face and earnestly asked for his WeChat account. His response was natural. He hadn’t thought of an excuse to refuse and gave it to her.
Afterward, he saw a friend request with a little white cat’s profile picture.
She moved quite quickly.
Lang Chen’s Moments was empty. His daily life was relatively dull and beyond his training, he would be in class. There was nothing for him to share. After adding this kitten, he delved into the little cat’s Moments and found that this cat’s life was really colorful. She was active daily on Moments and it was unknown when she added the majority of her friends. It was quite lively.
Lang Chen moved his body slightly with half his body inclined up. The phone’s screen glowed in the dark and lit up his face.
He currently had insomnia. Lang Chen clicked on the portrait of the kitten once again to begin browsing her Moments.
At the topmost was the little white cat and her friends eating hot pot within the dormitory. The room was steaming and its heat felt like it could be transmitted through the photos.
There were also pictures of the kitten and the humans in her family beneath. She played everywhere or watched some drama and talked about it. She was obviously a young cat, it was amusing for her.
Lang Chen stared at the soft white kitten ears that had a lovely arc. He held the phone as he gradually fell asleep.