Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Taking X-Rays

After the calico took out the money, he looked at the stunned staff at the pet hospital and could not help becoming anxious.

What was going on? He had clearly taken out the money, proving that he had the financial means. He had not come here intending to freeload and make them work for free.

Why weren't the staff in front of him doing anything?

Poor little chubby orange cat from their family was lying quietly on the examination table, belly facing upward. All four paws had never been so neatly placed at his sides. He looked like a fake Fluffy.

The doctor here was the first to react.

He finally turned his gaze toward the fat orange cat in front of the calico.

But a new problem had arisen.

...How was he supposed to diagnose and treat him?

He first touched Fluffy's soft, warm chest, then checked his breathing.

“...He's still alive.” He made his first assessment.

The calico widened his eyes.

And then?

The doctor glanced at the calico. Under normal circumstances, he would have already asked the owner what had brought the cat in.

But now, the one who had brought the little orange cat to the hospital was another cat. Even if this cat was capable of bringing a cat into a pet hospital and taking out red banknotes, he certainly could not expect a cat to open its mouth and speak.

The doctor stroked Fluffy from the tips of his ears all the way to the tip of his tail.

...There didn't seem to be anything wrong.

His fur was soft and smooth, and he did not have minor problems such as ear mites or ringworm. He looked like a well-cared-for little cat.

There was no bleeding on his body either. He was so quiet that it did not seem as though he had fainted. It looked more like he was asleep.

“Let's take an X-ray first and have a look.” The doctor made a new decision.

The calico nodded.

He had lived with humans for such a long time that he still had some common sense.

Just as everyone picked up the little cat and took him to get an X-ray, Egg Fried Rice finally stood up from the skateboard by himself and walked into the hospital.

“Calico!” Egg Fried Rice shouted angrily.

The calico turned his head: ?

“How could you abandon me and leave me behind!” Egg Fried Rice was hurt.

Not physically, but psychologically.

The calico's blatant preferential treatment had cast a shadow over his not-so-young heart.

“You were already awake, weren't you?” The calico did not understand what Egg Fried Rice was angry about.

“Being awake doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with me!” Egg Fried Rice became even angrier when he saw that the calico showed no sign of remorse.

“Then you can get an X-ray too?” The calico was a good-tempered cat, although he did not really understand what Egg Fried Rice was angry about.

“What is that?” Egg Fried Rice was curious. He jumped onto the table.

“It means that normal photographs can only capture what you look like on the outside. But taking an X-ray at the hospital can show what your body looks like on the inside.” The calico explained it to him.

Egg Fried Rice was astonished. He quickly lowered his head and touched his own belly.

The calico seemed to see what he was thinking and continued, “You don't have to cut open your belly. You can just take a picture directly.”

Egg Fried Rice was tempted.

So there was such a miraculous way of taking pictures.

While they were talking, the doctor had already carried Fluffy back out.

“We'll probably have to wait another thirty minutes.” The doctor brought the little chubby orange cat over to the calico and gave him the report.

The doctor had said everything he needed to say, but could this calico cat really understand him?

Unexpectedly, the calico quickly nodded, indicating that he had understood everything.

“Meow, meow! Meow, meow, meow!” Doctor, doctor, I want to get an X-ray too!

Egg Fried Rice moved closer and frantically waved around in front of the doctor, making his wishes clear.

The doctor pondered for a second and felt that he understood.

He gave a reassuring smile and stroked Egg Fried Rice's round, chubby face. He had never imagined that there could be such sincere and touching friendship between cats.

“Don't worry too much. He's fine.”

“Meow, meow, meow!” What does whether he's fine have to do with me? I'm saying that I want an X-ray.

That guy fell from such a small height, and I was underneath him to cushion his fall. I wasn't even crushed into anything. How could the little chubby orange cat possibly have anything wrong with him?

Egg Fried Rice angrily growled twice, but the doctor still could not understand what he was really trying to say.

Egg Fried Rice came up with another idea.

He glanced at the little chubby orange cat beside him, then imitated him and lay down. He even tried his best to arrange all his paws in exactly the same position as Fluffy's.

He peacefully closed his eyes.

Calico: “............”

Doctor: ?

Suddenly, they heard a smacking sound. Looking closely, they discovered that it was Fluffy smacking his lips twice.

“Fluffy?” The calico hurriedly moved closer and patted the little orange cat's face.

Fluffy frowned and disdainfully extended a paw, pushing the calico's paw away.

He quickly placed both front paws on his belly and scratched it twice.

With the face of a young boy, he somehow managed to make the gesture look exactly like that of an uncle.

“Judging by this, he should be fine, right?” The doctor breathed a sigh of relief in advance.

The little orange cat scratched himself for a while longer. Just as he rolled over and prepared to continue sleeping, he suddenly felt an obstacle.

Egg Fried Rice.

The orange cat's brows furrowed again.

“Hey, if you're going to wake up, then hurry up and—” Egg Fried Rice had not finished speaking when he suddenly felt himself being kicked down by an enormous force.

He did not even have time to scream.

“Thump.”

Egg Fried Rice landed.

“Su Fluffy...” Egg Fried Rice angrily opened his eyes. It was time to teach this fat orange cat who had no idea of his own limits a lesson.

However, before he could even finish speaking, a second “thump” came.

The little orange cat landed directly on Egg Fried Rice’s belly.

By the time Big Sister Little Qian and the others arrived at the scene, all that remained was a sleepy little chubby orange cat and a large chubby orange cat who had fainted after letting out a scream.

“Meow?” Fluffy slowly climbed up from the soft, furry belly, not knowing what had happened.

He stepped directly on Egg Fried Rice’s face, and Egg Fried Rice let out one final, faint cry for help.

The little orange cat was startled and immediately sprang away, his tone full of confusion. “What are you doing?”

“You...” Egg Fried Rice struggled to raise one paw. In the end, he still could not accuse him of his misdeeds. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

“Then I’ll take him to get an X-ray.” The doctor bent down and picked up Egg Fried Rice.

The little orange cat tilted his head. How had he ended up at the hospital?

And what had happened to Egg Fried Rice?

“What happened to Egg Fried Rice?” Fluffy immediately jumped onto the table and looked at the calico cat with a gossiping expression, winking and making faces.

Calico: “............”

The calico silently raised a paw and placed it on the little cat’s forehead.

Fluffy: ?

...

“Don’t be angry.” The little chubby orange cat bumped Egg Fried Rice’s thick butt with his own butt.

Egg Fried Rice rolled over and ignored him.

“Oh, come on, I didn’t do it on purpose. That branch really was too flimsy.”

“And it wasn’t my fault that we ended up at the hospital. Why did you have to go and faint for no reason just because you saw me do it?” The little chubby cat expertly shifted the blame.

“Was that my fault?! And you weren’t fainting at all. You were obviously just taking a nap!” Egg Fried Rice became even angrier the more he listened.

Listen to him. Could those really be the words of a good cat?

“All right, all right, then it’s all my fault. But didn’t I turn the mistake into an opportunity and help you fulfill one of your wishes?” Fluffy patted his own chest with his paw. He had just apologized, but immediately began taking great credit for himself.

Egg Fried Rice: ?

“Weren’t you making a huge fuss about wanting to get an X-ray? Well, there you go. You got your X-ray. Your wish has come true.” Fluffy spoke with exaggerated emphasis.

Egg Fried Rice: “............”

How could there be such a shameless creature!

Big Sister Little Qian came over and settled the bill first. Seeing the two orange cats bickering and fooling around, she breathed a sigh of relief. Since they could still be so lively and energetic while arguing, it seemed that there was probably nothing seriously wrong with them.

“The X-ray results are out.” The doctor opened the computer.

Fluffy immediately ran toward the computer, stepping on Egg Fried Rice, who was lying there, along the way.

Since they had already taken the X-rays, they ultimately took pictures of both cats.

“There’s nothing wrong. He’s very healthy.” The doctor looked at the little chubby orange cat staring seriously at the screen and could not help feeling a little doubtful.

Could this cat actually understand his own X-rays?

“Not bad. My skeleton looks quite good.” Fluffy admired it narcissistically for a while before reaching his conclusion.

“How can you even say that a skeleton looks good?” Egg Fried Rice, injured but determined, struggled to get up and shoved the annoying little chubby cat aside.

He saw his own skeleton.

“Hmm, this really is a good-looking skeleton.” Egg Fried Rice gave his evaluation with great seriousness.

“Look,” the doctor said, pointing at Egg Fried Rice’s X-ray. “His skeleton is very slender.”

Egg Fried Rice was in a good mood. This should be a compliment, right?

“So the fact that he has put on so much flesh means he’s really too fat.” After commenting on the bones, the doctor commented on the flesh surrounding them.

Egg Fried Rice: “............”

Egg Fried Rice bumped into the doctor.

What was the point of getting an X-ray? After all that, he was still telling him something that could have been determined without an X-ray!

The little orange cat took two steps back. He did not want to listen to the doctor’s evaluation of him.

“As for this cat...” The doctor turned his head and saw Fluffy looking threateningly at him.

So he changed what he was about to say.

“As for this little cat, he should just eat a little less.”

Fluffy was satisfied.

Everyone else gave him disdainful looks.

“So, judging from this, neither of the two cats has any problems?” Big Sister Little Qian held one cat head in each hand.

“The X-ray results show no problems, and they’re both so lively and energetic now. They should be fine.” The doctor nodded.

Fluffy stretched lazily and was just about to leave when Egg Fried Rice suddenly cried, “Ow,” and collapsed.

“Meow, meow!” It hurts a little here.

Egg Fried Rice pressed a paw against his belly.

The little orange cat, who had already seen through him, narrowed his eyes. This fat cat really was shameless enough. Even at a time like this, he was still trying to swindle him for money.

Hmph.

“Could it be internal bleeding?” The doctor put down the mouse and rubbed the spot Egg Fried Rice was pressing with his paw, muttering somewhat worriedly.

There had been no problems on the X-ray.

“Yesterday, my senior fellow disciple even called me and said that a cat at their hospital had still been perfectly fine when it left, but suddenly died in the middle of the night. They didn’t even have time to save it before it passed away.”

He was simply stating a fact and had not added any personal emotion to his words.

But when those words reached the ears of the two cats beside him, they instantly took on a completely different meaning.

Wait!

Egg Fried Rice pressed his paw against the spot where he had just pretended to be in pain again.

Strangely, it seemed like it wasn't fake pain. It really did hurt a little.

The little orange cat also had a serious expression.

“L-Little Xin, I-I think I have a little pain somewhere too.” He began complaining to the calico cat.

This was getting serious.

“I want to be hospitalized!” Fluffy was the first to make his decision.

“I-I want to be hospitalized too!” Egg Fried Rice immediately followed suit.

In the end, the two lively and energetic orange cats stayed at the hospital.