Immortal Takeout - Chapter 7

Admitting one’s mistakes isn’t that hard. Ta Nuo hurried along, stepping on the wet moss. He wanted to visit Manager Lin, one more time to confirm the order details before the cat consulting office closed.

Mr. Black Tabby cat was lying in a dry tree hollow to avoid the rain, looking listless as he delivered the bad news to Ta Nuo: Manager Lin wasn’t working today and wouldn’t be working tomorrow either.

“Then when will he be working?” Ta Nuo asked cautiously.

Mr. Black Tabby cat did not respond as harshly as expected, but instead looked deeply troubled, sighing several times before speaking.

“I don’t know. How could I possibly know about Mr. Lin’s affairs?” he said, his beard drooping, sounding exhausted.

Ta Nuo found this odd but didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he sat down at a distance, holding his umbrella. There were few cats coming to the office for consultations today, and Mr. Mr. Black Tabby cat’s surroundings were piled with white lily-of-the-valley flowers. His black tail weakly swept back and forth, moving the flowers around.

“Would you like some candy?” Ta Nuo offered.

Mr. Black Tabby cat glanced at him but did not respond.

Ta Nuo didn’t get angry. He simply reached into the glass jar, took out a candy, and popped it into his mouth. Hmm, it was peach-flavored, super sweet. He used his teeth to crush the hard fruit candy, making a crunching sound.

Mr. Black tabby cat was annoyed by the faint noise, and his tail began to sway more and more wildly. After a while, he couldn’t stand it anymore and roughly reached out his claw, demanding that Ta Nuo give him a candy.

He selected a green kiwi-flavored candy for Mr. Mr. Black Tabby cat. The kiwi-flavored candy was both sour and sweet, catering to different taste preferences.

Mr. Black Fox Flower placed the candy between his paws, stuck out his tongue, and licked it carefully. “Ah, this is the taste of love—both sour and sweet.”

Ta Nuo politely corrected him, saying, “It’s not the taste of love; it’s the taste of kiwi.” As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized what was happening.

Oh, so Mr. Black Tabby cat was in love.

Perhaps it was the power of the candy, but Mr. Black Tabby cat’s attitude was no longer as hard as stone; instead, he calmly discussed emotional issues with Ta Nuo. Ta Nuo thought maybe Mr. Mr. Black Tabby cat was just lonely, so he spent three pieces of fruit candy listening quietly to Mr. Mr. Black Tabby cat’s emotional story.

Before working at the agency, Mr. Mr. Black Tabby cat had always been a stray cat. His real name was Mamahei(Ma from mahjong), which was a very fitting name. Later, Mamahei became a spirit, using his impressive ability to intimidate other cats and successfully secured a position at the Cat Consultation Firm.

Later ,he fell in love.

It turned out that Mr. Mamahei was in love with Manager Lin. Ta Nuo chewed on the candy in his mouth, his eyes wide with surprise. A large raindrop fell from the leaves above, hitting his nose with a thud, causing his features to scrunch up.

“I just wanted to perform well at work, show my  masculinity, strictly carry out tasks, and be meticulous, so that Manager Lin might notice my uniqueness.” Mr. Mamahei sighed, waving his two front paws as if trying to catch the raindrops falling from the sky, “But love is so hard.”

Ta Nuo had to remind him, “It’s only when two cats like each other that it’s called love.”

Mr. Maimahei was interrupted and seemed a bit annoyed. He muttered, “Do you even know what love is? You’re just a sea otter.”

Why, can’t a sea otter fall in love? Ta Nuo whispered in protest. He had been hoping to find a kind, beautiful, and gentle proprietress for the immortal takeout. The other party didn’t have to be a sea otter—finding a mate of the same species was simply impossible on this continent—if she was beautiful, he wouldn’t even insist that she be a sea otter, as long as she had soft, fluffy fur.

If I find her, I’ll treat her very well. No matter how cold the weather is, I won’t sleep in anymore. I’ll prepare a hearty breakfast for her every day—scallops, crabs, and of course, sea urchins. I’ll introduce her to all the delicious foods in the world, so she’ll have no time to feel sad or unhappy. When the time is right, we’ll set off, heading east to see the sea. I’ve never seen the sea before.

This is Ta Nuo’s view on love—simple and straightforward.

But clearly, Mr. Mamahei possesses a delicate and sensitive heart that doesn’t match his appearance. “Manager Lin is white-haired, and I’m a black cat…”

“You’re a black-and-white cat, so technically you’re not entirely black.”

“You’re always arguing. Can’t you just let me finish?”

Ta Nuo apologized sheepishly.

“In any case, from an outward appearance, we’re a perfect match. No one can deny that. No more objections!” Mr. Mamahei shouted, drawing the attention of other cats waiting in line nearby. Mr. Mamahei felt a bit embarrassed, so he pretended to get up casually, stretched his limbs, and plucked a few lily of the valley flowers along the way. He picked a large banana leaf, placed it on his head, and slowly walked over to Ta Nuo’s side, sitting down again, but this time with a more dejected posture.

“But Manager Lin doesn’t like me.”

Ta Nuo felt that Mr. Mamahei was a bit pitiful. He rubbed his face and racked his brain to think of something to comfort the cat: “Don’t be sad. Maybe it’s just because Manager Lin already has a cat he likes in his heart. No matter how outstanding you are, you’re not the one he wants.”

Obviously, this sentence was not very comforting. Mr. Mamahei collapsed, his head drooping, and he used his sharp claws to ravage the innocent lily of the valley petals. Rain fell on the banana leaves above his head, drop after drop.

Ta Nuo held the umbrella with one paw and scratched his butt with the other paw, dryly trying to save this pitiful topic. “Or maybe you don’t need to be so serious. Perhaps Manager Lin would prefer a gentle and cute cat.”

Mr. Mamahei suddenly raised his head, puzzled. “Do you think so?”

He nodded vigorously, suddenly finding it quite reasonable, feeling inexplicably confident. He added seriously, “Because Manager Lin is also a serious and solemn cat. If both cats have such personalities, it might be difficult for them to get along happily. If you become more gentle and polite, Manager Lin might find being cared for and loved a joyful experience.”

He had never been in love, but in his imagination, love should be warm and beautiful, with a taste as delicious as the freshest abalone or sea urchin. But beautiful things always require careful exploration and harvesting; no otter can obtain them without effort. If one party seems unfriendly, the other should be more friendly and work together to bring them together.

Though he didn’t want to admit it, Mr. Mamahei was convinced. He began to reflect: Could it be that his own image was too heroic and rigid, leading Manager Lin to mistakenly think he was hard to get along with? Regardless, this odd creature, which seemed clumsy and slow-witted, had indeed given him new insights. To express his gratitude and as the first step toward becoming a friendly cat, Mr. Mamahei decided to help Ta Nuo solve his problem.

“You said Manager Lin  asked you to find a special human. He likely knows this person. I’ve heard that before becoming a spirit, Manager Lin interacted with many humans, but I’ve never heard him mention any of them, not even in passing. However, I do know he had a special human because Manager Lin seemed to value this human greatly. I’ve also seen a photo of that human, which Manager Lin kept in his notebook.”

Ta Nuo’s eyes lit up. “Do you know what that human looks like?”

“Let me think. It was a human-like creature, male, very thin. But you know, humans have strange looks—it’s hard to distinguish the face from the body, and there’s no fur color to differentiate them, making it difficult to identify. “Mr. Mamahei scratched his chin with his claw, paused for a moment, then continued, ”However, I do remember that the human was wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, exactly like Manager Lin’s.”

Ta Nuo felt this was a crucial clue. He thanked Mr. Mamahei and bid him farewell. Before leaving, Ta Nuo heard Mr. Mamahei  suppressing his anger as he politely explained to a large tabby cat that the office had ceased operations for the day. Though he tried to appear friendly, it was clearly ineffective. Ta Nuo had walked a great distance from the office, yet he could still hear the sounds of cats fighting in the woods.

It seemed that Mr. Mamahai still had a long road ahead of him.

He wanted to rush into the city that night and follow the new lead to find the target human. However, it was too late, and the small animals that were active during the day in the forest had all gone home. He had no choice but to return home, planning to rest for the night and set off early the next morning.

That night’s dream was neither sweet nor praiseworthy. He slept soundly, without any dreams. The next day, the rain stopped, and the weather improved. He successfully avoided oversleeping, got up early, left Hongjiu River, and headed toward Maochun City.

This time, he arrived smoothly and quickly reached the pear blossom forest in Wutai Mountain Park. After a spring rain, the weather cleared up, and the pear blossom grove was filled with the fresh scent of grass and earth. The buds of the pear blossoms were beginning to sprout, and soon they would grow, bloom, and form a sea of white flowers.

There were more humans in the park today. They gathered in small groups, laughing and chatting. He stopped and carefully observed the humans around him. Many of the male humans were wearing what were called glasses, but none of them seemed to have the same gold-rimmed glasses as the Lin Manager. However, they all looked quite happy. Humans are really interesting. No matter when, they always seem full of energy. Their interactions with each other are different from those of animals. They adhere to strange rules and have countless novel ideas and concepts. Being human must be quite interesting.

He came to the last row of benches in the pear blossom forest. There were still no humans in sight today. But he was not discouraged. Now that he had a goal, he had a direction to strive for. He decided to use the most primitive and simple method: wait and see. The mark left by Manager Lin must be where the humans would appear. As long as he waited here, he believed there would be a breakthrough.

The sun rose high and then began to set. Ta Nuo devoured an entire glass jar of fish cakes. The fish cakes were made from fresh sea fish paste, fried into shape, then simmered in chicken broth. Despite containing no seasoning, they were exceptionally delicious.

As he took the last bite, his pant leg was tugged by a faint force. He looked down and saw a frail yellow kitten burrowing its head into his leg. It looked very young, with a tail no thicker than his finger.

“Give me a bite, meow. I’m hungry, meow.”

Ta Nuo held the fish cake in his hand, about to bend down to give it to the little yellow cat, but was stopped by a voice from behind him.

“I have special cat food for kittens here. If you don’t mind, you can feed it to the kitten.”

Ta Nuo turned his head to look.

The human was tall and slender, wearing a camel-colored trench coat, with a black bag slung over his shoulder, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose—exactly as described by Mr. mamahei.

More importantly, Ta Nuo detected the scent of Manager Lin on this human, though it was faint and weak. But a sea otter’s nose never lies.

He was very lucky. Before nightfall, he had already encountered that special human.

Manager Lin’s special human smiled gently. The little yellow cat immediately abandoned Ta Nuo and stumbled over to the human’s feet, meowing softly. The human bent down and gently rubbed the kitten’s head with his fingertips. He led the kitten to the grass beside the bench, pulled out a clean cat bowl and cat food from his bag, and poured some for the little yellow cat. The kitten buried its entire head in it, its fur covered in cat food crumbs.

The human continued rummaging through his bag, clearly well-prepared. He noticed the stacked cans of cat food inside. The human turned around and smiled, asking him if he wanted to join in feeding the cats—these were all prepared for the stray cats in the area.

He stared blankly at the human, his mind not yet processing the situation, and blurted out, “I want to buy a can of food from you.”

The human looked puzzled: “You want to buy a can of food?”

Ta Nuo replied instinctively, “Because I’m hungry.”

From the human’s surprised expression, it was clear that this was not a convincing answer.