On the floor of Selene’s apartment lay a beautiful Chinese garden cat, primarily orange with dark tiger stripes on its back, round green eyes, and four "white gloves" on its paws.
Yes, this petite orange cat was Selene.
Skillfully, Selene picked up the clothes strewn across the floor, dragged them to the bathroom, and tossed them into the laundry basket.
As for why she had become like this, it all started about a star cycle ago.
One week ago, Selene discovered she had contracted a "cat disease."
Literally, it means a strange condition where she turns into a cat when night falls. It defies science and stretches the imagination, but it happened suddenly, and she didn't know why.
She had always admired how cats are cared for and loved, only needing to eat and sleep without having to work. But that didn’t mean she wanted to become a cat herself...
Selene searched the internet extensively but found no cure. She didn’t dare go to a hospital or contact any scientific organizations.
She could imagine if this cat transformation was discovered by others, she’d likely spend the rest of her life in a lab or under constant surveillance. Every move would be recorded, and worse, she might even risk dissection. Just the thought was terrifying.
With no other options, she chose to bury her head in the sand and hoped this "cat disease" would somehow cure itself.
"Meow—"
Sighing again, she realized she wasn't speaking human words anymore.
Her stomach growled with hunger.
She had spent the afternoon cycling and climbing stairs, completely exhausting her energy.
Selene glanced disdainfully at the cabinet, which held a bag of cat food given by her previous company.
While other companies gave employees mooncakes or tea as benefits, her former company was "smart" enough to give out their new pet food and snacks as employee perks. They were supposed to take them home to their pets and provide product feedback.
Now, Selene misses the variety of human food she could enjoy during the day. At least she could still savor various delicacies when she was human.
Determined, Selene jumped onto the cabinet.
She now had excellent jumping ability, light as a feather, and could walk on walls like a martial arts master.
Several express boxes lay on top of the cabinet. These were all cat food she had bought recently, none of which were from her former company.
In the past week, she had tried all the cat food and canned food produced by her previous company and found none of them palatable. Only the freeze-dried snacks were barely edible but lacked nutrition.
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Now, she had to try other pet food companies' products to see if there was any decent cat food.
These express deliveries were trial packs she had ordered recently. Selene extended her "hand," and sharp cat claws emerged from the pink pads. Cat claws were perfect for slicing through the tape on express boxes.
She opened the express box, revealing small packs of cat food. Selene randomly picked a packet labeled "Apple Chicken Flavor."
Using her claws to open the package, she poured out a few pieces of cat food and took a bite.
It tasted just as bad as her former company's products.
Next, she tried each sample, eating through all the cat food she had bought. Each had its own unique flavor—some bland, some greasy, and some so strange that Selene questioned her life choices.
In summary, none of them were good.
Selene began to miss the variety of human food she could enjoy during the day. At least as a human, she could still savor various delicacies.
Having never owned a pet, she knew nothing about caring for cats. However, after working at the company, she had learned more about cats and dogs.
Cats are carnivores and can eat meat directly, either raw or cooked.
Recently overwhelmed by this strange condition, she hadn't even thought of grocery shopping, leaving her refrigerator empty except for a few bottles of milk.
Maybe...
Selene jumped off the cabinet and retrieved her phone from her small satchel.
After becoming a cat, she couldn't use her paws to pick up the phone, but she had thought of a foolproof solution. She attached a small lanyard to the phone, allowing her to carry it around her neck.
Selene rented a small one-bedroom apartment. She dragged her phone into the bedroom, jumped onto the soft bed, and placed the smartphone in front of her pillow. She lay down, her small orange head close to the phone screen, and extended her paw towards it.
Luckily, she had a screen protector.
Selene mused as she extended her claws from the pink pads and began unlocking her phone.
The day after she first turned into a cat, she had changed her phone's unlock method from fingerprint to a four-digit passcode, anticipating the difficulty of using her phone as a cat.
Successfully unlocking it, Selene skillfully navigated to the grocery delivery app. Thanks to modern technology, she could buy meat without leaving home.
Selene selected some fresh meat: beef, pork, chicken breast—deciding to skip the offal for now and research it further when she turned back into a human tomorrow.
After paying, Selene tossed the phone aside, rolled around on the bed a few times, and lay back down, staring at the ceiling.
Being a cat felt so strange.
Her 40-square-meter apartment felt much larger after she shrank in size. It seemed like 400 square meters, with everything proportionally enlarged, like living in a giant’s kingdom.
That was just one aspect of her new reality. What troubled Selene more was her nearsightedness as a cat; she could only see clearly up to about five meters. Beyond that, everything was a blur.
Not only was she nearsighted, but also colorblind. All the colors seemed faded, especially red, which she could barely distinguish. Her pink satchel had almost turned gray.
Of course, her eyes weren't completely useless. Her dynamic vision and night vision were excellent. Although she couldn't see stationary objects clearly, moving things were particularly clear, almost in slow motion, like she had acquired some superpower.
Her hearing and sense of smell were exceptional too. For example:
She could hear her neighbor cooking, the flapping of a bird's wings outside the window, and the faint footsteps in the stairwell.
The footsteps belonged to two people.
...!!!
The leisurely little orange cat on the bed suddenly jumped up, its pupils constricting and its fur standing on end.
Selene recognized the voices—her landlord, Mrs. Maple, and her husband, Mason!
She remembered meeting Mrs. Maple downstairs earlier. Mrs. Maple had mentioned coming to check the plumbing with Mason.
What now?!
When she rented the apartment, Mrs. Maple had repeatedly emphasized that pets were absolutely not allowed.
Selene indeed hadn’t kept a cat; she had become a cat, which was impossible to explain.
Selene knew one thing—she mustn't let Mrs. Maple sees her like this.
Selene quickly crawled out from under the bed, closed the bedroom door, then leaped back onto the bed to unlock her phone. She opened WeChat and began typing a message with difficulty.
**[Selene: Mrs. Maple, I'm sorry. I have to step out urgently. Please use the spare key to enter my apartment.]**
A few seconds later, Selene received an audio reply from Mrs. Maple.
**"Oh, what a coincidence. I just reached the third floor. Mason and I will use the spare key to check the place. We’ll be quick."**
Voices came from outside the door.
**"Oh dear, this Selene, I just greeted her, and she's already gone out. Busy, huh?"**
**"A young girl living on her own, it's not easy. Maybe her company called her back for overtime."**
**"Perhaps... Let me find the key. Ah-choo! Ah-choo!"**
**"Why are you sneezing?"**
Mrs. Maple sniffed and rubbed her eyes: **"I don't know... My eyes are itchy too."**
**"Are you having an allergic reaction? Aren't you allergic to cat fur? Did you run into a stray downstairs?"**
Mrs. Maple sneezed a few more times and then said: **"No, I was fine before coming in."**
She turned and looked at the entryway cabinet, noticing a few orange hairs on the white surface.
**"There's cat hair! This Selene really has a cat! Look, the floor is covered in it!"**
**"I told her no pets allowed, and she still got one... really makes me angry."**
Hearing everything clearly from inside the room, Selene had only two words in her mind: "I'm doomed."
Then, something even worse happened...
Her phone started ringing.
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