When they came, they were cheerful. On the way back, Minara was full of thoughts.
The egg noticed her low mood and gently wobbled. It was the first time he had seen her like this.
That man felt a little upset. She was usually happy every day.
These past few days, Minara kept him by her side, took great care of him and even talked to him often. She was enthusiastic about his birth.
Without realizing it, the man was influenced by her and subconsciously paid attention to her. He wanted her to be happy, to always have a smile on her face.
When they got back to the orphanage, she let Tunoo and the others play in the yard. Minara quickly opened Skynet to look up information about beastmen.
After reading, she sighed deeply. So that was the truth.
Beastmen were initially forcefully created by advanced civilizations using technology. They had strong combat abilities.
Later, as their numbers grew, their intelligence increased rapidly until they became an independent intelligent species. But now, since their genes are forcibly combined from animal and human DNA, their genetic diseases have worsened.
Many babies are born with illnesses. Rubbing her head, she had absorbed the existing interstellar knowledge over the past few months and was now starting on the material System Y-01 gave her.
It seemed she had to speed up. The egg nudged her hand, snapping Minara out of her thoughts.
She patted the smooth shell and then picked it up to examine it closely. "Is it because you were sick that your parents abandoned you too?" Minara sighed.
The egg spun in her palm. That man thought he probably never had parents.
From the moment he gained awareness, he had always been in the research facility. "You're so lively, you'll definitely survive. No matter what, I will heal you." Minara said seriously.
The egg kept spinning. Minara gently touched the shell, carefully put it aside, and went to cook for the three cats.
As soon as she entered the kitchen, she noticed something was wrong. A lot of food was missing and there was a paw print on the floor.
Did a small animal sneak in? She checked the surveillance and saw a dirty big cat.
It was very skinny, its fur was tangled, and it was eating ravenously on the footage. She sighed.
Another abandoned cat. While cooking, feeling heavy-hearted, Minara looked at the three cats eating happily.
She rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought. In her mind, two tiny figures were arguing.
Little angel: Take in that cat, it's so pitiful. Little devil: There's no money. You're already struggling with three cats.
Want to add another? Little angel: Shut up. Money can be earned.
If we don't help, it might die. We saw it, so we have to care. The little angel completely defeated the little devil.
Minara decided to find a chance to take that cat in. "Meow, sister, are you troubled?" Trevor looked at the absent-minded Minara and asked gently.
Minara snapped out of it and saw the three cats sitting in a row, wagging their tails in sync. It looked funny.
"Sister is just thinking about something, a bit distracted." Minara patted the heads of the three cats. "Meow, sister, can we invite Xinxin over to play?" Tunoo meowed shyly.
Tunoo really liked Xinxin and thought she was pretty. "If Grandpa Del agrees, then it's fine." Minara said.
"Meow!" Tunoo said happily. "I asked Grandpa Del that day, and he agreed."
"I want to play on the cat tree with Xinxin. I told her about it and she really wants to try it." Speaking of Xinxin, Tunoo's eyes sparkled.
The tail wagged quickly. Tunoo was very excited. "Tunoo, do you really like Xinxin?" Seeing how happy Tunoo looked, Minara asked with interest.
When he heard that, Tunoo suddenly got shy. The paws shifted nervously, ears twitched, and didn't dare look her in the eye.
"Because Xinxin looks so good and cute, sister, you don't know, her eyes are charming. Light green eyes, when she looks at me, my heart races."
"Her fur is also beautiful, like it sparkles with silver light. Anyway, to me, Xinxin is the cutest cat ever."
Tunoo got more and more excited. He didn't notice how Twix's face gradually turned expressionless.
When he finished, Twix couldn't take it anymore and smacked him on the head with a paw. "Meow, Tunoo, you said I was the cutest before, now you've changed."
"Hmph, I'm not talking to you anymore." Twix was so mad that all the fur puffed up. Twix jumped off the table and ran away.
"Hahaha." Minara couldn't help laughing. Trevor laughed too.
Tunoo got up, smoothed the black fur on the head, and looked very wronged. "Tastes can change."
"I used to think the black fur on my head looked bad, but now I think it's handsome." Minara held back a laugh and told Tunoo, "You said another cat was prettier right in front of Twix."
"Of course Twix is mad. Hurry and go make it up." Tunoo scratched the table and jumped down.
"Trevor, don't you think Tunoo has a tendency to only like pretty cats? What if Tunoo becomes a heartbreaker when grown up?" Minara asked thoughtfully.
"Meow?" Trevor tilted the head, then nodded. "Yes, Tunoo likes pretty cats."
Then Trevor added, "Actually, I like pretty cats too." The voice was soft while pawing at the floor, a bit embarrassed.
"It's normal. Everyone likes beautiful things." Minara hugged Trevor and rubbed gently.
"Trevor should also go out and make more friends. Don't just stay home all the time." Trevor usually stayed on the cat tree thinking about life.
Trevor was sensitive inside. Minara was worried Trevor would eventually fall into a dark place without realizing it.
"Meow, I will!" Trevor nodded and quietly decided to go out more in the future so Minara wouldn't worry so much.
Meanwhile, Twix had run off angrily and curled up in bed, not wanting to deal with Tunoo. Tunoo looked at Twix's back, then reached out a paw cautiously.
Before touching Twix, the tail swatted it away. Twix burrowed deeper into the bed.
"Twix, don't be mad, okay? Meow!" Tunoo said in a low, soft voice. "Meow, I'm not the cutest cat anymore." Twix said gloomily.
Looking at how sad Twix was, Tunoo anxiously paced in circles. In Tunoo's heart, Twix was always special and different from Xinxin.
"Meow, do you not like Twix anymore?" Twix turned around, sounding wronged.
"How could I? Twix is always Tunoo's sibling, how could I possibly ignore you?" Tunoo replied in a hurry.
"Meow, then you must never ignore Twix again," Twix said, lifting a paw and licking it.
"Meow, I won't." Tunoo stepped forward and helped groom Twix. Not long after, they happily cuddled and fell asleep together again.
The next morning, while Minara was cooking, she made an extra portion and placed it outside the orphanage. Not long after, when she checked again, the bowl was empty with no trace left behind.
Seems like this cat is pretty cautious. Minara thought as she took the bowl back inside.
Around the corner, Orin licked his lips while watching Minara's back. That was the fullest he had eaten in days and it seemed like the food was left there on purpose.
Orin hesitated a little. Could she have discovered he had been sneaking food?
Thinking about his stealing made him feel a little guilty. He crouched in the same place without moving away.
"Sis, is someone outside?" Trevor asked curiously as he lay on the cat tree, watching Minara carry out a full bowl and return with an empty one.
Minara thought for a moment and decided not to hide it. "There's a stray cat outside and I'm leaving some food for him."
A stray cat? Trevor's eyes widened as he jumped down from the cat tree to stand in front of Minara.
He hesitated and asked, "Sis, do you want to adopt him?"
Minara didn't answer directly but instead asked, "Do you want me to adopt him?"
"Meow, I hope you do. Because I was adopted by Grandpa Del too."
"As long as you don't forget about me, it's fine." He had wandered for a long time before Grandpa Del took him in.
He knew what it felt like to live out there.
"You're so sweet, Trevor. Let's wait a little longer so the cat knows we're kind," Minara said.
For the next few days, Minara left food at the door. At first, when she didn't leave, the cat wouldn't appear.
After some time, the cat let his guard down a bit. She could watch him eat, but only from far away.
"Roar!" Orin let out a warning growl as Minara came closer.
After days of feeding, he became less wary and allowed Minara to notice his presence. But while eating, he still stayed very alert and didn't allow her near.
"Alright, alright, I won't come close. Take your time eating," Minara said as she stepped back, letting Orin eat in peace.
At first, she thought he was just a stray cat. But after a few days of observation, she realized he was a little white tiger.
After eating, Orin seemed calmer. For the first time, he stayed still, licking his paws.
Minara slowly approached him. Orin stared at her without moving or attacking.
Minara carefully walked closer and stood in front of him. After several days of feeding, he looked a little healthier.
He wasn't skin and bones anymore, though he was still filthy. His white fur was clumped and dark with dirt.
"Little white tiger, want to come with me?" Minara gently coaxed.
Orin blinked, slightly moved. But he knew who this girl was, the head of an orphanage.
If he followed her, it meant he was an orphan and that his parents were gone.
But how could his parents be gone? They had promised to come back for him.
Thinking of them made Orin's eyes wet. He held back his tears and gave a low growl.
He patted Minara's hand with his paw and ran far away.
Another day passed without taking Orin home. Minara cleaned up and sighed with disappointment.
"Meow, is little brother still unwilling to come?" Trevor had somehow climbed onto the wall and watched Orin leave.
"He's still holding back," Minara said. She could sense Orin's hesitation.
She guessed he knew what an orphanage was and still didn't want to accept that he was an orphan.
Orin lay on a tree, lost in thought. That sister was kind and warm, like a mom.
But he had parents.
"Meow, what are you thinking about?" A voice came from above. Orin was startled and instinctively twisted his body.
He lost his footing and fell off the tree.
Trevor, who was on a higher branch, saw everything. He murmured, "Meow, so tigers are different from cats. They actually fall from trees, even though they're both felines."
Orin stood up and spat out the grass in his mouth. Hearing Trevor's mumbling, he bristled and growled.
"Tigers don't need to climb trees!"
"Okay, got it, tigers don't like climbing trees!" Trevor lightly jumped down and thought, then cat trees must be out of the question.
What a pity.
Orin wanted to explode in anger but held it in after hearing Trevor speak like he was soothing a child. He scratched the ground.
"Why are you here?"
"To convince you to come live at the orphanage!" Trevor said without hesitation.
Minara tries so hard to coax this little tiger every day. He hadn't helped until now.
He hoped this time would be different.
"Roar! I'm not an orphan! I have parents and I don't need to go to the orphanage!" Orin suddenly exploded.
His parents would come back for him. He was a child with parents.
"You can still go even if you have parents!" Trevor replied like it was obvious.
He had parents too.
"Roar?" The growl instantly turned into confusion. Orin stared blankly at Trevor.
What did that mean?
"You can wait for your parents to come back there," Trevor said calmly. In his heart, he added, if they really do come back.
"Really?" Orin asked cautiously.
"Really!" Trevor patted Orin's dirty head with his paw.
He understood what it felt like. At first, no one wanted to admit they'd been abandoned.
But over time, they came to accept it.