Universe Infinite Canteen

Ma Lu had been worried about how Mr. Furball would handle the rejection after his failed proposal, but a couple of beers later and the cat seemed visibly more relaxed, starting to chatter away.

They talked about everything from the hygiene of takeout food to their views on cat cafés and even enthusiastically discussed their research into magical girls.

"That's right, I believe they are one hundred percent responsible for the Great Smog of London in 1952, not just that time, but also for World War II and Chernobyl later on... Yes, they did provide some help, but if I were you humans, I would ask myself one question."

"What question?"

"Why, why are Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi always at the scenes of these disasters? Is it some kind of coincidence, or..."

Mr. Furball lowered his voice, "perhaps they are the source of the disasters, and there is a bigger, more frightening conspiracy behind it all."

"Uh... I think the reason they're always around is that there's a bunch of second-dimensional fans online who Photoshop their images everywhere," Ma Lu said.

"I don't think so, the world isn't as simple as it appears on the surface." Mr. Furball licked his fur, "Take me for instance, I can travel through time on my way to work."

"That's true," Ma Lu agreed, "Before I met Old Wang, I never thought I'd get into the catering business. Speaking of which, you're really strong. I was down for a while when I went through my first breakup, and I kept thinking about why she left me every day."

"I think it might be one of our little kitty talents," Mr. Furball said, "When we feel down, we knock things off the table. It's really stress-relieving..."

"I might try it sometime."

The two clinked their glasses and Ma Lu asked, "Do you really think the magical girls are the source of all the disasters in the world?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay then."

......

The man and the cat continued to drink until early morning, finishing off a plate of baby lizard skewers and deep-fried ant legs.

Ma Lu couldn't remember when he had fallen asleep, but he was woken up the next morning by a phone call from Xiao Wang, the car salesman he had recently contacted.

Xiao Wang said the car had arrived at the front gate of the complex.

Hanging up the phone, Ma Lu got dressed as quickly as possible, finished washing up, then scooped up the still sound asleep Mr. Furball and went downstairs with Old Wang.

There was a graphite gray E300L parked on the side of the road, and beside it stood a young woman about the same age as Ma Lu.

The weather in City B was already cool, but she still wore a black suit with a short skirt and stockings.

Her eyes lit up when she saw Ma Lu, and she sported a sweet smile, "Boss Ma, do you like cats too? I have a cat, a Holstein, named Beibei."

"I don't like Holsteins. They look like they have a pee-pee on their face," Mr. Furball mumbled half-asleep.

The air suddenly went still.

Quickly, Ma Lu covered the Ragdoll cat's mouth; he had just lost 200 Star Currency the previous night and didn't want to be fined again.

"I was just joking, don't take it to heart."

With a forced chuckle, Xiao Wang said, "I didn't expect you to be quite humorous, Boss Ma."

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she thought she had just seen the cat in Ma Lu's arms speaking. Even though Ma Lu had forced an excuse, the two voices had clearly been different.

Plus, Ma Lu still had one hand over the Ragdoll's mouth, which looked all the more suspicious.

Ordinary people would have asked at this point, but Xiao Wang was no ordinary person.

As a car salesperson, she had only one purpose for coming here today—to sell that damn car to the customer in front of her.

She wouldn't just stop at a cat speaking, even if the buyer was a cat, she would still try hard to close the deal.

So Xiao Wang's smile remained unchanged, "Then, Boss Ma, shall we start with a static experience?"

"Sure."

The following process was similar to the first day, with Xiao Wang introducing the vehicle's configuration and various features, followed by a test ride and drive to personally experience the car's mechanical qualities.

However, when she heard that Ma Lu planned to buy the car in cash, Xiao Wang's enthusiasm dimmed significantly. She then started to push hard for the benefits of buying with a loan, mentioning there would be more discounts and gifts, and the car could be picked up faster.

Ma Lu said he had just started looking at cars and needed to think about it more. Xiao Wang felt somewhat disappointed and didn't initiate another test drive afterwards.

Ma Lu wasn't concerned either. He was busy today, with not only the day's regular business but also a BBQ party in the evening.

Jigina had already negotiated terms with the other party, who agreed to pay up to 8,888 Star Currency for no more than 24 guests.

That price was quite tempting.

Hence, Ma Lu agreed without hesitation, setting the time for tonight, and he didn't even know when it would end, so he didn't contact for a return test drive either.

Also, the curtains he ordered last week were ready, and the fitter would come by in the afternoon to install them on all the shop's windows. That way, when receiving special guests in the evening, there was no worry about passersby seeing anything they shouldn't.

After dropping Mr. Furball off at the back apartment of the restaurant, Ma Lu returned to find that He Xiaoqian had already arrived and seemed to have been there for a while, having cleaned up the place.

She was now concentrating on figuring out a new coffee machine according to the manual.

She had finished grinding the coffee and extracting the brew and began frothing the milk, so focused that she didn't even notice Ma Lu and Old Wang entering.

He Xiaoqian kept her eye on the clock, about half a minute passed, she turned off the steam, held her breath, and poured the froth into the coffee cup.

Soon, the froth floated on top of the coffee, but there were no shapes, and He Xiaoqian wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Old Wang offered instructions, "Too much air intake, the bubbles are too coarse, and you didn't prepare the cotton properly."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Oh, oh, oh," He Xiaoqian hurriedly took out a pen and paper to jot down Old Wang's advice but still seemed somewhat confused.

Fortunately, Old Wang quickly added, "I'll make one for you to see."

Upon hearing this, He Xiaoqian's face brightened. She grabbed a new cup and handed it over respectfully.

Curiously, Ma Lu asked, "How long have you been practicing?"

"About an hour and a half," He Xiaoqian replied.

"Eh?" Ma Lu glanced around, "So what happened to the previous coffees? Did you throw them away?"

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"No, that would be too wasteful; I drank them all."

"Ah, by yourself? Exactly how many did you make?"

"Counting this one, probably about eight. One of them turned out quite well, I could barely manage to make a heart shape, but I couldn't replicate it," He Xiaoqian said regretfully.

"So, you've drunk seven cups of coffee already?" Picking up the cup of botched coffee from the table, Ma Lu took a sip, "While it's good to be diligent, you should also have a limit."

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, He Xiaoqian explained, "It's just that the coffee machine arrived today, and I couldn't help myself."