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It was Shen Nyuan’s goal in life to be as elegant as his master, Shen Jiu.
Shen Nyuan knew Shen Jiu loved beautiful and elegant things, and hated inelegant, ugly things. His looks were impeccable, from his shining black boots to his long shining black hair. He maintained a large collection of books and poetry he would read to Shen Nyuan at night. His small house was flush with a vibrant garden and masterful artwork. He brushed out Shen Nyuan’s white fur and replaced his pretty green ribbon every morning. He cursed the various mangy beasts in the neighborhood: Meowbei Jun, the massive Maine Coon that patrolled up and down the street, and Liu Qingwoof, the Border Collie that charged the fence whenever Shen Jiu passed it. He cursed out the “no-good brat” his little brother ran off with, who gave Shen Nyuan treats whenever they visited.
Thus, Shen Nyuan would clean his gleaming white fur every morning and practice his disdainful expression in Shen Jiu’s full-length mirror. Coming in at under five pounds, he wasn’t very intimidating, and had yet to scare off Meowbei Jun from the porch by glaring at him through the glass. It was okay – one day he’d face Meowbei Jun head on, after much practice with feathery toys and laser pointers. Besides, Meowbi Jun’s fur was always ragged and full of debris, and he didn’t get a pretty green ribbon to wear.
Shen Nyuan would end his day purring in Shen Jiu’s lap while Shen Jiu graded his students’ essays and cursed at how dumb and lazy they were. After such a busy day, the little cat was always so tired, and Shen Jiu would carry him to their big, soft bed and place him down on a pillow. There Shen Nyuan would dream of finally defeating Meowbi Jun and Liu Qingwoof, becoming master of the neighborhood and making Shen Jiu so very proud of him…
Then it all changed one Spring day, when Yue Qingyuan got a dog.
He lived across the street, and Shen Jiu – and therefore Shen Nyuan – hated him.
“Everyone thinks he’s such a hero, just because he’s a detective,” Shen Jiu would say whenever he spotted Yue Qingyuan through the front room’s bay window. Shen Nyuan wasn’t quite sure why Shen Jiu hated Yue Qingyuan so much, since the man mowed the front yard every week, but since Shen Jiu talked about him so often he must be bad. Shen Nyuan knew Shen Jiu was smart and reasonable about everything, and his master’s words were confirmed that sunny afternoon.
From his cat tree beside the bay window, Shen Nyuan watched Yue Qingyuan get out of his SUV and go around back to open the trunk. In the trunk was the biggest dog Shen Nyuan had ever seen, even bigger than Liu Qingwoof. Its black fur was shaggy and missing in places, revealing deep scratches and stitches; it was wearing a muzzle. Shen Jiu rose from the couch to glare at the dog, stroking Shen Nyuan’s little head as he did so.
“How disgusting,” Shen Jiu sniffed. “I can’t imagine who would want a dog.”
Shen Nyuan meowed his agreement, nuzzling Shen Jiu’s hand.
“Look at it,” Shen Jiu continued. “Some sort of wild animal. Yue Qingyuan always had an obsession with strays.”
Shen Jiu was very discerning. Shen Nyuan knew his breed was “Runt” and Shen Jiu found him in the university’s library at four weeks old. He didn’t remember much about it except being hungry and cold, surely all those books made him smarter than other cats, and “Runt” was the best breed. Way better than Maine Coons. That’s why Shen Jiu picked him.
Yue Qingyuan gently lead the big dog into the house. The big dog seemed weary of everything around him, head swinging back and forth at every noise. Shen Jiu sniffed and lifted Shen Nyuan up, cradling him close to his chest. Shen Nyuan was grateful for his master – he had trouble jumping from the cat tree.
“Come, A-Nyuan,” Shen Jiu said. “I have to show someone how awful my students’ attempts at poetry are.”
Shen Nyuan meowed happily, forgetting all about the dog.
When Yue Qingyuan came in to have his customary post-mowing tea and sandwiches, he said the dog’s name was Bingbork.
“He was a fighting dog,” Yue Qingyuan said, sitting on the couch. “They were doing to destroy him, but I saw him in that cage and just couldn’t let that happen to him. He’s so smart.”
Shen Jiu sniffed. He sat in the armchair, angled towards Yue Qingyuan. “Humans are disgusting.”
From his cat tree, Shen Nyuan pondered this information. He did not know what a fighting dog was, as his only real experience with dogs was Liu Qingwoof, the beloved purebred pet of Liu Mingyan and Ning Yingying. Bingbork was much bigger and tougher looking than Liu Qingwoof, maybe even tougher than Meowbi Jun. Maybe that’s what a fighting dog is – the toughest type of dog imaginable. Shen Nyuan had only fought spiders before, and that was pretty hard.
“I have to keep him in a muzzle for now, but he responds well to training,” Yue Qingyuan continued. “He needs a lot of socialization.”
“Don’t expect it here,” Shen Jiu said coldly. “I hate dogs.”
Shen Nyuan meowed his agreement, and Yue Qingyuan laughed. He went home an hour later to take Bingbork for a walk, and Shen Nyuan watched intently. Bingbork’s wounds were healing well, and he walked glued to Yue Qingyuan’s side. That’s one of the things Shen Nyuan hated about dogs – they couldn’t be independent like cats were.
After they passed, Shen Jiu helped Shen Nyuan off the cat tree and they went into Shen Jiu’s office, when Shen Nyuan sat in Shen Jiu’s lap and preened under his attention.
At midnight, Shen Nyuan did his customary patrol of the house while Shen Jiu was sleeping. He clamored down the steps Shen Jiu put beside the bed and slipped out into the halls to ensure everything was in its proper place. It would hinder the elegance of Shen Jiu’s house and life if things were improper. He squeezed through the cat door in the kitchen door, stepping into the enclosed patio where Shen Jiu liked to compose poems. The big screened windows looked out into the overflowing back garden, which Shen Jiu said was done in the “English cottage style.” Shen Nyuan did not know what that meant except that there were a lot of bugs to stare at. In the night, the garden was dark and quiet, without a lot of bugs to stare at. Shen Nyuan stretched, pleased that the house was in good order and he could go back to sleep beside Shen Jiu.
A pair of glowing eyes popped up in the garden.
Shen Nyuan yowled and arched his back to make himself as big as possible, ears flat against his head. Out in the garden, Bingbork looked unimpressed.
“Get out!” Shen Nyuan yelled.
“You’re not very big,” Bingbork said, skeptical. “You can’t be the reason Master Yue comes over here so often.”
“He comes to mow the lawn,” Shen Nyuan said, still fully arched. Bingbork tilted his head.
“Master Yue probably wants to mate your master,” Bingbork decided. Shen Nyuan was confused, enough to relax him slightly. “…You do know what mating is, right?”
“Yes I do!” Shen Nyuan sniffed. Admittedly, it was in the context of Shen Jiu taking him to the vet one day while saying, “You probably don’t have it in you, but better safe than sorry.” Then a nice nurse put a weird mask on him, and he woke up having to wear a cone for a week.
“You probably never leave your house,” Bingbork said with a snort. “I see you sleeping in the window all the time.”
“Why would I leave?” Shen Nyuan asked, bewildered. “All my stuff is here.”
Bingbork padded over to the door, and leapt up, resting his paws on the handle. The door swung open, and Shen Nyuan froze, the outside suddenly right there.
“Come on,” Bingbork said, strolling into the enclosed patio. He was huge, his head bigger than Shen Nyuan’s whole body. He pushed his snout under Shen Nyuan and lifted him high into the air. Shen Nyuan squeaked, little claws digging into Bingbork's head as he scrambled to straighten himself on top of Bingbork’s skull. “Let’s go exploring.”
The garden seemed even bigger out amongst it, and Shen Nyuan trembled, nervous. He really hadn’t been outside unless he was safely ensconced in his soft carrier, nestled among blankets and toys. It was very cold, and Shen Nyuan was grateful for Bingbork’s warm fur. They took a turn around the garden, and Shen Nyuan was very grateful when the door to the porch came back around.
Except Bingbork kept walking past it.
“No!” Shen Nyuan squeaked. “Stop, I want to get off!”
“Don’t you want to go see the neighborhood?” Bingbork asked, confused. “Aren’t you tired of being outside?”
“I want to be with Shen Jiu,” Shen Nyuan sniffed. “He might be lonely without me.”
“Lonely?”
“Yes,” Shen Nyuan said. “We sleep together every night and he has to brush me in the mornings. His brother ran off with a no-good brat, I can’t run off either.”
“And you like that?” Bingbork asked. “Just being in the house all the time?”
“The house is big,” Shen Nyuan said. “And all my comfy things are in there! And I still have to practice to defeat Meowbei Jun.”
Bingbork huffed but went back into the enclosed porch, laying down so Shen Nyuan could scamper down on to the floor. He turned around and licked Bingbork’s nose, making the dog woof with surprise. Then, the lights flickered on.
“You mangy mutt!” Shen Jiu screamed, dressed in his silk bathrobe and slippers. “Get the hell away from my A-Nyuan!”
Bingbork bolted out. Shen Jiu slammed the porch door shut and pushed a heavy armchair in front of it. He then scooped Shen Nyuan up and cradled him close to his chest.
“Oh, my poor kitty, did that dirty beast do anything to you?” Shen Jiu cooed. “I need to brush your fur, at least your ribbon is fine…”
Shen Nyuan mewled, cuddling Shen Jiu. He knew his master would get lonely without him.
The next day, Shen Jiu went over to Yue Qingyuan’s to yell about how his big stupid dog came and tried to steal his cat away. This became Bingbork coming over with Yue Qingyuan to hunt moles in Shen Jiu’s yard while Yue Qingyuan mowed. Eventually, Yue Qingyuan and Bingbork started coming over more and more days, sometimes even staying the night. Those times, Shen Jiu would shut the bedroom door and Shen Nyuan would sleep with Bingbork on his big dog bed, which Yue Qingyuan called “memory foam.”
This went on and on, until Shen Jiu’s little brother and the good-for-nothing he ran off with came to move in a bunch of cardboard boxes, and Bingbork never went back home again. Neither did Yue Qingyuan. Him and Shen Jiu slept together in the big bed, while Shen Nyuan slept coddled in Bingbork’s fur. Shen Jiu seemed very happy about this, even when Bingbork tracked mud into the enclosed patio very inelegantly, and thus so was Shen Nyuan.
Even when all the cardboard boxes had to go off to recycling.