Chapter 3: Three-Colored Cat
The next day, Gu Wanrong woke up naturally.
Her first action upon waking was to open the Huaxia Bank app to check her balance. Seeing the long string of numbers, her anxious heart finally settled.
“System, are you there?” Gu Wanrong tentatively asked.
[Yes. As long as the host calls upon the system, the system will appear anytime, anywhere.]
She vaguely remembered hearing the system say something while she was half-asleep last night.
Gu Wanrong opened the system panel in her mind.
Huh?
There was a System Mall. That must have been what the system was talking about last night.
She opened the mall; the goods were dazzling, with various beginner, intermediate, advanced, and mastery-level skills, including skills she had heard of and others she had never heard of.
Gu Wanrong clicked on the Intermediate English skill to try and purchase it, only to see [Insufficient funds. Purchase failed]. After looking around, she saw her shopping credit was 1 in the top right corner of the mall.
“System, I just looked at the System Mall you updated last night, and I only have one shopping credit; I can’t buy anything.”
[System Mall User Guide]
Gu Wanrong opened the user guide the system provided and read it.
So that’s how it worked.
By spending money, the system would rebate her a certain multiple of the amount; for every million yuan rebated, she would receive one shopping credit. The one shopping credit she currently possessed was obtained from the million yuan rebate yesterday.
The System Mall sold various skills usable by humans on Earth; the prices of skills varied by level. Beginner skills cost 10 points, intermediate skills 50 points, advanced skills 100 points, expert skills 500 points, and mastery skills 1000 points.
Gu Wanrong calculated that if she wanted to purchase a skill and upgrade it to the highest level in the mall, she would need 1660 shopping credits, which translated to a total rebate of 1.66 billion yuan.
“Are all your systems this stingy? It takes a rebate of 1.66 billion yuan to master a single skill in your mall?”
Too expensive!
After calculating, Gu Wanrong felt that learning several skills through the System Mall would cost an astronomical sum.
[System Mall pricing is set at the time of system launch; the system has no authority to adjust mall pricing.]
[Mastering any mastery-level skill will make the host the number one person in that skill on Earth for the next 50 years.]
“Fine.” The system spoke solemnly, and Gu Wanrong was helpless. “Also, the mall only sells skills. Where do I get attribute points?”
[The host can gradually unlock system functions by spending money.]
Wow, the system’s answer just means keep spending money; spend enough, and you’ll find out everything.
I’ll have to explore the system’s functions myself.
Thinking about all the things she bought yesterday, earning a million yuan in rebates, only to receive one shopping credit that could not buy anything in the mall…
Sigh, it’s another day of diligently spending money.
Hee hee.
[Today’s spending rebate multiplier is 5x. Please begin today’s shopping journey, host.]
Gu Wanrong suspected the system could hear her thoughts, but she was in a good mood and didn’t mind.
She smelled a foul odor coming from her body, frowned, and quickly got out of bed.
She took a clean pajama set from her closet and prepared to take a shower.
Last night, she had been so excited that when she fell asleep, she hadn’t smelled the alcohol or felt the sticky sweat on her skin.
In the bathroom.
Water vapor had fogged the mirror. Gu Wanrong wiped it clean with her discarded pajamas and carefully admired her face, which had been optimized by the system last night.
Her face was smooth and flawless, her features more refined. The few attribute points added had already made her look much better than after using beauty filters.
In this life, she had the Sudden Wealth System; she no longer had to worry about money, fret over her unattractive appearance, or be troubled by her difficult family relationships.
Everything was a new beginning.
Gu Wanrong no longer had to be an ordinary girl; her future life would be brilliant.
After showering and washing her clothes, she washed up and returned to her bedroom to pick up her phone.
Opening the shopping app, Gu Wanrong saw that several items she had excitedly ordered last night had already shipped, which made her even happier.
The smell of alcohol hadn’t yet dissipated from her bedroom, so Gu Wanrong went to the living room.
After ordering lunch on her phone, she also hired a part-time cleaner to clean her house.
The previous “Gu Wanrong” hadn’t cleaned for over ten days; things were scattered everywhere, and some places were already dusty.
In the evening, the cleaner finished cleaning and left.
Gu Wanrong put down her secondhand phone, which she had played with all afternoon, not knowing what to do.
It wasn’t that the phone wasn’t fun; it was that it had low memory and kept lagging, running out of battery quickly; its usability was simply terrible.
Being alone at home, while comfortable, was also a little lonely.
Half an hour later, Gu Wanrong went to a nearby pet market.
Although it was evening, many pet shops were still open.
The bright lights of the pet shops illuminated the passersby; the barks of dogs and meows of cats rose and fell, interspersed with strange sounds of humans imitating pets.
Gu Wanrong wanted to buy a cat. After browsing several pet shops, she didn’t find one she liked.
Leaving one pet shop, she entered another.
This pet shop had two floors and was bright and clean.
As soon as she entered, a young girl with a ponytail came to greet her, “Hello, what can I help you with?”
“I want to adopt a cat. I don’t have any breed requirements; it mainly has to appeal to me.”
“This way, please. The kittens here don’t have owners yet.” The girl led Gu Wanrong to the left.
Gu Wanrong had been a social phobe before transmigration and remained so afterward. It was her first time talking to a stranger after transmigration; she felt very uncomfortable, habitually saying everything she wanted to say in one go and then stopping.
She followed silently behind the girl.
The shop’s cats were each housed in small, square, transparent enclosures. Each enclosure contained a water bowl, a food bowl, a litter box, and some toys. The kittens looked relaxed and well-cared for.
Gu Wanrong followed the girl’s introduction, looking at the cats one by one in order. One kitten, before Gu Wanrong even looked at it, started meowing at her.
“What’s wrong? It keeps meowing at me,” Gu Wanrong was puzzled, drawn to the kitten’s soft meows; without saying a word, she walked straight to the kitten.
It was a calico long-haired cat, with a milky tea-colored coat, thick fur that looked incredibly soft, a round face, round eyes, a round body, and a soft, milky “meow,” making it look incredibly cute.
The girl opened the glass door and picked up the kitten for Gu Wanrong to pet. As soon as the kitten came out, it hooked its claws onto Gu Wanrong’s clothes and wouldn’t let go.
Gu Wanrong took the kitten from the girl. As soon as the kitten entered Gu Wanrong’s arms, it wrapped its fluffy tail around Gu Wanrong’s arm, swaying gently, with a contented purring coming from its chest.
This little calico was so cute and fluffy; it had clung to her from the moment she arrived. Gu Wanrong decided it was the one.
Gu Wanrong also bought a cat carrier, a litter box, cat litter, cat food, cat bowls, a cat bed, and a scratching post at the pet shop before taking the calico home.
The calico was just over six months old and female. Her three-colored fur – creamy white, light gray, and pale yellow – resembled a milky tea color. Gu Wanrong named her Nai Cha (Milk Tea).
Upon arriving home, Gu Wanrong closed all the windows before releasing Nai Cha from her carrier.
Nai Cha came out of her carrier and rubbed against Gu Wanrong’s feet. Gu Wanrong didn’t pay attention to her, busy unpacking Nai Cha’s bed and litter box.
Nai Cha rubbed against Gu Wanrong a few times and then explored her new territory by sniffing around the room.
After bringing Nai Cha home, Gu Wanrong watched videos from pet bloggers on cat care tips.
The next day, she took Nai Cha to a veterinary clinic for a checkup. Although the pet shop said she was healthy, Gu Wanrong still decided to take her for a check-up just in case; after all, she didn’t lack money to spend on Nai Cha.
After confirming that Nai Cha was healthy at the veterinary clinic, Gu Wanrong took her home. In a few days, as instructed by the veterinarian, she would take Nai Cha back for spaying and vaccinations.