Married a Big Cat After Transmigrating to the Interstellar Era – CH4

Chapter 4 

Uncle Ye answered casually.

“He can’t eat meat?”

Shi Xiaowang asked.

“Aren’t beasts supposed to be carnivores?”

Hearing that, Uncle Ye was a little surprised, but remembering the environment Shi Xiaowang had grown up in, he patiently started explaining from the most basic facts.

“Ever since the Zerg invasion, the land has been contaminated, and all plants have been affected as well. After hundreds of years of this, almost all wild animals are polluted too, so of course they’re not suitable for consumption. Artificially raised animals cost too much to maintain, and even then, the contamination in their bodies can’t be completely removed. With the Federation constantly at war, there’s no budget for that. Even His Majesty himself only eats nutrient paste.”

“What about plant-type mental power then? Can’t it do anything about the pollution in plants?”

Shi Xiaowang frowned.

“When I was a kid, they found out I had plant-type mental power, but they said it was useless, so I never really learned anything about it.”

“As far as I know,” said Uncle Ye regretfully, “plant-type powers can currently help plants grow, but they can’t remove pollution from them.”

Shi Xiaowang nodded, murmured “oh,” and said nothing more.

It was quite similar to the post-apocalyptic world he’d come from.

The old man—the one who’d taken him in—had an ability that made plants grow too, but couldn’t remove the contamination that made them diseased. So when he discovered Shi Xiaowang’s purification ability, he’d been so excited he hugged him and spun around three times. After that, because they could supply food to the base, the two of them had been accepted and eventually became core members of their community.

Shi Xiaowang sighed.

But now, the problem was that the original owner’s plant-type mental power was too weak.

So weak he could barely even feel it—let alone use his own purification ability.

Jian Mo had been watching the whole time from not far away. The couple had clearly never tried to nurture Shi Xiaowang’s potential. Their claims about hiring tutors for him all these years were probably nothing but show.

Seeing Shi Xiaowang looking thoughtful and a bit troubled, Jian Mo considered for a moment, then sent him a message.

[I heard the Duke’s manor once hired tutors for you. If you still need one, I can arrange it.]

[Really? I’d love that!]

Shi Xiaowang’s lips couldn’t help curving up when he read the message.

That was just in time.

[If possible, I’d like to learn more about mental power in general.]

[Okay.]

Jian Mo’s reply was short and concise.

[Thank you, sir.]

“Uncle Ye, the Marshal said he’s going to get me a tutor!”

After replying, Shi Xiaowang happily shared the news with Uncle Ye.

“Is that so?”

Uncle Ye glanced at the lion yawning in the dining room and smiled.

“That’s good news.”

“Mm!”

Shi Xiaowang nodded eagerly.

In the Marshal’s mansion, it was just the three of them—two humans and one lion. Unlike the rigid, hierarchical Duke’s estate, there were no strict rules here. Even Uncle Ye, the butler, ate at the same table as everyone else.

But that meal was… complicated for Jian Mo.

Throughout dinner, he kept catching Shi Xiaowang’s sympathetic gaze. He knew it was because the youth felt sorry that “the lion” couldn’t eat meat, but it still made Jian Mo feel self-conscious—like he must have gotten food in his whiskers or something. He ended up eating far more carefully than usual.

After dinner, Shi Xiaowang said goodnight to Uncle Ye and went back to his room.

The room was spacious and spotless. From the balcony, he had a wide view of the courtyard’s greenery and the distant mountains.

Shi Xiaowang wandered around the room before picking up the wooden box he’d brought from the Duke’s manor.

He stared at it for a long time.

He’d been around five or six when the old man found him, and he must’ve already been living on his own for quite a while. He couldn’t even remember what his parents looked like. They hadn’t left him anything behind— Or maybe they had, but in that world, even a padded coat would get stolen. Even if they had left something, he couldn’t have kept it.

Shi Xiaowang turned the small diary over and over in his hands, hesitating. He wasn’t sure if he had the right to read the memories of the original owner’s mother. After all, he wasn’t the real “Shi Xiaowang.” It felt like peeking at someone’s private thoughts.

Just as he was thinking that, a photo slipped out from between the pages.

He blinked, bent down, and picked it up.

In the picture was a couple, leaning close together—both gentle and elegant, smiling warmly.

A handwritten note ran along the side:

“We’re going to be parents!”

Shi Xiaowang looked at the photo for a while, then smiled at the couple.

In such a high-tech age, keeping old-fashioned records like diaries and printed photos gave off a kind of reverent, heartfelt sincerity—a seriousness that was almost… cute.

But when he turned the photo over, his smile froze.

There was another note on the back.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I couldn’t fulfill your wish. I never got to see the flowers bloom, and I couldn’t live happily.”

A heavy feeling pressed on his chest. Holding the photo, he walked out to the balcony and looked at the greenery below.

After a long while, he finally opened the diary.

The original owner’s mother had also possessed plant-type mental power and worked at a research institute. She met the Duke when he was visiting a friend, and they eventually married. The two of them often traveled to different planets, collecting seeds as souvenirs, carefully labeling each one’s name and origin.

But those seeds hadn’t been gathered from nature—they’d been purchased from collectors or auction houses. Ever since the pollution crisis began, flowers had stopped blooming, let alone producing seeds.

Plants had adapted to survive in new ways, but the mother had never given up trying to make flowers bloom again.

She’d written in her diary:

“Baby, I hope one day you can see flowers bloom. Flowers aren’t just beautiful—they symbolize happiness, and the end of this chaotic, war-torn age. They mean that we can finally live joyfully again.”

Shi Xiaowang closed the diary and sighed softly, gazing at the distant forest.

In the next room, the white lion twitched his ears, opened his eyes, and looked toward the balcony before gracefully hopping off the bed.

Shi Xiaowang, still in his pajamas, was sitting on the floor with his legs dangling through the railing, the moonlight making his bare ankles glow pale and luminous.

It was early spring, and the cool night wind tousled his dark hair. His bright eyes narrowed slightly against the breeze.

He sniffled lightly, lifted his head, and stared at the star-filled sky.

Jian Mo watched him quietly from his own balcony for a long time. Lost in thought, Shi Xiaowang didn’t notice him until he heard a soft growl. Then he turned and spotted the lion on the adjacent balcony.

Seeing him, Shi Xiaowang’s face brightened instantly, just like during the day.

“You’re awake too? Do you want to play with me? I’ll come over!”

He stood up as he spoke.

The lion let out a low, urgent growl.

He’d only meant to tell Shi Xiaowang to go to sleep—it was too late to be playing around…

But Shi Xiaowang, of course, didn’t understand. Jian Mo could only listen helplessly to the sound of cheerful footsteps approaching.

Outside his door, Shi Xiaowang politely knocked twice, then opened it on his own—just as the lion was about to do the same from the inside.

Shi Xiaowang poked his head in. “Hi~”

Jian Mo drew his paw back silently.

…How very formally polite.

Shi Xiaowang didn’t step inside. He just peeked curiously around. The layout was similar to his own room, only much simpler—no potted plants, no decorations.

“Why don’t you come out to me instead?”

He smiled at the motionless lion staring at him.

“Since the master isn’t home, it feels wrong for me to just walk into his room. I’ll open the door—you come play in my room.”

The lion flicked his ears, then lay down on the carpet, eyes closed, pretending to sleep. Go back.

“Hey, don’t be like that!”

Shi Xiaowang’s voice took on a coaxing, almost whining tone.

“Keep me company for a bit, please? I can’t sleep…”

Jian Mo sighed, lifted his eyelids, and glanced at him. His gaze lingered briefly on the photo in Shi Xiaowang’s hand before he finally looked away, stood up, and slowly walked out the door.

“Over here, over here!”

Shi Xiaowang hurriedly pushed his own door wider open.

Only when the lion fully entered his room did he relax and beam with delight.

“Good boy, you’re so thoughtful!”

The lion’s fur puffed up instantly, but his steps stayed steady as he turned to leave.

“Hey! Wait!”

Shi Xiaowang reacted quickly, slamming the door shut to block him.

“You…”

He eyed the uncooperative lion, thinking, then asked tentatively, “You don’t like me calling you ‘good boy,’ do you?”

At the words “good boy,” the lion’s ears drooped slightly, and he shot him a sideways glance.

…So he does care about his image, huh.

Shi Xiaowang almost laughed, but held it in.

“Alright, I won’t call you that anymore. But Uncle Ye said the Marshal never gave you a name—I can’t just keep calling you ‘Lion,’ that sounds too distant.”

As he spoke, his eyes began to sparkle.

“How about… I give you a name?”

The lion flicked his tail, then, as if conceding, jumped onto the sofa and looked at him.

“Hmm…”

Shi Xiaowang thought for a moment.

“Since you belong to the Marshal, your surname should be the same as his. How about Jian Da Meow (Jian Big Miao)?”

His eyes curved in a bright, earnest smile.

“My name is Shi Xiaowang, and you’re Jian Da Meow—see? We sound like a family, don’t we?”

(TN: Shi = Last Name; Xiao = Little; Wang = Dog;
Jian = Last Name; Da = Big; Miao – Cat.)

At the word family, the lion froze. The helplessness in his eyes slowly softened into something more complicated.

He looked straight at Shi Xiaowang and gave a solemn nod.

Overjoyed, Shi Xiaowang couldn’t resist stepping forward and ruffling his mane.

“Then I’ll tell the Marshal—I hope he likes your new name too.”

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