As if in response, the soft little bundle in his arms let out another tender "mew," and the chubby boy nodded as well.
Carefully, he loosened his hold and lifted a corner of the coarse cloth.
Beneath it was a tiny tabby kitten.
The kitten's eyes were open, but rather than the usual amber yellow, they were a rare watery green. Its nose was pink, and its fur was far paler than that of an ordinary tabby. Seeing Shen Tang, it gave another timid mew and burrowed deeper into the chubby boy's arms. Chu Yao, standing nearby, frowned.
Shen Tang's attention was entirely on the cat. Her fingertips carefully brushed over its soft fur, but the kitten was a little afraid of strangers and looked timid. "Is this cat raised by your family? Or is it a stray?"
The chubby boy said, "Our mother cat gave birth to it."
Shen Tang asked again, "Then why did you bring it out?"
Shouldn't such a tiny kitten be kept with its mother?
The chubby boy's spirits sank for a moment. Lowering his head to look at the cat, he said, "Father and Mother said we can't keep it. They told me to throw it away."
"Can't keep it? Is the cat sickly and hard to raise?"
The chubby boy shook his head and honestly said, "No. It's very good—it's just that its eyes are different. Father thinks it's taboo and won't let us keep it."
All seven kittens in the litter had amber-yellow eyes, exactly like their mother's. Only this one was different. Butcher feared it might be an ominous sign, and business had not been very good lately either. It left him feeling uneasy, so he intended to throw the kitten away or give it to someone else to raise.
So