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Chapter 499: Bathing the Cat
Chapter 499: Bathing the Cat
"Tom, stop running around, you're dirtying the floor!"
Nia, wearing an apron, rushed out of the bathroom and glared at the chubby cat trying to squeeze under the sofa in the hall.
"Meow meow meow!"
Tom's pitiful meows echoed through the hall as he was picked up. Like most cats, he despised bath time, and Tom was no exception.
However, for Nia, who valued cleanliness, her cat had to endure a good scrub before it was allowed anywhere near her room. Who knew what grime Tom had accumulated living in that ancient castle, perhaps he even had fleas.
"Your meows won't help you, today you're getting cleaned up. Otherwise, forget about ever tasting another fish treat!" Nia stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the cat who had just wriggled free and was attempting to squeeze back under the sofa.
"Albert, Albert, come help me!"
Nia called up the stairs to Albert.
The door creaked open, and Albert put down his half-finished homework. He clomped downstairs in his slippers.
As he entered the hall, Albert saw Nia crouched in front of the sofa, tugging on a pair of cat paws that were clinging to the sofa's underside, trying to pull Tom out.
"What's going on?" Albert asked, noticing the water on the floor and the apron Nia was wearing.
"Come help me quick!" Nia urged, "That guy is filthy. He even tried to sneak into my room last night, he's driving me crazy."
"Let's move the sofa first." Albert suggested, "Then come help me."
"Can't you just use magic?" Nia let go of Tom's paws and joined Albert in moving the sofa, but she continued to grumble, "This should be easy for you!"
"We're not allowed to use magic at home." Albert explained, "You should know that."
Together, they moved the sofa, and Albert scooped up Tom as he tried to scurry back under the furniture. However, Tom's damp fur dampened Albert's clothes.
"This is troublesome. What's the point of learning magic if we can't use it?" Nia followed Albert into the bathroom.
This time, Nia closed the bathroom door, determined not to let Tom escape again.
Albert smiled at Nia's irritated expression and said, "Not being able to use it is indeed inconvenient."
"You've never bathed Tom at school, have you?"
"I have, a few times, but it wasn't me who bathed him." Albert placed Tom back in the bathtub, and the chubby cat immediately began to struggle against the water. He hated getting wet, and as Nia prepared to rinse him with the showerhead, his meows became even more desperate. Anyone hearing those pitiful cries might think they were abusing the poor animal.
"This won't do, wait a moment." Albert set Tom down and stepped out of the bathroom.
"What are you doing?" Nia asked, puzzled.
"Getting Tom some food to calm him down."
"If food worked, I wouldn't have called for your help." Nia muttered, having already tried that approach to no avail.
Albert soon returned, surprisingly, with just a single fish treat.
"That won't work," Nia scoffed.
However, to her surprise, after gobbling up the treat, Tom quieted down. In fact, he seemed to be... dozing off?
"I added a tiny bit of magic potion to the treat. Alright, let's get Tom cleaned up quickly!" Albert noticed Nia's astonished expression and casually explained. He reached out to support Tom's head while Nia lathered the chubby cat with shower gel.
Even with Tom subdued, bathing a cat remained a challenging task.
Twenty minutes later, Albert finally emerged from the bathroom, Tom swaddled in a towel, and fed him some water with a vitality potion to rouse the drowsy cat prince.
"This wore me out."
Nia glared at Tom, who was shaking his plump body dry, while Albert used a hairdryer to finish the job.
"If you're tired, go take a rest!" Albert flipped Tom over to dry his belly.
"No, I'll do it."
Nia took the hairdryer from Albert and began rubbing Tom down with the towel, drying his fur.
"Tom's getting fatter and fatter. I thought you'd be helping him lose weight."
"Getting a fat cat to slim down is no easy task." Albert said helplessly.
In fact, the mission to help Tom lose weight was still hanging unfinished on his task board.
Albert retrieved two bottles of homemade bubble tea from the fridge and handed one to Nia. "How's it going at school? Have you made any good friends?"
"Of course."
Nia lifted her chin proudly, "Jenny, Shirley... well, why are you asking?"
"Just curious." Albert set his bubble tea on the table and returned to his room to change his damp clothes.
"By the way, I heard from Herb that he wants to promote this."
"They're not planning to be lawyers anymore, but to open a bubble tea shop?" Albert asked with a smile.
"No." Nia shook her head, "It seems like Uncle Charlie is interested in bubble tea."
Charlie was Daisy's younger brother, a half-baked chef who had reportedly opened a restaurant in London, specializing in British cuisine.
As for the taste...
Well, let's just say the Anderson family had never dined at Uncle Charlie's restaurant.
"Hmm, Uncle Charlie asked me about it recently. He seemed to want to discuss it with you." Nia sneaked a glance at Albert, her expression strange as she said, "He might come by to talk to you about it."
"Talk to me?"
"It was Daisy's suggestion. She thinks Uncle Charlie's head isn't as good as yours, and that he's not as sharp as you in certain matters, so he needs your help and advice."
"Why doesn't Daisy just talk to me directly?" Albert never imagined he'd become the one to promote bubble tea in the UK.
"You just started your vacation, and Daisy doesn't want to bother you yet. Plus, she knows you don't need money. You could win the lottery anytime you want." Nia prevented Tom from sneaking away again.
Nia was bringing this up to Albert as a sort of forewarning.
After dinner, Daisy brought up the topic herself.
Of course, if Charlie wanted to make money from bubble tea, he would have to pay a price.
About 20% of the profits.
They were well aware that Albert didn't need money, but Herb and Daisy didn't want Albert to rely on winning the lottery all the time.
After all, doing so too frequently would eventually raise suspicions.
Albert agreed.
He also discovered that in some ways, Daisy adhered to a lawyer's habits. Even with her own brother, she showed no mercy.
In Daisy's words, whether they needed something was one thing, but whether they would get it was another matter entirely.
(End of Chapter)
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