Y-You’ve Never Seen a Slackerfish Before?

[Highlight] Set in a fictional modern world. All names and place names are made up and have no connection to reality.

[Second highlight] They meet online first, then in person. The top is a robotic, deeply miserable fish, and the bottom is a gloomy mess. Sometimes they're both listless, depressed, and unhinged, so there will be some negative emotions.

Could I quietly ask you to add this to your favorites? qwq

I don't feel like doing anything anymore, so I'll just leave things like this.

Things are already a complete mess. There's no point in me trying to do more, is there?

Thinking this, Jiuqu flopped back onto the beanbag once again.

People who are used to being put down, and then putting themselves down even more, can't see the light.

Jiuqu has always believed that.

Even if someone sometimes gives me their approval, so what?

It's all fake, right?

As long as the people who matter are happy, that's enough.

Are there really people who matter to me?

Who knows?

Until one day, a cat that seemed to be psychic showed up at the door.

It said something about saving someone... Saving them? That sounds weird, doesn't it? Ah, whatever. Who cares what it says? It doesn't matter. None of it matters.

But it's a cat!

A real cat, fluffy and soft, with a body and fur. And it isn't even running away from me? Good kitty. Let me pet you.

An instinct engraved in my DNA tells me I can't turn this down.

[...]

[Requesting owner binding. Identity: Jiuqu]

Jiu what?

? What? The kitty wants to come home with me?

Sure, sure! Let's get bound! QwQ

Who cares what the name is, as long as it sounds like Jiuqu.

As for its purpose... saving someone...

A kitty this innocent couldn't possibly have an ulterior motive.

Whatever.

(Pointing and commenting) Do cat lovers who were avoided by cats as kids all turn out like this, throwing themselves at any cat they see?

[...Wrong person, you know.]

[Forget it... We'll make do.]

[This is so hopeless. How can this person be even more depressed than the target?]

[Can this really work?]

One morning

Light filtered through curtains that weren't quite opaque enough, and it stung the eyes a little.

Jiuqu woke up, touched Bie Yi's fluffy hair as they curled up against her like a child, and pulled the blanket back into place.

I'll say it again:

When a kitty plays matchmaker, it's basically a god!

I have a wife not because I worked hard, but because a cat carried the burden for me.

This probably won't be of much use. It's just a little story about two awkward people, both a mess morally, but who do have a conscience, forming a connection.

The cat may be more like the System in a System novel, but I like cats, so, yeah. (Sneaking in my own preferences.)

Actually, I just wanted someone to say what I'm thinking. The author's afterword is still too far away, and it limits what I can do.

The blurb says the person who needs saving is the bottom, Bie Yi. (So cliche!) (Who else would it be?)

The author is going to be cute here. Pay attention to me.

0.0

There may be some back-and-forth, but this is one hundred percent a sweet romance. It will definitely have a happy ending. (Seriously.)

There are already too many regrets in real life, so I hope this world, at least, is one I can control. I hope they can both find the happiness they deserve.

Top: robotic as can be, miserably depressed, casually reaching out to save others from time to time, instantly revived by petting a cat, seems smart but might have no brains at all, supposedly self-interested but actually altruistic. VS Bottom: seems to have normal thinking skills, seems to be in a seriously abnormal mental state, mildly paranoid, supposedly altruistic but actually self-interested.

Hey, I even added spaces to make it easier to read. I'm such a great person! (Drawn out.)

Actually, I read it through and realized it was hard to breathe. That's not good. (Serious.)

Why is this description so long? I'm losing it.

Forget it, you wrote it yourself. You're losing it? You're going to make me laugh to death.

So what?

Warnings:

1. The protagonist really is listless. She's the kind of person who makes the most of her abilities and just barely gets by, and she's genuinely gloomy. This probably won't change much from beginning to end, so if you're expecting otherwise, you'll probably be disappointed. Don't go in with that expectation, okay?

2. I like the feel of smart characters, but I don't know if I can write them. Maybe it's because I have no brains. (Sigh.)

3. My writing is average, or maybe it's a complete mess. I know that, so you don't have to tell me. If you don't like it, just move on. Forcing yourself to read something you dislike isn't good, and it would make you uncomfortable too.

4. This is just a story. Don't put yourself in the characters' shoes or try to imitate their thoughts and actions. Your safety and health come first.

5. The author is Jiuqu. (Seriously.)

6. Point five was a joke.

7. Maybe point six is a lie. (Stares.)

8. The blurb's writing style is the same as the main story's, with a little bit of asides mixed in (because I love writing and reading them). They mostly come from the cat's perspective.

Come to think of it, do I even have a writing style? (Sigh.)

9. I guess I'm making OCs. Isn't writing just making OCs? I'm only putting the stories in my head down here.

Theme: Time passes, but one day we'll meet the person we're destined for.