Ji Xiao is a firefighter who leads a quiet, disciplined life defined by his profession and his online gaming hobby. He shares a dormitory with his colleague Lin Zi, with whom he maintains a casual, bickering friendship. Ji Xiao’s only significant personal connection is to a gamer named Tang Paopao, whom he married in-game. Their relationship is built on mutual support in virtual battles, though Ji Xiao remains unaware of Tang Paopao’s true identity, operating under the assumption that the player is male. His daily routine is interrupted when his squad responds to a call to rescue a black kitten trapped in a sewer. The kitten, which is actually a nine-tailed cat spirit named Ding Wei, is stuck due to an injured leg and a piece of wire. Ji Xiao successfully retrieves the animal, but the cat, terrified of being discovered for its supernatural nature, immediately flees into the wild upon release. Ding Wei, who has eight tails and is seeking to grow a ninth, had previously lost tails by granting wishes to humans. He is currently in a cycle of losing his eighth tail to help others, hoping to eventually achieve ascension. Despite his wild nature, Ding Wei returns to the area near the sewer, driven by instinct and a desire to catch a mouse that had mocked him during his entrapment.
Meanwhile, Ding Wei’s life as a spirit is complicated by his roommate, Su Gui, a mischievous entity who frequently invades Ding Wei’s apartment. Their interactions are hostile and comedic, with Ding Wei often threatening Su Gui to maintain his privacy. Ding Wei is exhausted from the process of growing his new tail, which leaves him sleepy and vulnerable. He resides in a residential complex where he is viewed as a quiet, somewhat aloof college student by his landlord and neighbors. The narrative shifts between Ji Xiao’s mundane life and Ding Wei’s hidden supernatural existence. Ji Xiao finds himself unusually preoccupied with the stray cat he rescued, a rare moment of emotional engagement for a man who otherwise keeps his feelings guarded. He reflects on the cat’s wildness and its refusal to be touched, noting its fierce independence. This incident becomes a minor but persistent thought in his mind, contrasting with his usual detachment.
The story introduces a key turning point when Ding Wei, in his cat form, attempts a graceful leap from his apartment balcony at night. However, he miscalculates the distance and lands clumsily on a wall below, injuring his chin. Humiliated and angry, he prepares to slink away into the shadows. As he moves along the base of the wall, he encounters a figure approaching him under a streetlamp. It is Ji Xiao, who has somehow tracked the cat down. Unlike the other humans who have encountered him, Ji Xiao does not run or scream. Instead, he approaches with a mixture of shock and delight. Ding Wei, resigned to the loss of his eighth tail, sits still and accepts his fate, expecting another human to make a wish that will strip him of his power. Ji Xiao crouches down and asks if the cat is a nine-tailed cat, his voice filled with a hope that Ding Wei recognizes from centuries past. This encounter marks the beginning of a connection between the firefighter and the spirit, setting the stage for a relationship that will challenge both their isolated lives.
The core conflict arises from the clash between Ding Wei’s ancient, detached existence and Ji Xiao’s grounded, human reality. Ding Wei has spent hundreds of years forgetting human faces and emotions, viewing them as transient and ultimately meaningless. He is cynical about human wishes, having lost parts of himself to fulfill them repeatedly. Ji Xiao, on the other hand, is a man of action and duty, whose life is structured around saving others. His interest in Ding Wei is not born of a desire for power or wish-fulfillment, but of a genuine, albeit quiet, compassion. This difference creates a tension in their budding relationship. Ding Wei expects to lose his tail, but Ji Xiao’s reaction is ambiguous. The story explores whether Ji Xiao can break the cycle that has trapped Ding Wei for centuries. It also delves into Ji Xiao’s own emotional isolation, suggesting that his connection with the supernatural cat may help him confront his own loneliness. The narrative weaves together elements of urban fantasy, romance, and slice-of-life drama, grounding the magical in the everyday details of fire station life and online gaming.
As the story progresses, the dynamic between Ji Xiao and Ding Wei begins to shift. Ji Xiao’s persistence in seeking out the cat, despite its wild nature, indicates a depth of character that surprises Ding Wei. The spirit, accustomed to being used and discarded, finds himself uncertain how to respond to genuine kindness without an ulterior motive. Ji Xiao’s life continues with its routine calls and gaming sessions, but the memory of the nine-tailed cat lingers. He begins to notice signs of the supernatural in his surroundings, hinting that his world is not as ordinary as he believed. Ding Wei, meanwhile, struggles with his growing attachment to Ji Xiao, fearing that getting closer will only lead to another loss of his tail. The story sets up a future where both characters must navigate the boundaries between the human and spirit worlds. Ji Xiao’s role as a firefighter, saving lives in crises, parallels his potential role in saving Ding Wei from his eternal cycle of sacrifice. The narrative promises a development where their bond becomes the key to breaking the curse, not through a wish, but through mutual understanding and acceptance.
