357 Always Waiting (1/2)
Chapter 357: Always Waiting
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Cathy did not understand what had happened when Zhang Zian was holding Wendy, but she was glad that Wendy was okay. She held it in her arms fondly and comforted it softly.
Zhang Zian went back to his seat. Just as he was trying to spot whether there were some hot girls in the venue, Fina pulled at his clothes.
”What are you doing?” he said distressingly. ”This Chinese tunic suit has been worn only twice. Don’t ruin it!”
Fina sternly ordered him, ”Go ask about the story of that cat. I felt a familiar odor on it.”
In fact, Zhang Zian was also a little bit curious about that cat. After all, it was a breed he had never seen before, and it didn’t seem like a hybrid.
”Well, I'll go ask about it.”
He covered his mouth with a fist to talk to Richard for a moment, left his seat again, and tried to be friendly with Cathy.
”Cathy, is Wendy all right?” asked Richard.
Cathy smiled, ”It seemed a bit scared, but it is much better now. Thank you so much.”
”Mind if I ask you a question?” said Richard.
”Please, go ahead,” Cathy listened attentively.
”What breed of cat is Wendy? I mean, I've never seen such a cat.” Zhang Zian looked at Wendy and gave a look indicating he was very interested in it.
”Oh,” said Cathy, raising her heavy reading glasses with a loving smile in her eyes. ”Wendy is an Abyssinian cat. Have you heard about it?”
”No, it’s the first time that I have heard such a name.” Zhang Zian shook his head honestly.
”It’s normal that you don’t know. This breed is quite rare, few people raise them, and few catteries breed them.” Cathy said proudly, ”Young man, from what I hear, you are not speaking in an American accent. Are you Chinese? Or Korean?”
”Chinese,” said Richard.
”I'm sorry, I can never distinguish between the two countries.” Cathy apologized and smiled, ”I have never left the United States in my life.”
”It does not matter. Many Westerners cannot tell the difference,” Richard said. ”I run a pet shop in Binhai City, China, and I am here in the United States for study and exchange.”
Upon hearing that he was a pet shop owner, Cathy did not look down on him, but very pleasantly extended her hand to him. ”Wow, turns out we are actually peers in the industry! Let me reintroduce myself, Catherine Donna Ryan. ”
”Jeff Chang,” Richard introduced him as usual.
However, upon hearing her formal introduction, and the fact that she even told him her middle name, Zhang Zian said in English, ”My Chinese name is Zhang Zian.”
”Ah, well I’m still going to call you Jeff. Chinese names are very hard for me to pronounce.” Cathy waved her hand happily, ”Jeff, you really are an eager learner. It is said that this breed of cat was first discovered in Abyssinia—a place known as Ethiopia nowadays —and was brought to Europe in the mid-1800s where artificial breeding began.”
She sympathetically stroked Wendy, whose medium-length hairs were swaying like rippling wheats. At first, Zhang Zian thought Wendy’s whole body was the same chocolate color, but after observing it closely at this moment, he found out that it was not—every hair, from top to bottom, was divided into two or three ribbons, so although they all were chocolate in color, the shades were different. As Cathy stroked it, its hair displayed beautiful and mysterious glows and shadows under the lights of the venue.
While leisurely stroking her cat, Cathy continued, ”Abyssinian cats are very poor. Due to the misery and suffering caused by World War II and the spread of feline leukemia in Europe from the 1960s to the 1970s, this breed disappeared once. After reintroducing their place of origin and breeding them back, the Abyssinian cats of present day were successfully nurtured, but they were different from the original Abyssinian cats... the situation was just like that of your Egyptian Mau.”
”Hm? Do you recognize it?” Zhang Zian looked a little surprised and glanced back at Fina, seeing that she was staring attentively at Wendy as well.
”Of course,” the woman smiled, ”The Egyptian Mau is very rare, and I don’t get to meet an Egyptian Mau in every tournament. But since I’ve attended these tournaments many times, I’ve met them once or twice.”
”My Wendy and your cat should have a very close bloodline,” she said. ”The origin of Abyssinian cats has always been a mystery, but they are generally believed to have evolved from the ancient Egyptian Mau—didn’t you notice? It looks like a little lion— maybe the Sphinx in Egypt was modeled off it! ”
A very close bloodline...no wonder Fina had sensed a familiar odor on Wendy, who might be a collateral descendant of Fina, and had inherited more genes of the bloodline of an original Egyptian Mau than other breeds of cats did.
Zhang Zian imagined and was fascinated by the migration and evolution of this breed of cat.
A moment later, he covered his mouth with a fist and whispered a few words to Richard. Richard paraphrased his words, ”Cathy, I heard you've been to many tournaments—forgive me, but are you at the wrong booth today? Here is the place for the house cats, shouldn’t you go to the championships group with Wendy?”
”No,” sighed Cathy. Her silver hair was shivering lightly, ”I did not mistake my booth. For years, I've been at the booth for house cats.”
Even Richard was surprised. Without waiting for Zhang Zian’s gesture, it asked, ”Why?”
She looked sad. Silent for a moment, she forced a smile as she pointed to the CFA sign hanging on the wall. ”Because they do not recognize it. They only admit Abyssinian cats in primary colors like red, blue and fawn, while the chocolate-colored Abyssinian cats are not allowed to participate in the championship group. ”
As if feeling the pain of its owner, Wendy licked her finger and called out in a very soft voice.
”So, do you come to attend the match for house cats every year?” asked Richard.
Cathy nodded, ”I've been waiting. Waiting for the day they admit Wendy.”
For some unknown reason, Zhang Zian was vexed and he suddenly felt hot in the venue. He pulled open his neckline. He missed the sunshine and fresh air outdoors.
”However, this is probably the last time I will participate.” Cathy suddenly chuckled loudly.