702 Stray Ca (1/2)
Chapter 702: Stray Cat
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The night had fallen.
Jasmine was a bit hungry. It circled around Lu Yiyun's feet and rubbed her legs, reminding her that it was time for food.
Lu Yiyun rubbed her eyes and yawned. After seeing how late it was, she quickly saved her unfinished painting and started to pack things.
”Wang Qian, Li Kun, let's call it a day,” she said.
Wang Qian and Li Kun were usually gone before this hour; however, they were still hanging around the shop––sitting together and playing mobile games––in order to keep Lu Yiyun company.
After hearing this, they stretched themselves and looked at the time. ”Master should be on the plane now, right? If he didn't send a message, then everything should be fine and his phone must be off.”
”Maybe,” Lu Yiyun said hopefully.
The three of them worked together and cleaned up the shop with ease. In fact, there was not much to clean, anyway.
After cleaning, Wang Qian and Li Kun left. Lu Yiyun carried Jasmine in her backpack and put the graphic tablet under her arm, then pulled the shutter door down with a quick motion. She locked the door while singing the theme songs from the latest episodes of the animation gently, then walked towards the residential area on the other side of the road with light steps.
After a day of tiresome work, some of the commuters went straight home, while others went in groups to grab a drink. Sporadic laugher could be heard throughout the street.
The smell of cooking food, which drifted from the kitchens of the residents, filled the old school residential area. The residents were replenishing their energy for their hungry stomachs, as well as providing strength for the hard work that awaited them the next day.
Everything seemed normal.
With or without Zhang Zian, Binhai City was operating as usual; hardly anyone had noticed that he had left at all.
Lu Yiyun returned to her rental house, fed Jasmine, and continued on with her painting.
Time flew by.
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Uncle Li and Aunt Li closed their restaurant door with satisfaction. The couple sat together, calculating how much money they had made that day.
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On the plane, Zhang Zian put on an eye mask and tried to sleep.
Famous had some trouble adapting to the oxygen chamber and was feeling hungry. Sleepiness came anyway, however, and it closed its eyes.
******
Lu Yiyun yawned and looked at the time. She turned off her computer and went to shower as she began getting ready for bed.
******
Everything seemed normal; however, in a suburb of Binhai City, a flash of a dark shadow passed by in a hurry.
The shadow's eyes were shining bright under the moonlight, resembling a cat.
A savvy person could recognize right away that this was a skinny, stray Siamese cat that just reached adulthood. Its body was filthy, as if it often scavenged for food in the garbage and had not bathed in a long time.
Most stray cats were mongrel, but recently, some pedigree cats had become strays, all of which came from the Love Lovely Pets breeding base. Most of the escaped cats and dogs had found new homes, but a few unlucky ones had never found favor in anybody's eyes––that, or they were never found by people for other reasons.
As spring approached, these new stray cats were copulating with the local stray cats. In two months time, many new kittens were about to be born, which would further expand the stray cat family of Binhai City.
This Siamese cat came from Love Lovely Pets. Not long ago, it followed everyone in the night to escape the breeding base without knowing any better. After entering the city, it went astray.
It had a chance to be picked by someone, but the experience at Love Lovely Pets–– where it had been starved, beaten, and scolded for no reason––made it scared of people. It didn't like human contact and was always trying to avoid people at all costs.
After the cat-picking fever in the first few days had passed, fewer and fewer people were picking up cats. People who wanted to get free pedigree cats gathered online, then waited to pick one up in the city forum. Some people had caught several cats at once, and they might give them––either at a low price or for free––if they could not handle them. Those who had successfully found cats via the online forum were so satisfied, as if they had found ten billion dollars on the street.
The hungry Siamese cat came out of its hiding place and scavenged the garbage nearby every night for food.
It had become a stray and it was fine to be that way. It had the big, wide world all to itself. Although it didn't have food available all the time like a regular pet cat, it was spared from being castrated.
It had slowly adapted to the life of a stray, in which it searched for food in the garbage at night, bathed in the sun on the roof during the day, and fought for territory with other stray cats.
Binhai City was a rich place, and now it was Spring Festival time. There was a rich variety of food in the garbage––almost enough for a full table of Manchu Han Imperial Feast. It didn't really need to fight for territory, but it was part of their ancient instinct.
In a few short days since its escape from the breeding base, it had even harvested love and impregnated a white mongrel cat. It had become a father without even knowing about it.
Life was supposed to continue peacefully like this; however, the garbage in which it had been scavenging was now occupied by a fat, orange cat. The Siamese cat was too skinny to fight the fat, orange cat, and it was quickly chased away from its old territory.