Chapter 6: The Troublesome Jinya Sister

There was a dedicated pool in the animal shed, originally meant for injured animals to drink from, though it occasionally served other purposes.

Chen Ying planned to take the lynx girl over to the pool to clean her coat.

When she rolled down the hillside earlier, her skin got scratched quite a bit. Medicine had been applied, but now the dried solution had matted her fur together, forming clumps that were almost like unkempt dreadlocks.

Soaking her in water wasn't an option. He needed to dampen the fur with a towel, then slowly comb it out using a steel comb.

"How about giving you a name? Let's call you Jinya. Look at the golden glow of your fur under the sunlight, so beautiful! And you're such a graceful little lady. Do you like the name?"

"Miao-aow."

"You agree? Perfect, Jinya it is. Little Jinya is such a good girl. Once I sort out your fur, you could grace the cover of a magazine."

He carefully cleaned the lynx's fur while chatting with her.

At 4:30 p.m., Yin Li and Brother Liu came back, carrying the carcasses of two birds and a bird-catching net.

In recent years, conservation policies had grown strict, and bird-catching nets had become a rarity.

Yin Li said they had found the net on the road to Tahe Village, likely left by a villager secretly doing something illegal.

Brother Liu took the birds' carcasses and the net back to report to the center, while Yin Li had to write a forest patrol log and file a request for repairing damaged equipment.

Chen Ying made dinner. He cooked wide-cut noodles and topped them with freshly stir-fried shredded pork in a tangy, spicy sauce along with smoked bamboo shoots. The dry-mixed version tasted better.

The soup was noodle broth with chopped scallions and a pinch of salt.

After dinner, Chen Ying cleaned up the kitchen and began preparing late-night meals for the patients.

The first one fed was Jinya, the lynx girl, who was in her peak eating phase, devouring several pounds of food a day.

Yin Li knocked on the window from outside.

"Brother Ying, the Leopard Mother is awake. The two little cubs are also restless. Want me to feed them milk?"

"Not for now. I'll take a look first."

The little leopards were fed milk roughly every three hours during the day and about every four hours at night. As they grew older, they could handle meat broth and minced meat, and nighttime milk feedings wouldn't be needed anymore.

Once Jinya finished eating, Chen Ying wiped her face with a towel and stood up to head to the leopard enclosure.

Jinya immediately bit onto his pant leg, whining, not wanting him to leave.

Chen Ying squatted down helplessly, trying to reason with her. Jinya simply shook her head, refusing to listen.

"Whining is futile, you stubborn little thing."

Dragging his leg to the door with difficulty, he saw Jinya still making a fuss. Left with no choice, he asked Yin Li to lock the iron door on the first floor, and decided to take Jinya for a stroll outside the Leopard Mother's room.

Of course, this risked unsettling the Leopard Mother, so Chen Ying didn't plan to let Jinya into the observation room, just to hang around at the door.

Next to the observation room was the ingredient room, where Chen Ying grabbed two pieces of jerky and a basin of prepared meat strips.

He gave the thicker jerky to Jinya to gnaw on, while the meat strips and another piece of jerky were for the Leopard Mother.

Taking advantage of Jinya being preoccupied with the meat strips, Chen Ying slipped into the observation room.

As expected, the Leopard Mother's ears were raised, her gaze fixed intensely on the observation room's door.

Upon seeing Chen Ying enter, she let out a low growl, though her gaze didn't waver.

"Stop staring. It's Jinya, your fellow patient."

He donned gloves and placed a food tray in front of the Leopard Mother, cradling one leopard cub in his hand.

The two little cubs still had round, full bellies, so they didn't need milk for the moment.

While the Leopard Mother ate, he began cleaning up the room. He hadn't finished yet when the sound of scratching at the observation room's door echoed sharply.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Jinya, behave yourself. You're a lady."

Chen Ying quickly changed the Leopard Mother's animal diaper and refilled her water dispenser before racing to open the door.

The Leopard Mother watched his bustling movements calmly, her golden-brown eyes following his every step.

As Chen Ying cautiously opened the door, the Leopard Mother wrinkled her nose, catching a whiff of the unpleasant scent of a big cat.

"Snort," the Leopard Mother expelled air sharply. Lowering her gaze, she looked at her two rowdy cubs before grabbing them by the scruff of their necks and gathering them into her embrace. Once she confirmed they were safe, she closed her eyes and resumed resting.

Jinya, meanwhile, didn't necessarily want to enter the observation room. As a fellow feline, competing for attention was instinctive.

Seeing Chen Ying emerge quickly, Jinya's tone turned almost coquettish, rubbing her head against his foot repeatedly.

Who could resist a big cat capable of acting spoiled? Certainly not Chen Ying.

Sensing Jinya's reluctance to go back to the animal shed, he decided to sit with her at the iron gate and stargaze.

The first-floor iron gate faced the forest. With its elevated position, it offered a broad, scenic view, making it a great spot for enjoying the scenery.

Sitting on the steps, Chen Ying had Jinya lean her head against his lap. The man and the cat peacefully gazed at the landscape outside, chatting idly.

Yin Li, writing his forest patrol log in the office opposite, glanced up and noticed Chen Ying and Jinya interacting like this. Without thinking, he snapped a photo and posted it on his social media feed.

"My Brother Ying, unparalleled chill vibes.jpg"

After posting, he pocketed his phone and stepped outside, settling himself about a meter from the iron gate.

"You two, what are you doing gazing at stars and moons instead of sleeping?"

"You're so uncultured; you wouldn't understand."

Chen Ying rolled his eyes at Yin Li. Jinya followed suit, meowing affectionately before dramatically flipping onto her back, her rear end pointed toward Yin Li as she lightly flicked her tail.

"Ali, pass me some bamboo. I need to feed Meng Yan before bed."

Meng Yan seemed to have been intimidated by the presence of the two big cats these past few days. She had been surprisingly well-behaved, eating when given food and sleeping quietly when not, though who knew how much weight she'd gain once her fracture healed.

Yin Li sat outside, while Chen Ying held Jinya inside. The two cooperated to prepare Meng Yan's late-night meal and even tailored an extra snack for her, mixing her favorite fruit bits with plant powder into little balls.

While making the snack balls for Meng Yan, Jinya curiously leaned in to sniff them, nearly sneezing loudly. Thankfully, Chen Ying quickly raised the feed bowl out of her reach.

Jinya shook her head, walked over to a corner, and lay on her side. She extended her claws to tug at Chen Ying's pant leg, yawned, and closed her eyes to sleep.

Feeling jealous, Yin Li edged closer, intent on sneaking a touch of Jinya's tail, but the seemingly asleep Jinya flicked her tail away just as Yin Li's fingers were about to make contact.

Frustrated, Yin Li smacked the iron gate and crouched to clean up the scraps on the ground.

Jinya peeked with one half-open eye, her mouth curling into a smug grin like a cartoon villain.

Chen Ying found it hilarious, giving Jinya's head a thorough ruffling. He patted her side and got up to deliver Meng Yan's late-night meal.

This time, Jinya didn't follow. She stayed behind, rolling around, coating her freshly groomed fur with debris again.

When Chen Ying returned, Jinya approached him and nuzzled him.

"Awoo, woo woo~" Wet, clean me, I'm dirty.

Chen Ying, amused and exasperated, stood with hands on his hips, glaring at her.

"You knew you'd get dirty, yet you rolled around on purpose!"

He glanced at the time, seeing it was close to ten o'clock. The day's work log still hadn't been written, and he needed to prepare Leopard Sister's morning medication and food. With at least one nighttime milk feeding for the little leopards still ahead, he couldn't keep playing with Jinya.

With some coaxing, he managed to lock Jinya back in the animal shed. Stretching his shoulders, he thought he might end up with shoulder pain from all the strain.

As he turned around, he caught sight of a shadow darting quickly past the iron gate outside.