Chapter 31

On Saturday, Zhen Bao received a small task for her and two other new members to bathe some stray kittens newly brought into the Animal Protection Society.

The APS had a special holding area for taking in stray cats and dogs until they found adopters. Since Zhen Bao's dorm was the furthest away, by the time she arrived the other two had already picked kittens to wash, leaving Zhen Bao with a scrawny black cat. It had a pair of clear green eyes but unfortunately there seemed to be inflammation in the corners, dirtying its beauty.

The black cat was very wary of strangers, curled up in the corner of the cage while warily watching the lazily napping Cat Prince on the windowsill.

Seeing Cat Prince here, Zhen Bao was both shocked and delighted.

"He wanders anywhere he wants in the APS. It's his territory." Meng Ji Ning explained rather helplessly.

"Meow..." Seeing Zhen Bao, the plump Cat Prince suddenly leapt down nimbly and came over to be spoiled.

Zhen Bao played with him for a while before letting the pampered Cat Prince go and turning her attention to the black cat. Meng Ji Ning watched from the side as the previous two had quite a hard time catching the cats to bathe. This black one was the most stubborn, kept swiping its paws resisting. That's why it was left for last.

"Come out, let's go get washed up and you'll look beautiful afterwards." Zhen Bao smiled, coaxing the little one.

The black cat stared at her.

Zhen Bao reached into the cage. The black cat tentatively raised its paw but once Zhen Bao's hand touched it, the black cat stilled and let Zhen Bao pick it up obediently. On the floor, Cat Prince called out meaningfully at Zhen Bao and rubbed against her legs. The black cat in her arms looked down and swiped at Cat Prince as if to drive it away.

Small as it was, it was quite bold. Or perhaps it was emboldened by being held.

"Help brush its fur first, otherwise it'll get tangled when washing." There was skill involved in bathing cats. This was Zhen Bao's first time so Meng Ji Ning was teaching her.

Zhen Bao learned diligently, first breaking up dried bits of dirt in the cat's fur then starting to brush. She had to finish brushing before trimming its claws. The black cat lay quietly in the basin on Zhen Bao's lap, behaving extremely well. It even seemed rather curious, lifting its head to watch as Zhen Bao trimmed its claws.

"Feels nice right?" Zhen Bao bent down to tease it.

The black cat struggled up as if wanting to sniff her face.

Zhen Bao closed her eyes and let it sniff her, not minding that it hadn't been washed yet.

Meng Ji Ning had stepped out for a moment and walked back in to see this scene. The young girl sitting in the sunshine but the tender smile on her face was warmer than the sun's rays. No wonder the bad-tempered Cat Prince and this solitary black cat also liked her.

Meng Ji Ning coughed lightly.

Zhen Bao opened her eyes and hurried to continue trimming the black cat's claws, realizing she had been too focused on playing and fallen behind schedule.

After finishing the claws, it was finally bath time. The black cat meowed in protest at seeing the water basin, refusing to get in. But Zhen Bao was gentle yet firm, thoroughly washing the black cat from head to toe under Meng Ji Ning's guidance. Only after rinsing, drying, brushing, and applying some eye drops to clean it up was the grooming considered complete.

The washed black cat had fluffy fur and clear eyes. Its green eyes shone like gems.

"Want to take a picture? To commemorate your first job." Meng Ji Ning hung a tag with a number on the black cat and suggested.

Zhen Bao liked taking pictures a lot and happily picked up the black cat to pose in front of the row of cages.

A beauty's greatest privilege was looking amazing no matter what. Casual snapshots came out like works of art.

"I'll add you on WeChat and send the pic to you." Meng Ji Ning said, walking over holding his phone.

The two became WeChat friends.

The black cat still needed to be neutered and vaccinated next before the APS PR department looked for an adopter.

Mentioning neutering again reminded Zhen Bao of Hei Dan. Elder Fu refused to let Hei Dan be neutered so the matter had been delayed indefinitely.

At 9 pm on the dot, Fu Ming Shi called as usual. Though he was the one who called, as they chatted it turned into Zhen Bao reporting her school life to him. "Today I bathed a black cat. It had such pretty eyes and was so well-behaved..."

Perhaps because it was the first stray she had handled, Zhen Bao really liked that black cat a lot.

"Can bring it back to the villa to raise with Hei Dan." Imagining her cute expression, Fu Ming Shi chuckled lowly.

"Oh, you really want to adopt it?" Zhen Bao suppressed her delight and asked. Before this she didn't have any thoughts of adopting the black cat since she couldn't keep pets in the dorms and it wasn't her home at the villa, she was just a guest.

Fu Ming Shi opened his laptop and saw her bright smiling face set as his wallpaper. His voice softened, "As long as you like it."

As long as she liked it, he was willing to take in any stray cat or animal that could make her happy.

The man's low voice was like a current of electricity. Zhen Bao's ears inexplicably grew hot. But after thinking it over carefully, she still hesitated, "Let me send you a photo first and see if you like it." If Fu Ming Shi was just trying to accommodate her feelings, then forget it.

"Alright." Fu Ming Shi put down his phone to wait for her cat pic.

Zhen Bao sent over the only photo she had, not having thought to take any herself.

Fu Ming Shi was expecting a black cat and didn't think she would include herself too. Looking at the sweetly smiling girl in the picture, Fu Ming Shi pondered then deliberately didn't reply.

Zhen Bao was anxious and asked: What do you think? Do you like it?

Fu Ming Shi finally typed back: Which one are you referring to?

Zhen Bao looked at the message in confusion, not understanding his meaning. Fu Ming Shi sent another one right after: The cat's cute, the owner's not bad either.

Realizing the connection, Zhen Bao hurried to explain: I meant the cat.

Fu Ming Shi: I like it.

Zhen Bao smiled.

On his end, Fu Ming Shi looked at the "Like the person too" he had typed in the input box for a long time before slowly deleting it and changing to: Good night.