“Daddy, so many pictures. Daddy is on top. Daddy, look. That’s me,” Guo Guo said, pointing at the pictures.
Gu Jun had collected the pictures in the living room after taking them down. He obviously didn’t want to keep them. He prepared to burn them all.
The nanny hid behind and watched. Earlier, the mass of people falling to the ground had terrified her. When Gu Jun called her, she finally understood what had happened.
“Burn this all. Don’t leave anything behind. Also, notify the guards. Don’t let anyone in without my permission. Anyone who wishes to enter needs to ask me first.”
The nanny hurriedly dragged all the pictures to the back of the mansion. She’d seen the pictures. It was the woman who’d lived here during New Year’s. Mr. An hadn’t returned in a month and the woman wanted to take advantage of the time. However, since Mr. Gu wanted to burn these things, it meant that he definitely didn’t like the woman.
When would Mr. An return? When he’s not here, the home doesn’t seem like a home.
“Daddy, you’re on TV!” Guo Guo exclaimed excitedly.
“Today, the Gu Group announced the new chairman Gu Jun’s marriage with Xiu Yijian. It is the hottest topic of the new year. The Gu Family is truly a wealthy family. Xiu Yijian must be an unmatched beauty to be able to catch the eye of Gu Jun!”
Halfway through the host’s sentence, Gu Jun switched it to the cartoon channel and told Guo Guo to watch it by himself.
His phone buzzed. Gu Jun swiped it open and saw An Xiaoyan’s message.
Fifth Dumpling needs to get a flea shot at the vet in a few days. Don’t forget.
The few words scattered the dark clouds in Gu Jun’s heart. Got it, he replied seriously.
The engagement was on June 15th. It was less than ten days away.
When An Xiaoyan received Gu Jun’s reply, his worries disappeared. He thought something had happened, so he sent a random message to Gu Jun. Judging from the reply, he’d worried for nothing.
Meow, Wonton called as it rubbed against An Xiaoyan’s leg.
The other four cats began meowing too. The dog wagged its tail beside An Xiaoyan too. They’d all grown up now and liked playing outside. An Xiaoyan would take them out for a walk after work every day. If he was late like today, they would remind him like this.
There was a small park nearby. An Xiaoyan went there every time. It was a powerful sight to see five cats and one dog. When people saw them, they either stayed far away or came up to pet the animals.
There was a patch of grass in the center of the park. An Xiaoyan would sit on the bench and watch the animals roll around on the ground. He had to wash them all afterward.
The cats and the dog were having fun while obediently surrounding their owner. An Xiaoyan was also enjoying the sight.
On a bench in the near distance, there were two entangled figures. A slightly smaller man rested his head against another man’s shoulder. In his youth, he’d fantasized about sitting on a bench with someone and pouring his heart out.
Something hit him, shocking him out of his thoughts. He looked down and saw Yippy rubbing against him.
Things were good now too. He had cats and a dog accompanying him. He didn’t need love anymore.
It was getting late, so An Xiaoyan got up and called to the distance. Wonton and Yippy brought the kittens over. An Xiaoyan picked up the leash and the smallest cat, Fourth Dumpling, and started going home.
After cleaning everything up, he lay on the bed, facing the air conditioning across from him. For the first time, he felt that this apartment would be better with two people.
It wouldn’t be quiet like this. It felt like something was missing from his life. He didn’t have the motivation to do anything.
The next day at work, Ji Lin also realized that An Xiaoyan was spacing out. When he wasn’t working, he would sit there and think about something. It looked like he was having heavy thoughts.
“Are you thinking about your lover?” Ji Lin grinned.
An Xiaoyan shook his head. “No way. Life just feels a bit empty now.”
“Empty my *ss. When we wash the animals at the shelter for free next week, you won’t feel empty anymore. If you really do, we can get a pretty girl or boy to have fun with tonight.”
“Hey! What are you saying? Am I that type of person?”
Ji Lin was unmoved. “Look at your sallow face. It’s obvious you haven’t had sex in a long time and your blood circulation is bad.”
“If you don’t have sex and your blood isn’t circulating well, you’ll be weak and redden easily,” An Xiaoyan refuted.
“Oh, I guess you’re a professional!”
An Xiaoyan ignored him and continued working.
In the afternoon, something unpleasant happened.
“Ji Lin, someone called for the boss,” Da Zhou called from outside.
Ji Lin put down his work and went outside. He saw two kittens in a box. “What’s going on?”
“Ask her.”
“They’re from our cat house,” a fashionable woman said as she took off her sunglasses. “These two don’t look healthy, so I want to put them here for now. Please advertise them to your customers.”
It was the first time Ji Lin experienced something like this since opening his store. He’d only been here for half a year and hadn’t gotten to know many people. How come his store became a place to collect and sell cats?
“I’m sorry. We’re a hospital and we only cure animals. We don’t sell them. Please take them back.”
The woman clearly was unwilling. “Isn’t our partnership perfect?” she exclaimed. “Countless people come here every day. You can definitely find a home for them. I won’t say how much money. Just 200 dollars for a cat is enough. They’re already one year old and no one’s buying them. Do you want me to keep losing money?”
Ji Lin didn’t change his mind. This had nothing to do with him. He couldn’t voluntarily adopt these two cats either. Judging from the woman’s attitude, whether or not he adopts them, she still won’t be bringing them back.
“Take these cats back. Raising two cats doesn’t take much money. Plus, this really is a hospital. We don’t sell cats.”
“Then these two cats are sick. Take care of them.” With that, the woman put on her sunglasses and walked away. Da Zhou tried to move the box of cats out, but when he got out, the woman was already gone.
“What kind of person is she?” Da Zhou complained. “People like her do things solely for money. We’re not a shelter! If all cat houses do this, we’ll go bankrupt!”
Ji Lin looked at the skinny and frightened kittens inside the box. They weren’t treated well in the cat house and didn’t live well. This was why they brought them over.
An Xiaoyan witnessed all this. He walked to the two cats. As soon as he reached in, the two cats shrunk back. He kept his hand there and one of the cats cautiously licked his thumb.
When the soft thing scraped past his finger, An Xiaoyan’s heart trembled. He seemed to see the hunger in the cat’s eyes.
“What breed are these two?”
Ji Lin checked again. One was probably a Scottish Fold while the other was a mix. He’d be able to see after they were fattened and matured.
“Treat them. I’ll pay for it.”
Da Zhou was incredulous. “Xiaoyan, did you win the jackpot or something? Why do you need so many cats? Don’t you already have that orange one?”
An Xiaoyan took the cat out and hugged it carefully. “I think that they’re too pitiful.”
Da Zhou wanted to keep talking, but Lin Nian grabbed him and shook his head. “Xiaoyan, I’ll help you.”
“What’s with you guys? Are we really a shelter?”
“Don’t you see Xiaoyan’s eyes?” Ji Lin explained. “That guy really loves cats. When he looks at cats, he can’t tear his eyes away.”
Da Zhou didn’t understand. “But his salary isn’t that high. He’ll need to scrimp to raise three cats.”
An Xiaoyan put the two cats into a basin. One of the cats didn’t dare move. After washing them, he poured cat food in front of them. They didn’t dare eat it.
“Xiaoyan, put them in a cage and we’ll go out. They probably don’t dare to eat with us here.”
An Xiaoyan followed Lin Nian out and watched the security camera from the computer. The two cats waited until no one was around before timidly approaching the cat food. They didn’t show any fear when they ate. They gobbled it up as if they were afraid that they’d have no food after this meal.
“I’ll take them back after work. I have a few cats at home, so they should feel welcomed.”
When Da Zhou heard “a few cats,” he asked, “So that Wonton we saw last time is only one of the members of your family?”
An Xiaoyan nodded. “I have five cats and a dog.”
Da Zhou wasn’t the only one who was shocked. Even Lin Nian and Ji Lin were surprised. “Do you want to open a cat house? You’re raising that many? That Wonton is nice. He’s probably a purebred British Shorthair. What about the others?”
“Found them. I don’t know what breed either.”
“Xiaoyan, if you really love animals, you actually can open a cat house,” Lin Nian chimed in. “If you can’t sell them, you can raise them too.”
An Xiaoyan had never thought about this. He just simply loved animals. He’d never thought about selling the babies for money.
After work, the two cats had already eaten and drunk their fill. They were sleeping together. An Xiaoyan wrapped them in a jacket and brought them home.
The Scottish Fold was the most special, so he named it Seventh Dumpling. The unknown one would be Sixth Dumpling. When he made enough money, he could probably have enough for a serving of dumplings.
When he opened the door, he was welcomed by the five cats and the dog as usual. An Xiaoyan placed the two new cats in the cat bed.
“From now on, they’ll be members of the family. They’re the oldest, so don’t bully them.”
There were new members now. The cats stared at the two guys. Wonton was only a few months old, but he’d eaten well since birth, so he was bigger than the one-year-olds.
Sixth and Seventh Dumpling woke up to see the other cats staring at them. They shrunk back reflexively. After a long while, they were sure that the other cats weren’t aggressive and began moving around in their new home.
“Please hurry and grow up. This way, you can protect yourselves.”