Chapter 21: Why is there a golden snub-nosed monkey in your backpack! (Part 1)

“The cat has recovered and even gave birth ,

Double happiness, how delightful!”

“Hahaha, Siyu looks like she’s about to cry.”

“Three little female kittens, no wonder she’s so exhausted.”

There were tears welling up at the corners of Zhou Siyu’s eyes,

ready to fall, she had just been crying out of worry for the ragdoll cat’s health.

But now, she wiped the tears off her face and let out a laugh in frustration.

“You little rascal, you really got me.”

Zhou Siyu spoke through gritted teeth, poking the cat on its forehead.

“Driver, no need to go to the city anymore.

Let’s head back.”

The driver slowed the car upon hearing that.

“Not going anymore?

Then about the fare…”

“No worries, just go by the meter.”

Zhou Siyu turned her attention back to the meowing ragdoll cat.

“I thought you were gone, but turns out you were just tired and sleeping.

I called you for so long couldn’t you at least give me a sign?”

“Meow woo woo—”

The ragdoll cat trembled in her hands as it was shaken.

‘You were interrupting my sleep, meow.’

‘Too lazy to bother with you, meow.’

Wen Youning: “It thinks you were being noisy, and couldn’t be bothered to respond.”

“MEOW!!!”

The ragdoll cat’s icy blue eyes widened in rage, baring its teeth as it leapt forward.

‘That’s it, meow!

I’m coming for you!’

Thud!

The camera flipped, after a flash of light, the screen suddenly went black.

The livestream connection was also cut off, leaving Zhou Siyu’s fans completely confused.

“Wait… was that real or fake?

This story’s kind of unbelievable.”

“From Mantou’s reaction, it looked like she hit a nerve?”

“She can actually read minds live?

Damn, doesn’t feel fake.

I’m going to rewatch it.”

…

Wen Youning had originally planned to focus today on dealing with the mute swan situation.

She only accepted the emergency call because she was worried something serious had happened,

thankfully, it turned out to be a false alarm.

“Ms. Wen, I brought the surveillance equipment.”

A girl knocked on the door outside, carefully opening it a crack.

When she saw the mute swan resting on Wen Youning, she sighed in relief and set the box down on the table.

The girl said, “They’re all self-adhesive models.

Just peel off the backing and press them on wherever you want.”

After all, they weren’t professional installers,

drilling holes and running wires would be too much trouble.

This type was much easier to use, and it was solar-powered too, making installation convenient.

“Alright.”

Wen Youning patted Diandian’s feathers.

“Bring me the box.”

“Woo!”

Diandian shook its feathers and ran toward the door.

The box wasn’t heavy.

It carried it back with a bounce in its step.

“Thank you.”

Wen Youning bent down and kissed its forehead.

“Good job.”

“Woo?”

Niannian suddenly lifted its head.

Wen Youning didn’t play favorites.

She kissed Niannian as well.

“You two go play. I’m going to set up the cameras.”

She opened the box.

Inside was a paper manual, and the installation process was clearly explained.

The surveillance camera fit nicely in her palm, lightweight, waterproof, and capable of self-cleaning.

“This one you can’t peck off again.

This thing is really useful.”

Wen Youning mounted the cameras on all four corners of the little garden.

“They can help keep you safe.”

At the very least, if anything happened, she’d be able to check the footage to figure things out.

The mute swans were very familiar with these devices.

They had teamed up to peck off who knows how many before.

Wen Youning climbed onto the decorative artificial mountain over the water,

raising the camera to stick it at the highest point.

The two mute swans stood on either side of the mountain, looking for stable spots to perch.

They raised their heads in unison, making no move to attack.

When Wen Youning was coming down, they even stepped aside slightly, leaving a safe spot for her to land.

“All done.”

Wen Youning clapped the dust off her hands and looked around.

The cameras didn’t seem too obtrusive,

they wouldn’t ruin the aesthetic of the place.

She had been away on a work trip for quite a while,

and it was almost time to give the German Shepherd its acupuncture.

Wen Youning closed the lid of the box the cameras came in and said,

“I should head home now.

I’ll come see you again tomorrow.

By then, maybe we can get those eggs out.”

There was still no word from Qian Nuo.

And the police couldn’t casually disclose anything about the arrest operation.

Wen Youning privately sent her phone number to Qian Nuo,

figuring that if there were any updates, she’d receive a call.

One night should be enough time to find the rest of the eggs.

She figured there would be results by tomorrow.

“Woo!”

‘Don’t want you to go.’

‘Please don’t leave.’

‘Sleep here…’

Diandian lifted its wing slightly, generously offering its own nest to Wen Youning.

Wen Youning appreciated the gesture.

She smiled and ruffled the feathers sticking up on the swan’s head.

“I’ll be back tomorrow.

You two rest well tonight and get ready to hatch your eggs tomorrow.”

“Woo…!”

‘Okay!’

‘You have to come tomorrow, promise.’

The sun hadn’t set yet.

Warm golden light poured down from the sky.

By the time Wen Youning was walking home, the wind had picked up outside,

gently sweeping away the lingering afternoon heat.

Just as she sat down in the car

“Ms. Wen,” Zhou Siyu said.

She hadn’t had a chance to explain earlier before the livestream unexpectedly cut off.

Now the scene behind her had changed to the outdoors.

“I found the three little female cats.”

The camera flipped — a tortoiseshell, a calico, and a tabby were huddled together,

rubbing against each other and grooming.

“Hey hey hey, don’t block my camera.”

“Mm.”

Wen Youning sorted out the food she brought back.

“They’re not showing yet.

If conditions allow, you can take them home to care for.”

“Meow?”

The ragdoll cat heard her familiar voice.

Clearly, it was still holding a grudge over earlier.

‘The bad human dares come back!’

Having experienced a stream cut-off once before,

Zhou Siyu held her phone tightly this time.

“Hey hey hey, move aside. No more scratching!”

She held the ragdoll cat down.

“I do want to take them home and care for them.

But they don’t really pay attention to me, so I was hoping you could help talk to them.”

Bringing them home meant better surroundings, clean food and water,

and if anything happened, they could quickly be taken to a vet — much safer.

Wen Youning asked,

“Would you like to go home with her?

She can take care of you and your unborn kittens.”

The calico paused while licking its paw.

“Meow?”

The tabby and tortoiseshell also raised their heads.

‘Did that human… just speak cat?’

‘Meow thinks so too.’

‘That’s so weird.’

“It’s not weird,” Wen Youning said, looking at the straw pile under them.

“If you go with her, there’ll be yummy treats, canned food, and warm beds.”

“Yes yes yes, all of that!”

Zhou Siyu wasn’t short on money.

If she took the pregnant cats in, she planned to let them stay in her city apartment.

Flying with pregnant cats wasn’t safe, and keeping them in the countryside was far from any vet ,

better to keep them in the city for now and figure things out after the kittens were born.

Wen Youning said,

“If you’re willing, just go into the carrier.

That’s the little cage in front of you.”

‘Really?’

The calico looked up.

‘Humans lie to cats.’

“They won’t.

If she lies, I’ll bring you to my house instead.”

Wen Youning had checked Zhou Siyu’s profile — over a million followers.

A pretty big influencer.

Even if she didn’t actively promote the adoption, fans would definitely pay attention to the kittens in future streams.

The cats would get proper care.

At the very least, better than living on the streets.

The three cats huddled together, meowing and muttering among themselves.

In the end, the calico was the first to walk into the carrier.

The tortoiseshell and tabby followed behind.

“Oh…” Seeing that they were willing to come in, Zhou Siyu’s eyes lit up.

She used an extra-large, thickened airline carrier as the cat bag.

The ragdoll cat could even turn around inside, so fitting three cats in was more than enough.

It was only when she was about to close the door that the ragdoll cat tried to squeeze itself in.

Zhou Siyu raised her hand and gently pushed it away.

“You can run alongside outside.”

Home wasn’t far ,

this was the neighborhood where she usually streamed from home without going out.

Otherwise, she’d have caught this scummy cat ages ago.

Serves it right! The scumbag cat finally got what it deserves!

Remember to neuter them after this litter ,

both male and female!

Zhou Siyu usually carried the airline carrier in one hand.

This time, she held it carefully with both.

“Don’t worry, once the kittens are weaned, they’re getting fixed.”

That scumbag cat included!

Once inside the yard at home, Zhou Siyu first settled the three cats into the ragdoll cat’s room.

Her house was a single-story home with many spare rooms — one was set up just for the ragdoll.

So the three new cats could move in right away.

It’s just that…

Zhou Siyu looked at the ragdoll cat stumbling in, exhausted, and tapped its head in disdain.

“Look at you — I honestly don’t know what they saw in you.”

When it comes to stray cats finding mates, it’s usually because they’re good hunters, strong, and good-looking.

I do think that show-quality ragdoll is very pretty.

Whether the other cats think so, who knows.

Mystery solved, probably good at hunting and looks strong.

Cats don’t distinguish between fat and muscular.

Ragdolls are solid after all.

“Hunting? My Mantou can’t even…”

Zhou Siyu crossed her arms, voice abruptly cutting off as realization dawned.

She suddenly flung open the cupboard where the cat snacks were kept.

Hands trembling, she moved the first box of cat sticks,

only to find everything behind it was gone.

“Where are all my cat treats?!”

Why is there only one box left?!

And it’s the frontmost box too!

If she hadn’t opened the cupboard just now and looked closely,

she would’ve thought all the cat treats were still there.

An entire box , over seventy boxes!

Did it eat cat sticks for every meal or what?

Wen Youning raised an eyebrow.

“So that’s what ‘good at hunting’ means.”

Cat sticks = prey caught.

Zhou Siyu: “……”

It always managed to bring back tons of food.

Isn’t that basically “good at hunting”?

It didn’t take a single hard-to-open canned food, just the cat sticks, and left only one.

Whatever.

They’re for the little mama cats anyway.

As they should be.

As they should be.

All because of this ungrateful child.

“Alright, now that everything’s settled, I’ll just…”

Before Wen Youning could finish, her phone shut off right in front of her eyes,

flashing a final low battery warning.

She hissed.

Great.

“It’s off.”

The driver handed over a QR code. “Scan here.”

Wen Youning: “…Sir, do you happen to have a power bank?”

“Huh?”

…

She borrowed the driver’s charger to juice it up just enough to power on,

scanned the fare and got out of the car.

As soon as the phone left the charger,

it could still hold out for a short while.

The system notified her that the livestream was still ongoing and asked if she wanted to reopen it.

Wen Youning clicked yes, looked at the screen full of question marks and explained,

“My phone ran out of battery after streaming all day.”

As she spoke, she opened the door.

“Little Tabby, I’m home!”

Wen Youning turned toward the vending machine near the zoo and bought some sea fish jerky.

“I brought you something tasty.”

Little Tabby was sleeping soundly on the sofa.

Its ears twitched at the sound of the key turning.

With a start, it jumped off the couch, still half-asleep,

squinting, but already sitting at the door.

Upon seeing who entered, it sweetly meowed and ran over.

“Meow, meow… ha—!”

Wait a minute!

Midway through the cutesy meows,

Little Tabby suddenly hissed, ears flattening.

It didn’t leap into her arms like usual but froze in its tracks.

Standing at a distance, it sniffed the chaotic blend of unfamiliar animal scents clinging to Wen Youning.

Its fur slowly puffed up.

“Meow!”

‘What is that smell, what IS that smell?!’

‘Where on earth have you been?!’

‘Meow meow meow—!’

Wen Youning was being scolded full-on by Little Tabby.

The angry kitten’s fluffy paws were fully spread on the floor.

Hahaha, the kitty is PISSED.

You’ve got their perfume all over you—it’s the crime of a cat’s nose.

Sis, you’re dangerous—I started singing it too!

The kitty’s possessiveness is no joke, reunion means battle.

…

Small animals are especially sensitive to scent.

Wen Youning thought about all the animals she had interacted with today.

She reached out to smooth the cat’s fur, but then paused.

Bringing the smell of swans, black bears, golden monkeys,

and crocodiles onto Little Tabby might make her freak out even more.

She smiled and crouched slightly to explain, “I was at the zoo today for a consultation.

That’s where the scent came from…”

Wen Youning herself couldn’t smell a thing.

“I’ll go take a shower first.”

“Meow woo!”

Get rid of it now!

“Alright, alright, don’t be mad, come have some fish jerky.”

Wen Youning glanced at the food and water bowls.

Still plenty left.

She didn’t tear open the fish jerky because she wasn’t sure if it still carried the scent of swans on her hands.

There probably was some… because Little Tabby would even hiss when sniffing the plastic bag of the fish jerky.

The whole fish jerky could be torn open by Little Tabby itself.

Wen Youning had been out running most of the day, so she was a little tired.

“I’ll charge my phone, and end the livestream.

See you tomorrow.”

After charging her phone, she walked into the bathroom, turned on the bathtub’s water faucet, and dropped in a bath bomb.

She briefly showered, and by the time she was done, the water in the bathtub was almost enough for a bath.

She lay back into the comfortably warm water, resting her back against the non-slip mat and let out a soft sigh.

Her body, which had been tense all day, relaxed at this moment.

Wen Youning grabbed the dense foam floating on the surface of the water, regretting not bringing a book.

She could have passed the time reading.

Now, she could only lie there.

It was comfortable, but the more comfortable it became, the easier it was to fall asleep.

Sleeping in the bathtub was too dangerous.

The bathroom door was frosted glass, so although it was blurry, shadows could still be seen through it.

Wen Youning turned her head and saw the shadow of Little Tabby sitting at the bathroom door.

The shadow was quite dark, meaning Little Tabby was practically pressed up against the door.

Little Tabby’s tail curled around its paws, and it occasionally swished the tip of its tail.

Its ears twitched. “Woof…”

There was no sound.

Little Tabby tilted its head and scratched the crack at the bottom of the door.

Strange.

There had been water sounds earlier. Why was there no sound now?

A person?

“Meow woo…” Little Tabby scratched the door, sounding a bit worried.

Wen Youning heard the noise.

“What’s wrong?”

Through the door, the sound was a bit unclear.

Little Tabby stood up and began scratching the door more fiercely.

The glass door wasn’t locked.

It swung slightly when pushed.

Little Tabby waited for the right moment and pounced forward, nudging the door open just a small gap.

The little cat, being small, easily slipped through.

There was still some water left on the floor from Wen Youning’s shower earlier.

Other than tigers, most felines aren’t fond of water.

Little Tabby’s paws were a little wet, and it immediately lifted its paw to shake it off.

“Little Tabby?” Wen Youning leaned over the edge of the bathtub, looking at the cat that had run in.

“What’s wrong?”

Little Tabby saw her lying in the water, and its pupils immediately contracted into narrow slits. “Meow!”

‘Danger, danger!’

Seeing the water, Little Tabby’s internal alarm went off.

It immediately ignored the water on its paws and ran straight toward the bathtub.

“Danger? It’s not dangerous, I’m just taking a bath,” Wen Youning explained.

“It’s fine.”

“Meow!”

‘Meow is here to save you!’

In the blink of an eye, Little Tabby had already dashed to the edge of the bathtub.

The fur on its paws was damp from the water, but it didn’t seem to mind.

It lifted its paw and began scratching Wen Youning’s wrist, trying to pull her out of the bathtub filled with the terrifying water.

Its paw reached out but didn’t manage to hook, and its soft pads only tapped on Wen Youning’s arm.

It was hard to grab onto anything.

Wen Youning grabbed the little cat’s paw in return, gently pinching its paw pad.

“I’m not in any danger, I’m just taking a bath. Hot water helps to relax.”

The little cat didn’t understand the explanation.

It just thought the water was very scary, and now the person was surrounded by it!

‘Rescue, rescue!’

Little Tabby mumbled in its mind, and when it couldn’t pull her out, it tried to bite.

It bit without much force, and after trying a few times, it only left light tooth marks on Wen Youning’s arm.

The little cat was so anxious it almost jumped up.

“It’s really fine,” Wen Youning absentmindedly patted its head and back.

“Alright, alright, I won’t bathe anymore.

You wait outside for me. I’ll just rinse off the foam on my body.”

“Meow!” Little Tabby, frustrated that it couldn’t scratch or bite hard enough, jumped straight into the bathtub and tried to grab Wen Youning’s hair.

The bathtub was slippery from the bath bomb water.

The moment Little Tabby jumped up, it slid and tumbled straight into the bathtub.

“Meow——!”

Wen Youning quickly raised her hand, her palm barely catching the little cat, foam still covering it.

The moment the little cat’s body touched the water, it immediately calmed down.

It lay in Wen Youning’s palm, resting its chin on the foam.

“Meow, meow…”

Its tail hung down pitifully, and its innocent eyes met Wen Youning’s gaze.

Wen Youning glanced at the time after giving the vaccine and said, “Alright.”

“Meow?”

“You still haven’t had your bath.”

“Meow!!!”

‘No——’

…