Chapter 27: I Have Other Ways to Deal With Her

A red BMW was parked in front of the pet hospital.

Just as Jiang Yuan was about to get out of the car, Si Heng suddenly called.

Si Heng: "Miss Jiang, the killer of Zou Yueming has been caught."

Jiang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."

Si Heng briefly explained the situation.

Zou Yueming had met Xu Li while night running in the park. They were of similar age, both facing difficulties in their careers, and neither were locals, so they had many things in common.

That night, Zou Yueming couldn't help but share with Xu Li that he had won the lottery.

He wanted to use this to encourage the equally lost Xu Li, believing that one day, good luck would come to him as well.

However, the more Xu Li thought about it, the more jealous he became, and wicked thoughts took root.

He used a towel to strangle Zou Yueming to death.

Xu Decai only found out about this later. Worried that his son hadn't cleaned up the scene properly, he went to the park to check, only to find Xixi digging in the dirt there. He tried to shoo the cat away.

Due to his unease, he went to the park several times a day.

Jiang Yuan happened to encounter him once.

She put down her phone and walked into the boarding area, seeing Xixi lying listlessly in a cat bed, looking as if it had given up on the entire world.

The caregiver told Jiang Yuan that Xixi was refusing to eat and could only be given nutritional injections.

Jiang Yuan walked up to the cat cage and whispered, "Xixi, the killer who murdered your owner has been caught."

Xixi's tail twitched, and its meow sounded muffled: "But my owner still can't come back to life."

Jiang Yuan pursed her lips, not knowing how to comfort a cat.

Xixi's eyes were half-closed. "Cats want to go find their owners."

Jiang Yuan furrowed her slender brows. "Your owner definitely wouldn't want to see you like this."

Xixi lifted its head, then lay back down. "Owner won't be able to see me anymore."

Jiang Yuan sighed. "Perhaps he is watching you from a place you cannot see. He surely hopes you will be okay."

A low, long, mournful wail rang out.

Xixi was weeping for its owner.

After a long silence, Jiang Yuan said softly, "If you're willing, follow me from now on."

[System 009: Task completed. Reward obtained: Elephant Dictionary.]

**

Seeing Jiang Yuan walk through the door carrying Xixi, Deng Rui's mood collapsed.

"Jiang Yuan, don't tell me you picked up this cat too!"

"Yes..." Jiang Yuan said guiltily.

Deng Rui clutched her chest, too angry to speak.

Jiang Yuan gave a cheeky grin. "Raising one is the same as raising two; two are more lively."

Deng Rui snapped irritably, "In this house, we can only choose between raising a cat or raising you!"

Xixi realized that the new owner's family did not welcome it.

It felt extremely lost.

In this world, no one would ever love it the way its owner did.

Sensing the cat's emotions, Jiang Yuan rubbed its head. "Xixi, this is my mom, Ms. Deng—she's all bark and no bite."

Xixi curled up in her arms with its ears drooping, looking as if it were refusing to communicate.

Jiang Yuan carried it into her room.

She had turned the bay window into a cat bed. Blueberry was lying there lazily; upon seeing the new member, it immediately jumped to the floor.

Blueberry: "Do you have another cat outside? And you brought it home?"

Jiang Yuan: "..."

Why did that sound so strange?

Xixi was a bit surprised.

It hadn't expected this house to have a cat as well.

After settling Xixi, Jiang Yuan turned to Blueberry and said, "Let's talk outside."

In the living room, a human and a cat stared intently at Jiang Yuan.

She cleared her throat and explained, "Xixi's situation is special. Its owner was murdered."

Deng Rui looked stunned.

Blueberry, however, was relatively calm.

Back in the day, its previous owner had also almost been killed.

It seemed Xixi and it shared a similar fate.

Jiang Yuan recounted Xixi's situation.

"What?" Deng Rui looked at her in shock. "It told you?"

Jiang Yuan nodded, her expression serious. "To tell you the truth, I am proficient in many animal languages."

Deng Rui reached out to touch her own forehead, then her daughter's. "Is it you who has a fever, or is it me?"

Jiang Yuan: "..."

Predicting that Deng Rui wouldn't believe her, she pulled Blueberry over to prove herself.

Deng Rui sat on the sofa, completely dazed for a full five minutes.

Her daughter could actually understand animals?

That was too miraculous!

After a moment's thought, Jiang Yuan transferred 100,000 yuan to her Alipay.

With a "clink" sound, the notification of the incoming funds brought Deng Rui back to her senses.

She picked up her phone, saw the message, and rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

Deng Rui looked at the phone, then at her daughter.

Jiang Yuan said with a smile, "This is the pet consultation fee I collected a couple of days ago. Go spend it."

"All of it for me?" Deng Rui was overjoyed.

Jiang Yuan nodded.

Deng Rui immediately cheered, "My daughter is successful! She's making money to spend on me!"

After dinner that day, Deng Rui went downstairs for a stroll and couldn't help but share the news with her neighbors about her daughter making money for her.

To her surprise, after hearing it, the neighbors looked at her with hesitation.

Deng Rui sensed something was wrong. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

One of the neighbors, who was on good terms with her, whispered, "Sister Deng, I was afraid it would ruin your mood a couple of days ago, so I didn't dare tell you."

Deng Rui frowned. "What is it?"

The neighbor: "Sister Cao told us she saw Jiang Yuan going on a date in the park with an old man. That old man was all over her, and in the end, he transferred 100,000 yuan to Jiang Yuan!"

Another neighbor added, "Yeah, Sister Deng, has Jiang Yuan lost her mind and done something foolish?"

"Nonsense!" Deng Rui was fuming. "That Cao Laoting has a mouth full of filth! The money my daughter earned is perfectly clean!"

In her rage, she went to Cao Laoting's house, but the doors were tightly shut, and no matter how hard she pounded, no one opened.

"Rui, what happened?" Jiang Dashan felt worried seeing his wife leave happily and return in a rage.

Deng Rui slumped onto the sofa, arms crossed, and said angrily, "Jiang Dashan, if you dare go drinking with that man named Wang again, just watch!"

"Wait, what on earth happened?" Jiang Dashan was bewildered.

Deng Rui recounted the whole story, gritting her teeth. "The reputations of both our daughters have been ruined by that wretched woman!"

Jiang Dashan's expression also turned solemn. "That's going too far!"

After listening to the whole story from its corner of the sofa, Blueberry leaped to the floor and ran into the room to report.

Jiang Yuan leaned against the headboard, listening with a deep frown.

She hadn't expected Cao Laoting to be such a troublemaker.

Blueberry said fiercely, "That wretched woman is going too far!"

Xixi listened blankly. To try and fit into this home, it murmured softly, "Is someone bullying the owner?"

Blueberry turned to look at it. "Yes, that fat, wretched woman. She's very bad."

It even boasted to Xixi about its glorious feat of peeing all over Cao Laoting.

Xixi's eyes were full of admiration. "Sister Blueberry is so amazing!"

Blueberry waved a paw modestly. "It was nothing, really."

Having said that, it volunteered, "Yuan-yuan, do you want me to go pee on her again?"

Jiang Yuan was amused by it. "She's so bad, what if she catches you and turns you into soup?"

Blueberry couldn't help but shiver.

Xixi said in terror, "No, no, you can't!"

"Don't worry, I have other ways to deal with her." Jiang Yuan rubbed her chin with her pale fingers, her eyes gleaming.

(End of Chapter)