Yinhe Pet Chain is currently the largest pet chain store. The one closest to Wutongyuan is very large, with a plaza and eight floors. Wen Zheng has passed by it countless times but has never stepped inside.
I finally got to experience it today.
As people came in and out, many carried cat carriers or shoulder bags. While some, like Wen Zheng, held their cats directly in their arms, very few did.
The first floor is filled with various pet clothing brands, the second and third floors sell cats, and the upper floors sell daily necessities, toys, cat food, cat treats, and other small snacks.
Go up to the second floor, and you'll see chain catteries with cages in every storefront, all according to their brand.
The air smelled of animals and deodorant, a faint but still unpleasant odor.
The cats' soft, sweet meows rose and fell, delicate, soft, and fragile, making one's hair stand on end and feel a little uncomfortable.
He used to hate cats, and he hated scenes like this.
"Hello, how can I help you? Which breed of cat would you like to buy? We're currently having a promotion: buy a cat and get free cat food! Plus, the mall has a 20 RMB discount for every 200 RMB spent; you can combine these offers!"
A female sales assistant stopped in front of the store and greeted him warmly.
"gentlemen?"
"..." Wen Zheng stared at a white cat with a flat face in the cage. The cat was very clean, only half the size of the big black cat, with floppy ears and eyes that were far less lively than the big black cat's. Huddled in the small cage, it could turn around and take a few steps, but nothing more.
"I'm not buying a cat." He snapped out of his reverie and turned to leave. The sales assistant, puzzled, said, "Welcome back next time!"
Wen Zheng hurriedly carried Da Hei downstairs, in a bad mood.
He casually walked into a small pet supply store a few hundred meters away. A regular customer was coming out and called out with a smile, "Thank you, boss!"
Wen Zheng stepped inside and casually said, "Boss, a tether."
The young boss, sporting dyed blond hair, sat behind the counter, engrossed in a mobile game. As Wen Zheng approached, he suddenly stopped, slowly raising his head in a terrified expression, muttering to himself as if something was wrong with him.
"Boss?" Wen Zheng frowned and reminded him again.
The young boss had a round face, a pleasing appearance, somewhat resembling Deng Puyue. But his eyes were rounder and larger, with upturned corners, typical cat eyes, and amber-colored pupils.
"Oh my god!" He suddenly jumped up, threw his phone aside, and pressed himself against the wall behind him, trembling. He looked like he could have embedded himself in the wall if it had been any softer.
Big Black suddenly struggled, nimbly leaping from Wen Zheng's arms onto the counter, head held high and chest puffed out: "Roar—"
Author's Note: The PR team for "My Head Mother-in-Law": What's going on? Why is the traffic suddenly soaring?
Chapter 27
"Are you alright?" Wen Zheng frowned, patted Big Black's neck, signaling it to squat down, and asked Little Yellow, "You own a pet shop, are you afraid of cats?"
The little blond guy was screaming internally: I'm not afraid of cats! I'm afraid of this! What is this?! Why is it so intimidating?! My dad, my mom, my grandparents, the eldest and second eldest elders of my clan, and all my ancestors combined are no match for a single hair of its!
Big Black glanced at him leisurely, while Little Yellow Hair rolled his eyes as if he was about to faint, but at that moment he heard a voice transmission.
[A cat demon?]
"Yes!" he roared, startling Wen Zheng.
He hesitated for a moment before calling an ambulance, but was stopped by the young man with blond hair who had just realized what was happening.
"No, no, no, please sit down for a moment." The blond-haired boy jumped out from behind the counter, crying, and brought Wen Zheng a chair and poured him chrysanthemum tea. Then he spun around the room like a top, taking out all kinds of pastries, milk candies, and puffed snacks, piling them up on the table.
"Hey, you're our lucky customer today!" The blond-haired guy's smile was pathetic. "Take your time and pick whatever you want in the store!"
"I'll just buy a cat leash."
"What!?" The blond-haired boy exclaimed in shock, "How could you buy a cat leash!?"
"…………" Wen Zheng's face darkened, and he got up to leave, but was suddenly grabbed by the little blond boy's sleeve: "Wait! Bro, big brother, dear brother! I beg you, pick something, anything is fine, our cats have a full range of cat treats, why don't you take some for your cat ancestor to try, it's free!"
Wen Zheng stopped in his tracks: "Are you really alright?"
"...I'll be fine as long as you don't buy a cat leash."
[good.]
A voice of approval echoed in the young blond's mind, and his face lit up with joy. He replied, "[Thank you, senior. Is there anything else you need?]"
As the blond-haired boy dragged Wen Zheng to the snack shelf, he telepathically communicated with the terrifying demon lying on the coffee table.
[Which cat race are you? How many demons are there now, and where do they live?]
[Replying to Senior... I'm not from any particular race, I'm just a cat demon. I'm a yellow cat with tiger stripes, my dad is also tiger stripes, and my mom is black spots. Now that spiritual energy is scarce, fewer and fewer people are cultivating into demons. There's still a group in the deep mountains and forests, with rabbits, snakes, wolves, and dogs... I'm not very familiar with them.]
The blond-haired boy, carrying a basket, frantically poured snacks into it, then said, "Life in the mountains isn't easy. We younger folks all like to sneak into the city to play, but there are only a few thousand demons in the Xia Kingdom, and their cultivation levels are about the same as mine... Um, that's all, senior."
The little blond cat was nervous, afraid that something he said might displease the great demon. After sweeping two shelves and changing to a second basket, he heard the great demon say: "[The Siming Cat clan... no longer exists?]"
"What, Siming?" The little blond hair blurted out, then quickly covered his mouth, thinking: [Sorry, senior, um, what Siming cat?]
The little blond boy was incredibly curious, but the great demon ultimately didn't answer him.
He racked his brains, recalling all the bedtime stories told by the people in his old mountain village, but he still couldn't find the name "Siming Cat".
But he had heard his grandmother say that in ancient times, when the demon race was at its peak, the great demons could summon wind and rain, move mountains and overturn seas, and even tear through space to reach the upper realm. Little Yellow Hair took it all as a fairy tale and never took it seriously.
After all, although the demon race has some magical power, even the most powerful elder can only use illusion magic to conjure up two pieces of gold. If they sell them in a jewelry store, they still have to worry about turning them back into stones and getting arrested by the police.
Among the most ambitious members of the cat clan, the best of them are actors in the entertainment industry, but Little Yellow Hair wouldn't even watch their TV dramas. The majority, however, are like Little Yellow Hair, running small shops and making a living, and because they understand the tastes of ordinary cats, they manage to run them quite well.
So, this suddenly appearing great demon asked a race that had never existed before if it came from... another world?
Just guessing like that made the little blond guy so excited he wanted to bite his tail. He was so thrilled! Had he just seen the most powerful demon in the world?!
"Are you done yet?" The human voice interrupted his thoughts, and the blond-haired boy quickly said, "Yes, yes, these are all yours!"
Wen Zheng took the basket and put it on the counter: "Check out, and get a cat leash too."
"..." Little Yellow Hair screamed inwardly, thinking, "Are you tired of living? Why do you have to tie up the Demon Ancestor?" He was caught in a dilemma when he heard the Demon Ancestor say in a voice transmission that it was okay, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
The cat leash was under the counter. He crouched down and picked out the prettiest gold thread rope, thinking to himself: Is the Demon Ancestor really that good-tempered? Or is he only this kind to this human...?
Because of Xiao Huangmao's strange behavior and the fact that the snacks were not a small amount, Wen Zheng insisted on paying.
Only after receiving permission from his senior did the young blond-haired man cautiously begin calculating the accounts, secretly offering a discount.
Just as I finished packing one bag, two young women came in through the door. One of them was a regular customer and greeted me cheerfully, "Boss!"
The blond-haired boy looked in the direction of the voice, and before he could greet the other person, the other person exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Wen Zheng!"
Wen Zheng rarely runs into acquaintances outside, and was slightly surprised: "Li Xiaoting."
During the last heavy rain, Li Xiaoting took Wen Zheng's umbrella. She didn't realize what was happening before he left, and she stood at the window watching him walk away in the rain.
She was just an intern, fresh out of college, and hadn't had a chance to build rapport with everyone in the office yet. She was also a little intimidated by the aloof colleague next to her. If she hadn't been so curious during Jin Fanrong's discussion, she wouldn't have mustered the courage to pry into Wen Zheng's words.
After exchanging only two sentences, the other person gave her the umbrella.
After returning home, Li Xiaoting hesitated for a long time, asking her parents, best friends, and various other people whether she should call or text to express her gratitude. In the end, she listened to her mother and decided to make a box of cookies by hand to bring to Wen Zheng on Monday to thank him for his umbrella.
Before the cookies were even baked, they ran into each other on the street. Li Xiaoting happily went up to greet Wen Zheng and thanked him profusely.
"Who is it?" The person accompanying her was her roommate and a former classmate. Li Xiaoting quickly said, "Xiaoqian, this is my senior colleague from the office. She's a really nice person!"
The phrase "What a wonderful person!" was spoken with genuine feeling, and Wen Zheng accepted it expressionlessly, though he seemed somewhat uncomfortable.
"Wow, senior, you're so handsome! Are you here to buy snacks too? Hey, is that your cat on the table?" Xiaoqian, the roommate, was quite outgoing and squeezed past the two of them to go to the small table to see the cat.
As soon as she got closer, she exclaimed "Eek—" and said, "What kind of cat is this? There are still mixed breeds these days? It's so ugly."
Li Xiaoting: "…………"
Wen Zheng: "…………"
The shop owner, Little Yellow Hair, practically knelt before the girl, quickly and loudly saying to Wen Zheng, "Thank you for your patronage! You're our lucky customer today! Come again next time, come again next time!"
Wen Zheng, carrying the listless Dahei, glanced sideways at the girl named Xiaoqian before leaving. His gaze was chillingly cold, and Xiaoqian shivered inexplicably.
Li Xiaoting awkwardly complained to her, "Why did you talk like that? She's a very nice person. If you think she's ugly, just say so. Why did you have to say it out loud?"
Xiaoqian pouted: "It's really ugly. Can't I even tell the truth? How hypocritical."
After saying that, she put the cat carrier she was carrying on the counter, carefully unzipped it, and a beautiful Ragdoll cat poked its head out.
Its blue eyes were moist, and it gave a soft meow.
Xiaoqian's heart melted: "Oh my baby... how can you be so cute? No wonder Mom spent 40,000 yuan to wait for you." She then showed off to Li Xiaoting: "Look, isn't she much prettier than that ugly cat from before?"
For a moment, Li Xiaoting was in a daze, feeling that the black cat's eyes had an inexplicable liveliness, and her answer, which should have been affirmative, became somewhat hesitant.
"What's wrong with you?" Xiaoqian immediately complained, "Baby is a super cute plush toy, she looks almost exactly like Clara! Look, look at it again..."
"Uh-huh."
Xiaoqian said she'd had enough, then put the cat back in its carrier and went to the shelf to pick out cat treats. Li Xiaoting accompanied her, and when she saw a new treat she didn't recognize, she called out to the absent-minded blond boy by the counter, "Boss—"
"Hey." The blond guy also came over, and they were all squeezed between the shelves.
At that moment, someone walked in through the door, but no one noticed.
...
After asking several questions, the blond-haired boy explained everything clearly. Finally, Xiaoqian picked up her small basket and went to pay the bill.
Upon reaching the counter, the three of them were simultaneously startled: Where's the cat carrier?
Xiaoqian flung open the door, and her pink floral cat carrier flashed past her sight. She glared and yelled, "Someone stole my cat—!"
The person who snatched the cat must have acted on a whim; upon being spotted, he immediately took off running. Wearing a mask, sunglasses, and a baseball cap, he repeatedly bumped into the bustling crowd, eliciting gasps of surprise wherever he went!
With so many people around, not only did the cat snatchers slow down, but Xiaoqian and her friends were also blocked and couldn't catch up at all, which made her so anxious that she burst into tears.
In the blink of an eye, a dark figure darted out from the crowd.
It nimbly moved left and right, incredibly agile. Pedestrians who were accidentally bumped on the leg would yell and move aside as if they had hit a tree stump.
Bei Sining was in a bad mood.
Although he deliberately burned his demonic power to tear through space and squeeze in when he crushed his demon core and self-destructed, it was only to prevent his body from falling into the hands of the traitors.
The spatial storm was incredibly powerful; even at its peak, it might not have been able to navigate it freely with its magical artifacts, let alone when it was severely injured and on the verge of death.
Bei Sining wanted to die.
Having been unexpectedly stranded in this new world, he didn't say it aloud, but deep down he had a little bit of hope that there were his kind here.
pity.