"...was taken away?" Shen Wuqiu really didn't understand. The main reason was that when Ms. Daiying said this, her expression and tone were very ordinary, as if she were saying, "Sanmao is playing in the yard and doesn't want to go home."
Dai Ying winked at Gu Miaomiao, signaling her to speak.
Shen Wuqiu immediately looked at her as well, "Who took Sanmao away?"
Gu Miaomiao glanced at her, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
Shen Wuqiu immediately sensed something was wrong, and her heart jumped. "Say something!"
Gu Miaomiao: "Qiuqiu, don't worry, Sanmao will be alright..."
"I'm asking you, who took Sanmao away!"
Gu Miaomiao scratched her head in frustration, "...I still don't know..."
The unease in her heart suddenly magnified a thousandfold. Shen Wuqiu felt as if her heart had been violently pulled to her throat, and then plunged into an abyss. The emptiness left her feeling completely drained. "What do you mean by not knowing?"
Even Mr. Shen and Su Yunzhi couldn't remain calm and crowded around, asking, "How could you not even know who took your child?"
"In-laws, don't worry, the children will definitely be alright. They're just mischievous; let them suffer a little to learn a lesson..."
"Oh ho, so you family lost your child, and that's why you're so carefree? So the child didn't just spring from your bellies, and you're just talking without any sense of the pain?"
When Mr. Shen got anxious, his words were incredibly sharp, leaving Ms. Daiying speechless.
Su Yunzhi secretly tugged at Shen's father, forced a smile at Daiying and her husband, and said dryly, "That's just her dad's temper; he's too impatient." Then, she looked at Gu Miaomiao, "Honestly, the children are so young, how can you be so careless..."
Although he tried to be restrained, the accusation in his tone was still palpable.
Gu Miaomiao kept her head down and didn't say a word.
Shen Wuqiu took a deep breath. "Where did Sanmao get lost?"
"Going upstream along the river, there's a place with a flat riverbed and lots of trees..."
"It's right there at Echo Mountain." Father Shen knew exactly where he was referring to.
Without saying a word, Shen Wuqiu walked towards the door.
Gu Miaomiao quickly chased after her, "Qiuqiu, where are you going..."
Mr. Shen said irritably, "Where else could she have gone? The child is lost, and you're not worried or looking for her, but she, as the mother, can't be worried or looking for her?"
Gu Junshan glanced at his daughter and spoke up to defend her: "Ayu did look for her, but the other party took Sanmao away. Once they got to the city, the smells became mixed, and they temporarily lost track of Sanmao."
Shen Wuqiu flung Gu Miaomiao's hand away, her eyes reddening with worry. "Sanmao has never left our side. She's so young. How scared must she be in this unfamiliar place?"
"I know, Mother has already spoken to my older brother and the others. We'll have news soon, Qiuqiu, don't worry, okay? I promise you, Sanmao will be alright."
Seeing this, Daiying came over to comfort her: "It was indeed our mistake not to keep a close eye on the child, but don't worry, Sanmao will definitely come back unharmed..."
She hadn't really expected things to be this serious. In their clan, although offspring were hard to come by and the cubs were highly valued, they probably inherited the innate confidence of divine beasts and never thought that the petty squabbles of humans could really cause any devastating damage to the cubs.
The last vestiges of her reason calmed Shen Wuqiu down, but she was in no mood to respond to Daiying's comforting words. Head bowed, she said helplessly, "Sanmao will definitely be scared. I'd better go out and look for him..."
"Meow~" Da Mao jumped off the sofa. As the older sister, she still felt very guilty about her younger sister's loss.
Seeing her delicate eldest daughter, Shen Wuqiu's heart softened, and she bent down to pick her up. "Silly child, I don't blame you anymore."
Big Mao stuck out its little tongue and licked her face, "Meow~"
Those big, wet eyes are so heartbreaking.
Shen Wuqiu stroked her fluffy head, "Okay, Mommy isn't worried, little sister will definitely be alright."
Da Mao stretched out his little feet and hooked them around her neck, his little head nestled against her neck, looking incredibly sweet and affectionate as he cuddled with his mother.
Shen Wuqiu's heart instantly warmed, and she subconsciously stroked Da Mao's fur. However, she couldn't help but recall the scenes of San Mao used to act cute with her. San Mao was also a vain and spoiled cat. When the sisters were playing around, she would secretly hide in a corner to clean her fur after she finished. She didn't know where she was hiding...
As she thought about it, her red eyes unconsciously became a little wet.
Sensing his mother's emotions, Simao sidled up to her.
Only Er Mao sat on the cat tree. She had a strong and somewhat stubborn personality. Although she loved to compete for attention, she rarely acted coquettishly. At this moment, she silently watched her two younger sisters fawn over their mother.
After Sanmao went missing, she became emotional. In fact, she felt more guilty than Damao, thinking it was all her fault. If she hadn't fought with her sister for territory, her sister wouldn't have run away, and if she hadn't run away, she wouldn't have been taken away.
She saw her mother hugging and kissing her younger sister, and she was incredibly envious, but she also felt that since the baby was all hers, she was too ashamed to try and touch it.
So, after watching enviously for a while, she changed direction, turned her butt towards everyone, and continued being emo to the wall.
In the end, it was Shen Wuqiu who noticed the little one and took the initiative to pat her little head, "Was Sanmao scared?"
Er Mao was currently feeling like, "I lost my little sister, and Mom will never talk to me again." But when he heard his mother's gentle voice, a strange sense of grievance welled up inside him. The strong little lion pouted and blurted out all his innermost thoughts...
"Mom, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken it from my third sister. I should have let her fish there; that way, no one would have taken it away..."
A wild beast begging for mercy is the most deadly.
"Baby, don't cry, don't cry, it's not your fault..." Shen Wuqiu quickly picked her up and held her in his arms.
The gentler and more comforting his mother was, the more guilty Er Mao felt. But he also felt ashamed to cry in public, so he secretly covered his eyes with his little feet, while still firmly promising:
I promise I'll take good care of my younger sister and older sister from now on, so Mom won't worry.
This is probably what a sweet and caring daughter is like.
Shen Wuqiu nodded, her voice choked with emotion, "Yes, you are all Mommy's good babies, Mommy's most beloved babies..."
After being comforted by her daughters, Shen Wuqiu's anxious heart was calmed down a lot. Knowing that going out to search aimlessly would not work, she stopped acting impulsively.
Although the atmosphere at home wasn't very harmonious, everyone was united and trying to find a solution.
After calming down, Shen Wuqiu remembered the inexplicable reminder from the internet celebrity "Chili Isn't Spicy," so she quickly called Lao Du.
When Lao Du heard that Sanmao was really lost, his subconscious reaction was that it was made by chili peppers that weren't spicy.
When giving Shen Wuqiu Chili Not Spicy's phone number, he first called Chili Not Spicy. Compared to this internet celebrity, he valued his relationship with the Shen family more, and went straight to the point with Chili Not Spicy: "The Shen family's cat is missing. If you're the one who did it, I suggest you return the cat unharmed. Otherwise, I think you might not be able to afford to offend them."
Chili-Not-Spicy originally offered a friendly reminder to curry favor, but ended up getting herself into trouble. She was truly innocent and frustrated. However, as an internet celebrity who rose to fame by luck, she knew the power of capital and didn't want to argue with these bosses. She could only suppress her temper and say, "What do you mean by that, Boss Du? If I did it, would I have alerted them first? Do you think I'm too powerful, or do you think I'm too stupid?"
“It’s not that you did the best, but the Shen family’s cat is indeed missing now, and people are calling me to ask for your phone number.”
The chili peppers weren't spicy enough, which gave him a headache. After hesitating for a few seconds, he said, "Fine, I'll explain it to them myself."
Old Du was still a little uneasy. "Are you sure you didn't do this?"
Chili, who wasn't spicy, said helplessly, "I really didn't make it."
Old Du asked one last time, "Are you sure it wasn't made by your company?"
She paused, then asked if the chili peppers were spicy. She couldn't guarantee that, since these days, every influencer company would do anything for traffic. "Anyway, I haven't received any notification."
It's not that she doesn't trust her employer. Although she seems to be the company's star right now, what capitalist would complain about having too many cash cows? Besides, her popularity has reached a bottleneck in the past year, and the company has been openly and secretly stepping on her to promote newcomers.
This little white cat has recently become a massive online sensation, attracting many envious people who want to get their hands on it.
After thinking for a moment, Chili-Not-Spicy added, "I'll keep an eye on things here."
Hearing how sincere she was, Lao Du stopped talking and hung up the phone, then gave her number to Shen Wuqiu.
Upon receiving the call, Shen Wuqiu eagerly called Chili Not Spicy, explained her purpose, and then, fearing misunderstanding, added, "I'm calling you not to express any suspicion, but simply because I hope you have any leads. Please let me know... Little White Cat is a very important treasure to our whole family..."
"Okay, if I have any leads, I will contact you immediately." Chili-Not-Spicy heard the anxiety in her tone, paused, and then said sincerely, "Don't worry too much. If someone really took your cat, they can't hide it. They will definitely appear in the public eye soon. As for the cat's safety, you can rest assured for now. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be safe."
"Okay, thank you."
"You're welcome."
After hanging up the phone, Chili Isn't Spicy sat in her swivel chair for a moment, then suddenly laughed. The male internet celebrity who came over to ask her to act with him asked, "Spicy Sister, what funny thing did you think of?"
Chili-less shrugged. "It's nothing, I just feel that our ancestors were right."
"Um???"
"A loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise."
"???"
"Let's go, I'm in a good mood today, how about I set up some couple photos for you to boost your followers?"
"Really... the boss won't be mad at me, will he?"
"If your popularity increases, the boss naturally won't scold you."
"Hehe, I'll act first and ask questions later. Then I'll go for it."
Chili-Not-Spicy raised an eyebrow. She was now wishing that the cat was stolen by someone, and she couldn't wait to see that person suffer a double loss.
Meanwhile, Sanmao, who had already been taken to the airport, huddled timidly in the corner of her airline bag, warily watching the unfamiliar world outside.
"Brother Yong, this little thing won't eat anything. If it dies after we send it over, you won't blame us, will you?"
Yongge stared at Sanmao and teased him with his finger.
Sanmao didn't react at all.
Yong Ge lost his patience, got up and kicked the flight case, saying, "Stop your damn jinx."
Another henchman chimed in, "That's right, you can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth, so shut up."
"Then vomit and show me..."
"Shut up, all of you!" Yong shouted, annoyed by their noise. He glanced at the little creature in the flight case and saw it flinch. He then squatted down and softened his voice a little. "You're a precious little thing. As long as you behave, your new owner won't mistreat you."
Sanmao ignored him, buried her head in her little feet, and groaned weakly.
[Mom, sister, where are you...]
Yong Ge found it boring and stopped paying attention.
Soon, the people in charge of the pickup arrived. After exchanging a few words in the van and confirming the money tree in the airline crate, the people in charge of the pickup left with the crate.
As darkness fell, Sanmao arrived in S City, thousands of miles from her home.
In the bustling metropolis, every corner was filled with colorful noise. Sanmao was both scared and curious, and her pitiful little eyes would look around from time to time.
Upon seeing the cat, Sanyue Chun first cautiously sized it up. After confirming that it was indeed the internet-famous white kitten, she pretended to be gentle and coaxed Sanmao softly, "Little baby, this will be your new home from now on. Mommy will definitely buy you the most expensive cat food and the best cat treats..."
"Meow~" Sanmao got angry and bared his teeth at her.
[Ugly freak, get away from me.]
Unfortunately, March Spring doesn't understand cat language, otherwise she wouldn't just be scared, she would probably be furious.
Unexpectedly, the little kitten was so dangerous that March Spring quickly withdrew her outstretched hand. Thinking that she still needed this little thing to turn things around, she took a deep breath and then showed double the patience: "Little baby, don't be afraid, don't be afraid."
Seeing that Sanmao had quieted down again, she got up and carried the carrier to the corner of her bedroom, where there was a kitten bed she had prepared. "From now on, you'll live in this room with Mommy. I know you're new to the house and might not be used to it yet, but Mommy will be patient with you..."