However, what's troubling him now is that his daughter is pregnant, and the father of the babies in her belly has passed away at a young age.
There are four left in the nest.
Parents' hearts are always full of love and worry.
Mr. Shen is not so open-minded now. His daughter has to raise four children all by herself, without a man to rely on or help her. How difficult will her life be in the future?
If someone comes to propose marriage, Mr. Shen doesn't object.
But, Old Zheng is an old acquaintance, and he genuinely thinks highly of his daughter. He can't just let the other man's son become a father out of wedlock, can he?
But to tell the truth, you have to say to people: "Well... my daughter used to have a boyfriend, and now she's pregnant with his child, but the boyfriend is gone. Your son doesn't mind, does he?"
Oh, right, it's the buy-one-get-four-free kind...
Isn't this just annoying?
Therefore, Uncle Zheng's enthusiasm for wanting to become in-laws with him was something that Father Shen really couldn't resist, and he had no choice but to suffer in silence.
Shen Wuqiu chased the cat out, and he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking: Now that his daughter, the main character, has left the stage, Old Zheng's matchmaking for his son will naturally come to nothing again.
But Uncle Zheng was just not willing to give up. After Shen Wuqiu left, he pulled Shen's father aside and continued, "Old Le, aren't you worried?"
"..." Mr. Shen also wanted to go see his cat. "What's the rush? Children and grandchildren have their own lives. We can't control that."
"That's true, but when I think about how people younger than me are all grandfathers and can take their grandchildren out for walks all the time, I get anxious. You're a year older than me, I don't believe you're not tempted or envious."
I'm so envious.
Mr. Shen isn't envious at all. His own daughter is carrying four babies at once, and he can't handle it all with two hands. He just doesn't know if his old bones can hold out until then.
But this is something you can't envy. Mr. Shen could only calmly say, "I'm an old man, I just want to see who can take me for a walk. I don't have the energy to take the little ones for a walk."
Uncle Zheng choked for a moment, then said, "Speaking of which, ever since my niece Wuqiu came back, I've noticed that you look better and better. Do you think you should go see a doctor again? Maybe the doctor has made a mistake."
The number of times Shen's father had been seriously hospitalized in his entire life could be counted on one hand. The first time was when Shen Wuqiu was born, the second time was when Shen Wuqiu's mother passed away, the third time was when Shen Wujun was born, the fourth time was when the doctor told him he had cancer, and the last time was when the doctor told him that the cancer cells had metastasized and that he should go home and wait to die.
Every single time was incredibly dangerous.
He has developed a real phobia of hospitals. "Maybe God made a mistake and let me live a few more days. If I go to the hospital for another check-up, I'm sure I'll be found out again. I might as well just live one day at a time."
Although it is a fallacy.
Uncle Zheng agreed, "That's true. These days, even if you're perfectly healthy, they'll find something wrong with you when you go to the hospital. If you feel fine, you don't need to go."
During the casual conversation, another glass of wine was downed.
Su Yunzhi was about to refill his cup again, but this time Uncle Zheng covered his own cup, saying, "I have to go to the orchard to check on things, so I can't drink anymore."
Su Yunzhi exchanged a few polite words but didn't press the matter.
Uncle Zheng peeled a few more peanuts before getting up to say goodbye.
When Shen Wuqiu saw him come out, she quickly got up from the rattan chair under the osmanthus tree in the yard. "Uncle Zheng, are you leaving already?"
"Hmm, those bayberry trees are still being watered; I need to go check on them."
Shen Wuqiu nodded and didn't try to stop him. Originally, she had planned to go with him to see the orchards in Xishan, but now she didn't dare to go with Uncle Zheng.
As Uncle Zheng left, he glanced at her a few more times, still feeling regretful. He thought that when his son returned, he would definitely bring people to see her in person.
****
After the white cat ran away, Shen Wuqiu didn't see her again all afternoon.
It's true that human nature is quite contradictory. When you see someone all the time, they're always an eyesore, but when they disappear, you start to miss them.
When she went to bed that night, Shen Wuqiu tossed and turned in bed twice, but couldn't resist getting up again and looking out the window.
She didn't see the cat, but she did see some white dust scattered on the windowsill.
At first, she couldn't tell what it was. Out of curiosity, she rubbed it with her index finger and stared at it for a long time. If she wasn't mistaken, this was probably the fate of Uncle Zheng's son's one-inch ID photo.
She wasn't exaggerating; it really did turn into dust.
"..." What kind of deep-seated hatred must there be?
But what's the meaning behind this cat tearing up the photo and displaying it in front of its window?
Demonstration?
Thinking about it this way, Shen Wuqiu felt unhappy again. She patted the crumbs off her fingers, then slammed the window shut and locked it.
Meanwhile, in the next-next-door neighbor's house, the big white cat spit out the little white kitten it was carrying in its mouth onto the ground. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a refined middle-aged man, though its gaze towards the kitten on the ground was anything but refined:
"Ayu, you have no martial ethics."
Among the spirit cat clan, members often engage in regular battles to enhance their combat power, but only in their original forms.
Compared to humanoid forms, their original forms are more agile and flexible, with stronger attack and defense capabilities.
Therefore, there has been an unwritten rule among the clansmen since ancient times that there should not be two different forms of competition among members of the same clan.
The little white kitten got up from the ground, shook off its fur which was covered in its father's saliva, and argued, "Meow~~~~~"
"Who told Mother to encourage my sister to look at other people's photos?"
"What business is it of your mother if others want to act as matchmakers for your partner?"
Meow~~~~~~~
"Mother knew perfectly well that my sister was the partner I had chosen, yet she still did it on purpose. It's wrong of me to lack martial virtue, but there were reasons for it. Who told Mother to help outsiders take advantage of my vulnerability?"
Gu Junshan stretched his limbs, not caring about her explanation, and casually ended the topic, "In short, hurting your mother was wrong of you."
The little white cat, exasperated, jumped up and meowed at Daiying, who was lazily watching the scene unfold on the bed: "Meow~~~"
"You all lack martial ethics. Father is biased and will always stand up for you."
Dai Ying looked down at her and said, "Oh, you can also find a biased partner to stand up for you."
One sentence hit a nerve, and the little white cat stretched out its little paws and thrashed about the sheets in frustration.
After warming up, Gu Junshan said coldly, "Gu Lingyu, get ready, I'm about to begin."
As soon as he finished speaking, the tall, middle-aged man transformed into a large white cat, twice the size of the white cat.
The weak little white kitten made its last struggle, meowing.
"Father, I can't shed any more fur..."
Amidst the meows, the two white cats, one big and one small, began to wrestle, occasionally emitting low growls as they collided.
The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for Shen Wujun, who was opposite Gu Lingyu, to hear.
The Shen family's house was built in the 1990s. It was the most common layout at the time, with a large hall in the middle and side rooms on both sides. Gu Lingyu's room was directly opposite Shen Wujun's room.
The occasional noises were interspersed with cat meows, but if you listened carefully, it seemed like you couldn't hear anything at all.
Shen Wujun listened for a while, but was still worried, so he knocked on Shen Wuqiu's door.
"Sis, are you asleep?"
"Getting ready to sleep, what's up?"
"It's nothing, just asking if our cat is in your room?"
Upon hearing the mention of cats, Shen Wuqiu immediately got up, turned on the room light, got out of bed, and opened the door. "What's wrong?"
"I kept hearing strange cat meows, so I came to ask you." As he spoke, Shen Wujun craned his neck and peeked into her room. "Did she run out again?"
Shen Wuqiu wasn't sure what was going on either, so she left her question unfinished, "It was just here a moment ago. Did you hear any cat meowing?"
“I can’t quite put my finger on it…” Shen Wujun scratched his head. “The sound was both noisy and oppressive. I tried to listen carefully, but I couldn’t hear it anymore. I was just asking you, our cat is bald in patches, isn’t she? I’m worried that she’s run away again and been bullied by something outside. There are many mountains around here, and wild animals often roam around during this season.”
Shen Wuqiu listened to his words half-heartedly, but other thoughts were running through her mind. She said casually, "I guess you misheard. I'll ask her to take a look later."
Shen Wujun nodded. "Then I won't disturb your rest."
Shen Wuqiu nodded, and as she was about to close the door, Shen Wujun asked again, "Was it tiring?"
"Um?"
"I have so many nephews and nieces in my belly, will they be obedient?"
When talking about her child, Shen Wuqiu's voice became more maternal, "It's alright, I just found that I vomited a lot when I was pregnant, but I don't feel anything now."
"That's good." Shen Wujun stared at her stomach and said in a very childish tone, "You guys better behave yourselves. If you bully my sister, I'll beat you up."
Shen Wuqiu was amused by him, and thinking about the white cat that had encountered something, she urged him to go back to sleep.
Shen Wujun knew that pregnant women needed to rest more, so he stopped arguing and quickly went back to his room.
After Shen Wuqiu waited for him to return to his room, she tiptoed toward Gu Lingyu's room a few seconds later.
I stood at the door for several minutes before reaching out to turn the doorknob.
The door wasn't locked; she opened it with a simple twist.
So, upon opening the door, one is greeted by the "harmonious" scene of two white fluffy creatures wrestling together—
The smaller white kitten, positioned at a disadvantage, lay on its back on the ground, its little front paws dangling from the neck of the larger white cat, which held the upper hand. It opened its mouth wide, trying to bite the larger white cat, but before its mouth could even touch it, the larger white cat swatted it back with a paw, making it whimper in pain…
"..." It felt as if that claw had slapped him on the forehead, and Shen Wuqiu trembled as if he had felt it all.
Several seconds later, Daiying, who was lazily lying on the bed playing cat fight, seemed to notice her for the first time. "Oh, Wuqiu, what brings you here?"
Shen Wuqiu then looked at her and felt that the surprise on her face was too inconsistent with her temperament and seemed a bit exaggerated. She pursed her lips and suddenly didn't know what to say.
It's true that Gu Lingyu is a cat, and it's also true that a cat can transform into Gu Lingyu. She can accept that. As for the identities of Gu Lingyu's parents, it's not hard for her to guess. However, accepting it in one's mind is one thing, but seeing it with one's own eyes is another.
Daiying sat up and glanced at the father and daughter who were still deeply engrossed in their lovemaking. "Did I scare you?"
Shen Wuqiu hesitated for a few seconds, then walked in, closed the door, and instead of answering her directly, asked, "Is that your uncle?"
Daiying nodded and called out to the two cat shadows, "Achi, that's enough."
As soon as she spoke, the two white figures stopped immediately. The big white cat released the little white cat and then jumped straight into Daiying's arms.
Daiying reached out and hugged him, stroking his fur. "Look, isn't Ayu just like her father?"
Looking at the docile white cat in her arms, Shen Wuqiu couldn't reconcile it with the tall and handsome Uncle Gu. He was stunned for several seconds before looking down at the little white cat huddled in place, silently licking its wounds.
When she looked over, the white cat shrank even tighter, and the whimpering sound seemed to be coming from its nose.
Looking so pathetic, the big white cat had lost all its bravery.
However, Shen Wuqiu nodded reluctantly, "It does look quite similar."