Chapter 451: I Want a Cat
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Haha!" Luo Qingyu"s laughter broke the silence in the shop."What? The language of cats? You mean, like, meowing?"
Ting Ying felt embarra.s.sed by his laughter, and she waved her hands. "Forget it, I"m just joking..."
Zhang Zian didn"t know why Ting Ying had asked such a question. After pondering for a moment, he answered cautiously, "I can understand some. Since I am a cat trainer, of course I need to understand what the cats are thinking and what they want, catering to their needs so that they can cooperate with my training. So, I am a cat trainer, also a cat whisperer at the same time."
Luo Qingyu had an indifferent expression. "Are you serious? Then, can you tell me what the cat that scurried by my foot was saying?"
Zhang Zian didn"t answer Luo Qingyu because he was not a customer, and it would be a pure waste of time to respond to him.
Ting Ying"s face had a flicker of excitement. Her emotions were surging, and she could barely restrain herself. The rims of her eyes were red, and she was about to cry.
"Finally...I"ve finally found..." she mumbled to herself. Since she saw that bizarre statue of the cat G.o.d after entering through the door, she found that this pet shop was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with an inexplicable fantastical atmosphere. With the fully-grown cats resembled the forest elves on the cat tree and storage rack staring at her, with the energetic kittens playing around in the shop, with this pet shop owner claiming to be a cat trainer, knowledgeable in the language of cats…everything seemed to resemble a fantasy movie.
Studying at Binhai University, Ting Ying was an adult now, and reasonably, she should have pa.s.sed the age when she was fond of fantasizing and dreaming. But how she wished that this was true, how she wished that this pet shop owner was indeed a cat whisperer, and that the kittens in the shop possessed magical powers. As for herself…how nice it would be if she could live her childhood again, and once more become that carefree princess. This had been her frequent fantasy ever since she watched the movie Nine Lives.
I want a cat. Ting Ying had been touched by this movie the first time she watched it. Later, she bought the blu-ray version of it and watched it over and over on the television. Every time she watched it, her sleeves were drenched by her tears.
The little girl in the movie was so much like her years ago. Both lived in a big house, had a loving mother, and a father who was too busy managing the company to remember her birthday. Both wanted a cat as their birthday present.
Ting Ying"s father had been busy all year round, always away from home. After returning home briefly, he would have to leave very soon. Her mother always said that daddy was earning money to support them so that they could live in the big house and lead an affluent life. That"s what her father had said too. He always said that this would be his last project, and that after completing this project he could retire. Then he would go nowhere, but stay at home everyday and play with Little Ting Ying. Nevertheless, there was always another project waiting for him.
Just like the little girl in the movie, Little Ting Ying was very lonely in her childhood. For fear of forgetting what her father looked like, she could look for images of her father in family videos, antic.i.p.ating what it would be like when her family returned on her birthday. Although her father always forgot her birthday, her mother would remind him. On her birthday, no matter how busy her father was, he would squeeze out a day from his schedule to spend time with her. Sometimes he would even take a plane back home…
One time, after coming home, her father looked seriously into her eyes and told her that this was truly his last project, which would give him a sufficient amount of money for the rest of his life and her mommy"s life. It would cover all the tuition fees if she went to college, graduate school, and even a doctoral program. He said that he would never leave her again. Little Ting Ying believed him.
"The project will be finished before your birthday this year, and I will get back in time to celebrate your birthday." Her father held her high in the air. "My little princess, what do you want for your birthday present this year?"
Smiling from ear to ear, Little Ting Ying said happily, "I want a cat. A fluffy and beautiful cat that I can comfortably hold in my arms!"
Father smiled. "Okay, when I"m back, I will bring a cat that will absolutely make my little princess satisfied!"
After her father left, she started to count the days on the calendar, and looked forward to her birthday. Even in her dreams, she dreamt that everyday was her birthday, and as soon as she woke up in the morning, she could see her father"s smiling face and a kitten lying beside her. A fluffy and beautiful cat that she could comfortably hold in her arms, just as she had wished for.
The little girl in the movie was very lucky. Her father was very lucky. Before the incident occurred, he happened to walk into a magical pet shop, and encountered a mysterious owner who claimed to be a cat whisperer. Her father bought a cat that possessed nine lives and had already lost seven of them. By consuming another life of itself, this cat helped save the precious life of her father.
Little Ting Ying was not that lucky. On the day of her birthday, her father didn"t bring a cat home. It was the grievous news of an engineering accident that arrived…
In some sense, her father had fulfilled his promise. Though an accident occurred in his last project, he had earned enough money, including his previous savings and the compensation from the accident, to cover the tuition for Little Ting Ying"s college, graduate school, and doctoral program. It would also support Ting Ying"s mother for the rest of her life. But they were willing to exchange everything for his life. Since then, Ting Ying stopped celebrating her birthday, which was also the anniversary of her father"s death.
She knew that the movie was fict.i.tious, and that the story was false, but how nice would it be if it were real… Perhaps, in a secluded corner somewhere in the city, there was indeed a pet shop full of magic. Inside the shop, there would be a bizarre cat G.o.d statue, the pet shop owner would claim to be a cat whisperer, and his words would be full of philosophy. The cats in his shop could take away sorrow and bad luck, bringing happiness and joy to people.
Ting Ying was fond of cats, but she had never bought one. Because she had always been in pursuit of such a cat, every year on her birthday, she wandered about every corner in the city, seeking for such a pet shop, which was unlikely to be exist in reality. She thought that in this shop, she might encounter her father, who would be smiling and walking towards her with a fluffy and pretty cat which he would put into her arms.
Today, she had found it. Her father did not appear, but such a pet shop indeed existed!
Impulsively, she shouted so loudly that she could be heard by her father in Heaven, "I want a fluffy, very beautiful cat I can comfortably hold in my arms!"
Her voice was too loud. In the outer area of the pet shop, Lu Yiyun"s fingers quivered, making her mess up. Confused, she raised her head and looked at her adorable reader through the gla.s.s.
Luo Qingyu was so scared that he retreated a few steps, and his back hit the wall. He wondered if she had gone mad. He had had a crush on this girl with long black hair. That was why he had been asking to take pictures of her, hoping that he would one day have a romantic relations.h.i.+p with her. But now, he just hoped that this girl, who was seemingly suffering from some delusion or intermittent insanity, wouldn"t pester him…
Startled from its sleep, Fina glared at this girl who had disturbed its dream.
The sophisticated Old Time Tea had recognized the sorrow and yearning in her voice. It was the scar hidden in her heart for over a decade. Old Time Tea could not help but sigh for the various sorrows and hards.h.i.+ps in this world.
Richard quacked and flew up, thinking that the pet shop was on fire or had been broken into by thieves. When it found nothing had happened, Richard noticed a yellowish white sticky lump on the blanket. Did the noise scare the s*** out of it? Resting its chin on its wings, it contemplated seriously. To avoid being outcasted by Zhang Zian from the pet shop in the winter, who was going to be its scapegoat?
After opening its eyes to glance around, Snowy Lionet closed its eyes again. It muttered, "Raw beef brisket, raw beef brisket…"
Galaxy, who was playing hide-and-seek with the American Shorthair, stopped and looked at Ting Ying. It blinked its silver-gray eyes and looked back at the stairwell connecting the first floor with the second floor.
After working hard for several days, Famous finally recovered. Just then, it was walking slowly from the second floor. It stopped at the stairwell and gazed into the eyes of Ting Ying.
Zhang Zian furrowed his brows. He didn"t understand what Ting Ying meant when she said she wanted a fluffy, very beautiful cat that she could comfortably hold in her arms. This request was too broad, and many cats could meet that requirement.
However, Ting Ying had no intentions on specifying. She was just gazing at him in antic.i.p.ation. Her mouth was slightly moving, as if she was praying that Zhang Zian was just like the pet shop owner in the movie, who possessed exceptional magic powers.
Zhang Zian felt helpless. He had offered suggestions to many customers, but this customer was the most difficult one, and it seemed like he only had one chance. If he couldn"t get it right, she would leave disappointed. No wonder Lu Yiyun frequently complained to him about customers who raised bizarre and outrageous requests. If all the requests were as abnormal as this one, he might as well close his business soon.
In a large house where wet tissues were everywhere on the floor, Ting Ying was lying on the couch. Face resting on her shoulders, she was crying incessantly. The blu-ray DVD machine was working, and a movie was playing on the TV screen. Crying while watching the movie, she didn"t notice that a strange German Shepherd had quietly appeared on the side of the couch. Famous accompanied her to watch this movie, and then disappeared just as quietly as it had appeared.
Famous exited her mind and gently called Fina.
Fina looked at it with confusion. Famous called it again.
Fina didn"t understand what was going on, and it didn"t like the feeling of being kept in the dark. But Famous had promised that it would explain the situation to it afterwards. Fina called a kitten to the corner and issued an order to it. The very kitten trotted toward Ting Ying and wrapped around her s.h.i.+n.
Ting Ying lowered her head to look at it. Her eyes suddenly filled with a dreamy and glowing aura. This cat was exactly the same as the one in the movie, but was younger.
"Mr. Store Manager, could you tell me how you knew that?" she asked.
Zhang Zian was still bewildered. He knew nothing. He only heard that Famous asked Fina to let a kitten in the shop snuggle against Ting Ying"s s.h.i.+n. But he did know one thing—that this was a great opportunity for him to show off. So, he said, "I didn"t. It"s this kitten that has chosen you."
Ting Ying finally smiled genuinely. It was the smile of when a dream comes true.