Chapter 29, Sisters, I think I've found the real deal! ...

Golden sunlight poured down on the red sports car, paving a staircase to glory.

The girl pressed the red car key inlaid with a silver pony, lightly touched the button in the door panel recess, and lifted it upwards. The car door rose gracefully like a butterfly wing, tracing a smooth arc.

She carefully placed the flower roll's flight case on the passenger seat and thoughtfully fastened it with a specially modified seatbelt.

After adjusting the seat, she slowly backed the car out of the parking space.

As I passed the gate of the rescue station, Su Cheng's figure appeared in the rearview mirror.

The mysterious man known as the "swordsman" stood sideways opposite her, his face mostly obscured by a black mask, making it impossible to see his features.

The gossip spirit within the girl was stirring.

She stepped on the brakes, her gaze involuntarily drawn to the two people chatting in the yard.

They exchanged a few words at the door and then went inside together.

As the man turned around, the blade of his sword flashed coldly.

The black lacquered wooden scabbard was carved with intricate and exquisite cloud and thunder patterns, and the black tassels were made into sword tassels, exactly the same as the one the girl had seen in the documentary.

A light shone in the girl's eyes, and she excitedly typed a line of text rapidly on her phone:

Sisters, I think I've found the real deal!

-

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to do a live stream? I could have made some preparations beforehand."

Su Cheng and Jiang Muzhou entered the lounge one after the other.

She put the adoption agreement into the cabinet, took an unopened bottle of mineral water, handed the water to Jiang Muzhou, and sat down opposite him.

Jiang Muzhou admired her delicate face, a smile in his eyes, "No need to prepare, you look great in photos."

The mask covered the lower half of his face, so Su Cheng's attention was entirely focused on his already handsome peach blossom eyes.

As he spoke, a hint of red appeared at the corner of his eyes, like two early cherry blossoms falling on a flawless snowfield, adding a touch of tenderness and beauty to this casual compliment.

“That’s not what I meant.” Su Cheng’s heart skipped a beat, and she lowered her head to bring the topic back. “At least I can think about the storyboard first. Now I’m being forced into this situation and I have absolutely no clue what to do.”

Jiang Muzhou looked up and met her expression, which was not innocent.

“Audiences prefer to see a natural and authentic presentation.” He gently placed the Longquan sword on his desk, leaning back slightly in his chair. “If the script is too obvious, it’s more likely to cause aversion.”

Before entering the rest room, he looked around the entire office area of ​​the rescue station, but Lin Yang was not among them.

So, the person she wanted to meet on Qixi Festival was someone else?

His prominent Adam's apple slid slightly, restrained.

Without changing his expression, he asked, "Shall I show you around?"

Su Cheng nodded in realization and naturally took on the role of guide.

The shelter was converted from a two-story old factory building, and there was also a small warehouse.

Many landlords refused outright when they heard that the property was intended for sheltering stray animals. Fortunately, the current landlord was understanding and not only appreciated the charitable nature of the project but also kept the rent unchanged for many years and even allowed them to enclose the windows for renovations.

Although the area is limited, it is the warmest shelter they can provide for stray animals under their current economic conditions.

Turning right from the lounge leads to the office area, where the four desks make it feel a bit cramped.

The volunteers at the rescue station would all like Su Cheng's videos, and Wu Xin, as one of them, naturally watched every single one.

Unlike the CP fans who wave the "Mu Yi Cheng Zhou" banner, Wu Xin can be considered a "solo fan" of Su Cheng. Su Cheng is good-looking and down-to-earth, and speaks gently. She also eased the tense relationship between Wu Xin and her own Kokabu. In Wu Xin's heart, who values ​​appearance, Su Cheng always holds a unique place.

That "Muzhou" was different. Wu Xin glanced at his video briefly; he didn't show his face at all. While suspecting that he was doomed to fail in real life, she also silently felt a sense of respect for Su Cheng's sacrifice.

Until this "swordsman" appeared, she hadn't connected him with "Mu Zhou". But the man was tall and slender with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Although his face was obscured by a mask, judging from his exposed eyebrows and eyes and superior bone structure, based on her years of experience chasing celebrities, he was definitely a top-tier man!

Moreover, she recognized the dark gray trendy T-shirt Jiang Muzhou was wearing. It was a brand her favorite idol had worn when photographed at the airport, so she was naturally familiar with it. Although the design was simple, the price was close to five figures.

He and Su Cheng stood side by side, evenly matched, and the combination of a handsome man and a beautiful woman was extremely pleasing to the eye.

What do you mean by "dying in the light"? That's overstepping your bounds!

Although it's the weekend, there are fewer volunteers at the rescue station than on weekdays, and the office area has become the domain of the kittens.

The lion cat, Yaoyao, lay on the keyboard, its little head grinding back and forth between the bumpy keys. From time to time, a string of letters with unknown meanings would pop up on the screen, as if it were writing a cat language diary that only it could understand.

Robert the tabby cat occupied the office chair, his furry paws resting on the armrests, his long, thin tail swaying back and forth, as if declaring, "This is my throne."

“This is the kitten we haven’t photographed yet, her name is Xiaoxue.” Su Cheng picked up Xiaoxue, who was lying on her side on the filing cabinet, and Xiaoxue immediately rubbed her head against her hand. “Don’t let her small size fool you, she’s actually a year and a half old.”

When Xiaoxue's age was mentioned, she sighed, "Actually, it's very difficult for adult cats to be adopted. Adopters prefer kittens that are 3-6 months old, thinking that raising them from a young age will make them more affectionate, but that's not actually the case."

Su Cheng, holding the fluffy little Xue, took two steps closer to Jiang Muzhou and asked, "Do you want to pet it?"

Jiang Muzhou's raised hand hovered in mid-air, hesitating slightly, "Can outsiders also do this?"

“You’re not an outsider,” she blurted out.

Wu Xin, who was assembling acrylic PP clips, paused for a moment, then her ears perked up.

You are not an outsider, you are my wife!

Through the acrylic panel printed with the image of a square-headed man, Wu Xin saw that Su Cheng and the man were almost touching.

The man slowly raised his hand, his fingertips gently stroking the ears of the kitten in Su Cheng's arms.

Aaaaaaah!

Wu Xin screamed silently in her heart, instantly throwing herself into the torrent of CP fans.

Seemingly realizing that her words had been somewhat ambiguous, Su Cheng quickly added, "The video account's success is entirely due to you, so you are the unsung hero behind the rescue station."

“It’s not because of me.” Jiang Muzhou said, his palm facing up, his index finger knuckle rubbing back and forth on Xiaoxue’s forehead, making the little cat squint her eyes comfortably. “It’s your creativity, your sincerity, and the message you wanted to convey that moved the audience.”

He stopped what he was doing, raised an eyebrow, and looked up at her intently. "I'm just riding on your coattails."

Whether it's encouragement or genuine praise, Su Cheng appreciates it all.

Those deep, dark eyes were like dense black holes, possessing an infinite attraction. If you were not careful and entered their field of vision, you would be trapped inside and never be able to escape.

She felt a little lightheaded, completely unaware that she and Jiang Muzhou were getting closer and closer.

Xiaoxue's pink paws twitched in the crook of her arm, and she used her paws to grab Jiang Muzhou's hand that had suddenly pulled away, protesting that he had stopped petting the cat.

The little guy nuzzled his head against his fingers, putting on a "cat-sniffing" act.

Su Cheng withdrew her gaze, subtly tightened her arms around Xiao Xue, and imperceptibly distanced herself from Jiang Muzhou.

“We usually do TNR for the mother cats, which means spaying and neutering them and then releasing them back into the wild, and then helping the kittens that are suitable for adoption to find new homes.” She put Xiaoxue back on the filing cabinet and casually opened a cat treat to feed her. “However, Xiaoxue has a gentle personality and is a white cat that is easily bullied. We all hope that she can also have a warm home and be a carefree pet cat.”

Under Xiaoxue's reluctant gaze, Su Cheng turned and walked to the left.

When the ends of her hair fluttered, they lightly brushed against Jiang Muzhou's wrist, carrying the sweet scent of summer lychees, yet with a barely perceptible hint of lemon tartness.

"At its peak, there were more than 30 kittens available for adoption. People seeking help could usually only breed and sell 1 or 2 kittens themselves, and the rest had to wait for new owners."

Su Cheng stopped in front of a wall. Light brown felt boards were nailed to the wall, and photos of homeless children were arranged in the shape of a heart, with a group photo of volunteers surrounding the center.

“In the past, we could only give away two or three cats a month at most, and the rest were stuck with us. We even had to eat all the donated rescue food.”

Jiang Muzhou stood quietly beside her, listening to her recount the difficult yet meaningful journey she had taken.

With her slender, jade-like fingers tracing the photo wall, Su Cheng read out the names of each photo: "Pudding, Cola, Wang Erniu, Tyrant Tiger, Square Head, Flower Roll, Little Snow..."

Her lips curled up slightly, revealing a radiant smile, like a ray of sunshine suddenly breaking through the dark clouds, enlivening even the surrounding air.

From the moment he met her, she was like this, illuminating every inch of the world's darkness with undisguised sincerity and passion.

The group photo in the middle was taken at Linhai University on New Year's Eve this year, and it's packed with more than twenty people.

The stray cat management at Linhai University is very well done. Teachers and students get along well with the cats. Each cat has its own file, and students passing by will greet the kittens with a friendly "senior."

But at the beginning of this year, there was an unusually heavy snowfall. Linhai is in the south, and such snowfall is a once-in-a-decade event. As Lunar New Year's Eve approached, most of the club members went home, but a few students who stayed on campus found a rescue station and took the kitten indoors overnight, setting up a temporary shelter.

They checked the number of kittens while warming themselves around the stove with them.

That's the day they took this group photo.

Su Cheng pointed to the photo and introduced the members of the rescue station to Jiang Muzhou, "In the middle are Wendy, Fang Haoyu, and Ye Lan, the three founders."

As her gaze swept to the edge of the photo, Su Cheng saw her own figure and Lin Yang's figure.

"In the group photo of volunteers at the rescue station..."

Author's Note: Su Su: Please grant me the brain of Sherlock Holmes!