Chapter 71 Xiang Yun remained silent, only drinking water.
Xiang Yun remained silent, lowered his head to drink water. How come there was still so much water left after drinking for so long?
Xu Songning facepalmed, wishing she could disappear into a hole. She hadn't said Sanhua was Ms. Xu's granddaughter a long time ago! How could TV dramas always have such coincidences?
She grabbed the remote and pressed pause.
"It's getting late, Mom. Go take a shower. You must be tired from your journey!" Xu Songning gave Ms. Xu a standard smile, gesturing for her to leave quickly; the atmosphere was too strange.
Ms. Xu smiled and put Sanhua into her arms, "Okay, you can help me take care of my granddaughter. I'm going to take a shower first. You two can chat slowly, Xiao Xiang."
“Okay, Auntie, I should go home now.” Xiang Yun stood up.
"It's alright, you two chat," Ms. Xu deliberately tried to keep him there.
"What's there to talk about? We can talk about it tomorrow." Xu Songning hugged Sanhua and snuggled closer to her mother, as if she was about to send her away.
Ms. Xu couldn't help but chuckle, patted her on the shoulder, gave the two young people a meaningful look, and walked away with a smile.
The two young men on the sofa secretly breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
Xu Songning, holding Sanhua, made way for her, yawned, and said, "Brother Yun, it's getting late, go home and rest."
“Okay, if Sanhua needs anything, please contact me anytime.” Xiang Yun stood up.
“Of course, if anything happens to Sanhua, you, her older brother, can’t run away. He lives right across the street.” Xu Songning waved Sanhua’s paw at him.
Xiang Yun casually pinched Sanhua's soft paw pads, and Sanhua meowed twice in protest.
Unfortunately, the protest was ineffective. Xu Songning held the cat in his arms, rested his chin on the cat's head, and watched Xiang Yun go home with the cat.
With Ms. Xu back, Xu Songning's burden of raising cats has been greatly reduced.
With her grandmother around, Xu Songning's role as "mother" isn't as appealing anymore.
The three-flowered cat constantly hovered around Ms. Xu, its obedient appearance making Ms. Xu very happy. Ms. Xu took good care of it every day, and the three-flowered cat had become the master of the house.
Xu Songning advised Ms. Xu not to spoil her child, but Ms. Xu wouldn't listen. She carried Sanhua for a walk, her feet barely touching the ground, showing no trace of the grievances she had when she first became a homeless person.
To prevent her mother from feeling too disillusioned, Xu Songning reminded her every day that Sanhua had been adopted and would be handed over to her adoptive parents in about twenty days.
Ms. Xu, influenced by her mother's nagging, became even more generous to her granddaughter, opening more snacks and canned food than anyone else. She even went online to search for foods that were good for the kitten's health, and prepared different kinds of food for Sanhua every day. Xu Songning's diet was almost not as good as Sanhua's.
Xu Songning exclaimed, "It's true what they say about the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren!"
She needed to vent her emotions, so she took a picture of the empty cans in the house and showed them to Xiang Yun, "Brother Yun, take a look at your grandmother who spoils the children. I can't stop her no matter what I say."
Xiang Yun didn't reply immediately, probably because he had a flight mission.
That evening, Xiang Yun brought a bag of newly bought canned food and snacks to their door.
“Okay, so you’re the brother who spoils the kids.” Xu Songning poked his chest.
Spoiled by her parents, Sanhua gained weight noticeably in just half a month.
Sanhua was quite thin and looked pitiful.
After raising the pet to a normal size at the vet, one day when Xu Songning got off work, she saw Sanhua running towards her with a bouncy gait and asked the crucial question, "Sanhua! Have you gained weight?"
"Where are you fat? Our calico cats are of normal size. Be good, we won't listen." Ms. Xu hugged the cat to her arms and covered its ears.
"Mom, you're spoiling her too much," Xu Songning reminded her.
"I won't listen, I won't listen," Ms. Xu pretended to be deaf.
"We have to give it away in ten days," Xu Songning reminded him again.
Ms. Xu reacted immediately, her voice rising involuntarily, "Is the adoption you found reliable? Will they treat the calico well? Maybe you should just raise it yourself."
Xu Songning was certainly reluctant to part with the calico cat, but raising it herself was easier said than done. Who had the time to do it? Ms. Xu's plan to travel the world was not yet complete, and she would not stop for a kitten.
"The adopter will settle in Shanghai, and we can visit it when we have time."
"What should I do if I go abroad?" Ms. Xu stroked the cat's head, feeling melancholy.
“Then let’s get another cat when you come back.” Xu Songning sat cross-legged. She was also reluctant to part with the calico cat. Ms. Xu’s clingy attitude eased a lot of the sadness in her heart.
Ms. Xu shook her head after hearing her suggestion, saying, "Even if I raise another one, it won't be a calico; the bond will be different."
"Meow." Sanhua agreed.
"Look how intelligent it is! It's as if it understands what we're saying. Good girl, even if we don't keep a cat in the future, having one briefly is a kind of happiness." Ms. Xu patted the calico cat's head, her face beaming with a happy smile.
If she really becomes a grandmother, she'll spoil the child rotten.
Xu Songning worked several night shifts in a row, but with Ms. Xu taking care of things at home, she didn't need to worry about anything.
Every day, Ms. Xu would drive over to bring her a nutritious soup, and of course, a portion for Lu Xiaomeng as well.
Xu Songning was worried that Ms. Xu was working too hard and advised her to rest more at home, but Ms. Xu couldn't stay idle. Taking care of another cat was no big deal for her, and she still had time to go square dancing every day.
“Auntie is at the age where she is full of energy, unlike us, we can’t dance anymore,” Lu Xiaomeng said, sitting on an empty bench in the square, stroking the three flowers with satisfaction.
"Is there still a week left?" Xu Songning changed the subject.
Although the question seemed abrupt, Lu Xiaomeng immediately understood what Sister Xu was asking.
She nodded. "Yes, that little girl has already arrived in Shanghai and is currently looking for a place to live. Once she finds a place, she can settle the other two kittens in. She'll come to pick up the calico cat when the luggage arrives."
Xu Songning nodded gently and reached out to touch the three flowers. She didn't say she was reluctant to part with them, but the lingering affection on her fingertips was very tender.
"If you really can't bear to part with it..."
“If you can’t raise it, you have to be willing to let it go.” Xu Songning interrupted her. If she heard a few more of this, Ms. Xu might waver.
But her thinking remained unchanged: she couldn't force herself to raise a child she couldn't afford to. This was a living, breathing creature, not a toy to be manipulated, and it couldn't be abandoned at will.
Since others have the means to raise cats, she can't selfishly force the calico cat to stay with her and suffer.
Lu Xiaomeng knew that once her sister Xu made a decision, no one could change it. "Okay, when are you free? I'll arrange a meeting time with her."
Lu Xiaomeng originally planned to come herself, but Xu Songning, feeling awkward, didn't add the adoptive parents on WeChat and handled all the arrangements herself. However, upon closer inspection, the two of them didn't match up at all.
“Just send her the time and location. It’s just a handover of the cat. It’s fine if you’re not there,” Xu Songning said.
That makes sense. Lu Xiaomeng quickly sent the message, and the other party replied with "OK".
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