Chapter 3 Did she have another cat behind his back? ...
Before she could finish speaking, Su Cheng realized something was amiss and quickly changed her words: "Your cat seems to be sick."
Jiang Muzhou turned his head, and their eyes met.
Her body stiffened as she met a pair of gentle, affectionate peach blossom eyes.
Damn it, his eyes are still so irresistible.
She quickly lowered her eyes and briefly explained Yuanbao's situation to Jiang Muzhou.
Knowing that pet therapy is a niche industry, she was afraid of being mistaken for a con artist who preys on the wealthy, so she quickly found a friend in her WeChat contacts with the nickname [1801] and sent them another copy of her personal information.
"Don't worry, I'm not a scammer." Her voice was a little urgent. "I'm a legitimate pet emotional therapist. The document I just sent you has my qualification certificate and past cases. You can take a look."
Jiang Muzhou looked down at his phone, his expression slightly lowered, and a hint of unfathomable emotion flashed in his eyes.
Su Cheng wanted to explain a few more words, but with a "ding", the elevator doors slowly opened in front of her.
She strode into the elevator and pressed the button for the 18th floor.
"The weather forecast says there will be heavy rain in a few days. I want to take advantage of these two days to repair the leaky roof, but there are some finishing touches on the project that I have to handle personally." Jiang Muzhou put away his phone and followed Su Cheng into the elevator, maintaining a subtle distance between them.
“If the construction crew comes to our house, Yuanbao will definitely be even more scared.” He felt a pang of guilt, a glint of light in his eyes, and his tone seemed to carry a hint of self-reproach. “It seems to get along better with you, so could you please take it in for a couple of days?”
"It's possible, but..."
"I'll prepay you according to your pricing schedule."
She always felt that there was an inexplicable change in his every move; his once clear and bright eyes now seemed to have become somewhat mundane.
“Foster care is no problem.” Staring at the fluctuating elevator numbers, Su Cheng said softly, “But as the saying goes, a heart ailment requires a heart remedy. Separation anxiety requires the owner’s cooperation in treatment. We will officially begin after you return from your business trip.”
The elevator doors slowly opened, and the usually composed man frowned slightly.
The two stood in front of their respective homes, casually discussing Yuanbao's foster care, like a recently divorced couple negotiating visitation rights.
"Oh right, I haven't formally introduced myself yet."
"My name is Jiang Muzhou, Mu as in pastoral fields and Zhou as in lonely boat."
Su Cheng's fingertip paused slightly on the fingerprint lock.
There was no need for him to introduce her; she had already written his name a thousand times, perhaps more times than he had written it himself.
But she never introduced herself to him.
"Hello, my name is Su Cheng, Cheng as in clear and bright."
I meant to say "澄" as in "clarifying limewater", but after hearing his poetic explanation, I changed it to "澄" as in "clarity".
He was her childhood dream, the most dazzling light in her youth, and she carefully cherished every moment they passed each other by.
In his eyes, she was just a stranger he was meeting for the first time in the neighborhood.
This one-sided familiarity was like a diary that only she was reading, filled with actions that no one else knew.
“Su Cheng.” Jiang Muzhou repeated her name, the two words lingering on his lips longer than usual. “It’s written in your personal profile.”
Amidst the hum of the elevator descending, he added softly, "Let's look out for each other from now on."
-
In the afternoon, Jiang Muzhou delivered the ingot as promised and then rushed off on his business trip again.
Su Cheng decided to temporarily forget her past and live a carefree life with Yuanbao, just the two of them.
Although Jiang Muzhou stuffed the battle-damaged shirt into the cat carrier as well, there is still attraction between opposite sexes between humans and cats.
Su Cheng gently scratched Yuanbao's chin with her fingers, which smelled of dried fish. It immediately buried its face in her pajamas, like a little motorcycle, making a contented purring sound.
That shirt, along with Jiang Muzhou, was quickly forgotten.
As soon as Jiang Muzhou had a free moment, he would urge the author to update the chapter.
When Yuanbao was mentioned, his usually dignified and composed demeanor crumbled.
1801: [Did Yuanbao roll over today? Did he miss his dad?]
Su Cheng: [Sir, Yuanbao is undergoing desensitization training. Thinking about his dad will result in a deduction of his academic credits.]
1801: [Kitten crying.jpg]
Su Cheng still finds it somewhat unbelievable that the person she used to have to go to great lengths to pick up and peek at at the airport has now become her neighbor whom she sees every day.
The knocking and banging noises from next door continued for two days. Under Su Cheng's patient guidance, Yuanbao had broken his bad habit of using his owner's clothes as a chew toy.
When Jiang Muzhou returned, Yuanbao was rolling himself up in his shirt like a fluffy cat crepe, with only his round little head showing, smugly wagging his tail.
Separation anxiety in pets is not only related to changes in their living environment, but can also be triggered by sudden changes in the owner's daily routine.
For example, the shift from working from home to working outside, new work arrangements, and increased business trips can all lead to a sudden increase in the amount of time pets spend alone, which they may find difficult to adapt to.
"Can I ask what you do for a living?" Su Cheng stuffed the twisted gold ingot into Jiang Muzhou's arms and asked tentatively, "Is it a job with irregular working hours?"
"I guess so. I'm a documentary photographer." Jiang Muzhou looked down at Yuanbao, but the little guy's eyes were fixed on Su Cheng.
Before, whenever he came home, Yuanbao would excitedly jump onto him and rub against him incessantly, but now he ignores him and acts like a fickle little traitor.
Isn't it said that absence makes the heart grow fonder?
He couldn't help but suspect that Su Cheng had secretly used catnip to take a bath.
Su Cheng was somewhat surprised. She had thought that this person, who always topped the list, would be wearing a white coat and fiddling with test tubes in the laboratory, or holding a scalpel and saving lives under the operating lights, or sitting in front of a computer, intently working on code that she couldn't understand at all.
I never imagined he would be carrying a camera and chasing after the camera all over the world.
The stark contrast made her unconsciously glance at him a few more times.
"Have you been busy lately? If your time is convenient, shall we officially begin the treatment plan?"
"Okay, I just finished filming and will be at home for the time being, so I can start anytime."
"Let's start with desensitization training, and slowly let Yuanbao get used to the feeling of you not being home," Su Cheng said, squatting down to help Yuanbao organize its toys and supplies.
"I'll help you."
Jiang Muzhou had just put Yuanbao on the ground when the little guy caught sight of the toy mouse in the cat carrier. He immediately arched his back excitedly and was about to pounce, but the shirt wrapped around his body restrained his movements.
It shuddered in alarm, its little paws flailing wildly under its shirt, and it spun around between the two of them like a runaway top.
Su Cheng had just stood up with the bowl of water when everything suddenly went black, and all she could see were a few scattered, flickering lights. She instinctively tried to steady herself, but instead stepped on a toy mouse that Yuanbao had kicked at her, and stumbled forward.
"careful!"
Jiang Muzhou didn't have time to chase after Yuanbao. He rushed forward and reached out to help Su Cheng.
But he moved too quickly and lost his balance.
The moment they both fell, he instinctively tightened his arms, shielding Su Cheng in his embrace.
In a dizzying moment, Su Cheng felt herself stumble into something warm, her cheek pressed against the other's firm chest through the thin fabric, and she heard the rapid, powerful heartbeat in her ear.
His hot breath brushed against her earlobe, and a blush instantly spread from her neck to her cheeks.
The cat's bowl was completely empty, and all the water was spilled on Jiang Muzhou.
The soaked white shirt clung to her abdomen, perfectly outlining the defined lines of her body.
Su Cheng tried to use the floor for leverage to get up, but her elbow was suddenly bumped by a cat-shaped tortilla that flew by at lightning speed. Her hand trembled and landed squarely on the neatly arranged eight-pack abs.
The soft fingertips touched the firm muscles, and her heart suddenly raced as if struck by an electric current.
She swallowed hard, hurriedly scrambling to her feet from Jiang Muzhou. As she bent down to help him up, strands of her hair fell over her flushed ears.
After pulling the man up from the ground, she immediately pulled her hand back and scratched her head in a panic.
Her restless heart was pounding wildly inside her chest, as if it wanted to announce her inappropriate desires to the whole world.
Yuanbao broke free from the shirt and, like a cat that had done nothing, carried a toy mouse in its mouth and walked past with its head held high in a haughty manner.
Upon seeing the perpetrator of the accident, Su Cheng quickly changed the subject, trying to cover up the truth: "Hello, is this Meow Meow Zero? There was a hit-and-run by a big truck. Yes, confiscate its dried fish!"
Jiang Muzhou pulled out a few tissues and casually wiped his shirt a couple of times. His gaze fell on Su Cheng's puffed-up face, where the tips of her ears, hidden among her stray hairs, were turning red.
His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and his pursed lips relaxed, revealing an unconcealable smile.
He scooped Yuanbao into his arms, cradling the troublemaker in one hand and holding its front paw with the other, making a comical bow to Su Cheng as an apology.
Its round, grape-like eyes were filled with innocence, and it even meowed in a pleading manner.
Su Cheng tried hard to maintain a serious expression, but her composure crumbled the moment she faced Yuanbao.
She gently rubbed its forehead with her fingertips, her voice as soft as melting cotton candy, "Good boy/girl, big truck, go home now~"
-
In the following days, Jiang Muzhou worked with Su Cheng to help Yuanbao with gradual desensitization training.
They started practicing with brief separations of one minute, gradually increasing to ten minutes.
However, if the separation lasts for more than ten minutes, Yuanbao will start to show anxious behavior, with obvious scratching at the door and urgent barking coming from inside the house.
Looking at the torrential rain outside the window, Su Cheng recalled the rainy night when she first met Yuanbao, when it was also whimpering anxiously.
Does rain amplify Yuanbao's anxiety symptoms?
Su Cheng was about to go next door with Jiang Muzhou to check on Yuanbao's condition when she suddenly received a call from the head of the rescue station.
"Yes, at home... Okay, no problem... Come over now..."
She responded with a few words, then turned to Jiang Muzhou to explain, "Sorry, something urgent has come up here, so I might be a little delayed."
"It's alright, you go ahead with your work." Jiang Muzhou lowered his head, a gentle smile on his lips. "I'll wait for you at home."
She stared blankly at his departing figure. It was just an ordinary sentence, but the way he said it seemed to have a magical power, stirring up ripples in her heart.
The words "waiting for you at home" made her involuntarily imagine a warm scene of the two of them together in a room, and even her ears started to burn.
Before the scene deviated from its intended purpose, she quickly patted her burning face to stop her wandering thoughts.
She forced herself to mentally replay workplace rules: First, the client is your father; second, you can't have an affair with your father; third, having an affair with him will cost you your job...
Professional! Professional! Be professional!
-
Jiang Muzhou sat cross-legged on the carpet, his slender fingers gently scratching Yuanbao's chin. "Why is our little Yuanbao being so well-behaved today?"
After saying that, he placed several light kisses on the round head.
Yuanbao was abandoned during a rainstorm. Whenever there was a thunderstorm, it would curl up in a corner and let out weak, uneasy whimpers. Because of this, he always made a point of avoiding business trips on rainy days. But this time the rainstorm came too suddenly, and the highway on his return journey was closed. He had to take a long detour and didn't dare to go home until the next morning.
Just as they were playing with Yuanbao, footsteps came from outside the door.
He thought it was Su Cheng coming for a home visit, so he quickly picked up Yuanbao and went to the entrance to greet her obediently.
Jiang Muzhou turned the doorknob with a smile, only to see a strange man standing at Su Cheng's door, carrying a flight case. A lean tabby cat was arching its back and hissing threateningly at him through the wire fence.
Yuanbao shrank back in his arms, and he quickly took two steps back, gently placing Yuanbao back on the cat tree in the living room, and casually scratching its chin to comfort it.
When he returned to the door, he deliberately opened it a little wider, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the strange man and the restless flight case.
Did she have another cat behind his back?
Su Cheng couldn't help but laugh as she listened to Lin Yang's endless accusations against the "Devastator".
She takes time every week to help out at the animal rescue center. Last month, she helped rescue a tabby cat whose back was pierced by a steel ball slingshot and required seven stitches to save its life.
The injured tabby cat exudes an aura that keeps strangers at bay. It always arches its back and hisses menacingly, scaring the other cats at the rescue center into shrinking into a corner.
Its formidable record of fighting against multiple opponents quickly spread, and that's how the majestic name "Decepticons" came about.
Faced with such an untamable cat, the head of the rescue station, after much consideration, finally decided to contact Su Cheng, who has extensive experience in dealing with animals, hoping that she could temporarily take in this "problem child".
Jiang Muzhou leaned against the door frame, hearing Su Cheng's clear laughter in his ears.
A hint of displeasure flickered across his usually calm face.
These past few days, Su Cheng had always been somewhat reserved in his presence. But at this moment, she was chatting and laughing with another person.
A small crack slowly opened in his heart, seeping out a bitter taste that was hard to describe.
The stranger leaned forward, his hand holding the airline case almost brushing against Su Cheng's fingertips.
Jiang Muzhou's eyes darkened, and he clenched his fists, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.
He stepped forward, his well-defined knuckles firmly catching the flight case. His tall, slender figure acted as a dividing line, completely separating Su Cheng from the strange man.
"Senior, who is this?" Lin Yang tilted her head, her long eyelashes trembling slightly with each blink.
How should I introduce Jiang Muzhou? An old classmate, or a new neighbor?
In the end, Su Cheng chose a businesslike answer: "The client."
Lin Yang was two years younger than Su Cheng and was her direct junior in the Department of Animal Behavior at Linhai University. During their university years, the two did volunteer work together at a stray animal rescue station, and gradually became acquainted.
He knew Su Cheng's profession, and upon hearing that the other party was a client, he immediately and enthusiastically vouched for Su Cheng's professional abilities: "Sir, please rest assured, Senior Su is very experienced in the field of pet therapy. I know her very well, she will definitely..."
Jiang Muzhou's lips tightened into a straight line. Before Lin Yang could finish speaking, he interrupted her coldly, "I've known her for much longer than you have."
A note from the author:
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