Chapter 80 "I like you too..."
Autumn always seems to pass by particularly quickly, especially in northern cities where this feeling is even more pronounced.
As the weather becomes increasingly dry and cold, Tiancheng Pet Insurance's promotional campaign has arrived in Beijing.
Su Cheng's impression of this city was somewhat vague. She had only visited once as a child with her parents, climbed a short section of the winding Great Wall, and tasted a small bite of authentic Peking duck.
This event was particularly special, as the "Meet the Stray Animal Rescue Station" from Linhai City and the "Tsinghua-Peking University Cat Association" from Beijing joined forces, with outstanding animal protection organizations from both places sharing their valuable rescue experiences on site.
Representatives from the Beijing Animal Protection Association, numerous non-profit organizations, and businesses gathered together for the event, which also received strong support from government departments. Together, they witnessed a landmark step forward in the cause of promoting the protection of stray animals.
The atrium of the shopping mall in the city center was bustling with people and the atmosphere was lively.
In the center of the stage, actress Fang Xin'ai had just shared the daily life of her beloved pet "Huajuan," showing it taking a Ferrari to the vet for vaccinations and playing freely in its hundreds-of-square-meter cat playground, drawing envious glances from the audience.
She smiled and waved as she left the stage, her figure gradually disappearing to the side of the stage.
The lights began to dim slowly, and the central LED screen lit up as a short film began to play.
The opening scene is meticulously drawn using animation software.
The sound of pattering rain enveloped the scene, and the cat's meow was so faint that it was almost drowned out by the rain.
Beneath the damp leaves, a small white patch was faintly visible—a lone white kitten, its limbs twisted at bizarre angles, lying listlessly in the grass.
Pedestrians hurried along the street, but no one stopped for it.
The rain soaked its downy fur, the light in its light blue pupils dimmed little by little, and its little head drooped lower and lower, quietly waiting for death to come.
At that very moment, a pair of hands gently parted the grass.
A gentle voice sounded: "Hang in there, don't fall asleep."
As if encouraged, light suddenly shone into the little white cat's previously dull blue eyes.
With great effort, it raised its neck and used all its strength to squeeze out a weak "meow" from its throat.
The little white kitten was carefully lifted and placed in a small basket lined with a soft white knitted sweater.
With a slight jolt in the camera, the scene shifts, and it is now lying on a stainless steel treatment table in a pet hospital.
"It was broken by external force."
"Five bones were broken, and surgery is scheduled for first thing tomorrow morning."
The footage then transitions to live shooting.
The kitten, wearing an Elizabethan collar, is struggling to recover in its hospital cage after surgery.
Its small body had endured far too much pain. The excruciating pain from its wounds caused it to struggle frequently in its cage. Its weak hind legs kicked helplessly at the headgear around its neck, and heartbreaking whimpers escaped its throat.
It was at this moment that the shooting perspective subtly changed, switching from the vertical screen of a mobile phone to the more professional horizontal screen of a camera.
From then on, the camera had its own will, no longer focusing solely on the wistful white figure in the cage, but more often, it affectionately captured Su Cheng's busy figure.
She bent down and leaned closer, soothing the restless kitten with a gentle tone as it received its IV drip; she held the kitten tightly in her arms as it struggled in pain during wound cleaning, her fingertips combing its soft fur again and again; she bent down to grind the pills, carefully mixing the powder into the cat treats, coaxing the little white kitten to take the medicine.
As the weather turned colder, worried that the kitten's weak immune system might develop complications, Su Cheng brought blankets and toys sent by many kind netizens to the little white kitten one by one. She accompanied and encouraged it day after day, filling this difficult road to recovery with warm sunshine.
Finally, after more than thirty days and nights of meticulous care, the tenacious little life overcame all the difficulties and was successfully discharged from the hospital.
However, it has lost one forelimb forever, and bone screws have been implanted in its leg, so its movement must be strictly limited.
The new fur growing at the amputation site made it round and plump, unlike the mangosteen paws of other kittens, but more like Doraemon's round hand.
Su Cheng hopes it can truly possess the power to create miracles, just like Doraemon.
Su Cheng took Dora to the rescue station and put it in a separate isolation cage, but she would take it out every day to get it used to walking on three legs.
At first, Su Cheng would squat a meter away, holding up the freeze-dried fruit, to guide Doraemon toward her.
However, without the support of its forelimbs, Dora has difficulty maintaining its balance, walks clumsily, and often falls to the ground after only a few steps.
Su Cheng's face showed a look of tenderness as she gently stroked its back. But in order for it to be able to live independently in the future, she still insisted on accompanying it to practice every day, over and over again.
Doraemon seems to understand that its life carries the love and expectations of many people, and it learns very quickly.
In less than half a month, it was able to skillfully paddle the litter box with one paw, deftly open the drawer containing freeze-dried treats, and even jump onto the keyboard to carefully type out a line of crooked "cat language" while the volunteers were working.
At the end of the video, Su Cheng and Dora are playing rock-paper-scissors.
"If I win, you have to grant me one request." Su Cheng smiled warmly.
Dora couldn't understand, but just blinked her bright blue eyes intently at her.
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Cheng spread her five fingers and made the sign "cloth".
When Doraemon raised his round forelimb, it turned out to be a "stone".
A smile spread across Su Cheng's eyes as she softly said, "I won, so you have to promise me that you will live on strongly and bravely."
Dora seemed to understand, and nodded her little head slightly.
Even though it was treated cruelly at the beginning of its life, it still chooses to believe that love always exists in this world.
Because on that most desperate day, it was Mom who found it before Death itself.
...
Amidst enthusiastic applause, the short film documenting the little white cat's rebirth story slowly finished playing, and Su Cheng, holding a microphone, walked lightly to the center of the stage.
Under the lights, she wore a long, light blue knitted dress, her long, dark brown curly hair cascading lazily over her chest, making her skin appear even whiter.
She looked down at the audience, a soft and bright smile spreading across her lips, her eyes sparkling. "Thank you all so much for coming to our event. I would also like to express my special thanks to Tiancheng Group for their strong support of this public welfare campaign. Today, there are more than 30 rescued stray animals waiting for a warm home. We welcome interested friends to participate in the adoption."
To help everyone better understand the meaning of life, in addition to the display area for animals available for adoption, Su Cheng also carefully designed a small interactive challenge activity.
She turned her head slightly and pointed to the activity area not far away, explaining, "Whether you are ready to adopt today or not, you are welcome to come and experience it. I hope it will bring you some special feelings."
After explaining the adoption process, Su Cheng lifted her skirt and walked off the stage, returning gracefully backstage.
Following this, Cheng Muye and the head of the Capital Animal Welfare Association took the stage to elaborate on the "Tiancheng Charity Project." Tiancheng Group will initially invest 2 million yuan to engage in in-depth cooperation across multiple areas, including stray animal sterilization, adoption, material support, and advocacy, jointly exploring innovative models for stray animal rescue.
Although many fans of the "Mu Yi Cheng Zhou" pairing were hoping for a joint appearance, Jiang Mu Zhou, as the recorder of the story, preferred to stay behind the scenes. Therefore, Su Cheng delivered the speech on behalf of the pairing.
However, when she returned to the lounge, Jiang Muzhou was nowhere to be seen.
Having been officially dating Jiang Muzhou for almost a month, Su Cheng reflected on the past and felt that their way of getting along seemed no different from before.
During this time, he didn't go on business trips. He still spent every day having meals with her, taking walks side by side, and playing with the cat at home together.
However, the subtle differences are entirely different.
The reason for this is that Jiang Muzhou has become unusually clingy.
In the past, the two of them would always sit facing each other when they ate, but now Jiang Muzhou always sits next to her.
Furthermore, when he was filming, while the camera faithfully recorded the kitten's adorable antics, it would always seem to be guided by an invisible hand, quietly turning towards her and capturing her every smile and frown, prompting fans to complain in the comments section that the photographer was an absolute "wife-watching maniac".
He even quietly replaced the single sofa in the house with a spacious double sofa. Whenever she leaned back on the sofa, holding her phone and focusing on editing videos, he would naturally lean over, his warm chest gently pressing against her back, his chin lazily resting on the crook of her neck, his breath filling her with his scent, so close that it felt as if they were about to become one.
She took out her phone, tapped the screen lightly with her fingertips, and sent a message.
[Boyfriend, the adoption process is about to begin, where are you?]
The moment the message was sent, a cell phone vibrated on the coffee table in the lounge.
Su Cheng looked in the direction of the sound and saw Jiang Muzhou's phone. The screen lit up, and the lock screen displayed a new message from Coisíní.
She had tried to look up the meaning of this note before, but she could never remember the spelling. Her mind was full of trigonometric function symbols like cos and sin, and then she forgot about it.
Seeing it again now rekindled her curiosity. She picked up her phone and carefully typed "Coisíní" into the search bar, tracing the unique spelling.
She was looking down intently at the screen when a familiar, deep voice, warm and gentle, whispered in her ear: "It's Irish; it means 'heart flutter'."
Su Cheng's ears burned slightly, and with a hint of coquettishness at being caught red-handed, she leaned forward and snuggled into his arms naturally, rubbing her cheek against his chest in a dependent way, and muttered softly, "Why were you peeking at me from behind without saying a word?"
Her arms naturally wrapped around his firm waist, her breath brushing lightly against his neck.
Suddenly, a warm and sweet fragrance wafted over, and my eyes were immediately drawn to the two brown paper bags he was carrying.
Su Cheng looked up in surprise, "Wow, you went out of your way to buy roasted sweet potatoes?"
She reached out to take it, but the heat made her gasp and quickly withdrew her hand, her fingertips instinctively pinching her cold earlobe to cool it down.
Jiang Muzhou was amused by her appearance, and a gentle ripple appeared in his eyes. He quickly followed her, who was jumping and skipping, and walked side by side toward the challenge area.
As he walked, he carefully peeled off the charred skin of the roasted sweet potato, revealing the soft, golden, and honey-smooth flesh inside.
“This is an old stall I frequented back in college, and the taste is very authentic.” He turned his head and looked down at her slightly red earlobe. “I was thinking that the event would last for a long time and you wouldn’t have time to eat properly, so I bought this to give you something to eat first.”
He carefully blew on the top layer of steaming hot food to cool it down before bringing it to her lips, gazing at her tenderly. "Be careful, it's hot. Try it."
Su Cheng took two big bites from his hand, the sweet taste melting between her lips and teeth.
As the presentation in the distance ended, the first group of participants in the challenge began to walk towards them.
A hint of reluctance flashed in her eyes, but she quickly stuffed the sweet potato back into Jiang Muzhou's hand. Then she turned around, her face now adorned with a professional and friendly smile, guiding the participants into the venue in an orderly fashion.
"I'm so glad everyone could come and participate in our adoption event," she said in a clear voice, her gaze sweeping over the crowd. "I'm sure you all genuinely love animals."
The first exhibition area displays many heartwarming and adorable animal photos, including kittens rolling on their soft bellies and puppies lying on the ground, cuddling and rolling around.
A series of excited gasps immediately rang out from the audience:
"Wow, if only a kitten could warm my bed in winter, that would be so wonderful!"
"This puppy looks so well-behaved! I've always wanted to have an obedient puppy since I was little!"
Amidst laughter and conversation, everyone followed Su Cheng into the second exhibition area.
In stark contrast to the previous cozy atmosphere, this place displays various real objects: chewed-up slippers, a leather sofa with scratches and blemishes, a broken foundation bottle...
From the speakers in the corner, the sounds of a cat doing parkour late at night and a dog howling lonely when it's home alone are playing.
"But small animals have innate instincts; they will 'destroy the house,' 'go parkour,' and 'cause noise' all the time."
Su Cheng spoke at the right moment, her voice gentle yet clear, "Every little life has its own unique personality. Perhaps you will grow a Jazz Cat, or you may become a member of the Beagle Victims Alliance."
The third exhibition area uses pictures and text to show photos of sick animals receiving treatment, along with corresponding medical bills.
“Cats and dogs usually accompany us for about fifteen years, and they too will experience birth, aging, illness, and death.” Su Cheng picked up a receipt to show it, her tone slightly joking yet thought-provoking. “There’s a joke online that says, ‘If I catch a cold, a packet of 999 Cold Medicine will cure me; if my cat catches a cold, the vet bill is still 999 even after the discount.’ Although this is a joke, it does reflect the fact that pet medical expenses are not cheap. Although pet insurance can cover some of the costs, owners often still have to bear a considerable proportion of the out-of-pocket expenses.”
The group followed her and finally arrived at the last exhibition area. There were no pictures here, only a wall covered with all kinds of notes with real reasons for abandonment.
[I broke up with my ex, and seeing it makes me sad; I can't keep it anymore.]
It's sick, and the treatment is too expensive; I simply can't afford it.
[I've graduated and am moving to another city, but my landlord explicitly forbids pets, so I have no choice but to give up my pet.]
...
"They are not just pets for our amusement, but living, breathing beings who will be part of our family for the next decade or more. So before you decide to bring a little life home, please think carefully: Can you truly accept their imperfections? Are you willing to take on the financial responsibility for any illnesses they may develop?"
"Only decisions made after careful consideration are those that are responsible to the decision itself and to one's own life."
Su Cheng gently tucked a stray lock of her long hair behind her ear and stood quietly at the edge of the exhibition area, her gaze following the participants who had finished their visit, waiting for them to make their decision on whether to adopt.
After experiencing the emotional impact of what they had just witnessed, many people's eyes became even more determined. They walked straight to the display area for animals available for adoption, squatted down, and interacted with the little lives waiting to be adopted through their cat carriers.
Some participants exchanged glances, hesitated for a long time before walking up to Su Cheng and saying apologetically, "Sorry, we may need to think about it more carefully."
Su Cheng nodded understandingly, her eyes filled with an encouraging smile, "It's okay, this is exactly the original intention of setting up this segment."
The adoption registration process was a little slower than expected, but Su Cheng was not impatient. She looked down and sorted out the adoption documents in her hands, her hair falling to the side of her face, gleaming softly in the sunlight.
She knows that this "slow" is precisely the most valuable "fast". Only by making sure that every prospective owner has thought things through before making a decision can they avoid abandonment due to impulsiveness in the next ten years or so. This is the key to reducing the number of stray animals at its root.
Adoption is not something that should be done as quickly as possible; their initial intention in rescuing these animals is never simply to "relocate" them. If these children are hastily placed in a new family, they may face the pain of abandonment again.
What they truly hope for is that every adoption decision stems from heartfelt love and responsibility, and that every furry friend can find a home that truly belongs to them and provides warmth for a lifetime.
Sunlight streamed through the glass roof of the exhibition area, and Su Cheng smiled as she attentively answered the various questions raised by the adopters.
A young, seemingly inexperienced adopter rushed back, carrying a kitten that had just been placed in a cat carrier, and asked her, "Does it have a feline illness? Why is it making purring noises?"
Su Cheng bent down and listened intently to the sounds coming from inside the cat carrier.
The familiar snoring sound reached her ears, and she couldn't help but smile, her eyebrows curving into beautiful crescent moons. "Don't worry, that's just the sound they make when they feel comfortable and happy."
She looked up at the other person and said, "More than anything, it likes you."
The adopter suddenly realized what was happening, carefully protected the cat carrier, and left with peace of mind.
Watching the receding figure, Su Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to turn around, she felt a familiar warmth coming from behind her.
A pair of arms gently encircled her waist from behind, Jiang Muzhou's chin rested lightly on her shoulder, his warm breath brushed against her ear, and his tone was gentle:
I like you too.
-End of text-
2025.11.16
Author's Note: The main story is now complete. Thank you all for your continued support. I'm currently working on some side stories, which will depict the sweet daily life of a young couple.
As my first book, it has many shortcomings. It was suddenly approved and then suddenly reached the V-line. Actually, my preparation was somewhat inadequate, and I was in a bit of a rush to meet the word count, but fortunately, it didn't deviate too much from my expectations.
My next book is a campus romance novel called "After Tying the Wrong Red Thread with the School Heartthrob," featuring a seductive girl and a self-assured prince. I'll save up more drafts before starting it. Those interested can add it to their favorites. [Roses][Roses]
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