Chapter 64 Catching the Cat
As the Cullinan drew closer, the driver frantically tried to recall the distance between the two vehicles when they had just passed each other.
Only after confirming that I hadn't applied any lint did I feel relieved.
He then thought about it again.
Sigh, these rich and powerful young masters and ladies, the roads belong to their families, it's normal for them to drive as they please, why are you making such a fuss?
The driver waited to watch the Cullinan roar away, but strangely, the mobile villa, equipped with a 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine that could produce up to 600 horsepower, not only didn't roar, but instead slowed down more and more, until it finally came to a stop about 4 or 5 meters to the side of his car.
The next second, the Cullinan shut off, the driver's side door opened, and a tall, stylish man in a khaki coat strode out of the driver's seat and walked straight toward... his seat.
driver:"???"
Ji Tong was completely oblivious to her surroundings, still focused on untying the knot at the end of her scarf.
He raised his hands, and his already loose down jacket was pulled up slightly by his arms, making it even more fluffy and noticeable.
"Where did you come from?" a voice suddenly asked.
People are often caught off guard when they're busy, and Ji Tong blurted out, "From the public..."
Wait.
Whose voice is that?
Why does that sound so familiar?
Ji Tong's hand, which was untying the scarf, suddenly stopped, and she abruptly turned her head.
"…………"
What's my uncle doing here?
Ji Tong almost thought he was hallucinating.
Song Zhenshu assumed he hadn't heard clearly: "What public?"
The driver obediently stepped back and made room for him.
Ji Tong swallowed the word "寓" back.
The idea of a yearly plan or a daily plan is completely useless.
Ji Tong was even more impatient than Song Zhenshu, constantly urging his brain to think faster, what was going on?
"Park," thank goodness, Ji Tong finally managed to squeeze out two words, "went to the park."
driver:"?"
Song Zhenshu and the driver both looked puzzled: "What park?"
Ji Tong was already able to lie without batting an eye: "Ping'an Park."
driver:"??"
Ji Tong's expression was so calm that the driver was momentarily dazed, thinking that he had really picked her up from Ping An Park instead of from the Peninsula Apartments, which was an hour's drive away.
Song Zhenshu looked at his messy hair: "It was below zero this morning, why didn't you sleep in your room and instead went to the park?"
Ji Tong avoided his gaze.
"Let's go see the cats."
Song Zhenshu: "A cat?"
"Yes, I picked up a cat near No. 1 Middle School and even took a picture of it for you."
“I dreamt about it last night, and I was a little worried, so I went to check on it.”
Actually, there isn't one.
In the first few days of winter vacation, Ji Tong and Gu Lin took Gu Linlin to the vet.
No matter how wild Gu Linlin is, Ji Tong wouldn't let her freeze outside, especially during the Spring Festival when there are many people, many children near No. 1 Middle School, and all sorts of firecrackers and small fireworks, which would scare her.
Connecting the two pieces of information—"First Middle School" and "Cat"—Song Zhenshu vaguely remembered something: "You mean that black and white cat?"
Ji Tong nodded quickly: "Yes."
Song Zhenshu knew about this cat; it was the first one Ji Tong had picked up, and one of the few he hadn't adopted.
The driver was utterly amazed.
This young master clearly sneaked out and didn't come home at night. He didn't dare to tell the truth, so he had to make up a lie.
But... because I had a dream, did I get up very early on the first day of the Lunar New Year to go see the cat?
No one would believe that, not even a three-year-old. How could it possibly fool this distinguished Cullinan that has seen it all...?
"How's the cat?" the distinguished Cullinan owner asked.
driver:"……"
Song Zhenshu didn't find it strange because he had experienced a similar situation in his second year abroad.
At the time, Song Zhenshu was on the Guatemalan volcano. The signal was poor at the top of the mountain, and he only got a signal on his way down. He received sixty or seventy calls in a row, all from his family. When he called back, he heard his sister's voice, saying that Tongtong had dreamed that something had happened to him, and that she couldn't get through to him on the phone. She said that Tongtong was looking at plane tickets to Guatemala.
The driver drove away in shock.
Having finally gotten away with it, Ji Tong turned her back and, in the brief moment when Song Zhenshu turned to get into the car, raised her hand to touch her rapidly spinning head.
"Why did you make the driver stop here?" Song Zhenshu asked as he turned around. "Tell the housekeeper to drive in first, or call a shuttle bus to pick you up."
Because I don't want to be seen.
But I can't say that.
Ji Tong could only say, "I'd like to walk for a while."
Song Zhenshu: "Let's pick a good day to leave."
Ji Tong: "?"
Why does that sound so strange?
Ji Tong's fingertips were a little stiff after standing outside for a few minutes. He rubbed his knuckles in circles to massage them, and then he heard Song Zhenshu's voice again.
"How's the milk? Where's it being kept?"
"Milk? What milk?"
Song Zhenshu: "That cow cat you saw in the park, didn't you name it Milk?"
Ji Tong paused in her massage, and after thinking for a long time, she finally retrieved this memory from some obscure corner of her mind.
The day Ji Tong found Gu Linlin, she happened to be chatting with her uncle and casually sent him a picture of a kitten. Her uncle asked the kitten's name.
Gu Lin was right there with him at the time, and he had mentioned Gu Lin to his uncle. Ji Tong didn't know what got into him, but he didn't tell the truth and made up a name for himself, saying "Milk".
At the time, Song Zhenshu even laughed at him, saying, "What kind of name is this? Should we call hawksbill turtles 'hawksbill turtles' and civets 'flower civets'?"
"We took it to the vet," Ji Tong had no choice but to say.
"That's good, the hospital is safer."
"Um."
"By the way," Song Zhenshu said, as the long, carved wooden gate at the main entrance of the villa slowly opened to both sides, stepping on the accelerator, "did you and Gu Lin last night...?"
"No!"
"No? He didn't even send you a message on your birthday?"
“…”
Ji Tong was like a piece of iron that had been heated red-hot and then suddenly plunged into frost water, his whole body sizzling and smoking. He didn't want to say anything, and just stared at Song Zhenshu.
Song Zhenshu: "?"
The car stopped in front of the villa, and Song Zhenshu said, "It's still early, let's go back to the room and take a nap."
Ji Tong only remembered to ask now, "Uncle, where did you come from?"
Song Zhenshu: "I went to Xuyao's place and got two bottles of wine that he had stored away. Your grandfather said he wanted to drink them."
Ji Tong: "Oh."
Ji Tong turned and opened the door: "Uncle, aren't you coming down?"
"Right away," Song Zhenshu said, "It's windy, you go in first."
Ji Tong said to him, "Then hurry up," and turned to walk towards the courtyard.
Song Zhenshu waited in the car for a few minutes, and then the butler's car drove up from behind.
Song Zhenshu lowered the car window and instructed, "There will be a lot of people at noon, so they will all use the East Gate 7. Don't close the gate, and there's no need to arrange for anyone to guard it. I'll have the driver from my family wait at the gate."
"Yes, Mr. Song."
"We'll have someone check these sections of road ahead later; they're below freezing these next couple of days and might get icy."
The administrator, holding a tablet, wrote down everything: "Okay."
Song Zhenshu added two more points to note, and feeling that was enough, he rolled up the car window and was about to park the car in the garage when he suddenly remembered: "By the way, are there many drivers at Liushan Villa today? There are also many people coming from Tongtong's grandparents' side at noon. Some of them drive themselves, and they may need to be driven after drinking. Can you arrange for anyone who is free to call them over and set up a table for them at Lanting? The red envelopes will be the same as before."
"Yes, plenty," the butler chuckled. "Knowing today is an auspicious day, they're all lining up over there waiting to earn red envelopes."
“Everyone who comes will be here,” Song Zhenshu said, who was quite familiar with the young drivers. “Don’t call the ones on night duty in the early morning; let them get some rest.”
“Okay,” the butler said casually. “This year is better. Last night, the night shift only sent one car to your house. Unlike last year, when Mr. Lin from Area A hosted a banquet and there were almost too many cars to go around.”
Song Zhenshu leaned back in his chair, slowly raising his face: "My home?"
"Yes, Tongtong made the contact. He left the car around 2 a.m. yesterday. I asked if he wanted me to pick him up, and he said someone would pick him up in the morning."
"I saw him come in with Mr. Song this morning. Didn't you go to pick him up?"
Song Zhenshu was silent for a moment: "Yes, I went to pick him up."
At 2 a.m., I dreamt of cats in Ping'an Park, and my car was parked specifically outside the resort...
Song Zhenshu finally realized something was wrong. He slowly rolled the car window down to its lowest position and picked up the lighter he had casually tossed into the door jamb.
"The Peninsula Apartments are quite far away," Song Zhenshu said tentatively.
Butler: "Yes, I was a little surprised when I sent the car yesterday."
Song Zhenshu: "".
-
Ji Tong deliberately avoided the courtyard and front hall, and went upstairs through a side door. On the way, she only encountered a chef preparing lunch and did not disturb anyone else.
He had only slept for three hours and should have been exhausted, but perhaps the nap in the car had made up for some of his fatigue. Ji Tong was still quite energetic. He took off his down jacket, took a quick shower in the bathroom, changed into his pajamas, and lay down on the bed.
Ji Tong glanced at her phone.
At 8:30, Gu Lin should still be asleep.
Ji Tong was hesitating whether to send a message asking him to wake up and call her when he opened the message box, when there was a knock on the door.
"May I come in?"
It was my uncle's voice.
Ji Tong rolled over and lay face down on the bed: "Yes, the door wasn't locked."
Song Zhenshu pushed open the door, but didn't come in; he just leaned against it.
Ji Tong didn't hear a sound for a while, but didn't want to move, so he remained in the prone position: "Uncle?"
The uncle finally spoke up: "I forgot to ask in the car, which pet hospital is Milk at?"
Ji Tong wasn't quite used to the name "Milk," and after processing it in her mind for a moment, she finally told him the name of the hospital.
Because it is indeed true, the voice is not unfounded.
Song Zhenshu asked again, "Do you have any photos?"
Ji Tong blinked in confusion: "What photo?"
Song Zhenshu said, "A photo of milk."
Ji Tong: "Yes."
Ji Tong didn't know why her uncle suddenly became interested in Gu Linlin, but she still sent him a few pictures.
This includes photos taken at a veterinary hospital.
Song Zhenshu glanced at the cat quickly without any expression and said, "I recognize this cat and I took a picture of it. Do you want it?"
ah?
Ji Tong was stunned for a moment, then sat up in bed using both hands and feet: "Uncle, you have a photo of 'Milk'? And you 'recognize' him?"
“Yes, we just met a while ago,” Song Zhenshu said, taking out his phone. “I’ll send it to you.”
Ji Tong: "?"
Just as Ji Tong was questioning his existence, his phone screen flashed, and Song Zhenshu had indeed sent him a photo.
But it's not a cat.
Not only is it not a cat, there isn't one at all.
Ji Tong looked at the photo of him and Gu Lin on the screen—
It can't really be considered a group photo; it was clearly taken by the uncle, on the day he took Gu Lin to the airport, in the parking lot.
"Where's the cat?" Ji Tong asked instinctively.
“It’s in the photo,” Song Zhenshu said coolly.
Where is it in the photo...?
Ji Tong suddenly realized something, and the alarm bells went off.
"You didn't go to Ping'an Park to see the cats yesterday morning, did you?" Song Zhenshu finally stepped inside.
“I guess the cat isn’t at the vet clinic anymore, it’s at the Peninsula Apartments.”
"It's probably not a local cat either."
"He's 1.89 meters tall when he stands up, and he just came back from Germany."
Song Zhenshu stood still beside Ji Tong's bed.
"Yes or no?"
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