The enthusiastic spay/neuter team invited Chu Tingwu to visit the hospital... Of course, it would be best if she could adopt a cat.
They clearly saw that she wanted to have a cat.
But Chu Tingwu was certain they couldn't guess her standards for adopting a cat.
The woman who looked like a college student was called Hang Ling, and she was indeed a recent graduate who had just started working at this hospital with great enthusiasm. The man with impressive arm muscles was named Wang Lv. His family had hoped he would become a lawyer, or a doctor would do, but after graduation, he did indeed pick up a scalpel, though his career direction had a slight deviation.
"There aren't many stray cats left on this street," Hang Ling picked up the carrier to show Chu Tingwu the tabby cat inside. "He has a name, it's Big King. He's one of the bolder strays. Actually, many stray cats avoid humans, but Big King is quite clever. He came from the commercial street to Guishui River, and he even made the local news for catching fish."
The name "Big King" was given to him at that time.
Hang Ling and her colleagues had been playing cat and mouse with Big King for a while. He would run away when he saw people carrying carriers or nets, but normally he would bully the fishermen and steal their fish. This time, Hang Ling and her colleague happened to encounter him while they were out for a meal, and they immediately caught him.
Big King seemed to understand what they were saying and made a "woo-woo" sound while crouching in the carrier.
Chu Tingwu had a sudden realization and asked the system, "Can I understand cat language?"
[That depends on how you define "language".]
Cats are creatures with rich facial expressions, body language, and emotional vocalizations. Their faces, body movements, and sounds can all be considered their language. Their cries can directly convey a cat's emotions, but they don't have as rich a vocabulary as humans—
According to the system's explanation, if Chu Tingwu became familiar enough with a cat, she could, after spending some time together, determine what each short meow represented in terms of objects or words, and quickly integrate into the local cat community by combining this with other actions and expressions.
Chu Tingwu: "...Why would I want to integrate into their community?"
It's not like clocking in for work and having to join a group chat.
[Cat Language Ability: Unlocked]
The system's mechanical, cold voice resonated in Chu Tingwu's mind, and she seemed to faintly hear the sound of a lock breaking.
—It must be a special effect the system learned somewhere.
With a slight dizziness, the tabby cat's swearing in her ears seemed to become more... layered?
Chu Tingwu could clearly discern "fear," "confusion," "irritation," and... "anticipation?" from his cries.
But to others, Big King seemed to just be grumbling.
While Chu Tingwu was still wondering about this "anticipation," she heard several lazy cat meows... from the stray cats on the alley wall.
Some cats were sunbathing there, meowing lazily when they saw people. Others hissed at them from afar, but most remained silent, just quietly watching the humans pass by with their eyes.
And for the few cats that were "talking," after Chu Tingwu loaded the cat language template and her brain translated and supplemented some nouns, it became—
"That yellow-haired fatty finally got caught!" "The hospital food is quite good..." "He's so noisy, it's annoying!" "Is the hospital food really that good?" "Shut up, it's too loud!" "He's going to be locked up for a few days~"
Chu Tingwu: "..."
Big King cursed even louder.
Well, it seems the cats more or less know what Hang Ling and her colleagues are up to, and Big King is definitely looking forward to the pet hospital's cat food.
—For that, he's willing to give up his bell.
After sending Big King to the operating room, Hang Ling stayed behind with Chu Tingwu: "By the way, little sister, do your parents agree with you keeping a cat?"
Chu Tingwu: "I live alone."
She knew the hospital staff were worried about her adopting and then abandoning the cat, so she straightforwardly explained her living situation and then showed Hang Ling her account balance.
"I see," Hang Ling was taken aback for a moment but didn't show it. "Then I'll just call you Little Chu. Our adoption process includes half-price spaying/neutering, but we need to register your contact information and address. If you want to adopt a kitten that hasn't been fixed, you can get half-price spaying/neutering at our hospital. If it's an already fixed cat, we'll provide some cat food. However, we'll conduct occasional follow-up visits, and we'll bring small gifts during these visits. Is that acceptable?"
After all, they've invested effort in these cats, and the follow-up visits for the freely adopted cats are to ensure the adopters won't easily abandon them... If it really doesn't work out, having contact information means they can ask for the cat to be returned.
This request was reasonable, and Chu Tingwu nodded: "However, I'm going to Jin City for school in two months, and I'll take the cat with me. For the follow-up visits, can I send you videos?"
Hang Ling nodded with a smile.
With the adoption intention confirmed, the next step was to choose a cat.
This hospital, named Little Sun Pet Hospital, didn't keep the rescued stray animals in the hospital itself, but in a rescue house two streets away. Hang Ling took Chu Tingwu there, and as soon as they opened the door, they heard a "bang" and someone shouting—
"A cat—"
"A cat has escaped!"
Chu Tingwu heard more sounds, apart from the cat meows that gave her a headache, there was also—
The system was very excited: "There's a mom!"
The system shouted loudly: "Baby, I've analyzed that there's a suitable candidate to be your mom inside!"
Chu Tingwu: I really... never mind.
Anyway, Lu Cenyin wasn't here.
-
Hang Ling grabbed Chu Tingwu and rushed in, then skillfully used her whole body to block the door as she quickly closed it. Then, they found themselves face to face with a cat crouching on top of a cabinet.
It was a long-haired cat, predominantly gray-black in color. The base color was gray, with most of the fur a glossy black, but upon closer inspection, there were some deep brown hairs, and a small patch of yellow on the tip of its nose... It was a long-haired black tortoiseshell.
Seeing the humans, it let out a low, hoarse growl, paced a bit on top of the cabinet, but didn't jump down.
Hang Ling raised her hand to shield Chu Tingwu's face and pushed her into the main living room. At this time, other people were holding nets, and some had put on gloves. Hang Ling said, "Be careful, she might scratch people."
The rescue house not only had sealed windows but also sealed doors. Even if a cat ran out when Hang Ling opened the door, there was actually another iron gate outside. The staff struggled for a while before they caught the long-haired tortoiseshell, then stuffed this cursing cat into a cage, and went to catch the few kittens that had fallen into the corner on the floor.
"This one is called Three-Five-Five, she's a mother cat we rescued. She previously gave birth to her kittens in a basement, but they all froze to death," Hang Ling scratched her head. "She has a bit of a bad temper, probably can only be released back."
Three-Five-Five was actually a number. The rescue staff couldn't possibly name every cat, and after adoption, they would have new names anyway, so they simply used numbers.
Seeing someone approach, Three-Five-Five swiped a paw at the cage door and made a voice that sounded like it had been smoked, which could easily startle even the rescue staff.
The kittens had another room, but kittens are prone to illness. The staff member responsible for taking care of the kittens asked Chu Tingwu for her general requirements, saying they could bring out suitable kittens for her to see.
"We have mostly tabby cats here, and some with odd eyes. Do you prefer long-haired or short-haired? We had a litter of long-haired kittens adopted out earlier, with only one left. Would you like to see it?"
Chu Tingwu covered her ears for a moment: "Can I adopt an adult cat?"
"Adult," Hang Ling hesitated for a moment, "Most of the adult cats we haven't managed to adopt out aren't very friendly to humans. You can see Three-Five-Five is like this, and she likes to escape and unlock doors. Your place probably can't have sealed windows, and if you seal the doors, it might work for small cats, but big cats will just jump over the wall and out..."
She really didn't recommend it.
If they send the cat out today, it might be roaming the village for food tomorrow.
The staff member listening nearby also nodded, exchanging a few glances with Hang Ling... They all felt this underage little sister wasn't very reliable.
Chu Tingwu: "Uh..."
System: "Wuwu, you're just a cub yourself, you can't raise other cubs!"
System: "But if you really need a playmate, I can accept that. I can help you bring..."
System: "Don't worry, I have a complete set of courses here. Because when you have kittens later, I'll take care of them too—"
Chu Tingwu: I won't have kittens!
Not being able to close the windows in the countryside was indeed a problem. Chu Tingwu didn't want to adopt a "mother" only to have her roam freely throughout the village. Just then, another loud "bang" came from the room where the adult cat cages were kept, followed by a sound they were all too familiar with—
"Three-Five-Five has escaped again!"
That cat was cunning; she had picked the lock again!
A smoky gray shadow zipped over their heads in a flash. The clumsy humans only then started to give chase. This time, however, the calico cat didn't dash towards the door. Instead, she leaped towards the window, jumping onto the windowsill and then using her paws to fiddle with the window gaps, all while bumping against the glass and cursing.
It was from this angle that Chu Tingwu noticed the medical gauze still wrapped around the cat's body.
The humans had no choice but to grab the net again. The staff member responsible for the adult cats sighed, "I've already changed the lock twice..."
The cat cages all had mechanism locks, but this cat had managed to reach out with her paw and open the lock.
Chu Tingwu: "Meow."
Hang Ling, who was standing nearby, turned her head: "?"
Chu Tingwu licked her teeth, thought for a moment, and then let out a kitten-like mew that was both high-pitched and milky.
—Might as well prove that she had the ability to raise an adult cat without closing the windows.
She also asked the system in her mind: "Have you sorted out my 'scent'?"
System: "All done! You now smell like a kitten!"
You already smelled like a kitten, the system secretly added in her mind. It had only made a slight adjustment, making the host's scent more similar to the kitten this mother cat had lost.
The calico on the windowsill stopped meowing. She looked up at Chu Tingwu, twitching her ears in confusion.
Chu Tingwu crouched down on the spot, allowing the calico to have a higher vantage point, and continued to make realistic kitten noises.
Kittens have a much smaller "vocabulary" than adult cats. Chu Tingwu wasn't very skilled at first, but she quickly became adept at mimicking them accurately. She was saying:
"Meow meow~ (Hungry! Hungry!)"
The calico cat let out a low meow. This sound was different from her previous hoarse cries; it lacked aggression. Although her voice was still smoky, it sounded much gentler.
Hang Ling looked at Chu Tingwu in shock, then at the calico cat Three-Five-Five. The staff member holding the net didn't immediately move to catch her, but instead hesitated and took a step back—
Working with cats every day, although they couldn't understand cat language like Chu Tingwu could, most staff members were able to read cats' body language.
Three-Five-Five no longer seemed intent on escaping.
So it was best not to provoke her.
Chu Tingwu mewed "meow meow" a couple more times, sounding like a kitten crying pitifully. Three-Five-Five's ears twitched again, her tail swishing irritably against the glass before she jumped down.
She limped slightly as she approached Chu Tingwu, but stopped about a meter away.
"Meow?"
She was a cat, not stupid.
Why did this "kitten" seem so big... it would take all day to groom?
Chu Tingwu: ==
She simply knelt on the ground, extending her hand towards the calico with her palm open. Then she changed the tone of her meows. This time, instead of saying she was hungry, she said "cold, hurt, mama, mama."
After all, she was speaking in cat language, so humans couldn't understand.
Three-Five-Five shook her head. Her front paws scratched the ground a couple of times, her pupils dilating and contracting. Then, she gracefully approached Chu Tingwu with her cat-like gait, retracted her claws to step on her palm, and finally rested her entire upper body on Chu Tingwu's knee.
The surrounding staff members let out quiet cheers.
The staff member responsible for the adult cats pinched Hang Ling hard: "Three-Five-Five is being friendly! She actually approached a person on her own!"
Hang Ling yelped in pain while pinching back, also quite excited. She suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no! I didn't record a video or capture the sound!"
The little girl's kitten calls were so impressive, they actually summoned the mother cat!? Or was it just a coincidence...
The human and cat in the center of the living room remained still for the moment, but everyone else could see the calico's nose twitching. It was as if the cat was sniffing the person, or perhaps confirming Chu Tingwu's scent. Finally, the calico cat purred, stood up, licked Chu Tingwu's wrist, and then flopped down against her knee—
Exposing her belly.
"Meow?"
She raised her paw, urging the large kitten in front of her.
Why aren't you nursing?
Chu Tingwu: "..."!
