Yuan Zhixiao picked up her bag and pushed open the door. The window in the hallway was half-open, letting in a cool breeze. She took a deep breath of fresh air and was about to go downstairs when she heard a slight noise from across the hall.
Chu Tingwu opened his door, poking out half his head: "Good morning, Miss Yuan."
Yuan Zhixiao smiled: "Good morning, you're up early again?"
Chu Tingwu nodded: "Miss Yuan, it might rain today. Don't forget your umbrella."
After closing the door, Yuan Zhixiao wanted to say something but held back:
Chu Tingwu, are you sure you don't want to use the main entrance to go to school?
Speaking of which, the weather forecast didn't mention anything about rain... But, since a student reminded her, she might as well bring an umbrella.
By the third period in the morning, a sudden downpour started outside. Yuan Zhixiao was in the middle of grading math homework when she turned her head in surprise towards the window.
Birds sought refuge under the window sill, and a cat from the school crouched on the first floor of the opposite building, its fur color indistinguishable through the curtain of rain.
The moment the bell rang for break, the noise in the hallway amplified. Some students passed by the office door on their way to the restroom, while others left the classroom to stretch their bodies, leaning over the railing to watch the rain—
The rain continued on and off throughout the day, leaving the sky a moist gray. By noon, there was still a light drizzle.
The last class of the day was math. Yuan Zhixiao reminded the students: "Make sure you're dressed properly. For those who didn't bring an umbrella, I'll call your parents to pick you up from inside the school. Don't run out and get soaked... If someone has a large umbrella, you could share it with a friend."
It was less than a month into the school year, and most students had made friends during the military training camp. Chu Tingwu, although not the most popular, was well-known—Yuan Zhixiao noticed that after her announcement, several students approached Chu Tingwu, asking if he wanted to share an umbrella.
...Some even asked if Chu Tingwu's cat wanted to share. Wait, a cat?
Yuan Zhixiao turned her head and saw a cat sitting by the door, quietly licking its wet fur. When it noticed her gaze, it lifted its paw and waved, quite politely.
Yuan Zhixiao: "=="
Fortunately, after the morning rain, everyone brought their umbrellas in the afternoon. The opened umbrellas looked like flowers fallen on the ground. She stretched in her office and walked to the window by the back door of the classroom—The physics teacher was showing an experiment video with a projector, and in the back row, someone was sneakily eating snacks in the dim light... Chang Yile, of course, it's you.
Chang Yile and her sister Chang Yixin were easy to tell apart by their hairstyles. Yuan Zhixiao noticed that Chang Yile offered some snacks to Chu Tingwu, but he declined with a wave of his hand.
Then, Chu Tingwu tilted his head slightly, and Chang Yile directly stuffed a snack into Chu Tingwu's mouth.
Yuan Zhixiao: So you're not refusing to eat, you just don't want to wipe your hands and prefer to be fed!
Finally, the school day ended. Tang Zhe came to help the math representative collect homework. Yuan Zhixiao overheard him ask: "Miss Yuan, when can we start having evening self-study?"
Yuan Zhixiao: "?"
"It's usually two months after the start of the school year for first-year high school students, right? Why, do you want to spend more time at school?"
Their school usually ends at 5:50 in the afternoon, but with the start of "evening self-study," students have to return to the classroom after dinner and study until 8:30. During this time, they can do their homework in the classroom. As exams approach, some teachers may also use this self-study time for quizzes or lectures, and in the second year of high school, it can extend to 9:00.
Tang Zhe: "I heard that if you finish your homework early during evening self-study, you can leave the classroom? Wouldn't that mean I could go to the nature museum?"
Usually staying longer at school would definitely raise questions from parents, but if the school organizes evening self-study, wouldn't that mean he could stay in the nature museum till 8:30!
Yuan Zhixiao: "…"
She smirked, "Do you think you can finish your homework early?"
Tang Zhe left in embarrassment.
She had experience, even with teacher supervision, students' efficiency in doing homework wasn’t that high. In her class, she guessed there were only seven or eight people who could finish their homework during evening self-study, including a few subject representatives.
After thinking about it, Yuan Zhixiao sent a message to the few students responsible for adoption: "Attention, the first monthly test is in half a month #Happy."
Chu Tingwu, who only noticed the message when she got home: Would anyone really be happy to see this?
She was efficient. Lately, she found that she often neglected live streaming, so sometimes she would live stream herself doing homework. Her fans didn't mind, they just thought the live streaming content was very inspiring:
【Even cats are working hard on their homework these days, what excuse do I have not to work hard! (Fist clenching)】
Chu Tingwu: "=="
A peaceful day was about to pass, but at two o'clock in the early morning of this day, Chu Tingwu suddenly opened her eyes.
At the same time, the cat by her pillow, 355, also got up, licking its mouth in confusion.
Both the person and the cat heard a sharp cat's cry.
Chu Tingwu opened the window of her room, and two seconds later, the cry became clearer, but it didn't sound like a cat in heat.
355 stepped on the mattress, making a purring sound.
This seemed like a cat crying out to humans, but it was more urgent and there was panic in the emotion.
Chu Tingwu put on her coat, the system said, "It's the cat from the fifth floor."
355 wasn't familiar with this cat. Many pet cats aren't suitable for going out. If it wasn't for a vaccine or a bath, it's normal to not go out for half a year.
Obviously, other people in the building were also awakened. Someone in the homeowner group @1-502, complaining about why he didn't manage his cat well. If it's in heat, get it neutered quickly. The homeowner didn't respond.
But they didn't realize, this wasn't the cry of a cat in heat.
Chu Tingwu had already taken the elevator to the fifth floor.
She knocked on the door, but there was no response. The system said, "There are no surveillance cameras in this household."
It accessed the homeowner's electronic devices, scanned the computer and phone, confirmed that the homeowner was at home, but there was no reaction. The cat was still crying behind the door. Chu Tingwu could tell that the cat's voice was getting hoarse.
Chu Tingwu: "I'll call the property management."
Only two security guards were on night duty at the property management office. Upon hearing that it was merely a cat's cry, they didn't take it too seriously. However, Chu Tingwu added, "I knocked on the door of 502, but there was no response. The cat kept crying, something might have happened to the people inside."
Property Management: "Well... then we'll come over right away?"
Chu Tingwu: "It would be best to bring some lock-picking equipment."
The property management hesitated. Although they didn't respond, Chu Tingwu could hear them covering the phone and whispering to another person, "Is that necessary?"
How could they take responsibility?
The property management also tried to call the owner of 1-502, but no one answered.
Chu Tingwu: "Sigh..."
The property management hung up. Chu Tingwu immediately called the police. After explaining the situation, the police were quite cooperative, "We will send someone over, please wait at the door."
Chu Tingwu: "System."
The lock on 502 was a smart fingerprint lock. As Chu Tingwu finished speaking, she pressed the handle and the door opened instantly. The resident of 501, who had been listening to the cat's cries and heard someone at the door, came out to check and saw the whole scene: "Wow!"
Chu Tingwu: "Their lock is broken, I just pressed it and it opened."
501: "Oh... oh..."
The somewhat familiar girl entered the room and turned on the light. 501 followed in. The cat was now silent, seemingly smelling the scent of 355, and only made a timid meow.
The cat was in the bedroom.
501 was a family of three. The husband came to check the situation first, and soon the wife also came over. The wife said, "It seems that 502 works in design and has been working from home recently?"
A man and a cat, usually ordering take-out, didn't seem to go out much.
Chu Tingwu pushed open the bedroom door. Only the desk lamp was on. The ragdoll on the computer desk meowed once, darted under the desk, but still kept crying softly.
The owner of 502 was lying on the ground, the chair overturned, the man seemed to have fallen into a semi-comatose state.
The husband of 501 widened his eyes: "He mentioned that he had some heart problems—"
Chu Tingwu: "I'll call for an ambulance."
The people did not dare to move him, but Chu Tingwu could hear his slow and weak heartbeat... there was still time.
The school district house near the city center had a fast ambulance response. The elevator in the community was also large enough. However, the sound of the ambulance probably woke up half of the building. The police arrived when the ambulance did.
Although they were somewhat surprised that the door was open (the lock was broken), they still praised Chu Tingwu for calling the police and the ambulance in time. Also, because Chu Tingwu had called the police first, they didn't connect the fact that the door was open with her.
After all, there was no damage to the door, and the property surveillance was fine. Maybe it really just broke suddenly?
"It feels like it was fate," said the wife of 501, "Whether it's the cat's cry or the broken door, it seems to suggest that the person in 502 is very lucky and nothing will happen today."
Although everyone around was materialistic, they also believed in the influence of luck. The system made a note of it in its mind.
However, before the police left, Chu Tingwu went to the bedroom of the resident in unit 502 to pick up his ragdoll cat: "I'll take care of the cat while you're in the hospital, otherwise, no one will feed it. I live in unit 202, and I have a cat at home too."
She left her contact information for unit 501, and the property management also recorded the situation. The people on the fifth floor finally dispersed. Just as the couple from unit 501 was about to say, "Maybe I should get a box to help you carry the cat," they saw Chu Tingwu holding the ragdoll by the scruff of its neck with one hand and supporting its bottom with the other. After a couple of "meows" into its ear, she took both cats into the elevator.
The couple from unit 501: "True to its breed..."
It's friendly and seems a bit dumb.
-
Chu Tingwu took the ragdoll home. It was a female ragdoll, fluffy and cute. Chu Tingwu gave her some water, and she immediately lapped it up, seeming rather eager.
...But she was indeed a bit silly, as despite Chu Tingwu's explanations, the ragdoll kept asking where her owner had gone throughout the night.
The next day, when Chu Tingwu was about to leave for school, she found the ragdoll had crawled into the middle compartment of the bottom layer of the living room sofa box. This layer was surrounded by other packages, and without the light on, the inside felt pitch black, like a dark little room.
With a new cat temporarily living in the house, Peacock Egg was moved to the study, with the system controlling the study door to prevent the ragdoll from causing trouble.
The ragdoll's owner originally wanted to pick up the cat as soon as he woke up, but after learning that Chu Tingwu had taken it, and seeing its current state, he transferred some money to Chu Tingwu, asking her to take care of it for a few more days.
Chu Tingwu: "If you can stay quiet inside the bag, I can take you to the hospital to see him."
Ragdoll: "So where did my human go meow?"
Chu Tingwu: Are you a parrot!
Visitation rights revoked.
A week later, the ragdoll was finally picked up by her owner, who was extremely grateful and wanted to give Chu Tingwu a big red envelope: "Thank you, thank you so much. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't be here."
Chu Tingwu: "Actually, the people from unit 501 came out to check too, they would have just been a bit late to send you to the hospital."
"That's not the same..." the man from unit 502 sighed, forcefully handing the young woman a red envelope before picking up the cat and weighing her, "I heard my silly cat was meowing so much her voice went hoarse. She rarely meows loudly, usually hides in a corner of the carrier when we go out. I hardly ever take her out. Last time someone mistook a stray cat on my car for mine. How could that be possible, she's my only daughter—"
Chu Tingwu: "The stray cats in our complex do like to sit on car roofs."
"Yes, it seems to be a tortoiseshell..." 502 lowered his head to check his phone, "I was playing with cats and dogs in the community and even scared a bird. Later, I don't know how, but that cat somehow found my doorstep and left a cat toy outside my house. I have no idea where it picked it up from, it looked quite new, so I didn't throw it away, but I forgot to post a lost and found notice in the homeowners group. I remember it was long-haired, ash-colored, and its nose, um...um..."
He then noticed the 355 by Chu Tingwu's feet.
He fell silent.
Chu Tingwu: "...Actually, 355 came to apologize, and the cat toy was a gift, indeed it was newly bought."
502: "I'm sorry."
Chu Tingwu: "...I'm sorry."
So why were they both apologizing to each other?
When he got home with the cat, 502 was still a bit dazed. He posted the day's events online, thanked Chu Tingwu, and couldn't help but exclaim at the end: "How can a cat apologize on its own?!"
[You're so lucky, you must thank the ragdoll and the little girl!]
502 replied: "I've already thanked them, and I'm planning to send a thank you letter to her school. She's a student at the school next door, the Fifth Middle School."
[The little girl didn't mistake the cat's meowing as mating calls, but heard that the cat was seeking help. She must have a cat at home too, seems like she's the type of owner who can understand a cat's emotions. She must really love her cat, how amazing!]
502 replied: "Her cat does indeed look well cared for. I just got out of the hospital, and I feel like it could take on three of me."
[What a fantastical experience you had! The door lock just happened to break at that time, you were saved by a miracle! You should go to a temple and give thanks!]
502 replied: "I think so too, haha. Later, I checked the fingerprint lock and there was nothing wrong with it. But I still replaced it. I won't be going to a temple, though. Instead, I made a donation to an animal welfare fund. Gratitude (hands together)."
[Looking at the blogger's IP address, um...]
[Ah, that reminds me, this IP!]
[Trigger keywords, "Jin City" "Fifth Middle School" "Tortoiseshell" "Little girl" (cat peeping out)]
502: "?"
Is there something strange about these? They don't seem to be any special words... But he hadn't seen the girl from the second floor's parents. An underage girl living alone, could it be that her family is wealthy and her parents are busy?
He refreshed the comments section and saw that others were indeed asking questions. Then, he and his readers were treated to some knowledge about "Chu and 355".
A fan who clearly knew Chu Tingwu commented:
[If it's that cat and that person...human and cat, everything makes sense!]
[If the fingerprint lock hadn't broken, I suspect that the human and cat could have climbed directly into your house @blogger, if it was too dark to see clearly, then the tortoiseshell mom would have taken over!]
502: "??"
After watching Chu Tingwu's videos, he quietly returned and gave a like to each of these comments.
Then, he took the initiative to chat with the young girl privately: "Can I choose to adopt at the Five Middle School now? I want to adopt a white mink."
Chu Tingwu replied quickly: "Thank you, but the event hasn't started yet, and someone has already inquired about the white mink. We decided to wait until the renovation is completed and the animals' conditions are improved before we start the adoption offline. Otherwise, if you adopt now and the condition doesn't match your expectations later, you might regret it."
Everyone had considered opening the adoption early. Currently, except for the peahen, none of the other animals had been adopted. But, everyone is not in a position to take detailed care of the animals right now. Once an animal is adopted, it belongs to the adopter, who will definitely care about the animal's condition and might question, "Why isn't all the money I spent going to my baby?" This is just human nature.
And... the white mink had indeed been asked about.
The one who wanted to adopt the white mink was a senior from a neighboring province's university. He not only sent a private message on the website but also contacted through a teacher.
A few years ago, he even had the idea of not just adopting, but stealing the white mink.
—He almost lost his qualification for recommendation due to this.
The white mink he wanted to steal is no longer there, and the ones now might be its offspring. The senior waved his hand and said, "I want them all."
The club members huddled together, discussing: "Should we set a limit on adoption... Yeah, a limit."
Why does this sound so strange?
An Shiyan asked, "What about the parrots? Everyone likes fluffy animals. Adopting a popular pet bird like the cockatiel can be a bit troublesome, and some have even asked us directly if we want to sell the parrots..."
Cockatiels can be bought in the bird market, and they are not expensive. Other animals are a bit more difficult to raise and are not common pets, so those who have sent private messages all want to choose other animals.
While everyone was still deep in thought, An Shiyan muttered quietly, "Should we bundle adoptions? But this isn't like selling grains... Yes, minks, raccoons, capybaras, peacocks, etc. are indeed popular... But this isn't like selling grains..."
Everyone: "?"
He was using words they didn't understand again.
The renovation wouldn't be completed so quickly, and there wouldn't be any events immediately after the renovation was completed. There was still time for them to continue discussing.
Before they could come to a decision, the day of the monthly exam came.
Strictly speaking, they hadn't even been studying for a full month— including the days spent in military training, it still wasn't enough. But the school wouldn't care about their complaints, and used the two-day exam schedule to give the first-year students a jolt.
During the exam, they had to move their chairs to the opposite side of the table to face the table's belly to prevent cheating. There was a teacher at the front and back of the classroom, and other teachers patrolled outside the exam room.
The day before the exam, Teacher Yuan told Chu Tingwu, "This monthly exam is a city-wide joint exam, and your ranks will be determined city-wide. The content you've just learned isn't much, and it mainly tests whether you've forgotten the content you've learned before. Don't worry, as long as you review well in class with the teacher, there won't be any problems."
Chu Tingwu nodded as she ate the snacks from Cao Meng, who watched her eagerly from the side.
After finishing, she dusted off her hands and left. Cao Meng followed her all the way to the door. Teacher Yuan said, "Meng, your sister needs to study, don't disturb her!"
Cao Meng: "QAQ"
His sister was clearly going home to play with the cat!
-
When she arrived at school the next day, Chu Tingwu realized that the monthly exam times for all three grades were the same, it's just that seniors only had a day and a half of exams.
The atmosphere in the school had become much more serious. People in the classroom no longer greeted each other, they were all busy memorizing a few phrases, even those who were confident in their academic achievements would flip through their notes to review some easily forgotten points.
The system did not understand why the humans around the cub were so obsessed with grades. If the cub wanted to turn the numbers on the test paper into full marks, it could help at any time, no matter what the test paper was - but the cub did not ask it to do so.
It saw the cub studying step by step, memorizing, taking notes, discussing with others, and could also see which questions the cub got wrong and which ones she got right.
But during the exam period, the cub asked it not to remind her.
Perhaps she was used to the cat's keen hearing and how to restrain this hearing, the cub was not affected by her own auditory ability, she could even focus more than other humans.
After hearing many people say, "I'm so worried that if my grades are not good, my parents will scold me," the system interjected:
"No matter how you do on the test, you are the best."
Because you are just a little kitten!
Chu Tingwu tidied up her cuffs: "I know."
So the system took the opportunity to ask its own question: "Don't you want to be first? I see they all say that if they get first place, they will definitely be very happy."
As for "cheating," it didn't care at all. In its time, the system was more like a tool for transmitting knowledge. The host only needed to apply it, and this kind of low-efficiency learning activity would be considered a waste of time.
In the system's view, the host's goal is to "enter the best university." Exams are a means of competition. Just like some combat system hosts eliminate other competitors with the help of the system, young humans use exams to solve competitors. Then it can help the cub achieve her goal in one step.
Then the cub can play happily.
The system's idea is not very moral, but Chu Tingwu didn't find it strange or disappointed: because the system thinks she is a cat.
If her cat had to take a university entrance exam, and the cat could copy all the answers, it would prove that it was already a uniquely excellent cat and could immediately be promoted to a PhD.
Chu Tingwu: "If I can't get into university, will you think less of me?"
System: "How could that be!"
If the cub likes university... it, it can build a special one for the cub!
Chu Tingwu laughed, "So, I'm taking this exam for myself, to assess my own learning progress. I could rely on you to become the top scorer in the college entrance exam and go to the best university, but what's the point in that?"
If the purpose of the exam was to get into university, then her life would stop at that step.
But if the exam was just a part of learning, whether it's parkour, military boxing, Russian, or Chinese and math, they're all part of her learning. She would be happy when she saw progress, regretful when she made mistakes, and feel fulfilled when she learned new knowledge... University is just a part of her life, and the distant future is also just a part of her life.
She was already luckier than many others because the system told her:
Even if you're not good enough, even if you haven't achieved your goals, you're still a great little cat.
Two full days had passed since the monthly exam, and most people in the classroom seemed exhausted after the exam. Some were comparing answers, while Chu Tingwu told the system in her mind not to tell her the results.
"I don't really want to hear them now."
System: "Actually, I don't have the specific results either. After all, human grading of essays has to consider many factors outside the essay itself..."
Chu Tingwu: "..."
She thought of the essay she had written, quoting many famous sayings, and silently laid her head on the desk.
She hadn't noticed it while writing, but now she felt embarrassed thinking about it!
She was unsure about her own ideas and felt like she had added some unnecessary garbage to the world.
System: "That's not garbage at all, it's so cute! I saved it in my database, and in the future..."
Chu Tingwu: "No way!"
Don't show it to her!
Don't, show!
-
Considering that these kids were tired from their first monthly exam, the days following the exam were holidays. The teachers, however, didn't have a break as they had to finish grading the papers.
Chu Tingwu had originally planned to invite Chang Yile and others to her house to play games, but early in the morning, just after breakfast, she received an unexpected phone call.
It was from the police, but not about the doll rescue case from last time.
The trainer of Wangka, the police dog from Fallen Phoenix City, called her!
Trainer: "Miss Chu!"
Chu Tingwu: "Is there something wrong with Long Zai?"
Trainer: "Oh! You don't know yet, do you? I called your house yesterday, but you seemed to be at school - Long Zai has done a great job!"
During a crackdown operation, Long Zai sniffed out drugs, leading the police to uncover a significant smuggling case.
The Fallen Phoenix City police are currently very busy, but for Lin Undercover, the feeder and person in charge of Long Zai, the smuggler was just passing through Fallen Phoenix City. However, the case was solved by them, and it was sniffed out by the only officially working police cat in the country, which made quite a splash.
Chu Tingwu was also very happy: "Then congratulations to Long Zai."
But could the details of this case be shared with her?
The instructor didn't provide specific figures, only vaguely described the situation. Intuition told Chu Tingwu that there was something more to the phone call, especially since it wasn't Lin Undercover who called, but Wangka's instructor... there must be something else.
The instructor laughed, "The case can't be disclosed to the public yet, but we are all clear about it internally. Long Zai's position should be confirmed soon... Chu, if you have time, please come and take a look. And, Fallen Phoenix City is the only one with police cats, other cities are also envious these days—"
"Do you know, our province's police dog training base is in Jin City!"
"Wangka was also brought over from Jin City. The police dog base, they have understood the situation, you have helped a lot in the matter of Long Zai joining the team. If a police cat can be trained once, it can be trained a second time," the instructor slapped his thigh, seemingly regretting not being able to take in Long Zai at the beginning, but his Wangka is also a good girl, so he just thought about it. "We don't have a systematic training method domestically, foreign police cats are more specialized, like specifically smelling fishy smells, letting cat police catch fish smuggling, isn't this professional matching?”
Chu Tingwu understood: "Does the base want to try to start training cats? This should be a good thing."
Jin City is the provincial capital, seeing the effect of Fallen Phoenix City, naturally, it is the fastest to respond.
At present, police dogs are trained from puppies, there is a systematic elimination mechanism, the eliminated police dog puppies are also in demand, those who are not eliminated can be assigned to work, which is great.
The instructor: "But they are also trying for the first time, so they hope to find an expert to help choose a cat."
Chu, the expert, but fifteen years old, just finished the first monthly exam of high school: "...Huh?"
The instructor: "They are all kittens, domestic experts... they are all about selecting the appearance of kittens, choosing the appearance and temperament of breed cats, but we are training police cats, we don't need docility, and there are no other people who have achieved results—"
"They saw your video and thought that San Wu Wu was very good. They also saw the adoption event at your school recently, Chu, in addition to the agreed remuneration, does the Yorkshire at your school need adoption? The base can also help train it."
Chu Tingwu: "If you want to adopt, you can wait for our event to start..."
Chu Tingwu: "Actually, you don't have to be so polite, even if you don't adopt, I can help choose a cat."
But she can only do it during her vacation, she will be too busy when she goes to school.
The instructor gave Chu Tingwu's phone number to the police dog base, and Chu Tingwu apologized to Chang Yile as usual. Soon, the car from the police dog base arrived outside the community.
—Their action was swift and decisive.
With both his parents busy, Cao Meng was entrusted to another teacher in the same residential complex who had some free time. He was playing downstairs with her children at the moment, squatting by the flower bed. He looked up and rubbed his eyes:
"Miss Su! They've really found out that Sister Chu Chu is an alien!"
The police even drove here to arrest her, and they brought a big dog that can wear a police uniform!
