The Chang family of four booked a hotel and dropped Chu Tingwu and her cat off at the village entrance.
When Chu Tingwu got out of the car, Chang Yile unconsciously yawned and stepped out too, before realizing this wasn't the hotel and drowsily climbing back in.
As the vehicle slowly drove away from the village, Chang Yile leaned on his sister's shoulder and suddenly asked, "Is there no one at Chu Tingwu's home?"
Teacher Yuan had mentioned that Chu Tingwu's parents were too busy with work, and after spending time together, everyone had assumed her parents worked abroad. Now, seeing Chu Tingwu living alone, returning home alone, doing almost everything by herself... even Chang Yile felt something wasn't right:
"If parents are away for years, shouldn't they entrust their underage child to relatives?"
Chang's Mother said, "Maybe it's because she's quite independent and wants to live on her own. If she hasn't volunteered information about her family matters, you shouldn't pry."
Chang Yile: "...Oh."
Chu Tingwu unlocked and pushed open the door.
After being away for over a month, the wind swept through the house, bringing a chill—and a strange smell?
She turned on the lights and stared silently at the half-eaten, blurry mouse head on the ground.
"Meow—"
The sleeping neighbor next door rolled over, thinking hazily, "Where's that cat cursing from?"
Fortunately, besides the head in the courtyard and some missing grain from the food bin, the house had no other issues. When Chu Tingwu finished putting down her luggage, Three-Five-Five had chased the tabby and orange cats back from the village.
The three cats stared at the head in the courtyard, lost in thought, while Chu Tingwu moved a recliner over and sat in the middle of the courtyard:
"Tell me, who ate half of it and left it here?"
The orange cat made a muffled meow and turned its head away.
The tabby spoke up: "Little one, I caught this one, meow. Don't you want to eat it?"
How could she eat that?
Chu Tingwu grabbed the orange cat's ears and shook them: "Tabby caught it and played with it for ages, then you ate it, right? Eating it is one thing, but why didn't you finish it? Leaving it on the ground is so dirty! Reflect on your actions!"
The tabby: "..."
She flicked her tail and joined Chu Tingwu in condemning the orange cat.
The orange cat: "Meow meow?"
Chu Tingwu wouldn't accept verbal reflection. She disposed of the mouse head, found a cloth, and made the orange cat press its paws against it to clean the ground. Feeling the cold water, the orange cat couldn't break free. After making the pitiful cat wipe a couple of times, she finally let go.
The orange cat immediately darted to a nearby shelf and began licking its paws.
Chu Tingwu thought: It's dirty now, can't keep this cat anymore.
Three-Five-Five watched from the side, tilted its head, licked its lips, and silently looked away:
The little one has such strange cleaning habits.
And the little one... has she never learned to groom herself?
Three-Five-Five, who had been lying down, immediately stood up and tilted its head to examine its young charge: clean, fragrant, a little one who needed guarding outside the door every time she bathed.
After finishing the cleaning, Chu Tingwu ordered a bunch of equipment for dealing with mice, and oh yes... these cats might catch snakes too, so she needed to prepare some clamps, nets, and glass boxes.
Afterward, she went to light incense at her grandmother's memorial altar. Three sticks of incense were placed in the burner, the smoke blurring the smile of the woman in the photograph. Chu Tingwu sat before the altar for a while before yawning and climbing into bed.
As she got into bed, Three-Five-Five found its familiar spot. Human and cat lay down, wrapped in familiar scents, and quickly fell asleep.
The next day, the first official day of vacation, the entire village was shrouded in white mist. Chu Tingwu rolled over and sat up, and the next moment, her phone rang.
Chang Yile: "Chu Chu, come out and play, gogogo! [Photo]"
The photo was their advertisement poster together. Though their faces weren't shown, people who knew them could recognize their figures.
Chu Tingwu: Better catch up on some sleep.
Though she wanted to do that... she still got up. The Chang family had booked a hotel near Zhangshan Mountain, apparently planning to climb the mountain early to watch the sunrise, then have breakfast at the temple.
Yes, ever since Qingshan Temple unexpectedly became popular for animal fortune-telling, visitors seemed to assume that coming to Fallen Phoenix City meant they had to visit Qingshan Temple. The temple had developed new services, including providing three meals a day to tourists. Though the food was homestyle, because space was limited, reservations were required.
The police cat called "Yanzi" had also become a minor internet celebrity, now walking on rooftops daily from being petted so much.
Chu Tingwu finished breakfast before meeting up with the Chang sisters. They had agreed to meet at the commercial plaza, but when she arrived, she only saw two people sprawled on a bench. Chu Tingwu: "...So this is what happens when you climb a mountain early in the morning."
Was it really necessary to wear out their feet on the first day of vacation?
Chang Yile waved her hand: "Dad went to take photos, Mom went to catch up on sleep, so it's just us few playing. By the way, don't you need to meet friends when you're back home?"
Chu Tingwu thought about yesterday's events and shrugged: "Met some already."
"Oh—" Chang Yile gave a thumbs up, "That was quick! What did you play?"
Chu Tingwu: "Mouse."
"?" x2
Chu Tingwu: "To be precise, half a mouse head."
Chang Yixin: "Your play is quite bloody."
The bloody mouse handler linked arms with the two of them, then noticed the changes to the bench: "Is this... a cat?"
Indeed, the benches in the commercial street seemed to have been replaced with new designs, featuring cat-shaped cutouts in the backrest, clearly custom-made.
"Yeah," Chang Yile showed her some photos, "Many public facilities here have added cats. I saw online that Fallen Phoenix City might as well be renamed Cat City, and there are facility check-in points."
Sure enough, online there were many photos with various chairs, lamp posts, and trash bins. Fallen Phoenix City had always been a city suitable for retirement, but after deciding to appeal to younger people, they apparently wanted to transform it into an internet-famous small city.
Collecting all the Easter eggs and sending photos to the Culture and Tourism Bureau's official account would earn a small gift, or you could claim it in person.
Chu Tingwu had never hosted out-of-town friends before and hadn't planned any sightseeing activities—seeing how they just wanted to find a place to sit, well, they might as well find a shop to drink beverages and play with their phones.
Chang Yile was good at finding entertainment though, quickly discovering: "There's a photo exhibition nearby, hosted by the Culture and Tourism Bureau. Once we're rested enough, shall we go take a look?"
Maybe buy some local specialties too?
The other two were easy-going. This was Fallen Phoenix City, not Jin City, so Chu Tingwu hadn't put a leash on Three-Five-Five. Three-Five-Five wasn't sitting on the bench either, looking around at her feet when suddenly, "click."
They looked up to see a passing girl who froze: "I, I was just taking a photo of the cat..."
She showed them her phone screen, displaying a familiar APP interface. After [Matching...] finished, the cat's name appeared:
["Three-Five-Five" is not a stray cat.]
The girl: "!!? It really is!"
Chu Tingwu immediately raised her hand: "Shh..."
The girl nodded and whispered, "Um, could we take a photo together, Chu Chu! I- I grew up watching your videos!"
The happy fan passed by, leaving Chu Tingwu and the Chang twins looking down at Three-Five-Five.
After leaving the store, Three-Five-Five wore a pink floral baby bib around its neck.
—A bit of image modification might reduce the chances of others taking photos to match the cat.
However, they had overthought it...
Although the total number of stray cats in the city had decreased, since the APP's promotion, Fallen Phoenix City was the only city where almost all cats were registered with their information. So tourists who downloaded the APP (which had a high download rate among visitors) would casually take photos whenever they saw a cat—
It was nice to learn the cats' names and personalities, like finding moving Easter eggs in the city!
After being stopped for another photo, Chu Tingwu checked the information record: "Seems like... my APP is collaborating with the Culture and Tourism Bureau. During the National Day holiday, finding unregistered stray cats in the city can earn you a surprise gift."
And it was limited edition.
National Day limited edition.
These days, when people see the words "limited edition," their eyes light up, wanting to get their hands on it even if the gift has no practical use—
System: "Baby, do you want it? I can help you find it! I'll be much more efficient than them!"
She wasn't particularly interested, but even the system seemed eager.
Chu Tingwu: "Can't I just hack one for myself...?"
After all, she was the boss!
The system clicked its tongue in disappointment.
The three of them found the photo exhibition at the art gallery, discovering that there was also a three-dimensional photo wall outside, designed like a folding screen and arranged artistically.
Someone was standing guard, and seeing the three people and a cat approach, the staff member smiled and said: "Is this your cat? If you want to enter the gallery, the cat needs to be on a leash, and please make sure the cat doesn't damage—oh?"
The staff member stared at the cat hesitantly: "Three-Five-Five?"
That tortoiseshell cat with its yellow-tipped nose was unmistakable.
Chu Tingwu: "...Yes."
Although the staff member said Three-Five-Five didn't need a leash after recognizing it, Chu Tingwu still attached one. The staff member even gave each of them a special gift: "It's fine, we have reserved quantities of these visitor gifts anyway."
The gifts were limited to the first hundred visitors each day, and they had arrived too late.
The small gift bag contained a pair of cat-themed hair clips, a metal badge shaped like Zhangshan Mountain, an artistically designed exhibition ticket stub, and two packs of wet wipes.
The cost of the entire gift package was probably less than ten yuan, but Chu Tingwu discovered that receiving gifts indeed made one feel good.
She sent a message, then whispered to the Chang sisters: "I'll hack two copies of my APP's gifts for you too."
"Yay!"
The art gallery was much quieter inside. Chang Yile whispered: "I was just wondering why the staff didn't seem surprised at all to see us walking a cat..."
Chang Yixin: "Because other people brought cats too."
Not far from them, a lady was holding an elegant long-haired Persian cat that lay obediently in her arms, its eyes curiously looking around. When the lady stroked it, it would softly meow twice.
However, upon seeing the content of the photos on the wall, they understood.
There had been a photography competition with the theme "Dancing with Phoenix, Beautiful Companionship," and during Chu Tingwu's school term, the results had been announced. All the photos here were competition entries.
But...
Chang Yile stopped in front of a photo, thoughtfully: "Special Award?"
There were many first and second prizes, and third prizes could fill an entire wall, but this special award photo was displayed quite prominently, and the cat in it looked particularly familiar.
The lady holding the Persian cat up ahead put her cat down, crouching to try to take a photo of her cat with the "Special Award" photo.
Persian cat: "Meow?"
She was clearly an affectionate cat, calling out twice after being put down, then returning to her owner's side. The owner whispered: "Oh, Qiuqiu, don't move, I'm taking a photo, just stay there—"
But cats can't understand such things, and it reached out to paw at her camera.
After being pushed away and approaching for the third time, Chu Tingwu "meowed" from behind. The Persian cat froze, hesitantly staying in place, and the owner quickly took the photo!
In the photo, behind the Persian cat was a huge tortoiseshell cat, with a crow flying above its head, and the Persian cat's position made it look like it was making eye contact with both the cat and crow... As for the Taoist priest walking up the mountain in the photo, that could be photoshopped out.
After taking the photo, she picked up her cat, only then remembering she had heard a cat meow. She looked down—
The tortoiseshell cat from the photo was swaying its fluffy big tail as it passed by her feet, the young girl holding its leash linking arms with her friend as they passed each other.
Owner: "!"
Owner: "..."
She opened her mouth but didn't call out to them, though she could feel her heart pounding: the feeling of a perfect coincidence, transforming from two dimensions to three right before her eyes, silently struck her.
Owner: "How romantic..."
The Persian cat played with her hair: "Meow?"
Meanwhile, Chu Tingwu and the others continued browsing. This photo exhibition was indeed comprehensive – besides city photos, cat photos, and that photo You Zhenzhen had taken before, there were also famous figures who had appeared in Fallen Phoenix City over thousands of years, their personal introductions, and reproductions of their calligraphy and paintings. It was clear that the Culture and Tourism Bureau had really racked their brains for promotion – some of these people Chu Tingwu had never even heard of in all her years.
This was the Chang sisters' first time here, so Chu Tingwu introduced the places she recognized in the photos, while Chang Yixin took notes on her phone, planning where to visit next.
Chang Yile: "Is this a photo of what the parkour district used to look like?"
It showed an ordinary urban district that looked particularly dim and lackluster compared to the fashionable high-rises nearby.
Opposite was a huge photo of the newly transformed district, with all colors and details specially designed, looking from above like a geometric painting spread across the land.
The original plants and other features of the district were perfectly incorporated into the canvas.
One could imagine how this place would transform with different seasons. A small caption explained: There was an exceptionally tall cotton tree in the district that had been fenced off for protection, only opening as a parkour point during competition days.
Chu Tingwu explained to them: Parkour athletes usually design their routes in advance and verify their safety. While there's some improvisation, knowing and being familiar with the route definitely leads to better performance.
Chang Yile nudged her, mouthing: Did you sign up?
Chu Tingwu: "No, registration requires being at least 16 years old to sign liability agreements."
On one hand, she didn't meet the age requirement; on the other, the organizers had suggested she not participate because "it would be difficult to rank you if you competed."
Giving her a good ranking might raise suspicions, but not giving her one might affect Chu Tingwu's "streaming career"... Besides, Chu Tingwu's age was really inconvenient, and parkour was a relatively dangerous sport.
She personally didn't mind: she hadn't planned to compete anyway. The competition apparently had both indoor and outdoor venues, with indoor competitions first to select the top sixteen for the outdoor competition—she could pull some strings to get front-row spectator seats then, and secure some spots for her friends too.
Walking to the exit, they discovered there was... merchandise for sale?
The merchandise included keychains, photo card collections, button badges (which An Shiyan had mentioned were called "badges"), photo wall hangings, and more. A sign nearby stated: All merchandise proceeds would be donated to stray animal foundations for purchasing food and covering costs like sterilization.
Some people who had been about to leave saw how cute the merchandise was and noticed the sign, couldn't resist buying a few items, and almost everyone left carrying small bags.
The Chang sisters decided to buy some too. Chang Yile specifically picked up all styles of "badges," planning to give them to An Shiyan when they returned—it wouldn't be right to travel without buying some gifts, right? Plus, these gifts were much cheaper than local specialties elsewhere, had local characteristics, and were cute.
They split up afterward, with the Chang sisters going to meet their parents for dinner, while Chu Tingwu said she was meeting a friend: she went to Teacher Zhang's house.
Teacher Zhang and Aunt Mei had gone on a self-driving tour, originally planning to take Shikuai, but Shikuai got carsick on long trips, and taking a crow along wouldn't be convenient either, so the cat and crow stayed behind.
Teacher Zhang had asked neighbors to prepare cat food for Shikuai, hired someone to clean the litter box daily, and asked students to check in occasionally. The smart automatic feeder only needed to be refilled periodically, and from the surveillance footage, Shikuai seemed quite content.
Chu Tingwu didn't have the key to the courtyard. She knocked on the door, and Shikuai meowed. In the next second, Chu Tingwu climbed over the wall and entered the yard.
The neighbor who was watering flowers in the opposite yard: "..."
She recognized Chu Tingwu's silhouette and shook her head, humming as she went back inside: Teacher Zhang had mentioned before that this young girl might come, so she should be mentally prepared not to be startled.
...The neighbor had originally thought about helping to open the door.
As soon as she landed, Shikuai's cat face pressed against the window, meowing. Chu Tingwu unlocked the door with her fingerprint and found the living room in a bit of a mess.
Chu Tingwu: "Watch out, Aunt Mei might spank you when she comes back."
Shikuai: "Meow?"
Why spank the cat? It wasn't the cat who made the mess! It's always messy like this, but usually becomes tidy the next day. If it's not tidy, it definitely isn't the cat's fault.
Chu Tingwu: It becomes tidy because Aunt Mei cleans every day!
She pinched Shikuai's cheeks, and the forgetful little cat immediately started playing and wrestling with her. Then, remembering something, it began to complain:
"I'm tired of cat food and canned food, meow! I want something else!"
Chu Tingwu had guessed this, which was why she came over. She shrugged and started cleaning the kitchen to make cat food.
Soon after, there was the sound of flapping wings outside, and Crow landed on the windowsill, tapping the window with its claws.
Chu Tingwu: "..."
She opened the window, and the crow proudly placed a black metal belt buckle on the table, letting out a proud "meow."
Chu Tingwu: How dare you be so proud of stealing something==
She quietly finished making the cat food, filled up the crow's food, and then prepared to grab both the cat and crow to interrogate them about where they had hidden their stolen goods. But there was no need for interrogation—seeing that Chu Tingwu was done, Crow picked up the small belt in its beak, flew to the ginkgo tree outside, then flew back to eat.
Chu Tingwu climbed the tree and discovered a semi-hollow tree cavity hidden by leaves. The cavity was tilted, protected from rain, and stuffed with various shiny things—
Like metal hairpins, a thumb-sized little shoe (probably from a doll), bracelets, key rings, springs, and glass beads.
Obviously, these were all things Crow had picked up from various places.
Chu Tingwu: "Hmm..."
Better return this belt first.
She held up the belt and gestured to Crow, who tilted its head, looked at it, and waved its wing: "Meow-caw!"
Keep it, no need to return it!
Chu Tingwu: It's not yours to be so generous about!
Never mind, she'd teach them again later... After thinking for a moment, Chu Tingwu beckoned Crow to perch on her shoulder, picked up the satisfied Shikuai, called Three-Five-Five, and went out.
—When returning things, she had to bring the criminals along.
-
You Zhenzhen: "Alright, I'll contact Chu Tingwu."
She put down the phone and opened the website, letting out a soft whistle.
Earlier, Chu Tingwu had said she would return to Fallen Phoenix City for the National Day holiday, and they had agreed to watch the parkour competition finals together on the fourth, but today, the organizers suddenly called her.
Parkour is still a relatively new sport in China. Initially, they had arranged for three domestic guests to serve as judges/mentors, but today, one of them had an issue.
They had an accident during parkour practice the day before yesterday and fractured their hip.
They couldn't find a new judge on such short notice. They tried looking domestically, but people were either unavailable... or were actually registered competitors! So, after going in circles, the organizers thought of Chu Tingwu.
Although the child was too young to be a competitor, there was no rule stating that judges had to be over sixteen!
They hadn't contacted Chu Tingwu directly, instead calling You Zhenzhen, with whom they had collaborated multiple times, to inquire about Chu Tingwu's availability. You Zhenzhen: "..."
Of course she was available. While You Zhenzhen remained calm when putting down the phone, she couldn't help but jump with excitement as she got up to gather her things—
She decided to tell Chu Tingwu about this in person.
-
To find the owner of the small belt buckle, Chu Tingwu was walking out of the villa complex with her two animals.
This belt buckle was only a finger wide and a palm long, impossible to wear around the waist and stranger still around the wrist. She wasn't sure what it was for. The metal had a new shine to it, and there were no breaks or scratches, only marks from being carried in Crow's beak... Chu Tingwu suspected Crow had stolen it.
She sniffed the air and walked out of the villa area—
Her sense of smell was between lv2 and lv3, which according to the system meant "already better than a dog's."
Chu Tingwu: "=="
Anyway, with her better-than-dog sense of smell, she walked all the way to the business center, then discreetly passed through the commercial street and entered the parkour district.
The wall before her was splashed with maple-red paint. Humans could no longer smell the paint, but Chu Tingwu still wrinkled her nose.
She went around the wall and saw some people standing on rooftops or sitting by the wall.
The old district had never been demolished, and there weren't many permanent residents. During the National Day period, these people received compensation and moved to hotels early, leaving the entire district as a competition venue.
All the house doors were tightly closed, with many contestants training here in advance—reportedly, the preliminary round would be indoors, and starting from the second, the semi-finals would move to the outdoor parkour venue, with the district being used for the finals. On the morning of the finals, sixteen would compete for eight spots, and in the afternoon, the top three would be selected from the eight.
After the finals on the fourth, there would be exhibition matches and invitational competitions.
In short, they planned to fill the tourists' National Day holiday completely.
Chu Tingwu pulled up her mask and walked forward with her hands in her pockets. Her clothes were very low-key, except for the crow perched on her shoulder and the cat following at her feet... making her look like a boss on the street.
Shikuai should be thankful for its almost pure black exterior; otherwise, passersby would directly see this silly cat's clear foolish face, along with ruining Three-Five-Five's dignified presence.
"Ah," Chu Tingwu said, "Found it."
With a "whoosh," the belt's owner leaped over her head, ducked down, grabbed a railing and passed under it. Thanks to her superior hearing, Chu Tingwu could hear them landing on the other side of the wall, stepping on a garbage bin, then lunging at the wall ahead and flipping over it.
Chu Tingwu went around through the alley: "Hey—wait!"
More people whooshed past overhead. The belt's owner and the others seemed to be from the same parkour club. They were practicing, and someone noticed Chu Tingwu below, smiled and waved, not taking her calls seriously... apparently thinking she was just a fangirl wanting photos.
"You dropped something," Chu Tingwu stood still, speaking calmly, not shouting this time, "so I came to find you."
She never liked speaking loudly anyway, all that shouting.
Someone from the club pointed at the little girl below, suggesting "We can't just let a fan wait down there, right?" Their club was somewhat famous, so being approached by fans was normal, but the next second.
The people stopped there watched as the little girl suddenly stepped forward, easily bounced onto the wall, then flew past him, making a leap to grab the third-floor balcony railing.
She pulled herself up with her arms, easily flipping onto the third floor, then reached down—
A calico cat jumped over, and she helped another black cat up with her hand, one person and two cats flipping onto the balcony.
"Whoosh—"
And a crow too!
The girl ran two steps, supported herself on the balcony edge to the outside of the wall, hooked the eaves with a backflip, and the next second easily flipped up, her body as flexible as a cat.
The two cats didn't do this, instead running one after another on the balcony, passing through a corner to the other side, while the girl on the roof flipped over, disappearing from their view.
Club members: "...Huh?"
Following their planned parkour route, was this a direct way to find their leader "Ris"?
The club had set up cameras along the way to record movements for later review, and members hurriedly switched to the public camera feed—
He watched as the cat and person moved through the frame, without any fancy flourishes. It was pure "authentic parkour," using the discipline as a practical way to traverse irregular terrain.
While he personally preferred more stylistic free-running, he couldn't help but whistle appreciatively at the scene.
He had seen parkour videos themed around "chase sequences" before, but witnessing such a pursuit in person was incredibly cool.
Wait a minute...
Wasn't the person being chased a member of their club?
And why was that little girl carrying a cat while chasing?
On the screen—
Ris got caught!
Ris executed a slide, but the calico cat blocked his path at the wall ahead. The black cat crouched nearby, letting out a "meow." The Crow landed simultaneously, and all three animals crouched in a row. The Crow also went "meow"... hold on, why was a crow meowing?
Ris: "..."
The unfamiliar young girl stood steadily on the railing behind him, hands in her pockets. Ris spread his hands in confusion and turned his head, only able to see the girl's shadow.
Ris: "Did... did I do something wrong?"
A challenge? A dojo storm? Wait, why did that cat look familiar?
He watched as the girl crouched down on the railing and reached into her pocket... reached in... kept reaching, then fell silent:
"Crow, go fetch the belt back."
She had run too fast, her pocket was too shallow, and the belt she was supposed to return to someone had fallen out.
Now she really did look like someone who had come to challenge them.
