Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  The long weekend had passed.

  After two days of good sleep, Zhang Zian got up early Monday morning, cleaned the shop and prepared lunch— stewed beef with potatoes—for Famous and the other two police dogs.

  Last night, he was told officially that all the crew members had to come back to work on Monday morning, except for him. He would be choosing stunt dogs in the police dog training base in Binhai with Director Feng Xuan, sparing these dogs from death.

  Usually, the police dog training base was closed to the public. Zhang Zian had never been there before. He was excited to find out what was in there.

  Lu Yiyun was early, as usual. The moment she stepped in the shop, she smelled the beef. She heard that Zhang Zian was leaving the store to go with the crew, and suddenly felt insecure, worried that she was not capable of handling all the customers.

  Zhang Zian encouraged her to relax, to just do what she could, and that there was no pressure. There were more customers nowadays compared to when he had just inherited the shop. Sometimes, customers would ask weird questions or had special needs that he himself couldn’t handle, let alone the newer Lu Yiyun.

  Someone honked while they were talking, so Zhang Zian looked to the direction it came from and saw, not to his surprise, Liu. He kept talking to Lu Yiyun, and then took Famous with him to Liu’s car.

  The store was quiet after Zhang Zian left. Compared to the weekend when customers flowed in the shop, Lu Yiyun preferred the quietness of Monday mornings. With Jasmine on her lap, she turned on the computer and laid her painting pens on the cashier table, and planned to paint some before the first customer came.

  When Zhang Zian fed raw beef sirloin to Snowy Lionet, he also gave some to Jasmine. Jasmine was so full that it yawned and huddled itself up. It got used to thinking of its owner’s lap as its second home.

  Before Lu Yiyun started painting, she played with the cat for a while. She touched the hair on Jasmine’s back and neck gently. Although she didn’t know why, she felt it became stronger, and its hair was smoother and silkier after it had eaten the raw beef sirloin for several days. She said to herself, “Let me touch it for three more minutes, no more than that.”


  Time passes quickly when you play with cats. By the time you realize that you’ve had fun, time has passed quicker than you thought.

  What a beautiful scene in the quiet pet store of the painting lady and her cat. Suddenly, a scream broke it!

  “Help! Help!”


  Lu Yiyun was freaked out. Her hands trembled and accidently touched Jasmine’s hair. It meowed, ran out of her lap and into the inner room, where the sound came from.

  “Jasmine! Jasmine! Come back! Don’t run!”


  The sudden scream scared Lu Yiyun. She had no clue what happened or why someone shouted for help. Was it the television that Zhang Zian forgot to turn off before he left?

  Jasmine disappeared suddenly.

  Jasmine was lost, so Lu Yiyun looked around and outside the shop. Pedestrians and cars were passing by, but no one wanted to come inside the shop. She regretted that she usually prayed for less customers, because she wished that someone could come in and help her.

  Wang Qian and Li Kun weren’t supposed to come at this time. They were college students who stayed up late and got up late. Unless there were emergencies, they usually came after 10 in the morning. There were plenty of things they needed to do, such as clean the cat litter and walk the puppies to the desert grassland through the new back door.

  What should I do? Should I call the police? She gripped her phone, her palm was sweating.

  Without moving, she decided not to call the police as she knew nothing about dealing with policemen. What if the policemen came and found it was false alarm? She didn’t know the personal phone number of the policeman who often came to the shop, Sheng Ke.

  “Jasmine! Jasmine!” she shouted again, but Jasmine didn’t come back.

  The room went quiet. Lu Yiyun gathered her courage and walked towards the inner room.

  Everything was normal as usual. The black-and-white kitten was chasing the Abyssinian cats, the golden cat and the white cat were sleeping in their cat trees, and the other kittens and puppies all looked natural.

  She could hear a TV in the corner. She knew there was a small TV over there, and that there was always an old cat with a hat that laid there, watching TV, which was a special thing about this shop. Whoever saw this thought it was cute and funny. People thought it didn’t understand the things on TV, that it was just pretending to watch.

  Lu Yiyun stood on her tiptoes and walked towards it. Old Time Tea slightly turned around to look at her. She didn’t know why, but she felt its kind, warm eyes on her, just like the old grandpa in her hometown.

  It grinned, like it was smiling at her. Then it moved aside to make space for her, and waved its paw in the air, like it was inviting her to watch the TV.

  The middle of the old heating blanket had a few tea-colored cat hairs.

  Lu Yiyun was not sure if she understood its meaning. Did this cat actually ask her to join it and watch TV?

  There was a movie on the TV that she had watched before, Yip Man 3. Of course, she didn’t see it in the movie theaters as she didn’t have a friend she could go to cinema with. She didn’t even know how to open the door to the movies.

  She waved her hands to show she didn’t want to watch, then she gestured and asked, “My cat, Jasmine. It’s big and yellow. Do you know where it is?” Lu Yiyun thought she was so dumb. Why would she talk seriously to a cat?

  The tea-colored old cat seemed to understand what she was saying and moved back to its original spot with shame, concentrating on looking at the television. It even shook its head when some great stuff popped up on the TV, like it could actually understand.

  Really? It could really watch TV? Lu Yiyun thought about it. If Zhang Zian could teach kittens to dance, what’s so surprising about him being able to teach a cat to watch TV? But what was the point of teaching it this?

  She didn’t get the answer from this tea-colored old cat, so she walked to the cat tree and looked at the golden cat nervously. The sun shone through the windows and reflected on it. The tops of its hair was glowing and shining, like it was made of gold.

  This cat seemed difficult. She saw it threaten Zhang Zian several times, and Zhang Zian gave up every time. That was why she was a bit scared of it every time she came into the shop.

  The golden cat noticed her gaze, opened its eyes and looked at her with its green eyes that were clear as ice, and as sharp as a gun.

  Lu Yiyun was so frightened that she moved backwards to put some distance between them and asked, “My cat, Jasmine. It’s big and yellow. Do you know where it is?” She felt her hands shaking. This cat’s gaze was so intimidating. She couldn’t imagine how Zhang Zian managed to put up with it. No wonder it was similar to that Ashera cat, which looked like a leopard.

  The golden cat just took one look at her and then lost interest. It yawned lazily and closed its eyes, not even bothering to meow.

  There were some cats meowing from down below. The white cat glared at her, licked their lips with that little pink tongue, and meowed three more times.

  Lu Yiyun found this facial expression familiar. This was exactly the expression it would give to Zhang Zian for raw beef sirloin every morning. Although, Zhang Zian always looked awkward because, for some reason, he was always holding up his pants. Every morning, she had to look around shyly.

  “I don’t live here. I don’t have raw beef sirloin.” She waved again. The white cat seemed disappointed, so it closed its eyes and started napping like the golden cat.

  “I’m sorry,” she looked down and apologized. She was confused herself. Why would she apologize so sincerely when she didn’t do anything wrong?

  She walked around the room and searched everywhere, but couldn’t find Jasmine. Not on the shelves, under the lounge, behind the cat bowls, nor in the bathroom, she searched everywhere and still couldn’t find Jasmine. When she passed the sofa, she stared at it for a long time and forced herself not to lie down on it. She thought the store manager who laid on it was so cool. He could handle all different kinds of customers. She wanted to become a person exactly like him, calm and natural when meeting strangers. Maybe this sofa was magical and you got some skills and pointers when you laid on it, or even some strange way to open the shop.

  She shook her head and stopped this daydream. She read too many virtual novels. The most important thing at the moment was to find Jasmine.

  “Jasmine! Jasmine!” Lu Yiyun shouted again, but still, Jasmine didn’t show up.

  “Help! Help!” She heard the sound again. Although she had been prepared for the sound, Lu Yiyun was still shocked. This time, she clearly heard that the sound came from upstairs, from the second floor where Zhang Zian lived. It sounded like a young woman.

  Her legs were slightly shaking. Bad things were on her mind. Did the store manager kidnapped a young lady and bring her here? Nowadays, there were so much news online everywhere. Was the store manager this kind of guy?

  No way! No way! Lu Yiyun couldn’t believe what she was thinking. The store manager couldn’t be this kind of person. It was not because she blindly trusted Zhang Zian—it was because she felt psycho killers wouldn’t be nice to pets. She trusted her eyes and instincts.

  So, what about the sound?

  She hesitated when she saw that the black-and-white kitten was squatting down two or three meters from her, looking at her with its silver-grey eyes.

  Before she went to the pet shop to wash Jasmine, Lu Yiyun never saw or heard of cats with silver-grey eyes. Every time she looked at it, she was surprised. It felt like this cat came from the ACG world, from another world where the line between real and virtual was blurred.

  There were plenty of customers, but not many of them had seen it. It often just disappeared when there were customers, and hid itself somewhere. It must be good at hiding. But when Lu Yiyun was the only one in the shop, it never hid.

  “Do you know where my Jasmine is?” she questioned hopelessly.

  The black and white cat tilted its head to one side, seeming like it understood her words, and pointed one of its front paws at the stairs to the second floor while meowing.

  “It’s upstairs?” Lu Yiyun guessed the answer herself. Jasmine couldn’t have run out of the shop. Since she had looked through the first floor, it must have been on the second floor. But the crying for help made her scared.

  The black and white kitten nodded.

  “You can understand me?” she asked in surprise. Whether it was the tea-colored old cat, the golden cat, the white cat, or this black and white kitten, they all gave her a weird feeling that they were not cats, but were more like humans. If they were characters in comics books, they would be a sophisticated butler, the proud eldest daughter, the loyal maid who always wore a white dress, and the young, yet mysterious child.

  Then what was Zhang Zian? A young man who accidently went into the castle? That sounded like a role for the male leading character in comics.

  The young painter was daydreaming again.

  The black and white cat didn’t respond, just walked towards the stairs and then waved back at her.

  “You mean, I go upstairs with you? This is not appropriate. After all, that is the private bedroom of the manager.” She was hesitant.

  It winked its silver-grey eyes and waved to her again.

  “Okay. I’ll apologize to him when he comes back,” Lu Yinyin whispered to herself. She followed the black and white kitten and went stairs step by step to the second floor. “Hmm, is anyone there?” she plucked up the courage and asked in a quiet voice. She actually hoped that no one would answer.

  “Help! Help! Help me get down!”


  Most rooms on the second floor were closed, except for one door that was slightly open. The sound came out of this room.

  Weird, where is that black-and-white kitten? She followed it all the way to the second floor and it had disappeared.

  Lu Yiyun gazed at this door, feeling like this was a trap. Jasmine must have come inside this room and been trapped. Since she was already here, whether it was for the crying young lady or for Jasmine, she couldn’t go back. The knot in her gut tightened.

  It was a normal living room with a blotchy, old sofa, a half-painted old tea table, a carpet with unclear patterns, and a retro television. There was a ball-shaped chandelier falling from the ceiling with a string holding a grey parrot. It was upside down, looking at Lu Yiyun with its black little eyes, shouting, “What are you waiting for, you worker? Put me down! And get this goddamn cat off me!”


  “. . .”


  The grey parrot flapped its wings like the ticking of the clock. The string was not long. It held the leg of the parrot so it was hanging upside down and couldn’t fly away. Jasmine was squatting under the grey parrot, raising its head to look at it, sometimes licking its tongue and trying to catch it. The grey parrot was very frightened even though there was a long distance between them.

  “What happened to you? Why did you hang yourself?” This scene was so weird, but Lu Yiyun couldn’t help asking. She knew this grey parrot could speak and liked speaking. Many customers were amused by its talent.

  “Ah? Why would I hang myself up? What’s wrong with me?” It shouted in anger, “It was Zhang Zian, that idiot, who hung me up!”


  “He wouldn’t do it to you for no reason. Did you do something bad?” Lu Yiyun asked.

  “Something bad?” it screamed. “I just accidentally pooped on the sheet! Zhang Zian is a small man! He hung me up just for this. No wonder he can’t find a girlfriend!”


  “. . .” Eww!

  “Is this your cat? Get it away from me! It’s after me!” the grey parrot kept shouting.

  Lu Yiyun never met a guy who asked for a favor so rudely.

  “This is Jasmine,” she said.

  “I don’t care if it’s jasmine or lily, just get it away from me as soon as possible!” it screamed. “Or I will become cat s***, what a loss for human civilization!”


  “Jasmine, come here,” she said to Jasmine.

  Jasmine looked at Lu Yiyun unwillingly, but then ran back to her, meowing.

  She held Jasmine and put it outside the door, then closed the door, so she could think of what to do with this parrot. Zhang Zian had put it up there to punish it, so if she took it down, would he be upset?

  “What are you waiting for? Put me down now! There is a pair of scissors on the tea table over there!” The grey parrot flapped its wings and tried to fly, but soon it ran out of strength and went back to hanging upside down.

  “Were you imitating a lady’s sound for help just now?” Lu Yiyun asked it.

  It seemed to be proud of itself and replied loudly, “Who else could do that? Did it sound real?”


  “Yeah, very real,” she admitted, nodding.

  “There you go. Now get me down, will you?” It stared at her.

  “Give me a second.” Lu Yiyun took out her phone. “Let me call the manager first and ask him.”


  “No!” The grey parrot wanted to stop her. “Hey! Don’t!”


  Before she dialed the number, her phone rang. Zhang Zian was calling. “Hello?” She picked up the phone.

  “Hello? Lu Yiyun, please go to the second floor and release the grey parrot in the living room. I forgot to take it down before I left,” Zhang Zian said over the phone.

  “Oh, I’m on the second floor. I heard its voice so I came up,” she explained.

  Zhang Zian paused, like he was thinking of something, then asked, “Did it curse me?”


  “No!” The grey parrot shouted, signlling Lu Yiyun with its eyes.

  Lu Yiyun answered honestly, “It called you an idiot.”


  “Oh, then leave it hanging for 15 more minutes,” Zhang Zian decided. “What else did it say?”


  “He said ‘no wonder you don’t have a girlfriend.'”


  “Another 15 minutes!”


  The grey parrot shouted sadly and angrily, “You are heartless! You are cruel! You are not reasonable! Put me down!”


  “Then that’s it. I still have things to do. I will see you tonight.” Zhang Zian ignored its swearing and hung up the phone.

  Lu Yiyun calmed down and checked the time, then put her phone back in her pocket. “The manager said 30 more minutes of hanging. I’m counting it down now,” she said.

  The grey parrot shouted, “You are an idiot, too! Don’t you have your own brain? I thought you were here to help me! Would you commit suicide if he told you to do so?”


  “Of course not.” She shook her head. “I’m not a fool.”


  At that moment, someone passed the road outside the shop. The grey parrot seized the opportunity and screamed with a young lady’s voice, “Help! Help!”


  The passerby heard it and stopped.

  Lu Yiyun heard people discussing, “I heard someone screaming for help, should I call the police?”


  “I think I heard that too.”


  She walked to the window and opened it, saying to the passersby downstairs, “I’m sorry. There is no need to call the police. It’s just me watching a horror film.”


  The passersby looked at her and walked away.

  The grey parrot screamed with all its strength, “Ga! Ga! You stupid human beings! You are all idiots!”


  “I suggest you save your strength. There are still 29 minutes left,” Lu Yiyun suggested seriously.

  If she had to choose a role for the parrot in the comics, then it would be something like the farmhand, who always got into trouble. She sat on the corner of the sofa and put her hand on her chin, counting silently and immersing herself in her daydreams about comics.