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

  Xiao Zhuang’s remark left the young woman, Zhang Zian, and his girlfriend Ting Ting astonished.

  “When did you adopt a pet? Why didn’t you tell me?” Ting Ting asked looking upset.

  She knew that her boyfriend didn’t really care that much about pets. He didn’t like or hate them. Using her woman’s sixth sense, she immediately wondered if Xiao Zhuang had once adopted a pet for an ex-girlfriend. If Xiao Zhuang agreed to adopt a pet for his ex and not for her, she would seriously need to re-evaluate their relationship.

  Xiao Zhuang felt wronged, and quickly explained himself. “I mean, I’ve tried. But I haven’t really adopted one.”


  Ting Ting hadn’t gotten the idea of adopting out of the blue. Often, possibly under the influence of public opinions on Weibo, she had occasionally showed support for pet adoption. Sometimes she showed the Weibo pictures to Xiao Zhuang, telling him how sad the cat or dog looked.

  The audience paid more attention than the speaker. Ting Ting was just now remembering this, but Xiao Zhuang had always kept the information in his mind.

  After New Year’s, it would soon be Valentine’s Day, a western holiday. Xiao Zhuang was having a hard time picking out the right Valentine’s Day gift for Ting Ting. A red packet was too unoriginal. He could buy her new clothes or a purse, but considering his poor taste, Ting Ting might not the stuff he picked out. Or he could buy some other gift, but he wasn’t exactly sure what Ting Ting liked.

  After careful consideration, he decided to get her a pet, since she liked them so much. It would have to be an adopted pet, not only to save money, but also to impress Ting Ting with his kindness. It was like hitting two birds with one stone.

  In order to surprise her, he made the trip behind her back to get her the perfect pet, using the excuse of working overtime. He was planning on putting the pet in a box on Valentine’s Day, and giving it to her as a surprise.

  Before, he thought adopting was simple. Since animals were in desperate need of adoption, generally speaking, the pet should be handed over to him as soon as he wanted, right?

  He only heard Ting Ting talk about pet adoption a few times, and didn’t really know where to do it. He searched around on Weibo, and found a few places claiming to offer free pet adoption in the city. He checked multiple locations in order to pick a nice one for Ting Ting. She was quite picky, after all.

  Xiao Zhuang arrived at the first adoption agency, called Agency A.

  Looking back, Agency A was the most reasonable one. They were friendly at first, and enthusiastically introduced a dozen of ownerless pets to Xiao Zhuang, both cats and dogs.

  After telling this part, Xiao Zhuang complained, “Seriously, I know nothing about pets. I haven’t owned one or tried to learn about them. I wanted to adopt a pet for Ting Ting, but I didn’t want one that was too mean or unfriendly. If it scratched or bit Ting Ting, I’d hate myself. So after hearing their introduction, I casually asked for more information about the temperaments of each breed. I didn’t expect it, but somehow my question rubbed the guy the wrong way. His attitude changed completely. He pointed at nose at me, and said that I was a hypocrite, a fake pet-lover. Then he told me to go as far away as possible.”


  The girl interrupted excitedly, “You should have never asked about the breeds! Don’t you know that it only promotes the unhealthy focuses of the corrupted pet industry? All pets are equal, and each one of them is a little angle waiting for your rescue.”


  “The corrupted pet industry is none of my business!” Xiao Zhuang rolled his eyes and argued back. “If Ting Ting didn’t want to adopt a pet, I’d never of went there even if you paid me a hundred bucks!”


  The strange girl widened her eyes in anger.

  Zhang Zian had been asked the same question about temperament by countless customers. Even his first one had asked, Zhao Qi, when he visited his shop. He’d patiently answered each question more times than he could count. Customers came to pick the perfect pet. It was a perfectly normal question to ask, and had nothing to do with breed discrimination. In fact, as a whole, purebred cats were indeed more friendly and affectionate than mixed cats. The customers deserved to know this. It was wrong and shady to withhold the information.

  Customers were always the most important, and they deserved to know. It was a matter of integrity. No matter how unserious Zhang Zian seemed in private, he never would of had second thoughts on this issue.

  But in pet adoption agencies, that type of question should never be raised. The workers would immediately start to hate you. Most pets in adoption agencies were mutt dogs and mixed cats, with breeds that couldn’t be identified. Their breed was a forbidden question and it was impolite to ask.

  Still, as Xiao Zhuang told his story, he was full of anger. He said furiously, “After living to such an age, it was the first time I met a f*cking dumb*ss like this! I was too shy back then and ran away without a word. I regret it so much now! I should have stayed and taught him a lesson! ”


  After hearing this, Ting Ting’s doubt toward Xiao Zhuang turned into appreciation. She held his hands, as if she was the one being insulted back then. “Xiao Zhuang, thank you for doing so much for me. I was wrong to blame you.”


  Xiao Zhuang grabbed her hands too. “Ting Ting…”


  “Well, if there was an Agency A, there should be an Agency B too, right? How about continuing your PDA after finishing the story?” Zhang Zian refused to witness their moment.

  Everybody smirked except the strange girl.

  Xiao Zhuang suddenly realized what he was doing, and scratched his head in embarrassment. Ting Ting shyly drew back her hands as well.

  “Ahem!” Xiao Zhuang cleared his throat and continued. “After leaving Agency A, I wanted to go home first. But then I realized that I’d already lied to Ting Ting about working overtime, so I might as well visit a few other places. I figured that I’d already seen the worst, and the other places couldn’t have been worse than that man. I was wrong.”


  Xiao Zhuang went to Agency B. To prevent the same thing from happening again, he asked the same question as soon as he entered, about the temperaments of different breeds. If the owner lashed out on him again, he would take the chance and give the angry speech that he didn’t give back in Agency A.

  However, the person in charge of Agency B wasn’t mad at all. Instead, he answered his questions patiently and happily. Xiao Zhuang knew nothing about pets, and couldn’t validate the information given by that person. But he did sound very professional.

  Under the help of Agency B’s manager, Xiao Zhuang soon picked out a cat. It was a non-purebred American Shorthair. The manager told him with great sympathy that it used to be a stray cat living a miserable life, until it was rescued by the adoption agency. Now it was eagerly waiting for a new owner to love it.

  Something gross happened next.