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

  If only there was enough time……

  If she didn’t let these elves break into the dream……

  Zhuang Xiaodie felt deeply humiliated and filled with frustration and remorse, as well as some other complex emotions.

  Zhang Zian picked up the birdcage. “I know that some people who find sick or injured cats outdoors will take care of them, but stray cats may have been abused or harmed by humans. They will never be able to get close to any human and will always keep their distance…… This is not the cat’s fault. Even human beings who are hurt when they are young will have a shadow of that abuse. This is its self-protecting instinct, but it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t like you if it does not get close to you. It is merely choosing to express its like for you in another manner.”


  “In addition, do all the things that you want to do come in conflict with me chasing cats? When I get it back, if you want to go to those places, I will definitely accompany you,” Zhang Zian said softly. “But now, I am going to get it back in case it falls into the hands of the cat abuser. Or do you want to go with me?”


  She shook her head in disappointment. “If you go chasing cats now, you don’t have to do the other things.”


  This was no different than a final warning from her.

  Zhang Zian seemed to smile unconsciously and waved. “I believe we will meet again.”


  Looking at him carrying the birdcage into the back of the alley, she stood alone, not knowing where to go.

  She didn’t understand what he was thinking. Under normal circumstances, there would never be a man who refused to abandon a cat and left a blind date. But if he already knew that the cat was not a normal cat, but one that he was deeply connected to…… If he already knew, why not just make it clear?

  Since the black-and-white kitten had already run away, her communication with the butterfly was no longer obstructed. She did not need to follow him personally to know his every move.

  Zhang Zian ran to the end of the alley and saw the black-and-white kitten sitting not far away, as if waiting for him.

  “Hey! Is there anything here?” He raised his hand to say hello, and his body, which lacked exercise was aching slightly from all that running.

  This was a very quiet alley. If they went farther south, they would reach the suburbs where the dog market was. North of the dog market were a few villages. Beyond that, was complete wilderness.

  “Meow!” The kitten looked behind him.

  “She didn’t follow me. Only I am here.” He looked back and saw nothing behind him. “Although I feel bad for her…… In all senses, she should be able to take care of herself, and there is no need for me to worry for her.”


  “Meow!”


  For this kind of conversation, when it was unable to answer with a nod or shake of its head, the kitten lowered its head and drew on the ground with its claws.

  “No, you don’t have to be sorry. As this horrible parrot said, she and I probably will not meet further,” he comforted it. “It is a dream to be able to get along with such a girl for three days. Nothing to regret. She can definitely take care of herself, and I have more important things to do. This was the purpose of bringing me here, right?”


  “Meow!”


  The kitten suddenly became happy, as if it had regained its vitality, and it turned and ran two steps, then stopped and looked back at him.

  “Well, I will follow you.”


  He followed the kitten on down the alley, turned into another alley, and walked through it as well.

  Knock knock knock!

  On a patch of open space at the urban-rural junction, he heard a crisp knocking sound.

  “Come on! Look at it! Take a look! If it doesn’t look good, I will not take your money! Young and old, all good folk, come to see something new!”


  There was someone creating a lot of noise and soon gathered a lot of bystanders around him.

  During Golden Week, everyone was on holiday. In the daytime, besides playing mahjong and using their mobile phones, many people had nothing to do. Once there was something lively going on, they could gather like flies.

  The kitten sat down, stared at the crowd, and looked back at him.

  “What is so lively?”


  Zhang Zian was also very curious. Was it that the Jiangnan Leather Factory, whose boss had run away with his mistress, was here to open a shop to clear his warehouse of goods?

  The bystanders surrounded the area, and the crowd was about three people thick. He couldn’t get to the front with the birdcage in his hand. He had to find a high platform on the outskirts to be able to see.

  The one making all that noise was a middle-aged man. He had a foreign accent and looked rather unkempt as if he had not washed his face for many days.

  There was also a middle-aged woman next to him. She used a rope to circle a small open space, preventing people from entering. It was meant as a demarcation of where the performance would be.

  In the open space, she held two big dogs with ropes. In addition, there were……a few monkeys.

  The onlookers were smiling and pointing.

  “It’s a monkey!”


  “Haha! I have heard of monkeys, but it is the first time I’ve seen one.”


  “Take the phone and record it! Put it on TikTok and gain some fans!”


  “I also want to record this and send it to my friends.”


  These two people should be husband and wife who’d come from somewhere else. They relied on monkey performances to make a living, but because they were afraid of urban management authorities, they dared not enter the city center. Instead, they chose a place that was located between the village and the town, the part where the urban and rural landscapes merged……

  As he was far away, Zhang Zian could only see the general outline of the monkeys. Their necks were tied with thin iron chains, and the thin iron chains were fixed to a small truck driven by husband and wife……

  With the chains around their necks, they were not afraid of the monkeys running away. Besides, there were two big dogs watching by the side. As soon as the monkeys went a short distance away, they rushed out towards them with their yellow fangs and started barking loudly. This forced the monkeys to hurry back into the open space.

  These two big dogs were not purebred dogs. They were just ordinary mongrels. Zhang Zian could not detect what breed of dogs had created them from merely looking at them.

  The mongrel was banned in many cities because the dog was fierce and its temperament was not as stable as that of a purebred dog. It was easier for them to get out of control.

  These two dogs were being used as guard dogs when both husband and wife were roaming around. Otherwise, their safety would not be guaranteed.

  There was a total of five monkeys. The specific breed was not clear. Four of them were calmer, as if they had accepted their fate. However, perhaps one of them was new. It kept running to the crowd as if asking for help. However, before it could reach the rope, it was pulled back by the chain on its neck, and then the two big dogs rushed fiercely over to it. That scared it immensely, and it hurriedly beat a retreat.

  The action of the new monkey caused the onlookers to laugh.

  “I heard that there is a shepherd dog. I didn’t expect to see a monkey dog!”


  “This dog is a god and can scare the monkey. Even I am scared of it!”


  “Boss, when will the show begin? Hurry up!”


  “It’s starting! It’s starting! Everyone, please wait a little bit. We will start soon!” The man smiled and politely replied to them. He wanted to wait a little longer. After all, the more people, the better, as not everyone was willing to pay.

  The woman took out two signs and placed them on the ground. On them, were the QR codes of Alipay and WeChat Pay.