Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It was important to emphasize that people who were unfamiliar with pets tended to confuse “sexual maturity” with the “complete developmental period” of an animal. They usually mixed these two concepts up and talked about them as if they were the same.
Take humans, for example.
Thirteen- or fourteen-year-olds, or even younger children, would have already reached sexual maturity. They could have an early marriage, early pregnancy, early childbirth, and also go out early in the morning to play. However, they could not be said to have grown up. They still needed the Minor Protection Law. It was not until they were the age of 18 that they were legal adults. It was then not until their early 20s that their brains and bodies finally stop developing. This marked their complete developmental period.
If an owner didn’t let their cats have an early marriage, early pregnancy, early birth, and go out early to play, they could be sterilized when they reached sexual maturity. It was the equivalent of a 13-year-old human being entering the palace to serve the emperor as a eunuch. However, the body would continue to develop.
Most cats stopped developing after a year or so, while a few cats had a full developmental period of up to three years.
Zhao Qi secretly felt that, although she had been raising a cat for a long time, she was a newbie in this pet shop. She was always learning new things. This was despite the fact that she could speak on and on about her cat at work and earn the envy of many young female colleagues.
At the same time, she was glad she’d come. She did not take Shi Shi’s advice and implemented her suggestions. This would undoubtedly make Lan Lan sad because it simply wanted to protect her. The misunderstanding was entirely because human beings always speculated on the cat’s psychology from their own perspective.
This was how things were. As for Wang Yan and Zhou Jiena, it was like opening doors to a new world for them. Slowly, they had let down their guard.
Cats that were bred at home, even at CFA-certified cat houses or ordinary pet stores, legitimate or unscrupulous businesses, did not have their personalities determined by the place where they were born. Rather, it was dependent on the owner’s qualities and actions.
“Well, this is no longer a time for lessons on a beautiful weekend. I shall leave now,” Zhao Qi said. Although it was a lesson, it was not boring. She felt very fulfilled.
“Are you meeting Shi Shi?” Zhang Zian glanced at her shopping bag. They were both humans, but why did she seem to have so much money?
Zhao Qi looked a little stiff. “Oh yes, she is still waiting for me… Forget it. Let her boyfriend accompany her. I woke up a little too early today. I am a bit tired. I think I shall go home.”
Zhang Zian didn’t reply to that. She would turn down a meeting with her best friend so easily?
Zhao Qi was not in the mood to continue shopping. The root cause of her excursion today was that she did not want to stay at home to use the bathroom. She did not want Lan Lan to stare at her. However, she was now no longer bothered by its behavior. Thus, there was no need to tire herself out over the weekend. She could now go home and take a long rest so that she could face work and overtime on Monday.
Most importantly, before Lan Lan really grew into an adult cat, she wanted to spend more time with it. This was something that she thought she had lost but had suddenly gotten back. She had not known how to cherish this in the past. Now, she did not want to lose it again.
From the pet shop, she flagged down a taxi and told the driver her home address. Once in the cab, she sent a message to Shi Shi, telling her that she would not be meeting her. Then she turned off her phone. She could imagine how furious Shi Shi would be when she realized that she would not be meeting with her. Thus, telling her by text allowed her to avoid dealing with her anger, unlike if she had called.
The taxi stopped at the door of her house. She paid for the cab and quickly walked to the building where she lived.
“Hey, Zhao Qi, didn’t you go out early in the morning? Did you just come back?”
Zhao Qi looked to her side. Liu Wenying took her daughter to walk around the area. In their hand was a leashed white cat. She smiled and greeted them.
This white cat was a little smaller than her family’s Lan Lan. It was a local cat. Unlike Liu Wenying’s previous lively Siamese cat, this cat was a little timid. When it saw Zhao Qi, it hid behind Liu Wenying and kept staring at her.
“Yeah, I just came back from outside.” Zhao Qi smiled, bent down, and said, “Are you out for some sun, Yue Yue?”
The sunshine in the early summer morning was very bright, though the weather was not as hot. It was rather breezy, so one did not need to worry about catching a cold. There were also not as many mosquitoes, so it was a good time to take the children out for some sun.
Yue Yue was also very shy, but she was familiar with Zhao Qi, as they often met. She nodded and said softly, “Good morning, Sister Qi Qi.”
“Good girl!” Zhao Qi scratched her nose a little with her fingertip. Then she noticed that Yue Yue had several unknown yellow flowers in her hand.
“Yue Yue, where did you pick these flowers? Is it dirty there?” she asked.
“Under the tree…” She turned around and pointed, speaking very sweetly and softly.
“Do you like flowers?” Zhao Qi asked.
Looking up at her mother, she replied, “It’s to go and see Fluffy.”
To go and see…Fluffy? Fluffy was the name of the cat that had died from rabies. Zhao Qi was stunned and looked up at Liu Wenying.
Liu Wenying nodded and said calmly, “Yue Yue misses Fluffy, and so she decided to take some flowers to her grave. We will also visit Whitey’s mother and give her some flowers.”
Whitey was the name of this little white cat. Its mother was a stray cat and had died in a notorious cat abuse incident. A good-for-nothing had abused her to death. Liu Wenying had then decided to bury the mother’s body next to Fluffy.
Zhao Qi had heard about the cat abuse. It had used to be reported on the forum or Weibo, but these reports were rare nowadays.
“Sister Wenying…”
She admired Liu Wenying. Although she did not know how Liu Wenying had explained the death of Fluffy and the white cat to her daughter, parents generally deliberately avoided the concept of death.
Liu Wenying smiled faintly. “I used to bring the children out for the tomb-sweeping holiday to pay respect to their elders.”
Zhao Qi looked through her shopping bags and took a fake flower from the outer packaging of a piece of clothing. She handed it to Yue Yue. “Yue Yue, my Lan Lan and Fluffy were good friends. Help Lan Lan give this to Fluffy, will you?”
“Okay.” Yue Yue stuck her hand out to receive it. She held it tightly in her palm. She had met Lan Lan before and had used to bring her cat to Zhao Qi’s house to play. In the past, it had been Fluffy. Now, it was Whitey.
“Good girl.” Zhao Qi gently rubbed the top of Yue Yue’s head.
Looking at Liu Wenying and Yue Yue holding hands, as well as the little white cat, Zhao Qi grew more attached to her own Lan Lan.
Lan Lan would grow up, grow old, and die one day. This was the inevitable ending of everything.
But before that day, she and Lan Lan had a long long way to go.
