Su Li could clearly feel that the moment she sought help from the young shop assistant, the girl’s eyes lit up immediately.
She glanced around, and seeing no one else had come in, lowered the brim of her cap and took small, quick steps toward her.
Then she stood beside Su Li, her gaze scanning over the cat food shelf.
“Yes, sis, we’ve got some. The same delicious kind I eat is still here…”
As she spoke, her eyes swept across the cat food on the shelves.
She’d tried many brands and flavors herself— they weren’t bad at all.
“The chicken flavor and the six kinds of fish are tasty.”
When she pointed her slender finger at a brand called “Miaoqu,” Su Li could clearly sense the girl swallow subconsciously.
For a moment, Su Li wasn’t sure whether the recommendation was from a cat’s perspective or a human’s.
“The salmon flavor is good too.”
Seeing that Su Li didn’t seem intent on taking anything yet, she pointed to another brand called “Chanmiao.”
Su Li followed the direction of her finger and nodded.
It should be from a cat’s point of view, right?
After all, the way this shop girl paid such close attention to cat food— it was likely she remembered exactly which brands sold better in the store.
“Thanks.”
So Su Li put all the cat food she’d recommended into her shopping basket.
After watching the girl shake her head, lower her hat again, and hurry back with quick steps to her seat in the corner, Su Li picked out a few more types of cat food.
These were all ones stray cats liked. In the past, when she didn’t cook enough, she’d often feed them cat food and treats.
Maybe because she’d successfully promoted her favorite cat food, Su Li could feel the shop girl was genuinely happy—she even gently swayed where she sat.
When it came time to pay, Su Li stood quietly to the side, watching her ring up the items.
She clearly noticed the shop girl’s hand pause slightly when she saw the other cat food brands, but she didn’t say anything more.
Only when she handed Su Li a shopping bag did she speak.
“Here, this cat food is for you. It should be really good.”
Su Li handed her a bag of cat food. The girl was visibly stunned.
“Ah!”
The shop girl let out a reflexive sound, then quickly covered her mouth.
Perhaps out of shyness, she lowered her hat even more, a faint blush appearing on her fair cheeks.
It was a bag of “Meow Fairy” brand cat food— an expensive brand.
Even though she worked here, she couldn’t bear to buy something so pricey.
“Sardine flavor. It should taste really good.”
Su Li said. In her past life, her cat had loved sardine-flavored food.
But she’d just noticed that this flavor was generally more expensive in the store.
“Expensive.”
A soft, sweet voice came from the shop girl.
Her pink ponytail hung low, and she looked very nervous.
She lightly pushed the cat food back toward Su Li, but her eyes kept darting to it.
Her little fists clenched tight, as if she was trying to make up her mind.
“You recommended so many great cat foods to me. Think of this as my thank-you.”
“If you say no, I might be too embarrassed to ask for your advice next time.”
After Su Li said this, the girl hesitated, then slowly pulled the bag toward herself.
Her small hand rested on the cat food, fingers trembling slightly.
She pressed her cap even lower, then whispered:
“Thank you.”
Not until Su Li’s footsteps faded away did the girl finally lift her head to watch her go.
When she saw Su Li wave casually, as if it was nothing, she looked stunned.
It wasn’t until Su Li had been gone for quite a while that she glanced around the store, then, like she was opening a treasure chest, carefully opened the bag of cat food and tasted a bite.
Her eyes lit up immediately.
But then she cautiously resealed the bag.
It was too precious— she couldn’t bear to eat more.
If she ate too much, she’d lose the taste for cheaper cat food later.
……
By the time Su Li arrived at her old apartment complex, the sky had already darkened quite a bit.
As she walked along the path, she saw a familiar figure, staggering.
Chi Qingya.
Clearly, she’d had a lot to drink again.
Su Li deliberately slowed her pace and watched as Chi Qingya stumbled toward the little cat shelter Su Li had built.
She kicked over one of the food bowls Su Li had set out, and her brows furrowed.
“Where did those stupid cats go?”
Hearing her mutter, Su Li let out a long breath.
Though she kept her expression calm, she knew she wasn’t happy with her own reaction.
She hadn’t expected Chi Qingya to be this kind of person.
To secretly bully her cats.
She watched cute cat videos all day, gushing about how adorable they were— yet behind the scenes, she hated strays like this.
Maybe what she liked were the more delicate, fancy cats.
Even among cats, there was inequality.
Su Li observed coldly.
But it didn’t matter. From now on, those stray cats wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.
Because Tu Dou and the others had gone out to play and hadn’t eaten yet, they’d avoided being harmed.
Su Li started searching for them around the neighborhood, softly calling their names.
Every so often, a soft “meow” would sound by her feet.
Su Li crouched down and saw Tu Dou rubbing against her legs.
She gently patted its little head and fed it a handful of cat food.
“Tu Dou, see if you can gather everyone. I’m taking you all home.”
Su Li wasn’t sure if Tu Dou could understand her, but it didn’t really matter.
If he didn’t get it, she could wait here or go find the rest of the strays herself.
“Meow.”
Tu Dou didn’t continue eating. Instead, he began to move, slowly padding away.
Su Li crouched near the little cat shelter, looking at the small house she’d built for the strays.
After a moment of thought, she decided not to take it down.
Maybe, not long from now, new strays would show up here.
With the little house still around, they’d have somewhere to take shelter too.
Maybe because Tu Dou was an orange tabby and orange cats were known for their “network”— a few cats showed up not long after, meowing as they gathered around Su Li.
It took nearly half an hour before Tu Dou came back with the last cat in tow.
Together with Tu Dou, Niu Nai, and Dou Fu, there were four strays in total, all different breeds.
The rest of the strays were wanderers at heart, calling the whole world their home.
Some of them Su Li wouldn’t even see once a month.
But these four were familiar faces. One of them was a Persian cat named Bo Cai.
After the cats had eaten their fill, Su Li placed them into her backpack. They were all well-behaved.
Though their personalities varied, none of them fought—they all sat quietly inside the bag.
Thankfully, the backpack was large enough to hold four cats comfortably.
Instead of heading home right away, Su Li took them to an animal hospital first for full checkups and to get them all spayed or neutered.
The doctors looked surprised, and Su Li gave them a shy smile and quietly waited nearby.
“All four? Full checkups and sterilization? That’s going to be expensive,” one of the doctors warned.
Su Li shook her head. “It’s fine, doctor. I’ve got money.”
She finally had the means to give the cats a real home.
When she showed them her bank account, with over 100,000 yuan sitting in it, the doctors didn’t question her further— just quietly marveled at how young she was to have so much money.
But this was S City.
There were plenty of young women like Su Li with a bit of wealth. Still, someone who brought in so many strays for treatment all at once was rare.
Su Li hadn’t stored all her money in just one app.
The checkups, sterilizations, and treatments for minor health issues came out to a total of 10,000 yuan.
Su Li didn’t feel anything in particular about spending it.
With support from her landlord, Bai Huizi, she’d already made 80,000 yuan in just one day.
Spending 10,000 so that her cats could be healthy and stay by her side? Completely worth it.
She didn’t feel the slightest hesitation about spending the money.
Once everything was done, Su Li noted down all the medication and post-op care instructions for each cat, then gently placed them back in her backpack.
As she passed the convenience store downstairs, she saw the shop girl still leaning over the counter, seemingly watching an anime. The cat food beside her wasn’t the bag Su Li had given her.
But as if sensing someone’s gaze, the girl looked up, her eyes following the direction of Su Li’s backpack and staring at the cats inside for a long while.
She was so caught up in the moment that she even forgot to pull her hat down.