After contentedly obtaining her exclusive autograph, Jiang Yin emboldened herself to make another request. “May I take a photo with you while holding these?” she asked, pointing to the photographs intended for her roommates.
“Of course,” Jiang Zhen readily agreed once more. “Is it alright if we use my phone? I have already adjusted the beauty filters and parameters.” As a celebrity, she still maintained a small sense of professional image.
Song Xi watched helplessly as the two girls held up the phone and began taking selfies.
Jiang Zhen held the phone, framing them both in the lens.
“Your expression is so stiff, A-Yin. Smile a little more.”
Jiang Yin rarely took photos like this. Seeing her own face appear on the screen made her feel inevitably self-conscious. Following Jiang Zhen’s advice, she pulled the corners of her mouth a bit higher. While her smile grew wider, her expression became even more awkward.
“Hahahaha,” Jiang Zhen could not help but burst into laughter. “Let us do this: do not try to smile. Otherwise, it looks as if I have kidnapped you.”
The joke caused Jiang Yin to relax for a fleeting second. In that exact moment, Jiang Zhen captured her perfect expression and pressed the shutter.
“I will edit the photos a little more and send them to—”
“Zhenzhen!” An anxious call from outside the door interrupted Jiang Zhen’s words.
A second later, Shen Ningzhao strode into the room. With a deep frown and a face full of concern, she crouched down in front of Jiang Zhen.
“I heard you were injured. Is it serious?” Her tone was filled with urgency and care. “How did you get hurt? Did something go wrong on your end? Was there not a volunteer responsible for assisting you? Why did she not—”
“Sister Zhao,” Jiang Zhen braced herself and interrupted the rapid-fire questioning. “It is not serious; it is just a scratch. Nothing went wrong on our end, and the volunteer girl was injured as well.”
She pointed to Jiang Yin beside her. “Little Jiang was also scratched by the cat. Her situation is likely a bit more serious than mine.”
However, Shen Ningzhao seemed completely deaf to the latter half of the sentence. She stood up as if relieved. “It is good that you are fine.”
As she stood up, Jiang Zhen’s gaze moved upward, and she realized there were two more people in the room. Shen Ningzhao had brought the camera crew with her.
“Was all of that filmed?” Jiang Zhen could not help but frown. “Sister Zhao, why did you not tell me—”
“I am sorry, Zhenzhen. I was just too worried,” Shen Ningzhao smiled dismissively. “They followed me on their own; I did not notice.”
Did she really not notice? Jiang Yin could not help but ask herself internally. How “indifferent” would one have to be to not notice two grown men following behind on the way over?
She suppressed the urge to speak and remained silent.
Since the cameras were rolling, Jiang Zhen could not say much. She said to Shen Ningzhao, “Little Jiang still needs to stay for observation for a while. Sister Zhao, if you have other things to attend to, you may head back first.”
“There is no rush. I came here specifically to accompany you,” Shen Ningzhao said, unexpectedly sitting down on Jiang Zhen’s other side. “How much longer does Little Jiang need to stay for observation?” She turned her head slightly and asked Jiang Yin in a very gentle tone.
“I can leave now,” Jiang Yin replied with a polite smile. “The observation time has been sufficient. Sister Zhenzhen, let us go.”
“Oh? But—”
“The time is up, Sister. Half an hour is plenty.” As Jiang Yin spoke, she stood up.
That sudden “Sister” caught Jiang Zhen off guard. She froze for a moment, and it took a while for her to realize Jiang Yin was addressing her. Although she had been called “Sister” by others before, hearing those words from Jiang Yin’s mouth made her feel strangely… stirred.
Jiang Zhen lowered her head and coughed lightly to hide her flustered expression. When she looked up again, her trademark sweet smile had returned. “In that case, Sister Ningzhao, let us return to Mony Hospital.”
Shen Ningzhao, who had barely settled into her seat, stood up again and said casually, “Fine. Our car is outside. Why do you and Teacher Song not ride with us?”
With the cameras present, Jiang Zhen found it difficult to either refuse or agree. While she was hesitating, Jiang Yin spoke up proactively. “Sister, I can take a taxi there myself. You all should go ahead.”
Her suggestion instantly relieved Jiang Zhen. She turned to give Jiang Yin a grateful look, then turned to Shen Ningzhao and said, “Then I will trouble you, Sister Ningzhao.”
“Why be so polite between us?” Shen Ningzhao said, reaching out her hand toward her. “Your knee is injured, so walking must be painful. Come, let me support you.”
She gave Jiang Zhen no chance to refuse, directly taking hold of her wrist. Under the gaze of two cameras, they prepared to walk out of the ward.
“It is better to turn off the cameras,” Jiang Zhen said, stopping in her tracks. “This is a hospital, and there are many civilians outside. They likely do not want to appear directly on camera like this.”
“Zhenzhen is right,” Shen Ningzhao smiled apologetically at the lens. “I was inconsiderate.”
The cameras were turned off. Jiang Zhen’s tense body finally relaxed a little.
“Let us go.” Shen Ningzhao continued to hold her wrist, leading her out of the observation area.
Song Xi followed closely behind. Before leaving, she said to Jiang Yin, “Little sister, we will reimburse you for the taxi fare later.”
After everyone had left, Jiang Yin took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She could not help but complain internally that Shen Ningzhao’s desire to perform in front of the lens was far too strong.
The forced closeness felt fake, making Jiang Yin feel quite uncomfortable as a bystander. For reasons she could not quite name, she simply did not want to see Jiang Zhen and Shen Ningzhao being too intimate.
After brooding in the observation room for two minutes, Jiang Yin also departed.
After taking a car back to Mony Hospital, the recording for the third segment had not yet begun because two rather slow male artists were still completing the previous task.
After resting in the temporary dressing room for a while, Jiang Yin also returned.
“Do you want to go see the civet cat?” Jiang Yin leaned against the doorframe. “I saw the doctor just now.”
“Yes!” Jiang Zhen sprang up from her chair and turned to Song Xi. “Sister Song, call me if filming is about to start. A-Yin and I are going to check on the cat we caught!”
Before Song Xi could say anything, the two girls had already vanished like a puff of smoke.
Only she, Liu Yin, and Zhang Xuan remained in the dressing room.
The other two were slumped unceremoniously on the sofa, staring at the ceiling as they said to Song Xi, “Sister, we are hungry.”
Song Xi suppressed the urge to punch them both and opened her phone to order a meal for them.
Watching those two “young people” who acted as if they had been tired for three years after running just a few steps, Song Xi fell into a state of deep frustration.
The doctor who had caught the civet cat with them was named Yang Peng. She was currently on the second floor of the hospital conducting an examination on the cat.
Seeing the two girls peering curiously through the doorway, she smiled and waved them in.
“I have already looked at it. The civet cat does indeed have ringworm,” Yang Peng said. “Fortunately, it was discovered early, so the problem is not very serious. I have already administered medication, so do not worry.”
“However, ringworm can be transmitted to humans,” Yang Peng added with concern. “You should both pay attention to your own health over the next few days and go to the hospital promptly if you notice any issues.”
Jiang Zhen and Jiang Yin nodded in agreement and walked over to the cat’s cage.
Perhaps because the environment was too unfamiliar, the civet cat only dared to huddle in the corner of the cage. Seeing the two culprits who had caught it, it remained still, its round eyes filled with wariness.
“It is a bit afraid of you,” Yang Peng stepped forward to explain. “Most kittens that are not raised by humans are cautious and timid. It is normal for it to be afraid.”
Seeing the civet cat looking somewhat listless due to its illness, a pang of sadness rose in Jiang Zhen’s heart. “If it were not a stray, would it not have gotten sick?”
“It is simply not being kept by anyone; it does not necessarily count as a stray,” Yang Peng smiled and offered comfort. “After all, the Earth is the home of all living beings. They live on their own land.”
Jiang Zhen tilted her head and thought for a moment, finding the doctor’s words reasonable.
“However,” Yang Peng paused, “from my observation, it is possible that the civet cat was abandoned.”
“Abandoned?” Jiang Yin and Jiang Zhen asked simultaneously in surprise.
“Because there were traces of a collar around its neck.” Having seen too many instances of pets being abandoned, Yang Peng showed little emotional fluctuation while speaking. In contrast, the two girls before her both showed expressions of heartache and indignation.
Jiang Yin looked at the cat in the cage and said softly, “There are also many abandoned cats at school. Some senior students keep cats in the dormitories, but when they graduate and cannot take them away, they leave them on campus.”
“That is too much,” Jiang Zhen murmured, lowering her head. “How can someone abandon such a lovely creature? Is this how a human should act?”
“Human nature can be even uglier than you imagine,” Yang Peng said. She wore gloves and patted the civet cat’s head through the cage. “As pet doctors, we have treated many animals that have suffered abuse.”
“That is why the intention of your production team is truly good,” Yang Peng said.
Jiang Zhen gazed at the cat, which had begun to doze off in its cage, and remained silent for a long time.
“Sister,” Jiang Yin spoke suddenly. She took out her phone and asked Yang Peng, “May I have your contact information? Would it be possible for you to update us on the cat’s condition when the time comes?”
“Of course,” Yang Peng took off her gloves and pulled her phone from her pocket. “Let me scan your code.”
Jiang Zhen could not add contacts freely, so she looked at Jiang Yin with an expectant gaze. The latter immediately understood and smiled. “I will forward it to you immediately, Sister Zhenzhen.”
“By the way,” Jiang Yin asked after adding the contact, “what about the medical expenses?”
“Your production team has already paid in advance. Since they designed the animal rescue segment, they cannot let the hospital bear the cost,” Yang Peng said. “There should even be a surplus, which we will return to the production team later.”
“Then we are relieved.” Jiang Zhen nodded and turned to take a few photos of the cat.
Just as she opened her phone, Song Xi called, telling her to come downstairs to continue recording.
The two said goodbye to Yang Peng and went downstairs together.
“Is the next segment individual or in pairs?” Jiang Zhen could not remember for a moment and turned to ask Jiang Yin.
“It seems,” Jiang Yin recalled the contents of the script, “you have to cooperate with Shen Ningzhao again.”