He Qi was startled, pausing on the spot. Squinting, she saw a man and a woman standing outside an unfamiliar apartment building, both furious, pointing fingers and shouting at each other.
Afraid Li Jiajia might get hurt if she fought with the man, He Qi’s legs moved like lightning, almost swinging the shopping bag out of her hands.
“What’s going on?! What are you doing?!” He Qi shouted before reaching them, using her voice to assert authority for herself and Li Jiajia.
The two turned to look at her.
The man had a head of dry, straw-like curls and an aggressive face, swearing angrily: “Damn it, mind your own business!”
Seeing He Qi, Li Jiajia immediately jabbed her finger at the man, complaining: “This idiot brought his pet cat out to leave it in the neighborhood!”
He Qi stepped closer and stood beside Li Jiajia, noticing a pet carrier at their feet. Inside curled a British Shorthair blue cat.
She crouched to check the cat—it seemed healthy, meowing warily but with no obvious injuries.
“Abandoning it?” He Qi asked the man calmly.
The curly-haired man scratched his head impatiently and cursed again: “What does me bringing a cat out have to do with you? You live by the sea and act like it’s your business?”
“Abandoning it, and you still think you’re right? You bastard!” Li Jiajia grabbed the shopping bag from He Qi and swung it at the man, firing back a string of insults without losing ground.
The situation escalated. The man seemed about to get physical, so He Qi took out her phone to record and dialed 110, though she didn’t call, holding the screen between them.
She asked, “Is the cat sick?”
“Hell no! It’s perfectly healthy! I even spent hundreds getting it neutered!”
Seeing he didn’t seem to lie, He Qi asked, “Then why aren’t you keeping it?”
The man angrily kicked the carrier. The blue cat yowled twice in fright. Li Jiajia immediately crouched, pulling the carrier toward herself.
“It was my ex-girlfriend’s! We broke up! She left this damn cat with me! Why should I keep it?”
He Qi understood the situation, put away her phone (recording still on), and kept a wary eye on him.
“You sure your ex isn’t keeping it?”
“Hell no!” The man cursed, then, suddenly changing his tone, smirked mockingly: “Justice warriors, cat lovers, if you care so much, take it. I won’t charge—just consider it making friends.”
Li Jiajia, blood boiling, tried to swing her fists, but He Qi stopped her.
Pointing to the nearby security camera, He Qi said to the man, “Fine. We’ll take the cat, but don’t ever try to get it back or extort us. The cameras are recording everything.”
The man twisted his lips into a cold smile: “So you just wanted a free cat, pretending to be noble.”
He then walked back to the apartment with his hands in his pockets.
“I’m going to kill this scumbag!” Li Jiajia shouted, glaring at the building before turning to He Qi.
He Qi patted her forehead helplessly: “Hero, you’re a law-abiding citizen, remember? Abandoning a cat isn’t illegal, but hitting people is. He can abandon it; you hit him, the police will come for tea.”
Li Jiajia wilted, glaring at the building one last time. Feeling guilty, she grabbed the shopping bag in one hand and the carrier in the other, not letting He Qi help, and pitifully asked: “What do we do with the cat?”
“You keep it?” He Qi glanced at her.
“I can barely handle myself.”
He Qi took a deep breath, about to lecture her, but Li Jiajia’s innocent expression won.
“Chen Jin is mildly allergic to cat hair. Check nearby pet hospitals or pet shops. If necessary, pay for boarding.”
Li Jiajia thought that was workable. She was always impulsive, but now considered herself the heroic savior of the poor little cat. She never questioned why she had to pay when others abandoned pets.
“Little one, come play at my place first!”
Li Jiajia lived alone. Her apartment was slightly smaller than He Qi’s, but more than enough for one. She had already prepared the hot pot ingredients and base. Originally, she was going downstairs to meet He Qi, but circumstances led to this situation. Now she was organizing what He Qi brought.
“You bought so much? We can’t finish it in three days.”
Li Jiajia’s voice came from the kitchen. He Qi had just contacted nearby pet shops and was playing with the cat through the carrier while waiting for a reply, keeping the metal door closed to avoid stressing it.
“Not much, just some drinks that take up space. Save the rest for next time.”
Li Jiajia pulled out drinks from the bag: “No wonder your swing at that scumbag landed so solidly.”
He Qi frowned helplessly, smiled, and took a photo of the blue cat, posting it on Moments with the caption “Little one.”
Several former colleagues liked it, Zhang Xinyi commented “So cute,” and Fang Yi’s name appeared in the likes. He Qi realized it had been a long time since contacting him, and she had even forgotten about the promised thank-you gift for his help amid her busy writing.
Fang Yi commented under the post: “Sister, did you get a cat?”
He Qi replied: “No, it was abandoned by someone else.”
Within seconds, Fang Yi messaged her directly.
“Sister, that cat was abandoned? Have you found someone to adopt it yet?”
“Not yet. I just asked a few pet shops, and they said they won’t take it.”
“I want to adopt it.”
Li Jiajia brought the plated lamb rolls to the table, signaling that they could start eating. He Qi responded to Fang Yi’s message while standing, her expression serious.
“Are you serious? Pets are a lot of work, and you’re still a student. Don’t make an impulsive decision—its previous owner clearly lacked responsibility.”
After sending the message, she washed her hands, sat down at the table, added some vegetables to the hot pot, and told Li Jiajia, “I just posted a photo of the cat on my Moments. Fang Yi says he wants to adopt it.”
Li Jiajia made the same skeptical expression: “Can he handle it? Don’t let him just show off. Adoption requires responsibility.”
He Qi nodded, reluctant to overthink, but instinctively thinking Fang Yi might not be the best choice. She continued cooking and waiting for his response.
After a while, her phone dinged with a new message. Li Jiajia glanced at it, seeing He Qi slowly put down her chopsticks, pick up her phone, and focus intently.
“Sister, I’m currently renting near the university, just a 3–5 minute drive from school. Mondays and Wednesdays have more classes, but overall I have plenty of free time to take care of the cat. My family had a Ragdoll when I was young; we grew up together until it passed at fifteen. So I do have experience with cats. During breaks, I can take it back to Ningshi. If you’re still worried, you can visit anytime. I truly want to care for it.”
He Qi read carefully, her doubts mostly gone. She reported the cat’s condition truthfully:
“It looks healthy. The previous owner said it’s neutered and in good health, but I haven’t taken it to the vet yet. There’s a chance it could have serious illnesses or behavioral issues, which may be why it was abandoned.”
Fang Yi’s reply was confident:
“I can handle it.”
He Qi didn’t reply further, handing her phone to Li Jiajia to decide together.
“I take back what I said earlier. He actually seems responsible,” Li Jiajia said, biting her chopsticks, clearly impressed by Fang Yi’s reasoning.
“So… let him adopt it?” He Qi asked.
Li Jiajia had no objections and returned the phone.
He Qi asked when Fang Yi could take the cat. He said tomorrow would work; he would buy all necessary supplies tonight, and since he had no afternoon classes, he could take the cat and go to the vet for a checkup.
He Qi agreed and discussed with Li Jiajia where “Little One” would stay that night.
“I have a packed schedule tomorrow, probably won’t have time to bring the cat to Fang Yi,” Li Jiajia said, sweating from the meal, removing her jacket.
He Qi, being homebound, was free anytime and realized the responsibility would mostly fall on her. She looked down at the blue cat resting against the metal door:
“Alright, you’ll stay in my room tonight. I’ll buy some cat food, litter, and allergy medicine for home.”
It was late October, deep autumn, and darkness fell around five o’clock. The two chatted over hot pot steam until eight, leaving only leftovers on the table. He Qi cleaned up quickly, grabbed the pet carrier, and took a taxi home.
Outside her apartment, she carried “Little One” in the cold night air. The cat was obedient, only weakly meowing when He Qi jostled it slightly, and she comforted it softly.
After taking the elevator, she saw the pet supplies she had pre-ordered waiting by the front door. She brought everything inside and noticed the living room lights were on.
Chen Jin had just finished showering and came out of the bedroom. He caught sight of He Qi with the carrier and immediately focused on it.
“You’re keeping a cat? I thought the one you posted on Moments was Li Jiajia’s.”
“No,” He Qi said carefully, keeping the carrier away to avoid triggering his allergy. “Someone abandoned it in Li Jiajia’s neighborhood. Fang Yi saw my post about it and wanted to adopt it. It’ll stay in my room tonight and I’ll bring it to him tomorrow. Also, I plan to thank him with a meal for his previous help.”
Chen Jin didn’t respond immediately. The blue cat seemed wary of the new environment, meowing tentatively. He Qi went to get water, placing some cat food on the floor near the carrier.
Chen Jin stayed at the doorway, watching her care for the cat, seemingly hesitant to approach. Finally, he asked, “Have you decided where to eat?”
He Qi shook her head: “Let him choose.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” he asked.
“Aren’t you working?” she countered gently while petting the cat’s chin.
“I can take a noon break.”
“No need. That’s too much trouble. He’s young, and the two of us going together might overwhelm him,” she said, setting up the temporary litter box and opening the metal door halfway. Seeing a few stray cat hairs in the air, she frowned: “Don’t just stand there, the cat is shedding a bit.”
Chen Jin muttered in response and lingered a moment before leaving.
The blue cat had eaten about half of the food He Qi bought but still hid inside the carrier. Concerned it might be thirsty, she went to get water from the kitchen.
Passing the living room, Chen Jin was gone, but the TV was on and his phone rested on the sofa arm. He Qi intended to pause the TV for him when her eyes caught the incoming call: “He Qi’s mother.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
At the same time, she heard footsteps in Chen Jin’s bedroom. Instinctively tense, she pretended not to notice and hurried into the kitchen.
After grabbing a bottle of water, she faintly heard a conversation from the living room. Slowly walking out, she noticed Chen Jin glancing her way, phone to his ear, casually saying “Mm,” “Okay” without showing any unusual expression.
He Qi wondered why Xu Yan would call Chen Jin instead of her, why she’d been in frequent contact with him, and what he had promised her. The more she thought, the more unsettled she felt.
After Chen Jin hung up, she nearly blurted out: “Whose call was that?”
He turned his head, noticing she hadn’t returned to her room. Holding a bottle of water and a cushion, he calmly replied: “A colleague.”