Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 36 The Girl Who Saved the Cat
Lin Ge, soaked to the bone, and Lin Jia, covered in mud, stared at each other with strange expressions.

The two had returned to the dike, back to a safe environment. The cool breeze made Lin Ge shiver, but he still stubbornly glared at Lin Jia, absolutely not allowing this foolish girl to do anything stupid again.

"It was me... who saved you!"

Lin Jia was a little scared, but she still rubbed her muddy hands together and pointed at Lin Ge seriously, saying, "I rescued you from the water, so you can't scratch me, right? Kitty, be good, okay? I'm going to hug you now, so don't run away, okay?"

"I'm the one who saved you, you stupid girl!"

Lin Ge glared at the stupid girl. If she hadn't suddenly bent down and squatted down, how could he have fallen headfirst into the water from the tree?
Damn it! I was originally planning to pounce on this girl's head, pin her down, and then slap her hard across the face! But what's going on now? I can swim, I don't need this girl rolling around like she's saving me!

"I know you, you're the police station's cat!"

Lin Jia squatted down and first tried to touch the cat's head. Seeing that Lin Ge flicked his ears but did not dodge, she touched the cat's tail with her other hand: "I didn't recognize you before, but after you came up, I recognized you. It's the mark on your forehead."

Lin Ge wouldn't let Lin Jia touch his tail, so he slapped her hand. The little girl shuddered and pulled her hand back. Seeing that she wasn't hurt and Lin Ge was still standing there, she reached out again and tried to pluck Lin Ge's head with both hands alternately.

To prevent the girl from having another suicidal thought, Lin Ge decided to tolerate it.

Not just her head, but her tail too!
"You saved me last time, right? When I got home, I saw that my clothes were covered in big clumps of white cat hair that I couldn't wash off. Mom threw the clothes away, but I've already removed all your hairs one by one with tweezers and kept them safe in a little box. Mom said that if it weren't for you and Uncle Nie that day, I would have been done for. I think that makes sense, so you saved me that time."

The little girl chattered on and on, her eyes inexplicably sparkling again.

However, her behavior was slightly perverse, which made Lin Ge shudder.

When the topic turned to the last incident, Lin Jia paused in her actions, pointed at Lin Ge's nose very seriously, and said, "But... I saved you this time too, so we're even. From now on, neither of us owes the other anything, so... can we be friends?"

Lin Jia's last words made Lin Ge suddenly stop in his tracks, as he was about to turn hostile.

"friend?"

He raised his head and looked intently into Lin Jia's eyes.

Even with his back to the moon, the child's eyes still shone brightly, black and shiny.

Her face was covered in dried river mud, her hair was wet and disheveled, and her body was a mess. Even so, Lin Ge could still sense Lin Jia's longing and emotions; she was trembling…

A person on the verge of death desperately seeks reasons and lifelines to save themselves. The recent accident did not completely dispel Lin Jia's suicidal thoughts, but she seemed to be creating a new choice for herself and giving the choice to Lin Ge.

Lin Ge was unaware that Lin Jia had done the same thing just over half an hour earlier.

Back then, no one made choices for her, so she only had one path to take. But an unexpected cat stopped her from committing suicide, and she decided, after much rambling, to give herself another chance.

only……

How should a cat answer Lin Jia's question?
Nodding its head, wagging its tail, and meowing? Would that change Lin Jia's mind and make her feel saved?

Lin Ge didn't know.

I don't know if there will be a second chance for this.

So, under Lin Jia's expectant yet gloomy gaze, Lin Ge stretched out a cat paw and began to write stroke by stroke on the gravel ground.

"Huh? This is...me? How is this possible! We...are...are...waaaah...is...friend...this...how is this possible? This is...you are...who exactly are you...could it be...that God sent you to save me? Waaah..."

Lin Jia went from surprise to shock, from tears streaming down her face to covering her mouth with her hands and lost in thought.

She stared blankly as Lin Ge slowly wrote the words "We are friends now," then wagged his tail to admire them before erasing the writing. A mix of shocks and thoughts overwhelmed her, almost drowning her out.

Which girl doesn't love to daydream?

Which girl doesn't have dreams?

Which girl hasn't dreamed of incredible fantasy?
Which girl isn't into anime/manga?
Lin Jia stared at the cat in front of her, at the cat that had come to save her for the second time and saved her life again, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

What exactly...? At this moment, the girl regained a sliver of reason; at least her suicidal thoughts had completely vanished. Now, she wanted to know more about this cat, whether it was truly a divine being sent to save her...

'secret'

Lin Ge wrote two more words on the ground, then erased them.

He didn't know if telling Lin Jia his secret was the right thing to do, nor did he know if doing so would have any unforeseen consequences. But if it could make a young girl give up her desire to die, then it would all be worth it.

After all... he's just a cat.

If Lin Jia continues to be determined to die, there's nothing he can do to stop her. Besides, she's just a little girl; coaxing her into keeping it a secret shouldn't be too difficult, right?

"Yes! This is our secret, I won't tell anyone!"

Lin Jia nodded frantically, her face a tearful, excited smile. She was at an age where she loved to fantasize; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so captivated by the game and ended up like this. Lin Ge's appearance fulfilled all her fantasies.

Lin Jia even started letting her thoughts wander, wondering if Lin Ge turning into a cat was like the Frog Prince? Then she… then she…

The little girl's face was a bit distorted, and combined with her dirty and messy appearance, it made her look quite comical.

Lin Ge had no intention of continuing to write. After frantically shaking off the water droplets from his body, he endured the fishy smell and turned to walk towards the other side of the dike.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Lin Jia quickly caught up.

"who are you?"

How did you turn into a cat?

"How does it feel to become a cat? Is it fun? Do you have fewer worries?"

"answer me!"

Lin Jia chattered on and on the way, but Lin Ge ignored her. Even so, the little girl was already very happy. She followed behind Lin Ge, talking incessantly, and soon she started talking about herself.

"Actually, I'm not angry at all about what that old lady said."

Lin Jia's mood dipped again, but when Lin Ge turned to look at her, she still managed a smile: "It just hurts to see Mom and Dad throwing a tantrum at home, saying they'd kill them and stuff. If it weren't for me, Mom and Dad wouldn't be angry, right? They told me before that harmony brings wealth, but now they're ruining their health because of some unrelated people. It's all my fault, isn't it? I was thinking then, if it weren't for me, would all this have happened? Anyway, Mom and Dad are still young, they can have another baby. If they don't make the same mistakes, won't our family be happy again?"

"Bullshit! If something happens to you, your family is finished, you idiot! What are you thinking about that's trying to kill yourself? Are you a pig?"

Lin Ge glared at Lin Jia.

Don't glare at me!

Lin Jia shuddered in fright, but stubbornly took two more steps after her: "I know my thinking is wrong, but what can I do? This afternoon, I stood at the bus stop and told myself that if someone mentioned my name within half an hour, even if I was pointed at and talked about, I would still believe that I had a reason to exist. But who would have thought that for so long, not a single person who knew me would show up? Don't you think it's fate? So many people usually talk about me behind my back."

Lin Jia said, her voice filled with grievance, tears streaming down her face again: "Then I got on the bus, but I gave myself another chance. I said I'd count the passengers, and I'd get off at which stop every three stops the bus took. And that's how I ended up here..."

Lin Jia looked up at the black cat crouching in front of her, not turning around again: "I've been to this orchard before, it's not far from the Zhanghe River. Don't you think it's fate that I'm destined to go to the Zhanghe River? I didn't even make any decisions myself..."

'call out! ’

Lin Ge lightly jumped up and landed on Lin Jia's shoulder. The little girl's slender body almost couldn't support her, and she took two steps back before regaining her balance. But seeing the cat patting her head, she inexplicably felt at ease.

"Okay, maybe it's not about making me jump into the river. Maybe... fate isn't telling me to die, but rather to tell me that I'll meet you here, right?"

Lin Jia's face showed a longing expression.

(End of this chapter)