Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 519 Bathing
The owner of the pet shop is a lean young man who is said to be a pet-related internet celebrity with some online fame.

His photographs showcase him bathing cats. The vast majority of them depict how fierce and difficult the cats are to handle, and how arduous the process of bathing them is for him.

But in fact, aside from the fact that the cats he chooses for his videos are all inherently fierce, another issue is that he often uses coercive or threatening methods to evoke the cats' fear or even cause them to stress in order to achieve a video effect that better suits his requirements.

For example, the pitiful meows of cats, their fierce struggles, and even their resistance that results in scratches are all video content that he loves to film and that audiences love to watch.

Some people have questioned his methods, saying that pets need to be coaxed and that they need to be gently cared for to reduce their wariness. But this approach is not what he's trying to attract attention with, so he usually deletes his posts about it.

On the other hand, as he gradually gained popularity online, his pet shop became increasingly attractive to customers. The more popular he became, the more money he made, and the more money he made, the more he wanted to become even more popular; so, in order to go viral, he needed to film more difficult cats, even to the point where each cat had to bleed and evoke sympathy. To achieve this effect, he didn't hesitate to use some underhanded tactics. And so far, the results have been quite good.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the person will stop doing normal business.

His pet shop also has several more responsible pet groomers and washers who handle most cats and dogs. This owner, surnamed Huang, only selects the more distinctive, expensive, and eye-catching purebred cats from among the customers for grooming and video recording. He also prepares detailed waivers and other documents to ensure he leaves no loopholes for himself.

When Zheng Lei led Lin Ge inside, Boss Huang was lying in his office, yawning out of boredom.

These past two days, there haven't been any cats that have caught his eye and that he can handle himself, which is making Mr. Huang a little anxious. He plans to discuss with his operations team whether he should proactively buy a few or borrow some from pet stores to create a few more ferocious, louder, and more adrenaline-pumping video clips for the audience.

If all else fails, bringing over a few distinctive stray cats and using loving grooming to gain the sympathy of cat lovers seems like a good idea.

"But boss, it's hard to find stray cats wandering around Zhang City anymore. It's not that there aren't any stray cats, but it seems like they've all stuck together, making them harder to catch."

The operations staff member was a young man with dyed blond and white frizz, wearing glasses and an earring. Upon hearing Mr. Huang's opinion, he questioned, "Besides, we've already attracted a lot of questioning in the comments section; we're almost overwhelmed with deleting comments. If this is discovered to be fake, it'll be a real problem. Your account has worked so hard to gather a million followers; if your reputation is ruined, it'll be completely destroyed."

"What's there to be afraid of! They all just want to see me fight with the cat. As long as I'm not faking it, how many people care about the cat's origins?"

Mr. Huang waved his hand confidently, clearly understanding his selling point among his online fans. Gentleness and care have never been the core of his videos. The cat's fear, struggle, screams, and resistance, its suppression and subsequent suppression, and even its final moments of near death, where it can only obediently submit to his manipulation, are what the audience wants to see most.

Secondly, what they want to see is their skill in controlling the cat and the intense battles they engage in with it. As for the actual grooming process, whether the cat gets injured during the struggle, or whether it experiences stress and other problems, these are trivial things that viewers on the other side of the screen won't consider or empathize with!

"How about we try finding a few cats that look like strays or have just been adopted?"

The operations staff couldn't object to the boss's opinion, so they could only compromise and choose a more moderate solution.

"also!"

Mr. Huang thought about it and nodded.

He was impatient and acted on his impulses, so he sprang up from the recliner. Inevitably, he touched the cat scratch on his arm. He narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, "Those bastards, they actually dared to scratch me! Damn it, if they hit me like that again, don't blame me for being ruthless! Oh, right, Li, do you still have any fake blood? We need to seize every opportunity to play the victim; if there's no blood, we can fake it."

"Don't worry, they're all experienced. You don't need to give them any more instructions."

The operations staff member smiled confidently.

As the two left the office, they happened to see Zheng Lei asking a groomer to give a bath to the extremely unkempt cat behind her.

Mr. Huang glanced at it sideways and saw that it was a silver shaded cat.

The cat was quite large, more robust than many silver shaded cats he had ever seen. Although it was following behind the female customer, its glaring eyes and menacing appearance, along with the rather ferocious-looking scar on its forehead, caught Mr. Huang's eye.

In his opinion, there's no need to talk about breed or appearance when it comes to silver shaded cats, but the fact that this kind of cat looks fierce and has a robust physique perfectly matches the selling points of his videos.

Ed Sheeran knows perfectly well that audiences want to see themselves fight powerful cats, not play with delicate pets.

Therefore, he was somewhat tempted, but upon closer inspection, he found the cat to be filthy and disgusting, which made him feel a bit repulsed.

Now that Mr. Huang is wealthy, he doesn't need to work as hard to maintain his shop as before. He hasn't properly cleaned his cats in a long time, and even when he does bathe them after subduing them, it's just a perfunctory job. And frankly, he's worried that these dirty cats might be carrying viruses, and as a wealthy internet celebrity, how could he take that risk?

"What are you looking at!"

Noticing someone staring at him with a strange look, Lin Ge turned around and glared at them unhappily.

To be honest, this was the first time Lin Ge had ever personally come to a pet store for a bath. He wouldn't have come to such a place if he hadn't been so filthy that he didn't want to lick himself.

From the moment he entered the shop, Lin Ge could smell a lot of cat pheromones left by stress in this rather large pet store, including but not limited to the smell of urine.

He also detected a faint, but unmistakable, smell of blood in the shop. Strangely, there was also a strong scent of honey, alcohol, and a strange sweetness, leaving Lin Ge completely baffled as to whether it was a pet shop, a slaughterhouse, or a snack store. The approaching, unidentified person emanated an even stronger scent of blood and honey, making Lin Ge even more wary of his identity.

"Is bathing a cat really that difficult? My hands are practically scratched to a pulp, and you still insist on doing this job!"

Lin Ge noticed many scars on the man's arms, some already scabbed over, others just beginning to heal. A closer look revealed that they were mostly cat scratches or severe abrasions. In that respect, this man was truly remarkable.

"boss!"

The sales clerk, who was introducing the services to Zheng Lei, quickly greeted Boss Huang when she saw him coming over.

Is this cat getting a grooming service?

The more Mr. Huang looked at Ling Ge, the more he liked him. This kind of cat, which looked fierce at first glance, could be a huge selling point if handled properly. Therefore, although he disliked that Ling Ge was dirty, he still decided to take the job into his video project.

"Are you the owner of this shop?"

Zheng Lei's eyes lit up. Generally speaking, the boss's skills are not bad, right? And judging from the scars on this boss's arms, he is obviously someone who often takes care of cats.

Mr. Huang adopted a business mode, smiling broadly, and said, "Yes! This customer, leave the cat to me! You can trust my skills, or you can search for my videos online; I'm sure you'll be satisfied. Besides, I'm a popular online influencer, so if you'd like your cat to be on camera, I can give you a 50% discount on the grooming. Furthermore, if the video turns out well, I'll give you a membership card for our store, which will give you a 20% discount on all future services. How about that? And at the end of the video, would you like to show your face while holding the cat? I'll give you a small gift. Of course, we'll make sure to use beauty filters to ensure your satisfaction. But on another note, let me be clear! No one can guarantee that cats will be 100% safe. After all, the word 'stress' was created specifically for them, so we're not responsible for any accidents that might occur."

As he spoke slowly, Boss Huang watched Zheng Lei's expressions change with amusement.

He understands these cat owners perfectly. They all claim to love cats, but they're more interested in comparing themselves to others and getting famous. The prospect of appearing in a popular influencer's video is incredibly tempting for them. And then there's the added allure of looking beautiful with filters and receiving compliments in the comments section—who wouldn't be tempted?

"No need! Thank you, paying the normal amount is fine."

Zheng Lei quickly calmed down.

She didn't care about fame or half-price discounts. Besides, she had learned a lesson: sudden, inexplicable closeness always had ulterior motives, and after being taught a lesson, she would never trust anyone so easily again.

Lin Ge had the same attitude. He thought it was too cheap to ask him to appear on camera for a mere half price.
"That's okay!"

Without hesitation, Mr. Huang nodded and left from the front desk.

But when he got to the back of the nursing room, he gave a wink to the nurse in one of the rooms, and the nurse understood and left the room.

"Heh... You think you can just disagree and that's it? You've come up with some excuse to get involved. Who knows I filmed a video? Once I release the video, you think you can ask me for the image rights to a cat? Ridiculous! You think you can do anything to me?"

Mr. Huang smiled smugly, turned on the hidden fixed camera in the room, and hid another camera in the bottles and jars on the cabinet before rubbing his hands together and starting to prepare for makeup.

About ten minutes later, a waiter led Zheng Lei and Lin Ge in.

Everyone was taken aback when they saw Boss Huang fully armed.

Mr. Huang smiled warmly and apologized, "I'm so sorry, I just asked around, and the other groomers are all busy with other work and can't get away right now. How about you wait an hour, or just let me do it for you? Don't worry! When this shop first opened, I was the only one working here, and I made sure all the cats were spotless and beautiful. To be honest, those other groomers are all my apprentices, so I'm definitely more skilled. Don't worry, I won't overcharge you!"

"Mimi?" Zheng Lei was a little distrustful of him, but still looked down to ask Lin Ge's opinion. Lin Ge thought for a moment and nodded. Anyway, it made no difference to him. Who would dare to mess with him?
"Then I'm sorry to trouble you."

Zheng Lei thanked him sullenly, not knowing what else to say.

Furthermore, refusing at this point would seem like showing disdain for Mr. Huang. But he hasn't done anything wrong, so it's unreasonable to dislike him for no reason, right?

"Haha... If you're really worried, you can sit outside and watch. There's Wi-Fi and free chargers inside, and free tea and drinks in the rest area outside. I'll just get back to work and not entertain you any further."

As he spoke, Boss Huang walked over to Lin Ge and picked him up without any incident.

"This cat... isn't resisting? How am I supposed to film a video if it doesn't resist?!"

Mr. Huang was taken aback for a moment, and a lot of dissatisfaction arose in his heart. He had volunteered to help wash the cat because he was really bored. If he couldn't make a video, wouldn't all his work have been for nothing?

While thinking this to himself, Boss Huang kept a straight face.

He placed Ringo on the workbench and prepared the steel comb, protective towel, protective gloves, and so on. Seeing that the cat was indeed obediently lying on the table without moving, and wouldn't budge even when given a chance to run away, he became even more frustrated.

Seeing Zheng Lei go outside, and staring intently into the room through a glass wall, Boss Huang nodded and smiled at her before starting his work.

He put on a thick protective glove on his right hand, but left his left hand ungloved, holding a steel comb instead. After reaching Lin Ge's side, he used Lin Ge's body to block Zheng Lei's view, and secretly reached out to pinch Lin Ge's side hard.

"Fuck!"

Caught off guard, Lin Ge felt a sharp pain all over his body, and jumped up with wide eyes.

"Hey! Don't be afraid! What a fierce cat! But don't run away! Why are you so fierce, little guy?"

While pretending to ramble, Boss Huang swiftly raised his right hand, grabbed Lin Ge's neck, and slammed him down hard, pinning him firmly against the control panel.

"Damn it! You dare to pinch me!"

Realizing what had happened, Lin Ge was furious.

Is there really someone who dares to mess with the powerful? Lin Ge struggled desperately to turn around, his two front paws viciously reaching out to grab Boss Huang.

"Hey! Don't move! This cat is fierce! I've been bathing cats for so many years, and this is probably the fiercest and most cunning one I've ever seen! It was pretending to be docile just now to let my guard down, but now it's showing its true colors. Cunning! Ouch... it almost caught me!"

Boss Huang quickly grabbed a thick towel from the side and covered Lin Ge with it. Then, he used both hands to press Lin Ge down firmly, so hard that Lin Ge felt pain all over his body.

"You bastard! Who are you talking to? You were secretly taking pictures, weren't you?"

Lin Ge was furious and continued to resist, his strength so great that Boss Huang could barely hold him down.

Despite the protection of gloves and a towel, Lingo managed to grab Boss Huang's arm several times, leaving two bloody scratches on his unprotected arm, which was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

"Ouch... I'm bleeding! This cat is really fierce! But it's okay! Getting scratched by cats is common in this line of work. Although this cat is indeed powerful, it's definitely no match for me!"

As Mr. Huang continued to mutter, he used both hands to deal with Lin Ge's counterattack.

The thick gloves on this guy's hands did indeed affect Lin Ge's attacks repeatedly, and that annoying big towel always blocked Lin Ge's vision, preventing him from giving Boss Huang a good lesson.

The man and the cat struggled for more than half a minute, with the bastard repeatedly pinching Lin Ge's neck until it hurt terribly.

Lin Ge had to admit that this guy was indeed quite skilled! Or rather, having frequently groomed cats, he was intimately familiar with all sorts of cat retaliatory tactics. The fact that this cat didn't even bite made Boss Huang breathe a sigh of relief.

Moreover, the cat's fierce resistance, powerful counterattacks, and its strange "meowing" all pleased Mr. Huang. Indeed, only videos featuring this kind of unique cat are entertaining and attract more viewers and fans.

"Is...is everything alright?"

Standing outside the door, Zheng Lei was shocked, not understanding why Boss Huang and Mimi were fighting. And judging from the way they were fighting inside, they weren't holding back at all!
"It's okay! Cats are afraid of water, and it's common for them to resist when you bathe them. And don't worry, Mr. Huang is a professional in this area, he won't hurt your cat. What looks dangerous to you right now is actually just an opportunity to exhaust the cat so it will behave better when you bathe it, and it will be easier to clean every part of its body. Don't worry, we are professionals, we won't make any mistakes."

The waiter outside quickly explained to Zheng Lei and stopped her from barging in.

"..."

Zheng Lei didn't know whether what this person said was true or false, but after all, the person was indeed a professional, and it seemed that Boss Huang had been on the defensive the whole time and hadn't made a move on Mimi, so Zheng Lei felt half relieved.

"That bastard, that choking really hurts!"

Lin Ge was furious, but he calmed down at this moment.

Although he didn't know what this bastard's purpose was, surrendering was never in Lin Ge's nature. However, this bastard was indeed agile and knew how to deal with cats, so killing him wouldn't be so easy in a short time.

"This guy seems to be my natural enemy?"

After thinking it over, Lin Ge pretended to be exhausted and stopped fighting back, as if he had already been subdued and admitted defeat.

"Oh! Giving up? Out of energy, huh? Well, be good from now on, I'm going to brush your fur."

As he spoke, Boss Huang freed one hand to pick up the steel comb next to him, stabbed it into Lin Ge's back, and pulled him down hard.

He was very adept at this trick; most docile cats would struggle in pain after he tugged at them like that. Hmph! A minute isn't enough. You'd better behave yourself for three to five minutes so I can get enough footage, you little rascal!
"I'll endure it!"

Lin Ge gritted his teeth and continued to patiently wait for Boss Huang to lower his guard.

If he wanted to escape, Lin Ge could have done so from the very beginning. But right now, he had no intention of running away; he was only thinking about teaching this bastard a lesson.

"Why don't you move?"

Mr. Huang's heart skipped a beat. It was the first time he had ever seen a cat that didn't struggle even after he had pulled its fur so hard. He had been prepared for the cat to struggle violently, so how could it just stay still like this?

"Could it be... that I accidentally killed it?"

Thinking of a certain possibility, Boss Huang's face turned grim. He nudged Lin Ge again and found that the cat really didn't move, and he immediately panicked.

Quickly unwrapping the towel around Lin Ge's neck, and no longer bothering to continue choking him, Boss Huang released Lin Ge and was about to turn him over.

Unexpectedly, Lin Ge suddenly widened his eyes and shrank back, slipping out of Boss Huang's grasp.

"You scoundrel, die!"

Ringo roared furiously, his claws gleaming like knives.

Mr. Huang, who was bending down to retrieve the Elizabethan collar, was completely caught off guard when a pair of large, hairy paws appeared right before his eyes. His body stiffened, his face changed, and his mind went blank as the terrifying paws enveloped his vision.

Fortunately, Lin Ge restrained himself and didn't have any murderous thoughts at this moment. He just slapped Boss Huang twice hard, knocking him to the ground, before viciously climbing on top of him.

(End of this chapter)