Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 532 Trust
However, things took an unexpected turn.

Anxi didn't sleep for long in the cat shelter. Around three or four in the morning, the people and cats in the shelter were awakened by the incessant ringing of a cell phone.

Anxi rubbed her eyes groggily and sat up, startling the little tiger cub that had somehow gotten onto her crotch, which jumped off the bed and ran away. Then she took out her phone and saw seven or eight missed calls and a vibrating caller ID, which made Anxi pause in surprise.

"Sissi, where did you go?"

After the call connected, Zhou Hui's panicked and tearful voice came through.

"Um...I'm here..."

Anxi suddenly came to her senses, looked around, and finally remembered what she had done all night. A look of panic crossed her face, and she hurriedly and cautiously said, "I'm at the police station, I'll be right back."

"You brat, what are you doing at the police station so late at night? You didn't even tell your mother! Were you trying to scare me to death?"

Zhou Hui was completely unaware that An Qian would sneak out every night, and she was extremely anxious on the other end of the phone.

But after calming down, she finally realized what Anxi was talking about, and said in a low voice after a pause, "Xixi, Mom explained to you last time that we really can't keep Lele. If you really like cats, I'll take you to buy another one this afternoon, okay? Mom was wrong about Lele, but you can't just run out without saying goodbye! It's too dangerous in the middle of the night. Stay at the police station and don't wander around. I'll come pick you up right away."

"No need, Mom. You're tired too. I can come back by myself. You don't need to go through all that trouble."

Anxi spoke softly, and although it was just normal talk, it stunned Zhou Hui on the other end of the phone.

How many days has it been since my own daughter has spoken to me so patiently and normally? I didn't realize it in my haste, but now that I've calmed down and listened, it seems like it's been a long time since my daughter has said such polite and caring words to me.

Since her husband's accident, her daughter has become very quiet and withdrawn. She always keeps her head down and remains silent in her presence, ignoring her when spoken to. What happened? Why is she being so polite?

Zhou Hui felt inexplicably uneasy, her mind filled with bad premonitions.

But she genuinely dared not refuse her daughter, fearing that a mishap might worsen her daughter's condition. So she mumbled a couple of "ahs" in agreement, then listened blankly to the dial tone as the phone was hung up.

On the other side, Lin Ge turned on the light, and the cats, who had been startled awake by the phone call, all stared at Anxi.

"I want to go back!"

Stretching, Anxi looked at the quiet cat shelter that had given her a great sense of security with a touch of reluctance.

All the cats stared at her with wide eyes, their concerned gazes making Anxi reluctant to leave. She even wished she could become a cat so she could stay there forever and be with everyone.

"Ow~"

The little tabby, who was sleeping soundly, was reluctant to let Ansie leave. The human's belly was soft and warm, making the little tabby feel as if it had discovered a new world perfect for sleeping.

"You're pushing your luck!"

Lin Ge punched the little tiger-striped boy on the head.

Heaven knows when it climbed onto Anxi's stomach. This thing isn't light either; it's a miracle it didn't wake Anxi. In that respect, Anxi has indeed been sleeping excessively soundly for the past few hours, completely unsuspecting.

She seemed to be sleeping so soundly, which was a rare occurrence for her.

It's fortunate that this happened at the police station; otherwise, she might have been sold without even knowing it.

Anxi seemed to know that once her mother discovered she was out at night, she probably wouldn't be able to go out so easily for a long time. Therefore, although she knew she had to go back quickly, she lingered reluctantly in the cattery. She looked at Lin Ge, then at the little Ragdoll, and then squatted down to rub the heads of the tabby and snowclaw tabby. The more she rubbed, the less she wanted to leave, her expression becoming somewhat dazed.

Lin Ge didn't urge her.

But not long after, footsteps suddenly came from outside. Lin Ge turned around and saw Zheng Mingxing, who was wearing a green military overcoat draped over his shoulders, holding a mobile phone to his ear, and running hurriedly towards them.

Zheng Mingxing's hair was a little messy, as if he had just been startled awake. But his eyes were sharp and alert. When he saw Anxi squatting in the cat house petting the cats, he breathed a sigh of relief and then whispered patiently to his phone.

"I've seen your daughter. She's fine and playing with the cats in the cattery!"

"Yes! I know, don't worry."

"You don't need to make a special trip; I'll bring her back to you right away."

"Okay, please wait a moment."

After hanging up the phone, Zheng Mingxing came to Anxi's side.

Seeing the girl stand up timidly, head down and not daring to look at him, her clothes still a little wrinkled, and the sofa bed next to her showing signs of having been slept on, Zheng Mingxing sighed inwardly.

He then turned and glared at Lin Ge, seemingly complaining that Lin Ge hadn't reminded him of this beforehand.

"Ah woo~"

Lin Ge yawned, refusing to admit that he had anything to do with the matter.

"sorry!"

Anxi greeted them timidly, finally showing less of the wariness she had towards the police than towards strangers. Or perhaps it was the trust in their police status that unexpectedly allowed her to treat them differently from strangers.

Zheng Mingxing nodded without saying anything more.

He was undoubtedly aware of Anxi's situation and knew that the problems with this child couldn't be solved with simple criticism. Furthermore, although what she did was outrageous, the police station wasn't exactly a dangerous place, so Zheng Mingxing was actually quite pleased that she chose to hide here. Looking at the cats that had gathered around because of Anxi's actions, Zheng Mingxing suddenly understood why the girl was here.

To be honest, it's great!

If these cats can help alleviate the child's psychological symptoms, or even help her get rid of depression, then the police station will have done another good deed.

"Should I take you home now? Or do you want to play a little longer while I tell your mom and put her mind at ease?"

Zheng Mingxing has a gentle voice, and as an instructor, he is also very good at communicating with the masses.

"..."

Anxi was somewhat tempted, but after looking down at the mischievous cat rubbing against her calf, she shook her head after thinking about it.

"I want to go back."

After saying that, she looked up into Zheng Mingxing's eyes and said, "Can I come back later? Don't worry, officer, I'll just come over to play with the cat for a bit, I definitely won't disturb your work." "Sure!"

Zheng Mingxing smiled and nodded in agreement, then coughed again, saying, "But next time, don't climb over the wall. Just come in from the office area. To be honest, I had someone check the security footage just now, and I was really startled to find that you've been climbing over the wall to the police station every night for the past few days. Your mother thought this was your first time sneaking out at night, but it's actually happened many times, right? This kind of thing is quite dangerous. Next time you want to come out, don't do it sneakily. Just tell your mother openly. Oh, I'll leave you a phone number; it's Mimi's. If you want to come out, have her pick you up. That way, your mother and I can feel more at ease."

"Are you trying to give me trouble?"

Anxi looked stunned and didn't react, while Lin Ge immediately glared at Zheng Mingxing, not expecting him to pass this troublesome matter on to a cat.

But after hearing Zheng Mingxing's words, Anxi's eyes immediately lit up.

She might not know about the previous two times Lin Ge had followed her, but after seeing the fish tank in the cattery, she had some guesses. Although she didn't know the specifics, this magical cattery had already satisfied all her curiosity.

And... the idea of ​​having a cat protect you sounds incredibly unbelievable, doesn't it?
Anxi was completely smitten and nodded repeatedly, even turning to look at Lin Ge, eager to have him take her home right away.

Lin Ge didn't want to talk to her.

However, under Zheng Mingxing's smiling but serious gaze, Lin Ge could only wag his tail and let out a disgruntled "woof" at him, which was considered as agreeing to this bastard's unreasonable request.

Zheng Mingxing turned around and went to drive, while Lin Ge watched helplessly as An Qian made the most of her time to continue petting the cat.

She didn't even think about what might happen when she got back. Now that she was awake, she felt much better and was in a much happier mood. She squatted down and played with the tabby and snowclaw tabby cats with a cat toy, while holding the little ragdoll in her arms.

The swaying cat toy was very appealing to the little plush toy, but Anxi couldn't bear to put it down. Instead, she put down the cat toy and buried her head in the little plush toy's belly, making incomprehensible gurgling noises.

When Zheng Mingxing arrived, this was the harmonious scene he witnessed.

Afterwards, Lin Ge and Anxi drove each other home, but they didn't exchange a word the whole way. Anxi sat in the back seat and put her headphones back on; Lin Ge could even hear the upbeat rhythm emanating from them.

The girl seemed to be listening to light Japanese music; the rhythm was cheerful, and the singing was beautiful. She became immersed in her own world again, keeping her head down and occasionally stealing glances at Lin Ge, her expression gradually becoming calm.

Zheng Mingxing observed the situation through the rearview mirror for a while, his eyes flickering slightly, but he didn't say anything more.

Arriving at Anxi's residential compound, Zhou Hui waited anxiously at the dark entrance. When she saw the police car, without its lights on, slowly approaching, she rushed to greet it, repeatedly calling out Anxi's nickname.

After getting off the bus, Anxi didn't even greet her mother. Instead, she lowered her head and walked straight into the residential area, reverting to her usual self.

Zhou Hui didn't dare to criticize her too much, quickly thanked Zheng Mingxing, and then hurriedly tried to follow her.

"Ms. Zhou."

Zheng Mingxing quickly called out to Zhou Hui.

Lin Ge glanced up at Zheng Mingxing, knowing that the guy was up to something again. There was a high probability that this time they would need Lin Ge and the cats from the cattery's help, all to help Anxi recover.

"If this hadn't happened, Xixi would be a senior in high school now. When her father's incident occurred, she was only a freshman. Then that happened, and it was like the sky had fallen for our family. Every day I was busy cooperating with the police to close the case, trying to raise money, and trying to get the other family's forgiveness. At that time, I was so busy and panicked that I didn't have time to check on Xixi's condition. By the time I found out, the school teacher had already called me, saying that Xixi had fainted in the classroom. The teacher didn't know the specifics either. I had to secretly ask Xixi's classmates to find out that the school knew about Xixi's father's affair, and she was being called the daughter of a murderer at school..."

Beside the flowerbed outside the residential compound, Zhou Hui sat on the stone platform, sobbing uncontrollably. Misfortune never comes singly; after her husband's accident, her daughter also ran into trouble. It's truly remarkable that Zhou Hui has managed to persevere.

"I took Qianqian to the hospital for a checkup, but the doctor couldn't find any specific symptoms. Haha... In the end, they diagnosed her with depression. Medication, injections, physical therapy, and psychological counseling cost a lot of money. Finally, the doctor said she could go back to school, but she relapsed after only a few days. She was vomiting uncontrollably in the classroom. I knew this wouldn't do, so I had to put Qianqian on leave from school to let her rest and avoid environments that might affect her. But who knew that by playing at home every day, her personality became more and more silent and less willing to communicate with people, and then she became like this. Even I, her mother, find it difficult to even say a few words to her."

Taking the tissue Zheng Mingxing offered, Zhou Hui wiped her tears and poured out her heart. Zheng Mingxing had already heard her tell these stories once before, but he still listened attentively, wanting this poor woman to vent and not keep everything bottled up inside.

Lin Ge also squatted down to one side, feeling somewhat uneasy.

On a side note, as police officers, it seems we're always dealing with negative things. Time and again, the good things never get our turn; we're always dealing with these heartbreaking situations. Only when there are serious problems do we have to turn to the police.

"I really didn't expect that Xixi would run out so late at night. I finished delivering food at four o'clock in the morning and came home to find no one there. My heart was pounding in my chest. I kept trying to call Xixi but couldn't get through. I was completely panicked and felt like I was going to die. Luckily, Xixi answered the phone and actually apologized to me on the phone. Can you believe it, officer? It feels like a dream!"

Zhou Hui looked up at Zheng Mingxing with a surprised and expectant gaze, saying, "Officer Zheng, you've noticed too, haven't you? Qianqian still can't let go of Lele, and Lele really can improve Qianqian's situation! Look at this... this... how about you give Lele back to us? I know there are still troubles with Lele, but how about I write you an IOU? I... I'll buy it back at its fair price, okay? Or when someone comes looking for Lele, you can pin the blame on me! You can even have me arrested and thrown in jail, but can you give Lele back to Qianqian now? I'm really worried..."

"Ms. Zhou, please don't worry."

Zheng Mingxing did not agree to Zhou Hui's request, and this was not the way to resolve the matter.

He smiled and handed Zhou Hui some more tissues, then said slowly and steadily, "Are you free during the day today? If you are, please bring Anxi to our police station again. I'll let you see what she's been doing here tonight, or what kind of environment would be better for her. That's the real way to help you and Anxi, isn't it?"

"Not Lele?"

Zhou Hui understood Zheng Mingxing's meaning and reflexively glanced at the cat crouching next to him. Had Qianqian taken a liking to this cat again? Just how many cats are there at the Zhanghe Police Station?

But since Zheng Mingxing had already gone this far, Zhou Hui couldn't refute him and could only obediently nod.

She was worried about Anxi and didn't dare to talk to Zheng Mingxing much outside. After agreeing on a time for this afternoon, Zhou Hui said goodbye and hurriedly went back to settle her daughter.

Seeing her utterly exhausted appearance from beginning to end, even yawning and rubbing her eyes as she walked back, Lin Ge knew this woman had it tough. Working during the day and delivering food at night, only sleeping four or five hours a day, while also caring for her troubled child—this woman's strength was truly astonishing. At this moment, he forgot about Zhou Hui's past ulterior motives; if everything she did was for her child, Lin Ge felt he could understand her.

Yes! Criminal behavior is definitely wrong, and Lin Ge is very clear about that.

Bringing Zheng Mingxing back to the cattery, Lin Ge glared at the guy, eager to know what kind of trouble he was up to this time. But then he thought that Anxi was indeed quite unlucky. If the task didn't require his own effort, it might be possible to delegate it to other cats.

So Lingo simply ignored it and went back to the cattery to continue sleeping soundly.

On the bed where Anxi had just been lying, the little ragdoll cat, the snow paw tabby, and the little tabby were huddled together, enjoying the lingering warmth. Normally, Li Siyu wouldn't allow them to climb onto the bed during her afternoon nap, so today was a rare occasion for them to snuggle up to her.

Li Siyu woke up around 6 a.m., and it was almost dawn. Her shift was about to end, so she yawned and went to wash her face. But as soon as she came in, she saw three cats lying on her bed and immediately flew into a rage, chasing all three little guys away.

Looking at the mess of cat hair on the mattress, Li Siyu's sleepiness vanished, and she could only reluctantly use a lint roller to pick it up bit by bit.

Looking at Lin Ge, who was still grumpy and had been woken up, Li Siyu, though unsure why he seemed to have slept poorly, said to him, "Mimi, I have some good news! Sun Chang and the others are coming back tomorrow! Chu City has basically returned to normal, and the epidemic prevention efforts no longer require support. Sun Chang and Yu Rong can finally retire! And Sister Yang, Zhang Yining has been missing her for so long, she's finally coming back too. I heard from Instructor Zheng that the city plans to hold a welcome party for them, the kind that welcomes anti-epidemic heroes home, to boost morale and alleviate the city's fear of the Tiger virus."

"Are they finally coming back?"

Lin Ge quickly regained his senses, feeling both surprised and expectant.

Besides Sun Chang and Yang Xiaotong, there were also the four police dogs, especially the particularly unreliable Beibei, who had been a constant source of worry for Lin Ge lately. Now that they could finally retire, it was truly wonderful!

(End of this chapter)