Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

Ai Qing finally gave up after waiting until four o'clock.

The little fish that was jumping around in the living room was caught by Ai Qing and stuffed into the airline crate.

"Meow?"

"I'm taking you home for the day." Ai Qing squatted in front of the carrier and said to the little fish inside, "You have to be good, okay? Try not to turn into a human. If you really can't hold it in, you must stay in my bedroom and don't make any noise."

Although Xiaoyu probably wouldn't understand what he was saying, Ai Qing still gave him a serious reminder.

"Just bring a can of cat food, nothing else." Ai Qing looked around. "And bring your laptop, I need to write tomorrow morning."

Cat food and litter boxes are readily available at home, so he doesn't need to bring them back.

After confirming that she had everything she needed, Ai Qing picked up her backpack and the airline case containing Xiao Yu, changed her shoes, and went out.

……

Ai Qing walked out of the south gate of the North District of Jinpan Yunting Mansion.

Instead of crossing the street directly to the South District, he first turned right and took a look at Qianxin Pet Hospital.

However, the pet hospital is not open yet. It's already past 4 pm, and the doors are locked. It seems that Xiao Youqian is not here either.

Ai Qing, who had originally intended to say hello, changed her mind and turned to walk across the street.

Ai Qing's parents and grandparents live in Building 2 of the South District of Jinpan Yunting Mansion, specifically on the first and second floors.

Moreover, they even took over the storefront on the first floor to the left of the community entrance and opened a small supermarket, which leads directly to Ai Qing's grandparents' house.

This "Aiqing Supermarket" is usually looked after by Ai Qing's grandfather, Ai Lisong, and today is no exception.

"What were your opening lines when we first met?"

"Unrehearsed but unexpectedly adorable~"

"The evening breeze blows..."

"grandfather!"

When the word "Grandpa" rang out at the supermarket entrance, the sweet little tune from Douyin was instantly cut short.

When Ai Qing walked into the supermarket, she could only see her grandfather, Ai Lisong, wearing reading glasses, with a few sparse white hairs on his head, a cigarette in his mouth, and a stack of newspapers in his hands, which he was reading carefully.

"It's me, Grandpa. You're too nervous. You're reading the newspaper upside down." Ai Qing walked to the cashier with a speechless expression, reached out with her left hand, picked up the newspaper, turned it upside down, and put it back in her grandfather's hand, who was hiding his phone. "Where's Grandma?"

"Ahem." Ai Lisong glanced at his grandson, casually put the newspaper aside, and continued to open Douyin on his phone, but turned the volume down a lot. "You're back. Your grandma is cooking inside."

"Oh." Ai Qing nodded, put the little fish's carrier on the ground, took a small pudding from the freezer next to her, and while unpacking it, went up to the cashier and asked with a grin, "Is Douyin good? I told you Grandpa would like it."

"What are you saying, you little brat?" Ailisong glared at him. "Have you found a girlfriend yet? When are you going to bring one home to meet us?"

Ai Qing rolled her eyes, took a sip of her pudding, and then picked up the airline crate from the floor and put it on the cashier's counter. She smiled and joked, "I brought it back, Little Fish. Say hello to Grandpa."

"Meow~"

The little fish was quite obedient; it meowed at Ericsson through the cage's fence.

"Go away, go away." Grandpa Ailisong wasn't interested in cats because he had been scratched in the eye by a stray cat when he was a child in the countryside, so he had never really liked cats. "I have to mind the shop, you go inside and play."

"How about I play chess with you tonight?"

"No, I'm busy."

"How about I recommend a few beautiful women to you on TikTok?"

"I don't like what you're pushing." Ai Lisong looked at his phone and blurted out subconsciously, then realized his mistake, "Get lost, get lost, aren't you annoying?"

"Didn't I make a good push?" Ai Qing asked, dissatisfied.

“They’re just young girls who haven’t even grown their hair yet, what’s so interesting about them?” Ailisong waved his hands repeatedly, “They’re not even as pretty as your grandmother when she was young.”

"Okay, okay, is that how it is?" Ai Qing smacked her lips, not expecting to be served up a piece of old dog food.

After finishing his little pudding, he ended his idle chatter with his grandfather and happily carried the little fish through the back door of the supermarket.

Go through the back door, and you'll first find a small warehouse in the supermarket. Keep walking in, then go through another door, and you'll enter the inner room through the back door of your grandparents' house.

The wall was not originally open, but after the store was leased, a door was opened after discussions with the property management so that the grandparents could directly enter and exit the supermarket without having to go around the main gate of the community.

"grandmother!"

"Hey! Over here!"

A response came from the kitchen.

Ai Qing carried the small fish's carrier and walked all the way to the kitchen door.

Grandma Lang Xiangying inside had turned around and was looking at him with a smile.

Compared to her grandfather, Ai Lisong, her grandmother, Lang Xiangying, had much healthier and fuller hair. Her silver hair was neatly combed, and she looked very energetic.

"Oh my, Little Fish is back too?"

Lang Xiangying saw the little fish in the carrier, smiled and leaned closer, sticking out a finger through the fence to scratch her chin, "It's been a while, have you missed your grandma?"

"Meow~"

Xiaoyu clearly still remembered the grandmother who delivered her from her mother's womb, and even rubbed her cat head against Lang Xiangying's finger.

When Ai Qing was in school, Xiao Yu was mostly taken care of by Lang Xiangying.

"Then I'll take Xiaoyu upstairs first, so you won't be late for cooking," Ai Qing said. "Where are my parents?"

“We’ve run out of ginger at home. I forgot to buy some this afternoon, so I’ll have your dad go to the market and buy some more,” Lang Xiangying said as she walked back to the kitchen. “Your mother is resting upstairs. She just got back from a business trip and she’s exhausted. Let her rest a bit longer. We’ll call her for dinner.”

"Okay," Ai Qing replied, turning to walk into the courtyard, not forgetting to turn back and call out loudly, "Then I'll come down and lend you a hand in a bit!"

"Go play your game! Just have your dad come and help later!" Grandma shouted back from the kitchen. "Your dad said that you're writing articles online now, which is a lot of brainpower, so don't worry about dinner."

"Know it!"

Depend on!

Turning back, Ai Qing couldn't help but mutter to herself.

Thankfully, Dad didn't say what he wrote. If Grandma knew that his article was called "My Childhood Plum Will Turn into a Cat," I wonder what she would think.

Sigh, the beautiful filter that his grandson has in his grandmother's eyes is about to crumble at the slightest touch.

Thinking this, Ai Qing walked into the courtyard on the first floor and went up the stairs to the second floor.

The small courtyard outside the balcony on this floor is a perk of the ground floor residents; it was a gift given to them after the demolition and relocation of their homes.

Ai Zhongguo and Yao Qiang chose the apartment upstairs so that it would be easier for them to visit and take care of their grandparents.

We discussed it with the property management, and in addition to opening up the back door to the supermarket on the first floor, we also built a staircase in the yard leading to the second floor, so we don't have to go up and down the stairs or leave the house anymore.

Entering the house from the second-floor balcony, Ai Qing, carrying Xiao Yu's airline case, successfully arrived at her own bedroom.

Close the door, let the little fish out, then take a bag of cat litter from the cabinet and pour it into the litter box that was already there.

"Meow~"

Xiaoyu spent both last summer and winter vacation in this bedroom, so she was very familiar with it. She immediately jumped up from the chair and table to the wardrobe and squatted down at the highest point of the room to survey the room.

I hope everything goes well today.

Looking at the little fish, who was perched high above her but looked completely obedient, Ai Qing could only pray in her heart.

Chapter 16 A Terrifying Scene Inside the Window

In the evening, Ai Qing was ordered to call her mother downstairs for dinner.

I knocked on the door, and there was a response from inside.

"coming."

Yao Qiang, dressed in casual pajamas, walked out of the master bedroom. With her short hair, she still looked capable and efficient even after changing her clothes.

However, once she returns home, the strong woman will soften her stance and become gentle, especially when she sees her son.

"Come here, Mommy will give you a hug."

Yao Qiang, who is 1.6 meters tall, has been gradually surpassed by Ai Qing's son since the second year of junior high school.

However, they never missed a hug after not seeing each other for a long time.

Yao Qiang hugged her son, took a half step back, looked in the direction of his bedroom, and asked, "Where's Xiaoyu?"

"In my room."

"Why not release them?"

"There might be other cats in the yard, so you should stay in my room."

"Let me see."

Like Ai Qing's grandmother, Yao Qiang loved kittens, with Xiao Yu being her favorite.

However, Yao Qiang is usually busy with work and doesn't have much opportunity to pet cats.

This time, Ai Qing brought Xiao Yu back, which was quite rare. Yao Qiang didn't even bother to go downstairs for dinner first, and went straight to Ai Qing's bedroom.

Actually, Ai Qing was still a little apprehensive at this moment.

But when he saw that Xiaoyu inside was still in the shape of a cat after Yao Qiang pushed open the door, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Meow~"

Xiaoyu jumped off the bed and ran to Ai Qing's feet, nudging his ankle with her head.

He then squatted down, looked up at Yao Qiang, stretched his neck and sniffed at Yao Qiang's feet, and then rubbed against them.

Anyone who doesn't dislike cats would be tempted to crouch down and stroke Xiaoyu's fluffy white fur when they see her.

Ai Qing liked to touch the side of Xiao Yu's thigh, near his buttocks.

That's where it feels the most comfortable.

Yao Qiang preferred to pet Xiaoyu's head, especially the small area behind the cat's ears.

Ai Qing's grandmother, Lang Xiangying, was more indifferent. Every time she petted the cat, she would put her whole hand down and rub the cat's back vigorously, as if she were giving the cat a massage.

"She seems to have gained a little weight since Chinese New Year." Yao Qiang touched Xiaoyu's little belly again and smiled slightly. "She should be almost a year old, right?"

“We haven’t weighed it recently.” Ai Qing squatted down and patted the little fish’s back. “It will be one year old on the 15th of this month.”