Start at the pet store

"Why are you here so early..." Ji Ling yawned and walked over in slippers.

"Make breakfast, go wash your face, you can eat soon." Lu Jingxing smiled at her.

Because Ji Ling had something to do at school in the afternoon, she booked a flight for 11 a.m., so she had to leave at 8 a.m.

Ji Ling quickly washed up and went to the kitchen: "Is there any reply on the platform? Has anyone said that a cat was lost?"

"Many cats were lost, but it seems that no one said who the little round-eared cat belonged to. However, many people said they wanted to adopt it, and some even offered 2,000 yuan, saying that they just liked its round ears..." Lu Jingxing said helplessly.

The noodles were out of the pot, and the two of them each took a bowl.

"This only shows that people don't know enough and only see the surface, and it doesn't necessarily mean that the round ears are cute, but mainly that they think they are more special, so..." Ji Ling pulled out a stool and sat down.

There were Jerusalem artichokes on the table that she said were not very black but delicious.

"Hey, isn't this Jerusalem artichoke? How did you get it?" She immediately picked up a piece and put it in her mouth.

Lu Jingxing smiled slightly: "I checked my circle of friends before going to bed last night, and there was actually a neighbor in the community who was selling this. You said you liked it that day, so I asked her to send me a bag early in the morning. Here, you can take it with you and eat it back to school..."

He took out a bottle from the refrigerator, which was filled with a bottle of Jerusalem artichokes.

"When she sent it to me, it was in a bag, and I changed it to a bottle. This seal is better and there is no fear of it leaking out." Lu Jingxing sealed the seal tightly.

"Thank you..." Ji Ling was very surprised and very happy.

"Silly, eat quickly, the noodles will be lumpy later." Lu Jingxing helped her pick the noodles apart and exchanged his bowl with the one she didn't pick.

They sat down at the same time.

"I'm going to make a video about cutting round ears to popularize science. Although people's words are not important, it can be said that it will reduce the harm if someone understands it." Lu Jingxing said after taking a mouthful of noodles.

"Yeah, it's because there is too little popular science that makes people have this idea. People who really love cats will definitely not want their cats to suffer this. I support you..." Ji Ling gave Lu Jingxing a big thumbs up.

"Haha, with your support, I have the energy to do anything. Don't worry, our store will definitely not sell round-eared cats, no matter how popular they are." Lu Jingxing made a promise.

"I know, you love them so much, how could you allow such a thing to happen under your nose..." Ji Ling nodded repeatedly.

As the two were talking, Lu Jingxing's cell phone rang. He stood up, walked to the coffee table, and looked at the number. He hesitated to answer the call that came so early: "Hello..."

"Hello, hello, is this Dr. Lu?" The other party was a female voice, sounding a little excited.

It's not good to be so excited so early in the morning, Lu Jingxing thought to himself, and quickly replied: "Yes, I am Lu Jingxing."

"Oh, Dr. Lu, thank you, I'm so anxious, thank you..." The other party kept thanking him incoherently.

"No, hello, hello, interrupt me, what do you want to talk to me about?" Lu Jingxing was confused by her thanks, but he roughly guessed it.

"I just accidentally saw the video you sent. The cat you picked up last night is mine, mine. I have been looking for it for three days. Woo, I thought it must have been lost, woo..." The woman started crying.

"Don't cry, it's fine, it's okay, are you sure it's yours?" Lu Jingxing was a little dizzy because of her continuous wooing, so he had to interrupt her again.

"Sure, sure, I have raised it for six or seven months. I have the proof of purchase at that time, and many photos of it. I can be sure that it is my little ear." The woman's sure and affirmative tone made Lu Jingxing believe it.

He looked at the time and said to the other party: "How about this, you come to my store in half an hour, I will take it there in about half an hour, but I have to go out after 8 o'clock, you have to come at 7:30 at the latest, or come after 10 o'clock."

He had to leave for the airport at 8 o'clock, and he would only go to the store to pick up something later. He didn't have much time. If he didn't leave more time, he couldn't be sure whether the woman was the owner of the small round ear.

"I may not be able to make it in half an hour, so I can just come around ten o'clock, okay?" the woman said.

"Okay." Lu Jingxing hung up the phone after saying that.

He smiled and walked over to continue eating noodles.

"At first I heard her so anxious, why did she say that half an hour was too late? If it were me, I would have to come in ten minutes." Ji Ling felt a little unacceptable.

"I said half an hour because I thought she had enough time. She said that her place was not far from our store, and she might not be used to getting up early. Besides, she must know that it would not be lost in our hands anyway." Lu Jingxing said with a smile.

After Ji Ling finished eating, she put the bottle of Jerusalem artichokes into the suitcase, turned around and picked up Little Round Ear: "Your mom will come to pick you up later. Be good when you go home in the future, and don't run around anymore, okay?" Although she only stayed with the little guy for one night, she still felt reluctant to leave.

The little guy also hummed in her arms very well and kept licking her hand.

After Lu Jingxing finished eating, Ji Ling helped to pack up and set off to the store.

Because Little Round Ear's owner said that he would come after ten o'clock, Lu Jingxing didn't wait any longer. After putting Little Round Ear down, he drove directly to the airport.

While waiting for the flight, Ji Ling let him go back.

There were a lot of things to do in the store, and neither of them was the kind of person who would not care about feelings. After saying goodbye, Lu Jingxing went straight back to the store.

"Brother Lu, the owner of the kitten you brought back this morning is here. She has been waiting for you for a while." Ding Fang saw Lu Jingxing and immediately came to greet him.

Lu Jingxing nodded. There was a bit of traffic on the road. It was now 10:15.

"Did she see Xiao Yuaner?" Lu Jingxing asked.

"Yes, she saw it. She said it was hers, but I asked her to wait until you come back before she can take it away." Ding Fang said.

"Okay, let her come to my office, and ask Xiaojiu to send the cat to my office as well." Lu Jingxing said and walked towards the office.

He had just changed into his work clothes when Xiaojiu and the owner of Xiao Yuaner walked in together.

"Brother Lu..." "Doctor Lu..." The two spoke at the same time.

Lu Jingxing nodded to the visitor: "Hello..." Then he said to Xiaojiu: "Put the cage over here, and you go and get busy..."

Xiaojiu put Xiao Yuaner on the desk and retreated.

"Little ears..." The woman sat down on the stool in front of the desk and used her hands to tease the little round ears in the cage.

The little guy rubbed her hand back with his body, but he didn't seem particularly enthusiastic.

Lu Jingxing frowned slightly. The little guy was very affectionate with Ji Ling, who he didn't know yesterday, but why did he feel that he was not very close to his owner? If it was a rural cat like a tabby cat or a big orange cat, it would be normal to have such a reaction, but for a pet cat like a ragdoll, its reaction felt a little bit abnormal.

"Hello, please send me your certificate, and then you need to register here..." Lu Jingxing handed over the registration book.

"Well, I have a lot of photos and videos, take a look..." The woman took out her mobile phone and found the video.

Lu Jingxing took it and looked at them one by one. After looking at six or seven, he slowly frowned.

"What's wrong?" The woman felt that Lu Jingxing seemed to be wrong.

"Well, ahem, ma'am, why do I feel that this one doesn't look like yours? Also, is your cat a female or a male?" Lu Jingxing asked while scrolling through the videos and photos.

"It's a female cat, I think I said it's a female cat, it looks exactly like it." The woman tilted her head to look at the little round ears in the cage.

"But, ours is only a male cat, not a female cat..." Lu Jingxing looked up at her and said with certainty.

"Ah? A male cat? It seems to be a male cat? I don't remember." The woman said vaguely.

Lu Jingxing was amused by her: "You said you have raised it for half a year, but you don't know whether it is a female or male cat? Have you taken it to be sterilized?"

The woman shook her head: "No, it is very healthy, and I have never taken it to a pet store, so I have never thought of sterilizing it. However, there are milk on its belly. Doesn't it mean that it is female if it has milk?"

"Ah?" Her words made Lu Jingxing laugh again: "Who told you that only female cats have it? Male cats have it too. And, ma'am, I don't think it should be your little ears, because it is different from little ears."

"How is it different? I clearly think it is the same. Are you saying this because you don't want to give it to me?" The woman raised her voice a little.

Lu Jingxing shook his head: "How could it be, I just need to be responsible for it and for you. First, you can't be sure whether your cat is a female or a male cat. For this reason, I can't give it to you unless you can prove that your little ears are male cats. Besides, you can still see the difference between the photo and it."

The woman leaned her head closer.

"Look, under its neck, the hair on your little ear is the same color as on its body, but it obviously has a small ball of white hair. This small ball is really invisible if you don't look carefully. Yours is the most obvious in this photo. Also, their eyes are a little different." Lu Jingxing pointed out the differences one by one.

He pointed out these points, making the woman open her eyes wide: "This, this is just a little difference. How did you see that? Its size and fur color are really the same as my little ear..."

"But, I can be sure that it is not your little ear. You should continue to look for it. I think it is mainly because they are all small round ears, so you think it is your little ear, but this feature may harm it. The sooner you find it, the better..." Lu Jingxing thought of what he said to Ji Ling about the harm of cutting round ears, and he couldn't help but worry about the little ear.

The woman was even more depressed. She came with hope, but it was all in vain.

"Is it impossible to find it, woo woo..." The woman turned around and cried.

"How long has it been lost? Have you looked for it?" Lu Jingxing didn't know how to comfort her, so he had to ask.

"Woo woo, it was lost yesterday morning. I looked for it all day yesterday, and I searched everywhere downstairs in the community, but I couldn't find it." The woman shrank her nose when she heard this.

"How did it get lost? Has it been out before?" Lu Jingxing asked again.

"It was when my family went out, it ran with them, but our house has an elevator, and it disappeared as soon as it went out. We followed it to the community to look for it, but we never found it again. There is a camera at my door, but I didn't see it either." The woman sat down on the sofa again. She took a leave this morning to pick it up, but she didn't expect it to be a false alarm. Alas, anyone would feel uncomfortable.

"Apart from the elevator, are there stairs close to you?" Lu Jingxing asked.

"Stairs? That's impossible. My family lives on the tenth floor. Does it have to go down the stairs?" The woman said doubtfully.

"No, it doesn't necessarily mean going downstairs. Cats generally like to go upstairs. Have you ever gone upstairs to look for it?"

The woman shook her head: "No, upstairs, not downstairs?"

"Or, go back and look for it, upstairs one floor at a time, and look for any patios and other places, and look for every corner..." Lu Jingxing prompted.

"Okay, then I'll go back and look for it now. I specially asked for half a day off and have to go to work in the afternoon. Sorry, I'll bother you." The woman left the office immediately after she finished speaking.

Lu Jingxing shook his head. How could he raise a cat for several months and not even be able to tell a male cat from a female cat?

"Little Round Ear, we can only wait a little longer to see if we can find your mother..." He released Little Round Ear from the cage.

Seeing its little round ears, I inexplicably felt that the little guy was pitiful.

Ji Ling was about to board the plane and sent a message to ask if Little Round Ear had been taken away.

Lu Jingxing told her about the situation, and Ji Ling sent ten question marks: "Why don't you recognize your cat after raising it for half a year?"

"It's normal that you don't recognize it. Cats are not as close to their owners as dogs. It's just that I don't even know whether it's male or female. I really don't understand..." Lu Jingxing smiled and sent: "Haven't you boarded yet?" He looked at the time. There were only two minutes left before boarding. It shouldn't be.

"It's late, but it's said to be at most half an hour late. Okay, if not, we'll take good care of it first... The little guy is so pitiful." Ji Ling quickly replied.

"Okay, have a safe trip, I have a visitor here, send me a message when you board the plane." Lu Jingxing's message was interrupted by the customer who came in.

Ji Ling quickly replied "Okay."

"Doctor Lu, it's great that you're here. Please help me take a look at my black egg..." A woman walked in holding a silver tabby, her voice a little anxious.

"What's wrong, put it on the table." Lu Jingxing stood up quickly.

"I just got home, it has been vomiting for several times, this has never happened before, look, it started again." The woman hurriedly put her black egg on the table.

The little guy coaxed his back forward twice, and after stopping, he looked at the two with tears in his eyes.