Liu Wenying was stunned as she stared at the urn. The baseball bat fell to the ground with a bang, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Seeing her like this, Ai Hui quickly asked, "Sister Wenying, what's wrong?"
"No, I'm fine …" Liu Wenying wiped her tears, forced a smile, and said, "Zhang, I'm sorry for making you come all the way here … You're so busy taking care of two stores. You could've just called me or sent me a message, and I could've picked it up myself. Why did you have to bring it here personally …"
Zhang Zian said, "I sent you a message, but you didn't reply. I happened to be passing by, so I brought it here."
"Right, I haven't given you the money yet …" Liu Wenying subconsciously touched her pocket. "Ah, I forgot to bring my phone … Sorry for troubling you."
"It's okay, you're welcome. I was just passing by … You don't seem to be in a good state of mind. Do you want me to take you home?" Zhang Zian observed her.
"Ahem, okay. My house is in the unit next door. "Liu Wenying raised her hand and pointed.
Zhang Zian picked up the baseball bat from the ground, nodded at Ai Hui, and smiled. He followed Liu Wenying into the corridor and took the elevator.
Liu Wenying took out her key and opened the door. She mumbled, "I didn't know we had guests, so the house is very messy. Please come in."
Zhang Zian said a few polite words, followed her into the house, and poked the baseball bat against the wall next to the door.
The house was not messy at all, but some of Yue Yue's toys were scattered on the ground. Families with children were usually like this. Even if they cleaned it up, it would quickly become a mess, so they simply didn't clean it up.
Other than that, everything was neat and tidy. It was obvious that she was a diligent housewife.
"Take a seat. There's nothing much to entertain at home. I'll make you a cup of tea …" Liu Wenying hurried into the kitchen.
"No, don't bother. I'll leave after a while," Zhang Zian said, but she still insisted on making tea.
There was no one else in the house, but looking at the toys on the ground, it was as if he could see little Yue Yue playing in the house.
Zhang Zian noticed that there was still a cat food bowl, a water bowl, a litter box, and a cat nest in the corner. Liu Wenying seemed to have not really accepted the fact that her cat was dead.
Liu Wenying came out with a tray and some tea. There was also a bag of children's snacks on the tray. She said apologetically, "We really didn't prepare anything at home, not even fruits. Drink some water and eat some snacks."
As she spoke, her eyes glanced at the urn in Zhang Zian's hand, and her face became even worse.
Zhang Zian solemnly handed the urn and the cremation documents to her.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she held the urn like a cat and stared at it blankly.
Zhang Zian silently picked up the teacup, blew away the floating tea leaves, and took a sip.
After a while, Liu Wenying slowly opened the urn.
There wasn't much bone ash in the box, only a thin layer. The bones of a cat weren't big to begin with.
Something flashed in the ashes.
She gently brushed away the ashes on the top layer with her fingers, revealing a thin collar with a metal nameplate that shone with a dim luster.
Seeing the collar and the nameplate, she finally couldn't help it anymore. She held the nameplate tightly in her hand, held the urn, and cried bitterly. Her tears fell like rain.
Zhang Zian sympathized with her. She must have seen such a scene too many times.
He didn't comfort Liu Wenying, because she really needed such a cry to vent the sadness in her heart. It would be bad if she kept holding it in.
In addition to venting her emotions, Liu Wenying also needed to use this cry to recognize the fact that her cat was dead. Life always needed to look forward, and she couldn't always be immersed in her memories.
When the tea turned from boiling hot to warm, she gradually stopped crying.
Zhang Zian handed her the tissue box on the table.
"Thank you …" she sniffled and said, "I made a fool of myself in front of you … You're already so old, yet you're still crying …"
"What are you talking about? Anyone would feel sad if they lost a pet." Zhang Zian saw that she had calmed down, so he got up and said goodbye, "Then you can rest. I'm leaving now."
"Wait a minute, I'll give you the money. Thank you for paying for me." Liu Wenying put the urn aside and hurriedly picked up her phone to transfer the money to Zhang Zian.
Zhang Zian didn't hesitate. After she transferred the money, he asked, "Does Xiao Yueyue know that the cat is dead?"
"Not yet." She shook her head and sighed, "I still don't know how to tell her …"
"Then, I suggest that you get another pet, whether it's a cat or a dog. Of course, I'm not trying to take advantage of your misfortune and insist that you buy a pet from my shop. What I'm trying to say is … Only by getting a new pet can you dilute the sadness of losing a pet," he suggested seriously.
Liu Wenying looked at the pet supplies in the corner and said sadly, "In fact, I've thought about it, but when I think about how it will still die if I get another pet, whether it's an accident or a natural death, I … I really can't bear it …"
The Siamese cat had become a part of her family. Losing it was similar to losing a family member. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to bear that kind of pain again.
Zhang Zian nodded to show that he understood. This kind of choice was also very common. In order to avoid getting hurt again, people stopped getting pets.
"Then I'll leave first. Have a good rest and lock the door."
"Drive carefully on the road."
Liu Wenying wanted to send him downstairs, but she returned to the house after he repeatedly persuaded her.
There was no trace of A Hui downstairs. He might have gone home to eat, or he might have continued to search for stray cats.
Zhang Zian started the car and carefully drove out of the yard.
In the community, there were old people walking with crutches, young parents walking with strollers, and children chasing and playing with each other.
If he lived in this community, he probably wouldn't dare to oppose the decision of the old people to exterminate the stray cats, because no one could bear the responsibility of infected stray cats hurting people.
Now that the cat abuse incident was getting more and more serious, it was hard not to think of the Holy Cat statue again. He was worried that this would add fuel to the revival of the Holy Cat statue.
He could only hope that with the passage of time, the incident would slowly die down. After all, people were good at forgetting.
Thinking of the series of cat abuse incidents, he thought of Sheng Ke again and felt a little strange. The last time he asked Sheng Ke if he had received any reports of cat abuse, why hadn't Sheng Ke contacted him?
He had dealt with Sheng Ke many times and knew that Sheng Ke was a very warm-hearted person. Under normal circumstances, if he was asked for help, he would give a reply very quickly. What was going on this time? Was it because of some sudden case that he was delayed? That was also possible.
Zhang Zian pulled himself together and didn't think about it for the time being. He looked at the address on his phone and drove to the family area of the factory where Welder Zhao and the others worked.
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