Chapter 14

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Having failed to drown itself and been sent back instead, the silver arowana was positively brimming with resentment.

Wen Youning slowly raised one eyebrow. “It’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with its body, and no external injuries. It’s just that when you grabbed it earlier, you may have accidentally touched its scales. It says it doesn’t want to live anymore and wants to drown itself.”

The stallholder: “...”

You’re a fish. Why are you always so determined to die?

The stallholder had no idea what to do. “If I separate them into different tanks right now, will it still be in time?”

“Yes,” Wen Youning said. “Give it something tasty after you move it. Once it’s in a better mood, it won’t hold it against you.”

“Right!”

Hearing that there was still a way to fix things, the stallholder immediately got to work.

He truly loved the two fish. Otherwise, he would never have kept them at his workplace. He did it because he wanted to be able to see them often.

Fortunately, he still had an old fish tank that he had abandoned. He had used it for his golden arowana before, and it was just the right size for one fish. Later, after buying the silver arowana, he had switched to a larger tank.

Now it could finally be put to use.

The tank was still in good condition. A quick rinse would be enough.

There was no time to let fresh water sit, so he could only transfer some of the water from the large tank into it. Whatever the case, they would make do for tonight.

There simply wasn’t enough time today. He would deal with everything properly tomorrow.

As he scrubbed the tank, the stallholder remembered the strange way the two arowanas had interacted before and asked, “I thought they got along very well. They were always brushing against each other. Why did they suddenly fall out?”

“Mm... They got along well?” Wen Youning calmed herself and listened carefully.

At those words, the silver arowana did not even wait for Wen Youning to ask. It began complaining bitterly in its heart.

Who gets along with an idiot like that?

Gurgle... I was sleeping so peacefully, and it came over to bother me. Gurgle...

Beat it to death. Beat it to death.

“It wasn’t sudden.” Wen Youning looked at the golden arowana, which had come over again. “Whenever the silver arowana was sleeping, the golden arowana would keep swimming over to hit it. After a while, the grudge just built up.”

The stallholder stared blankly. “Huh?”

Was that even a language humans spoke?

Wen Youning offered another explanation. “If someone slapped you while you were sleeping soundly, you’d be angry too.”

Besides, judging from the situation, the silver arowana was probably no match for the golden one. The golden arowana had the advantage in length, after all.

After hearing Wen Youning’s words, the silver arowana, which had sunk to the bottom, floated back up. Its mouth moved, sending a string of bubbles to the surface.

Gurgle, gurgle.

Exactly!

Bad fish!

Just as the silver arowana was in the middle of its tirade, a tabby cat suddenly appeared on the screen.

The little tabby’s face nearly blocked the entire camera.

Stray tabby cats were used to catching fish and birds for food, so the kitten naturally recognized fish. It simply had no concept of size. Big fish or small fish, they were all meant for cats to eat!

The little tabby and the silver arowana met one another’s gaze. The fish showed no reaction. It had spent years in a tank and had never had any contact with cats.

But the little tabby had already opened its mouth, its pupils narrowing into vertical slits. Clearly, it had set its sights on the large fish opposite it.

“Mrrrow...” The little tabby licked the phone screen. Its drooping tail thumped against Wen Youning’s wrist, the tip curling into a little hook.

I’ll catch the fish for you to eat.

Fish are delicious.

Seeing such a huge fish, the little tabby’s eyes lit up. It rubbed its paws together, then placed them on the phone screen.

Before the little tabby and Wen Youning’s only phone could fight to the death, Wen Youning scooped up the kitten first. “You’re the one who wants to eat fish, aren’t you?”

With its paws dangling in midair, the little tabby blinked innocently. “Mew...”

Just a little bit... I do.

“Eat this first.” Wen Youning gave it a small dried fish. The fish was small and hard, good for sharpening its teeth. It would gnaw on it for ages without managing to eat much, so it would not fill it up.

Perhaps because it had once lived as a stray, the little tabby had retained its old eating habits. Whenever food was available, it kept eating until it was too full to continue, because it never knew when its next meal would come.

That habit could only be changed gradually. She would feed it at regular times and give it a few small snacks between meals.

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The little tabby carried the dried fish away to gnaw on it. The German shepherd lying quietly nearby also received a small handful. The dried fish were so tiny that they were barely enough to get stuck between a German shepherd’s teeth. If it ate only one, it might not even be able to find where the fish had gone.

“All done!”

During the livestream call, the stallholder had successfully transferred the silver arowana into the new tank.

The water was still from the old tank, which saved him the trouble of acclimating the fish.

The silver arowana flicked its tail and turned to look at the golden arowana in the tank beside it.

Not fair.

I don’t want to live anymore... I’ll drown myself, gurgle, gurgle...

The stallholder watched in horror as the newly transferred silver arowana rolled onto its back again. “Hey, hey, hey?! What’s wrong this time?”

He cast a pleading look toward the livestream. “Dr. Wen?”

Wen Youning helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead. “It thinks its tank is small while the golden arowana’s tank is large, so it feels that’s unfair. And now... it doesn’t want to live again.”

The stallholder: “...”

What a stubborn little thing.

Was there really no way to save this silver arowana today?

He couldn’t exactly fish out the golden arowana and switch their tanks. If the golden one tried to kill itself afterward, he would genuinely have to kill himself too.

“Your space may be smaller, but the water level is higher,” Wen Youning coaxed. “You have twice as much water as the golden arowana.”

It was not merely an illusion caused by perspective. When the stallholder had added water, he really had filled the silver arowana’s tank higher.

The silver arowana’s tail stiffened for a moment as it lay belly-up. Then it swam upward. When it realized that it could look down on the golden arowana from above, it became happy.

Its dangling barbels swayed in the water, and its tail moved leisurely back and forth. Even the ripples spreading through the tank seemed to carry its delight.

More water is good!

I’m not dying anymore... Gurgle.

Wen Youning could not help curling her lips. That was all it took?

Still, it was a good thing that the silver arowana had stopped thinking about dying.

The stallholder watched the fish finally return to normal and let out a deep breath. At last, it was settled.

“What are you doing? Why haven’t you come out yet?”

At the entrance to the market, an old man’s flashlight swept back and forth. Seeing that the stallholder had taken the keys but still had not come out, he had come inside to look for him.

“Coming!” the stallholder called. “Um, I...”

Wen Youning said, “Go ahead. When you have time, remember to buy a larger tank for the silver arowana.”

“All right, I know. Thank you so much for today.”

Amid a stream of grateful thanks, the stallholder left the livestream call.

Wen Youning got up to fetch some water. When she turned around, she saw the two furry creatures huddled together behind her. Seeing how well they got along filled her with warmth.

She walked around the furry bundle, but after only a few steps, she suddenly stopped and turned her head.

The German shepherd was carrying a dried fish in its mouth and trying to stuff it into the little tabby’s paws.

She had caught it red-handed.

The German shepherd blinked. The dried fish remained clamped in its mouth, impossible to put down or eat. It scratched the floor with one front paw, then pawed at its own ear.

It turned out that puppies had plenty of fake movements to make when they were embarrassed.

The little tabby was much more straightforward. Once its secret snacking had been discovered, it hesitated briefly, then immediately raised its head and bit down on the dried fish that had not yet reached its mouth. Lowering its head, it began devouring it with great enthusiasm.

The crunching continued without pause.

The dried fish was still a little too large for the tabby. It could not swallow it whole, and crumbs fell everywhere as it ate. Even with its paws protecting the fish, it made painfully slow progress.

It was working hard, but accomplishing very little.

[Hahaha, the little tabby: Stupid mouth, chew faster!]

[Somebody save me, this is way too cute.]

[The German shepherd is so considerate. It even feeds the little tabby. Mature and dependable—surely this is the perfect dream dog!]

[Its paw pads have split into little flower-shaped toes. I want to rub them.]

[If you snatch the dried fish away now, the kitten will probably cry for ages.]

...

“Eat slowly. I’m not going to take it from you.” Wen Youning brushed the crumbs off the little tabby’s belly, then pointed at the busy German shepherd nearby. “Don’t do that again next time, all right?”

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“Woof!”

The German shepherd lifted its head and rubbed against her fingertips, looking exceptionally well behaved.

Wen Youning fondled the German shepherd’s ears, then suddenly remembered that she still did not know what to call it. “What’s your name?”

The German shepherd puffed out its chest. “Woof, woof!”

General.

Dad calls me General!

“General? That’s a very dashing name,” Wen Youning said with a smile.

The German shepherd whimpered twice, its tail wagging wildly.

Its hind legs still could not support it well enough to stand, but it now had complete control over its tail.

Wen Youning returned to the computer. The livestream had nearly ten thousand viewers online.

“Welcome, everyone, to the livestream. This is a professional veterinarian who can diagnose illnesses by reading the thoughts of pets.”

She introduced herself to the newcomers, then propped her chin on one hand and reopened the connection channel she had just closed.

“Does anyone need a consultation?”

Before she had even finished speaking, a request to connect appeared on the screen.

Hmm?

That was fast.

Meeting the gaze of the unfamiliar man on the other side, Wen Youning greeted him politely. “Hello.”

[What?!]

[Oh my gosh, it’s Jing Yizhou! I thought it was an impersonator, but I clicked into the account and checked the verification—it’s really him.]

[It’s a promotional event for his new drama. He’s randomly connecting with fans, and the streamer is incredibly lucky!]

[He won Best Actor last month, and the film emperor was trending on Weibo for half a month. He’s already joined a new production? What a workaholic.]

...

From the scattered comments, Wen Youning learned who he was. She did not pay much attention to the entertainment industry, but judging from how rapidly the livestream’s popularity was climbing, the man was clearly very famous.

“Hello.” Jing Yizhou had intended to use the name of the livestream as a conversation starter. But after clicking on it, he paused. “Reading pets’ thoughts to diagnose illnesses?”

“Yes,” Wen Youning replied. “I only handle difficult cases that ordinary veterinary hospitals cannot resolve.”

Jing Yizhou nodded. “That sounds interesting.”

[What? This is complete nonsense.]

[At first glance it seems fake. The more carefully you think about it, the faker it gets.]

[The livestreaming world really has everything. Last time I saw someone livestreaming while fitting dentures onto a crocodile.]

[If you don’t understand something, don’t make careless comments, okay? Just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean Dr. Wen can’t.]

Most of the comments came from Jing Yizhou’s fans. Those who had watched Wen Youning’s previous livestreams tried their best to defend her amid the endless flood of messages.

Wen Youning tapped her fingertips lightly on the desk. “Do you have a pet that needs an in-person consultation?”

Since this was a paid connection, she had to ask.

Jing Yizhou’s team had arranged several people to pretend to be callers, but he disliked that kind of deception. While his team was still making preparations, he had gone live ahead of schedule and connected randomly with someone instead. The production crew’s official broadcast time had not yet arrived, so he might as well chat for a while and pass the time.

“As it happens, my golden retriever injured its leg somehow last month. It’s been limping ever since and refuses to put its paw down.” Jing Yizhou waved toward somewhere off-camera, then turned the camera around.

A golden retriever came trotting over on three legs, its left foreleg slightly bent.

“See? It’s like this,” Jing Yizhou said. “I took it for X-rays and had every examination done, but nothing was wrong. It simply refuses to put the leg down.”

His expression grew more serious as he discussed the dog’s condition. “It seems to have gotten worse. Yesterday, when it was in the bedroom, it looked more agile than it does now. Is it because it’s too old? Is that why it’s recovering so slowly?”

The golden retriever lay across Jing Yizhou’s legs, keeping the injured leg bent.

Wen Youning rubbed her chin with her fingertips. “Does its paw or foreleg hurt?”

Jing Yizhou said, “Hmm?”

The golden retriever tilted its head. “Woof, woof, aw—!”

It said that it hurt and rubbed against Jing Yizhou’s arms, looking miserable.

But its thoughts were saying—

It doesn’t hurt, woof...

It doesn’t hurt at all. Hehe.