Chapter 70 – Cat’s Eye

“Ningnan is getting more and more unsafe. Though I suppose that’s probably the state of the entire country, even the whole world, right now…”

After abandoning the car, Su Lifeng told Gouzi to keep an eye on the nearby nightclubs as well as Xiao Liu’s situation, then changed into Gouzi’s leather jacket.

“Even if it was torn up, Su-Ge, you could’ve at least left me one piece of clothing…” The cold morning wind blew past, and Gouzi, wearing only a tank top, immediately shivered. “That jacket was brand-new, too…”

Su Lifeng deliberately took the side streets until he reached the main road. After tugging at his collar, he walked to the curb with a perfectly natural expression and hailed a taxi.

“Zhangjiayuan, please.”

Zhangjiayuan was actually a flower-and-bird market in Ningnan. Not only did it sell flowers, plants, and all kinds of pets, there were also many vendors selling antiques and curios. Since the entire market was surrounded by various flowers and greenery, plenty of teahouses had opened there as well.

Come to think of it, Su Lifeng had been here before, but that had been to buy lab mice… Coming here to look for someone was a first.

“Excuse me, where is Yushui Teahouse?” Su Lifeng looked around, then walked up to a pet stall and asked the owner.

The owner was standing behind two female customers, waiting for them to make a selection so he could introduce the animals at just the right moment. Hearing Su Lifeng’s rather polite question, he still turned around enthusiastically and said, “Oh? Yushui Teahouse… Just keep walking straight ahead. When you see an antique shop, turn left, and then…”

“Hey, Qianqian, look, this one is so cute! Boss, how many months old is this cat? What breed is it?” At that moment, one of the female customers suddenly cried out in an exaggerated voice and asked.

Seeing that the owner had business to attend to, Su Lifeng gave him a grateful smile and was about to turn and leave. Unexpectedly, someone called out to him.

“I was wondering why that annoying voice sounded a little familiar. So it really is you.” The companion the female customer had called “Qianqian” was none other than Jiang Yushi’s cousin, Jiang Qianqian. After turning around, she happened to see Su Lifeng, and a look of extreme disgust immediately appeared on her face as she spoke in a deliberately cutting tone.

“What a coincidence. I also thought the name Qianqian sounded a little familiar just now, but I couldn’t remember who it was. Then again, we weren’t that close to begin with. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.” When Su Lifeng saw that it was actually Jiang Qianqian, he could not help frowning. He had not expected to run into her even here… It seemed Ningnan was still too small. He had no desire to say anything more to this woman and only wanted to get away from her as quickly as possible.

“Hey, what do you mean by that?! Stop right there!” But Jiang Qianqian raised her brows and refused to let it go. She chased after him and directly reached out to grab Su Lifeng. Her nails were long, and she knew that if she grabbed and yanked him like this, several bloody scratches would definitely appear on the back of his hand. At the thought, a cold sneer flashed through her eyes. This kind of silent loss was something Su Lifeng could only swallow.

But to her surprise, her grab missed completely. There was even a sudden stab of pain in her wrist. By the time she cried out and hurriedly pulled her hand back to check, Su Lifeng had already moved to the other side. He turned around and looked at her impatiently. “What exactly do you want? We’re in public. Keep your hands to yourself.”

“You…” Jiang Qianqian’s eyes widened, but the ache in her wrist only grew stronger. Yet judging from where Su Lifeng had been standing, there was no way he could have touched her, and she herself had not seen clearly what had happened. Still, the moment she saw Su Lifeng’s expression, Jiang Qianqian felt certain it had to have something to do with him.

At the thought that she was the one who had ended up suffering in silence instead, anger surged wildly through Jiang Qianqian’s chest. She glared fiercely at Su Lifeng and was just about to speak when she heard him say to her female companion, “That cat, you’d better not buy it.”

Although the girl didn’t know Su Lifeng, she could tell from Jiang Qianqian’s reaction that the two of them were on very bad terms. She hadn’t expected Su Lifeng to suddenly say something like that to her, and for a moment she froze. Then she asked instinctively, “What’s wrong? Is it in poor health? It looks very intelligent to me…”

Su Lifeng thought for a moment, then pointed at a cat in another cage and said, “That one will be a little more docile to raise. Of course, it’s also a little more expensive, but it suits you better. I study biology, so I think you can take my opinion into consideration.”

The shopkeeper’s face had already darkened, but the moment he heard Su Lifeng recommend a more expensive cat, his smile immediately returned. “Yes, yes, that one is much more suitable for you…”

“Is that so…” The girl looked hesitant.

By then, Jiang Qianqian had already recovered from her shock. She suddenly gave a cold snort, snatched the cat from her companion’s arms, and said, “Don’t listen to his nonsense. What problem could this cat possibly have? Fine, I’m buying it! I look down on self-important bookworms like you the most!” Her gaze swept over Su Lifeng from head to toe, then revealed a trace of extreme contempt.

Su Lifeng had been about to say something, but after seeing that expression on her face, he simply shook his head. “I hope you don’t regret it.”

“I’d love to see exactly how you’re going to make me regret-“

“Meow!” Jiang Qianqian was only halfway through her sentence when the cat in her arms suddenly bristled all over, its eyes staring eerily at Su Lifeng.

“If you want to stay alive long enough to go report back, then you’d better behave yourself,” Su Lifeng said with a cold snort, glancing at the cat.

Seeing Su Lifeng threaten a cat, Jiang Qianqian had been just about to mock him, but to her surprise, she discovered that the cat in her arms had actually quieted down.

It turned its head to look at her, then licked its tongue.

Jiang Qianqian stared at it for two seconds. For some reason, she suddenly felt that those so-called “intelligent” eyes were a little chilling. It seemed to be sizing her up with a cold gaze, and there was even a trace of hesitation hidden within it. How could a cat possibly have such a complicated look in its eyes?

“Zhu Hao!”

Jiang Qianqian quickly made a phone call. “Didn’t you say you were going to teach Su Lifeng a lesson? Then how come I just saw him acting all arrogant right in front of me?”

Zhu Hao was silent for a moment on the other end before saying, “He hasn’t gone to the lab these past few days, so I never found a chance. Perfect timing, then. Where did you just run into him?”

“At Zhangjiayuan. I saw him walking further in, so he probably won’t be leaving for the time being. Hurry up and get over here. I’ll head back first, so Jiang Yu won’t go tattling on me again later.” Jiang Qianqian lowered her voice as she finished. Then she glanced at the cat in her hands, hurriedly stuffed it into the cage, and tossed a silk scarf over the cage to block its line of sight. Only then did she feel herself let out a breath of relief.

“How strange. Don’t tell me I was really influenced by him…” Jiang Qianqian couldn’t help thinking. Then she quickly shook her head. Impossible. Anyone with a brain could tell that poor brat was just being alarmist, acting all mysterious…

By then, Su Lifeng had already arrived at Yushui Teahouse. As for Jiang Qianqian’s venomous gaze, he had seen it clearly. Though he didn’t know whether she would actually do anything, even if she did, Su Lifeng didn’t care.

He walked straight up to the teahouse counter, then forced himself to say the most embarrassing sentence he had ever uttered in his life. “Excuse me, is Crisis Survivalist here? I’m his online friend…”