Chapter 11: The Manipulative Matchmaker — Mr. Jiang, Miss Xia, may I ask if there is a problem?
Since Xia Wei realized that she would run into Mr. Jiang even if she left ahead of time, she decided not to leave early. Although speaking of strangeness, she had not run into him in the elevator for the last two days, perhaps&h.e.l.lip;he decided to change when he left as well! When she returned from the nail salon in the evening, she saw in the distance the orange cat waiting for her by the doorway.
Pulling out the cat food from her bag, she crouched down as she watched the cat eat on the steps, pinching its fatty body. "Ah, tangerine, did you get fatter? If you weren"t a tomcat, I would have suspected you were pregnant."
Miao~ The orange cat resentfully meowed and fluffed its fur.
Xia Wei rested her chin in her hand as she watched it. "How many people are you swindling in this neighborhood? You"re eating so well." This build was nothing like that of a stray cat"s. It clearly resembled some rich family"s stout young master.
This time, the orange cat was too lazily to even meow. Xia Wei poked it before she got up and went upstairs.
Xia Ming Ming just happened to be holding his laptop in his arms and nestled comfortably into the living room sofa to play games. When he caught sight of Xia Wei returning, he called out to her, "Jie, welcome back~"
"Mn." Xia Wei exchanged her shoes for slippers and walked over to him, asking, "How was your interview today?"
"I felt it went pretty good, but they said I"ll be notified by SMS in three days. Oh, I received another interview notice in the afternoon&h.e.l.lip;" Once he said this, he suddenly lifted his head and looked at her as he asked, "Do you know who it was that delivered me to Starlight General Merchandise this morning?"
Xia Wei asked, "The driver of the subway?"
"&h.e.l.lip;It was that Mr. Jiang downstairs!"
Xia Wei visibly startled. Wrinkling her brows, she queried, "Why did he send you? Your relations.h.i.+p with him is this good?"
"He said it was on the way and to consider it as an apology for yesterday"s affair."
"Ah, he would be kind like this? There must be some sinister plot behind this!"
"Stop thinking of him as bad. I think he is actually very good."
Xia Wei took a step back and sized up Xia Ming Ming. "Did he pour some waters of oblivion1 on you? You only met him a few times but already know his character?"
She had been in contact with that cold-hearted, taciturn straight guy for a year and a half!
Xia Ming Ming retorted, "Early this morning when he sent me, I discovered that he feeds a stray cat. That orange cat is very fat. From just one look, you know it is fed very well."
Xia Wei: "&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;"
There were many stray cats in this neighborhood, but there should only be one orange cat that looks very fat.
This sc.u.mmy orange cat; she had only just called it Little Sweetie—secretly relying on help from the enemy within the blink of an eye, too lacking in integrity!
But returning to the main topic, that coldhearted, taciturn Mr. Jiang actually feeds small animals? Speaking of which, he was watching a movie about dogs last time at the cinema&h.e.l.lip;
Mr. Jiang from downstairs was actually someone who likes small animals; it wasn"t like she couldn"t accept this kind of man.
"Jie, what"s up with you?" Xia Ming Ming realized Xia Wei had been lost in thought for quite a while and waved a hand in front of her face.
"Nothing, go play your game." Xia Wei swatted his hand away and went to her room to bathe.
The next day when Jiang Zhi Zhou left, he didn"t see the figure of the orange cat beside his car. He frowned slightly. Even though he now left fifteen minutes earlier, cats didn"t have such a precise knowledge of time. They only had a large-scale of judgement.
Therefore, it definitely wasn"t because of the fact he arrived ten minutes early that the orange cat wasn"t here—moreover, when he came down a few days before, the orange cat was also there.
A stray cat completely dependent on freeloading food suddenly disappearing without a trace during its meal time was certainly because something happened. He thought for a moment before searching the garage surroundings.
When he turned the corner past the flower beds outside the garage, he suddenly heard a very fierce mewl. Jiang Zhi Zhou raised his eyebrows slightly and quickened his steps.
Two boys carrying backpacks held an orange cat, and one of them was holding scissors. The orange cat struggled with all its might in their hands but could not overcome the two boys" strength. It could only incessantly caterwaul at them.
"What are you both doing?" Jiang Zhi Zhou walked over and seized the orange cat from their hands. The orange cat became excited and wriggled into his embrace, gradually quieting. There were no obvious wounds on its body, but its left whiskers had clearly been cut off. The incriminating weapon should precisely be the pair of scissors in that boy"s hand.
Seeing that an adult came, the two little devils threw down the scissors and intended to run away, but Jiang Zhi Zhou grabbed one of their backpacks and lifted the kid back towards him. The other kid didn"t run far as he too had been blocked by someone.
Xia Wei had come out of Building 3 to the sounds of a cat caterwauling from the flower beds—the cat"s calls were different from usual, as though it was terrified. She walked over to investigate and just happened to b.u.mp into a little boy das.h.i.+ng towards her, blocking his path on the way.
Jiang Zhi Zhou called out, "They used scissors to cut the cat"s whiskers; don"t let them run away."
Xia Wei glanced at the cat in his arms—f.u.c.k, wasn"t this the orange cat she fed?!
She lifted the little boy up by the collar like she would a baby chick before scolding him, "If your craftsmans.h.i.+p is so good, go use scissors for paper cutting! What are you doing using scissors to cut a cat"s whiskers?! Say, who"s child are you?"
The little boy unwaveringly kept his mouth shut, appearing as if he would rather die than submit.
Jiang Zhi Zhou once again asked the kid he had grabbed, but he guarded his mouth like a closed bottle as well. Jiang Zhi Zhou warned, "Since you refuse to speak, I"ll bring you to see property management and have your parents go to property management to pick you up."
Xia Wei didn"t expect that he actually did carry the two little devils to see property management. She held the orange cat whose whiskers had been cut by the scissors and followed behind him to watch the play.
When the female property management receptionist saw 1808 Mr. Jiang and 1908 Miss Xia appear together, she felt as if the entire world had imploded; when she saw in their hands two little boys as well as an orange cat, she felt that they might be ready to blow up the galaxy.
"Mr. Jiang, Miss Xia, may I ask what is wrong?" The property management receptionist forced herself to give her best smile.
Jiang Zhi Zhou said, "These two children used scissors to cut off the whiskers of a stray cat residing in this neighborhood. They refused to say which family they belong to when I asked, so I have no choice but to bring them to you so you can contact their parents."
Property Management: "&h.e.l.lip;"
This place really wasn"t a kindergarten! Do even these types of f.u.c.king matters need to be taken care of by them! !
She really wanted to curse at them right now. Just when she was nearly unable to help herself, Xia Wei suddenly took out a pair of scissors—pa—and set it on the counter.
"Miss Xia, you, this is&h.e.l.lip;" The property management receptionist"s smile was as warm as the spring breeze.
Xia Wei said, "Their criminal weapon."
Property Management: "&h.e.l.lip;"
Because of property management contacting them, the parents of the two boys came over very quickly. Upon seeing their parents, the two boys immediately pounced on them.
"Dad!"
"Mom!"
The two parents placated their individual children before asking property management with discontent, "What do you mean by this? Why did you detain our children?"
The property management receptionist"s heart skipped a beat, but she promptly reported, "No no no, we didn"t catch them. It was Mr. Jiang and Miss Xia who said they wanted to contact you after your children used scissors to cut this cat"s whiskers."
"Using scissors to cut a cat"s whiskers?" The mother of one of the little boys glanced at Jiang Zhi Zhou and the cat in his arms and saw that one side of the cat"s whiskers had indeed been cut off. "Isn"t this just a stray cat in the neighborhood? Why are you making such a fuss about a small matter?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou retorted, "Your children already know how to bully a small animal at such a young age. As parents, do you not educate them?"
"Do I need you to manage the way I educate my child?"
"Your child"s education is naturally not under my management, but if you don"t teach them well now, society will help you teach them in the future."
"Ah, who are you trying to scare? It was only cutting off the cat"s whiskers. Look, it also scratched my son. How should this be taken into account?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou countered, "If the brat didn"t go provoke it, why would it scratch them?"
The father who had been standing to the side the entire time finally couldn"t help but speak up at this moment, "Hey, why are you scolding?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou shot him an indifferent glance. "What"s the big deal about me scolding two brats? Today they used scissors to cut a cat"s whiskers; tomorrow what else will they do? Going like this into society, not only will they be scolded, they will even be beaten up."
The father approached him and angrily accused, "These stray cats run around everywhere throughout the neighborhood everyday. Just seeing them makes me feel annoyed. They should have been driven out long ago!"
Jiang Zhi Zhou stared at him and drawled in a cold tone, "There are indeed many stray cats in this neighborhood, but they don"t affect the residents at all. In fact, countless residents are very fond of them. You want to oust these stray cats? Why not have this neighborhood"s residents come together and cats a vote? To see if the stray cats should be forced to leave or if these little devils should go instead."
"You!"
Seeing the father rolled up his sleeves to wind up a punch, the property management receptionist hurriedly came out to intercede. This neighborhood dispute, why couldn"t they directly call the community?! Seeking out the civil police was okay as well!
She felt that she should receive triple her wages this month.
In the end, the two parents swore while talking, leading the endlessly weeping children away. The property management receptionist wiped away the sweat on her forehead before quietly looking at Jiang Zhi Zhou and Xia Wei.
That look silently said, You both are still not leaving?
Xia Wei had intended to leave. There were several times during this play she witnessed where she wanted to applaud Jiang Zhi Zhou. So as it turned out, this Mr. Jiang wasn"t only cold-hearted and ruthless when disliking her. He was this smooth and flexible when dealing with others he disliked too..
Jiang Zhi Zhou wasn"t in an urgent need to leave though. He seemed to have something else he wanted to say to property management. "If the stray cats in this neighborhoods are not spayed, there will only be more. I hope you can gather them all and go get them spayed. This is also for the good of the neighborhood."
The property management receptionist silently froze for two seconds before laughingly asking him, "Then what about the costs?"
"I"ll cover it."
The property management receptionist thought for a moment before she said to him, "I need to ask for instructions from my superiors."
"Mn." Jiang Zhi Zhou made a sound of agreement before leaving with the orange cat in his arms.
Xia Wei left with him. Walking beside him, she laughed. "Your skill in dealing with people you dislike is very profound. It"s no wonder you dared to come to my nail salon and lecture about the harmful effects of manicures at that time."
Jiang Zhi Zhou was silent for a moment before asking her, "Do you not need to go to work today?"
"I"m not in hurry. Although, maybe the neighborhood residents can raise money for the stray cats to get spayed; you don"t need to a.s.sume responsibility by yourself."
Jiang Zhi Zhou stated, "There is no need to go through the trouble. It doesn"t cost much anyway."
Xia Wei: "&h.e.l.lip;"
There were so many stray cats, so wouldn"t the sum also not be small?
Sure enough, all those that lived in this neighborhood were nouveau riche.
Author"s Note:
Periodic exhaustion&h.e.l.lip;accidentally posted later (eary smile)