Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 372 - Chapter 372 Chapter 364 Oh My Xiao Hua

Chapter 372: Chapter 364: Oh, My Xiao Hua Chapter 372: Chapter 364: Oh, My Xiao Hua Xiao Hua was taken away from the Pet Center after staying there for three days.

Because the injuries were not too severe, and the medicine used was good, combined with what the veterinarian said about Xiao Hua still being in the prime of life with good recovery abilities, the wound was treated and the fur cleaned, and she looked almost the same as usual. A check-up in a few days would be sufficient to see if there were any infections or other overlooked injuries.

Old Man Li was not in life-threatening danger either, but due to his age and numerous existing health issues, he was required to stay in the hospital for observation for a few more days. It was the same requirement for the other old men who were hit along with him. Anyway, having companions around, Old Man Li did not feel lonely; however, he thought about Xiao Hua every day.

How nice it would be to have Xiao Hua around: she could act as a towel to wipe water, provide a supportive backrest, warm his feet in winter, much more effective than the woolen slippers his children bought him. The dog was big and imposing–walking with her outdoors brought him respect, and he was not afraid of being robbed at night. In times of danger, she would protect her owner. Such a good dog, he felt her absence keenly after just one day.

The elderly couple did not live with their children and grandchildren, so Xiao Hua was the one who spent the most time with Old Man Li. Even his wife came second, as the old lady had her own affairs to tend to, but the dog did not. The man and his dog were inseparable, even eating and sleeping together. At night, the dog would lie next to their bed. Old Man Li always felt particularly safe with such a large dog by his side, especially upon hearing about burglaries happening elsewhere, touching Xiao Hua’s head sentimentally and remarking that raising a dog was a good choice.

Old Man Li lay on the hospital bed and sighed as he looked out the window. Unfortunately, dogs were not allowed in the hospital. Teacher Xiao Jiao had secretly brought a cat into the hospital–he was not oblivious to that fact. But given Xiao Hua’s size, only a blind person would miss her presence; sneaking her in was impossible.

Aside from resting, Old Man Li spent his days chatting and bantering with some old friends while lying in bed, pretending to have a toothache.

Old Man Li’s wife found this amusing; all he wanted was his dog.

“I’ll bring Xiao Hua over tomorrow,” suggested Old Man Li’s wife.

His feigned toothache immediately disappeared. “How can you bring her? The hospital doesn’t allow it.”

“It’s fine. I’ll leave her with the hospital guard. I know one of the guards; just a word and it will be fine.”

“Great, then I’ll go down and take a walk when the time comes. I can’t be discharged yet, but a walk should be okay, right? Plus, with you coming over and bringing Xiao Hua, it’ll be safe from pickpockets and thieves,” Old Man Li said.

One day, when Zheng Tan went out for a walk, he saw Old Man Li’s wife carrying a lunch box in one hand and leading Xiao Hua with the other towards the Affiliated Hospital. Sometimes, when the lunch box felt too heavy, she would rest it on the dog’s back for a while.

Was she going to visit Old Man Li?

Besides Old Man Li’s wife, Zheng Tan also encountered Xiao Zhuo riding a bicycle.

Xiao Zhuo was not rushing back to work now with Buddha around; whether she wanted to stay on campus or do something else was not a problem. The main thing for Xiao Zhuo at the moment was to recover. She hadn’t received post-treatment at the project group, so after returning, she couldn’t neglect her treatment, taking good care of herself for Zhuo Xiaomao’s sake.

Zheng Tan sometimes saw Xiao Zhuo in the mornings when he went out for a walk. Xiao Zhuo visited the Affiliated Hospital for treatment every few days. With Zhuo Xiaomao being obedient and a nanny at home, there was nothing for her to worry about.

Since Zhuo Xiaomao was familiar with Xiao Hua, Xiao Zhuo also knew Old Man Li and his wife to some extent.

After greeting Zheng Tan, Xiao Zhuo got off her bike, walked alongside the old lady, and put the lunch box in her bike basket to spare the old lady the effort of carrying it.

After they entered the hospital gate, Zheng Tan squatted behind the flowerbed to observe, mindful that squatting on the wall might look bad, remembering what people had said when he previously visited the hospital.

The old lady spoke with the guard for a while, then tied Xiao Hua to a small open area behind the guard room, asking Xiao Hua to stay put. Then she went inside with Xiao Zhuo.

The guard had been forewarned and was asked to keep an eye on the dog, which was manageable. Furthermore, this area behind the guard room was not easily visible to those coming and going, so patients wouldn’t be frightened. He even filled a disposable cup with water for Xiao Hua to drink. Xiao Hua licked it a couple of times before settling down in the shade to pant, watching the direction where the old lady had gone.

The guard sat in the guard room and glanced at the dog quietly staying behind. When he had first heard the name “Xiao Hua” from the old lady, he had thought it might be a toy dog like a Butterfly dog or a Pomeranian. To his surprise, when he learned it was a Saint Bernard, he was taken aback, especially as it was a full-grown dog nearing one hundred kilograms in weight. No wonder the old lady was troubled.

Before long, Old Man Li came over, walking briskly without needing the old lady’s assistance. Judging by his pace, it seemed he was not in serious trouble and would be able to return home after a few days of observation.

When Old Man Li saw Xiao Hua, he could not help but shed tears of joy, noticing the shaved areas where Xiao Hua had been injured.

Upon seeing Old Man Li, Xiao Hua also became excited, whimpering as if she wanted to rush over to him, but, unfortunately, she was tethered and the tug of the leash made her appear to stand on her hind legs.

She was already big, and standing up, she was taller than most people–a heavy creature indeed. If she were to knock over Old Man Li, the impact would be terrifying; just placing two paws on him could send him back to lying in the hospital for a while. The guard wiped the sweat from his forehead several times.

The old lady knew that being knocked over by Xiao Hua would be serious, so she hurriedly intervened to calm her down.

“Xiao Hua, sit, sit down now!” the old lady quickly moved to soothe Xiao Hua.

Upon hearing the command, Xiao Hua sat down but continued to whimper towards Old Man Li, wagging her tail vigorously.

Old Man Li walked up quickly and gently stroked Xiao Hua’s head. “Oh Xiao Hua, my Little Hua’er, you’ve suffered!”

The guard shook, feeling goosebumps crawling up his arm. Looking back, he saw Xiao Hua drenching Old Man Li’s face with drool. Ew, the drool from dogs like this, especially with that kind of mouth, was the grossest!

After some thought, the watchman decided not to check out what was happening over there.

Old Man Li and Xiao Hua were being affectionate for a while when something crossed his mind, so he went to find the watchman. He remembered that there used to be a weighing scale in the watchman’s room; the height-measuring part was broken and no one had fixed it. It just lay forgotten in a corner of the watchman’s room, and sometimes the watchmen would step on it to see if they had gained any weight.

The scale was indeed still there when he checked.

“Although it’s inconvenient to measure height, the weight measurement is quite accurate,” said the watchman.

Old Man Li stepped on it to weigh himself. Hmm, not bad, it was almost the same as when he was checked at the hospital. Then he untied the rope and called Xiao Hua over.

Being quite large, Xiao Hua squeezed onto the scale, but since this wasn’t his first time on such a scale, he stood properly without Old Man Li saying much.

“Ninety-five kilograms, your dog is really…” The watchman was about to offer a compliment; this dog was almost ten kilograms heavier than a friend’s Saint Bernard! His friend always bragged about how big and strong his Saint Bernard was, so seeing the figure on the scale, the watchman genuinely wanted to express his amazement, but before he could finish speaking, Old Man Li’s face showed great annoyance.

“She’s lost so much weight!”

While saying this, Old Man Li went over to stroke her head, saying with pity, “Xiao Hua, my poor Xiao Hua, you’ve suffered!”

Zheng Tan, watchman: “…”

This time, not only the watchman but also Zheng Tan twitched several times.

The word “good” that the watchman was about to say was forcefully held back.

Old Man Li couldn’t stay outside with her forever; there was a routine check-up later and medicine to be taken. Now after holding Xiao Hua, Old Man Li would need his wife to help him clean up before going back to the ward. He shouldn’t bring dog hair into the ward and risk others being allergic to it, which could cause negative repercussions.

After talking to Xiao Hua with a look of reluctance, Old Man Li left. Before leaving, he even took the watchman’s hand firmly and said, “Comrade, I’m entrusting Xiao Hua to you.”

The watchman smiled awkwardly. Why did those words sound so awkward? He recalled it was like when his elder brother went to his girlfriend’s house to discuss their wedding last week. His future father-in-law took his brother’s hand with the same seriousness and said, “Jun’er, I’m entrusting my Lizhen to you!”

After Old Man Li left, Xiao Hua lay down behind the watchman’s room, looking much happier than before. Xiao Hua had been restless because she hadn’t seen Old Man Li for a while, but now she finally calmed down.

In the following days, whenever the old lady came over with a lunch box to see Old Man Li, she would bring Xiao Hua along,

That day, the weather forecast predicted strong winds, but it didn’t seem apparent in the morning. There was no sun and a bit of wind, yet not enough to qualify as strong, but it did dispel the heat somewhat, and some children even played in the fountain.

Today, Old Man Li’s wife was the same as usual, carrying a thermos lunch box and leading Xiao Hua toward the Affiliated Hospital. This bit of wind didn’t bother her. She wore a mask, though, since the wind could kick up dust in some areas, and it was better with a mask on.

Zheng Tan went with them, but he wasn’t heading to the hospital today. Instead, he was going to the villa area by the lake to see what Feng Baikin and Tiger were up to and also to scrounge a meal there.

Lately, there had been more cats in the villa area by the lake; every time Zheng Tan went there, he would see cats chasing and playing with each other. In the afternoons, it was common to find groups of cats napping under the willow trees. They would only flick their ears and open their eyes when a fish jumped out of the lake.

However, even this collective picture of laziness could change in an instant.

Do you know what happens when you throw a lively grasshopper into the midst of a group of cats?

Zheng Tan had tried it.

He happened to catch a grasshopper that had jumped in front of him one day; it must have been caught by one of the cats because one leg was broken and there were scratch marks from cat claws on its body. But the grasshopper was still lively and bold enough to jump right in front of Zheng Tan, planning to leap over him into the bushes beyond.

After catching it, Zheng Tan threw it toward the spot under the willow trees where the cats lay.

Then, the previously lazy cats perked up instantly, and their pupils dilated significantly.

Watching the grasshopper being fought over by five cats, Zheng Tan silently lit a candle for it in his heart.

When Zheng Tan arrived, Feng Baikin was playing a game that seemed to be a new one he had created, which Zheng Tan had never seen before.

Tiger was napping on Feng Baikin’s legs, and whenever Feng Baikin moved, Tiger would grumble unhappily through his nostrils, indicating that this disturbed his sleep and Feng Baikin shouldn’t move so much.

How does the saying go? Every homebody on the internet is a cat’s couch. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to come to Qidian (NovelFire.net) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please proceed to m.NovelFire.net to continue reading.)

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