With that, she led Lin Lan to the incubator, carefully took out the kitten, and handed it over to her.
A week had passed. The kitten only had a thin layer of fur, not enough to cover its pink skin. The areas with ringworm were still stained with medicine, making it obvious that more applications would be needed before fur could grow there.
"The fur on its body will take about a month to grow back properly. During this time, you must keep it warm. You have the heated pad and the small bed ready, right?" Doctor Liu asked her.
Lin Lan nodded hurriedly. "I got them ready long ago!" She hadn't been idle this past week. Not only had she prepared the heated cat bed, but she had also gathered all the other equipment for raising a kitten that the doctor had mentioned.
"That's good." After transferring the kitten into the carrier, Doctor Liu took out a pre-prepared bag from a cabinet. One contained medicine for the kitten, both oral and topical. "The other bag is its formula milk powder. This brand is often used for panda cubs and tiger cubs at the zoo. It can only drink this until it's three months old. This kitten's digestive system is still very weak and needs careful nurturing."
Ding! Your Alipay account has just spent XXXX yuan!
Just from this handover, another four-digit sum was gone. Lin Lan kept a straight face, but inside, she was weeping.
Little kitten, you must live. Not only live, but live a long life!
As Lin Lan, dejected, picked up the carrier to head home, she heard Doctor Liu talking to that dog client... ahem, the Border Collie's owner: "The injuries are minor. As long as you apply the medicine on time and prevent infection, it will heal quickly. But it shouldn't move around on its own right now. Is it convenient for you to carry it back?"
"Of course, of course," Cheng Fengyang replied promptly. "I have a car; I drove it here!"
Even better. Doctor Liu also prescribed medicine for him and, at his request, some fur growth supplement powder. Another transaction was completed.
So, Lin Lan, who had stepped out of the clinic first, saw the dog owner come out right after her, carrying his dog in a princess-carry pose.
The Border Collie was well-fed and seemed quite heavy. The young man, who likely worked in an office, struggled a bit with the weight, making his walking posture somewhat comical.
Lin Lan, also carrying things in both hands, watched his struggling back with amusement all the way until he walked towards a sapphire-blue Mercedes-Benz parked by the roadside.
This person...
Lin Lan couldn't help but freeze.
When she looked again, her expression turned somewhat complicated.
The young man awkwardly stuffed the dog into the back seat, then got into the driver's seat himself. Soon, the blue Mercedes turned onto the street, circled around at the intersection ahead, and entered the gate of the residential complex opposite.
As the car disappeared, Lin Lan shook her head and walked home with the cat carrier.
The convalescing kitten was met with collective disdain from its "grandma" and "grandpa" (Lin Lan's parents) as soon as it was brought home. Its "great-grandma" (Grandma Lin) also curled her lip and offered an unflattering critique.
"It looks so bald and ugly, like a hairless rat!"
Elders, judging by appearances is wrong for people, and it's wrong for cats too!
Lin Lan felt helpless but could only grit her teeth and endure her family's complaints.
Taking care of a kitten under three months old was indeed much more tiring than when she first raised Snowflake (her other cat). Not only was the diet completely different, but every other aspect required extra care. The slightest negligence could lead to...
"Doctor Liu, it's terrible! The kitten has diarrhea and is dehydrated!"
"Doctor Liu, it's terrible! The kitten choked on milk and got pneumonia again!"
"Doctor Liu, it's terrible! The kitten has a high fever that won't go down!"
The scenes that once frequently happened to Qian Xuan now befell Lin Lan.
Before even a full month had passed, she felt utterly exhausted, losing more hair every day and her dark circles growing heavier. Lin Lan was experiencing almost all the pains of being a first-time kitten owner, but she was also gaining a lot of experience.
Her family felt sorry for her and sometimes unconsciously voiced discouraging remarks.
"This cat is even more delicate than the one upstairs in Little Qian's place. It's too much trouble."
"I told you early on, sick cats are hard to raise, but you just had to be stubborn!"
"Lanlan, maybe... just give up? Look at you day after day. Don't make yourself sick from all this."
Lin Lan bit her lip and never uttered a word in response.
How could she give up?
The kitten's condition was actually much better than at the beginning. Its fur color was deepening day by day, slowly covering its tiny body. It would run and jump in the specially purchased isolation cage and meow at her with its now-open blue eyes.
"Meow! Mew!" (Mommy! Mommy!)
Its pink little paw gently rested on her finger, melting her heart.
If Lin Lan's initial motivation was simply out of compassion, now she was truly attached to this ugly little cutie.
"No, you're not ugly at all. Your eyes are beautiful, little treasure, like the finest sapphires." She gently nuzzled the kitten's soft head, which also had some ringworm marks but not many, and they were healing. "It's decided. Your name will be Sapphire, okay?"
She would raise it, and raise it well!
The story of the landlord's daughter picking up a sick kitten to raise had long spread throughout the entire small building. Most people just found it amusing, but some close friends of the landlord's family came to visit. The Yu family was one of them.
The playful Yu Lingling even brought her family's Xiao Kui (the parrot) along for the visit.
"Wow, it really is a bit ugly!" Seeing the kitten with its uneven, patchy fur, the middle schooler blurted out her honest thought.
"Ugly! Ugly!" The cockatoo on her shoulder, never one to miss a chance to stir trouble, repeated, and was quickly silenced by Yu Lingling pinching its beak. Shut up, you mimicking parrot! Are you trying to get me killed?
With the troublesome bird causing issues, its young owner quickly tried to smooth things over. "Huh? Looking more closely, its head is actually quite cute. It's a long-haired cat."
"Cute! Cute!" Xiao Kui continued mimicking, and this time no one stopped it.
Lin Lan wasn't angry with these two youngsters and just smiled. "When it's fully recovered and its fur has grown in, it will be even cuter. That will be right around when it turns three months old."
"Oh—" Yu Lingling drew out her response. "Lanlan-jie, does it have a name yet?"
"Yes, I just gave it one recently. It's called Sapphire."
"Sapphire?... Oh! Its eyes are really pretty!"
After seeing off the easily excitable curious visitor, Lin Lan soon welcomed another unexpected guest.
"I heard you adopted a kitten that's always sick..." Qian Xuan stood at the doorway, not planning to come in, seemingly still awkward from the unpleasantness at the clinic last time. "I... I understand how it feels to always take a cat to the vet. It's really hard, right? I have some medicine and nutritional paste here, all usable for kittens. I'm giving them to you!"
Perhaps because her emotions were becoming more stable, Qian Xuan's words grew smoother towards the end. Finally, she shoved the plastic bag in her hand into Lin Lan's grasp, turned to run, and shouted back.
"I'm really sorry about that day! And I hope your kitten recovers soon!"
Watching the figure that vanished in a flash, Lin Lan stood at the door, bewildered as she listened to the hurried footsteps fading away down the stairwell. After a long moment, she couldn't help but laugh.
"Meow—" (Lan Lan!)
By her feet, Snowflake leaned against her leg, lowering its head to nuzzle.
"Meow—" (Lan Lan, I'll help you take care of the kitten!)
Lin Lan picked up the white cat, her smile growing wider. "Thank you too, Snowflake."
The days passed one by one. No one in the old Lin family tried to persuade their daughter to give up on the sickly little kitten anymore. They let her watch over it as if it were a child. For a whole month, except for trips to the clinic, she stayed home without going out. Even more miraculous was Snowflake. This house cat, who loved basking in the sun outside so much, also stayed to help care for the little kitten. They could often see it grooming the kitten.
Their daughter's focused attention made the older members of the Lin family unconsciously pay a bit more attention to the kitten too. As the kitten gradually recovered, its fur growing in until it looked like a normal cat, the three elders were also stunned.
"Is this the same sickly, hairless mouse-like cat from a month ago?" Grandma Lin couldn't help but put on her reading glasses, her face full of astonishment.
"The change is incredible!" Wang Xiuzhi and Lin Youyu's reaction was even more exaggerated. "Is it really the same cat?"
The three-month-old kitten was held in Lin Lan's hands. Trusting the owner of the hands completely, it obediently sat still, allowing everyone to look.
The kitten had a pink nose, round, sea-blue eyes as clear as sapphires. Light grey lines extended from its cheeks to the tips of its ears, darkening at the very ends. The snow-white fur inside its ears twitched playfully now and then. From its head down, its fur became increasingly fluffy and long, a snowy white. Only its entire long tail was tinged with the same light grey as its ears. The beautiful mane of fur around its neck, like a scarf, made the whole cat look incredibly elegant and beautiful, as if surrounded by an ethereal aura.
It was like a pheasant transforming into a phoenix! Even Snowflake's transformation after being nursed back to health hadn't shocked them this much!
"Sapphire, say hello to everyone," Lin Lan said proudly, chin held high.
The kitten obediently opened its mouth: "Meow—"
A soft, delicate meow, carrying the unique little squeak of a kitten. When it opened its mouth, tiny milk teeth and a little pink tongue were visible. The entire Lin family was petrified on the spot.
"Although I had an idea of its breed while treating it, I didn't dare say anything immediately because of the uncertainty of the treatment's success."
At the pet clinic, Doctor Liu, having finished the kitten's check-up, handed it back to Lin Lan with a happy smile.
"Congratulations, Lin Lan. You have a very beautiful blue bicolor Ragdoll cat. Although not purebred, with this quality, it would be worth at least 15,000 to 18,000 on the market."
"Doctor Liu, that last price estimate was unnecessary," Lin Lan said, displeased. "My Sapphire is not for sale!"
This little kitten already saw her as its mother. What kind of parent sells their own child?
"My apologies, my apologies, that was thoughtless of me."
Doctor Liu hurriedly apologized, then couldn't resist reaching out to rub the kitten's head. The gentle-natured Ragdoll didn't shy away, letting him pet it. The doctor couldn't help but show a fatherly smile.
"Little one, your name is Sapphire, huh? It truly suits you."
