With the incident involving the husky-cat Diandian, the other cats who already weren't interested in the sweltering heat outside became even less so.
High temperatures were a minor issue; as long as there was water to drink, even temperatures over fifty degrees Celsius weren't a big deal for cats. The most critical problem was burning their paws. They absolutely refused to let their paw pads get scalded.
The kittens, only a few months old, were experiencing the full force of summer for the very first time. After seeing the blazing sun outside again, the two little cats lost all their initial curiosity, obediently learning from the older cats to nestle in their comfortable spots.
Bubble was a genuine three-month-old kitten, right at that stage in a cat's life where it's curious about everything and wants to try everything. Sent by its grandmother, Miss Wei, to this unfamiliar teahouse, it hadn't even had time to show any signs of discomfort before being sweet-talked by the "cat-whispering" Shopkeeper Lin into happily staying to live. Moreover, it became extremely attached to Lin Lan.
When Lin Lan greeted guests, Bubble followed. When Lin Lan ate, Bubble followed. When Lin Lan moved around or did chores, Bubble followed too—as long as it wasn't locked in a cage, it wanted to follow her everywhere.
This included, but was not limited to, times when Shopkeeper Lin went to use the restroom.
The bathroom door was closed, and the little kitten would scratch at the door panel while meowing and yowling.
(Lanlan! Lanlan! Why did you go in and close the door!)
(Lanlan, let me in! I want to see you!)
Its cries were heart-wrenching, as if it were a life-or-death separation.
Inside, Shopkeeper Lin, sitting on the toilet, held her head in agony. This kitten Bubble was even more of a velcro-cat than Blue Treasure, whom she had taken care of last year.
(Lanlan, I hear water! You're not drowning, are you! Let me in, I need to save you!)
With an expressionless face, Shopkeeper Lin quickly walked out. Nowadays, she didn't dare dawdle in the bathroom, almost breaking her habit of sometimes playing on her phone while on the toilet.
The moment she opened the door and stepped over the threshold, Bubble rushed over, stood up on its hind legs, hugged her calf, and started climbing up her pants leg. In a few quick scrambles, it reached her waist.
Wang Jiayi, who happened to witness this scene, doubled over with laughter: "Lanlan, Bubble is always so worried you'll drown in the toilet!" Having heard about this from her friend before, she now found it automatically hilarious every time she saw it, and it always made her so happy.
"Hah, that's just its way of showing love for me," Shopkeeper Lin retorted, unfazed by the teasing, as she plucked Bubble off and cradled it in her arms. "When you laugh at me, you should think about yourself. Xiuqiu has never once worried about whether you've drowned while bathing or using the toilet."
The young lady, who had been laughing unladylike goose-like laughs, instantly choked. She immediately retorted weakly, "Xiu-Xiuqiu loves me too! It's just that because of its experience as a stray, it's not clingy! It'll grow to like it with time!"
Shopkeeper Lin stroked the kitten in her arms, who had reached maximum clinginess in less than a week, then glanced at the little Xiuqiu not far away, snuggled next to its mother, the black cat Mo Mo. She wore a knowing smile without saying a word.
Darn it, she lost!
The young lady pouted in frustration but could only shoot a few annoyed glances. After all, she didn't possess the other's cat-taming skills.
So annoying, she still had a lot to learn.
After placing the kitten back with the group of older cats, Lin Lan also found a seat and sat down. She looked around at the cats in the teahouse and saw the Bengal cat Gray curled up in a ball, feigning sleep on the top platform of its favorite cat tree. The reason it was feigning sleep was that its tail, dangling over the edge of the platform, was swaying slowly in small arcs.
On the level below, the Russian Blue cat Huihui sat, its emerald green eyes fixed intently on that dangling, swaying tail. One paw tentatively stretched out, pulled back, stretched out again, and pulled back.
Should she intervene in these two cats' bizarre competitive relationship? Just as this thought instinctively surfaced in Shopkeeper Lin's mind, a sudden spark of inspiration struck, and she stood up directly.
"Boss, where are you going?"
Song Xinmin, holding a cat teaser wand, had been watching the Siamese cat's belly dance. Sensing a breeze beside him, he turned to see Lin Lan grabbing a sun-protective jacket and heading for the door.
"Going out to take care of something. I'll be back soon."
By the time Lin Lan said this, she was already at the door and out of the teahouse.
The moment the glass door was pushed open, a wave of heat rushed in. Squinting against the intense heat and blazing sunlight, she raised a hand to shield her eyes but kept walking.
She was going to find the Cat Boss and ask that leader cat for a favor.
It was summer, and the stray cat colony's gathering spot had changed again. While unsuitable for humans to live in, it was truly excellent in terms of shade and coolness.
But that wasn't the main point.
Finding a stray cat nearby and saying she needed to see the Cat Boss, the cats who already knew Lin Lan quickly dispersed to look for their leader. Soon enough, the Cat Boss appeared before Lin Lan.
"Meow." (What do you need me for? It's okay if you say you'll stop providing food from now on; we can hunt for ourselves this season. Or do you want new cats? There are very few of the type of cat you asked us to look for last winter.)
Because it was no secret that many of the beautiful purebred cats at the teahouse were rescues, many people who knew about it had started paying close attention to whether there were any stray purebreds around. Essentially all the purebred cats within the Cat Boss's territory had been sent to Lin Lan, and any remaining strays had been taken home by other dedicated cat lovers. So, up until now, the cat colony hadn't been able to provide any new cats.
"It's not about cutting off supplies, and I'm not asking you to find new cats either," Lin Lan waved her hand. "There's something else I'd like your help with. It's like this..."
Lin Lan spoke about the inexplicable sense of unease she'd been feeling lately. She had never experienced this kind of emotion before, but it had suddenly appeared after gaining her "golden finger." After wrestling with it for a few days, she felt she couldn't just pretend nothing was happening and decided to take some precautionary measures.
"So, could I trouble you and your colony to keep an eye on the area around the building at night for a while, especially the floor where my apartment is? If you notice anything unusual, just notify me directly through the window."
The Cat Boss agreed immediately after listening: "Meow." (Patrol and keep watch over your territory? Sure.)
Having eaten Lin Lan's cat food for so long, the stray cat colony was happy to do her this favor. In fact, if it weren't for the many cats already there and Snowflake, the true landlord cat of the Lin household, the strays would have come to help watch the building long ago. After all, she was the two-legged patron who kept feeding them and could even talk to them; she needed proper protection.
After settling the surveillance matter with the Cat Boss, Lin Lan headed back feeling reassured.
She wasn't afraid during the day; if anything happened, it would be easy to handle quickly. What she feared was the night when everyone was asleep and resting. If something happened then, they might sleep right through it and know nothing.
Moreover, compared to the sun-scorched daytime, having these nocturnal creatures, who slept all day, be active at night was perfectly suitable.
The two employees in the shop weren't aware of these matters. They only saw that the boss, who had gone out for a bit, returned in a good mood. She even made herself a strawberry smoothie, found a comfortable spot to sit, and started scrolling through her phone.
"Have you noticed the shopkeeper spends way more time on her phone than before?" Xiao Song couldn't help but whisper to the young mistress. "Even when she was a hands-off manager before, it wasn't like this."
Wang Jiayi glanced at this clueless guy, confirming he'd definitely never been in a relationship with a girl. "If Lanlan wants to scroll, let her scroll. Who doesn't have a few good friends they get along with on their phone?"
After saying this, she ignored the still-perplexed Song Xinmin and turned to look at Lin Lan, who was sitting in the corner grinning at her phone. The young mistress sighed silently.
It felt like her good friend was about to get into a relationship soon. She just hoped the wedding date wouldn't be set too early; she still wanted to hang out with Lanlan for a few more years.
Wang Jiayi's melancholy was completely lost on Song Xinmin. Scratching his head and thinking for a moment, he simply picked up a cat teaser wand and went back to finding a cat to watch its wiggle dance.
The sun set behind the western hills, and night fell as scheduled.
After queuing for a hot shower, watching some TV while polishing off a large watermelon and several popsicles, the members of the old Lin household returned to their rooms, closing their doors for sleep.
Lin Lan was no exception, except before she went back, her second son, the blue-point cat Sapphire, was scooped up by her grandpa, Lin Youyu, and taken to the old couple's room to sleep. The Ragdoll, with its good temper, didn't struggle, allowing himself to be carried off behind a closed door, leaving Lin Lan and the white cat Snowflake staring at each other.
"Let's go, bedtime."
"Meow!"
The air-conditioned bedroom was very comfortable. Lying down on the cool mat and pulling up the summer quilt, the feeling couldn't be described by just the word "refreshing."
"Agreed, you are not to put your butt toward my head again." Before sleep, she issued the reminder she'd been insisting on for years without success. Lin Lan patted Snowflake's head and, after once again receiving its verbal promise that it rarely kept, turned off the light and closed her eyes.
Lin Lan had a dream. In it, she found herself turned into a cat again. This time, however, she wasn't sunbathing with a large group of cats, but was walking alone through a dark space. It wasn't completely dark; there was a small point of light in the distance. It seemed like she was walking through a long tunnel, running constantly toward the light.
She ran and ran through the tunnel. Just as the point of light grew larger, taking the shape of a door, and she was about to rush out, a giant cat paw appeared in the light. A pink paw pad came down and... stepped right on her face.
"Meow! Meow!" (Lanlan, wake up!)
A pair of snow-white cat paws were continuously stepping on Lin Lan's sleeping face. After a rather ungentle session of kneading, her eyes opened wearily and painfully, meeting Snowflake's magnified feline face.
"Meow!" (Lanlan, Boss Cat is outside the window calling for you!)
Forced awake, Lin Lan sat up with a start. Barefoot, she felt her way over to the window by the faint light from outside. Sure enough, a mackerel tabby cat was sitting on the outside windowsill, looking at her.
"Waoow!" The tabby's cry was full of warning. (Get up! Someone climbed into that house from the outside wall!)
Lin Lan's sleepiness vanished instantly. That house was her new house where the teahouse cats were kept!
Grabbing the outer garment hanging on the wall, Lin Lan went straight out her door. She didn't head for the new house immediately but went to her parents' bedroom instead.
"Dad! Mom!" Lin Lan didn't turn on the light but called out to wake her sleeping parents. "There's a thief at the new house! Someone climbed in through the window!"
The latter sentence hit like a thunderclap. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lin jolted awake.
Clearly, this thief had done some homework. They knew there were surveillance cameras on every floor of the small building's hallway, but not on the outside. So, they climbed up to the third floor from the outside in the middle of the night, accurately found Lin Lan's room—the one no one lived in but had cats—and entered by opening the window.
This made the old Lin couple furious. From Lin Lan waking them to putting on clothes, grabbing tools, and heading out, the family took less than two minutes.
The hallway was very quiet. The family of three approached the door of the new house without a sound. Father Lin pressed his ear against the door, his expression shifting from suspicion to grimness.
His daughter wasn't wrong. There wasn't just one thief; they were specifically here to steal cats.
"Lanlan, you go back. Your mom and I can handle this." Afraid his daughter might get hurt, he urged her to leave with mouthing words.
Lin Lan shook her head, also mouthing her reply: "It's fine, Dad. Just open the door."
Unable to persuade his daughter to leave, and even more anxious that delaying would let the cats inside really get stolen, Father Lin hardened his heart and swiftly unlocked the door with his key.
"You little bastards! Stealing from me!" The moment the door opened, Father Lin roared. "Didn't you ask around if I, Lin Youyu, am someone to be messed with in this urban village!"
Cursing, turning on the light, raising a stick to strike—Father Lin's series of actions were executed with great speed, but they were still no match for the cats, who moved seven times faster than him.
Almost the instant he shouted, several sharp, fighting-state cat hisses and yowls erupted inside the room.
Followed by human screams.
"Argh! Where did these stray cats come from!"
"Get away! Get away!"
The two cat thieves inside were being swarmed and attacked by a group of cats pouncing and leaping. Over a dozen stray cats had rushed in through the window opening the thieves had made with a glass cutter, were greeting them without any courtesy, were greeting them without any courtesy, were greeting them without any courtesy, were greeting them without any courtesy, were greeting them without any courtesy, were greeting them without any courtesy, were greeting them without any courtesy, were greeting them without any courtesy, were greeting them without any courtesy, were greeting them without any courtesy, were greeting them without any courtesy, were greeting them without any courtesy.
Wait, why were only the stray cats fighting? Where were the teahouse cats?
Lin Lan's eyes scanned the room and landed on a cat carrier a few steps away from the thieves. All the cats, including Mo Mo, were lying inside, motionless. Her face changed.
No wonder she had been wondering why she couldn't hear any noise from them. They had all been knocked out before the thieves even entered. If she hadn't asked Boss Cat to keep watch outside as an early warning, she probably wouldn't even know how the cats went missing, let alone find them!
"Bastards!" Lin Lan was instantly enraged. As she was about to grab a mop and join the fight, she heard Boss Cat's cry again.
This cry made her forget about hitting anyone. She immediately dropped the stick and looked out the window.
Under the night sky, a van parked by the street suddenly started its engine and quickly disappeared down the road.
"Scumbags!" Lin Lan was furious, her voice turning shrill. "Give me back my cats!"
Boss Cat had just said several cats had already been taken to the van first.
There weren't just two thieves; there were three. While everyone was tangled up, the first one, seeing the situation turn bad, had directly abandoned his companions and fled with the cats.
His escape made the two left-behind thieves even more furious than the victim, Lin Lan. They lost all will to resist, clinging to the window and screaming curses at the direction the van had fled.
Although two thieves were caught, the cats were still stolen.
Among the stolen cats were the Bengal cat Gray, the Chinchilla Silver, the Russian Blue Huihui, the Abyssinian Pudding, and the Siamese Charcoal—all expensive purebred cats. The Maine Coon Mercury was too large to carry easily, so it wasn't taken first and luckily escaped, but the others weren't so fortunate.
The Lin family naturally reported the case on the spot. The total value of these stolen cats had already reached a staggering sum.
In the middle of the night, the police officers from the local station arrived swiftly after receiving the report. All the lights on the third floor were on, followed by those on the second and fourth floors.
Cheng Fengyang, who had rushed over in a hurry from the residential area across the street after receiving the call, arrived to find a group of familiar faces already present: Song Xinmin, Wang Jiayi, Tang Xiaoya, Wei Yan, and others. They all watched with either anxiety or concern as the Lin family engaged with the police.
Cheng Fengyang saw Lin Lan taking out the documents for the missing cats and the property registration certificates one by one, handing them over to the police.
"This is the pedigree certificate for the Bengal cat. It was given to me by its previous owner when the cat was gifted. You can verify its authenticity using the information provided on the certificate; it's issued by a renowned international..."
Not daring to interrupt, Cheng Fengyang quietly joined the group of acquaintances. There, he overheard Miss Wang also on the phone.
"Brother, I'm so furious! Lanlan's cats were stolen, Yi Xiaohang's Bengal was stolen, and my Silver was stolen too!... I don't care! You have to figure out a way to help get the cats back! I'm so angry, so angry!... If we catch that thief, he won't get off easy!"
Cheng Fengyang: "..."
"Is everything okay?" Wei Yan asked, her face full of unease. "How could something like cat theft happen? The security for Lanlan's place isn't low either." It had everything from security windows to alarms.
"But all those things were tampered with beforehand, which means it was premeditated," Tang Xiaoya beside her frowned, though she didn't seem surprised. "Anything valuable, once shown off, will always attract covetous eyes." At this point, she looked towards the still-immobile Maine Coon lying there, her expression pained. "This is also a wake-up call for me. I must reinforce my home security even more when I renovate." This time she was lucky; the big cat was too large to be stolen, but who knows about next time.
"Didn't the shop owner say she noted down the license plate number of the escaping van?" Song Xinmin brought up the details of the case. "With that, catching them should be much easier. I believe we'll get the cats back soon. Let's hope that van wasn't stolen too..."
"Even if it was stolen, it doesn't matter. With those two accomplices, they can catch the people regardless of whether it's the original owner or not."
"I hope they catch them quickly."
By the time the police left, the sky was beginning to lighten.
The friends and relatives who had gathered on the third floor to observe the situation and comfort Lin Lan gradually dispersed. After Mr. and Mrs. Lin were persuaded to go back to their room to sleep, only Cheng Fengyang and Wang Jiayi remained with Lin Lan.
The short-term anesthetic the thieves used on the cats wore off after about an hour. The paralyzed teahouse cats got up on their own and, without any urging from Lin Lan, went to eat the prepared cat food to calm their nerves.
"It's going to be okay," Cheng Fengyang couldn't help but comfort her again, seeing her expressionless face with red-rimmed eyes. "With those two accomplices, the remaining one definitely won't escape. With such significant property loss, they won't handle it carelessly. I've also called my brother-in-law and asked him to help keep an eye on things. The kittens will surely be recovered soon. Please don't worry too much."
"That's right, Lanlan!" Wang Jiayi chimed in from the side. "I'm heartbroken and anxious about losing Silver too, and I've got my brother helping with the search. He absolutely won't get away!"
In response to their comfort, Lin Lan, her face still largely devoid of expression, made an effort to lift the corners of her mouth slightly. "Jiayi, you must be tired from staying with me. Go get some rest."
"Lanlan, you're the one who should rest. Your eyes are all red from staying up," Wang Jiayi shook her head, still looking at her with concern. "If your spirits are low, it will affect the search for the cats later. If you want me to rest, you should go to sleep too."
"I will. I'll go to sleep after I tidy up the room. You should head back now."
Faced with the urging, the young lady pressed her lips together, could only nod, and reluctantly left. The new house was now left with only Lin Lan and Cheng Fengyang.
As soon as Wang Jiayi was gone, Lin Lan covered her face and abruptly squatted down.
"It's all my fault! I should have been more cautious! I should have strengthened security as soon as the teahouse became famous. I underestimated people's hearts!"
Her voice was choked with sobs.
"Lanlan, don't be like this," Cheng Fengyang couldn't help but feel saddened too. "You were already very careful. You added security windows outside and installed cameras and alarms inside. That was more than enough. But if someone is dead set on stealing cats, they definitely did their reconnaissance and homework. Not only did the security windows and alarms fail to work, they even had the cat anesthetic ready. It's clear they prepared for several days; it was absolutely not a spur-of-the-moment act. You..."
Before he could finish, Lin Lan suddenly interrupted him.
"I know who it was!" She remained squatting, but her voice, choked with sobs, now carried a previously absent sharpness. "This isn't over... I won't let this go!"
At first, Cheng Fengyang didn't understand what Lin Lan meant.
Two days later, when the Public Security Bureau, with the help of the two accomplices and a little assistance from Miss Wang's and Yi Hang's families, captured the last thief and retrieved all the stolen cats, they also heard the confession from this ringleader.
They were a specialized animal theft gang. Pet cats and dogs were their main targets. They sold expensive pedigree pets, while less valuable ones were sent to restaurants. Occasionally, they also dealt in small wild animals.
This particular "job" was something he was egged into by an online acquaintance he met by chance. It wasn't uncommon for internet-famous animals to be stolen and eaten, and they didn't think stealing internet-famous cats from an influencer's shop would be that difficult. Just as that acquaintance had said, they could make a lot of money selling those cats. This time they were a bit too greedy, wanting to take all the dancing cats, but were discovered midway; otherwise they would have been long gone.
The netizen who instigated the crime was, of course, not overlooked by the police. Following the information provided, they traced and verified him as a young man named Shao Xiuye. Further investigation revealed that this man was the ex-boyfriend of the teahouse owner, Lin Lan, and there was substantial evidence that a recent encounter between the two had ended badly. With that, the whole truth came to light.
