Time flew by, the scorching summer had passed, and autumn arrived in the blink of an eye.
A full year had gone by since Lin Lan dumped her cheating boyfriend.
A lot had happened to Lin Lan over this year.
She had unintentionally gained the golden finger of communicating with cats. Because she could speak cat language, she subsequently adopted one cat after another, eventually opening a cat cafe in her hometown.
During this time, what she gained was, of course, not just the adorable, charming, and occasionally goofy little cats, but also friends whom she originally had little connection with but got to know through the cats.
Last month, after the cafe hired a new employee, the outstanding employee Song Xinmin resigned, gave up his rented room, bid farewell to everyone, and set off again on his journey as a wandering photographer. The following month, the shop received scenic photos he mailed, along with a selfie of himself.
"After staying at the cafe for so long, Comrade Xiao Song's weakness in photographing people has improved significantly."
When she received the photos, Shopkeeper Lin commented.
Wang Jiayi beside her wrinkled her nose, looking rather disdainful: "It's just because he was too lousy before. Usually, he looks all professional holding that DSLR, but when customers handed him their phones asking him to take a few photos, they turned out so ugly. He couldn't even take decent 'candy' photos. If he doesn't practice more, how can he live up to the title of photographer?"
Shopkeeper Lin, who knew the young lady often had Xiao Song take solo photos of her: "..." She fell silent for a moment, then coughed and changed the subject. "Speaking of which, how do you have time to come here today? Didn't you say the stray cat shelter is already under construction? Is it really okay for you, the person in charge, not to be on site?"
A shelter opened by a wealthy heiress was, of course, not the small-scale affair of an ordinary person. The Wang family found professionals, got the government to allocate a piece of land, and built a new structure. Besides the work and rest areas for people, everything else would be designed as a paradise according to cats' preferences.
This paradise wouldn't just be for the cats to play in; it would also allow residents to visit, play, and interact with the little cats.
These stray cats entering the shelter wouldn't just undergo preliminary work like bathing, deworming, and vaccination; they would also receive the same set of cute-acting special training as the cafe cats, to attract more families to genuinely want to adopt them.
Yes, once the shelter was completely ready, Shopkeeper Lin would immediately get a new job there.
It was still under construction now. Reportedly, because the Wang family paid promptly, the building progressed quickly and was already in the interior decoration phase.
"The building is still being worked on. I don't understand things like design and decoration. Going there would be pointless, so I might as well come here first." Wang Jiayi sat on a fabric sofa, her smile tinged with teasing as she said this. "Besides, I've fully entrusted the interior decoration and design of the shelter to the 'Son-in-law Cheng' of the Lin family. With him overseeing everything there personally, I'm quite at ease. After all, he's one of our own."
"Go on, you!" Lin Lan shot her a glare. "Just drink your tea and eat your snacks!"
The young lady giggled and complied, taking a sip of milk tea and smacking her lips: "The taste is okay. Not as good as when I was working here, but it'll do. Lanlan, your newly hired tea master is pretty good."
"Yes, yes, yes, how could they compare to you, the master developer!"
When the shelter project officially started, Wang Jiayi, of course, also resigned and stopped working at the cafe. She left Shopkeeper Lin with a pile of secret recipes for tea and snacks, but she still rented a place here. Now, besides being busy with various matters for the shelter, she still comes to the cafe to sit in her spare time, just like now, still sitting in her favorite fixed spot from when she first came to the cafe. Unlike back then when she only held her Chinchilla cat, now she has two—since she still lives here, of course, it's best to keep the cats with Lanlan.
"Speaking of which, out of the three of us employees back then, only Xiaoya is still working part-time for you now." Wang Jiayi rested her chin on her hand, recalling something. It wasn't the weekend, so that sharp-tongued office worker girl wasn't around.
"She'll be leaving soon too." Shopkeeper Lin was quite calm about it. "At most by next spring, the house she bought will be finished with decoration and airing out. Then she'll take my Maine Coon cat and move to her new home."
"Along with a huge batch of cat cans, right?" Remembering how Tang Xiaoya used cans as part of her wages, Wang Jiayi couldn't help but chuckle again.
"Probably not a huge batch of cans, because Xiaoya has been quite diligent in feeding Mercury with her 'wages'."
With her living here and seeing the cat every day, of course she feeds it diligently. Cans aren't cheap either. With Tang girl only working part-time on weekends, over such a long time, she'd be lucky to have saved up half a box.
Wang Jiayi hugged her cat, laughing uncontrollably. Maine Coon cats are famously big eaters and, well, big producers. Her two little darlings were definitely the best.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" She suddenly slapped her forehead and rummaged through her shoulder bag, pulling out a stack of documents. "Lanlan, this is for you!"
"What's this? A contract?" Lin Lan took it and flipped through it. At first, she thought it was the employment contract for the shelter from the young lady, but later realized it wasn't. "Huh? An elevator!?"
"Yep." Wang Jiayi nodded with a smile. "Xiaoya was right. This little building is great in every way, it just lacks an elevator." The meaning was clear enough—the young lady wanted to gift her an elevator.
"How can I accept this!" Lin Lan instinctively refused, handing the contract back. "It's too generous! I can't take it!"
"Don't rush to refuse!" Wang Jiayi immediately raised her hand to block. "Ever since I moved here, I've actually been under your care. I've wanted to thank you properly for a long time. Gifting you an elevator is something I thought about for a long time before deciding. It's neither too tacky nor too extravagant, and absolutely practical."
"It's not about practicality, it's just that..."
"Lanlan, listen to me. I chose this time to give it to you for a reason!" The young lady pressed down on her resisting hand, her originally serious expression gradually turning into a playful grin. "I heard from Uncle Lin and Auntie Lin, Lanlan, your wedding date with Son-in-law Cheng... is set for next spring, right? This isn't just a token of gratitude, it's also a wedding gift." At the end, she blinked mischievously.
Actually, if possible, Cheng Fengyang would have preferred to move the wedding date to this autumn. Ever since he successfully pursued Lanlan, he had been very active in currying favor with the Lin family, pushing hard for the elders of the Lin and Cheng families to meet. Both families were good-natured people. Because they were both from the urban village fifteen years ago, they had a lot of common topics. Getting along wasn't awkward at all, with no regional lifestyle differences, and both sides got along very happily.
Especially his parents. When they found out he had finally won Lanlan over, they couldn't have been happier. At first, he thought they were proud and happy that he had found an excellent girlfriend, but later he realized a big part of the reason was their relief that he had finally come to his senses and found someone who wanted him.
Cheng Fengyang: "???" He had always wondered what kind of image and status he held in his parents' eyes, but he didn't dare to think about it, much less ask. He was afraid he might not even compare to Xingxing.
Oh right, and then there was Xingxing.
That dog was truly something else. The first time he formally brought Lanlan home to meet his parents, that canine had shamelessly fawned over Lanlan. Later, when he took the dog to the teahouse to get acquainted with the cats, it just let the cats bully it without a fuss. Even though Lanlan had trained them so none of the cats ever seriously beat it up, Xingxing's behavior was still utterly embarrassing for dog-kind.
As for his sister and brother-in-law, who were among the first in the Cheng family to know about Lanlan, it went without saying. With the dual halo of her returning lost property and helping her husband solve a case, this couple was even more amiable to her than anyone else. The kind of discord and rivalry often seen between sisters-in-law and younger brothers' wives simply didn't exist between them.
Cheng Fengyang genuinely felt that since Lanlan had been accepted by his entire family from the moment she appeared, it was only natural that they would get married soon after and he would win the beauty's hand. Besides, the autumn temperature was neither too hot nor too cold—just perfect, very suitable for a wedding.
But in reality, that wasn't the case.
The old Lin family was reluctant to let her go. Moreover, Lanlan herself stated that she hadn't had enough of the sweet romance yet and didn't want to transition so quickly from an unmarried girl to a married woman. She wanted Cheng Fengyang to continue dating with her.
What could Cheng Fengyang do? Of course, whatever Lanlan said went.
They managed to set the wedding date for next spring only because he promised the Lin family that after marriage, they would live in the new apartment in the small building. The previously empty third-floor suite, which had only been used for the cats to play in, was now officially under renovation. By next spring, right after the wedding, they could move in.
Recently, the only thing that gave him some comfort was probably Lanlan agreeing to take their wedding photos with him this autumn.
"This season's weather is neither too hot nor too cold, it's actually perfect for taking photos!"
Although these words sounded somewhat familiar and he couldn't shake the feeling something was off, Designer Cheng was still happy.
After making a reservation with the best wedding photography studio in West City, he drove excitedly with his future wife, along with over a dozen cats and one dog from home, arriving early in the morning.
The autumn morning light was just right. Bathed in the rising sun, the young couple received a warm welcome from the studio team.
"Bride, please come this way. This is our wedding gown and formal wear area. You can freely choose any dress you like for the photoshoot."
"Bride, please come here. Our scheduled outdoor shoot itinerary is for XX Valley and XX Tower in West City in the morning, and XX Bay and XX Park in the afternoon. If you have any requests regarding the locations, please feel free to mention them now."
"Bride..."
Well, over eighty percent of the team swarmed around Lin Lan, with only a small portion attending to Cheng Fengyang. While the service was there, compared to the bride's treatment, it wasn't just a discount—it was like night and day. Only when it came time to pay did the staff instantly present him with POS machines, payment QR codes, and other various payment channels, letting him enjoy the full suite of services.
Cheng Fengyang initially thought it was like this because they were discussing the shooting process. After all, women are generally more interested in photography, so it was normal for them to gather around Lanlan.
But when it came time to actually take the photos...
Photographer: "Alright! Bride, look here! Yes, just like that, holding the cat up with both hands and gazing at each other. Hold that pose, don't move!"
Assistant: "Someone come help me with the bride's train! The dress is too long, don't let it get caught on anything on the ground!"
Makeup Artist: "Wait a moment, let me touch up the bride's makeup!"
This time, it was even more extreme. During the outdoor shoot, ninety-nine percent of the people revolved around the bride. Cheng Fengyang, dressed in his formal suit but thoroughly ignored: "..."
Wait, isn't something off here? Can't you all see a living, breathing person right here?!
The photographer, having snapped countless shots of the bride with great relish, was still not fully satisfied. This client was very special—she was the somewhat famous cat trainer from West City. She had even brought all her cats and dog for the wedding photoshoot. The little animals were so well-behaved, posing exactly as instructed. It was simply fantastic!
It wasn't until he put down his camera and turned around that he accidentally caught sight of the resentful-looking groom.
"Ahaha, we forgot about the groom. Come on, come on, I'll take a few shots of you right away."
The way he said it... Cheng Fengyang felt like he was just a prop in this wedding photoshoot project, and an overlooked one at that.
The sight of her fiancé, looking all wronged as he shuffled over after being ignored, made Lin Lan laugh uncontrollably. She quickly reached out and pulled him over. "If you keep being this silly, these wedding photos really will turn into a bridal portrait of just me and the cats and dogs."
Cheng Fengyang sighed. "Lanlan, I don't think this top-rated studio is any good. They're too biased towards women and neglect men."
A photography assistant nearby overheard and couldn't help but interject, "Sorry, sir, but any wedding photography studio you go to will be like that. Because the decision-making power for wedding photos usually lies with the woman."
Cheng Fengyang: "..." He had no rebuttal.
Over there, the bride laughed even harder, leaning against the groom almost unable to straighten up. This attracted the attention of the cats at her feet and the Border Collie beside them, resulting in a chorus of meows and barks.
(Lanlan, what's wrong?)
(Lanlan, are we not done taking pictures yet?)
(Lanlan, I'm hungry, I want canned food!)
The cats' varied requests all reached Lin Lan's ears. Looking at her little cats, her gaze softened. "I'm fine, we're almost done. Just one more photo, and then we'll eat, okay?"
Instantly, all the cats' tails shot up happily, and their meowing grew louder.
There was indeed only one last location left for the outdoor shoot here: a tiered circular platform. The entire photography team began moving towards it. During this time, not only the studio staff but also some passersby strolling in the area couldn't help but glance their way.
There were many couples taking wedding photos, but none were as eye-catching as this pair. Trailing behind the newlyweds was a whole troop of cats and dogs, each one following exceptionally well-behaved, none straying off on their own—utterly obedient. Especially since each of them was quite good-looking, and together they formed a striking group. Passersby couldn't resist taking out their phones to snap several pictures.
Soon, the group arrived at their destination.
Lin Lan and Cheng Fengyang sat at the very top of the circular platform. The bride's long train cascaded down the steps, with several beautiful cats of various colors lounging or lying along the hem, perfectly outlining the dress's silhouette. The remaining cats were neatly scattered around the feet of the two newlyweds. The bride held a white cat in her arms, while a well-behaved Border Collie rested on the groom's lap.
The autumn sunlight shone down, casting a soft, beautiful glow over all the creatures on the platform. Everyone turned together to look at the photographer's lens.
"Groom and bride, move your heads a little closer to each other! Yes, just like that!" With a click, the photographer captured the shot.
At that moment, Cheng Fengyang couldn't help but reach out and take Lin Lan's hand. When he felt her hand clasp his in return, the smile on his face widened uncontrollably once more.
Sensing the nearly overflowing joy from the person beside her, Lin Lan turned her head to look at him, just as Cheng Fengyang turned toward her at the same moment.
As their eyes met, they saw mirrored in each other's gaze the same happiness and anticipation for the future. Unprompted, they shared a knowing smile.
Click!
That beautiful instant was perfectly captured by the camera lens, forever frozen in time.
