Liu Ying’s decision surprised everyone. Most people would certainly choose to buy healthy pets––at least, nobody would pick a sick pet on purpose. Yet she chose the clownfish that had Brooklynella disease. Brooklynellosis was a dangerous disease for clownfish and had a very high death rate.
She knew all about all of it, yet she still made the same decision.
“This clownfish may die,” Zhang Zian reminded her.
“I understand. But I want to save it with my own hands,” she said.
After seeing that she had made up her mind, Zhang Zian stopped trying to persuade her. He then asked her to pick another healthy one. As the interview was not finished yet, Liu Ying could not take them home yet. She had to wait until the end of the interview.
Zhang Zian gave her a small vial of fish medicine. “I know that you want to try the low-salt water therapy to treat it, but it may not work. If it doesn’t, put a drop of this medicine in the water––then it should be cured.”
She took the vial and saw that the label was all written in English. After reading it through, she found out that it was a sophisticated copper medication. The instructions were complicated, and it needed to be used in combination with a copper testing solution in case of a copper ion overdose.
Before she could even ask, Zhang Zian gave her a vial of copper testing solution and a pack of copper absorption cotton. “All medicines are toxic. You should try to use as little as possible. In case you put in too many drops, just absorb the excess with the copper absorption cotton. If you are not sure about the dose, you can contact me anytime.”
Liu Ying sighed. “Science is advancing so fast these days; now there’s specialized medication for Brooklynella disease… No wonder you were not worried at all after you heard that the clownfish is sick, Mr. Zhang. I’ll buy the medicine as well.”
Zhang Zian waved his hands. “I’m giving you the medicine for free as part of our post-sales service. This is the first time we have sold a sick pet, after all. It’d be a shame if the clownfish died in your hands.”
“Well then, thank you.” Liu Ying didn’t refuse the offer. She left the medicine and the clownfish for now until she was ready to leave.
Since they were at the aquarium, Qin An filmed around the aquarium, accompanied by Zhang Zian. He explained the special features of different aquatic creatures to them.
If they could edit his explanations of the creatures into the special report, then it would surely boost the aquarium’s sales. It was said that after a popular food documentary was played in CCTV, the cast iron woks that appeared in the documentary became so popular that they were sold out. What a deal!
After filming around the aquarium, the main content of the special report could start: They would now witness the acting skills of Famous in real life so that the audience could catch a glimpse of it before Dog Warrior went into theaters.
Zhang Zian took Famous to the empty grass field behind the shop, followed by Liu Ying and Qin An. In the winter, the grass field was lifeless. Only the evergreen pine trees struggled to keep some green color. But as spring came, the grass came back to life. Nameless, tough weeds sprouted from the ground, adding a lot of green to the yellow, dry ground.
Liu Ying was very surprised. Although she was not a local, she worked in the Binhai TV station and had settled down there, so she had spent many years in Binhai City. She had traveled throughout the city but never knew about the barren grass field that was hidden in the old town of Dongcheng District.
Zhang Zian had been surprised, too. In the past, he used to train Zhan Tian there. Ever since he had gone to Germany, he had left the task with Wang Qian and Li Kun. After that, he had been busy with the aquarium’s opening. It was his first time returning to the grass field since the Chinese New Year.
There had always been a lot of stray cats lived in the grass field. They searched the residential area dumpster for food when they were hungry. Each time he came with Fina, the stray cats ran everywhere in dismay, then gathered back after Fina left… Yet the grass field was very noisy. There seemed to be a lot of stray cats among the weeds––much more than before.
At a glance, stray cats of all colors chased each other in the weeds, fighting for territory and screaming sharply from time to time. He remembered what Jiang Feifei told him––that the number of stray cats in Binhai University was diminishing. Were the stray cats all gathering in the field instead? It was possible, since it was close to Binhai University. It wouldn’t take long for stray cats to climb over the walls. But why? Why would the stray cats give up a university campus where food was easily available to fight over territory there instead?
While carrying the camera, Qin An was especially sensitive to details. He also noticed the cats, then asked with surprise, “Why are there so many stray cats? Is there someone feeding them here?”
Zhang Zian bowed his head and looked at Famous.
Famous took the hint. It circled around the grass field, then shook its head gently at him after coming back, meaning there was no stranger’s scent. In other words, the stray cats made the decision to gather here.
Liu Ying saw Famous’s action and facial expression, then tugged Qin An with excitement. “Did you capture that scene? Could Famous understand what we were saying?”
She had seen it. Zhang Zian had to admit vaguely, “A little bit.”
“So amazing!” Liu Ying exclaimed. “No wonder Famous was the Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival. It understands humans so well––much better than other dogs!”
Qin An replayed the video, confirming that he did capture it.
The communication detail between Famous and Zhang Zian would surely be good material for the special report.
Unable to get an answer, Zhang Zian commented randomly, “I don’t know. There weren’t so many stray cats here in the past. Maybe they gathered here recently.”
“That’s strange. Why are the stray cats gathering here? Is this a spot with good Feng Shui?” As Qin An swept the camera, he saw a few stray cats fighting on top of the wall.
“I’m not sure,” Zhang Zian said truthfully.
Liu Ying whispered something thoughtfully, but neither Zhang Zian nor Qin An heard it clearly.
“Sorry, what did you say?” Zhang Zian asked.
“Oh… nothing. I just remembered the typhoon in my childhood again…” Liu Ying waved her hand in embarrassment, asking them not to take it seriously.
“What exactly did you remember?” Qin An pressed on. “Don’t just say half a sentence. This is a bad habit!”
After her partner complained, Liu Ying had no choice but to say, “I mean, are they hiding away to prepare for some disaster? We moved our entire family to a safe hiding place when a disaster such as the typhoon came… Could they be doing the same thing?”
Qin An smirked. “Nonsense. What kind of disaster could there possibly be?”
Liu Ying also felt that she had too much of an imagination. She clarified, “I’m just saying. Don’t take it seriously!”
The listener was paying more attention than the speaker.
Zhang Zian had a bad hunch. Oddly, Liu Ying could be right.