Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 526 The Stalker (Please Subscribe)
Peeking through the curtain, I saw several chefs wearing hats being scolded.

The supervisor's tone was very stern, and it wasn't just for show, which unexpectedly made Lin Ge think more highly of the store.

However, Lingo did not immediately believe them.

He toured the kitchen but didn't find anything else amiss. Aside from the poor hygiene, somewhat disorganized food items, and the fact that some of the seemingly decent food was actually pre-packaged, he didn't discover any other serious issues.

Because the shop was upstairs, it was lucky that it wasn't bothered by rats.

Other minor issues didn't need to be investigated further; after all, it was just one cat with six kittens, and Lin Ge didn't dare to be too harsh on them directly. Returning to the front, he and the six kittens declined the young shopkeeper's free gift and left.

The meal was a bit uneventful, but the six boys seemed to be having a great time.

Firstly, it was Mimi's treat, and secondly, they encountered various situations they wouldn't normally see, which were all quite interesting to them. The shrimp issue was quickly put aside, and the group went to the supermarket to buy some supplies for tomorrow before being supervised by Lin Ge to be delivered home one by one.

The first person they sent back was naturally Wei Li, who had difficulty moving around. After arriving at the residential area, the group quickly met Wei Li's grandmother, who had been waiting for a long time, at the entrance.

The old lady's mood had improved considerably, and her complexion was no longer as ashen as it had been the last time I saw her. Seeing that Wei Li and Nie Zhuangzhuang were getting along well these days, the old lady smiled much more when she saw the five little ones.

She warmly invited the five little ones to her home, but Zhang Yining politely declined.

It was already quite late, and although there was basically no one at home with the five kids, their parents, who were working hard, would still worry if they stayed out all the time.

The five boys have done a great job in this regard; they never cause trouble for their father, who is a policeman, or their hardworking mother.

After saying goodbye, the five kids chattered as they walked back. Lin Ge glanced back at the building they had visited the night before, the one furthest inside, and noticed that Anxi's window was still drawn, though some light was shining through. A short while later, Zhou Hui rode past them on a delivery scooter. Wearing a helmet, she didn't recognize Lin Ge and hurriedly turned away at the entrance of the complex, seemingly having already received an order.

"She really does have a side job every night. It's not easy for her to pay off her family's debts."

Lin Ge sighed, somewhat curious whether Zhou Hui knew that her daughter was running around outside every day. She probably didn't know, right? Anyone who knew about this wouldn't be worried or try to stop her.

So... will Anxi come again tonight?
Lin Ge suddenly became curious.

Moreover, Anxi is quite an interesting girl, especially the way she keeps Xiaoyuer in an abandoned house. It always feels like she thinks differently from ordinary people. And when faced with a drink that seems to fall from the sky, she doesn't hesitate to take it and drink it without any fear. I really don't know what this girl is thinking.

Lin Ge was a little curious: Did Anxi have any sense of crisis? What if a young woman wandered around outside late at night and ran into trouble?
After safely escorting the five little ones home, Lin Ge stopped briefly at Luo Jue's house, only to find no one there. Even the teddy bear wasn't home, so Lin Ge guessed that the family had probably gone for a walk or something.

Lin Ge didn't disturb them any longer and quietly left to return to the police station. He thought about it and decided not to tell Nie Guoqiang and Zhang Yong about the meal, since none of the six little shrimp had touched the problematic ones and hadn't been harmed. He figured they could decide for themselves whether to tell their parents later.

When Lin Ge returned to the cattery, he found that the little tortoiseshell and the little Ragdoll were not at home. Instead, the snowclaw tabby and the little tabby were climbing trees and making a ruckus in the yard, and were then severely subdued after bumping into the mother tortoiseshell.

This scene caused the birds in the trees to squawk loudly, looking overjoyed at the spectacle.

But in reality, the culprit that excited the two fools so much was the scoundrel bird. It had brought back its four henchmen, who were now tirelessly seducing and provoking the little tiger stripe and the snowclaw tiger stripe in the tree.

The two cats couldn't stand such provocation, so they huffed and puffed as they climbed the tree to chase after it, getting exhausted.

After being given a beating by their mother, the two little ones finally behaved themselves. They obediently lay beside their mother and didn't dare to run around, but their heads were still tilted back, staring intently at the chattering birds overhead, probably plotting revenge.

The scoundrel's henchmen have now all learned to caw, pretending to be crows even though they are magpies, leaving Lin Ge at a loss for words.

Shaking his head to ignore these troublesome jerks, Lingo returned to the cat house to continue his nap, waiting for night to fall.

Sure enough, around 11 p.m., the sound of someone climbing over the wall came from the courtyard gate.

The sound was quite loud, to be honest, and all the cats in the cattery opened their eyes and looked outside. Soon after, the Ragdoll and the Snowclaw Tabby stood up, meowed, and excitedly rushed out the door to greet them.

"When did Snowclaw Tiger become so close to Anxi?"

Lin Ge watched curiously as the snow-clawed tiger and the little rag doll went out together, not understanding for a moment what this guy was going out to join in the fun.

Peeking out from the small door of the cat house, I quickly spotted Anxi.

She was sitting on the ground in a dark corner of the yard, with a cat on each of her legs. The little Ragdoll was clinging to Anxi's lap, rubbing its head against her palms and belly; the Snowclaw Tabby had its hind legs propped up on Anxi's lap, its whole body standing up, its front paws supporting Anxi's chest, and its head tilted back, trying to lick Anxi's face. Anxi seemed a little overwhelmed by the Snowclaw Tabby's enthusiasm, but was unable to stand up because she was being held down by the two cats.

But Lin Ge could tell that the girl seemed quite happy. She started muttering something Lin Ge couldn't understand, and while stroking the little plush toy, she playfully wrestled with the snowclaw tabby cat with her paws. The interaction between the person and the cat was surprisingly harmonious.

Unfortunately, the snowclaw tabby wasn't very patient and lost interest after playing with Ansie for a while. It jumped off Ansie, circled her twice as a greeting, then turned around with its tail held high and went back to its cat house to sleep.

As it passed by Lingo, the Snowclaw Tabby meowed twice as if nothing had happened, then lowered its head somewhat timidly and walked past him. Instead of returning to its sleeping spot, it turned its eyes to the little tabby cat lying sprawled out on the cat tree, looking like a tattered rag. Then, the Snowclaw Tabby stealthily jumped onto the cat tree, came to the little tabby, nudged it with its head, and with a flick of its paw, pushed the little tabby off the tree, which was over a meter high.

"Ow~"

The little tabby cat, startled awake and then doing a somersault to its feet, landed in a rage. It glared fiercely at the snow-clawed tabby, then charged forward and raised its paw to strike, and the two cats quickly began to wrestle.

Lin Ge had no interest in paying attention to these two idiots.

In the courtyard, Anxi was still sitting there, hugging her little plush toy. She didn't seem to mind the dirty ground or the dark environment at all. Wearing headphones, she hummed a song that was probably in Japanese, swaying slightly as she held the toy. She acted as if she were at home in the police station's courtyard, and the little plush toy lay there obediently, only tilting its head back and making soft, sticky meowing sounds.

Lin Ge watched this scene quietly, wondering why Anxi insisted on coming to the police station in the middle of the night to meet the little doll, while also being speechless at the guy's audacity.

This guy really isn't afraid of anything!

Although he didn't know the specifics of her family's situation, Lin Ge was now very suspicious that whenever her mother, Zhou Hui, went out to do part-time work, this guy would immediately sneak out and cause trouble.

The police station's status and authority seemed meaningless to Anxi. She showed absolutely no fear, even daring to scale the walls of the police station compound. The lights of the police duty office were just a short distance away, yet Anxi seemed perfectly at ease, as if she were in her own home. It was as if she could block out everything else simply by wearing headphones, living only in a world created by the music she loved that brought her joy.

Lingo is pretty sure that this is Anxi's current situation.

She had no interest in anything outside herself, only accepting what she wanted. Whether it was a cat or a fish, to Anxi, they were things she liked in her world, so she wanted to see them and play with them. As for whether this was a police station or an abandoned shed, those things were completely unimportant to Anxi. She would brazenly climb into the police station to play with the cat, and she would keep the little fish outside, essentially giving it 'freedom'. Frankly, if this wasn't a cognitive impairment, then it could only be said that Anxi was deliberately convincing and deceiving herself, forcing herself to ignore everyone else because of certain past events.

"The embarrassment and grievances of being pointed at and even ridiculed to your face because your father was convicted?"

Lin Ge sighed.

Without a doubt, Anxi's current state is all the fault of her foolish father, who ruined himself, his family, and his children in a moment of impulsiveness.

Seven years in prison, plus the challenges of life after her release, who knows how much more hardship Anxi will have to endure.

Shaking his head, Lin Ge felt that Anxi was quite pitiful.

He didn't go out to disturb her, only watching her play with the little doll for about half an hour before putting it down and preparing to leave. After all, she had other 'companions' to take care of, and Lin Ge maliciously speculated that he wondered how many fish in that shack would die today. Seeing her struggling to climb over the fence, Lin Ge wondered if he should leave the door open for her at night, so that he wouldn't feel sorry for her climbing around like that.

As usual, Anxi, wearing headphones, kept muttering to herself, while Lin Ge secretly followed behind like a stalker.

Soon after arriving at the shack, Anxi's expression suddenly changed.

Lin Ge looked over from Anxi's side and also showed a surprised expression.

The shack was perfectly fine last night, but now it's been torn down!
Two walls of the shed had been knocked down, and the roof had been torn off and was leaning against one side. Inside, there were many fallen brick and stone fragments. The old fish tank that Anxi had carefully hidden had been overturned, and the tarpaulin covering it had been thrown aside. Even the fish tank itself had been smashed, leaving only a shallow, filthy pool of water. Because it was dark, Lin Ge could only vaguely see small, still-living fish struggling inside, but most of the fish were already floating beside the stones and asbestos tile fragments that had fallen into the tank. Two fish were even thrown directly onto the ground next to the fish tank, filthy and undoubtedly dead.

Anxi's secret cabin was destroyed in a single day, and no one showed her or the little fish inside any pity.

"..."

Without uttering a sound, Anxi slowly stepped across the rubble and entered the dilapidated house.

Ignoring the jagged shards of glass surrounding the fish tank, she silently reached in and scooped out the fallen stones and debris. But without these things, the water level became shallower, even preventing the only surviving fish from swimming; it could only half-strand and wag its tail. So Anxi retrieved the plastic water bottle from the nearby rubble, went to the flower shop next door to get some water, and picked up the surviving fish, placing it back inside.

She looked down at the water bottle in her hand, then at the secret base that was about to be completely demolished, and was momentarily lost in confusion.

"This girl... she's really unlucky. This amazing girl has a lot on her mind, but the more she thinks, the more unexpected things happen! If the little doll and the little fish represent Anxi's self-awareness and future, then the little doll's role represents being accepted by the tribe and living in a group, while the little fish represents the hardship and freedom of living alone? If in her heart these fish really represent herself, then does that mean that the possibility of living alone has been destroyed?"

Lin Ge sighed, suddenly having a strange guess, the truth of which he couldn't quite make.

To be honest, this guess is quite far-fetched, but Lin Ge just felt that Anxi would definitely not raise Xiaoyuer in such a hard place, like a beggar's homeless life, for no reason.

Is this guy really planning to run away from home?

However, her idea of ​​running away from home was thwarted by an unexpected event. And indeed, that's the reality. A young girl without the ability to protect herself, alone outside, wouldn't her fate be as precarious as these fish?
After thinking it over, Lin Ge decided not to show himself for the time being and to see what Anxi would do next.

Ansie was stronger than Ringo had imagined, or rather, she had anticipated the difficulties she was facing. She wandered around with the remaining small fish, seemingly looking for another place to hide and store them.

In modern society, where can you find a place that is neither cared for nor wanted, yet still provides shelter from the wind and rain?

Anxi searched the flower market for a long time in the darkness, but couldn't find another suitable spot. Regretting her decision, she picked up her water bottle and slowly walked home.

You could tell she was quite sad; her head was down, her back was slightly hunched, and she looked rather dejected.

Lin Ge felt a pang of heartache and a sense of pity. So, as they approached the vending machine from yesterday, Lin Ge took a detour and hid behind it.

Anxi didn't linger by the vending machine this time, or perhaps she was in a bad mood and didn't care about anything else.

'Clang!'

A strange noise suddenly rang out, causing Anxi to stop in her tracks in surprise.

Turning her head, the flashing lights of the vending machine were quite conspicuous in this quiet and deserted place. The bottle of queuer beverage rolling in the dispenser also made Anxi blink, and she couldn't figure out what was going on for a moment.

She's not stupid; she understands basic common sense.

If the first instance was an accident, then the second time someone happens to pass by and is offered a free drink, there's no doubt that something is wrong.

Anxi approached the vending machine, but instead of taking a drink, she circled it, observing her surroundings. After searching carefully for a while, she still couldn't find any signs of anyone hiding nearby, which only fueled her curiosity.

I took the queer drink out of the vending machine and examined it carefully, but I didn't find anything unusual. It was just an ordinary drink in my hand.

This time, Anxi didn't drink it. Instead, she went up to the vending machine and waved her fist. She even took a step back and made a side kick gesture, though of course she didn't dare to actually kick it hard.

"Humph!"

After threatening the vending machine, Anxi inexplicably felt a little better.

She tossed the drink bottle in her hand, pursed her lips, shoved it into her pocket, and then turned and walked away without hesitation.

"This girl isn't stupid at all. But why does she keep thinking about running away from home? She should know very well that her mother is already working very hard to support this family, right? What is she thinking? To lighten her mother's burden? Or is she simply trying to escape this home that brings her stress and illness?"

Lin Ge became increasingly convinced that his guess was correct: the girl, who wanted to escape her predicament, was gradually trying to explore the outside world and find a way to solve all her current problems.

But she's also a pretty timid person, otherwise she wouldn't only dare to go out at night.

In other words, she's a cowardly but thoughtful person who can only find solace in animals. She wants to run away from home but is too afraid, so she sees small animals as another version of herself. Is this... a girl with depression?
Is it really depression?

Lin Ge tilted his head and thought about it, feeling that Anxi's situation was still quite strange. But thinking about what had happened to her, he could understand why she had become like this.

All in all, it's quite pitiful.

Her secret base was destroyed. What would Anxi do next? Lin Ge was curious, but also worried that she might do something foolish.

Then, he followed Anxi to the entrance of her residential complex.

'Boom! '

Suddenly stopping, Anxi placed the bottle containing the fish on the ground.

She turned to look in Lin Ge's direction, pursing her lips and remaining silent. Lin Ge could see that her hands were clenched into tight fists, as if she were also conflicted and nervous.

Then, for some reason, Anxi pulled out a drink from her pocket, unscrewed it, tilted her head back, and took a swig, coughing repeatedly. She wiped her mouth, gripped the bottle tightly, looked around intently at her dark surroundings, and the next second, without hesitation, turned and ran!
She actually gave up the fish, as if she knew someone would accept it for her.

"Weird guy."

Lin Ge emerged from the shadows and watched Anxi jog and disappear into the residential area.

"But... what about these fish?"

As Lin Ge approached the water bottle and watched the little fish swimming leisurely inside, he suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Thank you to readers Miao Riyue and Xia Mian Dong Bu Xing for their 100-coin donations. Thank you all for your support.



(End of this chapter)