Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 71 The Price of Fame

"Pfft..."

Lin Jia covered her mouth tightly, her body trembling violently as if she were going crazy. When Lin Ge glanced at her sideways, her eyes curved into crescent moons as she struggled to suppress her laughter.

Behind Lin Jia, her mother was also trying not to laugh. Especially when she saw Lin Ge's bald tail with only the tip of the 'embroidered ball' still wagging angrily, she laughed so hard that tears almost welled up in her eyes.

This mother and daughter are like lunatics.

Lin Ge watched this scene expressionlessly, no longer wanting to say anything.

This scene has happened far too many times in the past few days.

First it was Jiang Yiyi, then Zhu Jun and his gang of scoundrels, and then Hu Miao, Zhang Yining, and their five little ones. Everyone who came to visit him would burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs, just to see him in his current state.

His laughter was incredibly stupid.

At first, Lin Ge would sulk, but after it happened so many times, he couldn't keep up his anger and could only let these bastards go.

"Meow?"

The tortoiseshell cat jumped onto Lin Ge's bed, somewhat puzzled by Lin Ge's current appearance. But after sniffing Lin Ge, it still enthusiastically squeezed in to lick Lin Ge's fur.

"Get out!"

Lingo slapped the tortoiseshell cat across the face, chasing the annoying mother cat away.

That silly cat, it has no sense of atmosphere.

"Pfft! Mimi, you can't bully people!"

Lin Jia laughed as she grabbed Lin Ge's hand, stopping him from yelling at the tortoiseshell cat. The tortoiseshell cat, however, wasn't angry at Lin Ge's bad temper; it simply licked its paw and quietly lay down next to Lin Ge's bed.

At first glance, she does indeed seem like a gentle, virtuous, and patient woman who takes care of her bad-tempered husband.

Lin Jia let out a strange, jeering sound.

Lin Ge was too lazy to get angry with these gossipy women. He simply turned his head and pricked up his ears, focusing his attention on his father and Qian Wei who were chatting outside the door.

Qian Wei's injuries weren't serious, and he was discharged after three days. This guy actually had some conscience; instead of abandoning Lin Ge at the hospital to go off and have fun, he dutifully went to work at Chong'ai Hospital every day, and incidentally bullied some of the unruly old men and women in the neighborhood.

"The news in Zhangzhou has been quite lively these past few days. Even my colleagues who don't watch short videos have heard about the really awesome police cat in Zhangzhou."

Lin's father handed Qian Wei a cigarette.

Qian Wei waved his hand, pointed to his right leg which was still bandaged, and said with a smile, "This matter has caused quite a stir. To be honest, even the provincial department has been alerted. I heard that the higher-ups are considering whether to launch a crackdown to clean up all those evil spirits."

Mr. Lin nodded: "It really needs to be cleaned up properly, it's gone too far. If it weren't for the reliability of you police officers, Zhangzhou City would have lost all face this time."

Qian Wei shook his head. "Heh... Reliable my foot! We almost messed up. Sigh! In this internet age, information spreads too fast and too much. We police officers live in constant fear, afraid that if we don't do something right, the whole country will be pointing fingers and yelling at us. Losing face isn't the worst thing; what we fear most is being wronged for no reason. You know there are some things you can't tell outsiders, and then you'll always be misunderstood. Like this incident, how many people online said we were incompetent and needed a cat to save our lives?"

At this point, Qian Wei sighed, "You probably don't know, but the policeman who was saved by Mimi is planning to resign. He's been severely criticized and the psychological pressure is too great. But what did he actually do wrong? Policemen are just ordinary people, not Iron Man."

Lin's father nodded, empathetically criticizing those keyboard warriors on the internet.

The two chatted about other topics for a while, and after finishing their cigarettes, they came in again to urge Lin Jia to go home and do her homework.

"Goodbye Mimi, I'll come see you again tomorrow!"

Lin Jia left with reluctance.

Her condition has improved a lot now, and her mood is no longer as gloomy as before. Her studies at the junior high school in the oil city seem to be going quite smoothly.

Seeing that this unfortunate child was able to successfully emerge from the shadows, Lin Ge was very happy for her.

Of course, it would be even better if she didn't bother me.

"Alright, ancestor, let's get the discharge papers sorted out! Your injuries have almost healed, as for the hair... let it grow back slowly when we get home!"

Qian Wei rubbed Lin Ge's head and chuckled.

Lin Ge swung his claws back, but his sharp nails had been trimmed and smoothed by the nurse the day before, rendering them ineffective and no longer a threat to Qian Wei. However, Lin Ge did not refuse the offer to go home to recuperate.

He doesn't like being seen as a scapegoat at all.

The events of that day spread rapidly online, generating a lot of discussion. As a result, even the doctors and nurses at the hospital liked to crowd around him, some even taking pictures with their phones, which annoyed him greatly.

By the way, the tortoiseshell cat can finally be discharged from the hospital and will never have to come to this awful place again.

Lin Ge quickly jumped out of bed.

Qian Wei rode up on an electric scooter, carrying two obedient cats sitting on the back seat, and sped back to Zhanghe Police Station.

There weren't many people at the police station; everyone was busy outside.

Although Long Xiaojun has been arrested, the cases involving him are not over. In particular, the thieves and robbers he, Ai Wei, and Fan Yong have gathered together need to be arrested and brought to justice as soon as possible.

According to Qian Wei, the detention cells at the station have been overflowing with people these past few days. Under pressure from the outside world and superiors, the staff have been working overtime to completely eliminate petty theft in the area.

Even Qian Wei himself, after bringing Lin Ge back, went to work in the front with a limp.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with Lingo.

Back in his familiar territory, he breathed a sigh of relief. Ignoring the tortoiseshell cat being harassed by its three kittens, he nimbly climbed a tree and chose a spot where he wouldn't be seen to lie down.

Ok?
Feeling uncomfortable being naked, and the rough tree bark rubbing against his skin was also unpleasant. Lin Ge tossed and turned several times but still felt uncomfortable, so he had no choice but to jump down again and run towards Nie Guoqiang's office.

"This is going to be difficult!"

Before even entering, I could hear Nie Guoqiang's voice coming from inside.

Lin Ge paused, hearing an unfamiliar voice say, "But Chief Nie, you know the situation now. We need that cat to divert public attention. It's getting a lot of attention online; it's become a local celebrity in Zhangzhou. The higher-ups want to use it as a selling point, to make it a star cat. This will not only improve the positive image of the Zhangzhou Public Security Bureau, but also allow people to learn more about our city."

"But Mimi is a police cat, not a celebrity!"

Nie Guoqiang said in a serious tone and with a firm attitude, "Being a police officer is not a profession where you act for others! We don't need attention, nor do we need to be a celebrity! Turning Mimi into an internet celebrity is a real waste of her talents!"

"But this is the municipal bureau's decision."

The person on the other end remained calm and said slowly, "Long Xiaojun's case cannot become a scandal for the Zhangzhou Public Security Bureau, so we must use this cat to correct those opinions online. It is not a hero who saved the police, but a member of the Zhangzhou Public Security Bureau. We need to let everyone know that it is our colleague and shift public opinion to the capabilities of the Zhangzhou police. Chief Nie, this matter will not affect you. We will handle the program ourselves. You just need to take the cat away."

"Impossible! Don't even think about it! Mimi is a police cat at Zhanghe Police Station. She's on the official payroll, and there's absolutely no way you can take her away!"

Nie Guoqiang still refused outright.

Hearing this, Lin Ge already knew what had happened. He was both surprised and annoyed that the propaganda department of Zhangzhou Public Security Bureau would actually come up with the idea of ​​creating an internet celebrity and target him.

Is he using his online popularity to further promote Zhangzhou City? Or is he using the cat for publicity?
In essence, it wasn't exactly a wrong thing to do.

But doesn't this bastard consider Lin Ge's opinion? Doesn't he even ask if he's willing or not?
This person is really underestimating themselves.
Lin Ge made a decision instantly: if Nie Guoqiang couldn't refuse these guys and stop them from doing this annoying thing, then he would definitely leave immediately!

Being a police cat is great, and everyone at the Zhanghe Police Station takes good care of him. But if they were to force him to do something he doesn't enjoy, Lin Ge would never let them do it on their own.

That's right!

I am a cat, not a human!

However, cats also have dignity; they are not pets that you can manipulate at will!

Lin Ge quietly turned and left without alerting anyone.

Back in the police station's backyard, he plopped down under a tree and began to stare blankly.

The three little ones curiously gathered around, looking at their bald godfather and making puzzled meowing noises.

After a while, they grew bolder and started crawling and making a ruckus around Lingo. Lingo ignored them, just sullenly swishing his tail, and also paid no attention to the tortoiseshell cat that came over and lay down next to him, exposing its belly.

Before long, all four cats lay down and fell asleep next to Lingo.

(End of this chapter)