It Apparently Wasn't a Coincidence

After feeding Ruanruan some treats, Lu Yiyi went back to her room to get ready to go out. Before leaving, she made a point of saying goodbye to Ruanruan.

"I'm going out. I'll keep you company when I get back tonight."

"Meow-" Go on, go on. Have fun.

Once Lu Yiyi had left and the auntie had gone off to take care of other things, Ruanruan zipped back to her cat room. She first made a show of looking around as if she were terribly bored, but headed straight for the place where the treats were kept.

As nimbly and effortlessly as before, she made it onto the counter, stood up and used her paw to open the cabinet above. Inside were chicken sausages and dried meat, all suitable for cats. Some were meant to go with meals, and others were treats. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing a kitty couldn't eat.

She knew perfectly well there was a camera, but her craving had conquered everything. Afraid she would be caught red-pawed if she wasted a moment, Ruanruan pulled the food down and ripped the packaging open with her sharpest little claws. If she couldn't tear it open, she bit it open. The instant a package opened, she hurriedly started eating. As long as it got into her belly, that was a victory. If she was discovered afterward, she'd deal with that when it happened. In any case, once she'd eaten the stuff, she couldn't throw it back up; they'd just have to wait for her to poop it out.

Lu Linyuan was actually already resting at this hour, so no one caught her in the act, but the pinhole camera recorded her crime from beginning to end.

At first, no one knew. The auntie didn't notice either, because none of the food in the cabinet was needed for that day's meals, which were all made up of fresh cat food delivered by cold chain and kept in the fridge. So the whole day passed without anyone noticing that the cat had stolen food. She had even thrown the wrappers at the very bottom of the trash can and covered them with other garbage.

So clever! Who could see that and not say so?

By the time Lu Linyuan saw the footage the next day, Ruanruan had already drifted off to dreamland, sleeping as snugly and contentedly as could be.

After watching the replay, the young master closed his eyes, feeling helpless, amused and impressed by her intelligence.

She did have a bit of cleverness in her.

Clever or not, she really was a glutton. Her greed had actually made her clever to this extent.

Lu Linyuan didn't take Ruanruan to task for stealing food, but after she woke up, the auntie carried her out to the yard to play, where she basked in the sun and played on the slide. When she returned to the cat room that afternoon, ready for a nap, she discovered that the food cabinets had all been fitted with combination locks! The speed of it left the cat tongue-tied.

Damn!

Who are they trying to keep out?!

Back in her cat room, Ruanruan narrowed her eyes and paced around, staring at the cabinets. No one knew what devious idea she was cooking up.

After the combination locks were put on the cabinets, Ruanruan did behave herself for a few days. She also figured the young master would be back soon and didn't dare make any rash moves.

It wasn't until half a month after the young master returned, on a day when a light breeze drifted beneath pale clouds, that he went to the company without Ruanruan. Left at home by herself, she swiftly committed another crime.

The snack cabinet had a four-digit code. The installer had discussed it with Lu Linyuan's assistant, and they had figured that since they were only guarding against a cat, four digits were enough. A cat couldn't possibly open it.

But they didn't know Ruanruan was a special cat. Not only had she memorized the code, she also managed to open the cabinet. Once again, she stole chicken sausages, dried little fish, all kinds of freeze-dried food and snacks. She even opened a tube of cat treat herself, squeezing the liquid everywhere. Then, afraid of being discovered too quickly, she licked it clean bit by bit to destroy the evidence.

She was betting that no one would check the surveillance footage every day and that by the time anyone found out, a long time would have passed. Lu Linyuan really wasn't so idle as to watch it every day. By the time he discovered that Ruanruan had stolen snacks a second time, a whole week had passed since she had stolen and eaten them!

This time, Lu Linyuan was more puzzled than anything. How did this little creature know the code and even know how to use it to open the lock?

You're a cat.

If a trained border collie had opened it, Lu Linyuan wouldn't have been so surprised. But Ruanruan was still a kitten less than a year old. Though she was several sizes bigger than when she had arrived and considerably rounder, was she intelligent enough to remember the code, enter it successfully and get the stolen food into her mouth?

If he hadn't seen the whole thing in the video, Lu Linyuan would have suspected he was hallucinating.

He shared the complete footage of both of Ruanruan's thefts in their three-person group chat.

After watching, Chen Xiao replied: My Ruanruan is so clever. She can even open a combination lock!

Su Qingzhi replied: Seeing what Ruanruan did, I suddenly feel like my nephew is a little too stupid. Do you guys think I should get my sister to take him to a doctor? Would she beat me up?

Lu Linyuan replied: Don't you think she's a little too clever? She remembered the code and entered it successfully.

Su Qingzhi said: I was fast-forwarding through the video just now, and you only sent us these two clips. How do you know Ruanruan didn't stare at it for ages beforehand and memorize it? Desire can unleash an animal's potential, and food is one kind of desire.

Chen Xiao chimed in: Exactly, exactly. You should reflect on yourself. How did you drive a little kitty to steal food because she couldn't eat her fill? Have you been skimping on our Ruanruan's cat food?

Lu Linyuan: So I'm making a fuss over nothing?

Su Qingzhi replied firmly: You are making a fuss over nothing. If the human world can have an Einstein, why can't the cat world have a Catstein? No two people are alike, and no two cats are alike either. Our Ruanruan is simply gifted and quick-witted.

Chen Xiao: If you don't want her, I'll go camp outside your door. Tell me if you don't want her, and I'll trade you a stainless steel pot and basin for her.

Su Qingzhi: I'll trade two stainless steel basins.

Lu Linyuan: When did I ever say I didn't want her? I simply wanted you to admire my Catstein. You praised her well, and I enjoyed reading it. Back to work.

Chen Xiao: ?

Su Qingzhi: ?

Have some decency! You bastard!

That evening, animal instinct told Ruanruan something was a little unusual from the moment Lu Linyuan stepped through the door. But she didn't know what was wrong, because she had long since forgotten about stealing food. She thought no one watched the surveillance footage, so no one had found out. She went to greet the young master, and he scooped her into his arms as usual.

Feeling his warmth through his shirt, Ruanruan relaxed and told herself she was overthinking it. Nothing was wrong; she shouldn't be so suspicious.

It wasn't until Lu Linyuan carried her into the cat room and walked up to the locked cabinet that Ruanruan drew her little cat head back.

Well, there it is. I wasn't overthinking it. Something really is unusual.

Lu Linyuan must have found out.

Lu Linyuan stood there without saying anything. The pause made Ruanruan think there might be a way out of this. What if he had just come to get her a snack?

Don't overthink it, don't overthink it-

As she comforted herself, she saw Lu Linyuan lean toward the cabinet, holding her with one arm while entering the code with the other hand.

Haha, he really is getting me a snack!

Sob, sob, the young master is so nice.

Did the young master forget the code? How come he got it wrong twice?

"Incorrect code. If the third attempt is incorrect, the lock will be locked. Another attempt can be made after 100 hours-"

One hundred hours!

That won't do!

Lu Linyuan calmly entered the code a third time, but when he reached the last digit, his finger hovered back and forth over the number keys, as if he didn't know which one to press.

Ruanruan watched anxiously from beside him, her heart pounding. Terrified that Lu Linyuan would press the wrong number, she reached out a paw and pressed the last key for him.

"Unlocked successfully-" With a beep, the combination lock gently sprang open on its own.

It's open! It's open!

Time for snacks!

As she lost herself in excitement, Lu Linyuan's slightly husky voice came from above her head.

"Looks like it wasn't a coincidence. You really did memorize the code..."

At those words, Ruanruan, who was still grinning foolishly, went rigid. Her smile quickly vanished, and she covered her little face with her two fluffy paws, as if she could escape everything by pretending to be a turtle.