一路向西 粤语

Chapter 1314: Vanity

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Zhao Qi had left her house very early today. She planned to go shopping for something urgent and then take a trip to the pet shop to ask for souvenirs. Following that, she would go to poetry appreciation, shop for a second time, and eat lunch at an eatery before thinking again about what to do in the afternoon.

Because she had gone out very early, she hadn’t expect other customers to be in the pet store. If she’d known, she would have been more reserved. Normally, her behavior was more ladylike in front of strangers, rather than exposing her true self.

Fortunately, her foundation was thick enough. Even if she was blushing, it couldn’t be seen.

However, this also seemed to indicate that the pet store business was getting better and better.

In order to keep up her ladylike image, Zhao Qi, who was clearly pressed for time, pretended to be generous. “I have something to ask you, but you should deal with your customers first. I am not in a hurry.”

The two young girls, who had regarded her as an idol already, quickly said, “Oh... No, we are not in a hurry. You go first!”

It was currently early summer, roughly the period when fresh college graduates left school. Zhao Qi saw herself in these two girls. She concluded that they’d probably moved out of the school dorms and rented a room outside by themselves. They may have just entered the workforce or were still studying for an exam. In any case, having left the strict rules set in a dorm, they could finally raise a pet in their rental flat. Thus, they were here today to look at pets.

Zhao Qi’s guess was spot-on. The girls were Wang Yan and Zhou Jiena. They had just graduated from Binhai University this year. They were from the same dormitory and were best friends. Even though they did not get jobs at the same company upon graduation, they’d decided that they wanted to stay together. Thus, they’d chosen a house halfway between their two companies. This was how they continued their friendship.

Nowadays, young people liked meme cats and dogs. They were also part of the community that followed these animals. Whenever they browsed social media or forums and came across cute cat pictures, they could not help but download the pictures.

Then one day, someone—they didn’t know who—proposed that they buy a cat and raise it together.

As freshmen who had just found jobs and were still in the probationary period, they had limited financial resources. With the meager salary they earned, they were barely able to support themselves after paying the rent. They didn’t even have money to spend to doll up. All their cosmetics and skin care products were popular Taobao products. Their quality could not compare to Zhao Qi’s.

Despite this, they were considered to be living independently. They were embarrassed to ask for money from their parents. They didn’t want their parents to worry about them anymore, much less provide them with the money to buy a cat.

Also, just last week, they had been informed by HR that they had successfully passed the probation period and officially become members of the company. Being official employees, their wages would rise a lot next month, although it still couldn’t compare with old-timers in the workplace. Nevertheless, their budgets would not be as tight.

Although the salary from next month had not yet arrived, Jack Ma had kindly increased the amount of money they could borrow from Alibaba first. As long as they paid him back with next month’s salary, all would be fine.

When discussing cats, they considered adopting. They also thought of trying to catch a stray on the streets. However, after much consideration and out of vanity, they decided that they wanted a purebred cat.

Yes, they admitted that they were vain. What was the problem with that?

They used cosmetics and skin care products from Taobao and wore secondhand professional clothes they’d gotten bargains on. However, in their online shopping carts were items that they currently could not afford. When stressed by life or work, they would sneak a peek at their shopping carts and feel rejuvenated.

It was vanity that motivated them to struggle followed in life. They aspired to the life that Zhao Qi had.

In fact, weren’t most people like this? Was there a big difference between name-brand clothes worth thousands of dollars and A-grade counterfeits from Pinduoduo? Why did everyone want the former option? This was because it represented a higher quality of life.

They wanted to buy purebred cats as they can get more attention when they take photos. They also want to capture similar pictures as those they see on the internet. They wanted to show it off to people and, in the process, tell themselves, “Hey, I am living well. In the future, my life will be even better.”

Overall, the difference between purebred and mixed-breed cats was large. The three necessary elements to a great photo were: 1. The model was pretty; 2. The model was very pretty; and 3. The model was extremely pretty.

Very cruel, but very true.

The model could not be too plain. If they were, the photograph would not attract everyone’s attention.

Therefore, the purchase of a purebred cat had become the only choice, though the difference was where to buy it—a cat hostel or a pet shop? Or should they buy a domestically-bred one?

There were many friends on the Internet who advised them to buy and breed kittens. The price was low, there was no certificate of bloodline, and they were more suitable for casual raising.

They had concerns for this arrangement, as most private breeders lived in relatively remote communities. Two young single ladies going to these places to see a cat was rather...unsafe. To ask a guy to accompany them was also rather troublesome.

Some private breeders would breed cats in an apartment building in an urban area. They didn’t pay attention to ventilation and disinfection, leading to a ton of cat smells during the summer. If pest control measures were not taken, fleas would appear and become a source of neighborhood conflict. Much like raising a large group of pigeons on the roof, such actions benefited no one.

Of course, neighbors were not willing to be taken advantage of. Once they discovered such operations, they would immediately complain to the property owners or even the police.

With this being an issue, private breeders were forced to settle in the suburbs or rural houses. The distance was less of an issue than the privacy and safety of their work.

It was purely accidental that they’d entered the pet shop. They had been attracted by the two beautiful cats at the door. When Zhao Qi came in, they’d decided to observe her manners and behavior. This was because she seemed to be on good terms with the owner.

Zhao Qi was in a rush to head to her poetry recitation. Since these two girls insisted she ask first, she would gladly take the chance. She pulled Zhang Zian aside and said in a low voice, “About... About Lan Lan, I have something to ask you.”

She always spoke her mind and rarely whispered things to others. This stunned Zhang Zian a little. Something was amiss.

“What is it?” He carefully took a step back and put some distance between himself and her. This was just in case of an attack from her.

What could have happened to Lan Lan?

He thought about it. Zhao Qi would not take her British Shorthair outside. Also, she had been careful raising it and only fed it with imported cat food. She would neither be lost nor poisoned by food. What problems could she have? Could it be sick?

This was very likely. Despite eating good food, people still got sick. Cats were likely to be the same.