What a strange man.
Pretending not to realise that he was offering a handshake, Gao Xuan silently pushed an opened bag of cat food into his hand.
“This is the blue-grey cat’s food. You can have it.”
Gu Xinghang stood there holding the cat in one arm and the bag of cat food in the other, looking rather awkward.
To make matters worse, the blue-grey cat refused to stay still and kept wriggling in his arms. Its round face was puffed up, and its expression was filled with obvious disdain.
Gu Xinghang casually set the cat food aside and lightly poked the cat’s plump cheek with his index finger, signalling for it to behave.
The blue-grey cat stared at him with a blank face, looking impossibly cool and arrogant, as though it were saying:
*Why are you poking me? Don’t cats have dignity too?*
“It’s getting late. I’ll take it home now.”
Gu Xinghang glanced around and said lazily, “I’ll take five bags of the same cat food, along with one cat bed, one cat tree, and a set of cat toys.”
Someone willing to spend so much money on a cat probably was not a bad person, right?
Gao Xuan’s thoughts shifted slightly, and she quickly packed everything for him.
“I’ll come back next weekend.”
After saying that, Gu Xinghang loaded the bags into the boot of his car. He then returned and carried the blue-grey cat away.
Only then did Gao Xuan notice that he drove an expensive luxury car.
“Was I being too suspicious?” she wondered aloud.
“Perhaps he and Zheng Yuchen met once when adopting pets in the past. Since it was only a brief encounter, Zheng Yuchen might not remember him.”
“And rich people can be rather capricious. Maybe he simply thought this particular cat caught his eye.”
Gao Xuan thought for a long time before finally shaking her head.
“Whatever. As long as the blue-grey cat lives well, nothing else matters.”
Elsewhere, the blue-grey cat sat curled up in the passenger seat, its round face exceptionally serious.
Gu Xinghang scratched beneath its chin and asked in confusion, “Why are you always so fierce towards me?”
The cat remained silent and curled itself into a ball.
Gu Xinghang vigorously stroked it twice.
The little cat immediately revealed another disgusted expression, identical to the one it had worn in his dream.
“I had never met Gao Xuan, yet I accurately called her by name.”
“I had never seen this blue-grey cat, but it felt familiar.”
“I didn’t know who Zheng Yuchen was. I only knew that the university student who adopted the cat had violent tendencies, and somehow I happened to be right.”
“Looking at it this way, what I experienced before must have been a prophetic dream.”
Gu Xinghang muttered quietly to himself before driving away.
**
Autumn passed, and winter arrived.
In the blink of an eye, the year was almost over.
Early in the morning, Annie was already fussing with Santa Claus stickers.
“Christmas only lasts one day,” Gao Xuan said in confusion. “You’re going through all this trouble to stick them up now, and in two days, you’ll have to go through all the trouble of peeling them off again. Is there really any point?”
“It’s extremely meaningful!” Annie answered decisively.
“Without Santa Claus or a Christmas tree, there’s no festive atmosphere at all.”
Gao Xuan shrugged.
She thought that having no festive atmosphere was perfectly fine. She did not celebrate Christmas anyway.
Without warning, a red Christmas hat flew towards her.
Gao Xuan caught it instinctively and turned it over in her hands.
Annie said solemnly, “Today is Christmas. Every employee in the shop must wear a Christmas hat.”
Every employee?
Gao Xuan instinctively glanced to the side.
Cola was also wearing an identical Christmas hat.
However, the dog apparently found it humiliating and was currently trying hard to bury his face.
The corner of Gao Xuan’s mouth twitched.
Their boss was ruthless.
She would not even spare the dog.
“Who are we wearing these for?” Gao Xuan could not help reminding her. “Have you forgotten that business was terrible last Christmas? Hardly anyone came in.”
Annie’s expression stiffened.
“I forgot.”
Gao Xuan completely lost the will to argue.
In the blink of an eye, the morning passed.
Then the afternoon was almost over as well.
People walked back and forth outside, yet not a single customer opened the door.
Annie flew into a rage.
“It’s a holiday today. Let’s simply close early and go home to rest!”
“Great idea.”
Gao Xuan hugged the dog and cheerfully agreed.
Just after five in the evening, the shop was closed and locked.
Gao Xuan and Annie said goodbye to each other and prepared to head home separately.
At that moment, a luxury car stopped outside the shop.
The window slowly lowered, revealing Gu Xinghang’s sculpted side profile.
“Sorry, we closed early today,” Gao Xuan said apologetically as she approached.
Over the past three months, Gu Xinghang had strictly kept his promise.
Every week, regardless of wind or rain, he brought the blue-grey cat back to visit.
After becoming more familiar with him, Gao Xuan discovered that Gu Xinghang appeared to be a secret cat slave.
The evidence was that the blue-grey cat had become visibly fatter at an astonishing rate.
Clearly, it was living an extremely comfortable life.
“I came to see you,” Gu Xinghang said. “Are you free tonight?”
He came to see her?
What for?
Gao Xuan found it inexplicable.
Beside her, Annie secretly nudged her friend with an elbow, wearing an ambiguous expression.
A man and a woman meeting on Christmas night—what else could it be?
A date, obviously.
“I have something very important to tell you,” Gu Xinghang emphasised. “Can you spare some time to talk?”
Gao Xuan had nothing planned that evening anyway.
With that thought, she readily agreed.
“All right. Where should we talk?”
“Get in.”
Still confused, Gao Xuan climbed into the car with Cola and waved goodbye to Annie.
The car soon disappeared from view.
Annie rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
“Strange. When did those two start seeing each other? How did I not notice?”
…
“What would you like to eat tonight? I know several restaurants with excellent food,” Gu Xinghang asked while driving.
“There’s no need. Just tell me what you wanted to say, then drop me off at a station afterwards,” Gao Xuan replied indifferently.
A station?
Gu Xinghang was slightly surprised.
If he remembered correctly, her home was near the pet hospital.
He glanced at the rear-view mirror and immediately understood.
She was guarding against him.
“You’re unwilling even to have dinner with me, yet you still got into my car?”
Gu Xinghang’s emotions became complicated.
“What if you really do have something important to tell me?” Gao Xuan asked in return.
Gu Xinghang could not help pulling over.
“I think you have a serious misunderstanding about me.”
“Do I?” Gao Xuan replied bluntly. “Perhaps it’s because you’ve behaved strangely from the very beginning.”
Gu Xinghang smiled bitterly.
He had deliberately approached her because he wanted to protect her.
However, judging from the current situation, she seemed to believe he harboured ill intentions.
“There are only the two of us in the car now. You should be able to say it, shouldn’t you?” Gao Xuan asked coolly. “Why exactly were you looking for me?”
She looked as though she would get out of the car the moment he said something she disliked.
Gu Xinghang took a deep breath and said solemnly, “On January 1st, 2000, the apocalypse will begin.”
“Living organisms across the world will evolve, and humanity will no longer stand at the top of the food chain.”
“Cities will become filled with danger, and survival will become extremely difficult.”
Gao Xuan fell silent.
Unless she remembered incorrectly, today was Christmas, not April Fool’s Day.
“Are you joking?” she asked tentatively.
“Everything I said is true.”
Gu Xinghang looked exceptionally serious.
“Some time ago, I had a prophetic dream. I saw many things that will happen in the future.”
Gao Xuan complained inwardly.
How could a perfectly normal person suddenly go insane?
“Do you know the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*?” Gu Xinghang suddenly changed the subject.
“Yes. I even researched it specifically while I was at university,” Gao Xuan replied.
“The *Classic of Mountains and Seas* records many strange and unusual animals, including parrots and porcupines.”
Gu Xinghang’s expression became exceptionally solemn.
“Perhaps the creatures described in the book once truly existed. But in the end, only parrots and porcupines survived the tides of history.”
Gao Xuan lowered her head without speaking.
She wanted to argue, but after thinking about it, dinosaurs had once ruled the earth many years ago.
Had they not gone extinct all the same?
Nothing lasted forever.
Who could guarantee that humanity would remain the protagonist of the next evolutionary tide?
After a long silence, she slowly asked, “What are you trying to accomplish by telling me this? Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell other people?”
Gu Xinghang answered sincerely, “In that prophetic dream, you saved my life. That’s why I want to protect you, stay beside you, and prevent you from suffering any harm.”
He realised that unless he explained everything clearly, Gao Xuan would continue cautiously guarding against him.
Therefore, he decided to confess the truth outright.
Gao Xuan was speechless.
It was still unclear whether it had truly been a prophetic dream, yet this man had already secretly written himself a role in her life.
After thinking for a moment, Gu Xinghang continued, “I know everything I’m saying is difficult to accept, but I hope you’ll take precautions.”
“It would be best to stockpile some food and daily necessities at home. Starting in January, make sure you bring the German Shepherd whenever you go outside. He will protect you.”
“Hypothetically,” Gao Xuan said, placing heavy emphasis on the word, “and this is only a hypothesis—if what you’re saying is true, then what exactly will happen in the future?”
“If you can truly predict the future, I can try to believe you.”
Gu Xinghang considered it for a moment before slowly saying, “At the beginning of January, you’ll encounter an adult Schnauzer suffering from a serious illness.”
“It will already be very old and in poor physical condition. It will also have a terminal illness that cannot be treated.”
“It loves ice cream. Before dying, all it will want is to eat it one final time.”
“And after it eats the ice cream?” Gao Xuan asked.
“It evolves.”
“Its terminal illness disappears without treatment, its lifespan increases dramatically, and its body becomes extremely large.”
“One day, it chases a young woman down the street asking her for ice cream, only to be mistaken for a delinquent.”
As though remembering something, a faint smile appeared in Gu Xinghang’s eyes.
Gao Xuan was stunned.
She felt as though she were listening to a science-fiction story.
“Beginning in January, strange incidents like this will gradually occur one after another. However, people will repeatedly come forward to dismiss them as rumours or forbid the spread of false news.”
At this point, the smile in Gu Xinghang’s eyes faded.
He vaguely remembered that, in his dream, he had believed those so-called official clarifications.
That was why he had failed to take the abnormal incidents seriously.
“The number of mutated animals will continue increasing. Injuries and deaths among residents will rise sharply, and panic will spread everywhere.”
“By February, the public will finally accept that plants and animals are evolving.”
“But by then, it will be almost impossible to purchase a pet dog for protection.”
“Pets won’t betray their owners?” Gao Xuan immediately noticed the implication.
“No. They absolutely will not betray them,” Gu Xinghang replied with complete certainty.
“Whether they were raised from childhood or were once rescued, pets will always remain loyal to their owners.”
Gao Xuan held her forehead and sighed inwardly.
This man spoke so convincingly.
His explanation was organised, coherent, and logical.
She was almost beginning to believe him…
“By the end of January, supermarkets will impose purchase limits. If you want to stockpile supplies, you need to do it early.”
After pausing, Gu Xinghang added, “Actually, it’s fine even if you don’t. I’ve already made thorough preparations.”
“If you need anything, you can contact me at any time.”
Gao Xuan remained silent for a long while before suddenly asking, “Have you ever considered what you’ll do if it was only an ordinary dream rather than a prophecy?”
“Then thank goodness. That would be wonderful.”
Gu Xinghang laughed self-deprecatingly, his tone rather desolate.
“If possible, I would prefer all my preparations to be useless and for the world to remain peaceful.”
Gao Xuan carefully observed him.
She discovered that every word he had spoken came entirely from the heart.
His expression did not appear false in the slightest.
**Author’s Note:**
Gao Xuan: To trick me into believing him, he brainwashed himself first. -_-||
Schnauzer: Ice cream cures every illness. Trust me!!
*Continuously licks its lips.*
After evolving, the animals have powerful digestive systems and exceptional physical fitness. Ordinary cats and dogs must not imitate them.
This is a light-hearted story written to improve my mood.
Also, a “blue cat” is a recognised breed colour. It means blue-grey fur.
**Nomad:
For those who would like a reference pic
Blue Grey cat
German Shepherd
Schnauzer
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