Chapter 729: Chapter 729

In Tsinghua’s campus, feeding a stray cat with Huo Feng was also a very heartwarming thing.

At Pu Sangzhi’s suggestion, Huo Feng ran to a nearby store to buy some snacks appropriate for feeding cats and some milk.

Under the street light, by the rubbish bin, Pu Sangzhi gently looked at the orange cat, which was engrossed in eating, and slowly extended her hand to gently touch the cat’s head...

The orange cat did not dodge, as if it had built a sense of trust with her.

"Oh, how plump and tender..."

Huo Feng, standing beside her, exclaimed as he observed the orange cat’s plump body.

No sooner had he spoken than Pu Sangzhi elbowed him, "Hey, you make it sound like you want to eat it."

Huo Feng grinned, "Just joking. They say out of ten orange cats, nine are fat, and it really isn’t false. Even a stray cat can be this plump; seems like Tsinghua provides good meals, huh?"

"It’s pregnant," Pu Sangzhi said.

Upon hearing this, Huo Feng arched an eyebrow, "You can tell that?"

Pu Sangzhi nodded, her hand gently stroking the cat’s head, "It is pregnant, look at how big its stomach is."

Huo Feng glanced at the cat’s hearty shape, thinking: Maybe it’s just potbellied?

"Sigh, it’s already pregnant, yet still has to wander and eat trash. It’s so pitiful..."

Pu Sangzhi petted the orange cat’s head and let out a soft sigh.

"That’s pretty normal."

Huo Feng said by her side, "There’s food in the trash cans."

After saying that, he got swatted by Pu Sangzhi, causing him to shrink back, and Huo Feng closed his mouth leisurely.

Pu Sangzhi pouted, her eyebrows locked seriously as she said, "I have to take care of it, I have to bring it back."

By her side, a questioning Huo Feng still dared to say, "If inspections find it, you’ll lose points like crazy!"

After that, he was glared at by Pu Sangzhi, causing him to swallow hard and once again to close his mouth slowly.

At that moment, Pu Sangzhi looked at him with an expression filled with doubt, "Why are you so unfriendly to small animals?"

Huo Feng hastily defended himself, "I’m just analyzing calmly. How can you take it back now, at least wait until military training is over, right? They do stricter inspections during this time."

Pu Sangzhi said, "They don’t check our girls’ dormitory."

Hearing this, Huo Feng arched an eyebrow, "Why? Is there some gender discrimination going on here?"

Pu Sangzhi pondered, "What you said makes sense. It’s not good to bring it back to the dormitory. If they really find it, it won’t just be my problem, everyone will be implicated and lose points, it’s too risky."

Huo Feng nodded, "You’re right. So, just forget about it."

Pu Sangzhi refused, "No!"

Afterward, Pu Sangzhi thought hard for a while and suddenly came up with a solution!

So, she called Ye Xi.

...15 minutes later...

Huo Feng carried a cardboard box, walking leisurely with Pu Sangzhi on the campus path, their destination: Ye Xi’s dormitory.

Ye Xi, who chose the direct Ph.D. track, was allocated to the doctoral students’ dormitory after finishing his undergraduate studies.

The dormitory for doctoral students is different from that of undergraduates and graduate students.

Since most doctoral students get married and have children during their Ph.D. studies, considering age and practical issues, the school very humanely arranges single-person dormitories for them.

One person per dormitory, with a private bathroom, it’s quite comfortable.

Even though Huo Feng did not really want Pu Sangzhi to interact with Ye Xi, due to the realistic issues at hand, neither he nor Pu Sangzhi had the conditions to adopt the plump orange cat.

There was no other way...

They could only turn to Ye Xi.

On the way, the pregnant orange cat was exceptionally well-behaved, nesting in the cardboard box, its eyes occasionally turning to look at Pu Sangzhi, just watching quietly.

Pu Sangzhi often reached out to pet its head, soothing it with a gentle voice.

The orange cat seemed to understand her words, showing no tension or fear.

In just a short period, a sense of trust had been established between the orange cat and Pu Sangzhi.

Huo Feng had no feelings towards small animals.

Therefore, he neither felt sorry for the orange cat nor was he very interested in dealing with this issue. However, he would not miss the chance to see the kind and beautiful face of his girlfriend...

She was already an angel, and now, she looked even more beautiful!

It was a long walk before they arrived at the doctoral students’ dormitory.

By then, Ye Xi had been waiting for them at the foot of the dormitory building.

From a distance, they saw Ye Xi dressed in a white shirt, black trousers, standing underneath the streetlight, looking tall, lean, and elegantly poised.

Huo Feng had always been uneasy around Ye Xi’s dog for one major reason—because it possessed a temperament Huo Feng lacked: gentleness!

Pu Sangzhi waved to Ye Xi from afar, and Ye Xi turned to face them and came jogging over, arm swinging.

Soon, Ye Xi had run up to them, took a breath, and fixed his shiny eyes on them, "Long time no see."

Pu Sangzhi hurriedly handed over the cardboard box she was carrying and repeated the explanation she’d given over the phone, "It’s pregnant, and its belly is really big—it looks like it’ll give birth soon. I can only entrust it to your care now."

Ye Xi looked down at the ginger cat in the box, reached in, and his slender fingers gently touched the cat’s head, "Good... don’t worry..."

He cooed to the cat, and the originally anxious, head-turning ginger cat quieted down and allowed him to stroke its fur.

"Don’t worry, leave it to me," Ye Xi said as he took the box and nodded at both of them, "I’ll take it to the pet hospital tomorrow for a check-up."

"Thank you, Brother Ye Xi," Pu Sangzhi said with a smile.

Ye Xi replied warmly with a soft smile, then he proactively turned to Huo Feng, "Have you guys eaten yet?"

Huo Feng didn’t respond. It was Pu Sangzhi who answered, "We have. We were just strolling around when we found it."

Ye Xi’s eyes softened. There was much he wanted to discuss with Pu Sangzhi, but with Huo Feng there, it felt inappropriate.

To avoid awkwardness, Ye Xi took the initiative to suggest, "Then you two should head back. It’s getting late, and you’ve got military training tomorrow, right?"

Pu Sangzhi nodded, "Then we’ll be going."

"Alright, take a bike. It’s quite a distance from here to your place," Ye Xi instructed gently.

And with that, Pu Sangzhi waved goodbye to Ye Xi.

This conversation was so proper that there was nothing for Huo Feng to criticize!

On the way back, they borrowed a couple of shared bicycles by the roadside and rode them back to the dormitory together.

On the road, Pu Sangzhi felt relaxed and satisfied, as if she’d done a good deed.

By contrast, the suspicious-looking Huo Feng riding beside her seemed to think there was more to this than met the eye...

"In the future, when the kitten has its babies, we can come together to see them again," Sangzhi suddenly suggested to Huo Feng, "Or perhaps I could pick one up and secretly keep it in the dorm."

Huo Feng finally understood why things weren’t so simple...

Because this pregnant ginger cat could lead to many more complications in the future!

Despite the brief interlude, the harsh reality of military training continued.

However, as the training progressed and students got used to the physical exercises, it wasn’t as painful as it was in the beginning.

And during the later stages of military training, there wasn’t much physical training either.

Each day consisted of a morning of basic physical training followed by drill exercises for class activities. In the afternoon, the instructors arranged various equipment-related teachings, such as, on one afternoon, letting students handle guns and even try shooting...

That afternoon, the students were excited and looking forward to playing with guns.

Afterward, they boasted on their social media, showing off their gunplay experiences.

Towards the end, deep bonds of friendship had formed between the students and the instructors.

Each class’s instructor, once so disliked upon their arrival, had become quite lovable, making the farewells all the more difficult for the students.

But, no matter how reluctant, the military training still ended as scheduled.

In late September, the students took their military theory exams and performed drill activities taught by their instructors in the past few weeks at the East University Playground, in front of company commanders, the principal, and the class counselors.

The military training came to a complete end.

At the final farewell, all that remained was the memory of dozens of instructors getting into the cargo bed of the pickup trucks that had brought them.

Inside the truck, dressed in proper military uniforms, they waved to the chasing students...

The air of parting filled the campus, with many students shouting their goodbyes loudly, and not a few crying.

Minal at Pu Sangzhi’s side was crying and shouting the whole time, "Instructor Chen, I will miss you!"

Her face, twisted by tears, amused Pu Sangzhi, who found it funny...

Instructor Chen in the truck wasn’t sad, but smiled broadly, flashing his white teeth as he waved and said, "Goodbye, students, goodbye! Minal, stop crying, you look ugly when you cry!"

Minal didn’t care about looking ugly...

All she knew was that she hadn’t had the chance to develop a relationship with the instructor, not even getting his WeChat info or phone number...

She was heartbroken! Google seaʀᴄh 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝙣𝙚𝙩

"Always teasing me, yet you won’t even give me your number... sob sob..." Minal lamented with tears.

Minal’s first unrequited love since starting university... shattered!