Jin Liwei and Iris chatted about their day at the farm villa while driving. She enjoyed herself, while he felt dissatisfied that he wasn't able to spend the entire day with just the two of them. It was supposed to be a romantic date, not a group outing.
When the view started to transition from rural to urban, the sun was almost setting.
"Wait! Stop the car!" Iris suddenly exclaimed.
Jin Liwei parked by the curb. "What's wrong?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the car door and jumped outside.
"Baby, where are you going?" He also unbuckled his seatbelt and followed her outside.
Iris trotted to the grassy and rocky roadside. Then she squatted in front of a cardboard box and poked at something inside.
He heard mewling sounds when he neared her. He looked over and found two tiny kittens shivering inside the box. His baby girl was rubbing them with a finger. Then he noticed a scrawled note taped on the box which read: "Please take care of us."
She looked up at him with adorable puppy eyes, even batting her eyelashes.
His mouth twitched. "You want them?"
She nodded.
He sighed, but immediately put on a stern expression. "Do you know how to take care of cats?"
"No, but I'll learn. I'll read lots of books and ask a veterinarian."
"Kiss me and we'll take them."
She immediately jogged to him and kissed him on the lips.
His arms circled around her tiny waist and then snaked down to her plump behind to give it a pat and a squeeze. "Mmn. Alright, let's bring them."
She smiled up at him brightly.
His heart stopped for a moment. She was so beautiful. He pulled her against his body and kissed her passionately, making her moan.
They were both breathless after the kiss.
Iris carried the box of kittens and they climbed back inside the car. She played with them on her lap while Jin Liwei searched for a veterinarian on his phone. When he found one that satisfied him, they started driving again.
He glanced at his happy baby girl. "You should name them first."
"Hmm. What do you think? What names would you give them?"
Quickly looking at the tiny and thin fur balls, he replied, "Brownie and Blackie."
Iris stared at him with blank eyes at first, and then looked at him like he was the most stupid person in the planet. "They're not even brown and black. The striped one has a very light ginger coat. It's not brown. And this one here has a beautiful pure grey coat, almost silver. Which part of it is black?"
He just shrugged. "They're just names."
She pouted and then harrumphed. "You have no imagination. How dull. Fine, I'll be the one to name them. I won't allow my own cats to have such stupid names."
"Alright. Let's hear what great names you'll give them."
"This cute ginger will be…hmm…Popcorn! And this silver-grey beauty will be…let me think. Hmm… Oh, I know! You'll be called Ice Cream!" Then she turned her head to Jin Liwei with a proud expression.
He tried hard not to laugh. She said that Brownie and Blackie were stupid names? Popcorn and Ice Cream weren't? Compared to her crazy naming sense, he thought that Brownie and Blackie were more sensible names for cats.
"What do you think? Perfect names, right?" she asked him smugly.
He coughed. "Of course. The names my baby girl thought of are the best."
She giggled and then continued playing with the kittens.
His mouth curved into a smile. So what if she named the kittens Popcorn and Ice Cream? As long as she was happy. Even if she named them Toilet and Panties, he would praise her for thinking such creative names.
After driving for some time, they finally arrived at a small plaza where the veterinarian clinic was located. They parked and climbed out of the car. Jin Liwei carried the cardboard box.
The veterinarian was a kind man in his fifties. He immediately identified the kittens to be British Shorthairs with age at about four to six weeks old. They just looked smaller because they were malnourished. He examined them gently and talked about the basics on how to care for kittens. Then he handed them a list of kitten essentials and shamelessly told them that they could buy everything at his pet store next door.
Iris didn't want to leave the kittens alone at the vet, but Jin Liwei gently dragged her to the pet store next door, assuring her that the kittens would be safe in the clinic.
At the pet store, Jin Liwei took a cart. Iris handed the list to a clerk and asked him to direct them to where the items were located. She frowned when she discovered that there were different types and brands for every item on the list. Since she had no idea what was what, she just took whatever the clerk said were the highest quality which were almost always the most expensive.
She now had two kittens, so she would take at least two of everything. Her hands constantly pulled something from the shelves and dumped them into the cart. Soon, the first cart was filled.
Another clerk immediately followed them with an empty cart without even being asked. Someone took Jin Liwei's full cart and placed it at the cashier counter to wait for them when it was time to pay.
Both Iris and Jin Liwei tossed items to the train of carts following behind them. The majority of the clerks catered to them. Even the store manager was called and took over the job of recommending items, smelling big money from the couple.
All the books about cats were taken. Cat toys? They almost emptied the shelves. Even items not on the vet's list were dumped into the carts because of the manager's effective sales talk.
Finally, they headed to the cashier. Some of the other customers looked at them in awe and curiosity upon seeing the train of full carts. The scanning of the items took quite a while.
The manager refrained himself from shouting with joy upon seeing the astronomical final total of the scanned items. He was beyond amazed when he noticed that the couple didn't even bat their eyelids upon seeing the total price.
Rich! These people must be rich! Their pet store hit the jackpot!