On the evening of the mid-term exam day, during the evening self-study session, the teachers, probably feeling that the students were tired from testing, only assigned a rtively small amount of homework.


    As usual, Chu Tingwu, Chang Yixin, and their friends finished their homework during the half-hour break between dinner and evening study. After waiting a while for Tang Zhe and others, they quietly slipped out through the back door, sending Qin Lan to inform their homeroom teacher, and headed straight for the Natural Science Building.


    The sky hadn''tpletely darkened yet, painted in deep purple by the sunset. They could see people walking on the yground, some couples being affectionate, and students from other sses quietly sneaking out, using bathroom breaks as an excuse to linger in the hallways.


    After they left, Yuan Zhixiao returned to the ssroom—the noisy room suddenly fell silent. She was about to call on the ss monitor to maintain discipline when she remembered that the monitor had also run off.


    Yuan Zhixiao: "..."


    She couldn''t help but smile helplessly and shrugged: "Don''t look at me like that. I can''t let you leave early; the security guards won''t let you out. Tomorrow''s homework is the next three pages in today''s workbook. Those who want to work ahead can do it now, or should I ask other teachers for your assignments for tomorrow and the day after?"


    The students wailed in unison: "Please don''t—"


    Yuan Zhixiao: "Shh, shh!"


    Seeing everyone quiet down, she asked the students sitting by the window to open the curtains, then said, "Keep your voices down,e here,e here."


    Other students, curious, walked to the window to look, and Yuan Zhixiao didn''t stop them.


    Suddenly, there was an outburst of exmations from the corridor outside.


    A shooting star streaked across the night sky.


    Then came a second, and a third... On this ordinary evening, just as darkness was falling, a brief meteor shower appeared in the sky, and Jin City happened to have a perfect view of it.


    Despite Yuan Zhixiao''s attempts to contain them, the students'' amazed "wow"s still created quite amotion.


    Inside the Natural Science Building, Chu Tingwu and the others also witnessed the meteor shower.


    They stood beneath the ss wall, with only the central row of ceiling lights on in the Natural Science Building, while the aviary where the parrots resided was half-shrouded in dim yellow darkness.


    Several parrots were flying simultaneously, their pupils and wing edges reflecting faint light, casting shadows on the ss as meteors streaked by behind them.


    The system detected the young one''s emotions and silently activated recording mode to capture everything. Just as it was recording, the birds'' shadows in the frame were overshadowed by arger pair of wings, and Qin Lan screamed:


    "Dan Dan, why are you sneaking into the parrot area again!"


    Looking back, they saw that while three peacocks were staying put, the month-old peacock chick was excitedly pacing inside the aviary.


    —Yes, the peacock''s final name was "Lan Dan Dan," inheriting the "Lan" from its mother, and then the boys had added "Dan" (meaning egg), with "Dan Dan" as its nickname.


    Chu Tingwu: Your naming abilities are even worse than mine!


    But Qin Lan insisted confidently: "This ''Dan Dan'' actually has deep meaning. On one hand, it was born from an egg, and we turned this egg into a peacock with our never-give-up attitude. On the other hand, it''s also tomemorate our friendship that we almost lost—"


    Well, it seemed they had quarreled over the naming, thinking it would have been better when Dan Dan was still just an egg, and as for how they resolved their conflict...


    Qin Lan: "Blue beauty brings trouble, ''trouble''!"


    Tang Zhe: "Trouble leads to chaos, ''chaos''!"


    Bai Muhui: "Chaos brings change, ''change''!"


    Finally, it was Xu Yan''s turn, thest of the four: "Change... changes are irreversible, ''reverse''?"


    ...


    An Shiyan quietly moved away, deciding to keep her distance from the boys who had suddenly started ying word chain games. She felt her intelligence might drop if she stayed too close, and even from afar, she could hear them starting to shout "Do whatever we want!" "Do whatever we want!"


    What nonsense!


    She moved closer to Chu Tingwu and found that she had already brought Dan Dan out of the aviary.


    The lights in the aviary were now on, casting a warm and cozy glow. The caretakers responsible for feeding and cleaning woulde in asionally to tidy up and maintain cleanliness.


    Chu Tingwu was holding the peacock chick like a baby chicken, then looked around... Just as An Shiyan was about to call out to her, she saw her leap up, reaching for the ss roof of the ferret enclosure with one hand, then pushing off to flip herself onto the top.


    An Shiyan: "..."


    Chu Tingwu put the peacock chick down, gesturing for it to run along the roof and then spread its wings to glide.


    Chu Tingwu: "Go on, yes, forward... why can''t you learn this?"


    An Shiyan: "=="


    Learn what? It''s only a month old!


    Some nature reserves do have peacock flying shows, but those performances actually involve wing "gliding"—peacocks can''t fly high naturally, they can only glide from high to low points through artificially created height differences.


    Of course, those are shows in the reserves, and they didn''t need peacock performances here... it was just the child insisting on performing, no, insisting on learning to fly!


    The parrots were chattering away in the aviary, some gathering at the mesh screen, heads turned this way, clearly watching the show.


    The peacock chick stood on the ss roof of the ferret enclosure, looking around curiously, ncing down, pping its wings slightly, but showing no signs of wanting to rush forward.


    An Shiyan thought: Isn''t that a bit too high?


    This chick had barely managed to flutter up a bit before, often ending up face-nting in its attempts. Teacher Chu was clearly trying to force growth, though she didn''t seem to realize it.


    Because she had decided to personally demonstrate what "flying" meant to Dan Dan.


    An Shiyan: "?"


    Chu Tingwu crouched down, pped her arms, and made some "tsk tsk" sounds to get Dan Dan''s attention, then took a running step forward while crouching and leaped from the edge—maintaining her arms-spread posture, shended incredibly steadily, making almost no sound, giving an impression of "floating."


    But that definitely wasn''t flying!


    "Ah," Chang Yixin whispered behind An Shiyan, "the wild catnding technique."


    Dan Dan seemed to understand too. It tilted its head on the ss roof of the ferret enclosure, then pattered forward on its feet, running to the edge where it hesitated for a moment before lunging forward.


    An Shiyan: "!"


    Its little wings pped rapidly, but clearly generated no upward force to support it. Then, a hand appeared below. Chu Tingwu''s hands came together, easily catching Dan Dan in mid-air. The chick, undiscouraged, immediately took two steps forward and jumped down again, pping its wings... only to tumble head over heels on the ground.


    But the height was clearly safe, and the little peacock got up by itself, looked around, and proudly chirped "eep!"


    The word chain group next door immediately apuded.


    Qin Lan came over to take Dan Dan and ced it on a table less than a meter high to continue practicing "gliding." The little peacock, having been around humans since birth, showed no signs of nervousness being carried around, like a hand-raised bird that would grow to be quiterge.


    The parent peacocks were the same, currently trying to break out by pecking at the fence gate quite naturally. They only settled down after Chang Yile slide-tackled over to add some feed.


    Three-Five-Five had alsoe in—this was Three-Five-Five, not other school cats, so everyone felt quite at ease with her presence.


    The mother cat had been lying near the empty Yorkshire terrier kennel earlier, but now suddenly walked to Chu Tingwu''s side and softly meowed "miao."


    Chu Tingwu: "?"


    She understood Three-Five-Five''s meaning of "follow me," but then saw the cat jump onto the other end of the table, using her eyes to suggest Chu Tingwu should also get on the table.


    Chu Tingwu: "??"


    Then, the calico cat arched her back half, meowed "miao," flicked her tail, and jumped down from the table,nding smoothly not far away.


    Tang Zhe covered the peacock chick''s eyes, warning: "I hope Dan Dan won''t get confused learning from your cat again?"


    Chu Tingwu: "...She wants me to learn."


    The cat mother observed Chu Tingwu''s neither-human-nor-cat-nor-birdnding style and vigntly noticed that thending posture she demonstrated to the peacock chick had some dangerous elements, so she decided to help correct the young one''s form.


    The young one thought: Actually, that''s not necessary.


    After rather uncouthly stepping onto the table, Chu Tingwu jumped several times (and wasughed at by others for a few minutes) before finally satisfying San Wuwu.


    After watching her friend make a fool of herself for a while, An Shiyan spread out her notebook on the long table: "Let''s start the meeting!"


    They set the adoption dates for December 14th and 15th, which fell on Saturday and Sunday and were forecasted to be sunny. The in-person adoption would take ce at the Natural History Museum, with queue management and limited entry.


    An Shiyan said, "Everyone can make appointments through the mini-program then, no need to stand in line for hours—I got some chibi artwork at a discount from an artist I know, and I''m thinking maybe we could make and sell some merchandise during this offline event to raise some funds."


    Like how some schools make "custom graduation rings" or "school motto ribbons," they could create merchandise featuring the small animals from their school''s Natural History Museum—at least it would be cuter than those things, right?


    Chang Yixin thought for a moment: "I don''t think the school will approve."


    Selling these items would require paying taxes if the revenue reaches a certain amount, right? That would need the school''s involvement, but their school would definitely think "students making money" isn''t good conduct. The school rules even specifically stated:


    [Selling items in dormitories is strictly prohibited!]


    Who knows who first discovered that business opportunity.


    An Shiyan: "Aww..."


    Chu Tingwu: "I remember some equipment in our school''s experimental building was sponsored bypanies, right? Maybe we could try working with apany? Coborate on merchandise under the name of sponsorship?"


    Qin Lan looked up: "Huh? Whatpany?"


    Chu Tingwu: "365 Cat Census?"


    Although she hadn''t been very involved in managing thepany, she did have one set up for operating the APP.


    With about ten days left, there was no rush, so Chu Tingwu called You Zhenzhen after she got back.


    You Zhenzhen readily agreed, and after hearing about the "merchandise" idea, she said: "Since it''s Little An''s idea, why don''t I have ourpany''s merchandise design department contact her? We have more experience and can help reduce production costs."


    Chu Tingwu: "Umm..."


    You Zhenzhen: "Don''t tell me you didn''t even know thepany had a merchandise design department?"


    Chu Tingwu looked at her expressionless face reflected in the ss and thought, well: "I left thepany entirely to you anyway."


    You Zhenzhen: "You should at least know what we''re doing!" It''s easy to get scammed when youpletely let go of control! Though she wouldn''t scam her, of course!


    After You Zhenzhen''s exnation, Chu Tingwu finally realized: "So all those coasters, nkets, pillows, and refrigerator mas at my house were made by ourpany..."


    You Zhenzhen: What else did you think?


    Chu Tingwu: System, I''m sorry I doubted you.


    She had thought the system had mysteriously developed an online shopping habit, as these decorations and small furniture items would always appear silently in the living room, bedroom, or on doors without her doing anything. It was because the system had been continuously upgrading and modifying the smart home program, dedicated to turning Chu Tingwu into a cat who didn''t need to do anything herself.


    Apart from waiting for midterm exam results, all that remained was preparing for the offline adoption event. The adoption mini-program would open for queue reservations on the evening of the 13th—though there was a small hup in between.


    An Shiyan had done most of the coordination work, and although everyone helped share the burden, she was still the busiest... Fortunately, her midterm results were decent, but she had dropped from third to fifth in the ss. Though the difference wasn''t big, her parents didn''t seem very pleased.


    Chu Tingwu remained fourth, but the system was very happy: "Your grade ranking has risen to 27th, you sessfully defeated one human!"


    Don''t make it sound so bloody!


    The day after the results came out, An Shiyan came with a backpack, asking Chu Tingwu to look after her "ocean view."


    "I''ve packed everything in storage boxes. Since your house is close to school, please help me keep them for now."


    The so-called "ocean view" was actually her various anime merchandise, mostly metal badges that weren''t cheap, including some rare "grains" that were priceless but unavable in the market. She seemed quite experienced: "Whenever my grades drop, my parents me it on these things. If I keep them in my room, they''ll get angry whenever they see them. I''ll take them back after some time."


    It wasn''t a difficult request. Chu Tingwu took her home, where severalpartments at the bottom of the bookshelf were still empty. An Shiyan put the storage boxes inside, and Chu Tingwu removed thepartment key and gave it to An Shiyan.


    An Shiyan shook her head: "No need, I might lose it."


    A cat wandering in themunity saw Chu Tingwu from afar and ran away with a "meow." An Shiyan didn''t notice this as she linked arms with Chu Tingwu: "Of course I know these collectibles are just pretty metal pieces, expensive and useless, but liking something is priceless... Sigh, I didn''t even use their money, I earned it myself..."


    Then her parents would say: "We don''t want you using your study time to make money!"


    That''s ridiculous—even if she wasn''t spending that energy on graphic design work, she wouldn''t voluntarily use it for studying!


    Chu Tingwu: "I don''t really understand, but I''ve seen people group-buying my fan art postcards—"


    An Shiyan: "Oh my god! I almost forgot you''re a big inte celebrity!"


    Artists online had drawn fan art of Chu Tingwu, andter contacted her privately asking if they could make them into products, selling them to fans at cost price, and sent her a copy too.


    The systemter told her that when the artist was making the products, they had identally set the wrong shipping fee and even lost a bit of money.


    "Anyway," she said, "even though they''re just useless pretty metal pieces, I can see that I''m loved by them. If the character you like really existed, they would probably see it too, right?"


    An Shiyan was silent for a while: "I''m going to cry... but probably not. Yeah. Because my bias is mean-mouthed and a heartless viin antagonist."


    Chu Tingwu: So you like them purely for their face and coolness?


    After saying goodbye to An Shiyan, Chu Tingwu returned to her building and noticed the long-haired ginger cat being fed downstairs. It was munching on cat food, asionally looking around, when it spotted Chu Tingwu.


    Its movements visibly froze, clearly remembering the humiliation of being caught and "licked" by a youngster.


    Then, its hind legs squirming, it slowly backed up against the wall: "You, you can eat, I''m leaving meow!"


    Chu Tingwu: "=="


    No need, she doesn''t eat that.


    She simply backed away, took a detour, and came to her window, climbing back home through it.


    -


    The day before the adoption event, the familiar trainer from the police dog training base specially brought back the Yorkshire Terrier.


    When they went to the school gate to receive the dog, they couldn''t help but exim "Wow!"


    This elderly Yorkshire Terrier had previously mostlyy in the enclosure, its fur not properly groomed, looking somewhat messy, lying there appearing good-natured but actuallycking spirit.


    But the Yorkshire Terrier before them now waspletely different—it was almost like a different dog. Its long fur had been trimmed, revealing its eyes, and when people approached, its tail wagged slightly, then it came over to sniff their scent, seeming to find their smell somewhat familiar.


    This school was also a familiar ce, where it had once run around.


    So when the trainer handed the leash to Chu Tingwu, it obediently gave a soft "woof."


    "You said you hadn''t named it, and the school wasn''t nning to either," the instructor said, "but it''s inconvenient during training without a name, so I gave it one - Chengcheng, using the ''Cheng'' from ''soaring ambition.''"


    At that time, there happened to be a police dog nearby named Pengpeng, so he came up with this name on the spot.


    Chengcheng heard its name and gave a "woof," its tail seeming to wag even more happily.


    It had previously been an abandoned dog that had wandered into the school. While schools could have campus cats since cats rarely attack people actively, stray dogs could be dangerous. So the principal at the time had the security guard lead the dog away, and since there was space in the Natural Science Building, it was kept there.


    The instructor waved goodbye, and Chengcheng looked back at the teaching building, then at the instructor, couldn''t help but run a few steps in the instructor''s direction, barking "woof woof" twice, which made the security guard peek out to look.


    Chu Tingwu noticed its eyes were glistening, reflecting a warm light.


    But when the leash became taut and it felt the pulling force, Chengcheng stopped barking. It quickly turned to look at Chu Tingwu, then voluntarily walked back, sat down by her feet, and even used its paw to straighten out the tangled leash.


    Several people squatted nearby with their hands on their knees, eximing, "So well-behaved!"


    As expected of a dog that had been trained at the police dog facility, it looked more spirited and humanized now.


    The security guard, still peering out, asked curiously, "Is this the dog from our little animal garden?"


    "Oh, it really is!"


    The security guard came out of his post and, seeing that Chengcheng showed no signs of aggression and looked clean, reached out to pat its head. "It''s so small, can it guard the school gate?"


    Everyone found this problematic: "Yeah... we can''t keep it confined in the Natural Science Building forever, right?"


    The activity area in the Natural Science Building was limited, and dogs definitely need more exercise to stay healthy... Since Chengcheng had previously lived in the Natural Science Building, everyone unconsciously included it among the adopted animals. Now that it was officially adopted by the school, how should they care for it?


    Chengcheng tilted its head left: "Woof?"


    Everyone couldn''t help but squat near the security post, discussing while petting the dog.


    —They hadn''t intentionally started petting it; they just realized their hands were already stroking the dog''s pleasantly soft fur.


    "Why don''t we have the caretakers take turns walking it every day?"


    The security guard interjected: "Hey hey, dogs aren''t allowed to be walked on campus, not even small ones. What if the dog suddenly jumps on someone?"


    Tang Zhe protested: "But uncle, you just suggested letting it guard the gate! Would you just keep it tied up?"


    The security guard replied: "Guarding the gate means keeping it tied up at the entrance during the day, and we night shift guards can patrol with it around the school."


    The security guards had to patrol every night because there were boarding students in each grade. They needed to check if the dormitory doors were locked and make sure no one was sneaking in or out of school.


    Bai Muhui, the only boarding student among the eight: "..."


    He suddenly had a bad feeling and quietly said, "Does this mean we can''t orderte-night snacks anymore?"


    Security guard: "Order what?"


    He shook his head vigorously: "Nothing, nothing."


    Everyone thought having the dog work night shifts wasn''t a bad idea, but they worried about leaving it with the security guards—if all other pets were being carefully cared for in the Natural Science Building, while only Chengcheng had to sleep in the security post and work both day and night... it seemed unfair to the dog.


    Chengcheng tilted its head right: "Woof?"


    An Shiyan persisted: "Uncle, look, Chengcheng is very well-behaved, and it''s quite an old dog now, very steady. It''s lived in the school for almost seven or eight years and has never attacked any students. It''s also very good-tempered when students visit the Natural Science Building, so why not let it live freely in the school?"


    Besides, it''s about the same size as a Yorkshire Terrier or a Chihuahua!


    The security guard: "Even if I agree, the director won''t approve... It''s still a dog, after all. At the very least, someone needs to hold its leash while it''s in school. If anything happens, I''ll know who was responsible."


    He seemed to soften his stance a bit, clearly indicating that walking the dog was possible—some teachers would bring their own dogs to the school yground during holidays, though he was stricter with students.


    Chu Tingwu: "So you''re saying that as long as it''s on a leash, we can walk Chengcheng around the yground when no one''s there during the day?"


    The security guard nodded, and everyone went to report to the educational director—


    The director, finding them too familiar a sight, listened and found no major issues with their logic, so he waved his approval: "If you''re going to hire someone, hire someone reliable. If not, leave it to the security guards. If anything happens, I''m holding you all responsible."


    An Shiyan muttered quietly: "But it''s the school''s adopted dog."Aliali: 67467efbc4f3f33ac45e4cd7


    Still, since they had epted money from the school, being responsible was only right.


    -


    The next day, before starting his shift, the security guard nced at the entrance: there was some kind of adoption event today, so quite a few people from outside would probablye, and he needed to keep an eye out.


    He looked toward the teaching building and, seeing something, squinted and made a "huh" sound.


    "Oh, that dog... where''s its handler?"


    The little Yorkshire Terrier was walking forward with a serious expression. The security guard couldn''t help but take a few steps inside to see who had let the dog out, only to find... a cat holding one end of the leash in its mouth.


    A smoke-gray long-haired tortoiseshell cat.


    The security guard: "..."


    So you didn''t hire anyone!


    You actually hired a cat to walk the dog!