Although the elders were regretful that Little Jun needed to leave, they understood Iris' predicament. They also adored Ice Cream and Popcorn, especially after Jin Liwei brought them to the house for the first time and announced them as his children.
"I'm sorry. I'll bring Little Jun again next time," Iris told the elders.
"Xiulan my dear, don't apologize. Go now. I hope dear Ice Cream is alright," Grandma Li said.
"Son, drive safely. You have a child with you," Huang Yuyan reminded Jin Chonglin.
"Don't worry, Mom. I will."
"Here, Little Junjun. This is from Great-Grandpa Lu. And this and this and this…oh, and this too…" Grandpa Lu gave a lot of treats, toys, picture books, clothes, shoes and a lot of other presents to the child.
Little Jun clapped his hands and gave the old man a hug and a wet kiss on the cheek, delighting Grandpa Lu to no end. He almost didn't want to let go of the child when Iris tried to take him.
"Xiulan my girl, how about Little Junjun stay here for now? I'll send him home later! What do you say? Good idea, right?"
"Ah, I'm afraid I can't do that. I'm sorry, Grandpa Lu. Little Jun's mother will worry if her son is not with me. Don't worry, I'll try to bring him to see you next time," Iris promised.
Grandpa Lu was disappointed but felt better after her promise.
During the entire drive, Iris felt extremely worried for Ice Cream. Her eyes filled up with tears, but she didn't cry. She forced herself to calm down instead. If she could, she would've flown to her cats to reach them faster. She wanted to tell Jin Chonglin to hurry up, but she noticed that he was already driving at the speed limit. Not to mention that they had a child with them, it was not safe to speed up on such busy roads.
Within half an hour, they finally arrived at the small plaza where the veterinarian's clinic was located. Fortunately, there weren't a lot of cars in the parking lot so they quickly found a spot.
Iris opened her door in a hurry and was about to run to the clinic when both Little Jun and Jin Chonglin called to stop her.
"Mama! Mama!" Little Jun reached out his cute little arms towards her, wanting her to bring him along with her.
"Are you crazy?! Have you forgotten you're a freaking celebrity? Cover up your face first, for goodness' sake! Where's your sunglasses? Your mask? How careless! Good grief!"
"Oh, right." Iris fumbled inside her purse and put on her dark sunglasses. She didn't wear the mask, but just covered the lower half of her face with her scarf.
"I'll take the little guy. You go ahead to the clinic first. We'll follow you," Jin Chonglin told her.
"Thanks," she said before climbing out of the car and running to the clinic.
As soon as she entered inside, Iris could hear Ice Cream's loud crying meows. The cat sitters immediately recognized her. Everyone was relieved that she had arrived.
"Ice Cream," Iris called out.
It was as if the cat was jolted. Her head snapped towards Iris' direction. It was amazing because everyone could see the expressions of relief and happiness on her round, grey face when she saw her Mommy.
"Meow! Meow! Meow!" She reached out her front paws through the cage's slits, trying to reach for her Mommy.
"Please open her cage quickly!"
A nurse opened it.
Iris reached inside and took Ice Cream in her arms. "Oh, my baby. I'm so sorry. Don't worry. Mommy's here. Ssssh. It's okay."
Ice Cream's loud tantrums stopped. She began purring and whining instead, as if asking her Mommy why she didn't come with them.
Finally, Ice Cream calmed down after being comforted by her Mommy's tender loving care. She didn't complain when the vet started examining her wound again. As long as she was in Mommy's arms, she didn't care if the evil monster (a.k.a. the vet) stabbed her with the Ouchy once again.
It was this sight that greeted Jin Chonglin when he arrived inside the clinic carrying Little Jun in his arms. He had to blink a few times because for a moment, he saw a baby in Iris' arms instead of a cat.
Ice Cream finally succumbed to the anesthesia's after-effects plus her exhaustion from throwing a tantrum for so long. She fell in deep sleep in her Mommy's arms.
When it was time to leave, Iris continued to carry Ice Cream. One of the cat sitters carried the sleeping Popcorn.
Jin Chonglin carried Little Jun. The little guy wanted his Mama but he already had some understanding that his sister Ice Cream was sick, so he didn't insist on wanting to be carried by her. It was not very comfortable being carried by this uncle, but he somehow reminded him a little of his Papa. Although the feeling was different, it was still a little comforting to Little Jun.
###
At a small congee eatery in the same plaza, a man finished his first meal of the day. He had been following a famous actress around for almost a week now who was rumoured to be dating a director twice her age.
The man received a tip from one of his sources that the actress and the director would be meeting at a secret apartment unit around this area. He had been waiting for them since the crack of dawn, but he saw no signs of them for the entire day.
A paparazzo's job was really hard. The amount of work he put in didn't always equal the pay he received. Many also condemned his job as low-taste. Sometimes he wondered why he entered this kind of work. However, whenever he snapped photos of celebrities' clandestine affairs, the thrill and excitement of being the one to reveal it to the public was something that he wanted to experience again and again.
Today was an unfruitful day. He was terribly disappointed that he wasn't able to snap even a shadow of the actress and the director. However, this kind of disappointments was part of the job.
After paying for his meal, he left the eatery. He intended to return near the apartment building, hoping that he would still catch a sight of his targets. But before he could leave the plaza, his paparazzo senses started tingling.
He squinted his eyes, looking at the group of people exiting a nearby vet clinic. A tall masked man wearing stylish shades looked terribly familiar. What was more, he was carrying a child and was together with a woman whose face was also covered. The woman also looked a little familiar.
Hiding behind a concrete column, the paparazzo zoomed in on the group with his camera and started snapping photos.