After I Started Working at a Pet Kindergarten - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

We picked up more dogs after that, and the van gradually filled.

Some were quiet, some rambunctious, and some never stopped demanding food or tattling on one another.

I wore the earmuffs whenever I was in the driver’s seat.

I couldn’t hear a thing. Not a thing.

Our final pickup was a Border Collie named Million.

He was frighteningly smart.

Dad said he had once led every dog in the kindergarten on a jailbreak so they could hunt for poop along the road. It had taken the staff ages to round them all up. Ever since then, Million had slept in a room of his own instead of the communal dorm.

This was my first pickup run, and I had no experience. By the time I reached his home, I was already half an hour late.

Million’s owner had to go to work, so he had tied him outside the entrance to the complex and told me to collect him there.

“Aren’t you afraid someone will steal him?” I asked.

His owner gave a low chuckle. His voice was clear and gentle. “If I leave him inside, he won’t let you through the door. He doesn’t like school.”

No wonder he kept organizing jailbreaks.

“Sorry for the trouble.”

“Not at all.”

After hanging up, I spotted Million at the gate. I went over and offered him a hand to sniff.

“Hi, Million. I’m your new teacher. It’s time to go to kindergarten.”

Million looked at me and tilted his head.

[Hey, it’s the pretty lady from Old Man’s phone.]

[Heh-heh. I’m not telling him.]

[Maybe once he realizes his mistake and begs me, I still won’t tell him. Ha-ha-ha!]

Million licked my hand.

Perfectly well behaved.

But…

The pretty lady on Old Man’s phone? Was “Old Man” his owner?

Before I could puzzle it out, a crash came from the road behind me.

I whipped around. A tabby cat had been struck by a car and flung hard onto the asphalt.

The car stopped for a moment. The driver stuck his head out to curse, then swerved around the cat and drove away.

At my side, Million’s head snapped around. He slipped his collar in an instant and charged into the road.

[Sangbiao!]

“Wait!”

Before I could stop him, Million had dodged through the traffic, picked up the meowing tabby, and carried him back. He nudged my leg.

[Please save Sangbiao, miss. Please.]

A pleading whine rose in his throat.

The tabby lay motionless on the ground. His hind legs were stiff, and blood covered his mouth and nose.

I scooped him up. “Get in. We’re going to the hospital.”

Million was faster than I was. He pawed the van door open, climbed through the driver’s seat, and jumped into the back.

I laid the cat on the passenger seat, opened the map, and searched for the nearest veterinary hospital.

The moment I started the engine, the dogs erupted behind me.

Soda: [Sangbiao, what’s wrong, Sangbiao? Don’t scare Dog, Sangbiao!]

Rice: [Dog saw him fighting that skinny cat yesterday. How did this happen?]

Cream Puff: [I know, I know! He beat that skinny cat yesterday. The cat’s owner said he’d kill him, but that cat was trying to steal Sangbiao’s sausage!]

Soda: [Drive faster, Miss Teacher! Sangbiao is going to die, Miss Teacher!]

Cream Puff: [Don’t cry, Sangbiao. Dog remembered the license plate. Dog will avenge you! Dog will poop and pee under its tires!]

Million: [Sangbiao was poisoned.]

The van went silent for one beat.

Then—

Woof! Woof! Woof!

The noise made my ears ache.

I glanced at the passenger seat. Sangbiao was foaming at the mouth, his breathing faint. His tear-filled eyes met mine.

[Human, save Cat.]

[*********]

Profanity too filthy to broadcast.

Even in this state, he hadn’t forgotten to curse out the owner of that fat cat. No wonder his name was Sangbiao.