Adorable Pet Daily Life Ch. 72

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Just as the woman was startled, Shen Luo suddenly smiled. Of course, anyone who knew him would recognize that as his standard professional smile.

"Welcome, ma'am. Please have a seat."

The woman, dragged along by her son, couldn't just walk out, so she reluctantly sat down on the couch. Shen Luo handed her a glass of water and placed it in front of her. His calm and polite demeanor only made her feel more uneasy.

"This is your son, right?"

She didn't answer, just eyed Shen Luo suspiciously.

Shen Luo wasn't fazed in the slightest. "I think your son is great—very persistent, very determined, and incredibly detail-oriented. If he's raised well, he'll definitely do something with his life."

Hearing someone praise her son took the edge off her anger. Her expression was still stiff, but at least her tone softened a little.

"This kid drives me crazy," she muttered. "So stubborn, always has to have the last word, and barely talks. You ask him what he wants and he just clams up—nothing gets through to him."

Not wanting to openly praise her son, the woman could only respond with a half-hearted complaint.

Shen Luo glanced at the boy. He stood stiffly in a familiar, default posture, head down, face unreadable. But hearing his mom talk about him like that—it couldn't have felt good.

Shen Luo said, "Come on, every kid has their quirks. At least yours isn't out there glued to video games or getting into trouble with a bunch of punks. Being quiet isn't a bad thing—it's better than being reckless, right?"

"That's true," she admitted, reluctantly. Her son might be frustrating, but at least he didn't stir up trouble. The neighbor's kid was always in trouble—she heard his mom crying about it so often her ears were going numb.

"How's he doing in school?"

That question made her sigh again. "Just... average. Passes everything, never fails, but never hits top marks either. Always in the seventy- to eighty-point range. Not good enough to be proud of, not bad enough to scold. Just stuck there, dangling. It's exhausting."

Shen Luo felt a little speechless. Parents were always like this—constantly expecting more, never satisfied. When kids improved, they barely reacted. But when grades slipped, it was endless scolding and punishment. No wonder some kids just gave up.

"Seventies and eighties aren't bad at all. That's above average. With a little effort, he could hit the top."

"But this little brat just won't try!" The frustration boiled up again. She jabbed her finger hard at the boy's head, clearly fed up with his lack of progress.

Shen Luo laughed lightly. "Most kids are pretty much the same in terms of intelligence. What matters more is effort. If he can sort out whatever's weighing him down, he'll probably start working harder."

"What do you mean, weighing him down?" The woman looked confused. She figured kids were simple—simple lives, simple wants, simple minds. How could they possibly have anything complicated going on inside?

Shen Luo said, "It depends. But honestly, raising kids is a lot like raising pets. You can't just worry about food and sleep—you have to pay attention to what they're thinking too. Whether something's bothering them."

The woman didn't even notice that Shen Luo had casually compared her kid to a pet. Instead, she looked genuinely surprised. "Wait, pets have thoughts like that too?"

"Of course," Shen Luo said matter-of-factly. "Even if they're simple-minded, they still remember stuff. Like, say you usually hug them every day after work. One day you forget, and they'll wonder if you don't love them anymore. Or if someone once scared or hurt them, they'll remember—and avoid that person next time. Don't underestimate how much animals can hold on to things."

There were plenty more examples he didn't say out loud—people wouldn't believe them anyway.

The woman actually found it convincing. "So they really do have brains."

Shen Luo seized the moment. "Exactly. Which is why kids are just the same. You have to pay attention. If something's wrong, you fix it—just like with a pet."

The woman looked troubled. "My son Chenyi doesn't talk much. He bottles everything up—I have no idea what's really going on with him, so how am I supposed to solve it?"

Shen Luo said, "Isn't this your chance right here? He really likes this cat and wants to adopt it. So give him a condition: let him take the cat home for now, and if he doesn't hit your target scores on the midterm next month, then the cat comes back."

The woman didn't agree right away. She hesitated, looking at her son, then at the blue-eyed cat. It was clear she was struggling to decide.

Shen Luo shot the boy a look, thinking he didn't catch it. But then the kid suddenly spoke up, "Mom, let's take Lan Jing home first. If I don't get ninety or above on all three subjects, we'll bring him back."

Shen Luo hadn't expected the kid to have already named the cat—and not consult him about it! Yep, no matter how quiet a kid is, deep down they're still a handful.

It took the boy's mother a moment to make up her mind. "Alright. We'll see how things go in a month. If even one subject falls short of ninety, the cat comes back."

Got her. Shen Luo grinned—this was exactly what he'd been aiming for.

Since little Wei Chenyi had already named the cat Lan Jing*, it would be weird to change it now. So Lan Jing* it was. Then came the formalities: the adoption paperwork had to be signed under the child's name, with the mother signing off as guardian. It turned out to be more complicated than expected.

(*Blue eyes.)

While Chenyi's mom was still filling out forms and asking questions, Shen Luo pulled the boy aside and whispered, "Take good care of that cat when you get home. And study hard—don't slack off on your grades anymore."

Chenyi looked genuinely surprised. Grades didn't really matter to him. The questions in class were easy, but he just didn't want to get high marks. He liked seeing that helpless look on his parents' faces—it was his silent rebellion.

Shen Luo sighed inwardly. What a little gremlin. Throwing his grades just to spite his parents? That took guts and serious stubbornness.

"I mean, I was kind of hoping to keep Lan Jing here," Shen Luo said casually. "He's really photogenic, would've made great promo material for the clinic."

The kid stared at Shen Luo with wide, clear eyes, completely unimpressed. He obviously thought Shen Luo's logic was trash.

Being judged by an elementary schooler, Shen Luo gave him a silent middle finger in his head. Man, the things I do for a cat...

All credit goes to the original author
Feel free to pinpoint us if there are any grammar error or typos
Please don't use Guazi's translations to re-translate in other languages

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