After handing over the care of Baiyi to Zhao Wanying, Ruan Xingyao couldn’t help much with the subsequent interrogation, so she took Baiyi and left first.
On the way home, Ruan Xingyao deliberately took Baiyi to a pet hospital and even let Baiyi pick out some toys and food it wanted.
Because Zhao Wanying’s house was now sealed off, she couldn’t go back to get Baiyi’s previous belongings.
Baiyi remained listless and low-spirited, even showing little interest when seeing its favorite toys.
Only after Ruan Xingyao repeatedly promised to often bring Baiyi to visit Zhao Wanying did Baiyi regain some energy.
After bringing Baiyi home and settling it in, letting it get familiar with the environment, she prepared water and food for it.
Ruan Xingyao sat cross-legged on the floor, holding Baiyi’s head, and said, “Baiyi, I’m going out for a while. You have to behave yourself at home, okay?”
“Er!”
[Okay!]
“Don’t destroy the house, got it!” Ruan Xingyao emphasized.
After all, beagles have very high energy.
She really feared coming back to find a total mess everywhere.
“Ererer!”
[“Got it! I won’t destroy the house! Don’t worry!”]
Ruan Xingyao stared at Baiyi without blinking, met its sincere eyes, smiled, kissed Baiyi’s head, and said, “Good boy!”
After a morning’s delay, when Ruan Xingyao arrived at the hospital, it was already past lunchtime.
She first went to the payment desk, checked the fees, and renewed a deposit of 100,000 yuan before going to the ward.
Ruan Xingyao’s younger brother was named Ruan Xingzhuo, a seventeen-year-old high school student.
He was supposed to take the college entrance exam this summer, but due to the sudden troubles of the Ruan family and being pushed from upstairs during a debt chase, he suffered a head injury and became a vegetative patient.
He had already been lying in the hospital bed for half a month.
In this condition, no one could say whether he would ever wake up.
Ruan Xingyao sat down by the bedside, looking at the quiet, pale young boy, and felt an inexplicable emotion welling up somewhere in her heart.
She raised her hand to press against her chest, but didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just the original owner’s feelings.
Not paying it any further mind, Ruan Xingyao murmured, “Since you’ve become my ‘adopted’ little brother, I’ll be responsible for you no matter what. No matter the cost, as long as there’s hope, I’ll keep seeking treatment for you.”
Since she had taken over Ruan Xingyao’s body, she would fulfill her duties.
Turning her gaze to Ruan Xingzhuo, she continued, “But you also have to pull yourself together and work hard to wake up as soon as possible. After all, you know my financial situation isn’t great right now. Next year when you become an adult, a real man, you can’t keep letting me bear all these burdens.”
The more she spoke, the more she felt this made sense.
She grasped Ruan Xingzhuo’s hand and said, “Ruan Xingzhuo, let’s pinky swear—wake up before your birthday next year. The earlier, the better. If you wake up early, I’ll reward you!”
Unnoticed by Ruan Xingyao, Ruan Xingzhuo’s fingers twitched slightly.
After talking on and on, Ruan Xingyao finally stood up and said to Ruan Xingzhuo, “I have two jobs now, so I might be a bit busy and not able to visit you often, but I’ll come when I can. Don’t be mad if I don’t come sometimes—I’m working hard for us.”
Again, where Ruan Xingyao couldn’t see, Ruan Xingzhuo’s fingers moved slightly once more.
Ruan Xingyao straightened his blanket and then turned to leave the ward.
After returning from the hospital, it was still not dark.
Ruan Xingyao thought for a moment, then sat down by the sofa holding Baiyi, and started a livestream again.
The moment the livestream started, before she had a chance to look closely—just after taking a sip of water—she noticed that the number of viewers had already surpassed ten thousand.
She was so surprised that she opened her mouth slightly, then rubbed her eyes with her hand, and double-checked the numbers twice.
Seeing the viewer count still climbing nonstop, she couldn’t help but mutter to herself in disbelief, “Did I see it wrong? So many people?”
Soon, comments started popping up on the chat, answering Ruan Xingyao’s question.
【Came to see the animal expert by reputation, didn’t expect such a young and pretty girl!】
【Is this really the animal expert helping with cases? Sounds fake!】
【If you don’t believe me, go check the Lucheng city police announcements. Without the streamer’s help, how could they catch the criminal right at the crime scene?】
【Exactly! Are they trying to say the Lucheng city police are making up stories with the streamer?】
【I don’t care! I’m just here today to see if the streamer really has skills! If the streamer can understand what my pet is thinking, I’ll admit she’s a real animal expert!】
Ruan Xingyao happened to see this last comment.
She decisively clicked to connect with the user.
The other side didn’t expect Ruan Xingyao to actually call in; it took several tens of seconds before the connection was made.
On the other end was a man who looked to be in his twenties, dressed in trendy brand clothes — clearly a wealthy second-generation rich kid.
Ruan Xingyao said, “Are you sure you want my help? It’s one thousand per session. If you agree, please pay first.”
Naturally, this statement caused a wave of discontent in the chat.
Some people started swearing harshly in the comments, using very vulgar language.
Ruan Xingyao automatically ignored those comments and focused only on the man on the call.
His ID was “Doudian’s Real Dad.”
She asked, “Mr. ‘Doudian’s Real Dad,’ are you sure you want to connect?”
He clicked his tongue and, through the camera, gave Ruan Xingyao a look full of disdain.
“Just here for the money, huh? I’ve got plenty of it,” said Doudian’s Real Dad.
A few seconds later, a gift effect appeared on the public chat screen — exactly one thousand yuan.
Ruan Xingyao smiled even more genuinely.
She didn’t pay any attention to Doudian’s Real Dad’s disdainful attitude and instead asked sincerely and warmly, “How can I help you?”
Doudian’s Real Dad didn’t make things difficult for her.
He turned the camera toward a black cat on the cat climbing frame.
“This is my cat, Doudian. It ran away from home a week ago, and since it came back, it’s been ignoring me. Whenever I touch it, it scratches and bites me,” he said.
Although his attitude toward Ruan Xingyao was bad, and she clearly felt he wasn’t sincerely asking for help but rather wanted to expose her and have a laugh at her expense, upon hearing his frustration, Ruan Xingyao could tell he truly loved his cat and was genuinely upset that the cat was ignoring him.
Ruan Xingyao tends to have a good feeling toward people who sincerely love animals, so she ignored his rudeness toward her.
— The end of the Chapter–
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