Study Monster Cultivation System - Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Jingjing, Jingjing

Zhang Xiaoke looked up, a little frustrated. “Hey, are you dumb?”

“What?”

“How could you just ask about the price? You look like a fat sheep ready for slaughter.” Zhang Xiaoke returned to her seat, then blinked and waved her arm. “You shouldn’t talk when we’re negotiating the price. You can leave it to me. What’s your budget?”

“Three thousand.”

“Wow.” Zhang Xiaoke felt a little excited.

“This lad isn’t willing to buy clothes,” she thought.

“But he does spend money quite freely on leisurely things.”

“If he doesn’t like something, he won’t pay any attention to it.”

“But if he does, he’s willing to spend any amount.”

“The contrast is getting stronger.”

Lin Yujing trembled at the side of the table. She found it hard to even swallow her cake.

Sometime later, the lady returned to her seat, phone still in hand.

“I’ve negotiated with the boss for a long time. The lowest we can go is 5500, and that’s taking into account you being Jingjing’s classmate.”

The price was ridiculous. Li Zheng couldn’t accept it.

All he could do was keep quiet.

“I’ll keep quiet and leave it to Zhang Xiaoke,” he thought.

Zhang Xiaoke was dependable. After a moment’s pause, she said slowly, “Madam, isn’t this price obviously more than what we high-schoolers can afford?”

The lady glanced at Zhang Xiaoke. She squinted a little.

“This boy is obviously a dolt,” she thought.

“But this girl… I don’t even have to speak to her. All it takes is a glance for me to know that she’s got the goods.”

The lady cleared her throat.

“I can’t help it. This is a very good cat. If it were at a cat shelter, its starting price would be 8000,” the lady said nonchalantly. “Why not have a look at the other cats? Some of them can be sold for around 4000 yuan.”

Zhang Xiaoke slowly drank her coffee, then placed the cup down and asked, “Which is to say, the cat was placed here because it can’t be sold at the cat shelter?”

The lady smiled and answered, “Of course not. We have to have some good cats here at the cat cafe to attract customers.”

“It’s alright, madam. Let’s look at this from another angle.” Zhang Xiaoke pointed at Li Zheng. “Though he may look dumb, he’s actually famous at our school. He could influence a lot of students if he sent the address of this cafe to his circle of friends. Not to mention, there’s me.”

“…” The lady looked at the two of them.

“This dolt being famous is an outright lie,” she thought.

“But this girl is definitely famous.”

“Even so, she wants me to lower the price because she can introduce some customers to the shop?”

“Does she think it’s my first day running this shop?”

“That’s alright. Everyone in Cherry Lake High School knows about this place.” The lady covered her face and laughed. “I know what you mean, but 5500 is the price the boss set. How about I personally cut the price by another 500? Let’s settle on 5000. I’ll talk to the boss after that.”

“Thank you, but truth be told, we still can’t afford that.” Zhang Xiaoke let out a sigh, then took out her phone and said to Li Zheng, “It can’t be helped. She tried her best. I’ve heard that there are many people selling cats on 58 TongCheng and Ganji.com. Why don’t we have a look there?”

“Alright.” Li Zheng took out his phone and began blankly scouring the web.

From his perspective…

The conversation between Zhang Xiaoke and the lady was a sincere exchange.

Thus, he also began to sincerely search for cats online.

The lady seemed to be scared by the sincere performance. She quickly said, “Privately sold cats usually aren’t good. They haven’t been vaccinated, and there’s no proof of their pedigree. And if they die prematurely one day, you can’t file a complaint.”

“Oh.” Li Zheng became energized when he looked at his phone. “This one looks about the same but only costs 1300.”

Not only that, he sincerely handed the phone to the lady and said, “Help me see if it’s a good cat.”

“It’s… It’s alright…” The lady became extremely anxious.

“This dolt doesn’t seem to be acting,” she thought.

“He might place the order soon.”

“Alright, don’t make the lady awkward.” Zhang Xiaoke waved and smiled. “Thank you for the cake. We’ll help you promote this place~”

The lady looked at Li Zheng, who was taking out his credit card and entering the information. She deliberated for a moment before finally saying, “Then give me your price. I’ll ask the boss again.”

“2000.” Zhang Xiaoke raised her hand confidently. “Including insurance. If we have any problems with the cat, we can ask you about them.”

“2000 is too low. I really can’t do that.” The lady looked as if she’d heard a ridiculous claim. “When the cat shelter was selling this cat, we didn’t even sell it when someone offered 4800.”

“You can at least ask the boss first~” Zhang Xiaoke cajoled.

“I can ask, but 2000 is too low. We might as well place it here to attract customers.” The lady shook her head vigorously, then once again grabbed her phone and walked over to the window on the opposite side.

Zhang Xiaoke immediately leaned over and gave a naughty smile when she saw that the lady was far away. “There’s a chance. Tell me honestly, compared to the 1300-yuan-cat in the picture, which one is better?”

“The one here is slightly better.” Li Zheng glanced over at the cat by the windowsill and nodded. “More importantly, I’ve pet it personally. It’s more reliable.”

Indeed, if it were another cat, even if it looked similar, the texture of its hair, its personality, and how proud it was would definitely be different, which would inevitably affect his energy recovery rate.

While Li Zheng and Zhang Xiaoke were engaged in an intense discussion, they didn’t notice Lin Yujing, who was pulling her ears wide by the side. Her expression was gradually becoming more rigid.

Sometime later, the lady heaved another sigh and returned once more to her seat.

“We really can’t do 2000. 3800, that’s the lowest we can go.”

“Alright, looks like you put in a sincere plea for us with the boss. Thank you.” Zhang Xiaoke said unhurriedly, “Honestly, he only has 2000. I’ve also asked my parents for money and can lend him 500. 2500 is all we have.”

“You can use your credit card,” the lady nodded.

“But he can only use 2000. He can’t charge whatever he wants to his parent’s credit card.” Zhang Xiaoke brought her hands together. “2500. Why don’t you go ask the boss again?”

“Student, you’re sure putting me on the spot…” The lady had a melancholic expression as she glanced at the cat. “Jingjing was brought up by Jingjing. It’s the best cat we have here.”

“Hm…” Lin Yujing lowered her head in pain.

“Wait… You’re saying that…” Zhang Xiaoke swallowed as she looked at the English Shorthair. “That cat is called Jingjing?”

“Yes, we’ve already gotten used to calling it that. You can give it a new name if you wish.”

Whoosh!

There was suddenly the sound of a hand slicing through the air.

The only person who could make such a sound by raising his hand was Li Zheng.

“The discussion ends here.” Li Zheng said in a low voice, “I don’t want it anymore.”

“What?” Both Zhang Xiaoke and the lady were dumbfounded.

Lin Yujing also froze. The gratitude in her eyes was undisguisable.

“I don’t want to rob someone of something they love.” Li Zheng grabbed his phone and said, “I’ll have another look at the cat I found online.”

Lin Yujing heaved a long sigh of relief.

But when she saw the serious expression Li Zheng had as he looked at his phone…

She suddenly felt a strange sense of…

A strange sense of…

A strange sense of hatred.

“Forget it, forget it.” The lady waved her hand in frustration. “2500 it is… I can’t stand you guys.”

“Hm?” Lin Yujing was startled. She was so shocked that she even grabbed the lady’s arm.

“Sigh… It’s almost the end of the year. We have to make a transaction somehow…” The lady pried her arm free from Lin Yujing’s grip. “Business is business. Don’t say anything.”

She turned to look at Li Zheng after she spoke. “Are you going to use your credit card, student?”

“I said I don’t want it anymore.” Li Zheng shook his head. “I wouldn’t take it even for a dollar.”

Zhang Xiaoke leaped up in surprise. “Hey, hey, hey… We finally managed to talk down the price.”

“Student…” The lady was also a little frustrated. “Are you playing with me?”

“Let me apologize if you think that way.” Li Zheng picked up his water bottle and took a sip, then slowly capped the bottle and gently placed it on the table. “But I won’t change my decision.”

Zhang Xiaoke sat down again.

She looked at Li Zheng’s steely expression and could only laugh in frustration.

“D*mn it,” she thought.

“What a d***.”

“How could he?”

“How can he be so overbearing when taking a sip of water?”

“Aiyaya, this isn’t good.”

“I’ve really been seduced by him.”

At the same time…

Lin Yujing clenched her teeth and took out her phone. She flashed a QR code. “Hm!”

“What?” The lady looked at her, confused.

“I’ll buy it.” Lin Yujing nodded seriously.

“Jingjing… You’re buying Jingjing?”

“Yes.” Lin Yujing took the opportunity to remove her kitty bandana and said, “Immediately. I’ll carry it away.”

There were four words reflected boldly in her gaze.

Our relationship is over!

“You… Me…” The lady was a little awkward. “You mean you don’t want to work here anymore…”

“Yes.”

“But…” The lady rolled her eyes and licked her lips. “Now that I’ve calmed down, 2500 is indeed too low. How about we forget about this…”

“Then 3000.” Lin Yujing angrily took off her sleeves.

“3000 is also…”

“Then 5000.” Lin Yujing tore off her apron. “Now, immediately!”

Zhang Xiaoke was dumbfounded.

“Oh my God,” she thought.

“Li Zheng is already mentally challenged enough.”

“You’re even more so.”

She quickly stood up and stepped between Lin Yujing and the lady.

This time, Zhang Xiaoke no longer cared about the power dynamic between buyer and seller.

Her gaze gradually became more intense.

Her tone also became even more sinister. She sounded like a concubine from the Inner Palace with a knife behind her smile.

“Madam, you told us 2500. What you’re doing is too much.” She squinted and smirked. “Indeed, the people in our school all know about this place, and there’s not much we can do to help with publicity. But I can guarantee that the combined influence of the three of us is enough to make this cafe close down.”

“Hm, hm, hm!” Lin Yujing also waved her fist.

Li Zheng raised his hand and said, “I also know a few third-years.”

The lady was completely shocked.

“Where did these three goliaths come from?” she thought.

She deliberated for a long time before finally squeezing out a smile.

“Was the cake enough? I’ll give you another piece.” She stood up with an apologetic smile and said to Lin Yujing, “Then, Jingjing, come and settle the bill with me first. 2500.”

“Alright.”

The lady left quickly as if she were fleeing for her life.

Lin Yujing walked to the windowsill and carried the little cat, Jingjing, naturally.

Unlike the other cats, Jingjing didn’t struggle. Instead, it enjoyed itself and kicked around in Lin Yujing’s embrace.

There was a true connection between her and the cat.

Lin Yujing carried Jingjing and turned to look at the two of them. She nodded with gratitude.

“Sigh, we’re all classmates.” Zhang Xiaoke stuck out her tongue. “Look to me if you need to stand up to anyone.”

“Ah.” Li Zheng didn’t pay attention to them. Instead, he looked dumbly at his phone. “Private transaction. I can’t pay with my credit card.”

Lin Yujing grabbed her head in frustration, then followed the lady down the stairs.

“Alright, alright,” Zhang Xiaoke waved her hand and said, “I have a friend whose family is in this line of business. I’ll help you ask when I get back. You shouldn’t buy cats with unknown origins. They might die prematurely.”

“You have a friend who runs a cat shelter?” Li Zheng was rather surprised. “Zhang Xiaoke sure lives up to her reputation. She has so many connections,” he thought.

“It’s actually a dog shelter. I go play at their feeding center on the outskirts a lot.” Zhang Xiaoke gave a naughty smile. “People who run dog shelters will definitely know people who run cat shelters. Send me Jingjing’s photo. I’ll help you look for one.”

“I don’t have Lin Yujing’s photo.”

“I said the cat. The cat, Jingjing! What are you thinking?”

“I got it mixed up, sorry.”