"This rat isn't the one from the kitchen yesterday, but it definitely caused trouble in the house before."
There was a hole in the drawer. The stored items were damaged to varying degrees, and the notebook the old man used to record his mobile app passwords had been gnawed in half.
No one knows how many more holes are hidden throughout the entire wardrobe. Chew marks were found on the bedside table and the tea table in the room.
The old man hadn't been home for some time, and the door to the room had been kept closed. He only went in occasionally to clean and never scrutinized the place, not realizing a rat was hiding inside!
"If it were a little skinnier, it might even be able to squeeze through the crack under the door," Hu Yi's wife said.
Hu Yi looked at Feng Yi with gratitude, "Thank you, thank you so much! I don't know what to say! You are my savior!"
"...It's nothing," Feng Yi walked out of the room. "But although you've caught this one, if the holes in your house aren't blocked, more rats will come. There are no rats in the kitchen right now, so there must be a hole there. Just have someone come over and block it up when you can."
Hu Yi nodded.
They knew this as well; as long as the holes were not blocked, the rats would always be a nuisance.
But no matter what, catching one rat was a huge morale booster! Their whole mindset had changed!
Hu Yi and his wife wanted to give money, offering the same rate as a pest control company, but Feng Yi declined.
"It's just neighbors helping each other out; I don't work in pest control," Feng Yi explained.
This made Hu Yi understand not to recommend Feng Yi for rat-catching services or to boast about it in the community homeowners' group chat.
Now that the community was already taking action, the rat infestation would surely be addressed gradually. Since Feng Yi had no intention of heading in that direction, they couldn't bring trouble to Feng Yi's doorstep, or else they would be repaying kindness with ingratitude.
"I understand what you mean; you have no interest in this," Hu Yi said.
Then he looked again at the tool in Feng Yi's hand.
"By the way, about this long-handled clip, I want the same model."
After Feng Yi checked the order records and sent the link to him, he then took his leave.
"We should take a couple of boxes of fruit over to them tomorrow," Hu Yi's wife said.
"Yes, we definitely can't let people help us for nothing," Hu Yi said, looking at the tightly sealed rat-catching bag. "I just ordered the same long-handled clip. When it arrives, if any rats still come to the kitchen to cause trouble, I'll see if I can catch them. Even if I can't, I'll make sure to keep them trapped inside, and then call in a pro to catch them!"
After leaving Building 5, Feng Yi did not go straight home, but instead headed next door to Building 6 to find Qian Feiyang.
After the visit to Hu Yi's place, Feng Yi had a rough idea of his range of perception.
Within three meters, he could sense rats hiding.
Moreover, he wasn't sure if it was just his impression, but he felt that his range of perception was a bit larger now than during the day in the underground parking garage when it might have been only around two meters.
Changes in his sensory abilities were not evident from the outside.
He just wondered what other changes might occur later.
Lost in these thoughts, Feng Yi had already arrived at Building 6, at the apartment rented by Qian Feiyang.
The young man who opened the door was thin and sported heavy dark circles under his eyes.
"What's with this?" Feng Yi pointed at Qian Feiyang's dark circles. Normally, Qian Feiyang's cat should have prevented disturbances from rats at night.
Qian Feiyang ruffled his messy hair and yawned, "Took on a job with a tight deadline, just finished half an hour ago. What's that in your hand?"
"It's for catching rats, just helped someone catch one," Feng Yi replied.
"Brilliant." Qian Feiyang gave a thumbs-up.
"Didn't you recently hire new people for your studio? How come you're the only one busy?" Feng Yi asked.
"One's sick, one hasn't graduated yet and needs to prepare for exams, and another had to go back to their hometown for something. I planned to take a break, but I came across a job I could do alone, so I took it. It's just these two days; I'll start resting tomorrow. Wu Ji said he's planning to go fishing this weekend, are you in?"
Wu Ji was Wu Ji's nickname.
"If I'm free that day, I'll join you guys," Feng Yi looked around the apartment. "You don't have rats here, either."
"Only one got in at the beginning, but Bajiao cornered it. Although we didn't catch the rat in the end, it seems like the rats now remember this place. I don't know if it's because the rat picked up on the cat's scent or they transmitted information to each other, but afterward, I hardly ever saw any rats. Just occasionally there'd be some noise near the window, but it wouldn't last long; Bajiao would go over and then everything would stop."
"Bajiao" was the cat Qian Feiyang had adopted. Originally, Qian Feiyang intended to buy some star anise and other spices from a nearby supermarket to cook braised pig's trotters, but he happened to encounter a community drive to deal with stray cats and adopted one on a whim.
He named it "Bajiao."
Feng Yi came to the bay window in the living room.
A yellow civet cat was lying on its side, sleeping there.
When Feng Yi entered the room, it only moved its ears, recognizing the sound of someone familiar, so it didn't bother to move at all.
When Qian Feiyang first brought it home, it was roughly seven months old, skinny, and had bald spots on its body. After three months of treatment and feeding, it had bulked up significantly, and all its fur had grown back—thick and soft.
Initially, the cat was very wary of people, but now, it was so used to being handled that it didn't bother to shift position unless it was a stranger entering the room.
Feng Yi reached out to pet the cat.
"The texture of Bajiao's fur is getting better and better."
Probably having grown accustomed to being petted, the cat switched positions from lying on its side to rolling onto its back when Feng Yi stroked it.
After lying on its back for a while, Bajiao twitched its nose and suddenly sprung up, darted off the window ledge, and hid under Qian Feiyang's desk. It arched its back and flattened its ears back, its fur bristling, and growled at Feng Yi as if suddenly startled by something.
Qian Feiyang, who was replying to messages, heard the commotion and turned to look, his face showing surprise, "What's the matter? Has it been too long since it last saw you that it doesn't recognize you anymore? Or did you carry some smell on you that it doesn't like?"
Feng Yi didn't answer but called out "Bajiao" twice.
The bristled, growling yellow civet cat twitched its ears. The defensive posture relaxed slightly, and the growling stopped. It looked at Feng Yi with puzzlement in its cat eyes.
Feng Yi squatted down and reached out to it: "Come here. It's only been a few days; how could you not recognize me? The canned cat food you're eating is still the one I bought!"
Bajiao hesitated but eventually began to move slowly toward Feng Yi.
Perhaps reminded by Feng Yi's voice, the cat approached, seeming ready to rub its head against Feng Yi's hand.
As it rubbed, it twitched its nose and then promptly dodged away in disgust, running back to leap onto Qian Feiyang's desk, squatting next to its owner.
"Really rejected me? Could it be that you have a mouse smell on you?" Qian Feiyang asked.
"Maybe." Feng Yi stood up without approaching Bajiao again. He had his suspicions, but he couldn't say them out loud.
"So, are you thinking of changing your career to catching mice? If you have the skills for it, you could give it a try. I've heard that more and more companies and small teams that specialize in rodent control are popping up. There must be significant profits to be made for such a change to happen; you can see there's a big market and lots of opportunities!" Qian Feiyang said.
"No, that's not within the scope of my career plans," Feng Yi was quite adamant.
Starting a rodent control company is out of the question!
Completely out of the question!
"Oh, that means you're not short of money then," Qian Feiyang said with a laugh.
If one were burdened with debt and finances were tight, they would certainly seize such an opportunity, even if it were disagreeable. The money one could make from catching mice wasn't insignificant for most people.
Feng Yi just smiled and didn't explain further.
Now that the tough times had passed, his speech became much more casual. Qian Feiyang spoke again, "I heard from Wujij that the issues with your studio have been resolved. Do you still plan to enter the entertainment industry? My team is small, but we can still give you a hand."
Feng Yi shook his head, "It's been resolved. The studio has disbanded, and I have no plans to enter the entertainment industry."
With his current situation, it was impossible for him to live under the spotlight every day.
After getting a few ID photos taken by Qian Feiyang's help, Feng Yi left. He planned to see if Wu Ji needed any help.
In the neighborhood at that time of night, some elderly people gathered together, chatting and laughing, while parents returned from a walk with their children.
Feng Yi walked slowly toward his building, head slightly bowed, contemplating his future career.
Not far away, a child's shrill cry and an adult's angry roar could be heard.
Feng Yi turned to look.
A large rat snatched a string of freshly acquired sausages and swiftly navigated through the intercepting crowd, dodging with practiced skill, its sprinting and jumping effortless, then, as it approached Feng Yi, it suddenly veered away, pulling off an audacious "C" curve, bypassing Feng Yi and vanishing into the greenery behind him.
It didn't give Feng Yi a chance to make a move.
Feng Yi: "..."
My tweezers were all set, and yet it avoided me from a distance!
"So tell me, what future is there in catching mice!"