Every time Big Ben went with the family to visit relatives at the military district, or when that person from the military district came to see the old lady, he would be tested on his cipher skills, such as Morse code communication, simple fence cipher card games, and so on. If Big Ben didn’t do well on the test—well, he’d obediently squat and eat instant noodles as punishment.

This parrot was a devoted fan of ciphers. When Big Ben was home, it would carry playing cards to find Big Ben and play fence cipher games. If it couldn’t find Big Ben, it would look for Logan Bennett or its owner to play Morse code communication games. However, its owner was usually busy and didn’t have much time to mess around with it, so Logan Bennett ended up suffering the most. Last week, “General” was taken to a nature reserve in another province, and Logan Bennett enjoyed a few peaceful days.

Now, discovering that this guy had actually come back, Logan Bennett’s mood instantly took a nosedive.

[Heard that Buddy got neutered? I saw him today actually wearing an Elizabethan collar.] “General” was still excited from finding someone to chat with in the middle of the night and showed no sympathy for Buddy at all.

[I haven’t seen him for days,] Logan Bennett continued tapping the mosquito coil.

[Sigh, that’s the fate of you pet cats, so pitiful. From now on, the Four Swordsmen of the East District will probably become the Four Eunuchs of the East District.]

[Not every pet cat gets that surgery.]

[Stop deceiving yourself—and your cat.]

[Get lost, I can’t be bothered with you.]

[Don’t go, let’s chat some more. Aren’t you cats nocturnal animals?]

[None of your business, I’m going to sleep. By the way, can’t you sing something more fashionable?]

Half a minute later, a low singing voice sounded from downstairs again.

“You are like—a blazing fire! The burning flames—warm me up—”

Logan Bennett: “……” Really wanted to strangle it!

Ignoring the overly energetic bird, Logan Bennett returned to the chair in the living room, curled his front paws over his ears, and closed his eyes to sleep.

Early the next morning, Little Reed was woken up by a loud cat yowl from Logan Bennett. He struggled out of bed in his SpongeBob pajamas and opened the door to let Logan Bennett out.

Actually, Logan Bennett could open the door himself, but after all, this wasn’t his own home, so he needed to restrain himself a bit. Besides, Logan Bennett also wanted to give Little Reed a little trouble and not let him sleep too soundly.

When Little Reed yawned and forced his eyes open to unlock the door, he found that the Jiao family’s door was open, and after hearing the commotion, everyone in the Jiao family who was having breakfast gathered at the doorway.

Rubbing his eyes, Little Reed smiled and said, “Morning!”

Logan Bennett headed straight for the dining table, while Jiao’s mom had already gone into the kitchen to get breakfast for Logan Bennett.

Outside the door, Little Reed used the fire tongs to pick up the mouse trap from last night. Jiao’s dad took a look and commented, “You used a bit too much force, but overall, not bad.”

Logan Bennett twitched his ears, pretended not to hear, and continued eating breakfast.

Jiao’s mom also served a bowl of vegetable porridge to Little Reed, inviting him to eat together. After all, with Little Reed’s habits, there was no way he’d go out to buy breakfast or make it himself at this hour. At the table, Little Reed drank porridge while recounting last night’s mouse-catching adventure, which got the Jiao family all excited—especially Jiao’s mom, who told everyone she met about it.

At noon, Buddy was brought over by his owner, and the Elizabethan collar was already off.

After a few days apart, Buddy looked noticeably thinner and listless. Ever since Logan Bennett had known him, he’d never seen him like this.

Nearby, Jiao’s mom was chatting with Buddy’s owner.

“Sister Ling, is Buddy like this because he hasn’t recovered from the surgery?” Jiao’s mom asked, a bit worried.

“I don’t think so. I’ve seen other people’s cats who had the same surgery, and they were lively again the next day. But after the surgery, he really has changed a lot—he doesn’t pee everywhere like before.”

Logan Bennett walked into Jiao Yuan’s room and rolled out a big glass marble.

Hearing the sound of the marble rolling, Buddy’s ears twitched and he looked over.

At least he’s responsive, Logan Bennett thought. He’d worried that after the surgery, Buddy would be so traumatized he’d turn dumb and sluggish. Curling his paw, he flicked the marble toward where Buddy was lying.

Lying there listlessly, Buddy reached out a paw and hooked the marble.

Five minutes later.

Logan Bennett watched Buddy in the living room, now full of energy playing with the marble, and couldn’t help but sigh—damn, this isn’t a cat who’s been traumatized, he’s just been bored out of his mind at home!

In the end, on Jiao’s mom’s suggestion, Buddy was allowed to go out for a walk.

Once outside, Buddy immediately returned to his old lively self, so excited that he ran and howled as soon as he left the building.

“Meow awoo—meow awoo—meow awoo—”

On the fifth floor, two women standing on the balcony were puzzled. Weren’t cats supposed to stop yowling like that after surgery?

Based on his understanding of Buddy, Logan Bennett knew that this guy was just venting the frustration of being cooped up at home with the Elizabethan collar for days, and also calling out to his buddies—nothing more.

At the corner, they ran into Mrs. Blake from the third floor of the same building as Logan Bennett and the others. Logan Bennett and the other cats all knew her.

“Buddy?” Mrs. Blake called out.

Hearing his name, Buddy, who had been yowling with his tail held high, immediately stopped, squinted over, and replied in a sweet voice, “Meow~”

Logan Bennett: “……”