Chapter 279: Returning to Aethelburg University

Chapter 279: Chapter 279: Returning to Aethelburg University

Saturday afternoon.

Vivian Lowell and Eleanor Rhodes drove back to Aethelburg University to catch cats near the rockery by the campus lake.

"The mother cat gave birth to her kittens inside the rockery. She usually comes out when people feed her and has a rather gentle temperament!"

"Seniors, I’ve already contacted the girl from our organization who usually feeds her. She’ll be here right away. When she calls the cat out, if everything goes smoothly, we won’t even need to use the traps!"

The person in charge of the cat association at Aethelburg University proactively explained the situation to Vivian and Eleanor.

This little stray had just moved onto the Aethelburg University campus last winter. Since she was a female and hadn’t been spayed, the association members had been constantly trying to catch her for the procedure. However, they had failed every time.

At first, the cat didn’t trust humans much. She would only show up when there was food, and even then, she’d only eat if people stayed far away. They had tried using traps, but she refused to go in. It was only after a long time of building familiarity that they could finally get close to her.

That was back in May. Just as they had grown close enough to catch her, they discovered she was pregnant. This was certainly not good news for them. Cats need a familiar environment when giving birth. Bringing her to a pet hospital at that stage could have caused a severe stress reaction! They had no choice but to wait until after she had delivered her kittens before attempting to catch her again. That was why the matter had been delayed until now.

The person in charge of the association felt very helpless about this. "She’s the last unspayed female cat in Aethelburg University now!" she said. "Once we catch her, the stray cat population here on campus should be brought under control!"

"We’ll have to trouble you two seniors with this," the person in charge told Vivian. "Finding adopters for the kittens will be enough. There are already quite a lot of cats at Aethelburg University.

"If there are any more, the campus might reach its limit."

Vivian nodded. This was the best-case scenario. However, after waiting for a good while, she noticed the female student still hadn’t arrived. Just as she was about to ask about it, she saw another familiar figure approaching from the other side of the lake.

Henry Sterling.

She wondered why he was here.

Vivian looked at Henry, and he was also looking in her and Eleanor’s direction. Only then did Vivian notice a female student standing next to him. She was wearing a white uniform and a short skirt. She looked quite young, with a pure and cute appearance, and she seemed a bit shy when speaking to Henry. Although Henry was visibly polite to the girl, there was an unmistakable sense of distance in his manner.

The student herself might not have noticed it; she still carried a sense of quiet happiness while being with him. Of course, it was also possible that she was aware of his distance but simply didn’t care. Regardless of which it was, Vivian didn’t pay it much mind. Given Henry’s looks, talents, and family background, it was perfectly normal for girls to hover around him. She just didn’t know how Eleanor would react.

Vivian sneaked a quiet glance at Eleanor. Seeing Eleanor purse her lips slightly, seemingly not caring that much, Vivian breathed a small sigh of relief.

By this time, the person in charge had already walked over to the female student. After a brief exchange, the student came over.

"Sorry, I’m late!" She walked up to Vivian and Eleanor, saying, "I’m the one who’s on good terms with the mother cat. Wait a moment, I’ll try calling her out!"

Vivian realized that she was the female student who was on good terms with the mother cat. She watched as the girl walked up to the edge of the rockery, glancing at Vivian and Eleanor as she passed by. To be precise, the student’s gaze lingered mostly on Eleanor. It was as if she knew Eleanor, a trace of complex emotion flashing through her eyes.

The emotion vanished in a flash, and without saying a word, the student diligently began her work.

The process went very smoothly. Just as she had claimed, the girl was very familiar with the mother cat. Once "unrelated personnel" like Vivian and the others backed away, the student took out some food, and the mother cat emerged. While Vivian was wondering whether they should use the trap or try something else, the student unexpectedly scooped the mother cat right up into her arms.

Then, the student turned around and waved at Vivian and the others.

"Hurry!"

Eleanor reacted even faster than Vivian. Grabbing the travel carrier in her hand, she rushed over immediately.

The mother cat was placed into the carrier just like that. She continued eating even after being put inside, only realizing something was wrong after finishing her food.

"MEOW, MEOW?"

The mother cat peered out of the carrier. Seeing how adorably clueless the cute calico cat looked, Vivian couldn’t help but laugh.

"Thank you so much," Vivian said to the student. "But as for these kittens now..." She looked at the kittens hiding in the crevices of the rockery and fell into a state of dismay.

This was going to be tricky. The mother cat had been caught because of her gluttony, but the kittens had witnessed the whole scene. They were all terrified and didn’t dare to come out!

"It’s fine," Vivian said after a moment of thought. "Try seeing if you can call the kittens out like you did just now! If that doesn’t work, we’ll just stick to the old method and use the traps.

"I think the reason the kittens didn’t go into the traps before was probably because their mother was nearby. Now that she’s gone, the kittens don’t have enough social experience, so there’s still a chance they’ll walk into the traps."

Simply put, they were going to bully the kittens for being naive to the ways of the world!

Hearing this, the female student seemed to agree that there were no better options. She nodded and followed the instructions. Unfortunately, they couldn’t replicate their previous success this time. The student then explained that she had reserved a seat in the library and had to leave now. She had already spent an hour here helping them catch the cats and wanted to get back to her studies.

Vivian knew that for a student, the most important thing was indeed studying. The girl’s actions were perfectly understandable; besides, spending an hour helping them was already very kind of her.

"Thank you for your hard work. You can leave the rest to us," Vivian said, indicating that the student was free to go.

The student nodded politely. Right before she left, she glanced at Henry and tentatively asked, "Professor Sterling, are you still going to stay here?

"Didn’t you just say..."

"It’s nothing," Henry said, interrupting her. "Since you have things to do, you should go ahead. I’m quite curious about catching cats, so I’d like to stay and watch."

Seeing this, the student couldn’t press the matter further. She simply nodded and departed.

Under a large tree by the lake, Vivian and Eleanor sat on a bench. Nearby, Henry stood beneath the branches reading a book. He looked very leisurely and showed no intention of initiating a conversation with either of them.

This made Eleanor feel slightly uncomfortable.

If Henry had said something, she might have been able to find an excuse to send him away. But he was just standing there quietly, reading his book! He wasn’t bothering her, nor was he blocking her light; it was as if he simply found reading in that spot relaxing.

However, Eleanor was far from relaxed.

She kept her eyes glued to the cat traps, desperately wishing the kittens would hurry up and go inside so they could catch them and leave. Unexpectedly, perhaps because the weather was just too nice today, as the kittens came out one after another, they all lounged on the large boulders of the rockery to bask in the sun. Some were even rolling around playfully, completely ignoring the food in the traps!

"Aren’t orange cats supposed to be food-motivated?!" Eleanor exclaimed indignantly, watching an orange kitten playing and circling around the trap. "This little guy is so naughty!

"If he goes into the cage and lets us catch him, he’ll have fifteen years of luxury and comfort! Why won’t he go in?!"

Vivian was also waiting patiently. To be precise, she had nothing else to do. She could only sit there playing on her phone, enjoying the breeze, looking out at the distant lake, and reminiscing about her university days. Truthfully, it was quite an enjoyable feeling. However, after scrolling through videos for a while, she started to get a bit bored.

Vivian glanced at Henry, who was still reading his book, and then noticed Eleanor’s apparent restlessness. "Eleanor, are you hungry?" she asked. "Isn’t there a cafeteria up ahead? I remember the grilled pork tenderloin skewers there were delicious. How about we go grab a bite?"

Eleanor agreed instinctively before suddenly remembering something. "Vivian, I forgot to bring my meal card!" she said dejectedly.

Hmph. Otherwise, she would have fled ages ago!

"Well..." Vivian was about to suggest borrowing a meal card from a student when Henry walked over.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked.

"No," Eleanor rejected him outright, then turned her attention back to the cat traps.

Henry chuckled softly. Without saying another word, he closed his book, turned around, and left.

Both Vivian and Eleanor were slightly taken aback as they watched him walk away. They had always known that Henry was a man of strong willpower and incredible endurance. They had assumed he would loiter there indefinitely, so it was entirely unexpected for him to just leave.

It was almost as if Eleanor had angered him into leaving. Eleanor muttered to herself in her mind, but she still righteously felt that ignoring him was for the best.

"Let’s just keep waiting for the kittens to enter the traps! Vivian, why don’t we find a movie to watch? It’s pretty boring just sitting here, isn’t it?"

Vivian remained noncommittal. The two of them had just started scrolling, trying to find a good movie, but before they could settle on one, several large skewers of grilled pork tenderloin suddenly appeared right before their eyes.