As someone with severe autism, Xiao Zhi had serious social interaction difficulties, but he had loved being around small animals since childhood. Therefore, his relationship with small animals was much more harmonious than his interactions with people.
He had been working at the rescue center for three years and got along very well with all the various rescued animals.
Some of the cats and dogs, having suffered inhuman abuse and abandonment, still had strong wariness and fear of humans even after being rescued. This required rescue workers to use enormous patience to gradually eliminate their fear of people.
Occasionally, volunteers would come to help clean at the rescue base and bathe the stray cats and dogs.
This was also difficult work. There were so many animals at the rescue center, and their daily waste needed to be cleaned up. If cleanup was even slightly delayed, there would be a heavy odor. The animals would inevitably show hostility and bark at strangers. If someone didn’t genuinely want to help them, they couldn’t do this work.
Today, a group of volunteers happened to come, and to attract more attention to the rescue center, they had even brought cameras for filming.
Aunt Zhu actually wanted Wen Ran to take one look at Kaka and then leave, but the rescue center was only so big, and they couldn’t avoid encountering these volunteers.
Wen Ran rarely attracted so much attention from people. Most of the time, she was protected by her family and avoided contact with crowds.
Because every time she drew excessive attention, she inevitably faced some gossip.
“Is that girl a volunteer too? This is my first time seeing such a pure-looking girl in real life. My goodness, did you see that?”
“Don’t be silly. There aren’t that many innocent sweethearts around. Real beauties are never truly pure.”
“If she’s really a volunteer, she shouldn’t have come dressed all in white. Maybe she’s an internet celebrity trying to gain followers. Don’t film her; she probably brought her own beauty filter camera.”
“Did you guys hear? There’s a staff member here with autism. It should be that chubby guy. He looks kind of dumb and just grins when you greet him.”
“That girl also looks a bit strange. The photographer just tried to get her to cooperate for photos, but she avoided him. She’s probably not an internet celebrity, maybe just came with her mom to adopt. But she really is quite pretty. I caught a glimpse of her face under her hat earlier; she looks like a college student and seems quite young.”
“Alright, alright, everyone stop discussing others. We came today to help bathe these cats and dogs and clean up after them, and we also need to take photos of them to post adoption information. Everyone hurry up and get to work.”
Aunt Zhu stayed close to Wen Ran’s side. Seeing that Wen Ran’s complexion looked poor, she quickly asked: “Ranran, should we go back first and make an appointment to come again next time?”
Places with so many people were absolutely impossible for Wen Ran to adapt to. It was better when her mother was still alive, but now even Aunt Zhu understood that Wen Ran found it very difficult to adapt to outside environments.
“No.”
Wen Ran shook her head. “I want… Kaka. See Kaka. I… won’t leave.”
Having finally made it here.
For Kaka’s sake, she had to persevere.
When someone was bathing a small dog that had been rescued not long ago, the dog panicked and struggled in their hands, accidentally scratching the person. Although this was unavoidable, it still caused several volunteers to cry out in alarm.
Xiao Zhi was nearby. Upon hearing the dog’s frantic barking and people’s screams, he suddenly covered his ears and began stomping his feet continuously, obviously unable to control himself. The rescue center staff quickly pulled him aside.
Wen Ran and Aunt Zhu happened to be in this area too. Wen Ran was inevitably somewhat affected as well. Fortunately, Aunt Zhu was beside her and quickly embraced her, covering her ears to comfort her.
Both she and Xiao Zhi couldn’t tolerate overly noisy, piercing sounds in their environment.
However, when several small dogs curiously ran to Wen Ran’s feet to sniff around, Wen Ran was suddenly calmed down. She bent down to pick up a thin little dog and gently stroked its small head.
A middle-aged man hurried over. His name was Lin Yuan, and he was the base’s director.
“Its name is Qiuqiu. It was abandoned half a year ago. Because it’s old, no one has adopted it, so letting it live out its retirement here is quite nice.”
Lin Yuan had always known Wen Ran because she made monthly donations, but this was his first time meeting her. He hadn’t expected her to be such a young girl.
Of course, the person who had always been in contact with him was Aunt Zhu. He knew about Wen Ran’s condition and felt somewhat apologetic because today’s volunteers had decided to come at the last minute. If he had known Wen Ran was also coming, he definitely would have arranged for them to avoid this time.
“I can also help bathe them.”
Wen Ran said: “Bathing work, I can also… I want to help them. They’re really so pitiful.”
When truly seeing these stray animals in real life, that deep heartache was beyond words.
Among them were those who had been abandoned, those who had gotten lost on their own, those who had been abused, those who were sick, and those who were elderly. But despite having suffered so much misfortune, under the care of rescuers, they trusted and depended on humans again, showing their fuzzy little bellies to them, seeking their affection.
Perhaps sensing the gentle kindness emanating from Wen Ran, many cats and dogs gathered around her. Wen Ran petted their soft bodies one by one. Several large dogs like Golden Retrievers and Labradors also lay down docilely at her feet, letting her stroke them.
“Big sister, are you also here to see these little animals?”
A female volunteer came over. She looked like a college student and said very friendly to Wen Ran: “My name is Weiwei. We’re all volunteers from the same group. I see you came alone with this auntie. Are you here to adopt?”
Aunt Zhu quickly said: “We came to see Kaka, that little dog that was just rescued from the garbage dump.”
Weiwei: “Ah, it’s Kaka. We also learned about this place through Kaka’s story. It’s really pitiful. Do you want to adopt it?”
Weiwei seemed to notice that Wen Ran didn’t seem able to speak much, but she didn’t think about autism, because Wen Ran was different from Xiao Zhi. She had received autism intervention treatment early in childhood, so it really wasn’t obvious from her appearance.
“Big sister, what’s your name?”
Weiwei asked her.
Aunt Zhu said: “Sorry, girl. My young lady is called Wen Ran. She doesn’t speak much. Please don’t mind.”
Weiwei smiled: “It’s fine. God is fair. He gave big sister such beautiful looks but couldn’t bear to make her too perfect and invite jealousy.”
Wen Ran was stunned for a moment. This was the first time she had heard such words.
Weiwei said: “Wen Ran, let’s go see Kaka together.”
Hearing this, Wen Ran nodded several times.
Under the director’s guidance, Wen Ran finally saw Kaka.
It had only just escaped life-threatening danger in the past two days and had been taken out of the incubator. At this moment, it was lying in its bed, its thin body rising and falling slightly.
Wen Ran took out a small duck toy and placed it beside Kaka, carefully touching its small head, saying gently: “Kaka, are you okay? Does it still hurt? Kaka… are you okay?”
Kaka should be a mix of Golden Retriever and local farm dog, also with golden fur, only about six or seven months old, very cute, the kind of cute that would make anyone who liked dogs want to pet its head.
However, this cuteness couldn’t dispel the evil in the hearts of those who abused it.
Weiwei said with heartache: “It’s really so pitiful. What kind of person would do such terrible things to such a little darling? I really can’t imagine what it went through. I still haven’t dared to click on that video.”
“I… I don’t dare either.”
Wen Ran’s voice was somewhat choked up.
Weiwei said in surprise: “Wen Ran, your voice sounds really nice, like a child’s.”
Wen Ran didn’t quite understand if she was complimenting her, but perhaps because Kaka was there, she rarely didn’t avoid Weiwei’s approach, instead carefully stroking Kaka’s weak body together with her.
The moment Wen Ran saw Kaka, she had already decided.
She wanted to adopt Kaka.
This poor little dog had suffered inhuman treatment just days ago. Even now it still couldn’t stand up on its own, but when it ate, it ate with great relish. Before this, it must have gone a very long time without eating properly. The rescue center’s veterinarian had said earlier that because it was too hungry, it had eaten a lot of garbage in the garbage dump, and hadn’t had clean water to drink for a long time, which was why it was so malnourished.
“Kaka, will you come home with me?”
Wen Ran said to it: “I will… take good care of you.”
Weiwei said: “If you’re the one adopting it, that would be wonderful.”
Actually, ever since the video of rescuing Kaka went viral online, many caring people had come to visit it, and there were also people who wanted to adopt it. Wen Ran was one of those who wanted to adopt it.
When leaving, Wen Ran and Xiao Zhi said some words together.
When they stood together chatting, people who saw them also sensed that Wen Ran, like Xiao Zhi, very likely also had autism.
Weiwei quietly went to Aunt Zhu’s side and asked her.
Aunt Zhu didn’t deny it. “Yes, Ranran is like Xiao Zhi, born with autism…”
Weiwei said in surprise: “I really couldn’t tell. Sorry, did I frighten her earlier? I heard that people with autism find it very difficult to have contact with strangers.”
“It’s fine.”
Aunt Zhu could of course tell that she meant no harm, and she sighed inwardly. If Wen Ran were a normal child, at this moment she should also be like Weiwei, a lively and happy young girl.
Before leaving, Aunt Zhu expressed to the base director her intention to adopt Kaka, though everything would have to wait until Kaka finished treatment.
“Also, when we sign the adoption agreement, we still hope that Miss Wen’s guardian at home can come once.”
Aunt Zhu was stunned: “Family member? Miss Wen’s parents are not around…”
She also realized that in others’ eyes, she was after all a caregiver and couldn’t take on this responsibility.
The rescue center had many requirements for adopters, which she could understand. After all, adopting small animals wasn’t a simple matter; it meant being responsible for their entire lives.
And in others’ eyes, even though Wen Ran showed such compassion, she was still an autistic person who needed to be accompanied by a guardian.