The Fake Heiress and Her Purrfect Partner novel Chapter 64

**Chapter 64**

Nina felt her cheeks flush crimson as she instinctively took a few hasty steps back. “No, no, that’s really not necessary. I’m just going to head back to my dorm for a quick shower,” she stammered, her heart racing.

With those words barely escaping her lips, she bolted towards the director’s dorm, nearly escaping the awkwardness of the moment. After a frantic session with her blow dryer, she finally caught her breath, only to be met with the chilling sight of Quentin standing at her dorm door, his expression as frosty as a winter morning.

Quentin’s gaze bore into her, his voice dropping to a dangerously low tone. “Nina, are you seriously trying to mess with me?”

The sheer absurdity of the situation struck Nina, and she couldn’t help but snort with laughter, nearly choking on her own amusement.

The T-shirt she had handed him was nothing short of a comedic disaster, leftover stock from a doomed collaboration between the Forest Isle Zoo and the Pet Adoption Association.

Emblazoned across the front was the image of an adorably chubby cat, its head cocked at an awkward angle as if trying its hardest to be cute, flanked by bold, bubblegum-pink letters proclaiming, “Adopt me. Give you cozy snuggles.”

To top it all off, a fluffy, fabric tail was stitched onto the back of the shirt, wiggling comically with each movement, transforming Quentin into a walking sideshow attraction.

The original idea behind this design was for pet owners to match with their furry companions, and the material was made to withstand any enthusiastic nibbles from overzealous pets.

As if on cue, Shadow, Nina’s playful pup, spotted that ridiculous tail. His ears perked up, and his doggy eyes sparkled with excitement. In an instant, he leaped at it like a wild creature, digging and pawing at the shirt, his enthusiasm causing the hem to bunch up in a frenzy.

“Master’s got a tail too!” Shadow exclaimed, his voice filled with innocent glee.

Quentin, his expression darkening, tried to hold down the shirt with a frown, but Shadow interpreted it as an invitation to play a game of “chase me,” his excitement only escalating. The dog began to circle Quentin, attempting to catch the tail with his mouth, an endearing yet chaotic sight.

Nina erupted into laughter, her sides aching. “S-sorry! It’s just that this was literally the only shirt in stock that could fit you!”

She wiped away the tears of mirth from her eyes, still chuckling. “Seriously, you’re like twice the size of anyone else here!”

Quentin, now wrestling with Shadow, pinned the dog’s head down, his teeth gritted in frustration. “Where are the scissors?” he demanded, his tone dangerously serious.

“What?” Nina yawned, feigning disinterest. “I’m so sleepy, I can’t even hear you.”

With a playful toss of her hair, she turned and strolled into her dorm, casually throwing back, “Goodnight, Dr. Hayes,” before slamming the door shut behind her with a sharp snap.

“Nina,” Quentin growled, his voice low and menacing. “You really think I’m going to wear this to the hotel?”

Meanwhile, Shadow wagged his tail, oblivious to the tension. “Master, you can totally stay in the staff dorm. And it’s right next to Nina’s room!”

With a mischievous glint in his eye, Shadow gripped Quentin’s “tail” in his mouth and began dragging him toward the single dorm. Quentin, exasperated, swatted at Shadow’s head. “This is all because you pretended to be sick earlier!”

The sun rose the next morning, and Nina was up before the dawn chorus of birds. With newfound freedom to use her phone whenever she pleased, she eagerly reached for it as soon as she rolled out of bed.

The first video that flashed across her feed jolted her into full alertness. It was Claire’s apology video. The swirling rumors about Forest Isle Zoo had been dispelled, but Claire’s Cuddle Critters Indoor Park emerged from the chaos completely unscathed.

The lawyers had demanded the identity of the rumor-spreader, only to discover the culprit was just another student.

In a surprising twist, the rumor-monger had even taken to social media to apologize, admitting to being an overzealous superfan of Claire. All that drama had been nothing more than a misguided attempt to elevate Claire’s status by trashing a struggling zoo to make Claire look better.

Now, Nina found herself watching Claire’s tearful apology video, her heart a mix of empathy and skepticism.

In the video, Claire’s expression was grave. “I never anticipated things would escalate like this. When fans create chaos, we idols take the hit. So here I am, owning up and apologizing to Forest Isle Zoo.

“Please continue to support Forest Isle Zoo,” she urged earnestly.

The comments section exploded with messages of support and sympathy for Claire.

“And this blush powder caked all over my face is super annoying.”

Nina barely had to scroll before another video popped up. Each clip showcased animals grumbling about their life at Cuddle Critters Indoor Park, their discomfort painfully evident.

It was clear that these animals were enduring truly inhumane treatment, and they were reaching their breaking point.

‘God, these poor creatures,’ Nina thought, her heart heavy with sympathy.

She scrolled to the latest post on Cuddle Critters Indoor Park’s official account. It was a teaser for an upcoming livestream event titled “Meet the Celebrity Investors.”

Skimming through the details, she noted that next Saturday, a slew of small-time idols and influencers were set to be invited for an interactive experience at the café.

The entire event was going to be streamed live, with all the celebrity guests playing with the café’s furry and feathered inhabitants.

Nina checked the reservation count for the livestream, and her eyes widened in disbelief as it climbed to 200,000.

At the end of the event promo, a playful tagline read, [Who knows? Maybe some of these stars will be the future owners of Cuddle Critters Indoor Park. So go ahead and shower them with all the support you can muster.]

Suddenly, it all clicked for Nina. Claire had devised a two-pronged strategy. On one hand, she sought to leverage the celebrities’ popularity to market the animal sanctuary. On the other hand, she aimed to recruit them to open branch locations in various cities.

This event was monumental, and it was clear that the Summer family had invested substantial effort and resources to make it happen.

Nina’s thoughts drifted back to the suffering animals at Cuddle Critters Indoor Park, and a wild idea began to form in her mind.

‘What if, on the day of the livestream, all those animals just broke free from the café together? That would absolutely blow up the internet,’ she mused, excitement bubbling within her.

With a determined glint in her eye, Nina secretly plotted to send a few scouts to gather information and potentially win over the small animals from Cuddle Critters Indoor Park.