When the kitten suddenly uttered these words, Lin Lan fell silent.
She could coax the kitten's trust, coax it to stay quietly in the cage without fussing, coax it to eat happily and grow up healthy. But hearing it so persistently missing its deceased mother cat, Lin Lan suddenly didn't want to keep up the deception any longer.
"She won't be able to eat it." So after a moment of silence, Lin Lan spoke directly, "Listen, Little Xiuqiu, your mother passed away from her severe injuries. She can't eat and get better anymore."
This kitten and its mother's situation wasn't as easy to handle as the case of the flower cat Qiuqiu and the late Grandpa Li. The kitten had witnessed its mother's death, unlike Qiuqiu who saw nothing. Even if it doesn't understand now, it surely will in the future.
Most importantly, before understanding the truth of death, this kitten would absolutely continue its behavior of saving over half of any food for its mother, which simply wouldn't do.
"Little Xiuqiu, do you know what 'passed away' means? It means she's dead. She won't move anymore, won't meow, won't get up to groom you, and most certainly won't eat anymore."
A desolate, high-pitched cry suddenly came from the partitioned room, startling Wang Jiayi who had been watching intently from outside. She instinctively stood up, wanting to go in.
Just as she reached the door, it opened by itself. She saw Lanlan holding the small cage with the kitten Xiuqiu in one hand and the bag containing the mother cat's body in the other. Seeing her outside, Lin Lan walked straight over.
"Jiayi." Lin Lan handed the items to Wang Jiayi, then went to fetch the gloves, garden trowel, and other tools used for tidying the courtyard flowerbeds. She stated directly, "Let's go. Since you're determined to raise Little Xiuqiu, and you were the one who personally brought back the mother cat's body, you should see things through to the end. Let's send its mother to the Cat Star together with Little Xiuqiu."
The three-month-old kitten Xiuqiu lay in the cage, crying mournfully towards the cloth bag holding its mother. It only quieted down when the bag was placed next to the cage, its tiny body pressing tightly against the bag through the bars.
Wang Jiayi didn't know how many times her eyes had reddened by now. All she could do was place Xiuqiu and its mother closer together. Getting them any closer was impossible; the mother cat's body had begun to decay, and Xiuqiu, now cleaned and disinfected, couldn't be allowed contact like before.
"Is this... really okay?" Wang Jiayi asked uncertainly as they walked, unsure how to phrase it. Watching the mother cat being buried later... wouldn't that give the kitten psychological trauma?
Lin Lan glanced back at her, then returned her gaze to the path ahead. "Then you'd be underestimating cats. Although Xiuqiu is a kitten, it's also a genuine stray. With its sheltering mother dead, if we hadn't taken it in, this cat might have been confused for a while, but it would have quickly understood what happened nonetheless. As the offspring of stray cats, death is probably the least unfamiliar thing to them, and something they strive their utmost to avoid."
Wang Jiayi's breath hitched. She suddenly remembered how Lin Lan regularly went out to deliver cat food to the stray cat colonies, and later Song Xinmin often helped too. Only she, being somewhat delicate and responsible for the teahouse's food, had never gone. Thinking about it now, everyone in the shop probably understood stray cats better than she did.
Looking at this emaciated little kitten, then at the sealed bag containing the mother's body, and recalling the veterinarian Liu's casual glance at the corpse earlier, concluding it died from severe injuries after a fight with another animal, the young lady accustomed to the elegance of pet cats suddenly realized the stray cat environment was harsher than she had imagined.
The two humans walked in silence, one after the other. Xiuqiu, lying in the cage, was also motionless. It leaned blankly against the place where its mother had been, its little head completely unable to comprehend.
When Mama could still move, she took it to find food. They fought for scraps as usual. When Mama gave the snatched food to it, she said she was tired and needed to sleep. Why did she lie down and never wake up again?
Later, when Mama couldn't move, it went to find food itself, bringing it back for Mama just like Mama used to do for it. But Mama just wouldn't eat.
Until it was suddenly caught by those two-legged creatures that appeared. One two-legged creature who could talk to it told it that Mama was already dead, explaining carefully that Mama would never groom it again, never teach it to hunt, never move or meow again. Xiuqiu, who was gradually learning to hunt alone, suddenly understood the meaning of death.
Actually, it wasn't that it hadn't seen it before when following Mama, but Xiuqiu itself had never realized. It was just a kitten still under its mother's protection.
That two-legged creature told it that from now on its name would be Xiuqiu, and another two-legged creature would take its mother's place to feed and care for it. In exchange, they would help send its mother to the Cat Star, letting it say a final goodbye to Mama together.
What is a goodbye? Xiuqiu didn't know. Where is the Cat Star? The two-legged creature said it's a world where all cats never go hungry, where no cat ever has to worry about food again. Xiuqiu was now doing the thing to send Mama to the Cat Star. The two-legged creature said this was also considered a goodbye.
They stopped at a quiet, seldom-traveled corner. Lin Lan and Wang Jiayi dug a small grave for the mother cat and placed her inside. Throughout this, the kitten in the cage watched unblinkingly. It only cried out mournfully when soil was being shoveled over the mother cat in the pit, remaining very quiet the rest of the time.
After completing this small ritual, the two packed up their tools and headed back.
"I told Xiuqiu that from now on, you will take its mother's place in caring for it, and you will be together always," Lin Lan said suddenly as she lifted the cat cage and handed it to Wang Jiayi. "Jiayi, you must keep your own words carefully. Xiuqiu is truly a good one."
Wang Jiayi, holding the cat cage, didn't speak, just nodded fiercely with red-rimmed eyes.
Back at the teahouse, Cheng Fengyang, who had come in the morning only to find her absent, almost missed her again in the afternoon. Fortunately, employee Little Song told him this outing wouldn't take long, at most an hour. Unwilling to come up empty-handed twice, Designer Cheng simply sat down to pet cats and wait.
I really should reduce my workload appropriately, he thought. If this continues, I'll really never catch up with my future wife.
Holding a cat, Designer Cheng ran his hand from its head down its back in a smooth petting motion while frowning, reflecting that he shouldn't have let the company pile so many projects on him.
Of course, he hadn't been idle during this time. From the long-familiar Song Xinmin, he learned what Lin Lan had done today: accompanying the young lady shopping, then returning with a kitten, and now on this second trip to bury the kitten's mother.
—If only I weren't always one step late! I could have definitely gone along with that manual labor!
Frustrated, the young man's petting motions became more vigorous, almost flattening the silver chinchilla cat in his lap into a white pancake.
Just then, the bell on the teahouse door chimed. The two had returned, carrying the little kitten, their expressions sorrowful, clearly saddened by the mother cat's fate.
Cheng Fengyang didn't like the expression on Lin Lan's face, so he instinctively asked Xiao Song at the water bar for two cups of milk tea and brought them over.
"Cheer up, both of you." Placing the teacups on their table, Cheng Fengyang pointed to the kitten in the nearby cage. "Didn't you do a good deed today? Not only did you help a little kitten find a wonderful new life, but you also took care of things for its mother. From now on, both the kitten and you can continue to live happily. What's there to be unhappy about? What part of this isn't worth being happy over?"
Both Lin Lan and Wang Jiayi were taken aback, looking up at him in unison.
Come to think of it, that seemed true. When they found Xiuqiu, the mother cat had already passed away, so there was no regret over a failed rescue. They had even saved a kitten that had been in a dangerous situation for the mother cat, sparing it from continuing a perilous life as a stray.
"In the future, Xiuqiu will go home with Miss Wang and live the life of a pampered cat, rising from the bottom to high society in one go. What's there to be unhappy about?"
Cheng Fengyang's final remark completely amused the two women, especially Wang Jiayi herself, who laughed while having a sudden realization. "Oh right, it really seems that way."
His playful words instantly dispelled the gloom hanging over the two of them, and their moods quickly brightened.
"That's right, Xiuqiu." Wang Jiayi gently patted the cat carrier beside her. "You and Silver will come home with me from now on. I'll always be with you."
Xiuqiu wasn't technically a tea house cat, but because the young lady was at the shop, it would likely stay at the tea house until she left. The young lady had proactively suggested deducting its food expenses from her salary, and Lin Lan naturally had no objections to that.
Having resolved Xiuqiu's issue, she felt the young lady now faced a new problem.
"I wonder if the delicate Silver and the small but fierce Xiuqiu will get along? Their personalities are practically polar opposites." Gradually switching to spectator mode, Shopkeeper Lin quietly gossiped with Designer Cheng about the new drama. "Don't these two cats seem like the wealthy, pampered young lady and the strong, independent, tragic heroine from TV dramas, who end up under the same luxurious roof by chance?"
Cheng Fengyang found this amusing and immediately joined in the chatter. "I'll bet five bucks. Following TV-drama tropes, the wealthy young lady will have the upper hand at first, but the strong tragic heroine will definitely make a comeback and win in the end." He was now thinking the same way as Lin Lan, though he was also puzzled. "If two cats living under the same roof don't get along, their owner will be in a tough spot. Aren't you going to remind her to pay attention to this right away?"
"No rush for now." Lin Lan shook her head. She still remembered why the young lady had dragged her out shopping all morning. "Compared to those two cats, she has something more important to deal with now."
The cheerfulness of the daytime at the tea house had faded considerably by evening when the shop closed and everyone went home. Wang Jiayi carried Xiuqiu back to her room, and once the door closed, only unease remained on her face.
Looking down at little Xiuqiu, whom she had brought home to care for personally, Wang Jiayi's eyes couldn't help but well up with tears again.
Taking the cat out of the carrier and holding it in her arms, she sat on the sofa, conflicted, for a while before finally picking up her phone and dialing a string of extremely familiar numbers.
The call connected faster than expected. She had thought that calling her father's private phone from her new, unfamiliar number would take a while, but it was answered in less than two seconds.
["Is that Jiayi?"] It was her father's voice, somewhat eager, somewhat agitated, so familiar it made her realize how long it had truly been. ["Jiayi, you..."]
["Give it to me!"] The man's words were cut off as the phone was snatched away, and a woman's voice came through. ["Jiayi, it's Mom! Sweetheart, you haven't called home in almost half a year. Don't you know we worry? Calling suddenly, did you run out of money? Mom will transfer some to you right away... It's all your dad's fault, that old fool. I said back then that a million wouldn't be enough for you..."]
["What nonsense are you talking!"] Wang Jiayi's father could be heard sounding exasperated in the background. ["You all agreed back then to let her change. Now, as soon as the phone rings, you change your tune. Am I the only villain in this family? Hurry up and ask for our daughter's new card number. I'll transfer the money to her right away. Working as a server for over two months should be enough."]
Little sis, Mom and Dad have been a bit jealous for a while. They say you have time to contact Cao Yuze and even send cat videos to Yi Hang, but you won't even post a single Moments update for them. It's been almost half a year, and you've finally cooled down enough to take the initiative to reach out to the family. Not easy.
In an instant, Wang Jiayi's tears fell, scalding hot.
"Dad, Mom, Brother—" Listening to her family's concern and looking down at Xiuqiu in her arms, Wang Jiayi had never felt so ashamed of herself as she did at this moment. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry—I always make you worry about me, yet I have no awareness of it at all. I'm sorry—"
The instantly answered call, the casual way they brought up her daily life after she left home, the complaints that ultimately became nothing but words of concern—Wang Jiayi understood better than anyone what it all meant.
At this moment, apart from apologizing, she didn't know what to say for having been so willful all along.
Her sudden apology and tearful sobs instantly caused panic on the other end of the line.
["Why are you crying all of a sudden? Did someone bully you? Don't be afraid, sweetie, Daddy's here! Daddy will come to you right away!"]
Mom and your brother will be there right away too. Don't cry, baby. Tell Mom what happened, we'll help you immediately!
Listening to the anxious, concerned voices over the phone, Wang Jiayi's tears flowed even more fiercely.
"No, no one bullied me!" She shook her head, sobbing. "Dad, I miss you all! I really want to see you!"
Hearing their little sister, whom they hadn't seen for almost half a year, crying on the phone saying she missed them, the Wang family wasn't about to delay. They immediately drove to West City.
They were well aware of where their daughter was currently renting. They had secretly come to check on the place several times without Wang Jiayi's knowledge, and the driver knew the route like the back of his hand.
But unlike previous occasions when they only observed from afar, this time the entire Wang family made a formal appearance. When that pitch-black Maybach pulled up at the foot of the small building, it stunned many passersby on their way home from work.
Lin Youyu, who was slowly closing up his small grocery store and preparing to go upstairs to wait for dinner, was also startled. Only when he noticed that the people from the car had all gone up to the second floor of his small building did he belatedly realize that it was the wealthy young lady's family coming for her.
After returning home, he couldn't wait to share the news with the rest of the family and, scratching his head, offered his thoughts: "Well, that was quite drawn out. From last winter until almost summer now, they finally came to pick her up."
"Young people are so headstrong. But although that kid Xiao Wang is a bit delicate and stubborn, she has a good character — she can handle hardship too," Grandma Lin, sitting there, chimed in. "It's good that they've made up now. There's nothing that can't be worked out within a family."
In the kitchen, Wang Xiuzhi listened and then glanced at her daughter, who was also helping to serve the meal. "Does this mean Xiao Wang will be going back soon?"
"Mom, Dad, I don't plan on going back just yet." Upstairs, Wang Jiayi, who had just wept bitterly, held her parents' hands and shook her head. "I have something I want to do now. I want to help those stray cats, and I want to stay by Lanlan's side to keep learning."
