Chapter 77: Meow
Unknowingly, he had been away from Planet Meow for so long, but that short life on Planet Meow was still vivid in his mind. Jing Mimi still had some impression of every kitten he had interacted with.
Looking at the long-haired sister in front of him, Jing Mimi nestled in Papa’s arms and said coquettishly: “Papa, I want to learn sign language.”
The adults were stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then showed soft smiles.
“Okay.”
Zhao Yan and Zhao Chule took the group by elevator from the underground parking lot to the courtyard on the ground floor.
Jing Mimi had seen this courtyard in the video. There were fat koi fish in the big pond, and Luo Luo always curled up in the nest by the pond to sunbathe.
But it was winter now. Snow accumulated by the pond, extremely cold, and Luo Luo’s nest was also put away.
It was cold outside, so Zhao Yan led them into the house along the corridor.
As soon as the door opened, a slender furry figure approached.
Perhaps because Zhao Yan often entertained friends and partners at home, Luo Luo had seen many strangers and wasn’t very afraid. Hearing the movement, it boldly approached.
Zhao Chule’s eyes curved. She bent down to pick up Luo Luo, turned to Jing Mimi who had been put on the ground by Papa, and showed it to him.
Jing Mimi was small and might not be able to hold an adult cat. Zhao Chule sat on the sofa with him, and Luo Luo quickly stepped on the leather sofa and approached Jing Mimi.
Not long after, the Siamese cat jumped onto the back of the sofa, stuck out its pink tongue, and licked the little cub’s beige hair. The little cub sat blankly on the sofa, upright, without resisting.
Everyone: “…”
Zhao Yan and Zhao Chule subconsciously wanted to stop it. After all, there was a difference between humans and animals. Some people couldn’t accept being licked by animals on certain parts, and the other party was a guest visiting for the first time.
But they were stopped by Jing Zhi and Jiang Suifeng.
Years ago, in another cold room, the kitten Luo Luo might have groomed the kitten Mimi like this.
This was a special way for the two kittens to interact.
Just wash his hair when they get back.
After licking for a while, Luo Luo meowed and curled up in Jing Mimi’s arms, its cat tail wrapping around his wrist.
Jing Mimi scratched its chin skillfully.
Zhao Chule made a gesture excitedly.
Zhao Yan translated: “Chule says ‘Luo Luo likes Mimi very much’.”
Jing Mimi’s attention was slightly diverted by the gestures. He reached out his small hands and waved them messily, imitating Zhao Chule.
Zhao Chule noticed his clumsy imitation, and the smile in her eyes deepened unconsciously.
Although she was fifteen years old, perhaps due to her physical disability, her mental age was slightly lower than her peers. She liked interacting with small animals and children. Usually, home tutors came to teach her, and occasionally she went to a special school to interact with deaf-mute children in similar situations.
Not long after, accompanied by a servant who knew sign language, Zhao Chule took Jing Mimi to visit Luo Luo’s cat room and taught him sign language.
Luo Luo followed behind them with its tail held high.
The adults stayed in the living room and chatted.
Everyone except He Xiaokang had children, so the topic unconsciously shifted to children.
First, they talked about Mimi for a while.
In the eyes of outsiders, Mimi was a pitiful trafficked orphan. Now he had a home, but it was a home composed of two fathers. The current environment’s acceptance of homosexuality was not high, so they inevitably worried about the impact of the outside world on him.
Especially Zhao Yan, who empathized more because her deaf-mute daughter had suffered strange looks from the outside world.
But she also knew that enough love could fight against everything.
After talking about Mimi, Zhao Yan proactively shared: “I have two children. The older son is older and is studying abroad now. The younger daughter is born deaf-mute…”
***
Zhao Yan and her husband had a business marriage without much emotional foundation, but no discord either. They treated each other with respect after marriage, had clean private lives, and gave birth to two children together according to the wishes of the elders of both families.
The first was a son, healthy and free from illness and disaster. Resources were piled on him since childhood, and his ability was also good, with almost nothing to worry about.
The second was a daughter, born deaf-mute with low intelligence. Prenatal checkups couldn’t detect it, so it couldn’t be avoided at all.
Fortunately, their family was rich. Even for a deaf-mute child, they could provide the best resources for her to live better.
Although she and her husband had no emotional foundation, they were both very responsible people. They didn’t neglect their daughter because of her physical disability. Moreover, after living together for so many years after marriage, even without romantic love, some familial affection had developed.
Because she couldn’t hear or speak, Little Chule couldn’t express her emotions well, and they couldn’t understand her well either. A simple matter often took a long time to solve, which was very tiring.
When Little Chule grew older, she started learning sign language. They, who had never been exposed to sign language, also started learning seriously.
The eldest son learned the fastest. Heard from teachers that he also taught many classmates sign language at school. In middle school, it was easy for something to become popular inexplicably. Later, at class reunions after graduation, many people still remembered the sign language they learned back then.
To better accompany their daughter’s growth, her husband brought back a cat, which soothed her emotions very well.
It was a little Siamese cat with a somewhat “smoky voice.”
The first time she heard it meow, she was stunned for a long time. How could such a small kitten sound so hoarse, as if it had been smoking for many years?
Her husband silently tucked the cigarettes deeper into his pocket.
Her husband wasn’t addicted to smoking. During the preparation for pregnancy, he also paid attention not to touch alcohol and tobacco, only smoking a few when under great pressure. After the birth of their youngest daughter, both of them were under a lot of pressure, afraid of not raising her well, so her husband often smelled a bit of smoke.
Later, the daughter decided the name of the little Siamese cat by drawing lots: Sheng Sheng (Sound/Voice).
But cats don’t live long. Sheng Sheng didn’t even accompany her daughter until she was ten years old.
It suffered from lymphoma, said to be a genetic disease of Siamese cats. Even spending a lot of money on treatment couldn’t save it.
During the time Sheng Sheng was sent to the hospital, her daughter’s emotions became extremely unstable again. If she learned that Sheng Sheng passed away, who knew what would happen.
At that time, her daughter was still young and easy to fool. She discussed with her husband and decided to replace the cat secretly—getting a cat that looked similar to Sheng Sheng.
Not long after, she saw Luo Luo.
Same missing tooth, same ear hair, same pink paw pads.
Although Luo Luo and Sheng Sheng’s voices were very different—Sheng Sheng had a smoky voice, while Luo Luo’s voice was softer and cuter—her daughter was deaf-mute and couldn’t hear, and the cat didn’t meow often, so she shouldn’t be discovered.
If discovered, just say Sheng Sheng’s temperament changed greatly due to treatment.
Very reasonable.
So, she bought Luo Luo from “Fa Cai Cute Pets.”
At that time, Sheng Sheng was still receiving treatment in the hospital and hadn’t passed away yet. She picked up Luo Luo and took Luo Luo to the hospital on the way, checking Luo Luo’s body on the one hand and seeing Sheng Sheng on the other.
In the hospital, two cats with similar appearances looked at each other from a distance.
Sheng Sheng meowed at her, still the familiar little smoky voice, just weak due to treatment.
Hearing the cat meow, Luo Luo also meowed: “Meow.” The voice was much softer and more spirited.
She didn’t know this was the handover ceremony between two cats.
The kitten Sheng Sheng said: These humans are entrusted to you.
The kitten Luo Luo said: No problem.
Just like that, Sheng Sheng was taken to Planet Meow by the Cat God, and Luo Luo took over Sheng Sheng to continue taking care of these humans who needed a cat.
After the secret replacement, Little Chule and Luo Luo got along very well, and the adults breathed a sigh of relief.
Until one day, Little Chule, who had grown a few years older, hugged Luo Luo, made a gesture to her parents, and asked: “How do you say its name in sign language?”
Both were stunned.
Because Luo Luo was used to its own name, they didn’t force Sheng Sheng’s name on it. In daily life, they actually didn’t call the cat’s name often. When they couldn’t find the cat, they would subconsciously call “Mimi” (Kitty) a few times. Moreover, there were surveillance cameras everywhere at home, so they could easily know where the cat went from the surveillance.
And their daughter had learned the sign language for “Sheng Sheng” long ago.
Obviously, she wasn’t asking about Sheng Sheng, but Luo Luo.
It turned out the daughter had discovered it long ago.
The daughter was much stronger than they imagined.
Later, they taught her the sign language for “Luo Luo” and took her to the place where Sheng Sheng was buried.
She still shed tears sadly, but death is also one of the compulsory courses in life.
…
Planet Meow, in front of the huge cloud TV, a Siamese cat was communicating with a little orange cat in paw language.
The little orange cat asked: “Mimi is with your owner. Do you have any wish you want him to help you fulfill?”
The Siamese cat answered: “My wish has already been fulfilled by Luo Luo.”
…
In the super large and luxurious cat room, Jing Mimi sat in a soft cat nest holding Luo Luo, watching Sister Chule use sign language while listening to the servant sister’s translation, and soon learned some simple sign language.
Not long after, Jing Zhi saw the little cub approaching quickly with the Siamese cat following behind, his small hands moving fast, making a sign language gesture to them.
Jing Zhi and Jiang Suifeng couldn’t understand and asked with a smile what it meant.
Zhao Yan translated: “Papa, I love you.”
Jing Zhi and Jiang Suifeng’s hearts melted. They hugged Jing Mimi and kissed his cheeks directly.
Jing Mimi also kissed them back twice.
Watching this scene, Zhao Yan couldn’t help recalling the time when she communicated with her daughter in sign language for the first time.
Her daughter also said in sign language: Mom, Dad, Brother, I love you.
After showing off the newly learned sign language, Jing Mimi left with the Siamese cat again to continue playing with Sister Chule.
Zhao Chule played a piano piece for him.
It was the piece “Summer” from the movie Kikujiro.
Although playing summer in winter was a bit out of place, she liked this piece very, very much.
Jing Mimi was very surprised that Sister Chule could play the piano.
Can people who can’t hear… also learn to play the piano?
The servant sister explained bone conduction of sound to him. Although deaf, she could still hear a little sound, just like Beethoven. Zhao Chule had been interested in music since childhood, and Zhao’s parents had spared no effort to cultivate her.
Jing Mimi’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Sister Chule is amazing!
After playing, seeing Mimi also liked this piece, Zhao Chule opened the tablet immediately and rewatched the movie Kikujiro with Mimi.
Because Mimi couldn’t read much yet, Zhao Chule specially found a version with Chinese dubbing and Chinese subtitles. One listened to the dubbing, the other read the subtitles, quite harmonious.
The movie tells the story of nine-year-old Masao looking for his mother. Kikujiro accompanied him on this summer journey by chance, meeting all kinds of people.
In Masao, Kikujiro, who had entered middle age, saw his former self. It was a two-way redemption.
Fifteen-year-old Zhao Chule couldn’t empathize well with the core of this movie yet.
Four-year-old little human Mimi, holding the Siamese cat in his arms, had a very special realization.
He felt his story could be written as Jing Mimi’s Winter.
The dead kitten Mimi embarked on a journey to find Papa. To stay with Papa, he had to fulfill the wishes of cats on Planet Meow. On this road, he met all kinds of people. Stories formed a warm and complete winter.
Later, after returning, he shared this movie and this realization with Brother Qiuqiu, the only one who knew all his secrets.
After listening, Wang Qiuqiu thought for a moment and said, “I think The Cub Comes from Planet Meow is more appropriate.”
Because Masao and Kikujiro’s journey stopped at that summer, but the kitten Mimi’s story still had many springs, summers, autumns, and winters.
…
After watching the movie, Zhao Chule suddenly thought of something and closed the bedroom curtains.
The blackout effect of the curtains was excellent. After closing, the room fell into deep darkness.
Jing Mimi hugged the kitten in his arms tighter.
The Siamese cat Luo Luo “meowed” in his arms.
Cat eyes have excellent night vision, but human eyes can’t see anything in the dark.
After becoming a little human, Jing Mimi gradually disliked dark environments.
The servant quickly knew what Miss Zhao wanted to do and cooperated by turning on the flashlight of her phone.
Zhao Chule was actually quite introverted and didn’t have many friends. After her brother went abroad to study, there was one less person to play with her. Now that a cute and supportive little cub finally came, she naturally tried her best to play with him.
With the light source, Jing Mimi looked subconsciously in the direction illuminated by the flashlight.
Zhao Chule extended her hands in front of the flashlight, intertwining them, making a strange pose.
A kitten shadow fell on the wall from the light source, with pointed ears erect, very cute.
Jing Mimi’s eyes widened in surprise.
Seeing Mimi’s attention attracted, Zhao Chule smiled and changed her gesture.
A puppy shadow appeared on the wall again.
Just then, Jing Mimi’s phone watch rang. The remark was: Brother Qiuqiu.
Puppy calling.
