Chapter 1
One for me, one for Big Yellow.
One for Big Yellow, two for me.
…
A thin mist rose from the ground after the rain. The surface was wet, and the dilapidated urban village was filled with dirty mud. A thin, small kitten, clenching a biscuit box in its mouth, scrambled out of a garbage heap and landed steadily on the ground.
Jiang Heng found a clean spot and placed the biscuit box on the ground. Lowering his head, he carefully counted again.
One, two, three, four, five…
Five whole biscuits!
He pawed at the biscuits and began to redistribute them again.
One for me, one for Big Yellow.
One for Big Yellow, two for me.
Exactly five pieces!
He truly was a fair and just little kitten.
It had been raining for the past few days, and other cats were unwilling to linger around the wet garbage heaps. He had waited for half an hour and finally guarded this box of biscuits.
Clean, unexpired, only one missing.
Even if it was a strange wasabi flavor.
Thinking of this, Jiang Heng glanced around.
Good, no enemies, and no malicious humans.
He opened his mouth, grabbed the biscuit box, and trotted back home on all fours.
The environment in the urban village was poor, the roads were bumpy, and after the rain, they were full of puddles.
Jiang Heng painstakingly bypassed the puddles.
When he reached a puddle half a meter wide, he stopped as if compelled by some unknown force, and looked down at his reflection in the water.
A skinny, rat-like cat, dirty and black all over, its tail hanging in the air, missing half its fur, bald, even more like a rat.
He held a biscuit box almost as big as himself in his mouth. The eyes hidden behind the biscuit box were large and bright, but the area around his eyes was stained with dirt, looking like ringworm.
Ugly and scruffy.
Jiang Heng, with the biscuit box in his mouth, let out a mournful cry in his heart.
Ugh! The protagonists in novels are always reborn with golden fingers, backed by a system, punching villains, kicking protagonists, embarking on a path to the peak of life.
But him? Not only had he become a stray kitten barely over a month weaned, but right from the start, a mischievous child had caught him and burned half his tail fur with a lighter. Too ugly to beg for food, unable to compete with other cats for scraps in the trash cans, he had been forced to live as a bottom-rung kitten.
Drip!
Raindrops splashed into the puddle, blurring Jiang Heng’s sorry reflection.
It was starting to rain again.
Jiang Heng collected himself and continued to trot along, the biscuit box still clenched in his teeth.
Compared to death, becoming a dirty stray cat wasn’t so unacceptable.
His legs were short, and even though he hurried, he still couldn’t outpace the falling March rain.
The faint rumble of thunder echoed in the sky, and Jiang Heng, with the biscuit box in his mouth, was forced to take shelter from the rain in a corner.
He put down the biscuit box and first looked around to see if there were any other cats. Seeing none, his perked ears slowly relaxed.
He curled his legs and sat down against a glass door.
Behind the glass door was a small convenience store. The owner was a burly man with a gold-plated chain around his neck, looking quite intimidating.
Jiang Heng observed the man. The man glanced at him, then looked away, boredly playing a game.
He quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed he wouldn’t bother a small cat sheltering from the rain.
After all, those living in the urban village were people who didn’t know where their next meal was coming from, who would have any spare kindness to give to an ugly little kitten?
Not kicking him out of frustration was already their greatest mercy.
The rain grew heavier, and a gray mist enveloped the sky, bringing a chill to the air.
Jiang Heng couldn’t help but sneeze.
He raised his paw and rubbed his nose, staring at the falling rain, thinking aimlessly:
Do cats catch colds?
A taxi, splashed with muddy water, stopped in front of the convenience store, and a man got out.
Jiang Heng moved aside to make way.
The man bought a pack of cigarettes, leaned against the counter, and chatted with the owner.
Jiang Heng listened, hoping the rain would stop soon. After all, it would take him twenty minutes to walk back to where Big Yellow was hiding.
He didn’t want to meet other cats.
Because anyone could easily defeat a kitten barely weaned.
Thinking of this, his heart was filled with lament.
We are all cats, why must we be so cruel to each other!
The driver chatted for a few minutes, finished a cigarette, threw the butt on the ground, turned around, and drove away.
Seeing the driver leave, the owner didn’t continue playing his game. He turned on the TV and turned to grab a sausage from the shelf.
He tore open the package, and the sausage rolled in front of Jiang Heng, getting stained with mud.
“Eat.”
At that moment, Jiang Heng felt as if he saw a dazzling Buddha light radiating from the gold chain around the man’s neck.
He crouched beside the sausage and eagerly took a big bite.
He almost shed tears of a tough guy.
Compared to the indescribable-tasting food he usually found in the garbage, the mud-stained sausage was comparable to a state banquet!
Meat! That was meat!
Even if it was made from dead rats, it was still meat!
He buried his head and ate with tears in his eyes. The voice of the female announcer on the TV came through along with the sound of the rain.
“Today is Jingzhe, the awakening of insects. The spring thunder rolls, waking the insects that have been dormant for a winter. Everything is revived, as willow branches sprout, spring flowers bloom…”
…
The morning mist drifted into the café, coating the clean glass with a layer of moisture, blurring the scene inside.
Click!
Xiao Liu raised his hand and expressionlessly turned off the morning news, abruptly cutting off the announcer’s sweet voice. He connected his phone to Bluetooth and started playing music.
Soothing melodies flowed through the café. He tied on his work apron and opened the door.
Outside, the rain was falling steadily. Across from the café was a river, willow branches swaying in the wind along the riverbank. The soft green, bathed in the spring rain, exuded the vitality of life.
Xiao Liu rubbed his slightly cold hands and, on tiptoe, flipped the “Closed” sign on the door to “Open.”
Turning around, he saw Lu Yichuan walking over with an umbrella.
The man was tall and looked slender. He wore a black jacket, which made the hand holding the umbrella look as white as jade. His downcast gaze was unfocused, as if empty.
Xiao Liu breathed out a puff of warm air and greeted him.
“Lu-ge.”
Lu Yichuan raised his eyes, and the unfocused look in his eyes faded when his gaze met Xiao Liu’s, replaced by a gentle expression.
“Sorry, I seem to be late.”
He had a seemingly aloof face, but his personality was gentle. Even though they had only worked together for a few days, Xiao Liu felt quite close to him.
“Not late, it’s not even time to start work yet. I came a little early.”
Lu Yichuan reached the café entrance, closed his umbrella, and raindrops dripped down from the tip, splashing onto the dry floor like exploding fireworks.
The man lowered his eyes, stepped over the “fireworks,” and placed the umbrella in the umbrella stand by the door.
The café was located next to the university town, facing a picturesque riverbank, so the prices were naturally much higher.
Corresponding to the high prices was high-quality service, and their daily work was meticulous and tedious.
As usual, Xiao Liu went to the back to check the raw materials, while Lu Yichuan washed cups and greeted customers at the front.
The cups were actually already clean, but the boss was a clean freak and required them to be washed again before starting work.
Most employees would slack off, but only Lu Yichuan would seriously wash them again every time.
The cool early spring water fell on the back of his hands, splashing up a layer of foam, which was quickly washed away.
The man lowered his eyes, his slender fingertips tracing the rim of the cup, his movements meticulous, the soothing prelude playing in his ears.
He turned off the water and placed the cups in the sterilizer. A clear, clean male voice came through the speakers.
So many autumns
So many winters
I was almost healed
…
Lu Yichuan closed the sterilizer door and expressionlessly pulled out a paper towel to dry his hands.
Ding-dong!
The wind chime at the door rang, and two girls poked their heads in.
Lu Yichuan tossed the paper towel into the trash can and smiled. “Hello, what would you like to drink?”
The girls stared at him, clearly more interested in him than the drinks. They nudged each other, and finally, one of them stepped forward.
“Um…that…hello, can I…can I have your WeChat?”
Lu Yichuan paused and looked at the girl who asked for his WeChat.
A very pretty face, oval-shaped, big eyes, her expression shy and cute.
The corners of the man’s lips twitched, his tone gentle. “Sorry.”
The girl didn’t expect him to refuse so directly. “Or maybe you…”
Before she could finish, Lu Yichuan said, “Is there anything you’d like to drink?”
The girl bit her lip, clearly unwilling to give up.
She took out a slip of paper and placed it on the counter. “This is my contact information. You can think about it.”
After saying that, she pulled her companion and ran away without looking back.
Xiao Liu came out from the back with coffee beans and looked at the girls’ retreating figures, sighing. “Lu-ge, you’re too heartless. You’ve only been working here for a few days, and the number of people who have asked for your WeChat is more than I can count on two hands.”
Lu Yichuan gave a good-natured chuckle and said nothing.
Xiao Liu continued, “I think that girl was very pretty. Aren’t you even a little moved?”
Lu Yichuan lowered his eyes, reached out and threw the slip of paper on the counter into the trash can, pumped some hand sanitizer, and turned to wash his hands.
As if it were dirty.
Xiao Liu’s voice came from behind him.
“Speaking of which, what kind of person do you like?”
The man pulled out another paper towel to dry his hands, his expression gentle, his tone casual, as if dealing with a colleague’s annoying question.
“If I had to say a standard…”
He paused and chuckled softly.
“Someone lively and cute, I guess.”
