Chapter 18
Lu Yichuan didn’t say anything. After watching the kitten look around for a while, he turned off the light and went to bed.
The sudden darkness startled Jiang Heng. He turned and looked at the man already covered by his blanket, feeling a little bewildered.
Hadn’t it just gotten dark? Why was he already sleeping?
A cat’s eyesight is excellent, and the darkness didn’t affect his vision. Jiang Heng circled the bed, finally finding an angle where he could see Lu Yichuan.
The man’s eyes were closed, the dark circles under them not very prominent. He had gone to bed so early, yet his brow was furrowed with exhaustion.
Jiang Heng watched him for a while, then went to the foot of the bed and jumped onto it with a light leap.
The night breeze was gentle, and he could hear a few boys talking and laughing in the corridor. Jiang Heng stepped forward, his paws leaving faint marks on the soft bedding.
He carefully made his way to Lu Yichuan’s face, his hairless head gently nuzzling the man’s cheek, his soft meow barely audible in the quiet night.
“Meow…”
Lu Yichuan, if you don’t object, I’ll take that as your consent.
The only response was the man’s steady breathing.
Jiang Heng was satisfied.
He stepped onto Lu Yichuan’s shoulder, his cool paw pads pausing slightly against the warm skin. Jiang Heng casually retracted his paw and curled up in the crook of Lu Yichuan’s neck.
The man and the cat were very close, their initially separate breaths gradually mingling, becoming one.
Jiang Heng listened to the steady beat of Lu Yichuan’s heart and snuggled closer.
Good night, Lu Yichuan.
He whispered silently in his heart.
…
Lu Yichuan opened his eyes to find himself in a car.
It was the height of summer in August, the sunlight blindingly bright, waves of heat pouring into the car through the open window.
Lu Yichuan, who was supposed to be on vacation, had specially come to City A.
Students were coming and going at the entrance of No. 1 High School. Before he even got out of the car, he saw Jiang Heng in the crowd.
They had only been apart for a few days, but the boy holding his university acceptance letter looked a little thinner, his features losing their childish roundness, revealing a handsome, striking face.
Standing in the crowd, he was as dazzling as the sun.
Lu Yichuan opened the car door and stepped out.
He felt strangely detached from his own body. A sense of mounting panic warred with the joy emanating from within him. Half of him was in his body, the other half floating in the air, watching everything unfold, unable to speak, unable to stop anything, only able to watch himself walk towards the boy standing at the entrance.
“Lu Yichuan…”
The boy’s voice always lilted slightly when he called his name, sweet and lingering, like honey.
“Why are you here?”
“I was worried about you, so I came to check on you.”
Jiang Heng kicked a pebble, the smile on his face fading, replaced by a look of dejection. “I’m so useless, even needing you to come here for something like this.”
“Rongrong…”
Lu Yichuan heard himself say the nickname and reached out to touch the boy’s face, but stopped himself at the last moment, his fingertips brushing past the boy’s shoulder, carrying the warmth of the summer day.
“How could your matters be trivial? Are you blaming me for only coming today?”
Under the sunlight, the boy’s smile was breathtakingly beautiful.
“I didn’t think that at all.”
“Do…do you also think I’m a bad person?” the boy asked, his cat-like eyes fixed on him.
Lu Yichuan’s brow furrowed slowly. “Why would you think that?”
“That’s what everyone is saying.”
“Don’t mind them.” Lu Yichuan ruffled Jiang Heng’s hair. “It has nothing to do with you in the first place.”
Hearing this, Jiang Heng’s tense shoulders relaxed, and he leaned against him. “But the way they look at me is so strange. It wasn’t even my intention, but their looks seem to be saying it’s all my fault. I don’t even dare to go home now. I…I don’t know what to do.”
Lu Yichuan cupped his face, his fingertips lifting the corners of his drooping mouth. “Rongrong, don’t worry about what to do. If you don’t want to go home, go to the villa I bought. Ignore those looks; I’ll handle the rest.”
The summer heat was intense, and soon the spot where they were pressed together became warm. Jiang Heng, amused by his words, pushed him away slightly. “Lu Yichuan, the way you’re talking, it’s like you’re omnipotent.”
Lu Yichuan just closed his eyes peacefully. “I’m not omnipotent, but when it comes to your matters, I have to be more attentive.”
Jiang Heng fidgeted with the hard cover of his acceptance letter and muttered, “I didn’t wrong him. I wasn’t raised by the Jiang family.”
“Mm.” Lu Yichuan agreed. “You were raised by me.”
Under the sunlight, the man bent down, his tall figure enveloping Jiang Heng. “Don’t be angry anymore, okay? I’ll take you to eat hot pot tonight.”
Just as he finished speaking, his phone rang.
The sound pierced Lu Yichuan’s eardrums, a boundless panic spreading with the ringing.
No…
He opened his mouth in the dream, a futile attempt to speak.
Don’t!
Don’t answer!
But no one could hear his cries. He could only watch helplessly as he answered the phone.
“Sorry, Song Zhang needs me. Rongrong, do you want to go back first or come with me?”
“I’ll go back first,” Jiang Heng said. “The sun is too strong; I don’t want to run around with you.”
In the dream, Lu Yichuan couldn’t change anything. He could only watch as he agreed.
The sunlight that day was too bright. His Rongrong stood by the road, waving goodbye with a smile, the dimples on his cheeks faintly visible.
Just like any ordinary afternoon, the cicadas buzzed in the trees, the sky was a deep blue, the camphor trees curled their leaves in the heat, and even the white cars seemed to be moving slower than usual.
Then…
Bang—
Engulfed in red.
The world stopped in that summer, the buzzing of the cicadas echoing endlessly.
…
Lu Yichuan abruptly sat up in bed.
As he sat up, something seemed to roll down his neck, but he didn’t notice, his body convulsing, his face covered in cold sweat.
The blood-red haze hadn’t dispersed from his eyes; everything he saw was tinged with red.
Blood.
Blood everywhere.
He was drowning in a sea of blood, surrounded by scattered fragments, unable to grasp them, unable to piece them together…
The metallic taste of blood rose in his throat, making him cough violently, his voice hoarse and raspy, like a broken string.
Lu Yichuan’s legs trembled as he stumbled out of bed. He didn’t turn on the light. His knee hit the corner of the table with a dull thud. He didn’t seem to feel it as he made his way to the balcony, supporting himself on the table.
He turned on the faucet with trembling hands and meticulously scrubbed them, only stopping when he was sure they were clean. Then, with still-trembling fingertips, he touched his chest.
The cold, hard touch was like a sharp sword piercing his heart, a pain so intense it made him gasp.
But only this pain reminded him that he was still alive.
Alive, but no better than dead.
…
After an unknown amount of time, Lu Yichuan finally straightened up.
Moonlight filtered through the leaves of the plane tree, dimly illuminating the balcony. In the mirror, the man’s face was as pale as paper, devoid of color, his eyes dark, like a malevolent ghost crawled up from the underworld.
He stared at his reflection and tugged at the corners of his lips, a wretched expression.
…
Jiang Heng was awakened by the pungent smell of smoke.
He turned over groggily, instinctively reaching out a paw to touch something, but only felt the cold sheets.
He suddenly woke up.
Seeing the familiar bed in front of him, he breathed a sigh of relief. Good, good… it wasn’t a dream; he wasn’t back in the alley.
But where was Lu Yichuan?
Jiang Heng got up and saw the man sitting on the balcony, smoking. He was leaning back in his chair, his head lowered, legs bent, his profile obscured by the leaves of the plane tree, a lit cigarette between his fingers.
It was the first time Jiang Heng had seen Lu Yichuan smoking. Before this, in his memory, Lu Yichuan didn’t smoke.
He was outstanding, the heir to the Lu family, and Jiang Heng knew what kind of education he had received. Smoking, a vulgar habit, was something he would never have touched.
So how did he learn? What had happened in the four years he had lost?
Jiang Heng didn’t dare to think about it, the more he thought, the more frightened he became.
He jumped off the bed and went to Lu Yichuan’s side.
The man, unaware of his approach, took a deep drag of his cigarette, his expression listless, an air of decadence surrounding him.
“Meow~”
A soft meow echoed in the night.
Lu Yichuan was startled. He looked down and saw a cat squatting by his feet.
The kitten looked up at him, its pupils light-colored in the moonlight, its gaze gentle and clear, just like…
Just like that ordinary afternoon, the boy standing by the car, smiling and waving goodbye.
Lu Yichuan suddenly coughed, a deep cough that wracked his body and made his chest heave painfully.
Jiang Heng was startled. He clung to Lu Yichuan’s pants leg, pulling himself up to his knee, and craned his neck to look at him.
“Meow!”
Lu Yichuan, what’s wrong?
But before he could get an answer, he was pushed away. The push was forceful, and Jiang Heng stumbled back, unable to stop himself, and landed on his bottom.
Under the moonlight, Lu Yichuan’s face was frighteningly pale.
The cigarette burned down, and he only reacted when the burning ember touched his fingertip. He extinguished the cigarette, turning his face away from the cat on the ground.
A few seconds later, he abruptly stood up, grabbed his jacket from the bed, and left the dormitory without looking back.
“…”
Jiang Heng stared at the closed door, his mouth open, then slowly closed it.
Lu Yichuan didn’t return for two days after he left.
Jiang Heng ate and slept, slept and ate, and didn’t feel bored. But after a day, he discovered a pressing problem for a cat.
There was no more cat food, and no more water.
Jiang Heng: “…”
He pawed at the food bowl hopefully, only finding a single stray kibble at the bottom, the rest of the bowl spotlessly clean.
Where was his food? He had clearly seen Lu Yichuan buy a large bag, where had it gone?
Jiang Heng circled the dormitory several times but couldn’t find any cat food. He could only turn his attention to the closed cabinet door.
The size was right, the height was right. If he wasn’t mistaken, his food was probably inside. But the question was, how could a small, hairless cat like him open the cabinet door?
Jiang Heng had thought that being taken in by Lu Yichuan was the beginning of a good life, but he hadn’t expected this good fortune to be so short-lived.
But brave kitty, not afraid of difficulties.
Jiang Heng took a deep breath, ate the last kibble on the floor, walked to the cabinet, and reached out a paw to push the door.
I open… open…
Can’t open QAQ.
He tried again, pushing harder, but the cabinet door remained stubbornly shut, the two white scratch marks he left on it mocking his weakness.
“…”
The bald kitten took two steps back, narrowed its eyes at the cabinet, a determined glint in its eyes, and leaped forward, grabbing the round handle of the cabinet door with its teeth.
Open for me!
