Chapter 28
After April, the weather gradually turned warmer, the wind carrying the heat of summer.
But the nights were still cool. There was no moon, only a few scattered stars in the sky.
Song Zhang opened a beer and sat down. The wide French windows offered a panoramic view of the city below, the traffic, the neon lights painting the night sky in vibrant colors.
He stared at the scene below for a while, took a sip of his beer, and felt his fatigue from a long day at work finally easing.
After resting for a bit, he looked at the man beside him.
The man held a cigarette between his long fingers, his legs crossed, his posture relaxed, a stark contrast to the distraught tone in his voice when he had called.
Song Zhang asked, “How long has this been going on?”
Lu Yichuan closed his eyes, his fingertips rubbing the filter of the cigarette, his voice regaining its usual indifference.
“I can’t remember. If I had to guess, probably since the first day I saw it.”
Song Zhang thought about the cat Lu Yichuan had adopted. Small and skinny, not particularly beautiful, and nothing remotely human-like about it, except for…
Its eyes.
“Because of its eyes?”
“Partly, but not entirely.”
The lights in the room were off, only the faint glow from outside illuminating the space, casting long shadows. Lu Yichuan’s slender frame sank into the sofa, his face hidden from Song Zhang’s view.
He could only hear his voice.
Calm, with an ingrained gentleness, like a refined gentleman.
“I thought I was about to forget what Rongrong looked like,” he said.
“People always say time heals all wounds. I thought I could forget him.”
“But that day, when that cat so recklessly bumped into me, the moment I looked into its eyes, I realized I hadn’t forgotten anything.”
He bent down and picked up the beer bottle from the floor, the neon lights outside reflecting in his eyes, but all he could taste was bitterness.
“My mind tells me it’s not him, but my heart…”
But he knew, more than anyone, that his Rongrong was gone.
The Lu Yichuan of the past had searched for reasons to believe Jiang Heng had returned, while the current Lu Yichuan searched for reasons to confirm that he had truly left.
“But how could a cat be a human?”
“Even if a human could turn into a cat, why wouldn’t he tell me? Why did he show no reaction when he saw me talking to Jiang Xingbai? Why did he endure so much suffering without telling me?”
Song Zhang couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you assume Jiang Heng would react the way you expect?”
Lu Yichuan was silent for a moment, then let out a sudden, jarring laugh.
“Because I raised him,” he said softly, his voice a gentle murmur, like a lover’s whisper.
“No one in the world understands him better than I do, not even himself.”
He knew no one would willingly be confined, so he had carefully crafted a garden for Jiang Heng, an illusion of freedom, every string tightly controlled by him.
“There can be no mistakes, unless…”
Unless he had overlooked something.
But Lu Yichuan felt a constant ache deep inside him, a pain so intense it made even living difficult, let alone thinking about anything else.
He was too tired.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” he said. “There’s no such thing as borrowing a corpse to return to life. It’s just wishful thinking of the living.”
He turned to Song Zhang. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”
Song Zhang gripped his beer bottle, struggling to speak. “If you think it’s Jiang Heng, why not just treat it as Jiang Heng?”
Hearing this, Lu Yichuan chuckled. “Dr. Song, I thought you would tell me it’s all fake, to face reality, to stop deluding myself.”
Song Zhang paused, then said honestly, “If it were you, I would rather you live in delusion.”
Better than the pain of clarity.
“But forget it,” Lu Yichuan said. “Jiang Heng is Jiang Heng. There’s only one Jiang Heng. How could there be a substitute for something unique?”
He spoke slowly, his tone laced with a casual lightness, more like catching up with an old friend than discussing his illness with a doctor. He stretched out his legs, his arm resting languidly on the armrest, his hand long and thin, like a withered bamboo branch.
Song Zhang’s heart suddenly raced. Before he could say anything, Lu Yichuan continued.
“The things I did before already upset him. If I keep a cat that looks like him, Rongrong will truly be angry with me.”
He asked Song Zhang, “Do you want a cat?”
Song Zhang was stunned. “You’re giving it to me?”
“You seem like a suitable candidate. Stable job, decent personality, you should be able to take good care of it.”
“But…” Song Zhang was confused. “Why are you giving it to me? Just because you think it looks like Jiang Heng?”
“Not entirely.” Lu Yichuan sighed softly, his tone exasperated. “You know, I’m very busy every day, and living on campus isn’t very convenient. It’s a bit of a burden.”
“Besides, didn’t you say people should move on? How can I move on if I keep a cat that reminds me of Rongrong?”
Song Zhang: “…”
Song Zhang felt bewildered. “Have you really let go?”
Lu Yichuan took a drag of his cigarette and gave a noncommittal hum.
“…”
Seeing him like this, Song Zhang thought, this wasn’t letting go, this was giving up.
…
Jiang Heng paced back and forth at the entrance, peering furtively into the classroom. It wasn’t time for class yet, and there weren’t many people inside.
He looked around, planning his entry strategy.
Before he could come up with a plan, he turned around and saw four or five furry heads staring at him.
Jiang Heng: “…”
He stumbled, bumping into the calico cat’s belly, and was swatted to the ground.
Jiang Heng flailed his short legs. “What are you doing! Why are there so many cats here?”
A bunch of furry heads stared at him innocently.
The calico cat said, “They came to see you.”
Jiang Heng got up from the ground. “See me? Why?”
“They said they’ve never seen a cat study before. Especially a hairless cat.”
“…”
Jiang Heng angrily pushed his way through the group of cats. “I have fur! Open your cat eyes and see! It’s just short, it doesn’t mean it’s not there!”
He was so angry! He had looked in the mirror before leaving the dorm this morning, and compared to before, his fur had grown at least a centimeter.
The calico cat picked him up by the scruff of his neck. “Are you really going in there?”
Jiang Heng bared his teeth at the cats who had come to watch the show. “I’m already here, why wouldn’t I go in?”
The calico cat didn’t understand his behavior. “But there are humans inside.”
Jiang Heng looked at it blankly. “So what? Classrooms are full of humans.”
The calico cat felt that this little kitten had an inexplicable trust in humans. Even after being treated so badly by them, he still unreservedly trusted the species that had harmed him.
Jiang Heng thought it was worried about him and patted its back. “Don’t worry, they’re all students, they won’t hurt me. I’ll come out as soon as class is over.”
As soon as his paw touched the calico cat’s back, it was swatted away. The elegant beauty was, as always, prone to violence.
“What’s studying? Why do you have to go inside to study?”
Jiang Heng, swatted down, simply lay on the ground, flattening himself like a pancake, his ears twitching.
“It’s not studying,” he said, his tone suddenly serious, “it’s building my…cat persona.”
“I’m not like you unambitious cats, only thinking about basking in the sun and catching fish in the lake. I have great aspirations.”
He extended a paw and slowly gestured towards the classroom door. “And that is where my dreams begin.”
Several furry heads stared at him, and one of them meowed,
“What are dreams? Are they as delicious as dried fish?”
“Philistines! We have nothing in common…”
The calico cat raised its paw.
Jiang Heng, seeing this, quickly rolled over.
He explained, “This is the first step in building my cat persona. Find a classroom, go in and listen to the lecture, and pretend to understand. That way, they will think I’m a super-intelligent cat.”
A tortoiseshell cat nudged him. “And then?”
Little Jiang Heng, his tail held high, declared, “Then my plan will be half successful! First, establish my image as a smart cat, then I’ll start live streaming…”
The tortoiseshell cat looked at him blankly. “What’s live streaming?”
“That’s not important! What’s important is that I can earn my own money! I won’t even have to show off all my talents, just a little trick here and there, and humans will be captivated by my intelligence.”
The cats stared at him, dumbfounded.
A white cat asked, “Can we live stream too?”
Jiang Heng asked, “Do you know what one plus one equals?”
The cats fell silent.
Jiang Heng: “Hehe! I know!”
A human who only knew one plus one equaled two was an idiot. But a cat who knew one plus one equaled two was a genius!
A cat who not only knew one plus one equaled two but could also do addition and subtraction within ten? A super genius!
As a human, Jiang Heng had been an idiot. He had always thought it was his fault, but after these past few days of reflection, he had an epiphany. It wasn’t his fault; he had simply chosen the wrong path.
Once he changed paths, his future suddenly became clear.
He knew these ordinary cats couldn’t understand the loneliness of a genius like him, but he promised, “If I really earn money, I’ll buy you each a box of canned food.”
All the cats’ eyes lit up instantly, and they sent him into the classroom with high hopes.
As class time approached, students began filling the classroom.
Jiang Heng didn’t dare to be too conspicuous and didn’t want to take up a student’s seat, so he jumped onto the windowsill and sat down demurely.
He had put a lot of thought into this.
He had relied on Lu Yichuan as a human, and now, as a cat, he was still relying on him. Jiang Heng felt embarrassed and wanted to do something on his own.
But what could a cat do?
The only thing he could think of was those pet bloggers.
Forget whether Lu Yichuan would be willing to film him, even he found his own appearance embarrassing; he couldn’t bear to show himself to the world.
After much deliberation, he decided that the only thing he could offer was his human intellect.
He couldn’t compete with humans, but compared to cats, he was a genius.
The surrounding students looked at Jiang Heng with surprise. Jiang Heng lifted his chin, feeling like the smartest cat in the world.
Good, this was the effect he wanted. Now he just had to wait for the teacher to start the lecture and pretend to listen attentively.
But for some reason, he felt that this classroom was particularly crowded, so crowded that even though all the seats were taken, people were still coming in through the back door.
The crowded classroom made the cat sitting on the windowsill even more conspicuous.
Jiang Heng: “…”
He felt the pressure mounting.
Finally, the bell rang.
He looked towards the door and unexpectedly met a pair of narrow eyes.
The owner of the eyes paused when he saw him, looked at the classroom number, then entered with his book.
The man wore a white shirt, his figure tall and straight like a pine tree as he stood at the podium. His gaze swept over Jiang Heng, he pushed up his glasses, and plugged a USB drive into the computer.
“Professor Li is on leave, so I’ll be teaching this ‘Modern Western Philosophy’ class as usual…”
He paused. “Where did this cat come from?”
Jiang Heng: “…”
A student chuckled. “Xuechang Lu, it heard about your handsome appearance and came to admire you!”
Jiang Heng turned his head in horror. No, I didn’t! Don’t make things up!
“Is that so…” Lu Yichuan’s gaze fell on Jiang Heng. “Then you better listen carefully. I’ll remember to call on you.”
Jiang Heng suddenly thought of the meme.
[Huh? Me?]
He wanted to bang his head against the wall.
Was there anything more awkward than encountering Lu Yichuan when he was trying to show off his intelligence?
Yes, there was. Half an hour ago, he had promised Lu Yichuan he would stay in the dormitory.