Chapter 89: Side Story 3 (6/6)
“That day, the sky rumbled with thunder on a clear, sunny day. With a loud boom, the bravest cat warrior descended from the heavens.”
“Its claws were as sharp as knives, its teeth capable of piercing any bone. With a mighty roar that shook the earth, the three children almost wet themselves in fear.”
Dark clouds gathered overhead, the rumble of thunder echoing in the distance, and the three cats walked against the wind.
“The greatest warrior cat—that was Little Jiang Heng! With a mighty leap from the three-meter-high wall, he landed squarely on the bully’s shoulder and kicked…”
He mimed a powerful kick. “Ha! The bully tumbled to the ground, two bones in his back broken! Then, with a graceful turn, I stood before him.”
The Maine Coon flicked its tail, the ginger cat yawned, only the white cat listened intently. “Really?”
“Of course! The evidence is clear, you can ask Big Yellow.”
The white cat, looking at Little Jiang Heng, smaller than the Maine Coon’s leg, was skeptical. “You really did that?”
Little Jiang Heng’s eyes widened. “You don’t believe me?!”
The white cat wanted to say, You don’t exactly look very convincing, but seeing the Maine Coon’s cold stare, it changed its mind.
“…”
“Okay,” it said. “Let’s say you did. What happened next?”
Little Jiang Heng puffed out his chest. “We defeated the bullies, then raided a dangerous human lair for food, climbed the highest mountain, and tamed a terrifying monster.”
“And all of this will be recorded in The Adventures of Little Jiang Heng! You are all witnesses to this great saga!”
For some reason, the white cat felt a surge of excitement. “So what’s our next adventure?”
Little Jiang Heng declared, “We’re raiding another dangerous human lair for food.”
He stopped and pointed. “We’re here.”
Big White followed his gaze and saw a burly man who looked very unfriendly.
Having learned from their previous experience, Little Jiang Heng rubbed his paws together. “Big Yellow is too…passive, not proactive at all. You’re coming with me this time.”
The owner was watching something on TV and spat out a sunflower seed shell, his face darkening ominously, as if he had several cat lives on his conscience.
Honestly, Big White wasn’t keen on this plan.
But before it could refuse, Little Jiang Heng was already on his way.
The kitten expertly positioned himself at the entrance and looked up at the owner, meowing softly.
The owner looked down, his eyes widening slightly when he saw the familiar little face, then he chuckled. “Hey! You’re back! Do you think this is a charity?”
Little Jiang Heng pretended not to understand and looked at the snacks on the shelves, then back at the owner, his expression innocent and pitiful, impossible to resist.
The owner put down his sunflower seeds and, grumbling under his breath, but his actions belying his words, went to the back room.
He returned with a bag of cat food he had bought randomly after seeing a few stray cats hanging around, hadn’t expected to use it so soon.
Little Jiang Heng watched as he spread a piece of scrap paper on the ground, tore open the bag of cat food, and poured a pile of kibble onto it.
“Meow.”
Little Jiang Heng meowed, gesturing at the two cats outside.
The owner looked and saw not only the ginger cat from before but also a white cat. The Maine Coon was perched on a distant wall, clearly not in need of a handout.
“Why did you bring your whole family?”
The clueless kitten simply meowed sweetly.
The owner sighed and poured more cat food onto the paper, enough for three cats.
The three cats had only eaten half their food when a sudden clap of thunder echoed overhead, followed by heavy rain.
The spring rain came quickly and intensely, and soon a sheet of water was falling from the eaves of the convenience store.
The Maine Coon jumped down from the wall and huddled with the other three cats under the eaves. The owner glanced at them but didn’t comment.
He pulled his jacket tighter and continued watching TV.
As Little Jiang Heng ate, his attention was drawn to the TV. The Maine Coon saw this and blocked his view. “Finish your food first.”
Little Jiang Heng took a large bite of kibble. “Big Meow Lu, can we buy a TV?”
Big Meow Lu reminded him ruthlessly, “We have no money.”
“Oh…” Little Jiang Heng looked disappointed for a moment, then quickly perked up. “Then we can get jobs! Earn money to buy a TV! The stories on TV are much more interesting than mine!”
Big Meow Lu didn’t dampen his enthusiasm, just asked, “Where are you planning to work?”
“We can go to the cat café! Other cats earn money for canned food, but we can exchange our canned food for money!”
Amidst the sound of the rain, the big cat seemed to chuckle. “Really? Are you sure you’ll exchange your canned food for money?”
Little Jiang Heng, indignant, said, “Of course! I don’t even like canned food.”
Big Meow Lu, seeing the genuine disgust on his face, could only say, “Let’s hope so.”
It shifted its position, shielding the kitten from the wind and rain, and saw a man running towards them through the downpour.
It was a young man in his twenties, drenched to the bone, rushing towards the convenience store, his gaze immediately settling on the Maine Coon.
He was startled and asked the owner, “Whoa, what a huge cat! Is it yours?”
“Nah,” the owner said. “Probably a stray, came here begging for food.”
The man ran a hand through his hair and noticed the other cats behind the Maine Coon, especially the smallest one, fluffy and beautiful, like a cotton candy cloud. He felt a sudden urge to pet it, but under the Maine Coon’s cold, gray gaze, he quickly retracted his hand.
He looked at the pouring rain. “This rain…so unpredictable, changes its mind faster than my mom.” He pulled out ten yuan and handed it to the owner. “Uncle, a pack of cigarettes, same as usual.”
The owner took the money and tossed him a pack of cigarettes.
The two men stood under the eaves, smoking.
The man said, “Have you heard? This area is being demolished. After all these years in this dump, I’m finally free!”
The owner glanced at him. “Really?”
“I heard it from a friend,” the man said, exhaling a cloud of smoke. “He works for the government. He heard some rumors, apparently, those polluting factories are going to be restructured, and they’re building new ones. The urban village is within the redevelopment zone, we’re all being relocated, even the orphanage across the street.”
“This place is like…forgotten. Everyone is poor, no jobs, only those who resort to petty crimes. If it weren’t for us younger generation growing up and leaving, we’d still be stuck in this hopeless poverty.”
The owner smoked with him, the heavy rain outside isolating them from the world.
“It’s all because of what happened back then. It’s fate, no one to blame.”
Little Jiang Heng, half-listening, asked, “What happened?”
Big Meow Lu, licking his fur, explained, “The reason this area became an industrial zone was because they discovered several mines here. This urban village used to be just a small, ordinary village. The mines belonged to the state, and the villagers could have become wealthy working in them, but they refused.”
“They thought the mountains belonged to them. The state forbade private mining, so they went there secretly. Back then, regulations weren’t very strict, and the guards at the mines were also from the village, so they formed a team and snuck in at night.”
“Then there was an accident, a cave-in, and more than half the men in the village were buried alive.”
“The state officials left, leaving behind only the women and children. Imagine how hard their lives became.”
After a long silence, Little Jiang Heng asked, “So will their lives improve after they’re relocated?”
“Probably better than now.”
The spring rain came and went quickly. After the rain stopped, the four cats bid farewell to the owner and continued their journey.
The pink peach blossoms on the dilapidated walls bloomed even brighter now, the sun breaking through the clouds, the raindrops creating a dazzling display of light, a faint rainbow appearing over the derelict factory in the distance.
The four cats climbed over vine-covered walls, explored abandoned mines, basked in the sun on rooftops, swung from the branches of old trees, and finally, at the garbage dump, encountered the most ferocious black cat.
Little Jiang Heng was now a half-grown cat, his long fur tipped with silver, his glassy amber eyes captivating, his appearance too clean and beautiful for a stray.
The black cat had grown larger, new scars marking its body, and it was confronting a tabby cat, trying to steal its food.
Little Jiang Heng rushed forward, stood beside the tabby, and hissed at the black cat, “Bad cat! Go away! You can’t steal other cats’ food!”
The short-legged kitten wasn’t even as tall as the tabby, his legs, even fully extended, probably wouldn’t reach the black cat, but a large Maine Coon stood behind him.
The Maine Coon’s narrow eyes, cold and sharp, fixed on the black cat.
The black cat backed down, its tail between its legs as it fled the garbage dump.
“Meow!”
Little Jiang Heng let out a triumphant yowl and ran to the Maine Coon, biting his mane and showering him with cat punches.
“Big Meow Lu, did you see that?! I defeated Sang Biao!”
The Maine Coon lowered his body so the kitten could reach his mane more easily.
“I saw it. You’re the toughest cat in the urban village now.”
“Hee hee!”
Little Jiang Heng let go and climbed onto the Maine Coon’s back, clearing his throat importantly.
“In the end, the brave warrior cat, after overcoming countless obstacles, finally defeated the strongest cat. And he became the brightest star in the sky, shining brightly, lighting the path for all cats.”
The Adventures of Little Jiang Heng
The End.
Jiang Heng removed his headphones and stared at the computer screen, watching as the system calculated his score. A few seconds later, the final result appeared.
S
He glanced at Lu Yichuan’s score.
A+
Jiang Heng bumped Lu Yichuan’s shoulder. “Mr. Top Student, your game score isn’t even as high as mine, what do you have to say for yourself?”
Lu Yichuan, also removing his headphones, the Maine Coon on his screen tall and handsome, said, “You have more experience being a cat.”
Jiang Heng stood up and playfully put his hands around his neck, pretending to strangle him. “Being bad at games is being bad at games, stop making excuses!”
Having reached the end of the game, Jiang Heng felt a pang of sadness. “Is this game going to be released?”
Lu Yichuan replied, “Yes, we were playing the beta version.”
Based on Jiang Heng’s experiences, Lu Yichuan’s company had developed a new game where the characters were all cats, the urban village as the map, allowing players to experience life as a stray.
Jiang Heng asked, “Will other players also be able to play as Little Jiang Heng?”
“No, Little Jiang Heng and Big Meow Lu are unique, only we can play them. Other players will randomly become one of the stray cats and create their own adventure stories.”
Hearing this, Jiang Heng cheered up, then punched Lu Yichuan playfully. “It’s all your fault! You made Little Jiang Heng so stupid in the game! I was practically illiterate!”
Lu Yichuan chuckled. “That wasn’t because I made him stupid.”
Jiang Heng glared at him. “Lu Yichuan, what do you mean?!”
The man grabbed his hand, swiveled his gaming chair around to face him, and pulled him closer, Jiang Heng landing in his lap. “We’ll make Big Meow Lu stupid next time and play again.”
Jiang Heng reluctantly agreed.
Lu Yichuan’s hand slipped under his T-shirt, his palm against his waist. “I wish the game were real life, every time I think about what Rongrong went through…”
Jiang Heng leaned down and kissed him. “It’s okay, whenever I felt sad, I would tell Big Yellow, as long as I find Lu Yichuan, he’ll take care of me, no matter what.”
And that was exactly what had happened.
Even when he couldn’t speak, covered in dirt, bumping into the clean-freak Lu Yichuan…
Even when he didn’t recognize him, he had still taken him in.
Dirty little kitty privilege.
