Chapter 103: Meow
When the door of the house was knocked, Jing Zhi had just finished applying scar removal ointment to Jing Mi’s hand, and saw him disappear like the wind with his bag.
Actually, they were just tiny scratches and wouldn’t leave any obvious scars, but Jing Zhi had been careful and meticulous about Jing Mi’s body since he was a child. The kitten Mimi used to suffer so much, and the scars on his paws covered by fur accompanied him for the rest of his life. Now that he finally became a human child, he must be taken care of well.
Jing Mi knew Papa valued his body very much and cooperated obediently.
He was in a good mood.
Uncle Fu received many new bamboo weaving orders, and some people contacted him wanting to learn this craft from him. He should be able to earn a lot of money for the family this summer vacation.
Fu Ruan helped Uncle Fu while also finding a part-time tutoring job. She also wanted to persuade Uncle Fu to customize a prosthetic limb. Everything would be easy with enough money.
The bamboo-woven puppy he prepared for Wang Qiyou was also almost done.
Although his hands were slightly injured, he was still very satisfied.
He also wanted to make bamboo-woven kittens for his papas. Scottish Fold cats were harder to make than ordinary straight-eared cats. Uncle Fu made an example for him, and he was still learning.
After applying the medicine, he went to Uncle Fu’s place again.
Wang Qiyou missed him again.
Jing Zhi was a bit surprised. “Qiuqiu? Didn’t you go to City H? Why did you come back suddenly? Mimi went to help his classmate again.”
Jing Mi didn’t let him leak the secret of the bamboo-woven puppy, so Jing Zhi didn’t say much. He sensed the subtlety between the two children, but it wasn’t easy to ask.
Wang Qiyou muddled through with a few words and left like a gust of wind.
…
Fu Ruan didn’t have tutoring today. Uncle Fu was live streaming making custom bamboo weavings, and Fu Ruan was preparing lessons outside the camera.
Seeing Jing Mi, Fu Ruan stood up with a smile and went to the yard to talk to him.
Uncle Fu originally wove bamboo in the yard often, but people came and went outside the yard, easily affecting the live stream, so he moved to the living room. There were many tools and materials left in the yard. Jing Mi would find a cool corner, put on headphones, listen to songs, and weave bamboo. Uncle Fu would give pointers and help him modify after the live stream ended.
Occasionally, when there were kitten missions nearby, Jing Mi would also get up and stroll around to do the missions. It happened that he didn’t come to this area often, and there were quite a few kitten wish missions to complete here.
“Dad said the puppy you made is already very good. He helped you refine it carefully last night and put it in the cabinet,” Fu Ruan said.
“I came to get it too.” Jing Mi nodded, opened the bag slung over his shoulder, and took out an exquisite gift box and gift bag from inside.
Fu Ruan turned around immediately and took out the bamboo-woven puppy.
With Fu Ruan’s help, Jing Mi packed the bamboo-woven puppy carefully.
Wang Qiyou came to his house to find him after returning from his grandparents’ house, but he wasn’t at home at that time. Not long after, Wang Qiyou sent him a message. Because of “desensitization training” and the secretly prepared gift, he didn’t invite him here to experience bamboo weaving together.
Later, he couldn’t help wanting to go to the Wang family to find him, but found that he had rushed to City H alone first.
On the day he left, he sent him a photo of the flight ticket.
He actually wanted to go with him, but thinking of the desensitization training and serious business, he only replied: “Have fun, I’ll come find you when I’m done.”
Two days had passed since Wang Qiyou arrived in City H. For these two days, he had been looking at flight tickets from City A to City H.
But thinking the bamboo-woven puppy wasn’t finished yet, he tried his best to suppress the anxiety in his heart and exited the ticket interface.
Today, finally packing the most satisfactory finished bamboo-woven puppy, he planned to buy a flight ticket to find Wang Qiyou when he went back later.
One week of desensitization training was enough.
Just like losing weight, you can’t starve yourself to the desired weight in one breath by eating nothing; you have to take it step by step.
Fu Ruan examined the gift bag carefully. The bag was covered with patterns of German Shepherds, very cute and matching the gift inside. Plus the scars left on Jing Mi’s hands, it showed how much thought he put into it.
Fu Ruan asked half-jokingly: “Packed so exquisitely, is it for someone important?”
Jing Mi answered without hesitation: “For Brother You.”
Fu Ruan’s lips moved, words brewing in her heart.
She had a crush on Jing Mi, so naturally she paid attention to him during high school. She knew he was closest to Wang Qiyou, good friends growing up together, riding an electric scooter to school together every day. There were even two small resin dolls of a cat and a dog on the rearview mirror of the scooter, one a Scottish Fold and the other a German Shepherd.
But she could see that Jing Mi treated Wang Qiyou as an older brother, and Wang Qiyou also took care of Jing Mi like an older brother. Although the two were close and easy to ship as a couple, they didn’t cross the line into romance, always maintaining a normal brotherhood.
Plus her crush on Jing Mi, she naturally didn’t want to pair him up with anyone else.
But she indeed wasn’t that close to Jing Mi, just ordinary classmates. The only contact channel was school. There was almost no contact after school, so she didn’t know their interaction mode in private.
Recently, they got slightly closer because of bamboo weaving. Because of the bamboo-woven puppy, she was forced to re-examine the relationship between these two people.
Much more ambiguous than she imagined.
She originally thought Jing Mi liked puppies himself and didn’t think too much, but he was actually preparing it for Wang Qiyou.
She saw how much effort Jing Mi put into making the bamboo-woven puppy for Wang Qiyou. It was too ambiguous.
Fu Ruan opened her mouth: “You two…”
Jing Mi: “Hmm?”
Fu Ruan took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to spit out the rest: “Do you like each other?”
Jing Mi: “?”
Jing Mi’s expression froze for a moment, then he forced a smile and asked back: “Us? Me… and who?”
Fu Ruan: “You and Wang Qiyou.”
Jing Mi: “…”
Don’t joke—Jing Mi really wanted to answer her like this, but his lips seemed glued by superglue and couldn’t open at all.
Like a math problem that had troubled him for a long time. He solved it in his own wrong direction for a long time, thinking he could get the correct answer by continuing with this algorithm. But suddenly someone appeared and drew a not-too-long auxiliary line for him, telling him it could be solved in a few strokes like this.
He looked at his dense wrong steps above, really wanting to stubbornly refute that this auxiliary line was wrong, but his brain had already used this auxiliary line to get the correct answer first, and substituted it back to verify it was correct.
He couldn’t refute it at all.
What separation anxiety… how did he firmly believe in such a far-fetched reason until now?
If it was changed to him liking Wang Qiyou, everything made sense.
He didn’t want to separate from Wang Qiyou, didn’t want not to see him, didn’t want his university life without him…
Love ranked after family affection in his heart. He had never thought Wang Qiyou could have a more important status leap in his heart, but the end of love is also a different kind of family affection, closer than ordinary family affection.
He was a child who grew up in love. He knew how to love others and could face his feelings frankly without escaping.
Kitten wants, kitten gets.
He’s going to pursue Brother You!
Jing Mi took the gift bag from Fu Ruan with bright eyes and said to her: “Thank you.”
Before Fu Ruan could answer, a hurried figure appeared at the open courtyard gate.
It was Wang Qiyou.
Seeing Jing Mi accept a box that looked like a gift from Fu Ruan and say thank you to her, Wang Qiyou’s jealousy jar overturned again in his heart.
But remembering the bamboo-woven Scottish Fold cat and German Shepherd dog he saw in the live stream, he had a little confidence again.
Those two bamboo weavings must be related to Mimi.
If Mimi was really keeping a distance from him and wanted to stay away from him, he wouldn’t have asked Uncle Fu to make such things.
At least, he had a place in Mimi’s heart.
Rather than overthinking alone, it was better to ask Mimi directly.
He was a dog who wore a muzzle when patrolling, but he wasn’t mute.
As long as there was a slight possibility, he couldn’t give up hope.
When he was a police dog, he held such a belief and found life after life in the ruins after the earthquake.
Living in a comfortable environment as a human for so many years, he wasn’t as brave as before.
Or perhaps, love itself is something that makes people timid.
Too complicated.
Dogs only know to wag their tails frantically at the person they like, letting the other party understand their feelings passionately.
Maybe he didn’t need to think too much; he had long been qualified enough to show his love.
Having been confused for so long, it was time to be brave.
So, he rushed here in one breath, wanting to talk to Mimi clearly.
But he saw this scene.
Wang Qiyou panted heavily, his T-shirt soaked by the scorching sun in mid-June, his gaze glued to the two people not far away.
Girls are always more sensitive and delicate. Seeing Jing Mi take the gift bag with both hands, Fu Ruan quickly put her hands behind her back and said to Jing Mi: “Go, give it to him.”
Wang Qiyou’s breath hitched, the jealousy in his eyes replaced by confusion.
Jing Mi couldn’t wait to walk towards Wang Qiyou, handed the bag in his hand to him with a smile, and said to him: “A gift prepared for you, guess what it is?”
Wang Qiyou pursed his lips, suppressed his wildly beating heart, and reached out to take the bag.
So… the gift bag is for him?
The tip of his nose was filled with a rich bamboo scent, very pleasant. Seeing the tiny scars on Jing Mi’s hands, he roughly guessed what was in the bag.
Wang Qiyou couldn’t wait to open it. Not long after, a cute bamboo-woven German Shepherd puppy appeared in his palm.
Jing Mi: “I wove it. How is it? Isn’t it amazing?”
But Wang Qiyou held one of his hands, looking at the small scars that had scabbed or even fallen off with a frown. “Why didn’t you wear gloves properly? Got so many wounds?”
Jing Mi answered resentfully: “Gloves affect performance. It was my own carelessness, not skillful, accidentally scratched.”
Wang Qiyou: “Did you apply medicine?”
Jing Mi: “Applied, applied. Little Papa also applied scar removal ointment for me.”
Wang Qiyou was relieved, let go of Jing Mi’s hand, and admired the bamboo-woven puppy in his palm, the corners of his mouth curling up into a happy arc unconsciously.
Very cute, very exquisite.
He liked it very much.
“…”
Fu Ruan stood in the shade, watching pink bubbles constantly emerging on the other side, and couldn’t help but support her forehead with a bitter smile.
She finally knew why some girls in the class secretly shipped these two as a couple.
She originally thought it was just because their looks, voices, grades, and other conditions were excellent, too fitting the standard for shipping CP, and never thought they were real. After all, she used to be a different kind of solo fan of Jing Mi; no solo fan would play matchmaker for their idol with someone else.
Now she knew those girls were shipping something real.
OK, she was now a CP fan too.
…
Fu Ruan poured a glass of cool boiled water for Wang Qiyou. Seeing his clothes soaked with sweat from running over, she guessed he must be thirsty. Besides, a visitor is a guest and should be treated well.
Wang Qiyou thanked her, the hostility in his eyes gone.
Mimi had already told him everything that happened during this time. The distance he thought was alienation was just Mimi wanting to prepare a gift for him secretly.
Jing Mi blinked at Fu Ruan. “We won’t disturb you anymore. Say hello to Uncle Fu for me.”
Fu Ruan waved her hand and saw the two out.
She knew what Jing Mi was going to do next.
Judging by this situation, she would see content about them getting together on WeChat Moments tonight.
She liked Jing Mi quite a bit, but not to the extent that she couldn’t live without him. It was more about gratitude and appreciation. After learning about his feelings for Wang Qiyou, she completely lost any other thoughts.
…
Leaving the Fu family’s house, Jing Mi was pondering how to start and tell Wang Qiyou his feelings when he saw Wang Qiyou suddenly speed up, pick a foxtail grass from the roadside, and come back.
Soon, he waved this foxtail grass quickly in front of him.
Jing Mi: “?”
Jing Mi asked in confusion: “What are you doing?”
“Wagging my tail at you.”
Wang Qiyou answered while waving it even more vigorously.
“Do you know what a puppy wagging its tail means?”
