Ruan Qiao felt she needed a moment to slow down.
Too much had happened in the past couple of days, and she still hadn’t fully processed it.
She went back to her room, opened a bottle of nutritional supplement, and drank it in one go. Then she walked out to the playground to check on 001.
By now, 001 had already spread all the cut grass across the playground to dry.
Glancing up at the blazing sun, Ruan Qiao decided not to rest. While the kids were still asleep, she would cut more grass to bring back.
She had bought two packs of mushroom spores, and to plant them properly, she would need around two to three hundred pounds of wild grass. The amount cut in the morning was still far from enough.
Ruan Qiao went back to the warehouse to get the grass cutter. This time she didn’t bring the bamboo baskets used to entertain the kids, but instead took the flat cart they had used yesterday to carry the big cat.
Pushing the cart, she returned to the empty plot from the morning.
She first bundled up the wild grass she had cut earlier but hadn’t managed to organize, stacking it on the cart. Then she went a little farther to continue cutting more grass.
She worked for quite a while, cutting until most of the surrounding grass was trimmed, then stopped.
Turning to start bundling, she realized the boy had somehow followed her. He was already mimicking her, tying the cut grass into bundles and placing them on the cart.
“Why did you follow me? Didn’t I tell you to rest properly?”
Ruan Qiao wiped her sweat and complained, “It’s so hot under this sun, you’re going to pass out if we’re not careful!”
The boy looked up at her, pressed his lips together, and said, “I’m fine now. I won’t pass out again.”
As if to prove his point, he picked up two bundles of grass, placed them on the cart, and then pushed it toward the orphanage.
He wore a short-sleeved shirt that didn’t fit perfectly. Because he was bending over and using force, the slightly tight shirt clung to his body. Through the fabric, it was clear that his muscles were firm and well-defined.
Ruan Qiao watched his back for a moment. Seeing that he really wasn’t at risk of fainting again, she didn’t stop him.
With such a helper, their work went much faster. By the time the little ones woke up, there would be enough grass cut.
Back at home, Ruan Qiao instructed 001 to clear out the house at the far edge of the row as a temporary seedling room. Then she directed the boy to help her carry in the purchased nutrient soil, seedling trays, and other materials.
The boy had probably never seen these things before.
Although he tried to hide it, the boy’s cat-like amber eyes, just like Xiao Wang’s, were wide and round, clearly full of interest.
He could probably sense that Ruan Qiao treated him differently from the others; that sense of distance made him keep from getting too close.
He always did what she asked, but at a slight remove.
Even so, despite the physical distance, his amber eyes couldn’t help but quietly follow her movements, brimming with curiosity.
Seeing this childlike side of him, Ruan Qiao couldn’t help but occasionally recall the scene from last night, the big cat, covered in wounds, unconscious at the orphanage gate.
Thinking that he was probably abandoned by his family for some reason, and that there was a high chance he had been abused while at home, her heart softened.
No matter how grown-up he looked on the outside, he was still just a little kitten!
If she could take care of Xiao Wang, she could take care of him too.
Ruan Qiao silently sighed and made a compromise with herself.
She waved at the boy and said, “Come on, help me crush these peach pits.”
She handed him the few precious collected pits and gave him a small hammer. “Tap lightly so you don’t crush the kernels inside, we only have a few of them.”
At the word “we,” the boy’s eyes visibly brightened.
He took the hammer very seriously and nodded at Ruan Qiao, as if he had been entrusted with something extremely important.
Ruan Qiao stood to the side, watching him work, picking out the peach kernels he cracked, washing them, and wrapping them in a damp paper towel.
“This is the paper towel method, it’s used to encourage sprouting…”
She demonstrated while explaining to him.
Although her words were simple, the boy listened intently, as if he wanted to remember every single word she said.
The August sun was scorching, and with so much wild grass around, it would all be sufficiently dried by evening.
So, while the remaining daylight lasted, Ruan Qiao gathered the little ones to watch her make the substrate for cultivating the oyster mushrooms.
She retrieved two empty dry-food containers from the warehouse and also found an unused stainless-steel water tank, filling each with clean water.
Then she had the little ones step back to a safe distance. Once they were far enough, she poured in the bagged quicklime.
Immediately, with a gurgling, bubbling sound, the water began to boil, and a sharp, acrid smell filled the air.
The little ones had never seen anything like this before and all squeaked and yelped in alarm.
Some covered their heads, some flapped their wings, and Gungun was so scared he dove straight under Xiao Wang’s belly.
“This is very dangerous, right? That’s why you can’t touch anything adults haven’t checked first, otherwise you could get hurt. Do you understand?” Ruan Qiao guided them sternly.
This time, the little ones really listened, nodding quickly and attentively.
The amount of quicklime used for soaking straw requires a precise ratio. To make the lesson memorable and emphasize safety, Ruan Qiao used a much higher concentration than usual.
After the demonstration, she added enough water to the container, stirred it evenly, and then, together with the boy, placed in the pre-cut dry straw.
…
The busy day finally came to an end. After washing up, Ruan Qiao quickly fell asleep.
She had barely rested the night before while caring for the big cat, sleeping only in the late hours, and today she had worked the entire day.
So she fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, not even having a single dream.
In the middle of the night, Ruan Qiao was suddenly awakened by a sound.
Rubbing her tired, stinging eyes, she sat up in the dark, still dazed, almost wondering if she had been dreaming or misheard.
But soon she heard the faint, fragmented sounds again, like whispers, like soft breathing, or even like quiet crying.
Ruan Qiao stayed still on the bed for several seconds, her gaze fixed in the direction the sounds were coming from.
Through the wall, she almost saw that injured big cat again.
Unable to ignore it, she got out of bed.
She walked to the next room and knocked on the door. “Are you not feeling well again? Do you need help?”
No one answered.
She knocked a few more times. “Can you hear me? Please answer, or I won’t be able to relax.”
Still, no one made a sound.
Struggling for a moment, Ruan Qiao gritted her teeth and called out loudly toward the room, “I’m coming in!”
Then she decisively turned the doorknob.
The door wasn’t locked; it swung open easily.
The moment the door opened, illuminated by the light outside, Ruan Qiao immediately saw the boy lying on the floor mats in the living room.
He was clearly trapped in a nightmare, curling up on his side with his knees drawn to his chest, trembling.
Strands of his black hair were damp with sweat, sticking to his pale face.
His clear amber eyes were tightly shut, and from Ruan Qiao’s angle, she could clearly see the slight redness at the corners and the small clumps of eyelashes darkened by tears.
Seeing the boy who had been so strong and stubborn that morning now lying so pale and helpless, Ruan Qiao felt a pang of heartache.
She walked over and knelt beside him, gently brushing his hair back and wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Sensing her presence, the boy’s tense muscles visibly relaxed, and instinctively he inched closer to her.
Ruan Qiao sighed quietly to herself, patting his back gently and softly comforting him, “It’s okay… no one can hurt you anymore. Don’t be afraid.”
She didn’t know what had caused his nightmare, but she understood the feeling.
When her parents had both died suddenly, Ruan Qiao had felt as if the sky itself had collapsed.
During the day, she tried to act strong, but at night, she couldn’t stop having nightmares.
Those dreams were dark, oppressive, suffocating.
In them, she was alone, desperate, unable to escape no matter how hard she tried.
Before long, she became completely drained, her mind foggy and weak.
Later, her aunt found out and stayed with her for a full month.
Every night, her aunt would sleep beside her.
Whenever Ruan Qiao fell into a nightmare, her aunt would hold her in her arms, rocking and comforting her like a small child.
Her aunt’s presence had been Ruan Qiao’s greatest solace during those unbearable days.
It was precisely because she knew someone was beside her, that she wasn’t completely alone, that she had support, that Ruan Qiao had eventually managed to slowly break free from her nightmares.
So, she could truly empathize with the boy’s pain.
Ruan Qiao’s comforting touch clearly had an effect on him as well.
He gradually stopped trembling and slowly opened his eyes, looking at her in a daze.
It was unclear whether he actually saw anything, because before Ruan Qiao could say a word, he closed them again.
Then, almost instinctively, he reached out and hugged her, pressing his face against her leg.
Ruan Qiao’s body stiffened.
She could handle closeness from the big cat, but she couldn’t accept him hugging her this tightly after becoming human.
This sudden intimacy left her completely flustered.
Ruan Qiao instinctively tried to pull away, but the few movements she made didn’t free her, instead, the boy hugged her even tighter.
His eyes were still tightly shut; he was clearly still trapped in the dream.
Sensing the support he relied on might leave, he instinctively nuzzled his head against her leg, parting his lips slightly and letting out soft, broken whimpers: “Brother… it hurts… Aqi… it really hurts…”