The moment the calico cat caught sight of the boy, the bristling fur on its body instantly smoothed down. Meowing, it dashed over to the little boy’s feet and, completely disregarding the damp ground, flopped over right against his shoe, exposing its white belly to act spoiled.
Meow, ooh, meow, meow. The calico cat wailed plaintively, sounding as miserable and aggrieved as if it had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.
Aish, you stinky cat, don’t get my white socks dirty. The boy fussed as he shifted his feet away, never forgetting to hold the umbrella steady for the cat while his own shoulder was dampened by the falling raindrops. Unloading his backpack with one hand, he muttered complainingly, Why did you run all the way out here in such heavy rain? I’ve been looking all over for you. Where are your babies? Aish, get up already, stop acting spoiled here, your fur is all wet.
The boy pulled down the zipper of his backpack, shoved half his arm inside to rummage around, and fished out a bag of cat food and a cat canned meal. Alright, alright, get up, you silly cat! If you want to act spoiled, you should find a dry place.
The moment the calico spotted the canned food, its eyes lit up. With its tail held high, it followed the direction the boy was moving. The boy clutched his backpack and held the umbrella with one hand, retreating toward the side of a trash can. The ground here was dry, and the raised lid of the trash can happened to form a sheltered gap with the wall where the rain couldn’t reach.
Watching the boy draw closer and closer, Zuo Xingyun panicked. Terrified of being discovered, he curled his body up as tightly as possible and squeezed further into the corner.
The boy was completely oblivious to the fact that someone was hiding behind him. He lowered the umbrella to shield the cat beneath it, tossed his backpack casually behind him, and squatted right down on the spot.
Zuo Xingyun held his breath, his heart hammering wildly against his ribs. The backpack landed right against his feet; it was quite heavy, and he had no idea what was packed inside.
Fortunately, he was relatively small and thin, and crouching silently in the back meant no one would notice him.
He peeked out, catching sight of the boy’s fluffy, curly hair and fair, clean nape.
His clothes were so white, yet he rested them against the moss-covered wall without a single hesitation. Zuo Xingyun looked down at his own filth-stained short-sleeve shirt, feeling utterly inadequate and even more ashamed of himself.
The boy was entirely focused. Hooking his index finger through the ring pull of the can, he exerted a bit of force, and with a crisp snap, the canned food popped open.
The calico eagerly clawed at the boy’s knees. The boy was wearing shorts, leaving his knees bare, and in its impatience, the cat forgot to retract its claws, leaving several dirty plum-blossom paw prints right on his skin.
Ow, ow, ow, you stinky cat, your claws hurt! The boy hurriedly pushed the can further away, and the cat’s paws immediately shifted off his knee, locking onto the food to gulp it down with greedy snorts.
Supporting his thighs, the boy stood up, failing to notice the trash can lid directly above his head. With a loud, resounding thud, he slammed right into it.
Ow! He instantly hunched over, clutching his head and crying out in pain, What the heck!
Zuo Xingyun had witnessed the entire clumsy sequence of events. Due to the extremely close proximity, he saw that mop of flamboyant curly hair bounce back from the impact, carrying a distinctly humorous, cartoonish vibe.
He lowered his head and bit his lip, holding back his laughter.
Stupid lid. The boy rubbed his head as he turned around, still wanting to hurl a few curses at the uncooperative trash can. But the moment he spun around, he found himself caught completely off guard, locking eyes with a pair of pitch-black eyes. Almost by reflex, he screamed in absolute terror, Ahhhhhhh!
Crouched behind him was a filthy person about his own size who hadn’t made a single sound!
Zuo Xingyun was startled out of his wits by the shriek as well, but he was already wedged into the absolute corner. Behind him was a solid wall, a dead end, with nowhere to run.
Who, who, who are you! Why are you hiding back here and staying quiet? The boy jerked a step back, accidentally knocking over the umbrella, which tilted unsteadily and flopped flat onto the ground.
With a clatter, the empty can rolled around on the ground a few times, and the calico cat had long since bolted away without a trace.
I, I. The shred of dignity left on Zuo Xingyun felt completely stripped away. He stammered out “I” for a good long while without managing to string together a complete sentence.
His earlobes burned bright red, and standing there completely at a loss, he blurted out disjointedly, I, I’m just hiding from the rain over here.
Hiding from the rain? Why didn’t you go home in such heavy rain? The boy looked him up and down suspiciously. Why didn’t you make a sound while hiding? Looking at how ragged your clothes are. You aren’t a bad guy, are you?
Zuo Xingyun had begged in all sorts of places; he was already accustomed to sarcastic tones and cold, indifferent expressions. Yet, standing before this boy, he tasted once more the agony of having his self-esteem trampled and ground into the dirt.
His face flushed alternately red and white as he offered a soft, halting explanation. I’m not a bad guy. I’m, I’m.
He timidly met Hua Sheng’s gaze, muttered incoherently for a moment, and after hesitating for half a day, whispered, I, I’m a beggar.
A beggar? The boy was baffled, raising his voice. What did you say? You’re a beggar? Well, I suppose you really do look the part.
The boy spoke his mind without any filter or detours, while Zuo Xingyun’s face felt as scorched as a boiled potato, burning hot.
Why are you a beggar? Don’t you have family? The boy touched his chin in thought, asking with innocent curiosity, How old are you, and what’s your name? I’ve never seen you around here before. When did you get here?
Hit with a rapid-fire string of questions, Zuo Xingyun didn’t know which one to answer first. Every single question required careful consideration.
How old was he? Roughly eleven or twelve. Ever since he was abducted, he had never celebrated a birthday again, though he had weathered four or five winters.
I’m, twelve.
Twelve? Hey, you’re the exact same age as me. But, why are you so short? The boy raised a hand to measure against the top of Zuo Xingyun’s head, noting that he was indeed half a head shorter than himself. You look more like you’re eleven.
Zuo Xingyun blinked, his fingers nervously tracing circles behind his back. His injured leg couldn’t straighten out properly, forcing him to rely entirely on the strength of a single leg for support, yet even so, he wanted to straighten his back in front of this boy.
The boy didn’t notice his subtle anxiety and continued pressing, Then what’s your name? Are you by yourself? Don’t you have a dad, mom, or siblings?
No. Zuo Xingyun answered this question quite promptly. But then he choked up again.
A name. It had been a very long time since he last spoke his real name. Everyone called him a bastard or a money-loser.
No name at all? Hua Sheng scratched his head in bewilderment, reading the expression on the other’s face and seeing no sign of falsehood.
It was his first time encountering such a strange person.
Well, my name is Hua Sheng, not the peanut you eat. The “Hua” as in flowers, and for “Sheng”, with the bamboo radical on top, and the “Sheng” for life at the bottom. Hua Sheng patted his own chest in self-introduction.
Zuo Xingyun lowered his head even further.
Hua Sheng assumed the boy didn’t understand, so he simply grabbed his hand and traced the characters stroke by stroke in his palm. It’s written like this. Mom says my name is a musical instrument, yeah, a really nice-sounding instrument.
It had been far too long since Zuo Xingyun had any physical contact with another person, let alone having someone grab his hand to write characters in his palm. It had never happened before.
His cheeks instantly flushed a deep crimson, his heart racing like thunder. The hand held by Hua Sheng felt as though it had been struck by lightning, a tingling sensation spreading across his whole body, making his already unstable legs feel even weaker.
Huh? Why is your hand shaking so much? Hua Sheng asked in confusion. Lifting his gaze, he saw that the other’s expression looked almost as if he were about to cry.
Blinking, his gaze drifted to Zuo Xingyun’s thin, single-layer clothing. Oh, I get it, you must be freezing, especially since autumn is almost over and it’s raining today.
With his earlobes glowing red and his head hung low, Zuo Xingyun occasionally stole glimpses at Hua Sheng. A faint, undefinable fragrance drifted into his nasal cavity, making his heart feel as though it were being tickled by a kitten’s tail. And the person still hadn’t let go of his hand.
He bit his lip, not daring to exert any force at all, hoping that if he stayed still, Hua Sheng might forget and let go.
Zuo Xingyun slowed his breathing. The rain outside seemed to be growing heavier, pattering loudly against the trash can lid.
It’s raining so hard, Zuo Xingyun thought, and my heartbeat is just as loud.
His hand is so white, so small, with flawless, delicate skin.
His palm is warm. Simply holding his hand transmits that heat straight through his fingers.
It’s such a wondrous feeling. Why, doesn’t he find me dirty?
When Zuo Xingyun offered no response, Hua Sheng felt a slight pang of disappointment and finally released his hand.
He picked up the backpack from the ground. When he turned back around, the cleaned-out can was still sitting there on the ground, but the cat was gone.
He slapped his thigh in dismay. Aha, where’s my cat!
The warmth of Hua Sheng’s hand still lingered on his skin. Zuo Xingyun pulled his hand back, pinching his fingertips. It wasn’t until Hua Sheng turned away that he finally dared to lift his head to look at him.
Seeing Hua Sheng pick up his backpack and assuming he was about to leave, Zuo Xingyun couldn’t help taking a couple of steps forward.
He still hadn’t told Hua Sheng his name.
Most of the children abducted along with him were very young, and many couldn’t even remember their own names. Human traffickers simply called them by their physical traits.
Like Limpy, Single-Eyelid, Little Mute. As for him, he was just the unsellable money-loser.
Hua Sheng shouldered his backpack.
No, he wasn’t a money-loser. He had a name.
Zuo Xingyun clenched his fists. Running out of time for mental preparation, the name slipped past his lips, Xie Xingyun.
Hua Sheng paused in his tracks and turned back around.
What?
The moment Zuo Xingyun locked eyes with him, his language processing system failed again. I, no. I said, i,is that your cat?
Hua Sheng raised an eyebrow. Did you just say such a long sentence?
Zuo Xingyun’s hands clenched the fabric of his trousers tightly by his sides, his fingers sliding right into a ripped hole and stretching it wider.
Yeah. Zuo Xingyun hadn’t spoken his own name in so long that he wasn’t even sure if that was his real name anymore. He only vaguely remembered that his family name seemed to be Xie. He only ever knew his childhood nickname, the one his mom and dad used to call him: Yun’er.
With his head lowered once more, he truly wasn’t someone skilled at communicating with others.
Without pressing further, Hua Sheng walked over and picked up the umbrella. Having sat tilted for just a short while, it had already pooled a small puddle of water.
He closed the umbrella and shook it vigorously in his hand, sending droplets flying. Not my cat, I only saw it the day before yesterday.
Zuo Xingyun wanted to ask something else, but feeling that digging too deep might seem impolite, he simply stood there obediently without making a sound.
This cat is timid. If it weren’t starving, it definitely wouldn’t be willing to get close to people. But it still has kittens. If it can’t find food, it’ll starve to death, and if it dies, the kittens will die too. Hua Sheng turned around to look at him, his apricot-shaped eyes filled with genuine worry. I thought I could bring it home today.
It was precisely because of the appearance of this little beggar that the cat had been scared off.
Zuo Xingyun lowered his head, his voice as soft as a mosquito’s. I’m sorry.
I didn’t say I blame you. Hua Sheng shook his head and unzipped his backpack, revealing the contents inside.
Zuo Xingyun involuntarily peeked into the bag: cat food, cat strips, cat canned food, alongside various collars and iron chains.
Hua Sheng placed the backpack on the ground and crouched down beside Zuo Xingyun’s feet to rummage through it, muttering under his breath, Hmm, I remember there should be some human food in here. Let me check.
Zuo Xingyun didn’t understand what was happening, but his intuition told him it concerned him.
Usually I feed stray cats and dogs, I’ve never picked up a human before. Hua Sheng first grabbed a large handful of cat strips and a heavy bag of cat food, setting them on the ground, then pulled out several leashes. Zuo Xingyun hadn’t expected his small backpack to hold so much stuff, and stepped aside to make room.
After clatteringly rummaging around for a long time, Hua Sheng finally fished out a box of slightly crushed biscuits from the very bottom of the bag.
Aha, I knew it. Hua Sheng bounced up, holding the box of biscuits out toward Zuo Xingyun with a smile. Here, eat. I could hear your stomach growling.
Zuo Xingyun instinctively shrank back a bit, yet before he could react, a box of biscuits, all packaged in English text, looking like foreign imports, was thrust into his hands.
He stood holding the biscuits, completely at a loss.
Noticing the boy’s shy demeanor, Hua Sheng thoughtfully reached out and tore open the packaging for him.
With the food presented right under his nose, the rich aroma wafting over him, and the reality that Zuo Xingyun was genuinely starving, plus the fact that this boy was so kind to animals that he hardly seemed like someone who would harm him.
Besides, what value did someone like him even have left to exploit?
With trembling hands, Zuo Xingyun accepted the biscuits and carefully took a bite.
Sweet, delicate, and melting on the tongue. The surface of the biscuit was coated with a thin layer of chocolate, and the moment his teeth broke through, the fragrance of oranges blended with the unique sweetness of chocolate flooded his taste buds. Only then did his tongue belatedly discover that the filling in the center of the biscuit was a pale yellow orange-flavor cream.
His stomach, having gone un-nourished for days, couldn’t handle such sudden stimulation, convulsing violently a few times. Zuo Xingyun bolted down the biscuit in his hand, grabbed the next one, and began devouring it ravenously.
Hua Sheng stood to the side, watching Zuo Xingyun’s every move. He slowly arched one eyebrow in sheer astonishment. Just how long had this kid gone without eating? He looked even hungrier than those stray dogs and cats.
In less than three minutes, Zuo Xingyun had polished off every last biscuit in the box. He lingeringly licked the corners of his mouth, a spark of life seemingly reawakening in his dim eyes. The look he directed at Hua Sheng was no longer timid. Hua Sheng recognized that exact look. He had seen it countless times before.
It was the exact expression stray cats and dogs gave him right after he fed them.
If he were a puppy, he’d definitely be wagging his tail right now.
A subtle ripple stirred in Hua Sheng’s heart, and on a whim, he spoke up, If you don’t have a home, then come with me.