chapter 10
1167 Words
"Alright, got it."
"Got it, yeah, bye, you hang up first."
By the time the young man finished his call, Jiang Sheng had already been basking in the sun next to the potted plant for quite a while.
Looking at the black cat lying lazily, flicking its tail.
The young man was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"You're pretty well-behaved, huh? Want some more canned food?"
Because it rained heavily last night, the young man let the black cat stay indoors overnight.
To his surprise, the cat didn't cause any trouble at all.
Turning around, he pulled two cans of food from a cardboard box and casually opened them on the floor.
"Come here, this is all I have left, so it's all yours."
As the young man said,
he used to have a cat, which he kept for about two years. Since moving out of his dormitory in the second half of his sophomore year, he had been taking care of it.
Unfortunately, he fell ill later, and gradually couldn't even take care of himself, let alone a cat.
So about two months ago, he found a pet shop and gave his cat to the owner.
He didn't accept their offer to exchange for another pet; he just hoped they would take good care of his cat.
Since it was a vaccinated purebred and hadn't been neutered,
the young man thought that for the pet shop, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, it could continue breeding, bringing in future profits.
Also, as a breeding cat, it should be treated well.
As for why he didn't get the cat neutered, this was because he once heard a saying:
depriving an animal of its right to reproduce might be crueler than taking its life.
So he never considered it, only thinking that if things didn't work out, he'd find a companion for his cat.
Unfortunately, he wasn't good at following through with plans.
These cans of food were obviously leftovers from the young man's cat.
Although they had been stored for some time, they hadn't gone bad because they were canned.
"Mew."
Jiang Sheng looked at the fading dark aura around the young man's neck and casually meowed.
Then he jumped off the windowsill and walked over to eat the fish from the cans.
"You don't look like a house cat."
Observing Jiang Sheng's messy fur, the young man laughed and reached out to touch the cat's ears.
"After you finish eating, I'll take you downstairs. Don't climb through windows anymore; it's dangerous, understand?"
Saying this, he finally placed his hand on top of Jiang Sheng's head and gently rubbed it.
Up until now, Jiang Sheng didn't know the young man's name, and the young man didn't plan to learn Jiang Sheng's either.
They were merely two souls who met by chance, and their encounter would likely end soon.
But Jiang Sheng didn't intend to leave just yet.
Especially when the young man burned his hand with boiling water while making instant noodles.
Jiang Sheng realized he needed to take something with him before leaving.
"Phew, what bad luck. Luckily, I reacted quickly, or I wouldn't have been able to use this finger today."
It wasn't midsummer yet, and the temperature wasn't high, so there was no need for air conditioning. Kicking the fan on with his knee, the young man sat at the table, muttering as he ate his noodles.
His computer was still on, playing the music he liked to listen to while writing.
It was a gentle melody, without lyrics or impressive techniques.
Just gentle and exceptionally serene.
On such a morning after the rain, this music without any "highlights" blended particularly well with the atmosphere.
Even the buildings outside the window seemed to take on a poetic quality.
Jiang Sheng turned his head thoughtfully, watching the young man eating noodles and enthusiastically scribbling on a page with a pen. He admitted he was somewhat puzzled; why did someone like this appear so worn out?
Shouldn't he enjoy his life?
Humans, indeed, are complex creatures.
Around ten o'clock in the morning, Jiang Sheng finished the two cans of cat food.
After taking four pills of unknown purpose, the young man took the black cat down to the garden, intending to let it go back where it came from.
While this method of dealing with stray cats wasn't ideal,
the young man was too exhausted to do anything more elaborate.
"Alright, go back, if you have a home."
Under the shade of a tree outside the apartment building, the young man put Jiang Sheng on the ground.
He didn't leave immediately but continued squatting, waiting for the black cat to leave on its own.
However, to his surprise, the black cat didn't seem to have any intention of leaving.
It stood there quietly, looking at him with an unusual silence.
"What's wrong?"The young man, his face weary, suddenly found the sunlight to be blinding.
Only then did he realize that it had been a long time since he last went out for a stroll.
Even his clothes seemed to carry the smell of "mold."
"Meow."
The black cat, unperturbed, meowed and then, with a graceful leap, landed on the young man's back.
"Hey, I can't take you in."
Despite the sudden action of the black cat, the young man remained calm, still squatting.
As if worried that standing up abruptly might hurt the cat on his back, he reluctantly looked up and said,
"I'm already struggling enough as it is. Do you understand what that means? Struggling enough."
He spoke as if he were an old pedantic scholar, repeating the words over and over, seriously conversing with the black cat.
"Meow."
"It means I don't have the energy to deal with you anymore."
After saying this, the young man lifted his hand, grabbed the black cat from his back, and placed it back on the ground.
His actions were undoubtedly rough, as if trying to scare the cat away.
Yet, Jiang Sheng still stood before him.
"I won't bother with you anymore."
The young man looked at the black cat and shook his head.
Then he stood up, turned around, and walked back into the apartment, ignoring Jiang Sheng.
Jiang Sheng, however, wagged its tail lazily, licked its paws, and then jumped up the wall again to the sixth floor.
When the young man saw Jiang Sheng appear on his windowsill for the second time while sitting in his room,
he simply drew the curtains.
Out of sight, out of mind.
He didn't believe the black cat would stick around forever.
After all, cats are quite pragmatic creatures; they don't have the same persistence as dogs and are more adaptable.
Once it realizes there's nothing to eat here, it should leave on its own.
With this thought, the young man turned to begin his daily work.
This was the real torment he faced.
A self-inflicted torture, almost like an interrogation.
- Writer
