Chapter 5: His birthday. The girl he'd liked for six years was turning eighteen today…

Kittens are so easy to take care of.

She can survive if you give her just a little food and water.

Especially the kittens that can understand human speech, they're practically here to repay a debt of gratitude!

However, even after Cheng Shiyun's skin swelled up from hitting the door, Xie Shijin still didn't come to open it for her.

She was exhausted when she realized that Xie Shijin wasn't wearing his hearing aid, so even if she pounded on the door, Xie Shijin wouldn't hear her.

...

Xie Shijin could not hear in either of his ears.

When Xie Shijin entered high school, he wasn't wearing a hearing aid yet. He had a strange and withdrawn personality, didn't like to play with others, and often held a book in his hand, looking like a bookworm.

Although he had good grades, the teachers rarely asked him questions, and no one in the class noticed anything unusual about his ears.

The first to notice something was wrong was the English teacher.

The total score for the college entrance examination in English is 150, with listening comprehension accounting for 30 points, a significant portion. To improve their scores, the teacher dedicates two lessons each week specifically to listening practice, and the class's average listening score has never fallen below 25.

However, Xie Shijin's listening score was unusually low, while he scored nearly full marks on the other subjective and objective questions, which his English teacher found very strange.

During this monthly exam, Xie Shijin didn't fill in the answer sheet at all, so his English teacher called him to the office for a lecture.

That day, Cheng Shiyun happened to be in the office helping to distribute math papers.

She scored 148 on her English test, with all her listening comprehension questions answered correctly.

Xie Shijin is only 118.

At that time, Cheng Shiyun was secretly pleased, but carelessness would not do, as the college entrance examination graders would not give him a chance to explain.

Cheng Shiyun also thought he was going to explain.

So she quietly turned her head and looked at him, wanting to hear what he would say.

The office was silent for a few seconds before Xie Shijin's calm and clear voice rang out.

He said.

"Teacher, I can't hear you."

...

After returning from her monthly leave, Xie Shijin put on her hearing aid.

The first period was math class. The teacher was standing on the podium, lecturing with great enthusiasm, when suddenly someone in the class raised their hand to report: "Teacher, Xie Shijin is wearing headphones in class."

In an instant, everyone turned their heads.

Xie Shijin raised his head, and more than fifty pairs of eyes fell on him.

The math teacher was also sizing him up: "Xie Shijin?"

The students began to whisper among themselves.

"He's really bold; he even dares to wear headphones to Lao Zhang's class."

"If you get first place in the next monthly exam, you can ride on Old Zhang's head."

"But he can't just do whatever he wants because he has good grades. Wearing headphones to class is very disrespectful to the teacher."

"What are you trying to show off for..."

These whispers reached Xie Shijin's ears, mingling with the faint static from his hearing aid, sounding like ants crawling in his ear canal.

Suddenly, a sweet yet indignant voice rang out, blowing away the ants:

"If you go blind, get treatment."

"That's not an earphone, it's a hearing aid."

What Xie Shijin saw was the girl's thin, reddish ears and her high ponytail.

...

Cheng Shiyun didn't understand why Xie Shijin, who clearly had hearing problems, didn't need a hearing aid.

She found out later.

It's like teeth during puberty.

Cheng Shiyun has a pair of canine teeth.

Ran Hongyin was worried that her canine teeth would crowd out the other teeth and grow crooked, so she took her to get them straightened in the first year of junior high school.

She wore braces for two years, then had them removed when she went to high school, and now her teeth are perfectly straight.

However, not all parents are able to pay attention in such a timely manner. Some may not have noticed any problems with their children, while others may be unwilling to spend money, or they may simply not have any spare cash.

Cheng Shiyun searched online and found that a pair of hearing aids costs several thousand yuan.

Moreover, Xie Shijin was too good at hiding his abilities.

If he doesn't say anything, no one will notice that he has a hearing problem. They will just think that he is aloof, introverted, and unsociable, and that he doesn't even respect his teachers.

Cheng Shiyun found it hard to imagine how he survived those two months when he couldn't hear the teacher explaining the points on the podium, couldn't hear the students discussing in class, and couldn't even hear the boys in the back row talking badly about him.

His world was utterly silent.

...

After becoming deskmates, Cheng Shiyun asked Xie Shijin what was wrong with his ears.

She was very considerate, afraid of hurting his pride. Cheng Shiyun spoke very softly, and afraid that he wouldn't hear her, she deliberately stood very close, almost touching his shoulder.

Xie Shijin turned her head and saw her crescent-shaped eyes and her shy yet curious smile.

Her lips weren't very upturned, and her lips, which were covered in lip gloss, were slightly dented by her teeth, making her look like a rabbit.

The teacher arrived suddenly, so Cheng Shiyun naturally didn't get an answer.

In the evening, Cheng Shiyun went to buy chicken cutlets with her classmates.

However, as soon as she stepped out of the school gate, she saw Xie Shijin being grabbed by the arm by a middle-aged man.

They had very similar eyes, with deep creases, light-colored pupils, and a soft, translucent, beeswax-like light brown hue.

Because they looked so alike, Cheng Shiyun knew at a glance that they were father and son.

The man looked menacing and kept cursing. During this time, Xie Shijin was slapped, and the man tried to slap her again, but Xie Shijin grabbed him.

Teenage boys are incredibly strong; the man struggled several times but couldn't break free, and was eventually carried away by security guards.

The crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed, and Cheng Shiyun was pulled by her classmates towards the chicken cutlet shop.

After Xie Shijin finished dealing with his work, he looked back and found that the girl who had been stunned with fright had already disappeared.

Back in the classroom, Cheng Shiyun was still in a daze, hesitating whether to ask Xie Shijin what had happened.

Xie Shijin spoke up first: "That's how it is."

"What did you say?" Cheng Shiyun didn't hear clearly.

He looked up at me, his gaze still calm: "That's how I became deaf."

*

A light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

Cheng Shiyun climbed onto the rooftop.

Xie Shijin wouldn't open the door for her, so she had to find another way.

She could first jump to the neighbor's balcony where clothes were drying, and then jump to Xie Shijin's house.

The rooftop is about two or three meters away from the balcony extending from the sixth-floor neighbor's apartment, and it's more than ten meters above the ground!

A gust of wind made Cheng Shiyun's beard tremble.

One wrong step, and the cat will hate you.

But cats are naturally good at jumping. Cheng Shiyun exerted a little force with her hind legs, and her body lifted into the air like a light ball of fur, landing steadily on the roof of her neighbor's balcony.

She's amazing!

Cheng Shiyun wagged her tail proudly, practically worshipping herself.

How could there be such a smart, brave, and loyal little cat in the world?

The balconies of the neighbor's house and Xie Shijin's house were only an arm's length apart. Cheng Shiyun hunched her back, made a great leap, and squeezed into the stainless steel railing.

Unable to stop in time, the kitten rolled twice before crashing into a pot of gardenias.

The gardenias are blooming beautifully.

The pure white petals are flawless.

A person who can take good care of flowers can also take good care of a cat.

However, the windows on Xie Shijin's balcony were tightly closed.

A cat's face was pressed against the glass. The room was brightly lit, simply furnished, clean and tidy.

Cheng Shiyun first noticed a very new portrait on the shrine, with fresh fruit placed next to it. She didn't know who Xie Shijin's relative was. Xie Shijin's parents never attended parent-teacher meetings.

Looking down, there's a cake on the dining table in the living room!

What a big and beautiful cake!

Cheng Shiyun counted them; there were 18 candles on the cake.

Is it Xie Shijin's birthday today?

Today is the ninth day of the sixth lunar month, which is also her birthday.

Cheng Shiyun has always celebrated her birthday according to the lunar calendar since she was a child.

A month in advance, Cheng Shiyun would check the calendar to find out which day her birthday was.

If it's a weekday, her mother will cook her a bowl of noodles and a poached egg in the morning, and then prepare a big meal for her father when he comes home in the evening.

On weekends, she has a whole day to play. When she gets tired, she can go home, lie on the sofa, and stretch out her hand, and fruits and snacks will grow out of her palm.

That day, she could eat a lot of her favorite dishes, and it didn't matter if she wasted a little. She also received an endless stream of gifts and greeting cards.

The living room of Xie Shijin's house was cold and deserted, and it seemed that there was no one to blow out the candles with him.

What a lonely birthday.

Cheng Shiyun walked around the balcony twice. Where was Xie Shijin?

The room suddenly went dark.

The moonlight was dim, and the room was like a huge container filled with darkness.

Xie Shijin turned off the lights and stepped out of the darkness.

He pulled out a chair and sat down at the dining table.

A newspaper was on the corner of the table: [At 9:37 PM on July 12, 2016, a hit-and-run accident occurred at the intersection of Yichuan Avenue and the pedestrian street. A 16-year-old female high school student was killed. Preliminary investigations indicate the vehicle involved was a silver or white sedan. We urge the public to provide any clues…]

Xie Shijin wasn't wearing a hearing aid, but the girl's sobs kept echoing in her ears.

The girl leaned against him, tears sliding into his palm.

"Help me..."

"Please... save me..."

"I don't want to die..."

In the dead silence, a spark ignited.

Xie Shijin pressed the button on the lighter.

The orange flames danced on his fingertips as he lowered his eyes and lit all 18 candles on the cake, one after another.

...

Candlelight illuminated the living room.

The table was set with dishes that Cheng Shiyun loved.

After a busy night, Cheng Jinghua took off her apron and sat down.

On the seat next to him was an old plush teddy bear.

After a person dies, the clothes she wore and the blankets she used to sleep under are burned.

Cheng Jinghua couldn't bear to burn a single piece.

He always felt that his daughter would come back.

These things need to be kept for her to use when she gets home.

That teddy bear was something Cheng Shiyun insisted on having when she was in elementary school, and it's quite old now.

Cheng Jinghua touched the teddy bear's ears and said, "The teddy bear's ears fell off, so Dad took the liberty of sewing them back on for you."

“Your mother used to do all these things at home; your father never learned them.”

"So I'm sorry, my darling daughter, Daddy's hands aren't very good, and I didn't sew it well."

Cheng Jinghua stroked Ran Hongyin's hair again and asked her, "Wife, do you remember what day it is today?"

Ran Hongyin pointed to the cake on the table and clapped her hands happily, saying, "Birthday, birthday, there's a cake!"

“Yes, it’s a birthday.” Cheng Jinghua’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and his voice choked with emotion. “Today is… our precious daughter’s birthday.”

Our daughter is 18 years old.

...

Cheng Shiyun is 18 years old.

On her 18th birthday, she turned into a cat.

They lived a life of hardship, unable to go home.

Cheng Shiyun looked at her small shadow.

She felt it was incredible that she was alive and could see her parents again.

But people are inherently greedy.

If she could, she would like to make one more wish.

She hopes her parents are healthy and safe, and she also hopes...

I hope Xie Shijin can go to university and live a good life.

Cheng Shiyun raised her kitten paw and gently pressed it against the cool glass, murmuring softly.

Happy birthday, Cheng Shiyun.

...

Happy 18th birthday.

The candlelight flickered on the glass window.

The warm yellow light bathed Xie Shijin's face, making his usually aloof eyes appear softer, and his expression as he gazed at the cake was inexplicably gentle.

He spoke softly to the air, "I don't know if you can hear me, but I got into Tsinghua University."

Tsinghua University.

He repeated it, as if he were speaking to someone.

But all he could see was darkness and emptiness, and no one responded.

The boy choked up, his voice hoarse: "The admission notice will arrive tomorrow."

"But I can't wait until tomorrow."

"sorry……"

I'm sorry he arrived too late that day; blood kept gushing from her mouth and nose. I'm sorry it's been so long, and he still hasn't been able to find the driver who caused the accident. I'm sorry he's trapped in that nightmare and can't go on any longer.

His eyes, like lake water thawing in spring after winter, rippled when the wind blew.

...

"Don't cry, don't cry."

Ran Hongyin wiped away Cheng Jinghua's tears.

Ran Hongyin has forgotten many things, including that she has a daughter. She always points to the photos on the wall and asks Cheng Jinghua who that is.

Today, Cheng Jinghua cooked a big meal and bought a cake. Ran Hongyin knew it was her birthday, but couldn't remember whose birthday it was.

But seeing Cheng Jinghua cry, Ran Hongyin's eyes also reddened, as if she had been infected with his sadness.

She waved her hands and repeated, "Don't cry, don't cry... smile, be happy."

"Okay, don't cry, don't cry." Cheng Jinghua wiped away his wife's tears, took a deep breath, and tried to force a smile. "Today is her coming-of-age ceremony. As soon as it's light... our little cloud will be an adult."

He looked at the empty chair across the table, his voice unusually gentle.

"Blow out the candles, my darling daughter."

...

call--

Xie Shijin leaned forward slightly and blew out the candles on the cake.

The orange-red flames went out one after another.

A second before darkness fell, Cheng Shiyun heard Xie Shijin calling her name.

The sound was very soft, falling right next to my ear:

Happy birthday, Cheng Shiyun.

The girl he's liked for six years is turning eighteen today.

A note from the author:

----------------------

Collect this! [Sprinkling flowers]

The two little bitter gourds will meet in the next chapter and begin their cat-raising mode! [Sprinkling flowers]