Chapter 20 Türkiye (3) People I Hate

After Aisha went inside, she closed the door that had been deliberately left open and then slowly slipped through the gap between the carved iron gate.

The courtyard was bright and spacious, with a grapevine climbing endlessly along the wall.

The kitten was immediately drawn to the house as soon as she entered. In front of her was a huge square window with glass as beautiful as the ones she had seen in the temple, seemingly in the Ottoman style that 1221 had mentioned.

Beside that beautiful window, there was a large bay window, covered with comfortable cushions and pillows.

There was a girl sitting on it.

She looked to be about the same age as Aisha, with soft light brown hair, but her face was somewhat pale, and she was wrapped in a wool blanket that was too warm for the season.

"Zelin, I'm here."

Aisha's voice came from the doorway of the room.

Zelin put down the book in her hand and smiled: "You're here! I thought you weren't coming today."

After hearing Aisha's voice, he jumped from the courtyard onto the windowsill where Zelin had been and looked into the house through the glass window.

The walls were light cream-colored, the floor was covered with a thick carpet, and several landscape paintings hung on the walls, depicting a tranquil strait and gardens.

"Have you been waiting for me all this time?"

Aisha had already taken off her shoes outside. After coming in, she was a little embarrassed: "I'm sorry, I should have come right after school. I played with Lana and the others for a while."

“No.” Zelin stepped down from the bay window. “Have you had dinner? I asked the housekeeper to save some dessert for you.”

"No, no, I've already eaten."

"Sham, please bring me the cake."

A moment later, the other party brought over a silver tray with a small slice of Black Forest cake on a plate. Zelin picked up a silver fork and handed it to Aisha.

Aisha took it and looked at the tiny fork, which was not much bigger than a toothpick.

"How many bites would it take to finish eating with such a small fork?"

She clumsily scooped up a tiny bit of crumb, stuck out her tongue to catch it, and smacked her lips.

The chocolate shavings sprinkled on top were better than any other chocolate she had ever eaten; they were rich, bitter, and intense, and topped with huge cherries.

Aisha carefully scooped out a bite of the cherry-filled cake and held it to Zelin's lips: "Here you go."

The other person shook their head: "The doctor won't let me eat it."

Aisha didn't understand: "What illness do you have? How come you can't even eat cake? What do you usually eat?"

“They said I should only eat sugar-free snacks.” Zelin didn’t mention her illness, only saying, “You eat it. I specially asked the nanny to make it for you. I made this cake with her.”

"You can even bake cakes!" Aisha exclaimed, forking up a large piece and stuffing it into her mouth. "That's amazing!"

With chocolate and cream smeared on her lips, she wiped them off with her hand and habitually smeared them on her pants.

"Hey, no."

Zelin reached out to stop her: "Use this."

She handed him a napkin that smelled of jasmine.

Aisha paused, blushed, and wiped the cream off her hands on a napkin.

After she finished the rest of the cake in two bites, the other person handed her a napkin to wipe her mouth and a wet wipe to wipe her hands.

"trouble."

Despite saying this, Aisha still did it step by step: "I ate right after weighing the spices at the stall, wiped my hands on my apron and clothes, and then ate bread directly."

This practice of distinguishing between dry and wet hand and mouth wipes is too particular for her.

And then there's the disapproving look from the other person, which is really awkward.

Zelin: "I know. But maybe next time you can use a fork so you can keep eating even if your hands are dirty."

"Oh, this is such a hassle."

Aisha muttered, "You've never been to a shop, so you don't know how rushed it gets when things get busy."

Zelin wasn't angry. She handed the other person a pack of wet wipes and said, "Here, take this."

"You can easily get sick if you ingest bacteria from your hands. You don't want to get sick and miss school like I did, do you?"

Aisha hesitated for a moment before obediently putting it into her bag.

She suddenly remembered something and started looking for her belongings in the inner pocket of her handbag.

"Look!" she exclaimed, unable to hide her excitement. "I found this at the dock."

Aisha opened her hand, revealing a smooth pebble in her palm, dark gray with white veins: "Doesn't it look like a wave?"

Zelin took the pebble and examined it carefully: "It's very beautiful and smooth, like a work of art sculpted by the sea."

She spoke very softly, like a feather, and Aisha, who was used to speaking loudly, unconsciously softened her voice in front of her.

“You speak like you’re reciting poetry,” Aisha said. “Here you go.”

"Are you really going to give it to me?"

Zelin's amber eyes lit up, and she looked somewhat flattered.

Her expression clearly pleased Aisha greatly.

With a generous wave of her hand, she said, "Of course, I have more at home, and I can always go to the dock to find more later. I'll come back and show you when I find something even prettier."

Upon hearing this, Chi Chi also leaned out of the window and looked at the pebble with waves in Ze Lin's hand.

Just then, the other person slightly raised their eyes and met the gaze of the fluffy little head.

"Oh!" Zelin exclaimed softly, her eyes filled with surprise. "There's a kitten."

Aisha immediately turned her head, then grinned and said, "It's you! Are you coming to play with me?"

"You know her?"

“She’s our market’s lucky charm,” Aisha asked Zelin. “Can we let her in? She looks like she wants to join us.”

Zelin extended her hand to Chichi: "Please come in, beautiful little cat. Our eye colors are a bit similar."

He blinked slowly, then saw his reflection in those amber eyes; the other person's eyes were a bit darker.

She lightly hopped into the room. The thick carpet was softer than she had imagined; even if someone jumped on it, it wouldn't make a sound.

The room was filled with the scent of jasmine. She looked around and finally chose to lie down next to the bay window where the two of them were sitting.

"She's amazing."

Aisha boasted to Zelin about her cat friend: "When we played soccer this afternoon, it helped us beat Blake and his team, scoring several goals."

“That’s great…” Zelin said longingly, “I also want to play football with you guys and collect stones at the dock.”

"We'll go together after you get better."

Zelin didn't say anything, she just stroked the pebbles without speaking.

Aisha asked, "When are you going back to school?"

“I don’t know,” Zelin said softly, her eyes dim. “My mother hired a tutor for me.”

"What's the meaning?"

Aisha asked, puzzled, "Are you going to be homeschooled from now on?"

The other person nodded.

“How could this happen?” Aisha frowned. “I was waiting for you to come back so we could rehearse together.”

“I’ve already quit.” Zelin’s smile was somewhat bitter. “I can’t perform with you anymore.”

Aisha paused for a moment, then met the other's downcast eyes. She felt a pang of sadness and didn't know how to comfort her. It seemed as if any words of comfort she could offer would be inadequate.

"Oh, right, I also brought a gift for you."

Aisha perked up and deliberately tried to distract the other person by taking out a shiny, glazed ceramic shard and holding it up under the bedside lamp, where reflections gathered from all directions.

The originally monotonous warm light has become colorful, reflected on the wall.

It slowly hopped over from where it had been lying, its claws reaching out to catch the unruly reflective fragments.

Aisha and Zelin smiled at the same time as they looked at the innocent and carefree kitten.

"Here you go, try it." Aisha placed the glaze fragment in Zelin's hand, watching her shake it and use the reflection to tease the kitten.

The somber atmosphere was broken by the lively and adorable kitten, and the two of them played with Chichi for quite a while until they forgot all their worries.

"This is for you too."

Aisha placed the treasures she had painstakingly found—pebbles and glaze fragments—in Zelin's hands.

“My dad said this fragment might be an antique.”

Zelin touched the cool pebbles and glaze fragments a few times, then took out an exquisite treasure chest from the drawer and put them inside.

Pebbles and fragments, mixed in with a pile of strange and expensive-looking handicrafts, looked out of place, yet they were solemnly placed in the very center.

Aisha looked at the glittering trinkets in the treasure chest.

Crystal stones, diamond-encrusted eggs, small brass telescopes, lacquer boxes... and various bracelets and headdresses made of materials she didn't recognize.

Seeing that Aisha was staring intently at the Derosa ceramic gold foil ornament in the box, Zelin took it out and handed it to her.

Aisha picked it up and touched it. Although she liked it, she knew it must be expensive, so she put it back in the treasure box.

"This is for you," Zelin said, placing it in the other person's hand. "A return gift."

"I can't accept it."

Aisha refused to take it: "I've seen similar ornaments in the ceramic shops in our market. They were very crudely made and obviously fakes, yet they were so expensive. Yours must be even more expensive."

“Why worry about the price?” Zelin said. “It’s just a small gift. I’ve already accepted two gifts from you, so just accept it.”

"I told you, it's too expensive."

"It's okay, it's not expensive."

Aisha bit her lip and pushed it aside: "Anyway, I don't want it. If my parents see it when I get home, they'll definitely make me take it back to you."

"If you don't accept it, then I can't accept your gift either."

Zelin took out the pebbles and glaze fragments from the treasure chest, but Aisha's attitude was very firm, with a touch of stubbornness: "You don't understand, these are completely different!"

"But I really wanted to give it to you..."

"What should we do, 1221?" Chichi asked the system. "They're about to start arguing."

“I can’t do anything about it either,” 1221 said. “Aisha is proud and a bit sensitive, so she definitely can’t accept exchanging gifts that are not of equal value. The other girl is out of touch with reality, and the two of them have a big difference of opinion.”

Aisha was unhappy, and Zelin was also a little flustered.

She tried to take the other person's hand, but Aisha dodged it.

Seeing the tense and stiff atmosphere, Chichi quickly meowed twice, grabbed the small ornament from Zelin's hand, and carried it to the carpet.

Aisha was startled, thinking the ceramic would be damaged, and tried to stop the kitten.

Zelin said, "Let her play with it. She seems to really like this gift."

Chichi lay with its four paws in the air, holding a delicate little ceramic ornament as if it were playing with a beloved cat toy. It seemed to love it so much that it would rub its head against it from time to time.

Both little girls were completely charmed.

This adorable behavior quickly drew the attention of both of them to Chichi. Seeing that the two of them were staring at her intently, the kitten played even more enthusiastically.

She placed the ornament on the ground, bent down, and wiggled her hips, as if treating the toy as an imaginary enemy, amusing herself in a very comical way.

Aisha couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

Zelin couldn't help but laugh.

She looked at Aisha, and suddenly had a brilliant idea, so she emptied out all the other items from the treasure chest.

"We can put your gifts and mine in the same box as our shared property. We can put any interesting things we find here and play with them together whenever we want. Is that okay?"

"That's a good idea."

Aisha's eyes lit up, and she finally picked up the ornament under the kitten's paws to tease the kitten: "Let's just say it's a toy for the three of us, the kitten and me."

Originally, I just wanted to ease the awkward atmosphere, but I didn't expect Zelin to come up with such a good solution.

Chichi walked over and rubbed his hands against each of the two people's hands, then made a satisfied rumbling engine sound, attracting all four hands to stroke his fur.

"When I have time, I go to the market to ask Brother Wujin for some colorful candy wrappers. We can wrap the treasures we find in them. The paper can also be changed to any color, which looks very nice."

“We can also make our own tags for them, attach them, and write down the time and place they were found…”

Once Aisha regained her energy, she began to talk non-stop again.

"Are there lots of fun things in the market?" Zelin asked with a hint of longing in her eyes. She hadn't been to such a crowded place in a long time. "It must be very lively."

"Of course."

Aisha's eyes sparkled as she spoke of her familiar surroundings.

"During holidays and when there are many tourists, it's crowded everywhere, and the noise is so loud you can't hear anyone unless you shout..."

“We would deliberately pile spices and other goods up as high as mountains, and some shops would even play music at the entrance, which was so loud it hurt my ears.”

"They also sell all kinds of desserts and snacks, grilled meat and fish sandwiches, freshly made sesame rings and bread..."

Aisha said, "I really wish our family owned a dessert shop. That would be so much more interesting, and we could eat whenever we wanted!"

Zelin said enviously, "I want to eat it too."

"But you can't eat it."

Aisha's initial excitement turned uncertain as she looked at the other woman's slender wrists and pale skin.

“Your mother probably wouldn’t let you go to our local market either. It’s just selling ordinary things there. It’s noisy, dusty, and not as nice or valuable as your things.”

After speaking, he subconsciously glanced around the other person's room. Every piece of furniture was warm and luxurious, which seemed completely out of place with the atmosphere of the market.

Zelin shook her head: "Just from hearing you describe it, I know it's a very interesting place. I really want to go and see it..."

“Okay.” Aisha hooked her little finger. “Once you don’t have to stay home to recover anymore, I’ll take you there. We can go to the Grand Bazaar together.”

"That's settled then."

Zelin gave her a quick flick of her wrist, and the two looked at each other and laughed.

Chichi also tried placing her paw on the two people's hooked little fingers to remind them not to forget to call her.

"You clever little devil," Aisha said, giving the cat's little face a good rub. "You understand our agreement, don't you?"

Would you like to be good friends with me?

Zelin placed her hand in front of Chichi, blinked her amber eyes at her, and finally showed a hint of vitality befitting her age: "If you'd like, please put your paws in my hand."

As soon as she finished speaking, Aisha held her breath to watch the kitten's reaction.

They were betting that the kitten could actually understand what they were saying.

After thinking for a while, it slowly raised its left paw and placed it on the paw under the expectant gaze.

"Wow!"

Zelin and Aisha exclaimed in surprise at the same time, "She really can understand!"

After playing a command game with the kitten for a while, Aisha glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "It's already so late."

"Are you leaving?" Zelin asked.

"I'm leaving." Aisha hurriedly put her bag on. "When I get back, I can only tell my mom that those stinky boys stopped me from going home to play soccer. That way, I won't get scolded."

"You can tell her that I left you here to play."

“But…” Aisha stammered, “she doesn’t know we’ve become friends yet, even though I’ve mentioned you to her.”

When mentioned, they are still referred to as "someone I dislike".

Seeing Zelin's puzzled expression, Chichi covered her face with her paws.

1221 couldn't bear to look: "If it were an adult, they would probably just mumble and say something like 'uh-huh' to get by. She's already been very honest."

Aisha clearly realized she shouldn't have been too direct with Zelin, so she quickly grabbed her small bag and hurriedly ran out of the room.

I'll come again next time!

Before I could even run out of the room, someone grabbed my hand.

Zelin asked earnestly, "When is the next time?"

"Next time will be... when I find another treasure."

Aisha quietly emerged from the side gate of the other family's courtyard under the cover of night. She also cuddled with Zelin for a moment before jumping out of the bay window to catch up with Aisha.

As Aisha closed the door, someone suddenly patted her on the shoulder from behind.

She nearly screamed and turned to look at the person who had come in.

Lana pointed to the rows of magnificent houses behind her: "What are you doing here?"

"Lana?"

Aisha hadn't even caught her breath when she exclaimed again, "You scared me to death! Didn't you go home? Why are you still here so late?"

"I'd like to ask you, what are you doing here so late?" Lana's eyes were wary, her arms crossed over her chest. "If I remember correctly, Zelin's family lives in this area..."

1221: "Oh dear."

Chichi: "It's good that we've been found out. We might as well just talk to Lana and clear things up, resolve the conflict, and everyone will be happy."

1221 swayed beside Lana: "Some things aren't as simple as they seem."

"You, you remember correctly."

Aisha forced herself to remain calm: "This is Zelin's house. The teacher asked me to deliver her homework."

"It's taken you so long to deliver the homework." Lana was a little angry, looking at Aisha as if she were a traitor. "Were you playing with her?"

"After Zelin took my place, you promised us that you would hate her with us and not say a word to her!"

Aisha instinctively chose to conceal the truth: "Actually, I forgot to bring her homework and went home again, which is why I came out so late."

"Really?"

"real."

"Alright then." The other party reluctantly accepted this explanation.

Aisha asked, "You still haven't told me how you got here."

"After dinner, Blake came to me asking for my homework to copy. After I finished my homework, I came over to watch them play football." Lana pointed to the alley across the street. "There was no space in the square, so they played over there."

Aisha glanced at the open window in the courtyard, relieved that they hadn't seen her.

Chichi followed her gaze and finally understood why Aisha had been so careful before coming to Zelin's house, afraid of being seen by someone she knew.

The other party was in a somewhat awkward position.

Lana's resistance indicates that she cannot accept the fact that Aisha had "defected" to the enemy without telling her and the other children.

The girl, who was usually eloquent and articulate in front of customers at the market, became tongue-tied when facing her close friends.

Unable to open their mouths, they could only resort to lies to cover up their lies.

"I don't know how Aisha and Zelin became friends."

He watched Aisha enter her house, then leaned on the opposite rooftop, pondering the relationship between the children.

"Didn't she dislike Zelin before?"

"If only we could ask her," 1221 said.

"I should have come here sooner." A gust of autumn wind blew by, and Chichi felt cold, so she shrank her head further into her legs.

1221: "Who told you to stay on the beach and sunbathe every day and not want to leave?"

Chichi used its tail to circle the ball of light and bounced it around: "It's so comfortable, I can't help it."

"It's okay, everything should be done with Miracle Cat's wishes in mind."

1221 was caught by the kitten like a catch ball and tossed up, caught again and tossed up again: "We can stay a little longer in the place you like."

"You are the best system in the world."

The kitten sincerely praised the gift, then curled itself into a ball and fell asleep on the roof.

After she fell asleep, the ball of light, as usual, floated leisurely in the air, letting out a breeze.

Unexpectedly, the door that was always closed under the shed that the other party used as a temporary shelter was opened from the inside.

Sensing a familiar magnetic field, 1221 flashed instantly.

Just as I was about to warn the sleeping kitten, I saw the face of the person below and became as quiet as a chicken again.

The door was pushed open further, revealing the face in the wheelchair under the dim streetlights.

Unable to wake the kitten by sending a telegram, the orb of light could only flash, acting as an alarm light.

The flickering light, like a signal, did indeed make the kitten twitch its eyelids uneasy, but it was still very sleepy and struggled on the verge of waking up.

After being glanced at by the other party, 1221 didn't even dare to light up its screen.

It wasn't just the light and alarm; the sphere of light turned into a dark sphere, unable to move at all.

The system was in a panic. Even though it had no eyebrows, it still wanted to wake the kitten up as soon as possible and get it away from the "dangerous person".

The other party ignored it and looked up at the layer of dark clouds gathering in the night.

The autumn wind brings autumn rain, and the kitten, who wasn't sleeping in a covered area, looks like it'll be woken up by the raindrops.

1221 saw the "dangerous person" standing still at the door and assumed that the person was waiting for the rain to start.

Unexpectedly, a moment later, the thick layer of dark clouds disappeared, and the moon, which had been covered, was revealed.

As if unwilling to see the kitten curl up for warmth, the chilly autumn wind stopped, and the kitten slowly stretched out its curled-up body.

I can finally get a good night's sleep tonight.

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Author's Note: There will be another chapter at midnight [Three-Cat Cat]