Chapter 15

Just when I was puzzled, I saw a woman in a wheelchair coming from the direction of the bathroom out of the corner of my eye.

I had reason to suspect that she was a cashier, so when she slowly approached me, I took the initiative to make way for her to move forward easily.

She must have been very impressed by my actions. When we met eyes, she smiled at me. This smile was not just on the surface, it was a smile that emanated from her heart.

Sure enough, the woman passed me and stopped behind the cash register, which had been empty the moment before. Turning around, she saw me standing there the entire time, and asked, curious yet concerned, "Little boy, is there anything I can help you with?"

The woman's gentle question interrupted my observation of her, and the embarrassment on my face disappeared in an instant when I realized what she was calling me.

Regardless of whether the woman understood sign language or not, I expressed my thoughts without a care: I am an adult, twenty-one years old.

The woman was obviously startled, not realizing I was mute, but she seemed to understand what I meant. She gestured back with her hand, "Are you twenty-one years old?"

I nodded.

"How come you're so small?" the woman said with a laugh, then paused. "You're not deaf-mute—I was confused. You clearly heard me calling you little friend just now."

I couldn't join in her mumbling, so I just stood there silently, continuing to look at her legs over the cash register.

She didn't notice my look, but curiously inquired about my condition: "Did you hurt your throat when you were a child?"

I shook my head: I was born without the ability to speak.

The woman couldn't understand my sign language and glanced at the woman behind the cashier opposite for help.

After meeting her gaze, the woman presented my meaning in the form of text on her mobile phone.

Then, the woman suddenly realized and looked at me with maternal concern and a little bit of the heartache that I was familiar with.

I have seen this look in the eyes of the couple working in the shop.

I was lucky enough to have picked up ten yuan, and I thought it would be better to spend it at a familiar store than anywhere else. But when the couple learned about my situation, I clearly saw deep pity and helpless care in their moist eyes.

It seems that they are all very good people.

After the polite greetings, I was reluctant to leave and stayed at the cashier for a long time, which attracted the woman's attention again.

Perhaps knowing that I was mute, which was considered a disability, the woman asked immediately, "Are you looking for a job?"

I nodded again: I will come to take over your shift in a while.

After others explained it to her, the woman brought me closer to her, and the title of colleague made her care about me more.

Through small talk, she learned it was my first time working there. Perhaps worried about my lack of experience, she took the initiative to teach me some work techniques she'd developed over the years when few people were around. I didn't take much in, but instead, like a curious baby, I kept observing her wheelchair—or, more accurately, her disabled legs.

She met my gaze and looked along with me.

Then, she smiled nonchalantly, "My leg was amputated in a car accident. It's been...many years."

There's no point in poking at someone's scars, so I nodded silently.

When I was handing over my shift, the store owner who had guided and trained me yesterday came to inform me, and the woman in the wheelchair left.

I stood at my post and looked at the familiar face opposite me.

The woman who knew sign language hadn't left yet; she stood quietly, tilting her head toward the door. Her kind eyes revealed a hint of envy, but also something else.

It seemed like she was rejoicing about something.

I followed her complicated gaze and saw a figure in a wheelchair standing in front of the supermarket door.

She neither retreated nor advanced; her eyes darted around as if she was waiting for someone to pick her up.

My vision gradually expanded to the sky. The sky, which was a clear blue in the morning, had now turned gray, with sparse clouds gathered together, covering the sky with a suffocating lowness.

It's going to rain.

I suddenly realized that Li Ying'an probably didn't bring an umbrella.

I turned around and peered through the window at the shop across the street where Li Ying'an worked, trying to spot him. But no matter how hard I looked, I could only see passersby.

Just as I was about to retract my depressed gaze, I was suddenly dazzled by a young figure that broke into my field of vision.

He was a tall boy wearing a blue-gray hoodie. He walked casually and neatly, lazy but not dragging.

My eyes followed him until he stopped beside the woman in the wheelchair and handed her the umbrella.

Is that the woman's...son?

I turned around, hoping the other person would confirm my thoughts.

Sure enough, the woman gestured to me: That was her son.

The disabled lady said that the woman in the wheelchair had two sons, and the one who came to pick her up today was the eldest son.

She said that the two children were not all born to women, and one of them, the eldest son, was adopted.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the woman was overly partial to her eldest son and rarely discussed her biological sons. It was speculated that the woman became disabled after the birth of her youngest son, so it's hard not to wonder if she was putting her pain on him.

This sounds ridiculous, but I have no reason to refute it. I have only met the woman in the wheelchair once, and I know nothing about her condition except what I heard.

Although she had never seen or heard about the younger son, the woman told me that a woman’s eldest son does deserve preference.

He was an outstanding boy, a graduate of a prestigious university, currently preparing for postgraduate entrance exams. He was polite, but quiet, and exceptionally thoughtful. His mother told him that her son had considered things she couldn't even imagine. Though still young enough to enter society, his every move was remarkably mature, as if he had already prepared for them.

Who wouldn’t like to have a child who is easy to take care of?

After briefly speaking to me, the lady turned her attention to the girl who was late.

I found their conversation boring, so I turned my head and headed towards the sparsely populated street.

Suddenly, a muffled thunder that did not belong to this season exploded above the thick clouds, followed by a rain.

The chaotic sound of footsteps rushed into the open store door. The supermarket was undoubtedly a good place to take shelter from the rain. The originally quiet space suddenly became filled with many harsh noises. It was very noisy.

I, who like quietness, looked towards the door with a resentful look in my eyes, but when I saw a certain face, my neck stopped and my eyes widened.

Teng Zheng’s appearance made my heart suddenly shrink.

I instinctively feared and loathed Teng Zheng. I knew this was due to Xiaoju's death last time. The shadow of that incident had left me with a grudge against Teng Zheng, causing me to avoid him.

The cashier counter was very close to the door, and my position was even closer to Teng Zheng. I lowered my head, trying to hide myself as perfectly as possible, but I still couldn't escape the scrutinizing eyes.

Teng Zheng approached with suspicion at first, but after confirming it was me, he revealed a surprised voice: "It's you?"

My ears felt like they were clogged with the air around me, and my sigh was stuck in my throat, unable to be lifted or swallowed. I blinked resignedly, then looked up expressionlessly.

The moment our eyes met, Teng Zheng smiled. I didn't understand the hidden meaning behind his brilliant smile, and just as I was about to delve deeper, he suddenly frowned and questioned me.

"I invited you to the park last time, why didn't you go?" He was very unhappy with my standing him up. "I waited for nothing."

He acted harmless, but in my eyes he was extremely scheming, so I didn't treat him well.

I responded perfunctorily: Sorry, I've been sick for many days.

Teng Zheng stared at me for a long time, confused. I even heard him whisper that it was necessary to have a rough understanding of sign language.

Fortunately, he was good at guessing riddles: "Are you sick?"

I pretended to be weak and glanced at him guiltily.

While I was silent, he looked around and finally said something pitiful: "You were caught stealing medicine because you were sick, and then you worked to earn money to pay off your debt?"

"..." I pursed my lips and glared at him unhappily.

My attitude of indifference is so obvious that even a blind person can guess my indifference through my silence.

Well, although I am a mute and cannot speak, Teng Zheng can see it.

He approached me across the cash register, his right arm resting on the machine. The corner of his mouth twitched, and there seemed to be a hint of displeasure in his dark eyes, but his tone was slightly raised: "You seem to dislike me? I haven't done anything to offend you, have I? And I thought we got along quite well last time."

This is indeed an undeniable fact. The fear of being maliciously pursued led me to embellish our previous encounter, preventing me from reacting quickly enough and discovering Teng Zheng's scheme. Fortunately, I had completely distanced myself from him the previous time. If Li Ying'an hadn't appeared and shown me the body of the dead orange cat, I might have disappeared long ago.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, but I couldn't turn into a cat and scratch him on the spot, so I could only clean the cash register with a sullen face.

Teng Zheng seemed to be very interested in my attitude. The more I protested, the more he chased me. Just when he was about to ask something else, fortunately, the person who was checking out came to my rescue.

I glanced over there and was glad that there were still quite a few people there.

Teng Zheng showed no signs of leaving.

I glanced at the end of the line inconspicuously. There were only four people left at the checkout line, and each of them was holding only a few things in their hands. I guess I could take a break in less than two minutes.

For the first time, I wanted to have more people.

After I packed the last customer's items and handed them over with both hands, Teng Zheng, who had been ignored, suddenly spoke.

"What makes you so prejudiced against me?"

The question he asked me made me let out an almost inaudible laugh. In my heart, I was complaining about this man's shamelessness. He knew very well that I didn't like him, but he still insisted on getting to the bottom of it and put his face in someone else's cold butt.

I wanted to continue ignoring him, but Teng Zheng's constant questions really affected my work efficiency. I suppressed my anger and wanted to punch him twice in the face, so I compromised.

Have you ever killed a kitten?

I asked this question on behalf of Li Ying'an. I should have been friendly and condescending, but when I saw the nonchalant face in front of me with the corners of his mouth unable to suppress the curve, my brows unconsciously began to lower, and my calm expression suddenly became a little colder. My eyes, which were originally dominated by anxiety, were now filled with anger.

Seeing this, even if Teng Zheng tried to argue, I already knew the answer in my heart.

I decided not to look at that face again.

Bad guys, go to hell.

I thought angrily.

Teng Zheng was unable to respond for a moment, as he had no idea what I was saying in sign language. He pondered for a while, and finally a cleaning lady came over to help.

"Orange cat?" he repeated, the confusion in his eyes clearly visible, as if he didn't even remember such a thing.

I took in his expression clearly, and I couldn't help but curse him for being so forgetful, while gnashing my teeth to hide my anger.

Teng Zheng didn't play dumb, but his question wasn't direct either. It was like he was trying to get at me in a roundabout way: "Are you talking about the orange cat I met the other day?"

I didn't say anything, my eyes were full of unquestionable certainty.

Teng Zheng was a bold speaker, and his opening statement was straightforward, getting to the point right away. "That cat is indeed dead, but I didn't kill it. My brothers and I split up into two groups. Once we'd spotted two cats, we knew they were afraid of us and would flee in which direction. I was the leader, at the front, trying to stop the fastest cat. I didn't catch the fastest, the tabby cat, and then we ran into you in the alley. I guess that's when the orange cat fell behind. I thought both cats had gotten away, and my brothers didn't have any."

Listening to his calm narration, without any apology between the lines, but instead a kind of indifference, I almost couldn't breathe: So why did you catch them?

Teng Zheng seemed to sense my anger. For the first time, he understood my point so quickly: "Because we're participating in this activity to get them sterilized and earn some money. You have to know that if we don't catch them, someone else will. Do you think everyone is so kind to participate in this activity to contribute to society? It's all for the money."

If there are no conditions that are in their own interests, people will not waste time looking for cats on the streets to be sterilized.

But sterilization and cruelty are two different things. If it is for money, why kill the cats and cut off the source of income?

I don’t understand: But the cat that was exchanged for money was killed by you.

It was still the kind cleaning lady who explained for him, but this time the content made the lady look at him deeply.

"It wasn't me—OK, we accidentally killed it, but that was definitely not our intention. We just wanted to catch it, send it safely for sterilization, and then get the money we deserved. Our purpose is as simple as that. Do you think we are cat abusers?"

Teng Zheng rambled on and on, then suddenly thought of a possibility and turned to ask me, "Please, stray cats and dogs are very dangerous. How can we catch them if we don't take some coercive measures? After injuring the kitten, my brother said he just wanted to hit the cat's hind legs with a stone to calm it down, but he hit its head and killed it. We've done this before, and nothing has happened..."

"After I separated from you, I went to look for the cat and planned to bury it, but I didn't go over when I saw someone."

I think they probably met Li Ying'an who happened to pass by, and were afraid of getting into trouble, so they ran away.

This is indeed the case. I am glad that they left there early, otherwise they would have seen me and Li Ying'an meet.

But no matter what, the cat's death was not unrelated to them.

Recalling the day the little orange cat died, Li Ying'an personally buried it beneath the sycamore tree, I could still vaguely hear his sobs. His sobs were quiet, but they were heartbreaking. Even after only a month together, I guess in his heart, that orange cat had become like a family member.

But this orange cat, who was regarded as a family member, died.

Although it was not Teng Zheng who did it, he was also a participant.

So my cold face and silence were the most obvious expression of my disgust towards Teng Zheng.

"So that's why you're contradicting me?" Teng Zheng asked. "Is that yellow cat yours?"

At this moment, I wanted to tear my vocal cords to make a sound, and both sign language and lip reading put the content in front of the person on the other side.

My face was grim and I said solemnly: It is a good friend I met!