Chapter 28

The sun is shining brightly today, the weather is clear, and the wind is carrying a hint of warmth, making it feel like summer is approaching.

I arrived at my post and took over the shift with Deng Yu. Before leaving, Deng Yu reminded me again that she had informed Sui Yusheng yesterday and that Sui Yusheng would be waiting for me in the rescue room at noon this day.

Hearing her say this, I outwardly expressed gratitude, but my emotions were mixed. As Sui Yusheng's adoptive mother, Deng Yu was bound to side with her. She must have had her own thoughts about what I said yesterday, and I was afraid she might exaggerate and arouse Sui Yusheng's vigilance.

But I think I was worrying too much.

At noon, Teng Zheng, who came to see me, and I bought lunch boxes at the supermarket and had a simple meal. Then, according to the agreed time mentioned by Teng Zheng, we rushed to the rescue room where Sui Yusheng was working now.

When we arrived, Sui Yusheng had just taken the takeaway from the delivery man. He didn't stop when he saw us, but just glanced at us indifferently, as if he was just passing through the air leisurely.

"We just had dinner," Teng Zheng went straight to Sui Yusheng's side as soon as he entered the door, and took a few more glances at the takeout. "Malatang... Since you're already ordering takeout, why not try something fancy?"

Sui Yusheng ignored him and opened the takeaway bag in his hand. He only glanced at me when he was tearing the chopstick bag.

"My mom told me yesterday that you had something to talk to me about," Sui Yusheng said, stirring the bowl with his chopsticks. "What is it?"

I didn't say anything, and I couldn't speak. I was just organizing how to express myself, so I just kept looking at him silently.

The weather today is really good. The midday sunlight is bright and penetrating, shining on the pool of clear water outside the window, and then pouring into the house through the glass, making the whole room ripple and flow.

Sui Yusheng was standing right next to the table, right where the light and shadow were projected. The refracted light moved across his gray shirt, and the flickering stripes were like fish, flapping their tails and slapping him.

Even if he was cold, expressionless, or silent, he would come alive in this light, becoming much gentler than usual. But he was busy stirring the food and was completely unaware of it.

I looked closely at the bracelet that was exposed under the rolled-up sleeve.

"Hmm?" My silence was an offense to the questioner, and he questioned me with an unhappy tone.

I took a step closer, and when Sui Yusheng narrowed his eyes slightly, I slowly stopped and pointed at his bracelet and expressed it as clearly as possible: Can you take it off and show it to me?

After thinking about what I meant for a few seconds, he got the answer. He did not agree to me immediately, but asked me: "Why?"

Seeing this, I no longer concealed my intention and stated it openly: I wanted to see if there were any inscriptions on it.

Everyone paused for a few seconds at this question.

Sui Yusheng's reaction was probably because he failed to figure out what I meant in time. He stared at me like an eagle, and I fought back without fear. Our two fiery gazes met in the air, and neither of us had any intention of dodging. In the end, Teng Zheng interrupted us. He actually understood my body language.

"Brother Sui, he wants to see if there's anything engraved on your bracelet. It won't kill you, so just let him have a look."

Sui Yusheng seemed to be annoyed by Teng Zheng's excessive chatter, and glanced at him lightly for a few seconds. Teng Zheng was still grinning foolishly, completely unaware of the annoyance Sui Yusheng was looking at him with.

Afterwards, Sui Yusheng put her hand on the bracelet, rubbing it for a while before taking it off and giving it to me: "Don't drop it."

I suppressed my irritation and tried not to let a ferocious expression appear on my face as I carefully observed every part of the bracelet.

Suddenly, I found a tiny letter on the bracelet I had seen before. I touched it with my hand, and after thinking of something, I slowly opened my eyes, and then gradually frowned.

SSC.

...seems like they all start with S.

My heartbeat suddenly started to surge, as if it were taking off into the sky.

I returned the bracelet to its owner and ran away without looking back.

"Hey!" Teng Zheng looked like a bewildered monk at this scene. He quickly said goodbye to Sui Yusheng and chased after me without stopping, "Why are you running?"

No matter how Teng Zheng chased me, I still had no intention of stopping. I just wanted to run to Li Ying'an as quickly as possible.

It was noon and there were relatively many people in the restaurant. Although the boss gave Li Ying'an some time to rest, he did not go home. Occasionally, he would ask him to help, and he was obedient.

When I ran into the restaurant, Li Ying'an was serving a plate of pickled fish to the guests, still wearing his work clothes.

"Enjoy your meal." He put down his plate, his signature smile on his face, and turned around after speaking to the customer in a friendly manner.

I found my target and ran to him in a hurry.

I don't usually come to his shop, so he was surprised to see me breathing so hard today. He couldn't help but ask, "Why are you breathing so hard? What's wrong?"

I calmed down and told him what I had just witnessed.

This time, Li Ying'an was no longer calm. He was as nervous as I was and also thought that Sui Yusheng was the old man's grandson.

"Are you sure?" he asked me again.

I nodded heavily without hesitation: There were words engraved inside Sui Yusheng's bracelet, and the position was exactly the same as that of the old man's eldest daughter's bracelet. Their first letters were both S, which were people's names!

Li Ying'an recalled and murmured, "The old man's surname is Song."

So, I guessed that Sui Yusheng was eighty percent related to the old man. Unsure, I looked at Li Ying'an quietly.

My thoughts were simple. I originally considered taking Sui Yusheng back to the elders, but Li Ying'an rejected the idea, believing it was too reckless. He decided not to inform Sui Yusheng for the time being. Even if Sui Yusheng was their child, it was only the elders who should find him. There was no reason for a lost younger generation to find their way home.

He wanted to tell the old man first, or contact his eldest daughter through the old man and let his eldest daughter go and see it in person.

This approach is appropriate, and I agreed with it.

Li Ying'an was busy serving food and tea to the next table. I declined his offer to serve me some, and walked out of the store by myself.

As luck would have it, Teng Zheng, who was chasing him, walked out of the supermarket.

"Oh my God, why are you running, Li Feng?"

He was so tired that he was panting. Although it was noon, the sunlight in the sky was not too harsh. His face turned purple even in such a mild day, which showed that his physical condition was very average.

"But you run so fast, like a rabbit, you disappear in a flash. It's a shame you're not an athlete."

His words made me proud. If I really became an athlete, my record would always be number one and no one would be able to break it.

"But then again, why did you run so fast just now? What did you see on that bracelet?"

I had no intention of telling Teng Zheng about this. I raised my eyelids slightly, glanced at him indifferently, and then silently looked away.

After all this time of going back and forth, it’s time to go to work.

Without giving Teng Zheng the answer he wanted to hear, I walked straight to where I worked. However, Teng Zheng seemed to be sticking to my butt, unable to see other people's expressions, and just kept asking questions.

I was annoyed, so I asked the cleaning lady who was taking a break from her busy schedule to pass on my message to Teng Zheng for the first time.

After seeing my gesture, the cleaning lady was stunned, and then she couldn't help laughing.

"What?" Teng Zheng was bewildered. "What does it mean?"

The cleaning lady watched me calmly tidying the cash register without even glancing over here. She turned around and told Teng Zheng exactly what I'd said, "Did you ask about the bracelet? Xiao Feng told me he actually saw something on it, and that's why he ran back so quickly."

Teng Zheng was surprised: "So what did he see?"

The aunt suddenly dropped her eyes for a moment, suppressing her laughter, her lips pressed into a thin line. She coughed twice to stifle the laughter that was about to burst out again. Like a little girl, with a sly glint in her eyes, she beckoned Teng Zheng to come closer: "Because there is a pig with him, and the bracelet is engraved with 'Teng Zheng is a stupid pig'."

Teng Zheng: “…”

The cleaning lady could no longer suppress her muffled laughter, and when someone called her for help, she walked away with a smile on her face.

Every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt has its creditor. Teng Zheng looked at me resentfully without saying a word. He said, "See you later," and disappeared.

I stopped what I was doing, looked up at his departing figure, and couldn't help but stretch myself, feeling happy to be free.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Watching the scorching sun set over Pingxi, I longed to get home and enjoy Li Ying'an's cooking, saving him from unnecessary worry. But today, I made a mistake.

When I got home, the door was not open to welcome me as usual. It was tightly closed, indicating that the owner had not returned home yet. I could only wait in despair.

Given my lively personality, I definitely wouldn't be able to just sit quietly by the door and wait. But I was exhausted today. If I still had the energy, I wouldn't have come home so early. I didn't have the energy or the inclination to stroll downstairs. The floor was cold, and there was no mat anywhere, so I simply knelt on the ground with my legs curled up.

Before I could close my eyes, I heard footsteps downstairs.

"Qiqi, you seem to be very silent today."

I jumped up and looked downstairs, holding my breath.

"Since you live with me, you trust me, right?"

I am very familiar with this voice, it is Li Lan's voice.

I clearly heard two footsteps, which meant she was accompanied by someone, but no one responded to her from beginning to end.

A second later, I saw the true face of Mount Lushan around the corner.

Li Lan was still the same Li Lan, dressed in a sky-blue sweater and jeans, with a tall figure and a lightly made-up face, just like the blue sky and green fields on a scorching summer day, clearly visible at a glance. But beside her, a girl appeared, dressed in a bright red, just like the blazing sun and the gorgeous flowers, naturally drawing everyone's attention.

After all, I am a cat, and Li Lan's eyes were always on the girl next to her. She didn't see me, but the girl she was hugging noticed me as soon as she turned the corner.

"There's a cat upstairs." The little girl spoke.

Li Lan not only knew Li Feng, but also knew me. Moreover, I was standing in front of my own door. Even if she just glanced at me, she could immediately confirm that I was Li Ying'an's kitten.

"Isn't this Youzhi?" Li Lan saw that the little girl was eager to try again, so he squatted down with her and touched my head under the little girl's gaze. "Can't get in?"

She looked up and pressed the door handle. After finding that the door was locked, she took out her phone and said, "I'll call the poop scooper for you."

A minute later, Li Lan put away his phone and continued to stroke my slippery head. "He's probably busy and hasn't come back yet. Do you want to come to my house and play with Huang Huang first?"

I couldn't make up my mind for the time being. I guessed that Li Ying'an was probably going to find the old man at the scrap yard to tell him what happened today, but the little girl couldn't wait and stretched out her hand to wait for me.

I was happy to be welcomed by someone, so I leaned in and sniffed. The girl's scent wasn't just unfamiliar, it was also stained with the scent of Li Lan's clothes. I jumped onto her open palm and curled up.

This was my second time visiting Li Lan’s home. The person who opened the door remained the same, still Li Lan’s unemployed deaf-mute mother.

But this time she was more enthusiastic towards me, perhaps because she knew that a kitten couldn't talk, and she was a cat lover, so after Li Lan entered the door, she approached me with a smile.

"This is my friend's kitten. He's not home from work yet, and the kitten is locked outside with nowhere to go. So I called him and brought his kitten home to look after him."

Li Lan put me in her mother's arms. I was obedient and didn't struggle. I knew they wouldn't hurt me.

A mother's embrace was warm. I stretched my neck and rested it on Li Lan's mother's arm, feeling my tail lift up. I felt a chill on my buttocks. I turned around and suddenly met the woman's eyes. She smiled at me and turned away again.

She said to Li Lan worriedly: The kitten has not been sterilized and is not kept at home. It will definitely be dangerous if it is let out to roam free.

...Damn it, don't murder my balls!

Li Lan laughed and patted her shoulder soothingly: "Everyone has their own way of raising a child. Don't worry about others."

When her mother looked conflicted, Li Lan called Huang Huang out of the room and accompanied Qiqi back to the room to rest.

Huang Huang's arrival brought me down from the sky to the ground. It and I looked at each other in bewilderment, and neither of us took the first step. No matter how Li Lan's mother pushed Huang Huang or me, we both looked at each other warily and angrily. Although I had seen Huang Huang before, as a human being, and given the situation at the time, I didn't have any extra thoughts like I do now, and I just stood there and watched carefully.

Huang Huang probably could see that I was not an ordinary cat. After looking at me, it lowered its head and even walked around me.

For this reason, the old man pointed at it and complained in a hoarse voice that it was not sociable.

I walked around the house slowly. Since I wasn't hungry, I wasn't interested in the food on the table. In comparison, I cared more about Li Lan and the girl in the room.

I pretended to pass by Li Lan's room by chance. The door was not closed tightly, which made it convenient for me to squeeze in and listen to their conversation.

"Qiqi," Li Lan said as they sat on the bed, one arm around the girl. "Don't be afraid. If you have any difficulties, remember to tell me. You were in a very bad state today. I can see that you became silent after the people from the welfare home came to visit. Tell me the truth, have you ever been bullied there?"

Kiki did not refuse to answer this question, but the result was not what Li Lan expected. She shook her head almost instantly.

Her expression was very sad, as if she was reminiscing about the past, but there was no sign of lying in her expression.

"Then why do you..." Li Lan wanted to continue asking.

Qiqi suddenly interrupted her question and answered her previous sentence: "The people in the welfare home are very good... to us."

Li Lan was very confused: "Then..."

"Sister," Qiqi interrupted her, tears welling up in the little girl's eyes. "Don't talk about this. I don't want to mention the orphanage right now. The director... the director is actually very good to us. She never lacks anything for food or clothing. She's like a mother to us, really."

"But...I, I...please leave me alone for now."