Chapter 53
Darkness, boundless darkness and cold. Then, it found itself floating, watching its broken, tiny body discarded in a garbage heap. Anger, resentment, and an intense obsession to tear those people apart clung to its cold consciousness like poisonous vines, but it was too weak to do anything.
After an unknown amount of time, it drifted aimlessly and "saw" again the girl who had given it milk on that cold night. Instinctively, it followed her back to her home. It saw that her room was covered with posters of Zhuohua and heard her screaming and expressing her love for Zhuohua on the screen.
It didn't understand what celebrities or idol worship were. All it knew was that this human who had once given it warmth now adored someone named "Zhuohua." It wanted to help her.
In the remnants of her consciousness, twisted by pain and obsession, a simple, almost foolish thought formed: to make her more excited, more thrilled, to allow her to express her affection more loudly... Would that make her happier? Would that person named Zhuohua like her even more?
So, it used all its pitiful, cold power, born of resentment, to entangle the girl's mind, desperately "stimulating" her emotions, making her excited, and even more excited...
The scene abruptly ended.
The living room was deathly silent. The only sound was the faint hum of the air conditioner.
Lu Xiao's face turned pale, and his stomach churned. The chilling despair and bloody violence conveyed by those shattered images made him feel a deep, visceral unease.
He stared at the little black cat on the ground, still limp and barely conscious, its faint whimpers a testament to its remaining consciousness. His gaze was incredibly complex, a tangle of emotions: anger, pity, disgust...
"So..." Lu Xiao's voice was a little hoarse, "it thought that making that girl scream and chase the car like a madwoman was... helping her? Helping... helping you?"
This conclusion is outrageously absurd.
Zhuohua withdrew her finger, and the golden light at her fingertip dissipated. Her face was expressionless, but a rare hint of helplessness and...absurdity flashed deep in her eyes.
She had lived for countless millennia, experienced the raging bloodbath of the war between gods and demons, and witnessed countless wicked tricks of monsters and demons, but she had never encountered such a... foolish and laughable "help".
"Hmm." She responded faintly, which was her answer. "The obsession remains, and the mind is in a state of chaos. It acts only based on a trace of 'goodness' left over from its previous life and the twisted resentment after death. It doesn't understand."
She looked at the small black blob on the ground and stated the facts calmly, "It only knows that the girl likes me, and it wants the girl to 'act' like she likes me even more. As for the method... that's beyond its comprehension."
Lu Xiao remained silent for a long time. He looked at the black cat; its empty eyes seemed to still hold the fear and bewilderment of its last moments. The smell of burning food wafting from the kitchen finally brought him back to his senses, and he abruptly turned and rushed back into the kitchen.
The edges of the greens in the pot were charred black, sizzling and emitting black smoke.
"Ah! My food!" Lu Xiao hurriedly turned off the stove, lifted the pot off the counter, and looked at the mess with annoyance. He sighed, resignedly began cleaning up the charred residue, and started scrubbing the pot again.
Zhuohua watched his busy figure in the kitchen, wearing that ridiculous cat-paw apron, his movements clumsy yet earnest, typical of everyday life. She looked down and then at the lifeless little black cat at her feet, a creature born of resentment.
Lu Xiao cleaned the pot and reheated the oil. While chopping new vegetables, he kept an eye on the living room out of the corner of his eye. He saw Zhuo Hua squat down, and soft golden light gathered at his fingertips again, this time brighter, like warm sunlight, gently enveloping the limp little black cat.
The solidified, lifeless black body, enveloped in warm divine light, began to slowly melt and fade like ice and snow. Tiny specks of light rose from its body, like countless tiny stars.
In the dissipating light, the faint silhouette of a clean and healthy little black cat seemed to emerge. It was no longer in pain or resentful; its eyes were clear and innocent, carrying the innocent wonder of new life.
Finally, it gave a very slight, almost grateful nod towards Zhuohua and towards Lu Xiao, who was busy in the kitchen. Then, the entire phantom transformed into countless golden dust particles and completely dissipated into the air. The last trace of coldness in the living room was swept away, leaving only warmth and tranquility.
Lu Xiao paused in his chopping, watching the scene silently, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Zhuohua stood up and walked to the bar counter in the open kitchen, watching Lu Xiao's efficient movements. The burnt smell had dissipated, and new ingredients were being added to the pan, making pleasant sizzling sounds, and an enticing aroma filled the air once more.
"It's gone?" Lu Xiao didn't look up, focusing on stirring the vegetables in the pan.
"Yes. I've sent it where it should be."
Zhuohua's voice was very soft. She looked at the fine beads of sweat on Lu Xiao's forehead from his busy work, at the focused lines of his profile, and at his ears, which were slightly red from the fright he had just experienced and the busyness he was in now.
A feeling that was both extremely unfamiliar and extremely comforting, like warm spring water, slowly soothed her heart, which was accustomed to the cold and desolation of the high heavens.
“Next time…” Lu Xiao plated the stir-fried vegetables, his voice muffled, with a hint of barely perceptible lingering fear, “Next time if you disappear in a flash again… could you give me a signal beforehand?” He turned to look at Zhuo Hua, his eyes pleading, with lingering fear, “My heart can’t take it.”
Seeing the worry and slight grievance in his eyes, Zhuohua felt as if a pebble had been thrown into her tranquil heart, causing ripples to spread gently. Suddenly, she reached out, not with magic, but with her cool fingers, and gently wiped away the sweat from his forehead.
The real, slightly cool touch on his fingertips made Lu Xiao's body stiffen slightly.
"Okay," she replied, her voice even softer than the moonlight outside the window.
Lu Xiao was stunned, then a surge of immense joy instantly dispelled the gloom in his heart, and he couldn't help but smile. He placed the last dish on the table, and lightly removed the cat-paw apron.
"Let's eat." He pulled out a chair and looked intently at Zhuohua.
The two sat facing each other in the soft light. Lu Xiao kept putting food on her plate, his eyes sparkling with pure joy, as if the fright and strange incident from earlier had never happened. Zhuo Hua ate quietly; the food tasted ordinary, even the vegetables were a little salty.
But looking into Lu Xiao's expectant eyes and feeling this small, warm space that belonged only to them, she suddenly felt that the flavors cooked up by the everyday life of ordinary people seemed to be more comforting to the soul than the nectar and dew of the heavens.
Outside the window, the city's neon lights flickered silently, forming a flowing sea of light. Inside, a single lamp shone dimly, two sets of bowls and chopsticks were set up, and the aroma of food rose gently from the window.
Zhuohua put down her chopsticks and looked at Lu Xiao's face. He was carefully picking out fish bones, and the light cast a soft shadow on his thick eyelashes.
At that moment, she clearly felt that the invisible barrier between gods and humans, the aloofness accumulated over millennia, was quietly melting away in the gentle clinking of dishes, in his warm, homely gaze, creating a barely perceptible crack. Warmth seeped in, subtly and gradually.
Lu Xiao seemed to sense something, raised his head, and met her gaze. He didn't say anything, but gently placed the deboned fish meat into her bowl, his eyes filled with a smile like tiny starlight.
"Try this one, it's definitely not salty this time."
After dealing with the little black cat's obsession, life returned to a superficial calm. Zhuohua maintained her aloof and distant demeanor, spending most of her time at home except for necessary business activities. Occasionally, she would browse the "Human Guide" app that Lu Xiao had downloaded for her, or quietly watch Lu Xiao study scripts and practice his lines.
Lu Xiao, like a sponge thrown into water, greedily absorbed everything. Xingyao Media arranged some basic courses for him, including acting, lines, and physical training, which he studied with exceptional diligence.
After each class, no matter how tired he was, he would take a detour to that highly-rated private restaurant to bring back a few dishes that Zhuohua had taken an extra bite of. He knew she didn't need to eat, but he stubbornly believed that when she tasted something she liked, the slight relaxation on her brow was the greatest compliment he could receive.
That afternoon, the sunlight lazily spilled onto the living room carpet. Zhuohua, unusually, wasn't reading; instead, she leaned back in the soft sofa, her fingertips unconsciously swiping across her phone screen—a social media account Lu Xiao had forcibly registered for her, ostensibly to "keep up with the world." The account was managed by her assistant; she almost never logged in herself.
A new private message notification popped up abruptly, standing out conspicuously amidst a barrage of advertisements and fervent declarations of love.
The sender's profile picture was simple, a clean blue sky with white clouds. The ID was a simple combination of letters.
The private message contained only two words:
**【Thanks】**
There was no signature, no extra words. But the instant he saw those two words, an extremely faint yet exceptionally clear sense of familiarity, like a small pebble thrown into a calm lake, rippled almost imperceptibly across Zhuo Hua's vast divine perception.
It's that girl. The fan who was once driven mad by the resentful black cat and chased after her obsessively.
The chaos, excitement, and chill of the past had vanished from this atmosphere, leaving only a calm that had settled, and... a kind of almost devout, pure gratitude. Like the sky after a storm, it was crystal clear, without a trace of impurity.
Zhuohua's gaze lingered on those two words for a moment. She could "see" the girl's cautiousness when sending the message, the slight trembling of her fingertips, and the long sigh of relief after sending it.
The girl didn't ask for a response; she simply conveyed her gratitude solemnly, then quietly retreated to her spot, silently observing without disturbing her any longer.
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