Xiaomi
Cheng Xiaorui had a very peaceful first week of his senior year. During this period, Chen Zihan came to see him twice. Due to their busy studies and the college entrance examination less than a year away, both parties were busy reviewing. Lu Zi was absent from school for three of the five days. The empty seat made Cheng Xiaorui fall into deep thought.
The head teacher also asked him many times why his deskmate didn't come. Faced with the teacher's question, Cheng Xiaorui fell into deep thought again. Could it be that Lu Zi also skipped classes without reason? Cheng Xiaorui shook his head and replied to the head teacher that he knew nothing.
"Well, I also tried to contact Lu Ziyi's parents, but all the calls were unanswered. I am quite worried about this child. You said that the college entrance examination is approaching, how could he be like this in the first week of school..." The head teacher held his forehead and sighed frequently.
"Then I'll go first, teacher. You can call me a few more times." The head teacher didn't say anything, but just stared at Cheng Xiaorui who was gradually moving away.
On the weekend, after finishing a set of papers, Cheng Xiaorui stared out the window for a while before finally deciding to go out. "Xiao Mi" was a stray cat he had found three months ago. It had always followed him around when he passed by. Seeing the tiny, skinny kitten, Cheng Xiaorui felt pity for it and bought a sausage from the roadside to feed it.
He deliberately went to the convenience store he often visited and bought a double portion of sausage. This had become his habit since he met Xiao Mi on that rainy night three months ago.
It was just after evening self-study that day, and a drizzling rain fell. He hurried home, umbrella in hand. At the corner of the alley, he heard a faint meow. A scrawny little orange cat followed him closely, soaking wet, its fur matted together, looking particularly pitiful. When it tilted its head back, its amber eyes gleamed with hope under the streetlight. Cheng Xiaorui's heart softened, and he ran to the still-open convenience store to buy a sausage.
"Eat slowly." He squatted down, watching the kitten wolfing down its food, and couldn't help but reach out and stroke its damp fur. The touch from his fingertips felt rough and dry, like withered autumn grass.
"Kitten, where is your home?" He smiled as soon as he said this, knowing that it would not answer.
The kitten raised its head, purred contentedly, and rubbed its cheek against his palm. At that moment, it felt as if something soft had gently touched his heart.
When he stood up to leave, the kitten circled around his feet, looking back every few steps, and finally disappeared into the night.
From then on, he would take time out every week to visit the cat and named it "Xiao Mi". A tacit understanding formed between them, and every weekend evening, Xiao Mi would squat under the old locust tree at the entrance of the alley and wait for him.
But today is a little unusual.
Cheng Xiaorui stood where they often met and called softly: "Xiao Mi——"
There was no familiar meowing sound, nor was there a figure running towards me cheerfully. There was only the rustling of discarded newspapers in the corner of the wall.
He called out a few more times, feeling vaguely uneasy.
An old lady carrying a vegetable basket passed by, looked at him for a while, and suddenly realized: "Are you looking for the orange cat?"
Cheng Xiaorui nodded quickly.
The old lady sighed, her wrinkles filled with helplessness. "Don't come here again. A few nights ago, two drunken young men were causing trouble here, kicking and hitting a kitten... I heard the noise, scared but didn't dare to stop it. The kitten dragged its legs and crawled into the bushes over there. I don't know where it is now..."
Cheng Xiaorui's heart sank suddenly.
"Thank you," Cheng Xiaorui said. He watched the other person leave, continuing to call out to Xiao Mi. A thought loomed in his mind: The old lady saw it, why couldn't she stop it? Even just a word... maybe the kitten could have been saved.
He fell into a brief silence, ultimately consoling himself: Perhaps this is the norm in the world, silence is the choice of most people. People have compassion, but they often feel powerless; whether to take action or not is ultimately a personal matter, determined by one's own thoughts and cannot be forced.
"Xiao Mi." Cheng Xiaorui squatted on the ground and called softly for the third time.
A small shadow suddenly jumped out from behind the broken wooden box, but stopped a few steps away. The kitten's back was covered with new and old scars, a corner of its left ear was missing, and its amber eyes were filled with fear and distrust.
Cheng Xiaorui held out his hand and lowered his voice, "Don't be afraid, it's me." But the kitten couldn't understand human language; it only remembered the pain of a human approaching. It arched its back, its fur standing on end, and let out a shrill howl, a sound saturated with post-traumatic stress reactions.
Did those people beat you up, and that’s why you became like this? Cheng Xiaorui’s heart tightened, but he didn’t dare to move forward.
He broke open the sausage in his hand, and the aroma filled the air. The kitten's nose twitched slightly, and its guard seemed to relax for a moment. It took one cautious step forward, then another, its thin body trembling slightly with nervousness.
Just when Cheng Xiaorui thought he could touch her——
“Sizzle!”
The kitten suddenly swung its claws like crazy, and three blood marks instantly appeared on the back of Cheng Xiaorui's hand, and blood quickly seeped out.
Cheng Xiaorui retracted his hand in pain, staring at the wounds in disbelief. Undeterred, he stretched out his left hand again, trying to comfort the frightened little creature.
"Don't--" a voice came from behind, but it was a step too late.
Two more bloody marks appeared on his left hand. Now both of his hands were bruised, blood dripping down his knuckles. He froze in place, staring into those hostile cat eyes, feeling a surge of powerlessness.
"Are you still not leaving?" The voice sounded again, a bit impatient. "That cat has gone mad. If you get any closer, it will only hurt you."
Cheng Xiaorui slowly turned his head and saw Lu Ziyi leaning against the wall, having watched for an unknown amount of time. The afterglow of the setting sun gilded his eyes, but it couldn't melt the coldness in his eyes.
He stood up, silently took a few steps back, and distanced himself from the kitten.
"Really? You're just throwing your life away." Lu Ziyi stepped closer, his eyes glancing at Cheng Xiaorui's bloody hands. He pulled a tissue from his pocket, pulled out a piece, and grabbed Cheng Xiaorui's wrist without a word.
Cheng Xiaorui didn't resist and let the cat do what it wanted. Perhaps from the moment he was scratched by the cat, he had become numb and couldn't even feel the pain.
Lu Ziyi's movements were unexpectedly meticulous. He first pressed gently against the wound with a tissue to stop the bleeding, then pulled out a small disinfectant spray from another pocket.
"You carry this with you?" Cheng Xiaorui finally spoke, his voice dry.
Lu Ziyi didn't answer, but focused on treating the wound. When the disinfectant touched the wound, Cheng Xiaorui couldn't help but shudder.
"Does it hurt?" Lu Zi also looked up at him.
Cheng Xiaorui shook his head.
After a moment of silence, Cheng Xiaorui suddenly asked, "Will it be fatal if scratched?"
Lu Ziyi stopped what he was doing and looked him in the eye. "Yes. If you don't take care of it properly, you could get an infection, rabies." His tone was flat, but every word was clear. "It could really kill you."
Cheng Xiaorui lowered his eyes. He knew he had to deal with it, but where would he get the money? The vaccine would cost several hundred yuan.
As if seeing through his thoughts, Lu Ziyi suddenly loosened his grip, pulled out a few bills from his wallet and stuffed them into the side pocket of Cheng Xiaorui's schoolbag.
"Go to the hospital." His tone was still cold, but he didn't want to be refused. "Go now."
Cheng Xiaorui stared at him in amazement, unsure how to react. This man, who had just been watching coldly, was now offering a helping hand.
"Why?" he finally asked.
Lu Ziyi threw the used tissue into the trash can and turned to leave. After taking a few steps, he stopped and turned his head:
"Nothing." His voice drifted in the evening breeze.
Cheng Xiaorui stood there, watching the figure walking away. The coolness of the disinfectant still remained on the back of his hand. The injured kitten had already hidden away somewhere, and dusk completely enveloped this corner.
"What should we do with the kitten?" Cheng Xiaorui finally couldn't help but whisper as Lu Ziyi dragged him toward the cashier. The image of the orange cat's frightened eyes and scars still lingered before his eyes. "It's badly injured... If it runs into those people who bullied it again, it'll really die."
Lu Ziyi's footsteps didn't pause at all, but the grip on his wrist tightened slightly. His voice was cold and deep, as if soaked in ice water. "Why don't you worry about yourself first?"
Those deep eyes swept over Cheng Xiaorui's hands wrapped in temporary gauze, and the meaning was self-evident: You are covered in wounds, and you still have time to worry about the life and death of a wild cat?
"..." Cheng Xiaorui choked, his lips moved, but no sound came out. He lowered his eyes and looked at his embarrassed hands.
"But..." He still struggled to say something. That was the cat he had been feeding for a long time, and it was the warmth he could feel during countless depressing days without any calculation.
"Shut up," Lu Ziyi interrupted him bluntly, dragging him to the payment window without question and handing the bill in. His movements were smooth and forceful, as if he was dealing with something that had already been decided, leaving no room for negotiation.
Cheng Xiaorui looked at his neat silhouette and suddenly felt his throat tighten. This person, who had hurt him most recklessly, was now using the most brutal method, pressing down on his head to treat his wounds, severing his insignificant concerns.
I paid the bill, got the bill, and went to the clinic. Nothing happened along the way.
When the nurse cleaned Cheng Xiaorui's wound again and prepared to inject the vaccine, Lu Ziyi leaned against the door frame with his arms folded. He looked at Cheng Xiaorui's brows slightly furrowed due to the sting of alcohol, and suddenly said without emotion: "I'll take care of the cat."
Cheng Xiaorui looked up suddenly and met his cold eyes.
"It will appear at the veterinary hospital tomorrow." Lu Ziyi's tone was as calm as if he was describing tomorrow's weather. "Get it cured and find someone to adopt it."
He paused, his eyes falling on Cheng Xiaorui's surprised face, and the corners of his mouth curled up in a not-so-smiling arc: "Satisfied?"
Cheng Xiaorui stared at him blankly, forgetting the pain in his hand for a moment. He hadn't expected Lu Zi to... He had originally thought...
Lu Ziyi had already looked away, as if the promise he had just made was just a spur-of-the-moment one and not worth mentioning. But Cheng Xiaorui knew that once he said something, he would definitely do it.
Under the light, two young men stood, one sitting, dominating with force and passively accepting. The chaotic night suddenly became different because of this sudden promise.
Cheng Xiaorui lowered his head, watching the nurse skillfully bandage him, feeling a mixture of emotions. He still couldn't understand Lu Ziyi, why he would trample on him while... reaching out to hold him.
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