Chapter 012 Li Xiao's Independent Side Story - Heartless (Part Two)
06
It has been quite some time since the cat last spoke.
As for what we eat and use, everything remains the same.
The ghost continued to take care of the cat's food and daily life as before, even more diligently and tirelessly than a biological mother.
The cat seriously suspected that the guy might have some kind of masochistic tendency.
After a while, he finally couldn't take it anymore.
"that--"
"What?"
The ghost suddenly looked over, and sparks of fire appeared in its dark pupils.
That was a campfire that was burning.
The cat glanced over rather uncomfortably and saw the roast chicken slowly turning, its fat dripping slowly down its golden-brown skin, splashing up tiny flames.
He said in a barely audible voice, "Thank you."
The action of flipping the grill paused slightly.
The ghost stared intently at the cat, then let out a confused "Ah!"
—Oh my god, oh my god.
The cat forced itself to continue, "Thank you for taking care of me all this time, but I don't think I've thanked you yet. So, I should—"
He stopped abruptly at this point, because he noticed that the other person was crying again.
"No, why are you crying?"
The ghost sniffed for a while before finally asking, sobbing, "Are you... are you leaving?"
Seeing him with snot and tears streaming down his face, the cat was unsure what kind of route he was referring to.
He also recalled that there had once been a child who cried and begged to stay by his side, only that child was more fragile and more lovable.
Many years later, the grown-up child tricked him into drinking poison and even ripped out his heart, all for the sake of the other's beloved "husband".
"Who told you I was leaving?" the cat said, but unconsciously softened its tone.
"But...but you...you said—"
“I didn’t say anything.”
The cat denied it very readily.
The ghost blinked, then suddenly grinned: "So, you're willing to stay and keep me company?"
—I didn't say that.
The cat silently rolled his eyes, but he didn't want to repeat the same scene, since the person in front of him was neither "weak" nor "lovable".
"Stop grinning like an idiot, you hear me? I don't want to find your snot bubbles on my chicken leg."
"Mmm." Ghost nodded obediently, then stretched out his arm and held the roast chicken a little further away from himself.
This action made the cat feel a strange sense of guilt. He suddenly realized that he had also unintentionally lied.
—Although there was no malicious intent, the other party was still deceived.
07
The next day, when the ghost suggested going for a walk again, the cat did not refuse.
Considering how much the ghost had taken care of him, it wouldn't be a bad thing to occasionally go along with the ghost's wishes... consider it an act of kindness before death.
While resting on a rock, the ghost suddenly said, "None of those people were willing to stay."
The cat scoffed, "Whether you like it or not, it still ends up in your stomach."
The ghost immediately protested, "No, I just want to talk to them, like now, like us."
The cat then opened its eyes and asked, half-jokingly, "So, you haven't eaten by yourself at all?"
After a moment's pause, the genius finally answered, "I ate it, a long time ago."
--really.
The cat chuckled softly.
Just as he was about to make a sarcastic remark, he suddenly noticed that the sky had darkened.
"Is it going to rain?" the ghost asked blankly, staring at the cat that suddenly sat up.
The cat nodded.
"It's not just going to rain, it'll probably thunder too," he said, looking up at the sky.
08
The cat made the ghost leave for a while.
The serious tone made the ghost feel uneasy.
"Leave? Where to?"
"Do as you please, go down the mountain, go to the seaside, go as far as you want."
The ghost asked cautiously, "And what about you?"
"I'm not going anywhere, I'm just staying here to die."
"But why—"
"There's no reason why. See that cloud? I'm about to die, struck by lightning. You might ask, yes, that's right, why would it strike me? Because I'm stupid, incredibly stupid, ridiculously stupid, so stupid that even God couldn't stand it and had to send down a few bolts of lightning to take me down. Now you understand?"
The cat finished speaking in one breath and noticed that tears were beginning to well up in the other person's eyes.
"Don't cry! You look awful crying. You're already ugly enough, and now you're crying!"
The cat rebuked fiercely, but seeing the other's futile and ridiculous attempt to hold back his tears, he suddenly gave up.
"Forget it, let me cry. It's all the same, it doesn't look good either way."
He wanted to touch the ghost's head, but in the end he just stared at his own furry front paws and gave a wry smile.
"You can leave now."
The cat said to the ghost, "If you come back after the rain, I will be waiting for you here."
The ghost asked, "Will you still be willing to talk to me then?"
"Yes, I'm willing."
—But by then, I'll probably be long gone.
As the cat was thinking, it suddenly heard the ghost say, "Then I won't leave."
"Stay? Are you kidding me? Do you have a death wish?"
The ghost suddenly laughed, still with that hideous face, which made the cat even angrier than before.
"Cat, you've forgotten, I'm a ghost."
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