Chapter 93 Meow Meow, Dawn Breeze and Waning Moon, Years Have Passed By.
Xia Zhu and Feng Feng stood in front of the shop window, and through the glass they could see every furry figure in the cage.
Some lay listlessly inside, some howled at passersby, and others stared with their big, round eyes, pressing their little paws against the glass, seemingly trying to provide emotional value to every human who stopped by.
There was only one, huddled in a corner.
It should have been the most mischievous animal, famous for its siren-like cries, but now it was slumped over, its lifeless eyes stubbornly staring at the doorway.
When they arrived in Nanshan City, it was already afternoon. The sun hadn't set yet, but the temperature dropped considerably as the north wind blew.
The cool breeze carries the scent of cooking, the aroma of food wafting from buildings, and the sizzling sound of oil being poured into pans.
Xia Zhu zipped her coat up to her chin, put her hands in her pockets, and completely covered the skin below her head. She pushed up her glasses and looked up to check the shop sign again.
"Star Pet Shop".
"Let's go." Her muffled voice came from inside her clothes.
Feng Feng then pulled his head away from the glass.
There was a string of wind chimes at the entrance of the shop. When Xia Zhu pushed open the door, a tinkling sound rang out overhead. She noticed the little dog huddled inside, which was not as big as she had imagined, and she twitched her ears alertly.
But once Xia Zhu and the other person were fully inside the shop, it reverted to its listless state.
"Meow meow".
Xia Zhu bent down and read the label on the puppy's cage.
Feng Feng curiously leaned over and carefully placed his finger below Miao Miao's nose.
Its wet nose twitched, then it hesitantly stuck out its tongue and gently licked Feng Feng.
Feng Feng felt a tickle and hunched his shoulders. "They look exactly the same... but isn't this body a little too small?"
Perhaps the scent of the maple was too new to Miaomiao, because it shook its ears uncomfortably and then sneezed.
Feng Feng grinned and tried to pat its big head, but it dodged him without hesitation.
Hearing the commotion, the pet shop owner came out of the back room. She was wearing an apron and gloves, and some foam was dripping from the edges of her blue plastic gloves. It seemed she was refurbishing the kittens and puppies in the back.
"Excuse me, are you looking to see a puppy?"
She glanced at the cat in the cage, following its position.
"That only belongs to its owner, but he hasn't come to pick it up in a long time."
Xia Zhu and Feng Feng exchanged a glance, then explained their purpose to the boss.
The two claimed to be friends of the cat's owner, and that they had been asked by him to pick up the puppy and take it home. However, this explanation made the owner look at them more cautiously, because neither Xia Zhu nor Feng Feng knew Sirius's real name.
They couldn't very well tell the boss that they were there to adopt a cat for Frostmourne.
The only outcome would be being arrested by the police.
So, to make themselves seem less suspicious, the two laughed it off and left the Star Pet Shop first.
Stepping out the door, Feng Feng quickly turned into a dark alley. He then conjured a protective leaf and directed it to slip through the crack in the glass door, fly behind the counter, and find the information of Meow Meow's owner in a register.
The two then wandered through the skyscrapers and finally arrived at a hospital room.
The monitoring equipment emitted a regular beeping sound. The doors and windows were tightly closed, resulting in poor air circulation in the room. The smell of disinfectant, unique to hospitals, floated on the upper part, while a putrid odor settled at the bottom.
The person on the hospital bed was already so thin that he was unrecognizable. He lay there with thick and thin tubes inserted all over his body, but he looked like a head with skin sticking to bone sticking out of a crumpled bed sheet.
"Wang Xiao".
This name was posted on the front of his hospital bed.
It wasn't that long, difficult-to-pronounce yet memorable string of names: Viserion Ceresilis Frostmourne. It was simple: just open your mouth into a circle, then grin.
A passing nurse noticed through the glass window that two people had suddenly appeared in the ward, which had never had any visitors before. Curious, she came in and asked them who they were.
"Friends? I didn't know Wang Xiao had friends."
After hearing their explanation, the nurse asked incredulously.
She walked around to the front of the instrument, briefly observed that all functions were working normally, and then left with the tray in her hands.
From her, Xia Zhu and Feng Feng learned that Wang Xiao had a disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Also known as ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).
He was diagnosed at the age of 17. His parents took the newly ill Wang Xiao to appear on various local TV programs and raised a lot of money from kind-hearted people, which helped alleviate his condition.
During that period, in order to make it easier for him to appear on television, Wang Xiao's parents decisively arranged for him to take a leave of absence from school. All he had to do every day was to obediently follow behind his parents and try his best to remember the lines he needed to say in front of the camera.
Only in this way can he be allowed to make some game commentary videos in his spare time to earn a meager profit.
After his condition worsened at the age of 25, he had to stay in the hospital for an extended period of time.
However, the funds raised through various channels in previous years were quickly depleted day by day. In his parents' eyes, Wang Xiao had transformed from a blood relative and flesh and blood into a bottomless pit that only swallowed money. Not only that, but he also had to take responsibility for the breakdown of a relationship and the failure of his marriage, which he could only lie in bed all day.
People often remind themselves to cut their losses, believing that losing Wang Xiao means gaining two other happy and healthy families. They say there's plenty of time, they're still young, and children can come easily.
The hospital's social workers wanted to buy Wang Xiao more time, but without money, it was as if they had lost their only valid pass in this world.
During Wang Xiao's brief period of lucidity, he refused to continue the passage, claiming that he was even unable to stand.
He even jokingly comforted others, saying that he had become very overweight as a child because he ate too much junk food and stayed at home watching cartoons every day, but now he can slim down again.
As a result of the failed mediation, he lost all contact with his relatives.
What awaits Wang Xiao is only death, sooner or later.
Whether it was the child who had no one to accompany him in the past, or the adult who is now lying in a hospital bed still smiling and joking.
"Oh, right." The nurse suddenly remembered something as she walked to the door, "If you really are his good friends, you can go to Xiaoyutan Village and see if you can contact his family."
Her hand rested on the edge of the door, and as she spoke, her nails tightened slightly, scraping against the wood shavings that had curled up.
"His time is running out; it will probably be in the next day or two."
The door closed again, and Feng Feng walked silently to the window, pulling up the curtains that had always blocked out the sunlight. Xia Zhu paused, then went to his bedside, staring at his empty bedside table, devoid of flowers or fruit.
There was an old radio there.
Xia Zhu looked at the peeling marks on the radio's buttons and, as if possessed, picked it up.
The first button, rewind, made a creaking sound, like an old rocking chair on the verge of falling apart.
Press the second button, and a familiar melody will flow from the radio like a stream.
…
"Get in your car and adjust my position."
"I know this has never been my place."
You drove quietly, evading my stubbornness.
I know we all have complicated feelings on our minds.
…
Xia Zhu turned the radio down to the lowest volume and then gently put it back in its original position.
After a long day of running around, it was time for the sun to set.
Light returned, once again, streaming into the old, clogged room. The warm, golden-red light shone on Sirius's face, just as it had when he was on the iceberg.
The two quietly left the ward, and just like when they came, the last line of a song slipped out from under the door the moment they closed it.
"Take me home, take me straight home."
The door lock clicked shut.
Xia Zhu recalled the words Sirius had once said.
Courage will always be with him until that day comes.
Now, she is convinced of it.
*
When Xia Zhu and Feng Feng arrived home, everyone was already waiting by the deep pit.
Dragging along a whimpering puppy that didn't want to walk, we were much later than the agreed time.
"I thought you and your dog were lost in the big city and couldn't find your way back." Ying Huo stood lazily to the side with his arms crossed, glancing at Miao Miao with his eyelids raised.
"They really do look alike."
Xia Zhu squatted down and rubbed Miao Miao's head.
"She does look quite like Wang Xiao," she said.
"Who is Wang Xiao?" Ying Huo frowned.
Xia Zhu handed the dog leash to Feng Mian, then gave Ying Huo a mischievous smile.
"Your good friend."
The original plan was to take Miaomiao back to the Feng family home first, let it rest for a few days, and then find it a suitable owner. Xia Zhu and Ji Wuchou even put their minds at ease and posted an adoption link online.
But Fengmian not only took good care of the person, the puppy also gradually regained its spirits in his hands, barking and running around wildly.
For the first few days, Miaomiao lay listlessly in the yard, unwilling to go inside. So Fengmian personally made a luxurious doghouse for it. He would rush into the yard in the middle of the night to comfort Miaomiao, who was afraid of lightning and thunder. Gradually, it began to learn to use its nose to push open the door curtain, its little paws treading on the floor, climbing the stairs step by step, and leisurely walking to Fengmian's room door, where it would sit obediently waiting for him to get up and open the door.
Feng Mian makes a variety of nutritious and delicious dog food for Miao Miao every day, which makes Feng Feng complain. She feels that her brother treats the puppy better than his own sister. If this continues, she will have to steal food from the dog bowl.
Despite saying that, Feng Feng actually liked Miao Miao very much. The two energetic girls had met, and she could always be seen leading Miao Miao to frolic in the endless fields, acting as scarecrows, lurking in the rice paddies with a mischievous sense of humor, and then suddenly jumping out, startling the birds, and chasing them with strange cries.
However, sometimes, Meow will suddenly break free of its leash and rush out of the house, chasing after a certain figure until that person turns around, at which point it will stop in disappointment and spin around in circles for a while, not knowing what to do.
Fengmian hurriedly chased after it to find it, only to discover that the puppy could actually find its way home, but it would stand on the edge of the field, staring blankly at the setting sun at the end of the sky for a very long time.
Fengmian stood still and waited quietly for Miaomiao to notice him. He watched as Miaomiao hesitated for a moment, then seemed to have made up her mind and suddenly ran towards him, crashing heavily into his arms.
He would gently stroke the cat's head and whisper in its ear again and again that it could miss people far away here. The wind blowing across the fields and the butterfly gently landing on its nose were all messages brought by the people it missed. Just don't forget that there are a lot of people who love it behind it.
Then the man and his dog slowly walked home in the setting sun.
Feng Feng stood at the door with his hands on his hips, looking down at Miao Miao from above. Then, taking advantage of Miao Miao's inattention, he pounced on her and gave her a good rub.
"You stinky dog! Where have you run off to again? You made Feng Mian run away halfway through cooking! Making Lord Feng Feng go hungry will be punished!"
Despite its small size, Miaomiao is incredibly strong. It rushed over and knocked Feng Feng to the ground, then snuggled up in her arms, whimpering sweetly. All the anger, sadness, and regret would vanish like smoke, blown away by the wind.
Unnamed Team 1 spent a few uneventful days at the Feng family's house, and then prepared to pack their bags and set off again.
This time, they are going to capture the legendary plague demon.
Not only did Feng Mian rejoin the group, but a mystery guest also joined.
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