Chapter 31
I immediately stopped laughing, but then felt it was fake, so I rolled my eyes, looked up, and forced a fake smile: "I might not even be able to pay back my job, so instead of borrowing your money, I might as well keep it myself and spend it with peace of mind. But you just said you don't have a job now, so are you spending your parents' money?"
This question will inevitably be considered an offense to those who are suspicious. It will hurt their self-esteem to tell others that an adult with all the necessary skills is still relying on his parents.
But Wen Liangxi wouldn't do that. His smile was filled with a calm, nonchalant expression. He wouldn't try to hide the issue, but boldly admitted, "Well, I had to rely on them to survive even though I had no money. After I finished graduate school, I took a leave of absence due to illness. They were all well aware of my poor health, and perhaps they felt guilty for not being by my side. Anyway, I never had to worry about money."
When I heard him say he was taking a sick leave from school, I looked at him from head to toes in disbelief. The person in front of me didn't look sick at all. I couldn't tell at all.
My shock was clearly visible in my eyes. Wen Liangxi could see it at a glance. He lowered his head and laughed deeply, but that laughter sounded like crying, and each sound was like a piercing sound.
When he looked up again, I saw him pointing at his eyes.
"Look at my blue eyes. Are they pretty?"
The subject changed a bit too quickly, and I nodded dumbly.
"It's not natural, it's caused by crying."
He said, actually our tears are blue.
...So, tears are blue?
After spending a long time with Wen Liangxi, I, who was initially captivated by his beautiful and moving blue eyes, gradually began to ignore them.
Now, when I look into those eyes again and hear what Wen Liangxi said, my heart begins to tremble slowly.
So the price of becoming beautiful is to be watered with tears?
I looked into his eyes, which were clear yet fragile. The hidden pain scratched his sclera, forming a crack with a faint blue light. The light reflected by the crack was illusory and lonely.
Diving into those eyes was like drowning. I couldn't help but hold my breath and listen quietly to Wen Liangxi's next words.
He said his eyes weren't naturally blue. Originally, they were a pure, untainted black, like ours. But soaked in tears again and again, they became inflamed and slowly faded. The obsidian black, diluted by tears, became the blue of the sky on a clear, sunny day.
But his mood was not as beautiful as the good weather.
What made him cry were his parents, the parents he couldn't even verbally acknowledge as being there for him through his childhood.
He has parents, but he lives like an orphan.
Thinking of that spacious but desolate home, and Bubu who accompanied Wen Liangxi and died shortly afterwards, I feel a little sorry for him.
He sat next to me, I tilted my head slightly, and his face was very close to me, which gave me the illusion that I was a cat nestled in its owner's arms.
Cats can't speak, and neither can I. My eyes are the best window of expression.
Tentatively, I raised my hand, curled my fingertips, and brushed his eyelids like a cat caressing its owner's eyes. I watched Wen Liangxi close his eyes under my pity. He was more like a cat, obedient and considerate, his trembling eyelashes dancing on every finger I touched. He would smile widely and put his hand on mine, like a cat basking in the winter sun.
"Your fingers are warm. Thank you for listening to me."
A crack appeared in the ice floe, and pure water began to flow. Tears flowed silently at the corners of his eyes.
His eyelids were warm, and so were his tears. I couldn't help but feel burned. The moment he opened his eyes, I told him: You have beautiful eyes, so you should smile more.
He really smiled at me and said, "Okay."
I was a little confused by the speed of the attitude change. Since it was my request, I couldn't find the right words to express my seemingly unreasonable expression, so I had to give up.
Similarly, I also smiled back at Wen Liangxi.
This episode made the rest of the dinner go more smoothly. We were all hungry and ate the no longer steaming food in silence.
The new cake tasted really good. I picked up a piece, hoping to share it with Wen Liangxi, but he refused, citing his recent sugar-free lifestyle. So, I was happy to eat it all by myself.
The meal lasted nearly an hour.
At the end of the dinner, I drank the last sip of the drink in the cup. The moment I put the cup down, the light outside flashed on the wall of the cup.
The sky has grown gray, and the streetlights have all lit up, stretching the shadows of pedestrians far out. Their hurried steps, their shadows moving back and forth like ghosts, only to be swallowed up by the shadows of the tall buildings. The lights are on, the world is brilliant, but the sun, the light in the sky, is about to go out.
There was nothing else to do, Wen Liangxi and I parted ways.
The moment I turned around, a familiar voice came from behind me——
"Actually, there's another reason."
My steps suddenly stopped. In the twilight, I looked back and saw Wen Liangxi standing quietly under the light.
"I bought you a cake because we are friends."
There were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the street. Wen Liangxi's voice was not loud, but it was particularly obvious to my ears.
At that time, I just felt warm in my heart, as if countless rays of light were bursting into my heart. My brain lost its usual sharpness and became rusty, making me stand there like a fool, and nodded belatedly.
Seeing my response, Wen Liangxi said goodbye and left.
…
Friends, what does it take to be considered a friend?
On the way back, I kept thinking about this question.
I don’t have many friends in heaven, and Xiaoju is the one I think is the most important. There is no interest exchange between us, and no hypocrisy. Just exchanging a glance can make us become the most cunning worms in each other’s stomachs.
But Xiaoju and I are not brothers who share weal and woe, nor are we cats who grew up together. The reason we can meet each other's eyes is entirely due to what is called fate, and the connection of our souls after fate.
To make friends, first you have to open the door and find people, then you can integrate your three views, and finally you can become in tune with each other.
Although Xiaoju and I have not yet reached the highest level, this friendship is still treasured by me. I cannot stand by and watch my friend suffer, so I pray to Goddess Wuqing to help me come to the mortal world.
I am willing to be washed by heavy rain on this road.
In this murky world, I've gotten to know a few more people. Teng Zheng and Wen Liangxi both approached me proactively, and even though I didn't want to develop a relationship with them, their enthusiasm made me feel embarrassed to refuse. But Li Ying'an was different. He was the first person to arouse my emotions, and he was also the first human friend I actively sought to make.
Does he consider me a friend?
I have tacitly become a friend of Teng Zheng and Wen Liangxi, so what about Li Ying'an, has he also regarded me as a friend?
I already have the answer in my heart, but I am still worried.
Before I knew it, I was downstairs of my house again. I looked up and accurately located my window, where a white light was already on.
Li Ying'an went home and probably came downstairs to look for me.
I quickly squatted in the dark corner and transformed myself from a human into a kitten. There was no surveillance and no one could see me.
What a coincidence! I just ran up one flight of stairs and turned the corner to give Li Ying'an, who was hurrying down the stairs, a head-to-toe hug.
“Hey——!”
Li Ying'an was so scared that he screamed, and I was also startled by the sudden appearance of something and jumped up, and then fell into his arms.
I squatted in the strong and secure arms and stared at each other. Li Ying'an stretched out his hand completely out of instinct. It was impossible for him to see who I was at such a fast speed. He seemed to be very enthusiastic about every cat, and I was the most special one among them.
When he calmed down, he hugged me tighter, as if afraid that I would leave him and run away again: "Are you hungry?"
I was just about to burp after a satisfying meal, when Li Ying'an saw me writhing in his arms and rubbing the soft part of my belly. It was obvious from that round belly that I had eaten a lot of good food. He laughed, his smile hinting at helplessness. Instead of asking if I was hungry, he invited me to go for a walk.
But since I took the initiative to go home, I must have been tired from playing outside. Li Ying'an is a man who can figure out the problem clearly.
"If you're not hungry, would you like a snack after dinner?"
I turned my head away and ignored him.
I was just expressing my dissatisfaction with Li Ying'an's nagging. He knew very well that I was a cat who couldn't speak and could only hum, but he still asked me all kinds of questions, as if this would urge me to talk. I felt that it was really noisy when I was a little sleepy after having a full stomach.
But Li Ying'an didn't think so. My ignoring me seemed like an unforgivable sin in his eyes. He patted my butt gently and pretended to be angry, saying that I was not interested in the cat food at home because I ate too much outside. He also said that the food outside was more delicious than the one at home. If you listened carefully, you could hear that he was complaining about someone else.
He didn't stop until he stepped into the house.
I jumped down and hid aside, licking my front paws. From time to time, I glanced at Li Ying'an who was walking around, watching him preparing his dinner. I thought that he had promised to come home late tonight yesterday, but he had forgotten it all in the blink of an eye!
I felt sorry for myself and was angry at his indifference, so I played tricks around his feet while he was cooking.
Despite the risk of tripping and falling to the ground, Li Ying'an managed to prepare the fragrant home-cooked dishes.
"If you keep running around," he said, not forgetting to kick me while picking up the chopsticks, "I'll beat your butt."
I ignored his words, jumped onto the bench, and stared at the food on the table with a straight face.
Although he wasn't applying for a chef position, Li Ying'an's cooking skills had improved significantly during his time working at the restaurant, perhaps due to his exposure to the surroundings. His dishes were now beautiful, fragrant, and delicious, ready to be considered a chef. Just the smell of them made me want to have a couple more bites, even though I was burping.
Seeing me staring at the bowl with greedy look on my face, Li Ying'an lovingly broke the small piece of steamed bun in his hand into pieces, put it into the small bowl, poured a spoonful of vegetable soup on it, picked up a few chopsticks of rice and dishes, and let the steamed bun with the delicious taste become tasty before he brought it in front of me. He held my belly with his big hands and moved me to the table, and touched the bowl of rice.
At this command, I gobbled down the food like a wolf. My round belly felt like a balloon about to burst, and I burped from the two meals.
Seeing that I was enjoying my meal, Li Ying'an smiled and touched the fur on my front paws that had not been licked clean: "You are a greedy little cat."
In his spare time, Li Ying'an always says that I am a greedy cat or a lazy cat. Look at his current attitude, he is the same.
At this moment, Li Ying'an, who had some time to rest after a busy day, put a pillow behind him and half lay on the head of the bed.
The light in the room flickered for some reason, and the fish lanterns on the roof seemed to have really dived into the sea, appearing and disappearing with the waves. The interlaced light and shadows shone on Li Ying'an, revealing a hazy tranquility, as if a person at peace had finally found a sea to float on.
I slowly approached him, my cat-like steps. The flickering light softened his features, his brows, the tip of his nose, the corners of his mouth, and everywhere the light passed through seemed exceptionally peaceful and at ease. I found a spot at his waist, resting my chin on the small of his back, my gaze blazing like a flickering, wandering light as I studied his tranquil face.
He didn't even look at his cell phone. I think he was exhausted from today's work and the extra time he had to accompany Old Man Song to meet his relatives.
While I was daydreaming, a hand touched my back.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
