Chapter 65 Finally mustered up the courage to take the initiative...
Su Cheng did not sleep well that night.
His fair face furrowed slightly, his brows were tightly knit, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and even his breathing became rapid.
Her dreams were like a jigsaw puzzle, fragmented and disjointed.
She was standing on a sunny island, with the sound of a babbling brook in her ears and lush trees in front of her.
A melodious bird song drifted from the branches, and a playful, round calico cat was climbing up the tree trunk while a golden retriever was happily chasing a frisbee in the distance.
But soon, the sky changed abruptly, dark clouds covered the sun, and the surrounding light was gradually swallowed up.
The stream had dried up and cracked, the trees had collapsed into dark shadows, and she was trapped in a suffocating darkness.
She tried to walk toward the faint light in the distance, but it was as if she were trapped in a maze, and she kept going around in circles.
The surrounding fog grew thicker and thicker, almost engulfing her.
Suddenly, a sharp meow shattered the silence.
Her heart clenched, as if gripped tightly by an icy hand, making it difficult to even breathe.
But she could neither dispel the fog nor find a way out.
Finally, she collapsed to the ground, her chest heaving violently, her breathing rapid and disordered.
Just then, a familiar voice pierced the darkness.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Like a lifeline.
She shakily propped herself up, dragging her heavy steps as she stumbled toward the source of the sound.
Thorns tore at the hem of her clothes, and the cold wind on the mountaintop stung her cheeks, but she did not stop.
Finally, after crossing the last ridge, the light of day gradually spread out.
The owner of the voice was dressed in black, his slender figure still standing tall and sharp in the dim light.
He turned his head, a slight smile playing on his lips, his amorous peach blossom eyes filled with tenderness as he gazed in her direction.
Her heart skipped a beat, and just as she was about to step forward, she saw another girl rush into his arms.
She stood frozen in place, like a puppet whose soul had been ripped from its strings, staring blankly at the scene before her.
His gentleness, his smile, his embrace...
It turns out, they were all for other people.
In that instant, she felt as if all her strength had been drained, and she felt as if she had been abandoned on the edge of a desolate cliff.
Emotions surged and boiled in my chest like a volcano about to erupt.
Su Cheng suddenly opened her eyes, like a drowning person finally surfacing, greedily breathing in the long-lost fresh air.
Her hand unconsciously pressed against her chest, feeling her heart pounding violently because of the nightmare.
She rarely dreams, and even when she does, they are usually lighthearted and pleasant daydreams.
But this time it was completely different. The feeling of grief and despair was terrifyingly real, and it still weighed heavily on her chest when she woke up, making it hard for her to breathe.
She recalled a variety show she had watched before, which was taken down after an overly anxious mother complained that it "affected her child's mental health" because of a few scary scenes.
But in real life, there are clearly many more bloody and cruel things, yet some people seem to be blind to them.
Every act of leniency towards abusers is a secondary injury to the innocent.
The second half of the dream...
Even though I finally mustered up the courage to take the initiative, all sorts of terrible possibilities kept popping into my head.
Just as negative emotions were about to overwhelm her, Su Cheng's gaze inadvertently fell on the gift box tied with a ribbon on the bay window.
The box contained the Fujifilm Instant Camera that she had been looking at for a long time. The retro-styled body had a silver knob on the upper right corner, which could be turned gently to immediately eject the photo.
Su Cheng knew nothing about photography and couldn't understand the difference between his professional lenses. He had heard that there were many intricacies involved, and he was worried about being cheated by buying something overpriced, and even more worried that the gift might not suit his taste at all.
But when she was looking through that photo album a couple of days ago, she suddenly realized that if she had used an instant camera instead of a digital camera back then, she might have noticed the tenderness in his eyes when he looked at the camera.
Looking back in this way, those cautious crushes from her youth might not seem so much like a one-woman show.
Picking up her phone from the bedside table, Su Cheng realized it was already afternoon.
Dr. Cao just updated the group chat: the kitten's surgery is complete; bone screws were inserted into both hind legs and the right forelimb. However, due to a hidden comminuted fracture of the left forelimb, the bone fragments severely compressed blood vessels, and there was extensive soft tissue damage, so amputation was necessary.
The kitten also has severe inflammation and is receiving intravenous fluids.
Fortunately, it had a strong will to live and cooperated well with the treatment. We will continue to observe its postoperative recovery.
Su Cheng let out a long sigh, feeling as if her chest was stuffed with a damp wad of cotton.
Although the amputation was to save the kitten's life, she still felt a tightness in her chest.
It's hard enough to find a home for a healthy cat, let alone one that's missing a front leg.
This means it can no longer climb nimbly, can't wash its face with its two front paws like other cats, and even its most basic balance will be affected.
Noticing Su Cheng's low spirits, Tyrant Tiger lightly leaped from the foot of the bed and pressed his warm little head against her chin, gently rubbing against her with a comforting tone.
"Tiger, do you want a little sister?" Su Cheng's fingers traced its fluffy fur, from its round head down its back, her voice gentle. "How about we call it 'Shockwave'?"
My fingertips touched the light pink scar on its back.
Those were shot by a few naughty kids using slingshots.
When the rescue station found it, the bloody wound was already rotten and black, with the flesh turned inside out and wriggling maggots eating its body.
It bared its teeth at anyone who tried to approach it, its wary eyes filled with fear. Volunteers took turns trying to coax it with canned food and wrap it in blankets, finally getting it to the veterinary hospital after much trouble.
It was only during the surgery that they discovered the wound was more serious than it appeared; it wasn't just the surface skin that was injured, but the fascia inside had also been punctured.
The surgery was lengthy and difficult, and the treatment was very expensive.
And to this day, none of the children who were laughing and playing with slingshots, or their guardians, have been willing to take responsibility for that life.
Many acts of cruelty begin with "playing around."
When animal abuse goes unpunished, the violence will only escalate.
A deep sense of exhaustion swept over my entire body.
Su Cheng began to doubt whether what she had done was even meaningful.
Perhaps because she got caught in the rain yesterday, she seems to be really sick.
My body felt hot and cold intermittently, my nose was unbearably stuffy, and I felt weak and listless.
Luckily, I ordered a birthday cake from a dessert shop in advance. In my current state, if I were to make it myself, who knows what kind of culinary disaster I would end up with.
I just don't know when Jiang Muzhou will be able to come back.
Su Cheng opened the pinned chat window, and the last message was still "Goodnight" that he had sent in the early hours of the morning.
It seems that no matter how busy he is, he never forgets to say goodnight to her.
She usually replies instantly, but last night she drifted off to sleep in a daze.
My palms were slightly sweaty as I held the phone.
She hesitated whether to tell him about yesterday's events, but then thought that he might still be busy wrapping up filming or already on his way back, so she decided not to distract him.
After a quick wash, she endured the burning sensation in her throat, stuffed a few bites of bread into her mouth, and went next door to get more rice for Yuanbao.
The rain outside the window was getting heavier and heavier, and the wind was howling as the raindrops pounded against the glass.
The meteorological observatory issued a typhoon warning, indicating that Linhai City will experience continuous rainfall over the next few days.
Su Cheng squatted down and filled Yuanbao's food bowl. Watching it wolf down its food, she couldn't help but smile. She then took a short video and sent it to Jiang Muzhou.
Having eaten and drunk its fill, Yuanbao lay flat on its back, its furry white belly exposed, as if extending a sincere invitation to her, "You can touch Mi's belly."
Unable to resist the temptation, she buried her face in the warm, fluffy fabric and took two deep breaths, then chuckled softly, "Hello, trucks aren't allowed to park here."
My thoughts drifted back to early summer.
If she hadn't taken that part-time job feeding cats at their homes, would her life and Jiang Muzhou's life have intersected so much?
Suddenly, a thunderclap boomed.
The baby in her arms merely twitched its ears, completely unlike the frightened bird it had been when they first met.
She recalled the stormy night when she first met Yuanbao. It was so scared that it jumped onto her waist, its two chubby little paws clinging tightly to her clothes, refusing to come down.
Now, it sits obediently in her arms, its round green eyes wide open.
Su Cheng unconsciously raised the corners of her mouth, picked up Yuanbao and sat on the electric sofa where she had "served" him for the first time, gently scratching its chin.
Like people, cats' personalities are shaped by their environment. Although most kittens are afraid of thunder and firecrackers, thinking about it carefully, Yuanbao's reaction at the time seemed a bit too intense.
Could it be related to its childhood experiences?
Su Cheng then realized that Jiang Muzhou seemed to have never mentioned to her how Yuanbao came to be by his side.
After playing with the cat toy with Yuanbao for a while, Su Cheng felt her cheeks burning hot.
She subconsciously touched her forehead, and the burning temperature startled her.
Does this mean he has a fever?
She mustered her strength, hurried back to her home, and quickly found and swallowed some fever-reducing medicine.
Today is Jiang Muzhou's birthday.
She was determined to hold on until he came back.
I gulped down a large glass of warm water, and the burning sensation in my throat finally eased a bit.
Su Cheng glanced down at her phone screen.
I haven't received a reply yet to the video I just sent him.
She sent another message:
Are you coming home for dinner tonight?
-
"Going home for dinner?" Wang Yuemeng, sitting in the passenger seat, stared at the motionless traffic and chuckled awkwardly at his parents on the other end of the phone. "I told A-Zhou to try his best, and if he's lucky, he should be able to make it for breakfast tomorrow."
The last day of the National Day holiday happened to be hit by torrential rain, and the traffic in front of the highway toll station had long queues.
Originally, when Wang Yuemeng checked the navigation before setting off, he had already given up after seeing the patch of bright red on the highway.
He earnestly advised Jiang Muzhou to leave tomorrow, arguing that freelancers like them shouldn't squeeze into the return rush with office workers.
"I promised Su Cheng."
Jiang Muzhou uttered this sentence, and Wang Yuemeng immediately knew that he couldn't persuade him. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and this kid was determined to go back.
Wang Yuemeng didn't have a car, and the filming location was so remote that there wasn't even a high-speed rail station nearby, so he had no choice but to resign himself to following along on the highway.
As a result, not long after it started moving, the speed dropped from 60 to 20, and finally came to a complete stop.
They managed to move to a point three kilometers away from the tollbooth, and then got stuck there, stuck for a full hour.
As it grew darker, Wang Yuemeng had to call his parents to tell them not to wait for him for dinner.
Jiang Muzhou quickly replied to Su Cheng, saying that the highway was completely blocked and he didn't know when he would get home, so she shouldn't wait up for him.
After a while, Su Cheng replied with a voice message, her voice sounding muffled: "Um... be careful."
Jiang Muzhou frowned and listened to the voice message twice. He quickly typed to ask her if she was feeling unwell.
The message kept spinning and wouldn't send, even though my phone signal bars were completely empty.
"I'll go check ahead." Jiang Muzhou zipped up his windbreaker, pulled the black hood over his head, and got out of the car with his phone in hand.
Many impatient drivers on the highway were already peering out.
"I heard there was a five-car pileup at the ramp." The guy next to me handed me a cigarette. "The roads are slippery in this rainy weather, and two trolleys have run out of power and broken down. The rescue vehicles are stuck in the middle of the road."
Jiang Muzhou waved his hand, thanked him, and headed along the emergency lane to find a signal.
"Bang!"
A muffled thud.
Before he could react, he was sent flying several meters away.
The phone slipped from my hand, arced through the rain, and landed directly outside the highway guardrail.
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