Chapter 6

The next day, the three cats began their move.

Jiang Heng was ill, growing weaker by the day. Coupled with the numerous cats and dogs in the urban village, the white cat and the others simply couldn’t survive on their own.

So Jiang Heng decided to move to the flowerbed they had discovered the day before. It still contained some cat food left by feeders, and if no other cats had found it, it could sustain them for a few more days.

But with an old, weak, and ailing family, their progress was painfully slow.

The sky was gloomy, and the stale, filthy air of the urban village offered no relief from the spring rain and wind.

They didn’t reach the flowerbed until noon. Fortunately, the cat food and canned goods remained untouched. Jiang Heng settled the ginger cat in the flowerbed and took the white cat out to forage.

They couldn’t survive by consuming the last of their supplies.

In the afternoon, rain began to fall gently; distant mountains were shrouded in mist. Amid the haze, new green shoots gradually covered the deep brown branches, while wild pear blossoms bloomed softly in white.

Below the mountains, a mechanical roar and cold, gray buildings smothered the world.

Jiang Heng’s world had no spring. When he looked up, all he saw were countless trucks coming and going on the oil-stained streets, and the workers’ faces were marked only by numbness and exhaustion.

No one paid any attention to the two cats hurrying through the rain.

He led the white cat to a welfare home he had marked as a backup option.

The welfare home’s gate was just two battered iron sheets, flanked by short walls overrun by climbing ivy—the most vivid color on the street.

From inside came the sounds of children playing. Jiang Heng and the white cat crouched at the gate, pondering how to get inside.

The iron gate was hopeless. Finally, their attention turned to the ivy-covered wall. Since the welfare home was dilapidated, they found a dog hole near the wall.

Jiang Heng and the white cat sneaked quietly through the hole.

The welfare home was small. Beyond the dog hole lay a playground. It was mealtime, and a group of children queued for food, with a caretaker standing among them, ladle in hand.

“All your clothes are clean ones you changed into this morning. If anyone dares to dirty their clothes at lunch, I’ll make sure to punish you! And have you all remembered what the teacher taught you?”

The children, clutching their bowls, answered weakly, “Yes... to be polite, to greet properly, not to talk back to guests, and never lose our temper with them...”

“Just saying it isn’t enough. You must remember it in your hearts, understand? The visitors today are students from A University. Our welfare home has been here for years, but hardly any have been admitted to A University. The students are kind. If you’re polite and well-behaved, maybe they’ll donate more next time.”

“Got it, caretaker. When do we start eating?”

“Eat, eat, eat! All you think about is food!” The caretaker scolded with a face full of exasperation but lifted the pot lid nonetheless. “Alright, line up properly. One by one, come get your food...”

As the lid lifted, the aroma of the meal wafted out.

The white cat licked its lips, craving. “When can we go over there?”

Jiang Heng’s gaze remained fixed ahead. “Wait a bit longer.”

Children didn’t make decisions there; the caretaker was in charge.

The caretaker was a short, stout man who already wore short sleeves in March, revealing a tattooed arm. His features were harsh, and he looked intimidating.

He scolded while serving food, but the children seemed unfazed, smiling cheerfully.

Jiang Heng observed for a while, and the white cat grew impatient. Just as it was about to lose patience, the sound of a door opening came. A woman emerged carrying a basin of fried pork belly.

Excitement rippled through the crowd. “Meat! Sister Su Ye brought meat!”

The children abandoned the line and surged forward. The caretaker struggled to maintain order with his ladle but to no avail.

Jiang Heng glanced in surprise at the woman carrying the meat. If he remembered correctly, she was the kind person who had given him and the white cat fried rice that day.

The white cat twitched its nose. “I remember her. She gave us food. She smells really nice.”

The woman was more perceptive than the caretaker and children. Despite Jiang Heng and the white cat hiding by the wall for a long time, no one noticed them until Su Ye came out and her gaze landed on them.

Their eyes met.

The woman smiled with a hint of surprise, handed the basin of meat to the caretaker, and approached the wall.

She crouched down in front of the two cats. “What a coincidence, I didn’t expect to see you again.”

She reached out to stroke the white cat, but hesitated with Jiang Heng, unsure how to approach him.

“You must be hungry. Wait here, I’ll find you something to eat.”

When Su Ye returned, she was accompanied by the tattooed caretaker, who grumbled in a deep voice, “You come back and secretly cook up a big basin of meat? The kids don’t even need that much food.”

Su Ye couldn’t find cat food, so she filled a bowl with rice and a few slices of boiled meat. She spoke softly and gently.

“Brother Li, this is just a small token from me. Besides, I grew up here, so I know better than anyone what life is like in this welfare home.”

“I don’t think you know at all! The group of donor students are coming this afternoon, and they won’t be missing their meal. Your life is tough enough without worrying about those unruly brats.”

Su Ye ignored his words, crouched before the two cats, and placed the bowl in front of them. With her deformed left hand, she gently tapped the white cat’s forehead. “Eat.”

The caretaker’s accusatory tone softened. “Where did these cats come from?”

Su Ye looked at the hole in the wall. “Probably climbed in through there. I have some connection with these two cats; I saw them once before. I didn’t expect to meet them again after my shop closed.”

The caretaker, burly and rough, was hesitant around cats. The cats he saw before were terrified of him, but these two showed no fear.

He cautiously crouched beside Su Ye. “Where did these cats come from? Are they a pair? That white cat looks so clean, doesn’t seem like a stray.”

Su Ye hesitated. “I think they know each other. The last time I saw them, they were together. That white cat looks really pretty and clean, maybe a pet, but I didn’t find any tag.”

The caretaker’s eyes gleamed with envy. He reached out his heavily tattooed hand to touch the white cat, but it dodged away.

He felt a pang of disappointment. Before he could withdraw his hand, a warm softness brushed against his palm.

A malnourished little cat, so filthy its breed was unrecognizable, with disheveled fur and perky ears, rubbed its relatively clean head against his palm. Its glassy eyes sparkled as if saying:

“Just a little petting, don’t be sad.”

The caretaker’s iron will softened instantly into a tender affection.

He didn’t mind the dirt and stroked the kitten’s head. “What happened to this cat? How did it get so dirty?”

Su Ye explained, “Judging by the grime, it was probably doused with something. There’s an urban village nearby where the kids are little tyrants. They love to throw gasoline mixed with coal dust and diluted glue on people. This cat must have been a victim. It’s hard to wash off.”

The caretaker frowned. “Such a small cat... those kids would really do that?”

Su Ye said nothing.

Having grown up in the orphanage, she knew all too well the darkness of human nature.

They had been crouching there for a while when several children carrying bowls ran over and their eyes lit up at the sight of the two cats.

“Cats!”

Jiang Heng and the white cat found themselves surrounded by children as they ate, looking up at several pairs of bright, shining eyes.

“...”

The pressure was immense.

Though the welfare home children could be unruly, they were obedient enough that no one touched the cats roughly, just chirped and whispered beside them.

“How beautiful and white the cat is! What breed is it?”

“How did they get in? Do they like carrots? I can give them the carrots I don’t want.”

“That skinny cat is so dirty! Did it roll in the mud?”

“...”

Suddenly, someone in the crowd laughed. “It looks so funny. Its body is skinny, but its belly is big. Is it pregnant?”

Su Ye gasped and looked at Jiang Heng. The little cat that had devoured food so fiercely before now only nibbled a few bites, looking listless.

“What’s wrong with it?” The caretaker’s rough hand patted Jiang Heng but saw nothing unusual, only that Jiang Heng looked different from other cats.

Su Ye cradled Jiang Heng in one arm and gently ran her three remaining fingers over him, her expression darkening. “He’s sick.”

“Sick?”

She put the cat down and stroked his head with slender fingers, sighing softly. “They’re stray cats, each with their own fate. We can only give them some food. Beyond that, there’s little we can do.”

Looking into the cat’s glassy eyes, she had an uncanny feeling it understood her words.

“Such beautiful eyes...” She rubbed the kitten’s ears. “If only he were clean, he’d be even more beautiful.”

Unable to bear it, Su Ye continued, regardless of whether the cat understood. “If you’re hungry in the future, come here. Though we don’t have much, at least you won’t starve.”

After speaking, she saw the scruffy little cat stand and bow to her, as if expressing thanks.

Su Ye suddenly stood up, turning away. “I’m going to check if the director has eaten.”

Without waiting for a reply, she hurried off, seeming to avoid something.

The children around the cats were sent back to nap, leaving only Jiang Heng and the white cat by the wall.

The rain was light, and they sheltered beneath a large tree, barely getting wet. The white cat, sated, lay on the ground licking its fur and chatted with Jiang Heng.

“What were they talking about just now?”

Jiang Heng still had half the food in his bowl. He stared absentmindedly at the wall behind him. “They said we’re cute and want to adopt us.”

The white cat paused. “Do you want to be adopted by them?”

Jiang Heng asked, “What do you think of them?”

The white cat said nothing at first, then pondered and asked, “Will they abandon us again?”

Just like our previous owner.

Jiang Heng didn’t know.

He lay on the ground as waves of exhaustion surged over him. His chest still ached, but along with the pain came a profound, helpless weariness.

He wanted to sleep.

But he dared not, fearing he might never wake again.

He got up slowly and said to the white cat, “I have something to do. You can rest here. The children probably won’t harm you. You can also go back to find Big Yellow. I’ll meet you later.”

“What are you going to do?”

Jiang Heng dragged himself forward slowly, voice still cheerful.

“I’m going to do something very important!”

...

When the caretaker returned with water, he only saw the white cat; the other was nowhere to be found. He poured water into the bowl and was about to pet the cat discreetly when his phone rang.

The director’s aged voice came through.

“The group of donor students have arrived.”

Outside the worn, peeling wall, a brand-new bus moved slowly through the drizzle. Inside the welfare home, the only old peach tree quietly blossomed in the gentle rain and breeze, bringing a touch of life to the dull, faded courtyard.