Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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When You Xu woke up, it was already broad daylight. She poked her head out from the boy’s tattered clothes. The boy noticed she was awake and patted her head.
After a while, he took her out and placed her on the ground. He got up and opened the small wooden plank that served as a window. He looked outside, put the plank back in place, and walked towards the door.
When You Xu saw him open the door, she said, “Meow— (Where are you going?)”
When the boy opened the door, he heard the sound, looked back, closed the door again, came over, and made a small nest for her with straw. He put her inside and, then probably afraid she would be cold, covered her with even more straw.
After doing this, he got up and left again.
The wind blowing in with each opening and closing of the door was biting cold. She saw that everything outside was white; it must have snowed heavily the night before.
How could such a small child find food in this snow? But if he didn’t brave the wind and snow to find it, he wouldn’t survive the hunger.
You Xu went to the door and tried to push it open, but she couldn’t budge it. The door had to be pulled open from the inside. She glanced at her paws and gave the broken wooden door a couple of swipes, but of course, it was useless; she couldn’t pull it.
You Xu then tried the window. Looking up at the height, she calculated it was like looking at a two-story-high tree and having to jump onto its branches.
A little difficult, You Xu took a few steps back, stretched her legs, warmed up, and then took a running start, sprinted, and leaped— okay, high jumper You Xu was now flying, forming an arc in the air, a perfect move, about to land and win the championship.
Then, You Xu’s face painfully collided with the wooden wall, and she fell back to the ground. She tried several times, falling flat on her back each time, making her question her existence. You Xu gave up struggling, stopped making GIFs, and instead made a static emoji. She waited for several hours, taking two naps in between, until the boy finally returned very late.
He was covered in snow, his face flushed and bluish-purple from the cold, and his long eyelashes were covered in ice.
He hadn’t found any food; he’d walked all day on the mountain and only found some usable firewood.
The boy piled the firewood to one side and sat on the other, curled up in a ball. You Xu went over and touched him with her head, finding him shivering uncontrollably, his breath coming in white puffs.
The boy rubbed his hands together, then lifted her by the back of her neck and gently set her down. You Xu snuggled closer again, wanting to warm his hands as she had yesterday, but he didn’t give her his hands. She noticed several red scratches on his calves and ankles, likely from being scratched by branches while gathering firewood on the mountain.
You Xu wrapped her belly around his ankles, then curled up into a ball, before he lifted her by the neck again.
You Xu called out in confusion, then pressed closer again, her forehead touching a large patch of damp, cold fabric. She paused, realizing that the snow that had fallen on him had melted and soaked his clothes, making him both wet and cold, which was why he wouldn’t let her near. You Xu sighed, racking her brains for a way for the cat and the child to get along. He was in such a cold, wet state that he was very susceptible to catching a cold, and if it developed a high fever, it would be a real problem.
Just then, she heard a rustling sound coming from inside the house, accompanied by a creaking sound. You Xu’s ears twitched— that familiar feeling… She looked up and, sure enough, saw a grayish-black thing wriggling in the corner of the hay.
The boy reacted even faster than her, running over to catch it. The nimble little mouse dodged his attacks, scurrying around the house, but there was too little food and nowhere to hide. The boy quickly blocked the small hole it had crawled through earlier.
The mouse was fast and agile, making it difficult to catch. You Xu watched it leap and dart about, the boy pouncing and grabbing. Worried he might aggravate his wound, she considered helping. Although she wasn’t very agile in this form, she was still a cat.
Just then, the mouse charged at her. Scaling up to her cat-sized proportions, the mouse was many times larger, with bright black eyes, long, wagging whiskers, and sharp teeth bared at her. Before You Xu could react, she was already running for her life, ending up the one being chased.
Before, she’d only felt a little disgusted by mice, but now, magnified, they were terrifying creatures.
In the small room, a harmonious scene unfolded: the boy chasing the mouse, the mouse chasing the cat, and the cat circling behind the boy. Because of their similar speeds, a delicate balance was achieved for a short time.
Finally, the boy picked up a rusty iron bowl, predicted the mouse’s path, and threw it to block it. He then caught the mouse, pinching its back with one hand. The mouse twisted its head, kicked wildly, and made squeaking noises.
You Xu, exhausted from running, collapsed to the side to calm her racing heart.
78 said leisurely, “You’re not even as good a cat as a mouse.”
“It’s normal for a cat to not catch a mouse. Have you seen ‘Tom and Jerry’?” You Xu said seriously, “Art imitates life.”
“…”
78 didn’t reply, and You Xu was too lazy to pay attention. Anyway, it would find its own entertainment. Sure enough, after a while, the theme song of “Tom and Jerry” started playing in her head. 78, holding popcorn, ate while watching.
You Xu: I’d rather be a system than a host.
Before she could catch her breath, the large gray-black mouse was hovering in front of her, still kicking wildly.
You Xu instinctively took two steps back, seeing the boy squatting in front of her, pinching the mouse by the back and offering it to her, as if gesturing for her to eat it.
She nervously swallowed, staring at the mouse, which was bigger than her head, wondering what to do, when her cat face was kicked twice.
You Xu: “…” Hey, you can intimidate me, but you can’t humiliate me.
She raised her paws, ready to slap it, but then felt another sharp pain on her forehead. The mouse was banging its front teeth against her head, like digging in the dirt with a hoe, the pain making her furious.
You Xu braced herself on her hind legs, raised her two front paws, and quickly slapped it several times before her legs gave way.
The boy then lifted the mouse away, his gaze a mixture of amusement and helplessness, his other hand touching her forehead where she had been hit.
He picked up the rusty iron bowl, took the mouse, and went outside. After a while, he returned, the bowl containing the dead mouse. Judging from the blood spurting from its forehead, You Xu guessed it had been killed by a stone.
He pushed the iron bowl in front of her, gesturing for her to eat.
You Xu nudged the bowl towards him with her head, urging him to eat, feeling that he would struggle to survive without food. Nestled in his arms, she felt his warmth and the protruding bones.
The boy understood she wouldn’t eat rats, so he gathered some wood from the house, built a small pile, and took two charred stones from a dirty jar. He rubbed one in each hand against the other, producing sparks.
You Xu realized they were probably flint and steel, but they were usually difficult to ignite.
The boy tried for a long time, his hands trembling. Exhausted, he sat down to rest for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then picked up the flint and steel again. Several times he almost succeeded; the straw even smoked, but it just wouldn’t ignite.
He must have hit the stone hundreds of times, if not thousands. Most people would have gotten impatient by now, but You Xu noticed that he didn’t. There was no impatience or irritability in his eyes, nor any discouragement or disappointment. All he showed was calmness.
With exceptional patience and resilience, like bamboo shoots breaking through the soil, You Xu looked around at this simple and dilapidated place. Without extraordinary tenacity, he probably wouldn’t have survived this long.
Finally, the straw emitted another wisp of smoke, and You Xu’s heart leaped into her throat.
Soon, the straw ignited with bright yellow flames. The boy placed it in a crevice in the woodpile to ignite the wood.
The boy remained expressionless, but You Xu couldn’t help but let out a happy “meow.” He turned to look at her, then continued to tend the fire.
Because the wood was somewhat damp, it produced a lot of black smoke, which was a bit choking. You Xu sneezed, and the boy got up and opened the window a crack.
He brought back some ice in an iron bowl, boiled it over the fire, and then pierced a mouse with a wooden stick and roasted it over the fire.
Fifteen minutes later, the water boiled, steaming. The boy picked up two wooden sticks, sandwiched them between the sides of the iron bowl, and placed it on the ground. The rat’s fur was roasted off, leaving only black ash on its surface. Sparks crackled softly, and the aroma of roasting meat filled the room. The boy picked up the wooden stick with the rat on it, looked at it, blew on it a few times, and held it out to You Xu, gesturing to her mouth for her to eat some.
You Xu shook her head again, making a pushing motion with her paw. Only then did the boy remove the rat from the stick, holding it in both hands, and wolfed it down, even chewing the bones before swallowing.
In no time, the rat was gone.
The small fire was almost out, with only a few glowing embers providing warmth. The boy took off his clothes and placed them on the wooden sticks to roast the rat.
You Xu already knew he was emaciated, but she was still shocked by his naked body. The bones from the back of his neck to his back were prominently displayed, and the ribs on his sides were clearly visible, as if his bones were a framework supporting his skin.
His body was also covered with numerous new and old wounds, knife cuts and burns, several of which were horrifying to see.
A bitter pang of heartache choked in her throat. You Xu went over and rubbed her forehead against his wrist.
The boy raised his hand to touch her, but noticed the black stains on his palms from striking the flint earlier. He then pulled the clothes from the wooden strip, wiped his hands clean, and put the clothes back to dry before touching her forehead.
After a while, he turned the clothes over to dry, picked up an iron bowl, drank some water, tested the temperature, and placed it in front of You Xu.
You Xu looked down and saw rust settled in the water, along with ash from burning wood, but it emitted a warm, comforting heat.
The sky grew completely dark, and the small house, devoid of candlelight, gradually fell into darkness, leaving only a few glowing embers illuminating the boy’s face and hands.
Perhaps in this bowl of water, she could see the faint light of the fire, and his eyes, and the warmth within them, shining like embers, however faint.
She lowered her head, licked the water with her tongue, and drank quietly.
The water had the metallic taste of rust and the bitterness of ash, but inexplicably, she tasted a sweetness.
An indescribable sweetness.
The author has something to say:
Male Lead: I’ve appeared in three chapters already, and I still don’t have a name?
Author: Don’t worry, son, you’re so pitiful, you definitely deserve a name.
Male Lead: ……..
[Important: No wild game!!!]
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