Chapter 228

But Chun Qiu really liked lying here. Firstly, it could see its little brother entering immediately. Secondly, it was high up, and it liked high places. Plus, it provided good support for its body, preventing any feeling of being suspended in mid-air. It gently lifted its tail, remembering clearly when Hua Xin returned from hunting. Although Chun Qiu loved to sleep, it never slept in the late afternoon, only half-asleep, just to check if its little brother was still alive and well. [It's only eaten three meals today; shouldn't it give me more rice when my little brother comes back? To be honest, this hard thing is much tastier than rats or sausages...] Although it outwardly acted indifferent to whether Hua Xin returned or not, it was still very concerned. The girl took off her shoes, but didn't put on slippers. Like a robot repeating commands, she placed her schoolbag on the sofa, then took off her mask and hoodie, neatly placing them on the coat rack by the door. Although nothing seemed different from usual, something felt off. "Clatter." The sound of something hard hitting the bowl made Chun Qiu open its closed eyes. Even though the adjective it needed to use had changed from "only" to "a vehicle," it didn't hinder its innate feline agility. It lazily stretched, its paws landing on the edge of the large television, and silently hopped down, its little head held high with an air of arrogance. It quickly went to the feeding bowl full of cat food and began to eat heartily. Although the taste was as good as usual, Chun Qiu felt something was missing. After taking a couple of bites, it raised its head, looking at the girl sitting on the sofa with some confusion. [What... what's wrong?] Normally, its little brother would pet it and stroke its fur when he returned from hunting, and even when he was late or tired, he would speak to it in a language it couldn't quite understand. Had it forgotten? Well, even a powerful creature like it sometimes forgets to groom itself and falls asleep, only to remember it hasn't washed its face after eating when it wakes up, so there's probably nothing to worry about. Chun Qiu continued eating. Hua Xin seemed to have forgotten many things she should have done after entering the house, such as habitually saying "I'm back" to the empty room, or starting to chatter incessantly to herself, or telling Chun Qiu about the interesting and annoying things that happened that day. She simply stood up quietly, then went to the bathroom and took off the towel and clothes she had washed the night before. All the familiar scenes made her feel a little dazed. How long had she lived here? In this small house of less than forty square meters. Hua Xin turned to look at herself in the mirror, and for a moment, the long-haired girl in the mirror seemed to overlap with the always sloppy short-haired boy in her memory. She hadn't forgotten anything. Not from the day her parents left, nor from the day she was the only one left in the world. A slight silence fell. The girl lowered her eyes and slowly walked to the showerhead, removing her clothes piece by piece. The room was cold. Without running hot water beforehand to fill the bathroom with steam and raise the temperature, the already loosely sealed windows made it even colder than the bedroom and living room. Not to mention, Hua Xin was about to take a shower. But the girl had never chosen to do this before; afraid of wasting money and not being able to survive, she had only ever been able to shower with cold water. Gently lifting the switch, the icy water lashed against Hua Xin's skin without restraint. The icy water didn't make her grimace and try to amuse herself as before. She seemed unable to feel the temperature, simply hanging her head and waiting for the water to slowly change from cold to hot. The sound of dripping water became the only noise in the room. The water washed away the tear tracks on her face, but the continuous flow of water was unclear whether it was mixed with tears or simply the spray from the showerhead. After a long while, having only rinsed her body once, the girl stopped the water and gently dried herself with a towel. Only when she still felt a slight tingling on her neck did she realize she had forgotten to tie her hair up to avoid getting it wet, but it seemed too late now. Ah... it doesn't matter. Hua Xin quickly dried her hair, put on her clothes, and walked barefoot, still slightly damp, to the refrigerator in her thin clothing. She remembered that she still had one dessert left from the coffee shop that Lin Qingyu had ordered, but she hadn't eaten it because she was reluctant to part with it. The food she had prepared for the New Year and winter last year had been gradually used up in the past two months, and she hadn't replenished her supplies recently. Now, she was even running out of ingredients to cook a meal. Most of the time, she rarely cooked at home. One extra bowl of food from the cat cafe was enough to keep her from getting hungry all day, but she was too embarrassed to eat too much, so she only ate two bowls of rice each time. Hua Xin took the cake out of the small plastic plate; the cream on top, even after several days, still had a bright and vibrant color. She loved sweets. Or rather, she loved anything with a flavor. Because through taste, the girl could feel that she was still alive. Hua Xin gently scooped a spoonful of the cake and put it in her mouth. The sweet taste slowly spread in her mouth, exploring the rare sweetness bit by bit on her tongue. But Hua Xin couldn't feel happy at all; she just silently finished the whole cake to fill her stomach. Chun Qiu, having finished its cat food, was squatting next to its bowl washing its face. Seeing the girl, who had been silent since entering the house, stand up from the dining table, it stretched and slowly followed her into the bedroom. Unlike before, when it would be talking strangely by the computer or lying in bed looking at the thing that glowed in the dark, why was it lying in bed so early today? And why hadn't it been groomed? Chun Qiu jumped onto the bed. Seeing that the Small Sun on the floor wasn't working, it wagged its tail, walked to the bedside, and quietly climbed down, watching her with her eyes closed. It seemed to see something entangled with its little brother. But it couldn't do anything about it, because it was a strange thought born from within her. And Chun Qiu was just a little cat. It stood up and walked to Hua Xin's face, patting her hair with its paw pads, just like when the girl stroked it when they first met. [What's wrong, person?] [Are you alright?] Chun Qiu's mind couldn't hold anything else. After its time wandering from school, its world consisted only of eating, sleeping, grooming itself, and its little brother. This small house, neither too big nor too small, also contained its existence. Seeing people and having enough to eat every day was a life of extreme satisfaction for Chun Qiu. Therefore, it didn't know why Hua Xin was so sad and unhappy. Hua Xin seemed to sense Chun Qiu's comforting words. She opened her misty eyes, gently hugged Chun Qiu, and pressed her head against itss. "Meow..."