Memories

Night quietly fell.

Everyone was about to go upstairs to rest when Ji Baiwei suddenly called out to Gu Nian'an.

The boy turned to her in confusion and asked, "Bai Wei, is something wrong?"

Bai Wei said gently, "You're not in good health. Sleep in tomorrow. Leave breakfast to Yaozhi and Xiaxia."

Yun Bingxia gave Gu Nian'an a radiant smile and said brightly, "That's right! I might not be much of a cook, but after watching all these days, I've picked it up. Gu Gu, you've been cooking for so long. Get some proper rest! It's my turn to repay you now! Don't underestimate me, Yun Bingxia!"

With that, she brandished her fists at Gu Nian'an.

Warmth welled up in Gu Nian'an's heart, and he agreed with a smile.

That night, a sudden scratching came from outside the door-scritch, scritch, scritch. Gu Nian'an's eyes snapped open, and he gently opened the door.

He looked around but saw no one. Puzzled, he looked down and found the kitten standing at his door. The little black kitten meowed at him, then slipped past him into the room.

Before he could react, the kitten had already reached the bed. It turned and gestured insistently at him, as though saying, Hurry up and lift me onto the bed! Do I look like I can get up there myself?

Gu Nian'an froze briefly, then instinctively lifted the kitten onto the bed. By the time he came to his senses, he was already lying beside it.

He watched as the kitten fell fast asleep as soon as it climbed onto the bed, its snowy little paws crossed beside its head, which rested lightly against his.

For some reason, he instinctively placed a hand on the kitten's back and stroked it, over and over.

As he watched the sleeping kitten, it seemed to overlap with a figure in his memories.

Drowsy and half asleep, he gradually sank into the past.

Back when he was still in high school, he had to head straight to the music store after school every day to practice piano, and could only return home after dark.

His mother only came home after he had fallen asleep each day, and his only companion was a tiny black kitten.

He had picked the kitten up beside the pool in his residential complex. Some younger elementary school children liked throwing kittens into the water and watching them struggle.

Its mother had already died at their hands. The children were called home by the adults to eat.

The kitten kept struggling in the water. Though the pool was small, to it, it was like an abyss. An older schoolgirl passing by could not bear the sight.

She fished it out of the water, but that was all.

Gu Nian'an had just returned from the music store when he saw the kitten lying on the ground, gasping and crying weakly.

The kitten looked at him too, its entire body soaked through, its blue eyes gazing deeply at him.

The boy and the kitten stared at each other.

And so he brought the kitten home.

Every day, he bought a little sausage to feed the kitten in secret, until his mother discovered it sneaking out of the cabinet. He instinctively knelt on the floor. His mother looked at her and said nothing.

She tacitly accepted the kitten's presence.

Whenever he practiced piano, he would carry the kitten over to his side, and it would lie quietly nearby, listening to him play.

A long, long time passed like that. The boy never gave the kitten a name, only ever calling it Mimi, Mimi.

Until one day, Gu Nian'an's teacher suddenly called his mother and told her to keep a closer eye on him, as his grades had slipped a little recently.

His mother flew into a rage. When she came home that night, she immediately dragged the boy out of bed, where he was still asleep, and made him kneel. Gu Nian'an had yet to realize what had happened.

He simply knelt there in confusion as his mother said furiously, "Your teacher told me your grades have been dropping lately. What have you been doing?!"

She jabbed his head as she spoke. Gu Nian'an froze.

Because he had to practice piano and attend competitions, he always returned very late. After starting his second year of high school, he had struggled to keep up a little, which was why his grades had slipped.

So he lowered his head and quietly explained that he got back too late from piano practice and was finding things a little difficult, but that he would catch up.

Hearing this, the woman grew even angrier and shouted, "Gu Nian'an! No excuses! Why didn't this happen before?!"

Just then, the kitten sleeping nearby heard the commotion and emerged from its bed, bobbing its head.

At the sight, the woman's eyes filled with viciousness, and she roared, "Gu Nian'an! I feed you! I clothe you! You eat well and dress well, and all you do every day is keep this wretched cat! What's so good about this wretched cat?!"

She snatched the kitten off the floor. "I think you stopped studying ever since you got this cat! Is this how you repay me?!"

"Gu Nian'an! I took you away from your father! I raised you all by myself! Do you know how hard it's been for me?! And all you think about every day is this wretched cat!"

With that, she made to slam the cat onto the floor.

Gu Nian'an's pupils contracted. He rushed forward to take the cat back, only for the woman to shove him away. He struck the foot of the bed and fell to the floor.

Ignoring the pain in his body, the boy staggered forward and clung to the woman's legs, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face as he cried, "Mom, Mom, please. I'll change. I'll give the cat away. Don't hurt it. Please, Mom."

The woman turned a deaf ear to him. She lifted the cat high and slammed it hard onto the floor.

The kitten let out a terrible cry, then began twitching faintly on the floor, blood spilling from its nose.

Watching the kitten twitch without stopping, Gu Nian'an gathered it into his arms with trembling hands. It felt as though his heart had been brutally crushed, the pain unbearable.

He realized he could no longer save it.

The woman stood nearby, silently watching the boy holding the cat. Suddenly, her gaze hardened. She snatched the cat from his arms, turned, and headed for the door.

Gu Nian'an struggled to get up, but his lower back had struck the glass just now, and he could not move at all. He could only keep calling out to the woman, asking where she was going.

The woman turned and left without looking back.

Gu Nian'an sat frozen where he was. After a long while, he collapsed limply onto the floor, feeling cold all over as he sobbed soundlessly.

He did not know how long he had lain on the floor. The sky had even begun to grow faintly light when a phone suddenly rang beside him.

It was his mother calling.

The boy answered the phone and heard the woman tell him in a hoarse voice, "It's raining. I didn't bring an umbrella. Come out and bring me one."

Gu Nian'an felt dizzy, his thoughts a tangled mess. He grabbed two umbrellas and walked out of the complex. Looking up, he saw the woman sitting beneath a tree.

He staggered over and handed her an umbrella.

The woman silently took it and stared at him for a long time before suddenly asking, "An'an, do you hate me?"

Gu Nian'an froze briefly at her words, then raised his head to look straight into her eyes. He forced a smile, yet tears streamed down his face as he choked out, "Of course not. You know I love you."

The two returned home in silence.

The woman suddenly said, "I threw it into the garbage pit."

The boy did not understand at first and looked up at his mother.

The woman continued, "The cat is in the garbage pit."

The boy gave an expressionless "Mm," then turned and went out.

When he reached the garbage pit, a great deal of water had already collected at the bottom because of the rain. All kinds of garbage gave off a foul stench, yet he spotted the kitten lying at the bottom at once.

It was no longer moving. It lay quietly amid the garbage with its eyes closed, as though asleep.

Because of the bad weather, no one was out in the complex. Everyone was sheltering from the rain at home, and the surroundings were very quiet.

Rain pattered heavily against the umbrella.

The boy tried reaching out, but soon drew his hand back. The garbage pit was too deep...

He could not reach it.

Gu Nian'an turned and slowly walked home. The journey seemed to have slowed countless times over. It was so, so long.

Wasn't it supposed to stop hurting when you lost them, as long as you never gave them a name...?

His tears fell to the ground along with the raindrops. Drip, drip.

There was no telling which was rain and which was tears...

It was all a lie...