TAM 14

The person in front of him was, of course, Si Yuan.

Mo Yao had just bumped into him, and they were standing too close. Si Yuan didn’t move, so Mo Yao had to step back.

It was too dark. Neither of them could see the other’s face.

Si Yuan said, “Were you eavesdropping on us?”

Mo Yao almost laughed out of anger. Who do you think you are? Why would I eavesdrop on you? He took a slow deep breath and calmed himself down, then asked, “Who are you talking to?”

Si Yuan didn’t answer.

Mo Yao had been standing in the grass for a while, and he felt insects brushing against his legs. He worried the dorm might close soon, and he didn’t feel like arguing with Si Yuan. He waved the flashlight near his legs to drive away the bugs and turned to walk past him.

Then footsteps sounded behind him. Si Yuan was following.

Mo Yao stopped and turned around. He switched on the flashlight and aimed the bright beam at Si Yuan’s face.

Si Yuan’s pupils shrank. He turned his head slightly and lowered his eyelids to avoid the light.

Mo Yao’s tone turned cold. “Don’t follow me.”

Si Yuan didn’t get angry. He said, “I came here first. I’m not following you.”

Mo Yao asked, “Then where are you going?”

“Back to the dorm.”

Mo Yao turned, lifted the flashlight, and pointed toward the dorms. “You go that way.” He pointed in the opposite direction. “I’ll go this way.” He raised his hand and waved. “Bye.”

He didn’t look at Si Yuan again and focused on finding his cat.

But he still found nothing.

That night, Mo Yao woke inside the small cat’s body. He looked around and saw that he was hiding behind a tall wall. Cardboard boxes surrounded him, forming a little shelter.

He stretched his head out and looked for a while. He couldn’t tell where he was.

The wound on his back started to ache a little. He reflexively turned his head, but he couldn’t reach it to lick.

Then a light and silent figure landed on the cardboard beside him. The box dipped slightly but made almost no sound.

Mo Yao flinched, but when he saw it was the black cat who had wandered with him, he lifted his head again.

He had only just raised it halfway above the box when the black cat stretched out a paw and pressed his head down.

“Meo…” Mo Yao didn’t even finish the sound.

When the black cat withdrew its paw, he raised his head again, but it pressed him down once more.

Mo Yao felt annoyed. He was about to protest when the black cat dragged a plastic bag full of cat food from somewhere.

His mind told him there were more important things, but his stomach disagreed. Mo Yao gave in and lowered his head to eat.

While he buried his face in the food, the black cat suddenly licked his back again.

It came without warning, and Mo Yao felt a warm, wet tickle crawl from his back up to his head.

He froze. He stopped eating, but for some reason he didn’t dare raise his head.

Ever since he had become a cat at night, he had survived on the black cat’s feeding. He had grown used to depending on it. He knew it sounded weak, but dependence meant obedience. Even though the licking made him restless, he couldn’t reject it openly. He only shifted his paws little by little toward the corner.

Then the black cat licked him until he was backed into the corner.

After a while, the black cat seemed satisfied. It jumped up onto the box and lay down, its tail swaying slowly.

Mo Yao blankly finished the food. Then he looked up at the black cat and remembered what mattered. He needed a rabies shot.

He put his front paw on the box and tried to climb out.

The black cat pressed his head down again and pushed him back.

Mo Yao tried again, and once again, he was pushed back.

Mo Yao didn’t understand what the black cat meant. He crouched by the box and tried to tell the black cat what he wanted, but he couldn’t speak human language, and he didn’t know cat language either. So he tried to make it understand another way. He barked like a dog. Because his voice box was built differently, it didn’t sound very real. It only barely resembled a dog’s bark. What he wanted to say was: rabies vaccine.

The black cat looked at him. Its pupils narrowed slightly, and it showed a confused look.

Mo Yao barked again.

The black cat lifted a paw and pressed his face down, pushing him back inside.

Mo Yao never managed to get the vaccine. More than twenty-four hours had passed since he was scratched. He gave up.

Feeling uneasy, Mo Yao received an invitation to Wu Jingyan’s birthday.

He wanted to refuse, but Wu Jingyan said, “Last year on your birthday, I celebrated it for you.”

Back then, Mo Yao had thought she liked him. He had thought something might happen between them.

Now he couldn’t refuse.

Wu Jingyan’s birthday was the next week, and the dinner would be at a restaurant in the city center.

During that time, Mo Yao spent every night with the black cat. He felt as if the black cat had taken him in. Every day it brought him food to his mouth. After eating, he would lazily lie beside it. Sometimes the black cat even groomed his fur for him.

His fear of rabies disappeared with time. In the comfort of that life, he slowly lost his sense of direction. One day, he lay on top of the cardboard box and thought, what else did he have to do? Probably nothing. He wasn’t really a cat. Living as a college student was already hard enough. How well did he need to live as a cat too?

He looked at the black cat in front of him. It had its eyes closed, half asleep. After so long, even a cat’s face could look refined and pleasant to him.

As if it noticed his gaze, the black cat suddenly opened its eyes and brushed its chin against the top of his head.

Mo Yao rested his big head on his front paws, and his heart thumped several times.

Wu Jingyan’s birthday came.

That afternoon, there were no classes, and Li Yahan came to find Mo Yao so they could pick up the birthday cake together.

They weren’t close, and Li Yahan didn’t seem very excited. She barely talked along the way.

Later, Mo Yao remembered what had happened that night by the lotus pond and asked her, “Is anyone else coming tonight?”

Li Yahan shook her head. After a while, she said, “She said she wants to invite Si Yuan.”

Mo Yao didn’t mention overhearing Wu Jingyan and Si Yuan talking.

When they arrived at the shopping mall where they had planned to eat, Mo Yao and Li Yahan took the elevator upstairs. As soon as they turned the corner, they saw Wu Jingyan already there.

Wu Jingyan was standing at the entrance of a children’s themed restaurant next to their reserved place. Two or three kids were gathered around a person in a mascot costume. Wu Jingyan was smiling as she watched them, and beside her stood a tall, broad-shouldered boy who was clearly with her.

“Who’s that?” Mo Yao stopped and asked.

Li Yahan looked puzzled, thought for a moment, and said, “Oh, she mentioned that a boy from the sports college was pursuing her. Maybe that’s him.” Then she muttered under her breath, “She talks about him every day.”

Mo Yao frowned. “Then why call us here? Can’t they have their little date alone?”

Li Yahan said, “She hasn’t agreed to him yet.”

She hadn’t agreed, yet she asked him to come celebrate her birthday. Mo Yao had known Wu Jingyan long enough to think this was exactly the kind of thing she would do.

Wu Jingyan saw them then and waved.

When they met, she introduced the tall boy. His name was Zeng Wenchu. She said a few other things, but Mo Yao didn’t even register them.

The dinner was at a barbecue place. Wu Jingyan said she would treat everyone and told them not to be polite.

It wasn’t a matter of politeness. Except for Wu Jingyan, none of them were close, so the conversation was awkward and forced.

Their table was by the window. Mo Yao drifted off, turned his head, and saw that the children in front of the restaurant next door were gone. Only the mascot remained, waving its short fuzzy arms diligently to attract customers.

Wu Jingyan said something and suddenly mentioned Mo Yao. “This is my male best friend.”

Mo Yao looked up at her.

Zeng Wenchu propped his chin on one hand and said, “Male best friend, huh.” He drew out the sound with a hidden meaning.

Mo Yao looked at him. He really was built strong. His bent arm showed clear muscles under his sleeve.

Wu Jingyan looked happy. She pointed between Mo Yao and Li Yahan. “Male best friend, female best friend.”

Maybe because they had come together, Zeng Wenchu asked, “Are they together?”

Wu Jingyan quickly said, “No, Yahan likes someone else.”

Mo Yao noticed the change in Li Yahan’s face. She looked embarrassed.

Wu Jingyan didn’t notice at all. She said, “She likes Mo Yao’s roommate. The most handsome guy in our class.”

“How handsome?” Zeng Wenchu followed her lead and asked.

Wu Jingyan laughed. “Ask Yahan.”

At that moment, Mo Yao raised his hand and called to the waiter. “More chili sauce, thanks.”

The topic stopped there. When he put his hand down, he asked casually, “How did you two meet?”

So they stopped talking about Si Yuan.