TAM 3

Mo Yao took a detour alone to the second cafeteria. He bought a meal and carried it back to the dormitory. To return from the second cafeteria to the male dorms, he had to pass the gate of the graduate dormitory. At the entrance, he saw two or three cats circling around a girl’s legs as she fed them.

When he reached the male dormitory building, Mo Yao went up the stairs to the third floor. He stopped in front of Room 307. He held the lunchbox in one hand and searched for his key in his pocket with the other. He unlocked the door, but before he could push it open, another force pulled it from inside. A figure suddenly came out and crashed straight into him, knocking the food box from his hand.

The food scattered all over the floor in front of the dorm room.

Mo Yao raised his head and saw that it was Si Yuan.

Si Yuan stopped walking. For a moment, he looked down at the spilled food, then at Mo Yao, and said, “I’ll pay you back.” After saying that, he turned and walked away quickly.

Mo Yao felt his blood pressure rise sharply. He cursed under his breath at Si Yuan’s back, “Pay your XX!” The sound was not loud, but it echoed down the hallway. He did not know whether Si Yuan, already near the stairwell, had heard him or not.

His stomach was full of anger, and he no longer felt any need to eat. The rage alone was enough to fill him up. He still had to fetch a broom to clean the mess, throw away the trash, and when he saw the greasy stains at the doorway that refused to disappear, he grabbed tissues and squatted to wipe them again and again.

After that, he went to his bed and fell face down, lying there in silence for a long time. Only when Chen Xinyong and Zhang Ziyu returned from dinner did the stifling irritation in his chest ease a little.

That night, no one left the dormitory. The three of them stayed inside playing games together.

Mo Yao had just turned on his computer when his phone rang. He kept his eyes on the screen, answered the call, and held the phone between his shoulder and ear.

It was a delivery call. The delivery man said that an order had arrived downstairs.

“Delivery? I didn’t order anything.” Mo Yao thought it was a mistake. He stayed focused on the game.

The delivery man repeated his name and address and confirmed that nothing was wrong.

“You ordered food?” Zhang Ziyu sat on his upper bunk with both legs hanging over the side, his laptop resting on his knees.

Mo Yao suddenly lifted his eyes and saw his reflection in the window glass. He realized something. He tapped twice on his keyboard and said, “I’ll go get the delivery.”

It really was his delivery. There was rice and stir-fried food. The dish was kung pao chicken, which he liked. The quality and portion were both much better than what the school cafeteria served.

When Mo Yao returned to the dorm, he stood between the two bunk beds and looked up. Si Yuan’s bed was always clean and tidy. Besides the quilt, there was nothing else on it. It looked like a bed in a hotel, with no trace of anyone’s daily life.

Zhang Ziyu swung his legs over the edge, right above Mo Yao’s head, and asked, “What’s wrong? Who bought it for you?”

Mo Yao shook his head and said nothing.

Chen Xinyong was still playing, laughing twice at the screen. “Was it Wu Jingyan?”

Mo Yao said, “No.”

Chen Xinyong turned to him. “You still haven’t gotten her?” He always believed that Mo Yao was the one chasing Wu Jingyan.

Mo Yao didn’t answer. He went back to his bed and sat down. “I’ll eat first. You guys keep playing.”

He was easy to calm down. The anger from earlier had almost vanished by now. He even started to think that maybe Si Yuan was not that bad after all.

The dorm fell quiet. Only the sound of Mo Yao eating and the clattering of keyboards could be heard.

When Mo Yao was halfway through his meal, Zhang Ziyu suddenly said, “Is Si Yuan chasing Wu Jingyan?”

Mo Yao looked up at him.

Zhang Ziyu sounded casual. “I saw them together once. I don’t know what they were talking about.”

Chen Xinyong let out a short laugh, showing no interest, and Zhang Ziyu dropped the topic.

That night, Mo Yao had eaten too late. When it was time to sleep, he still felt too full. He turned again and again but could not fall asleep. While he lay there, he heard Si Yuan come back. The bathroom door closed, and sounds of washing came from inside. A thin strip of light shone under the door.

Later, Si Yuan came out, turned off the light, and walked toward his bed in the dark.

Mo Yao heard the sound of him climbing up the ladder. Si Yuan looked thin, but he was tall and surely not light. The metal frame of the bunk made a grinding sound under his weight. When he lay down on the upper bed, Mo Yao could feel the heaviness pressing down above him. That solid weight made his own chest feel heavy, and his mind slowly sank into drowsiness.

On the third night, he returned again to the cat’s body. But this time, he was not on the rooftop. He was beside a tall wall.

Mo Yao stood still for a while. His right side was against the wall, and on his left was a patch of grass. A narrow path lay between them, overgrown with weeds. No one would pass there, not even the cleaning lady.

Even though he had eaten a lot before bed, now as a cat, Mo Yao felt hungry. Hunger pushed him forward. He did not know where he was going, but he thought he had to find something to eat.

He walked past the grass and saw a small building ahead. As he moved along the side, he saw an iron gate. It was closed. Through the bars, he could see outside.

The angle was wrong, but the view was familiar. Mo Yao stood for a moment and realized that he was inside the girls’ dormitory compound. The front was the main gate.

It was clearly late at night. The gate was locked. No one could enter or leave.

He continued walking. On the left side of the gate stood a large green trash bin. He walked over and looked up at it. The bin was too tall. From where he was, he could not see inside. But he was a cat, so he should be able to try jumping.

He stepped back a few paces. He worried he might not reach it, but also that he might overshoot and fall in.

Before he even started running, Mo Yao froze. He thought, what was he doing? Was he about to search for food in the trash? His heart raced, he was frightened. How could he think about eating garbage?

He turned away from the trash bin and walked toward the main gate. He looked up. The gate had never seemed so tall before.

A timid stray cat would not dare to jump. He picked a wider gap between the bars and tried to squeeze through. He placed his front paws on it, stretched his head through, and found that his body could not follow.

Mo Yao was surprised. He had seen other cats slip through tiny holes, so why could he not pass? Was he fatter than the others?

He tried turning his body and changing angles, but it did not help. Then he tried to pull his head back, but it would not move. He struggled for a long time before realizing he was stuck.

What should he do? Could anyone save him?

Mo Yao lifted his head nervously and looked around. Suddenly, he saw other cats approaching.

There were four of them. They came from the road facing the girls’ dorm gate. The dim streetlight above them stretched their shadows long across the ground.

They walked slowly. Their eyes glimmered in the dark. Among them were the two cats that had pushed him off the roof the previous night.

He did not know them, but at that moment, Mo Yao was certain they had not come with good intent.