Chapter 18: The Kitten is Crying
Inside the tree hollow, Chu Wenmao lay far from Zhang Chang, just like the first time he had come to Zhang Chang's den, afraid of being an eyesore.
He placed the rabbit meat in the pit Zhang Chang had dug. He didn’t even have the energy to put the dried fish out to dry in the sun.
He couldn’t sleep, and the scent of peach blossoms filled his nose—some from himself, and some from Zhang Chang.
Just a few hours ago, they had been bathing together intimately, yet now there was a chasm of distance between them.
He had once thought about provoking Zhang Chang into a fit of rage, hoping Zhang Chang might end him in a swift moment of fury.
But now, Zhang Chang had held back, still considering his feelings, which made Chu Wenmao feel as though he had suffered an immense grievance.
He decided he wouldn't anger Zhang Chang again. Otherwise, he might not die, but he would cry his heart out first, making a fool of himself.
Zhang Chang lay there emanating low energy, the sky still not fully bright. He hadn’t yet taught the kitten how to properly catch a rabbit.
By all accounts, tonight was a failure.
However, he still felt that Chu Wenmao’s behavior had been strange, starting with when he dug the pit. At the time, digging wasn’t a big deal, so he didn’t pay much attention.
Then, when they were bathing, Chu Wenmao had been smiling happily, so Zhang Chang thought nothing serious had happened.
Just as he had relaxed, that night, he saw the kitten trying to run headfirst into a tree.
Luckily, he reacted quickly, extending his paw just in time. Otherwise, he couldn’t guarantee that the kitten’s already battered little head wouldn't have been seriously injured.
There was definitely something the kitten was hiding from him.
Zhang Chang took a deep breath and sighed, feeling like he was meddling unnecessarily.
**It’s just an emergency meal ticket, after all. It’s not like it’s my own cub. Why bother caring so much?**
As long as he didn’t look at the kitten, he wouldn’t soften his heart.
His mind, unable to sleep, wandered through random thoughts, and suddenly, he felt something wet on his neck.
Without opening his eyes, he could tell the kitten was grooming him.
Apparently, the promise Chu Wenmao made earlier wasn't just empty words.
After grooming his neck, the kitten moved to his back, as if determined to groom every inch of him today.
Zhang Chang sighed again. He realized he had been sighing a lot today. The kitten made him both angry and deeply pained, even without seeing its cute, pleading face.
He opened his eyes and moved his body, preventing the kitten from continuing to lick him.
“No need to groom me. Go to sleep.”
He listened as the kitten didn’t return to its spot but instead walked over to him. Chu Wenmao’s small paw reached out and touched his right paw, which had been blocking the tree.
“Does it hurt?”
Zhang Chang withdrew his right paw. “No, it doesn’t.”
“I’m sorry,” Chu Wenmao stood by Zhang Chang’s side, not willing to leave or lie down.
“Strictly speaking, this isn’t my first time being a cub, but having someone truly accompany me as I grow... This is the first time.”
When he was very young, his parents had already divorced, and he later lived alone with his mother.
At first, his mother worked hard to cover his formula expenses. Later, as her business grew, she became busy pursuing new life goals.
He wasn’t raised by his grandparents either—he was raised by many different nannies.
The nannies were just doing their job, without any emotional attachment to him.
When he got hurt, they looked indifferent. When he was bullied, they watched as if he deserved it. When he begged his mother for some attention, they mocked him with their eyes.
His mother knew about his situation, but she was too busy. Weighing the pros and cons, she chose to directly ignore it.
He was young and naïve at the time. He raised his small hands and offered his favorite toy to his mother, saying, “Mommy, can we sleep together tonight?”
The toy, once cherished, was heartlessly thrown to the ground. His soft little hand was cut by the sharp pieces, and silent tears fell from his eyes.
If even his own mother, who gave birth to him, could be so heartless, what could he expect from others?
Chu Wenmao could feel that Zhang Chang treated him well.
But at the end of the day, he was just a stray cub who had appeared out of nowhere. No male lynx would witness the birth of a cub or accompany it as it grew.
Having never received care before, he thought that if he tried running headfirst into a tree, Zhang Chang wouldn’t care much, certainly not enough to react like he had tonight.
Zhang Chang hadn’t heard the explanation he wanted. He was about to turn over to show his displeasure when a tear *plopped* onto his front paw.
The kitten was crying.
The realization hit Zhang Chang, and he could no longer maintain his cold demeanor. He sat up and looked at the kitten’s face, which only made his heart soften more.
He used his large paw to wipe away the tears and caught the key words from the kitten’s story: “Your mother didn’t treat you well, did she?”
“No,” Chu Wenmao puffed his cheeks like a squirrel, replying firmly, “She didn’t care about me. She didn’t like me at all.”
“You said you like me, but you bully me.”
Unlike when he was still human, pretending to be strong and unbreakable, now his tears fell freely as he complained immaturely.
He was just a cub. No animal would say he was being unreasonable. As he spoke, Chu Wenmao cried even harder, tears like pearls on a broken string, landing precisely on Zhang Chang’s heart.
When Zhang Chang had pressed the kitten down earlier, he hadn’t used much force. He was just making sure the kitten couldn’t get up easily. Otherwise, he could have crushed him with one paw.
“I couldn’t bear to really bully you.”
“How could you say that?” Chu Wenmao’s small mouth pouted as he continued to complain, “You didn’t carry me, you didn’t care if I lived or died, making me walk behind you. You wouldn’t even let me snuggle up to you…”
His grievances were so intense that he even let out a sob mid-sentence.
The bullying Zhang Chang thought of and what the kitten considered bullying were on completely different levels.
“It won’t happen again,” Zhang Chang had no temper left. “Next time, I’ll talk to you properly. I won’t ignore you.”
Chu Wenmao’s emotions came and went quickly. Hearing Zhang Chang coax him, he didn’t continue his accusations.
The kitten snuggled under Zhang Chang’s chin, like a human resting in someone's embrace.
“Why did you reach out your paw?” Chu Wenmao still wasn’t sure if Zhang Chang had broken a bone when he hit him.
“I’m fine,” Zhang Chang moved his right paw a bit, feeling no discomfort. “If I hadn’t reached out, and you’d really hurt yourself, I wouldn’t want you anymore.”
His tone was serious as he looked directly into the kitten’s eyes. “Do you understand?”
Chu Wenmao lowered his gaze, feeling guilty. He knew Zhang Chang had been thinking of him, but he still mumbled softly, “You just said you wouldn’t bully me.”
“If you were really hurt, you wouldn’t even know if I was bullying you,” Zhang Chang flicked the kitten’s head. “Got it?”
Chu Wenmao nodded in defeat, feeling wronged. His attempt at dying had already been seriously thwarted on the first step.
He felt that if he dared to try again, Zhang Chang might angrily press his head into the pit he had dug.
But Zhang Chang cared more about him than he had expected.
In the wild, a lynx cub typically leaves its parent at one year old. He had originally thought a few days earlier or later wouldn’t make much difference.
But now, a thought popped into his head: When he turned one, would Zhang Chang let him go without a second thought, without the slightest bit of reluctance?
As the two felines snuggled up together again to sleep, the red sun outside was already rising, and the morning light blanketed the earth.
Chu Wenmao, nestled in Zhang Chang’s embrace, was too lazy to move. He didn’t even think about retrieving the dried fish and soon drifted off to sleep.
Zhang Chang, feeling the kitten’s steady breathing and strong heartbeat, also fell asleep without realizing it.
Sometime in between, he felt the kitten get up. Zhang Chang had grown used to Chu Wenmao waking up during the hottest part of the day to eat. He was also used to the kitten going to the entrance of the cave to check on the dried fish.
Maybe he’d dig a hole to relieve himself.
With these thoughts, Zhang Chang indeed heard the sound of the kitten digging, but for some reason, the sound seemed quieter than usual.
Just as he was about to get up and check, he heard something unexpected—not the sound of the kitten using the bathroom, but the sound of vomiting.
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