17. A Chance Encounter

A light, misty rain had lingered into the night, unwilling to stop. Ripples danced across the puddles, reflecting the world in restless circles. Ning Zhixia took a hot shower, her face flushed warm and rosy, and burrowed into her quilts, drifting to sleep accompanied by the patter of rain.

Such comfortable weather made sleep especially sweet. Ning Zhixia curled up beneath her blanket, sinking into a heavy slumber.

Suddenly, a harsh sound pierced the pitch-dark room—whether it was the yowling of a cat in heat or the shriek of a child was impossible to tell. In the quiet of night, it carried an unsettling note.

“Hiss…”

Soon, the person in the blankets shivered, forcibly awakened by the cold.

Ning Zhixia opened her eyes, still groggy. The rain had stopped at some unknown time, and the room was as cold as an ice cellar.

“Beep beep beep beep—”

A string of electronic tones rang out, urgent and abrupt. Startled, she rolled over and sat up, switching on a small night lamp.

The air conditioner mounted on the wall puffed cold air with a relentless hiss, its green-lit numbers showing only sixteen degrees.

“Damn, my electricity!”

Ning Zhixia scrambled to open the bedside drawer, searching for the remote, then got out of bed to shut off the air conditioner.

The biting wind ceased immediately. She exhaled in relief, turned around, and caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the water-streaked glass window.

Exhausted and spiritless.

Anyone would lack vigor after their dreams were interrupted. Ning Zhixia yawned, longing to crawl back into bed and recapture her sleep, but after only a few steps, she stopped abruptly, stiffly turned her head—

She was nearly at the bed, yet her own shadow remained frozen in the window. Its pale face slowly twisted into a smile, and its eyes moved sideways, gazing at her with eerie intent.

The blood in Ning Zhixia’s veins seemed to freeze. Trembling, she called out—

“Hi, Siri! Play—”

In the next instant—

“Listen, the horn of a new journey sounds; the call to strengthen the army beckons ahead!”

A stirring, triumphant song shattered the strange atmosphere in the room.

Ning Zhixia clutched the hem of her shirt, standing motionless for a long time. When she finally looked up again, outside the window, only the spider plants swayed their branches in a leisurely rhythm.

It seemed to sense her gaze, curling its two flower-laden stems and forming a heart toward the dazed young man.

After a night of rain, the streets were washed fresh and green.

The flowers and grass outside the window, which should have been soaked with dew, appeared a little wilted, as if not fully awake. More yellow leaves had sprouted in the spider plant’s pot.

“What dirty thing have you eaten?” Qu Banqing pinched a leaf, inspecting it with a frown. Heading back inside, she caught sight of a languid, elongated creature sprawled on the sofa.

The cats, always punctual in their patrols, were like diligent little knights. They circled the sofa twice, hopped up, and affectionately rubbed against the young man’s head, lying on his back and exposing their soft bellies—bare from a recent checkup.

“Mmm…” Ning Zhixia’s eyes were ringed dark, face turned to the cushion, unmoved, half-squinting with a groan.

Qu Banqing hesitated, elbow resting on the sofa’s back. “Too much of a good thing can be bad, you know. Even when watching films, you should show restraint.”

“What are you talking about?” Ning Zhixia muttered. “Last night I think a cat was yowling in heat. It was so loud I couldn’t sleep at all.”

“How come I didn’t hear anything?” Qu Banqing rubbed his head. “Besides, we’re taking them for neutering in a few days; they’re not in heat now.”

“Hm?”

Was last night just a sleep-addled hallucination?

Startled, Ning Zhixia sat up and told Qu Banqing about the night’s events, voice trembling. “Mom, what should I do? I feel like there’s something dirty in the house!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Haven’t you seen plenty of things not quite human?” Qu Banqing comforted, patting the dog’s head, but Ning Zhixia abruptly cut him off.

“It’s different!” Ning Zhixia insisted, earnest. “It actually used my face to make such a creepy expression, like a horror version of a cartoon mascot!”

Recollecting that thing, Ning Zhixia cradled her face, murmuring, “So ugly, so terrifying. How can anything so eye-searing exist in this world?”

Qu Banqing paused, seeing Ning Zhixia slump back onto the sofa, and hurried to stuff a piece of dried fruit into her mouth as emergency aid.

“Mmm…” The sweetness filled her mouth, and Ning Zhixia calmed down, slowly savoring it.

Qu Banqing smiled and turned to the kitchen to make breakfast. Passing by the mirror on the wall, she glanced sideways, then hurried away with eyes lowered.

To comfort the wilted Ning Lulu, today’s breakfast was beef tendon meatballs with vermicelli and sweet runny eggs.

Warm food revived her, and Ning Zhixia finally perked up, ready for business and waiting for her appointments.

A few clients arrived together. The mischievous kittens always managed to pick out the one person most afraid of them, twisting their tails and pawing at their ankles.

The cats: Hey, fun! Touch and they squeal!

Qu Banqing gave their butts a gentle swat and packed them all into the carrier.

“Are you locking them up?” one client asked.

Ning Zhixia shook her head. “Just saying goodbye to their macho days.”

The kind client looked horrified. Surely not!

The neutering surgery had been scheduled long before, and fortunately all five were males, so post-op care was a little easier. They divided the trips over three days to take them to the hospital.

On the third day, when the interdimensional portal opened, the fox cub and Bobokula specially came to visit the four kittens who had already returned home after surgery.

“Kitty, here are some flowers for you. Wishing you a speedy recovery!” Bai Zhu didn’t yet understand what neutering meant—only vaguely knew it was a way to extend their lives—so he smiled and held a freshly picked mountain flower to their noses.

The white-tabby cat pawed at the leaves, then bent to lick the child’s palm, making him giggle with ticklish delight.

Bobokula counted with his tentacles, then poked Ning Zhixia, waving two tentacles around in circles. “Where’s the last kitty? The really round one.”

“Fat Orange is getting neutered today. I’ll bring him back after the portal closes,” Ning Zhixia reassured Bobokula. “It’s a minor surgery. You’ll see him tomorrow.”

“Okay!” Bobokula’s tentacles twisted into happy waves.

After sending off their visitors, the familiar street scene appeared outside the window. In their own dimension, it was only seven thirty. Ning Zhixia was used to the twenty-seven-hour daily rhythm, greeted Qu Banqing, and headed to the hospital to fetch the cat.

After the anesthesia wore off, Fat Orange sulked in the hospital cubicle. Only when Ning Zhixia appeared did he reluctantly turn his head and meow, as if scolding her for being late in escorting him back to his palace.

“Let’s go.” Ning Zhixia saw he was in good spirits, grabbed the carrier, and walked home from the hospital.

It wasn’t far, so she hadn’t driven; but halfway there, she regretted it bitterly, turning onto a shortcut.

Ning Zhixia grumbled, “You really need to lose weight, Fat Orange. What kind of kitten feels like a gas cylinder when carried?”

“Meow meow!” Fat Orange retorted indignantly.

The two exchanged insults as they walked, the streetlight overhead flickered with a sizzle.

“Heave-ho.” Ning Zhixia hoisted the carrier and trudged on.

The alley was uneven, damp with lingering moisture. If she stepped on an unstable brick, black, sticky water would squirt from the cracks. Ning Zhixia walked carefully, her footsteps echoing in the silent alley.

Soon, the echoes began to sound like two sets of overlapping drumbeats, growing heavier.

Ning Zhixia whipped around, but the alley behind was empty. Occasionally, a water droplet would fall from a rusty pipe, shattering on the broken bricks.

A thick, fishy dampness rose in the air. Ning Zhixia hesitated, then turned and continued forward.

“Tap tap tap…”

“Tap, tap…”

She quickened her pace, and the mysterious footsteps matched hers—faster when she was fast, slower when she was slow—until the clear footsteps merged perfectly with her own.

A burst of black water squeezed out from the broken bricks. Ning Zhixia froze, steps halting.

Silence enveloped the surroundings. She exhaled, chiding herself for her taut nerves lately—

“Tap tap tap…” The footsteps behind resumed, unhurried.

Ning Zhixia trembled, murmuring to the carrier, “Hold tight, Fat Orange.”

“Meow meow?”

As the footsteps drew closer, Ning Zhixia suddenly raised the carrier above her head and, with a burst of energy, sprinted madly.

“Meow aaaaah—” Fat Orange’s face, caught off guard, smushed against the carrier’s steel bars, his cheeks squished and trembling with each jolt, his angry roar vibrating with involuntary vibrato.

“Mama mama mama mama mama!”

When startled, the human mouth acts on its own; Ning Zhixia shouted for her mother all the way, and as she neared the alley entrance, she spun with the speed of a dragon’s tail and dashed home at her fastest pace.

The familiar house appeared ahead. Qu Banqing, still in her bunny apron and slippers, stood at the corner, scanning for her. Seeing Ning Zhixia sprinting back like a hundred-meter dash, she blurted, “What happened?!”

“Uwah…” Ning Zhixia, incoherent, pointed behind her. “Someone was following me, scared me to death!”

“What?!” Qu Banqing frowned, grabbing her as if preparing to confront the threat.

Ning Zhixia was moved. “Truly, a mother’s courage!”

Qu Banqing shot her a cold glance, grabbed the back of her collar, and pretended to push her back into the alley.

“Mom, I was wrong! Mom, love me again!” Ning Zhixia clung to her arm, fake-crying, when footsteps in the alley grew closer.

The flickering streetlight at the entrance flared to life, casting a warm glow in the dark night.

Footsteps stopped behind them. Qu Banqing was surprised. “Ah!”

A tangible gaze fell on Ning Zhixia’s back. Sensing it, the disheveled young man sniffed, hesitated, and turned.

The newcomer stood tall and straight, holding a pink-and-white box at the corner, smiling as he tilted his head.

“Liar—didn’t you say you were brave?”

Audro lifted the young man’s stunned face, his fingertips tracing the water marks on his cheek, wiping them away until the skin blushed pink.