Chapter 9

6:00 AM (2)

After several attempts, the calico cat’s guard relaxed somewhat; it no longer hissed at Xu Muzi and allowed her to step closer, holding the umbrella over their heads.

Deng Yun arrived quickly.

He wasn’t holding an umbrella and had a wooden box in his arms. From a distance, he squinted slightly in the fine drizzle, locking eyes with her.

The world was filled with the damp sounds of nature, and Xu Muzi had to shout, “Why didn’t you bring an umbrella?”

“I don’t have one.”

“When I left, there were still a few umbrellas at the front desk…”

Deng Yun had been at the inn for several days; he surely knew the umbrellas at the front desk were available, right?

But then she realized there might actually be no umbrellas left.

When Xu Muzi left, two guests had just come down to check out. If the guests hadn’t brought umbrellas and Xiaxia had to go down the mountain to send them off, the last two umbrellas would have definitely been taken.

However, there should still be one raincoat left in the inn.

Xu Muzi wanted to ask why he didn’t wear the raincoat if it was available.

Deng Yun seemed to anticipate her confusion, pulling out a light yellow raincoat from the wooden box.

It was a child-sized one, clearly only suitable for a three- or four-year-old.

“What are you doing here without an umbrella?” she asked.

“Rescuing cats.”

“Does Xiaxia agree?”

“Probably.”

Deng Yun took out some cat food and squatted down beside Xu Muzi.

She reminded him, “Be careful; they’re not very easy to deal with. They’re wary of me, like I’m a wolf.”

The calico cat had been quite fierce earlier. Xu Muzi had held the umbrella for so long that her arm was sore, and she hadn’t received a shred of friendliness from it.

Now, as Deng Yun handed over the small box of cat food, the three cats nervously sniffed it and, within half a minute, began to gobble it up.

While they ate, they glanced at Deng Yun with somewhat flattering looks.

Xu Muzi thought to herself: Flattery!

At the same time, she felt a bit anxious: “What if they don’t leave?”

The process was surprisingly smooth. Inside the wooden box Deng Yun had brought, a bath towel was laid out, and the three cats were incredibly docile, obediently following him into the box.

He covered the box with the children’s raincoat and stood up, asking her, “Didn’t you find any berries?”

Xu Muzi held a malnourished wild strawberry in her hand and quickly raised the umbrella over Deng Yun’s head, saying, “There are only a few.”

Deng Yun was too tall, making it a bit difficult for her to hold the umbrella for him.

The umbrella wasn’t very large, just the size typically used by girls for sun protection, so no matter how she adjusted it, it couldn’t fully cover both of them.

Moreover, it seemed inconvenient for them to be too close together.

When she tried to tilt the umbrella toward him, he shifted to hold the wooden box with one hand, using the other to block the umbrella handle, stepping into the rain and saying, “Just take care of yourself. We need to go deeper to find the wild strawberries; do you want to keep going?”

At this point, it didn’t make much difference whether they had an umbrella or not. The wind was strong, and the rain fell at an angle, leaving her almost completely soaked. She couldn’t help but shiver in the wind, saying, “No, let’s wait until the rain eases up.”

Deng Yun walked alongside Xu Muzi, not saying anything else. Only when she stepped into a puddle did he quickly grab her wrist to help her for a moment.

The sounds of wind, rain, and cat calls formed a poem of the fleeting life around them, rhythmic and relentless.

Xu Muzi couldn’t help but glance at Deng Yun.

He must have showered and changed clothes; after this outing, he would probably need to wash up again.

Xu Muzi had used the sweet almond series of shower gel and body lotion for many years and was not sensitive to that scent on herself. However, because they were walking closely together, besides the natural smells of grass and mud around them, she could catch a faint hint of a floral fragrance, reminiscent of tomato vines.

It probably came from Deng Yun.

In the past, his room and bed had that same scent.

Distracted by this fragrance, Xu Muzi didn’t think too much about whose decision it was to take the cats back.

When she saw the wooden box Deng Yun had brought, she assumed it was agreed upon by the inn to rescue these little creatures.

Upon returning to the inn, Xiaxia was already waiting at the door.

Seeing them drenched like two water ghosts, Xiaxia widened her eyes in surprise, exclaiming, “How did you get so wet? Hurry inside…”

Xu Muzi put away the useless umbrella and said, “The rain is too heavy.”

The three of them stood under the eaves, busy drying themselves off and tending to the little cats.

The kittens were quite stubborn; having eaten the cat food Deng Yun had brought, they would only recognize him.

Once they were in the hands of Xu Muzi and Xiaxia, feeling full, they meowed loudly as if they were being slaughtered.

Xu Muzi felt helpless. She wanted to help but didn’t know where to start. Bending over in confusion, her wet hair fell onto Deng Yun’s forearm.

Deng Yun glanced at her and, as if out of habit, naturally draped a dry towel over her head.

With the towel on her head, Xu Muzi turned to see Xiaxia blinking at them.

She had just said they weren’t friends—how could she explain this?

Before she could think it through, she couldn’t help but cover her mouth and turn away to sneeze.

Xiaxia quickly said, “Miss Xu, you should have a cup of hot sugar water and then go upstairs to take a hot shower. Otherwise, you might catch a cold.”

After all, it was her who found these three soaked little troubles, and it wouldn’t be right to leave everything to others while she left. After bringing back the hot drink, she still helped out in small ways that she could manage.

The inn was quite well-equipped with pet supplies, including cat food bowls, disinfecting wipes, and toys.

Xiaxia mentioned that there were a few stray cats in the area, so they would always leave cat food at the back of the inn and regularly take new members for neutering.

The wooden box used to bring them back was given by the ranch owner when ordering milk, and it was said that the stray cats loved to play inside it.

“I’ve already contacted a veterinarian. Once the rain eases up a bit, the doctor from down the mountain will come to check on them. Don’t worry.”

Feeling that she hadn’t overstepped, Xu Muzi finally relaxed.

After drinking the hot beverage and warming up a bit, she planned to go upstairs for a hot shower.

After all, having just fought side by side to rescue three cats, Xu Muzi pressed the delayed closing button in the elevator and greeted Deng Yun.

“Do you want to go upstairs and take a shower together?”

She had been drenched by the rain and felt a bit silly for asking. Only after the words left her mouth did she realize something was off.

Deng Yun shouldn’t have thought of it in that way, right? He stepped into the elevator holding his phone.

With the cats and Xiaxia around, the interaction felt more natural. But when it was just the two of them, there was always a strange atmosphere that was hard to define.

She was never good at starting conversations; it had been the same when she was with Deng Yun before—most topics were initiated by him.

Just like when he first asked her if she had gotten through her rebellious phase, or which boy at the inn she liked…

That night, he had also asked her a question: whether she could sleep after going home.

Of course, she couldn’t.

Previously, when dining with classmates, they had many common topics to discuss.

The gossip about the main actors in the popular winter break TV shows was something everyone seemed to know.

They would toss topics to her, asking, “Great pianist, did you watch that show?”

Xu Muzi shook her head.

They laughed, saying they knew she hadn’t watched it.

Then the conversation continued: “That person and that person, I still feel they are the most suitable for each other.” “Exactly.” “I don’t think so.” “Still, that person and her are the best match, right?”…

The awkwardness of being unable to fit in was something Xu Muzi hadn’t had time to notice back then.

She sat amidst the lively atmosphere, still immersed in the joy of dining with her crush, fantasizing about what new interactions might occur after returning to school.

But when Deng Yun asked her if she could sleep, Xu Muzi knew those subtle moments would play over and over in her mind, becoming the reason for her insomnia at night.

Who could she confide in?

Should she talk to the group of parents upstairs who were so excited and bragging?

Many times, the truth was not something you could hear from parents.

Just like when Deng Yun’s mother talked about him, or when Xu Muzi’s mother spoke of her, they always carried thick filters, trying to package Deng Yun and Xu Muzi as the images of top students or geniuses.

Legend has it that particularly impressive people often have their quirks.

Like Erik Satie, who owns a hundred umbrellas and only eats white foods, or Beethoven, who uses sixty coffee beans to brew his coffee. There’s even a book titled Geniuses on the Left, Madmen on the Right.

Thus, Deng Yun and Xu Muzi were shaped to be more solitary.

Being different was better; ideally, they should be like ethereal beings.

Xu Muzi already knew she was a fake genius, while the supposed top student standing opposite her had just tossed a cigarette butt he had extinguished between his fingers into the trash can.

That night, Deng Yun suggested a rebellious idea that grounded them in the mundane world.

He asked her, “Do you want to do something else rebellious?”

It was Deng Yun who threw out the opportunity for closeness, so the strange, deliberate silence in the elevator felt unfamiliar to Xu Muzi.

They hadn’t seen each other in about two years, so it was normal to feel a sense of estrangement.

But she sensitively noticed that he seemed to be in a bad mood, angry at someone or something.

This was a topic she could discuss with Deng Yun since she was also burdened by the annoyance of being forced into blind dates.

Given the heavy rain outside, going out would leave her drenched. Sharing grievances with someone she had a bit of a past with could be a decent choice, right?

But…

It was too cold; she needed to take a hot shower first.

Thinking about the three cats, Xu Muzi showered relatively quickly, rinsing away the uncomfortable cold and dampness with hot water, and then she dried her hair before heading out.

Deng Yun was faster than her.

He was already downstairs, dressed in dry casual clothes, chatting with someone under the eaves outside.

Perhaps her previous assumption that Deng Yun was in a bad mood was her own misperception.

When he was talking to the long-haired beauty in a suit opposite him, he seemed quite happy.

Deng Yun even held up his phone with one hand to show her something, and it looked like he was sharing something interesting. The atmosphere of their conversation seemed relaxed, with both of them wearing smiles.