Chapter 13: That Year, That Cat

Unbeknownst to Lu Ping’an, Lu Jiaoyang received news shortly after he left.

“Chief, bad news! Your nephew took a woman to bully your niece-in-law,” a guard reported, running into the office.

Lu Jiaoyang put down his newspaper.  A cold glint appeared in his dark eyes. “That scoundrel! He dares!  Get me the compound phone!”

“Yes, sir!” The guard grabbed the phone. “Hello, please connect me to Chief Lu at the compound.”

A few minutes later, the call was connected. He handed the phone to Lu Jiaoyang.

“What is it, Jiaoyang? What happened?” The grandfather’s voice trembled with worry. Lu Jiaoyang rarely called home.  Something must have happened.

“Dad, later, ask the supply and marketing cooperative leader to transfer Ping’an to a remote location for a while ideally somewhere he can’t return from for three to five months.”

Hearing his voice, the grandfather relaxed. He coughed. “Did he cause trouble again?”

“He went to confront Shen Hongxing today.”

“Dad, Shen Hongxing won’t be with Ping’an anymore!” Lu Jiaoyang paused. “She applied to join the army a few days ago. I thought it was a whim and didn’t submit her application, but it seems she’s serious! Lu Ping’an has no chance this time!”

“What? She applied to join the army? Haha, I didn’t misjudge that girl!  Take care of her in the army. Her grandfather was a good friend of mine. If possible, find her a good partner!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her.”

After hanging up, Lu Jiaoyang opened a drawer, took out Shen Hongxing’s enlistment application, and gave it to the guard. “Send this to the review department. Say I sent it.”

“Yes, Chief!”

After the guard left, Lu Jiaoyang stood up and went to the window, gazing outside.  It was dusk. The setting sun painted the sky red.  It was beautiful.

Lu Jiaoyang remembered a visit home eight years ago – a similar dusk, similar sunset, similar beauty.  Getting off the train…

At the train station, two thieves snatched a woman’s purse and ran. The woman chased after them, crying for help, “Stop the thieves! They stole my bag…”

As a soldier, he felt compelled to act. He chased the thieves from the new train station to an abandoned old one, where they collapsed from exhaustion. He recovered the woman’s bag and, in the spirit of selfless service, slipped away while she checked its contents.

Feeling good, he crossed the train tracks.  At the exit, he saw a girl in a red plaid shirt sitting on the platform with an orange tabby cat on her lap. She was thin and small, as was the cat.  He heard her talking to it.

“Little Yellow, are you like me, a child no one wants?”

“Everyone sang happy birthday to Shen Jiaojiao. No one remembered it’s my birthday too. Little Yellow, do they not like me? Should I not have come back?”

The cat, perhaps sensing her sadness, rubbed against her hand. She sniffed, saying, “Little Yellow, I know you’re as pitiful as I am. I want to take you home, but it’s not my home. I’m afraid taking you home will hurt you.  So, you stay here. I’ll secretly save some food every day and bring it to you, okay?”

The cat looked up and meowed softly. The girl smiled, hugged the cat, and kissed it twice.  She held up the cat’s paw. “That’s settled then. Stay here and don’t run away. I’ll bring you food every day!”

“Meow!”

The cat spotted him, stood up, and stared with wide eyes and pricked ears. The girl turned to look at him.  At that moment, the setting sun, the abandoned train station, the cat in her arms, and the girl in the red plaid shirt created a breathtaking scene.

The girl, timid, stared for a moment before dropping the cat and running away.

At home, he heard his brother and sister-in-law say that Shen’s daughter had been switched at birth.

The Shen Jiaojiao they knew was fake, and the real daughter had been found in the countryside.

They spoke ill of the newly found daughter, calling her a wild girl, smelly, and a poor country bumpkin. 

He didn’t like it.  Remembering the cat, he took some food to feed it. 

When he found the cat, it was happily eating a steamed bun. He knew the girl had secretly saved her own food. For many days, he didn’t see her again, but every time he brought food, the cat was eating buns.  He hadn’t met the Shen family’s newly found daughter during that visit, but he remembered the girl at the train station vividly.

Two years later, during his next visit home, his first act was to go to the abandoned train station, hoping to see the girl and the cat they’d cared for.  The girl wasn’t there, nor was the cat.  But he did see the Shen family’s newly found daughter. It was her. He recognized her instantly as the girl with the cat.  Her name was Shen Hongxing. She’d grown taller but was still thin, her face unchanged, perfectly inheriting her parents’ best features.

At his grandfather’s birthday party, her gaze followed Lu Ping’an constantly.  He knew she liked him.  Over the next few years, his duties kept him away, and he didn’t see her again.

Three months ago, the army decided to form an armed unit, and he was assigned to Shan Yin County to oversee the recruitment.  It was also a chance to visit home.

The girl with the cat had grown into a beautiful young woman, engaged to his nephew, Lu Ping’an.  Seeing her constantly around Lu Ping’an, he thought she’d found happiness.  Unexpectedly, within months, they broke up.

If she successfully enlists…

Lu Jiaoyang collected his thoughts, turning to the military uniform on the coat rack.  He said softly, “Shen Hongxing, I’m waiting for you.”