Early in the morning, Jing Ran woke up and tidied up the blankets and mats on the floor. Jing Li was awakened by Jing Ran’s movements and rubbed her sleepy eyes before getting out of bed.

Today, Jing Ran seemed very depressed, and Jing Li didn’t know how to comfort him.

“Ran Ran…”

Just as Jing Ran was putting the blankets into the cabinet and turning around, Jing Li was already standing in front of him. Then, Jing Li opened her arms and hugged him tightly. Jing Ran responded to her embrace, holding onto her delicate waist as if it might break with a little force. His chin rested on her hair, and the two embraced tightly for a long time.

“Growl…”

It was unclear whose stomach made a noise. Jing Li gently patted Jing Ran’s back and said, “Ranran, let’s have breakfast.”

The bakery was open as usual, and Grandma had already gone downstairs to the bakery to handle the cash register. After Jing Li and Jing Ran freshened up, they went downstairs to the bakery to find something to eat.

“You two haven’t had breakfast, right? Do you want some cake?” Grandma sat at the cash register and asked them.

“Well, we haven’t eaten yet. We were just about to find something to eat.” Jing Ran seemed lifeless, and Jing Li held his hand, speaking on his behalf. They walked to the refrigerator in the shop, and Jing Li asked, “Ranran, what do you want to drink?”

Jing Ran couldn’t muster any enthusiasm and didn’t answer.

Jing Li decided not to ask for his opinion, opened the refrigerator, and took out a bottle of strawberry milk and a bottle of papaya milk. Although the bakery mainly focused on Cantonese baking, they also had some simple Western-style baking. Jing Li took two pieces of sponge cake, went to the cash register, and sat side by side with Jing Ran to have breakfast.

“Oh? Ranran, don’t you have to go to school today?” an elderly lady entered the shop to buy pancakes and saw Jing Ran, asking.

Jing Ran is usually very polite to the neighbors, but now, because he is feeling sad, he didn’t respond. Grandma answered on his behalf, “There’s something going on at home today, so he came back.”

“Oh… I see!” The elderly lady noticed that both of them, grandmother and grandson, seemed down and guessed that something sad had happened, so she didn’t ask further questions. After paying for her purchase, the elderly lady left the bakery.

After finishing breakfast, Jing Li and Jing Ran walked to the pet hospital. The pet hospital handed over a small box containing Xiao Xiaokang to Jing Ran. They waited for a while, and then the staff from the animal crematorium arrived in a vehicle to pick up Jing Ran and Jing Li, taking Xiao Xiaokang to the center for processing.

The center offers several services for customers to choose from. There is the option for direct cremation, as well as the option to hold a small funeral and have a priest perform rituals before the cremation. Xiao Xiaokang lived with his grandmother for 17 years, just like a member of their family. Jing Ran chose a funeral package and Xiao Xiaokang’s ashes were placed on a table in a specially arranged animal memorial hall, adorned with flowers.

Jing Ran and Jing Li stood by, watching Xiao Xiaokang lying peacefully among the flowers. When the priest recited scriptures, Jing Ran felt extremely distressed and kept crying.

Jing Li knew that although Jing Ran may be emotionally slow, he was not blind. He could feel when others were kind to him, and he would be kind to them in return. It was a pure form of emotional interaction. Jing Li picked up tissues, raised her hand, and continuously wiped away Jing Ran’s tears, silently thinking: “Little prince, don’t cry. Your tears hurt my heart.”
After the small funeral ceremony, Xiao Xiaokang was cremated. Shortly after, the staff handed over a delicate ceramic urn containing Xiao Xiaokang’s ashes to Jing Ran.

Jing Ran put the ceramic urn in a paper bag and walked out of the animal cremation center. The center was located in a remote suburban area, and they had to walk a distance to reach the main road. While walking with Jing Ran, Jing Li asked, “Jing Ran, how do you plan to handle Xiao Xiaokang’s ashes?”
“Take it back and plant flowers,” Jing Ran replied.

“Mm.” Jing Li held Jing Ran’s hand as they walked.

*
By the time they returned to the city, it was already past noon. Grandma had already eaten, so the couple had to satisfy their hunger with the leftover food she had left for them. Jing Ran’s mood seemed to have improved a little after leaving the animal cremation center. Jing Li also breathed a sigh of relief. After finishing their meal, Jing Li took the initiative to clean up the table and wash the dishes. They had missed the afternoon classes and Jing Li decided not to go back to school, planning to stay for another night and return to class the next morning.

Jing Li’s nap lasted until dinnertime. After dinner, Jing Ran went up to the rooftop terrace to place Xiao Xiaokang’s ashes, while Jing Li busied herself with washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. She noticed that Grandma was getting older, so she took the initiative to help with the household chores, sweeping and tidying up before finally going to the bathroom to take a shower.

After finishing her shower, Jing Li came out wearing casual clothes and found that only Grandma was watching TV in the living room, with no sign of Jing Ran. She asked Grandma, “Grandma, where is Jing Ran?”

Grandma replied, “Jing Ran hasn’t come down yet.”

Jing Li glanced at the clock hanging on the living room wall. It was already past 9 o’clock, and they had finished dinner at around 7 o’clock. Jing Ran had only gone upstairs to scatter the ashes, so why was he taking so long?

Jing Li went up to the rooftop terrace. It was her first time being on the rooftop. The surrounding houses were of similar height, and she could see a large expanse of night sky. The weather was clear tonight, with a cloudless sky, allowing her to see the faint stars and the exceptionally bright moon. Jing Ran stood in a corner of the rooftop with his back facing her. There were several large potted plants growing sweet osmanthus shrubs.

A gentle breeze carried the scent of osmanthus flowers, creating a pleasant fragrance.

The ashes box at Jing Ran’s feet was open, and it was empty inside, indicating that he had already mixed Xiao Xiaokang’s ashes into the soil.

“Ranran!” Jing Li called out.

Jing Ran’s body trembled slightly. He raised his hand and wiped his face with his forearm.

Jing Li speculated that he had been crying again. She had thought Jing Ran’s mood had improved, so she felt relieved, but she didn’t expect him to cry alone on the rooftop for over an hour.

Jing Li walked over and stood in front of Jing Ran. He cried with tears and snot all mixed up. He was already not handsome, and crying made him even more messy, reaching the point of being ugly. Jing Li pulled Jing Ran to the vacant chair on the rooftop and asked him to sit down. Jing Ran was still wearing the sportswear he had worn when he went out earlier in the day. Jing Li remembered putting a pack of tissues in his pocket during the day, so she reached into his pocket and took out a tissue to wipe away his tears and snot.

After Jing Li cleaned him up, she pressed the tissue against his nose and said, “Blow your nose.”

Jing Ran obediently blew out his snot like a child. After Jing Li finished cleaning, she took the tissue to the second floor to throw it away and brought back a towel to wipe his tear-stained face.

There was only one chair on the rooftop, so Jing Li directly sat on Jing Ran’s lap, holding him. Her head rested on his shoulder, and she patted his hand with both of her hands.

“Ranran, pull yourself together. I’m really worried about you if you continue like this!”

Little prince had been crying almost the whole day, and it broke Jing Li’s heart.

“Lili…” Jing Ran reached out and hugged Jing Li, his hoarse voice sounding.

Jing Li moved slightly away from Jing Ran’s body, facing him, and cupped his face, saying, “Ranran, don’t be too sad. You still have your grandmother, your parents, and me.”

Jing Ran nodded, asking somewhat sensitively, “Lili, will you always be by my side?” Jing Li had previously caused a breakup, so Jing Ran was worried that one day she would leave him.

Jing Li still cupped Jing Ran’s face, looking at him with an unwavering gaze as she spoke, “Of course, I will always be by your side.”

Jing Li remembered Grandma telling her that Jing Ran really liked cats, and they already had two at home. She asked, “Ranran, shall we go and adopt a kitten tomorrow?”

Jing Ran shook his head, saying, “No, let’s not get one.”

“Why?” Jing Li asked.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to give another cat away in the future.”

Human lives are too long, and pets’ lives are too short. Adopting another cat would only bring more sadness when the time comes. When Jing Ran was young, he didn’t understand grandfather’s sorrow of losing Ben Xiaokang. He used to make a fuss to his grandfather, wanting Ben Xiaokang to come back. Despite initially not planning to continue keeping cats, his grandfather brought home a kitten for Jing Ran.

Now that he has grown up and understands the pain, he doesn’t want to keep a cat and reopen old wounds. Jing Li thought for a moment and agreed. With Jing Ran being so emotionally attached, getting a kitten would lead to repeating the cycle of grief after ten or more years. She reached out and caressed the back of Jing Ran’s head, comforting him, “Alright, let’s not get a small pet anymore. Let’s raise something with a longer lifespan, like a child.”

Jing Ran nodded.

Jing Li continued to stroke the back of his head and asked, “Shall we name the child Xiaokang? How does that sound?”

Jing Ran nodded.

The two of them sat in a somewhat ambiguous position, sitting closely together in an embrace.

The actions were too intimate, and the conversation was too straightforward.

Both of them looked at each other, their faces blushing. Jing Li placed her hands on Jing Ran’s shoulders, and her lips slowly approached his. At the moment of contact, she felt that his lips were cold.

“Ranran, open your mouth,” Jing Li’s lips touched his, and her speech was somewhat unclear. In fact, it was her first kiss too, and she didn’t know the proper sequence for kissing. She remembered scenes from TV dramas where the main characters kissed deeply, as if both of them opened their mouths and licked each other.

Jing Ran slightly opened his mouth, and Jing Li’s soft tongue slid into his mouth, intertwining with his tongue.

Jing Li could feel her heart pounding rapidly. She tightly grasped the fabric on Jing Ran’s shoulders, her hands sweating nervously.

Jing Ran, who was also kissing for the first time, was nervous too. His hands, originally supporting her slender waist, unintentionally gripped her waist tightly. It was so tight that if he exerted a little more force, it would leave finger marks.

Jing Li winced in pain and murmured, “Mmm.”

Jing Ran stopped kissing and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“You hurt me with your grip…” Jing Li released one hand and gently touched her waist.

Jing Ran loosened his grip and gently caressed her waist, trying to alleviate her pain. Jing Li felt a bit shy and said softly, “Don’t touch me, I’m shy…”

Jing Ran obediently stopped touching, and Jing Li caressed herself a few times. The pain in her waist lessened, and she asked Jing Ran, “Are you feeling better now?”

Jing Ran calmly nodded.

Jing Li : “Do you want to kiss again?”

Jing Ran continued nodding.

Just now, Jing Ran was wearing glasses, and Jing Li felt that they were getting in the way. At the moment when she took off Jing Ran’s glasses—

Jing Li was taken aback and asked, “Are you Jing Ran?”

“Lili, what’s wrong with you?”