That year I was a freshman, just in the cafeteria, I got two chicken legs, preparing to take them back to the dorm to eat.
I saw a girl feeding a stray cat. She looked up at me and said, “Classmate, you also came to feed the cats, right?”
I suddenly looked up; she was tall, with black hair, long curls cascading down her shoulders. Her delicate face had a pair of beautiful eyes, sparkling with enchanting light. Her lips were like ripe cherries, bright, smooth, and full, with the corners slightly raised, always carrying a hint of an elusive smile, making her look radiant and gentle.
“Right, I’ve seen this cat here for several days, specifically bought for it.” I smiled on the outside while my heart was racing.
I squatted down, reluctantly took out a chicken leg, and placed it in front of the kitten. I silently thought, “Eat up, once you finish, I won’t have anything left to eat...”
“Classmate, do you come often to feed it?” I looked up at him. She seemed to see my thoughts, “Yes!”
“Can I add you on WeChat? Recently, I want to... establish a group for people like us who care about small animals, to come together and help more stray cats and dogs!” I looked at her seriously, silently thinking, agree, agree.
“Okay, come come, I’ll scan you. Exactly, tonight we have a few kittens to feed in the south area, it’s dark there, I’m scared. Come with me. Let’s add each other on WeChat! Tonight, I’ll make an appointment with you.” She looked at me with clear eyes.
“Of course, no problem. Come scan, add me.” Just like that, we added each other on WeChat, exchanged a few pleasantries, and returned to our dorms.
Walking and thinking, isn't this just a coincidence? Didn't a Lin sister drop from the sky? So delightful! Even farting feels energetic, walking feels breezy; in one breath, don't say the fifth floor is effortless. The tenth floor, give me two minutes, I can run up there.
“Little brother, see you at 6:30 in the south garden.”
“OK.”
At 6:30 PM, I arrived as promised and saw her waiting for me early. Wearing a fisherman hat and a light blue dress.
“Beautiful, you came quite early!”
Seeing me, she chuckled. “You came late, okay? I brought cat food! Follow me.”
We walked to the garden, and sure enough, there were two stray cats waiting for her. They sat there obediently, as if waiting for their owner. She squatted down and put down the cat food, and the two little guys started eating while humming.
“Do you come to feed them every day?”
“Right.”
“I also want to eat cat food.”
“Haha, how do you eat what the cat eats?”
“Because you come to feed them every day!” After I said this, I glanced at her. She shyly lowered her head and continued to feed the cats.
“Hey, aren’t you afraid I’m a bad person?”
“Don’t be afraid, how can someone who likes kittens be a bad person? Besides, it’s not certain who of us is the bad person!”
“Okay, let’s go, little kittens, I’ll come back to see you tomorrow. Little brother, take me back, it’s dark now.”
“Then let’s go!” The two of us walked side by side, leaving the garden, walking on the school road.
“Hey, wait a minute, why did you bring me to the school gate?” The girl looked at me curiously.
“I’m thirsty. Isn’t there milk tea sold at the school gate at this hour? Since I’m here, let’s go together!”
“I’m not thirsty, but since you’re accompanying me to feed the cats, I can accompany you.”
We went straight to Mixue Bingcheng and ordered two cups of milk tea. Sitting face to face, I took a closer look at this girl; her skin was fair, with big watery eyes that blinked. She wore a light lip gloss. She was really beautiful.
“Can I discuss something with you, beautiful?”
“Um... you said...” She took a big sip of milk tea and replied with a smile.
“From now on, I’ll accompany you to feed the cats every day.”
“Sure.”
That day, we talked for an hour. I took her back to the dorm.
The next day, sure enough, I received her message.
“Little brother, see you at the old place at 6:30.”
“I can’t go, my stomach doesn’t feel well.”
“Not feeling well? Wait for me! See you downstairs in a bit.”
An hour later, she arrived at the girls’ dormitory entrance, holding two lunch boxes in her left hand and a box of medicine in her right. I stood at the window, watching her looking around. This silly girl, if she had sent me a message or made a call, I would have gone down!
As soon as I came downstairs, she immediately ran over and anxiously asked, “Are you okay? Did you eat something bad? I brought you food and medicine.”
“Hehe, it’s nothing, buddy, I used to practice. The highest record was 32 times in one day, and they gave me the nickname Thirty-Two Times Lang.”
“You hold it first, I have class in the afternoon, I'm leaving. Tomorrow, I’ll make an appointment with you, no more problems.” Saying this, she shoved the things in her hand to me. She rolled her eyes at me and turned to leave. Watching her back, I took a deep breath, as if the air still carried her faint scent.
Back in the dorm, my roommate Ah Yang asked me, “Who is that girl? She looks really nice, didn’t expect that! Buddy, you’re deep and unassuming!” Saying this, he handed me a cigarette, “Have a puff, take it easy.” “Just a regular friend I met yesterday, don’t talk about it.”
The next day, as usual, I received her message again.
“Little brother, see you at the old place tonight at 5:30.”
“OK, arranged.”
At 5:30, I arrived as promised. Sure enough, I saw her squatting on the ground, feeding the two little kittens.
“Haven’t you eaten? I brought some extra cat food today; do you want some?” He turned his head and smiled, squinting. Today, she wore a pair of jeans and a white top, looking particularly fresh.
“I have a bad bite, this thing is too hard, it’s choking, can’t bite it.”
“I finished feeding the cat, let’s go! I’ll treat you to dinner.” Saying this, she pointed to the shared bike next to her.
I rode my bike and shouted to her, “Boss, get in the car.”
“Don’t let me fall!” She sat sideways, tightly holding my waist.
“I haven’t asked you yet, do you have a girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll get down! What if your girlfriend sees it and gets jealous?” Saying this, she was about to get off the car.
“My girlfriend can't be jealous. I ride with her, and she’s so happy.”
“You’re annoying, if you keep this up, I won’t talk to you.” Saying this, she gently patted my back.
“What do you want to treat me to?”
“Something light! There’s a Chaoshan seafood porridge place ahead.”
“Alright, you guide the way.” I rode my bike, taking her through two streets at breakneck speed.
We came to a Chaoshan restaurant and ordered a seafood porridge, scrambled eggs with shrimp, and stir-fried celery with beef. During the meal, he kept serving me food. Drinking soda while smiling at me eating.
“Don’t just watch me eat, okay? You eat something too!”
“I’m eating! Just eating less, how’s the taste?”
“Really not bad.”
“Then next time, let’s come to this shop again, okay?”
“Good.” At this moment, the sound system in the store slowly transmitted the music, “I never loved you, I was just fooling myself.........” Looking at this girl's delicate face, I hazily felt that if this girl could eat with me for a lifetime, that would be great.
“I’m going to the bathroom!” I lifted my butt and quietly went to the bar to settle the bill.
“Boss, how much?”
“That girl has already been calculated.”
“What’s going on?”
“That girl, after you finished ordering, she settled the bill.”
I turned around and went back to my seat, looking at her deeply; she looked like a kitten who had made a mistake! She lowered her head, not daring to look at me. Drinking porridge by herself. But my heart was tumultuous; since I was young, my mom told me that if you owe someone a favor, you must repay it, especially to a girl. Now it’s bad; I can’t repay it. Sigh! What a sin.
On the way back, I rode my bike, and she sat behind me. Suddenly, a car passed in front of me. I couldn’t help but hit the brakes. She leaned forward on my back, and at that moment, I felt a warm current spreading from my back throughout my body. So soft, so warm, so... happy... Just like that, I rode her to the girls’ dormitory.
“Hey, so you're a single dog! Look at the moon.” She pointed at the moon, and when I turned to look back, her lips just happened to kiss my cheek.
“From now on, I will be your girlfriend. Remember...” Saying this, she turned and ran upstairs.
Just like that, every day, she would send me messages, asking me to accompany her to feed the cats in the afternoon...................
This kind of life continued for over a month.
Suddenly, one day, I didn’t receive her message. I texted her, and she didn’t reply. I ran to the South Garden, but there was no sign of her there either. I ran to the girls’ dormitory and asked her roommate. Her roommate said she was in a hurry to pack her things today. It seemed she was going home.
“Babe, are you there?”
“Babe, where have you been?”
“Babe, when are you coming back?”
“Babe, I went to feed the cats today, those two little kittens are so fat now.”
“Babe...”
All the information seemed to sink into the sea. During that period, it felt like I lost my soul. Every day eating, sleeping, looking at my phone. Waiting for her messages every moment.
“Well, um, I dropped out of school. My parents are urging me to get married. They introduced me to someone at home, and it’s okay. We get along well, and we’ll get the license in a couple of months. Please don’t message me anymore. My boyfriend will be unhappy if he sees it.”
“No, didn’t we just end?”
“Right, we don't have anything between us anyway, please don't disturb my life anymore.”
“Is there no buffer zone left for us? This relationship ends when it says it ends?”
“Right, do you have anything else to say? If not, I’ll block you.”
“No matter what, you can’t block me.”
“Listen to me.” The other side was already in exclamation!
I lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep, so I decided not to sleep anymore. I sat up and ran to the balcony to smoke. At this moment, Ah Yang came over, “What’s wrong, brother? Why aren’t you sleeping in the middle of the night?” I lowered my head and smoked by myself. I asked Ah Yang, “You’ve dated a lot, why would a girl be so heartless?” “It’s just not suitable, maybe she found someone better, more suitable. You don’t need to get too tangled up about it. In a bit, go back to sleep, it’s getting late.”
From that day on, I started to feel like I had become a different person. Every night, with a few other roommates, I stayed up all night playing games and drinking. This lifestyle lasted for a year.
That morning, Ah Yang lifted my blanket, “Old buddy, don’t sleep, I have something to tell you.”
“What’s the matter? Hurry up and say it, after you finish, I’ll continue sleeping.”
“You get up first! I feel that if I don’t tell you this, you’ll blame me for a lifetime.”
“What the hell, I’ve known you for two years, and this is the first time you’re talking to me so seriously. Are you sure you’re not messing with me?”
“No, I’m waiting for you downstairs.” Saying this, she turned and walked away.
I put on my clothes and sleepily came downstairs. “What’s the big deal? So mysterious.”
“Do you remember the cat-feeding girl? My girlfriend is her roommate. Actually... I didn’t want to tell you, but... buddy, I’m going to tell you this, can you handle it?”
“What can’t you stand, dragging it out?”
“She’s gone... she committed suicide!”
“Damn it, she’s so full, she’s going to commit suicide.”
“Really, she’s a good girl. Let me put it this way: things have already happened, and the person is no longer here. Listen to me, buddy, don’t be too sad. I’ll briefly explain everything to you; it’s not in vain for us to have had a relationship with that girl, right?”
“Then hurry up and say it!” At this moment, my mind went blank, feeling that all of this was unreal.
“That girl is my girlfriend's roommate. One day, they came to find me. This girl took a fancy to you at first sight. She wanted to be friends with you, so... you both... had what happened later. But! You two didn’t last long, her dad got cancer, and her family isn’t well off, only her dad is earning money, and she has a younger brother. So, medical expenses need to be paid. All her relatives have borrowed, but it’s still not enough for the surgery. She started borrowing online loans and naked loans, anything she could borrow. At that time, both my girlfriend and I knew about this, but she didn’t allow me to mention it to you. Then, she dropped out of school and went home........”
“Then what............? Don’t beat around the bush!” At this moment, I felt my scalp tingle, as if every hair was standing up.
“He went home. Her dad passed away in March. So many loans, every day someone is violently collecting debts, and her videos and photos were posted online. The day before yesterday, she sent a message to my girlfriend, saying she was really tired and wanted to rest. But in this world, the only regret is you... She wrote you a letter. She said that letter was written by her hand, and you can go to the post office and find it by saying her name.”
At that moment, I felt like a mad lion. I ran outside the school, took a taxi, and went straight to the post office. Until I took out that letter, holding the letter, I suddenly heard the song coming from the next door’s sound system, “I never loved you, I was just fooling myself.........”
“Little brother, when you read this letter, perhaps I have already left this world. To be honest, I really like you, and I’m very grateful to you for accompanying me every day. Every afternoon, you accompany me to feed the cats, which made me feel what real life is. When you ride a bicycle and carry me, I finally know what true security feels like. When you accompany me to eat and drink milk tea, I finally know what real sweetness is in this world. Grateful to meet you... sigh! I really hope you never receive this letter, maybe in the future, I still have the chance to see you. They say there’s no pain in heaven, I’m really tired, I’m stepping ahead. Forgive my deception, and forgive my sudden departure... In the future, you have to take good care of yourself because I can see you happy every day! Don’t think of me, your future is bright. Cherish the present, the future is promising! Live well, um... finally, I want to tell you “I love you.”
Holding the envelope in my hand, sitting on the street, watching the crowd come and go, tears fell like rain, drowning the beauty we once had, leaving only deep pain in my heart.
Thank you for your likes and attention. It’s a fortune to meet you.
You accompanied me through a journey of wind and snow, I wish you peace for a lifetime.