BSS - Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Perhaps it was some kind of coincidence. Ever since Deng Chuan told her where the stray cats tended to gather, Xu Wei had started frequently encountering them on campus.
First, there was a plump, beautiful orange cat. As Xu Wei was walking out of the cafeteria, it was curled up in a ball, sunbathing in the middle of the path. From a distance, it looked like a freshly baked French loaf. A group of students surrounded it like planets orbiting a star, a public cat-petting session. They took turns stroking it.
With a crowd surrounding it, Xu Wei didn't feel right joining the commotion. She could only pretend to be passing by, stealing a glance at the big orange cat enjoying the sun leisurely with its eyes closed amidst the people.
Next was a tuxedo cat with a sleek, glossy coat. Xu Wei spotted it the moment she came out of her dorm's stairwell. It had white eyebrows and whiskers, looking very spirited. Its fur was as smooth as satin. It sat upright very properly, the tip of its tail curled around its paws.
Noticing it was quite clean, Xu Wei crouched down and cautiously extended a hand toward it.
The tuxedo cat cooperatively tilted its head.
Xu Wei stroked the top of its head a little awkwardly. Its fur was soft and smooth—truly top-notch. Perhaps pleased by the petting, the tuxedo cat used the pressure from her palm to flop onto the ground, exposing its soft belly.
But it was getting late. Xu Wei could only give its belly a couple more quick, perfunctory pats before standing up and leaving.
And then, there was the pair in front of her dorm now—one big, one small.
The somewhat familiar tuxedo cat, accompanied by a miniature version of itself, was sitting primly at her dorm room door, staring at her expectantly.
Xu Wei: ...
Why did she feel like she was being scammed?
The tuxedo cat let out a soft, delicate "meow," prompting the kitten to also make a sound like a whimper.
Xu Wei's heart softened. She crouched down to check the kitten's condition.
It was clean, but its tear stains were a bit heavy, and its little belly was flat.
She touched the side of the kitten's neck. The tiny body was warm yet frail, its breaths rising and falling beneath her fingertips.
Feeling a bit at a loss, Xu Wei stood up and took out her phone to search: What can kittens eat?
A wide variety of answers popped up, and Xu Wei browsed through them carefully.
"For unweaned kittens, mother's milk is best." Xu Wei glanced at the tuxedo cat's belly. That wasn't an option under the current circumstances.
"The vast majority of cats are lactose intolerant. So if the mother cat has no milk, you need to feed the kitten goat's milk formula. For kittens being weaned, you should soak kitten kibble in goat's milk formula."
Xu Wei put her phone away. She looked closely at the kitten before her but couldn't determine its age in months.
She took out her key and opened the door. The tuxedo cat proactively entered to inspect the room, its long tail brushing against Xu Wei's hand. The kitten remained sitting, meowing softly at Xu Wei.
It was evening now, and the sky was already growing dim. Xu Wei carefully lifted the kitten and brought it inside. It was so small, its limbs stretching out limply in her hands. Not daring to hold it for too long, she found an old sweater, placed it in a corner, and settled the kitten on it.
The kitten was very well-behaved. It lay down on the sweater without moving around, just watching Xu Wei with curiosity.
Xu Wei looked around the room, cleared out an empty storage box that had held old books, and moved the sweater and the kitten into it. After making sure the surroundings were safe, she led the tuxedo cat, which was still slowly looking around, out of the room and locked the door. She was going to the supermarket to buy goat's milk formula.
Xu Wei had thought the tuxedo cat might take the kitten and leave on its own, but to her surprise, the moment she locked the door and turned around, his majesty had already vanished.
Today was Saturday. After half a day of classes in the morning, the third-year students were off for the weekend. Most of them had gone home, so the supermarket was mostly empty. Qin Shu had gone home too. Xu Wei wasn't from this city, so she naturally stayed at school on weekends.
She found two brands of goat's milk formula on the supermarket shelf. Xu Wei didn't often drink dairy products and wasn't sure of the difference between them. After carefully comparing their ingredient lists, she found that aside from the brand names, there seemed to be no other difference.
She chose the one with the nicer color scheme, then walked around the shelves a bit more. Finding no other food suitable for a cat, she prepared to check out.
She was just pulling up the payment QR code on her phone.
A clamor arose from the supermarket entrance.
Xu Wei turned her head and saw Deng Chuan and her friends walking in, talking and laughing. She had perhaps just showered; she wasn't in her school uniform but a white hoodie and gray sweatpants. Her hair, freshly washed and dried, fell soft and fluffy over her shoulders. She was smiling and saying something to the girl who had been feeding the cats last time.
Deng Chuan and the others saw her too.
Today, Xu Wei was wearing a tweed-style jacket, tight black jeans, and combat boots, which accentuated her slim waist and long legs. Her hair was tied loosely at the back of her head, adding a touch of gentle beauty.
Deng Chuan smiled and took the initiative to greet her, "Teacher Xu." The rest of the group followed suit, greeting her one after another.
Xu Wei gave them a faint smile. "Not going home for the weekend?" she asked.
Students staying at school over the weekend had to fill out an application form, which required the homeroom teacher's signature for confirmation. Deng Chuan's name was not on this week's list.
Su Mian said, "We're going to hang out for a bit longer, then head back later."
The cashier finished ringing her up and was about to bag her item. Xu Wei quickly said in a low voice, "No plastic bag, thank you." She took the goat's milk formula and added a reminder to the students, "Be safe."
"Mhm."
The group of them nodded.
After she spoke, she turned to leave, and the students—whether they knew her or not—all said their goodbyes.
"Goodbye, Teacher Xu."
"Bye, Teacher Xu."
"Bye, Teacher."
...
Xu Wei had no choice but to smile and nod again. "Bye."
Deng Chuan didn't say anything. As Xu Wei turned and walked away, Su Mian excitedly grabbed Deng Chuan's wrist. "Ahhh, Teacher Xu looks so cool today!"
Everyone else nodded excitedly.
Deng Chuan had actually thought Xu Wei looked especially beautiful today the moment she saw her, but once Su Mian said it, she no longer wanted to. She just gave a perfunctory agreement, "I think you're cooler."
Hearing this, Su Mian nudged her with an elbow. "Goes without saying, doesn't it?"
"..." Deng Chuan ignored her and said, "Aren't we buying snacks? Hurry up and choose. We still have a movie to watch later."
The reason the group wasn't going home on a Saturday night was all because Su Mian had secretly brought a tablet to school on Monday. She had gathered her friends and planned for a whole week to watch a movie together in the dorm on Saturday night.
After buying their snacks, they returned to the dorm carrying large and small bags. They took off their shoes, climbed onto the bed, and sat huddled together. Once everything was ready, they started the movie.
They had decided on the movie in advance: the Saw series. A classic that stands the test of time.
The sky had turned completely dark, and the lights in the room were off. Only the eerie glow from the tablet screen illuminated their young faces.
The male protagonist is knocked unconscious with a club in a parking garage and wakes up in a bathtub, finding himself in an abandoned, sealed bathroom. A surveillance camera watches him coldly from above, and there's another man in the room, also chained up.
As the plot develops, the two men try to saw through their iron chains, only to discover that the only thing the saws can cut through is their own lower limbs.
The man's expression is one of forbearance, but his movements slowly become resolute as he lowers the saw. The music fades.
"Ahhhhhh-" Su Mian turned her head away, unable to watch, and frantically stuffed potato chips into her mouth. "Ahhh, I'm not looking, I'm not looking, I'm not looking-"
The screen went black, leaving only a long, bloodcurdling scream.
Everyone hugged their arms tightly.
As the plot progresses, during the pursuit of the killer, the killer flees. A police officer unhesitatingly gives chase into a small alley, but the alley is empty, leaving only the officer's heavy panting.
His panting was like the beating of a drum. Everyone was extremely tense. Deng Chuan calmly commented, "He's probably going to die."
The next second, the officer was caught in a trap, fell, and died.
But the movie's tight pace didn't let up. The plot moved forward seamlessly until the killer was finally brought to justice. When the movie ended and the behind-the-scenes footage and credits began to roll, everyone was still sitting upright, not yet processing it, afraid to move.
Deng Chuan sighed with a smile, stood up, and turned on the light.
The bright white light finally brought everyone back to their senses, and they started chattering all at once. "Wow, this series is so scary-"
"Did he die in the end?"
"How did the killer tie him up in the bathroom?"
...
Su Mian took a sip of her drink and raised her voice. "Should we watch another one? It's still early."
Deng Chuan had gone home that afternoon and brought her phone back with her. She glanced at the time—eight-thirty at night. It was indeed still early.
So she suggested, "How about we watch a comedy?"
Everyone unanimously agreed. They opened the second wave of snacks. While reminding them, "Hey, hey, be careful not to spill anything on my bed," Su Mian clicked on the comedy rankings of a video streaming site. "Which one should we watch?"
They all started voting at once. "Let's watch this one, I heard it's really good."
"This one! I've seen it, it's hilarious."
"Should we watch Home Alone?"
"Hey, I want to see that one too!"
Deng Chuan hadn't sat down with them yet. She stood by the wall, scrolling through her phone. She opened WeChat and saw that Xu Wei had just tagged everyone in the class group chat, posting the weekend homework and reminders for their return to school on Sunday.
Xu Wei's WeChat profile picture was a classic Ragdoll cat sniffing a rose, likely taken on her balcony. Curious, Deng Chuan clicked on her profile. Her nickname was "Xu," and her Moments were not visible to strangers.
On a strange impulse, Deng Chuan tapped "Add to Contacts" and sent a friend request with the note: This is Deng Chuan.
She hadn't even figured out why she'd done it before the request was sent. Over on the bed, Su Mian and the others were calling her over again. "Deng Chuan, hurry up and turn off the light."
She didn't dwell on it any longer, switching off the light and stuffing her phone into her pocket.
By the time they finished the comedy, it was already ten o'clock at night. Su Mian and Deng Chuan weren't staying over, so they prepared to go home. The group cleaned up their trash and then dispersed. Su Mian gave Deng Chuan a ride home on her small electric scooter.
The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow. Su Mian was driving fast, and the wind whistled down Deng Chuan's collar.
It was too cold. After getting off the scooter, Deng Chuan practically ran the rest of the way home. When she got there, her parents were having a late-night snack.
Deng Chuan's stomach was full of snacks, but she couldn't refuse her mom's good intentions and was fed a few bites. Later, after changing into her pajamas and lying in bed scrolling through her phone, she discovered that her friend request had been accepted by Xu Wei.
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