Chapter 12 - Cat and Rat (1/2)
Chapter 12: Cat and Rat
Translator: Jacquelin
It was winter already. A blast of hot air came from the fireplace and filled the room with warmth.
Juxian and Ji Jing weren’t offended by the return of Ci; on the contrary, they were cheerful. “Look at the rat. It’s so ugly.”
Yang Zhen prized Ci’s mouth open and smiled, “Different from other rats, this rat had a hairy mouth.”
Ji Jing cradled Nimazu in her arms and said, “Master, I want to know if this rat is afraid of the cat in your arms.”
Ci lay huddled up on the floor at Nima’s feet, shivering in fear. The big tabby cat in Nima’s arms jumped down and chased Ci in the room. Before long, it caught her and snapped at her leg. Its sharp teeth pierced and sank into her flesh, and blood immediately started to ooze out. The cat promptly let go of her, and ran away with its mouth full of blood.
Although Ci looked like a rat, her flesh didn’t taste anything like the rat meat. Cats were very smart animals and knew when to give up and run away. So cats had been and were in people’s good graces.
The wound stopped bleeding, and Ci curled up in a tight ball at Nima’s feet.
She rarely squeaked because no one could understand her.
She lingered on with her last breath of life and went on living in pain.
In the daytime she listened to people around chattering away about everything under the sun. At night she nimbly eluded cats. When Nima was in bad mood, she kept away from him. When Nima was smiling, she crept towards him. ‘That’s enough. I’m destined to suffer,’ Ci thought.
For an ill-fated person, she had to bear intense suffering wherever she was.
Nima grew accustomed to living with the strange “rat”. The long hair covered its eyes. Nima cropped its hair and found that it had beautiful eyes. It especially liked Ci’s room and spent several hours there every day.
‘It’s indeed a rarity,’ he thought. Then, he squatted down to stroke its smooth back. It was the first time he touched this “rat”.
Ci rubbed against his hand with her head and rolled on the floor.