CH 17.4

Qin Xiao passed the first day, the most dangerous period. Last night, Lu Jianhua guarded overnight and did not sleep, so he had returned to the hotel to recover his sleep, tonight, it was Guo Chao Ming’s turn to be on night duty.

Bai Xia Xia got rid of the naïve fellow, then ran to the small stool by the side of the bed with her butt shaking left and right and sat on it.

Just now, she had been very scheming and had rubbed all the dust on her meat pads on Guo Chao Ming, so she happily jumped on top of the bed.

Staying next to the arm of Qin Xiao who was leaning on the headboard, she gently said: “How are your injuries?”

The small cat had its head tilted, and its gaze landed on Qin Xiao’s abdomen. Qin Xiao understood intuitively; he extended his hand to touch the back of the neck of Bai Xia Xia, the center of his palm touched soft and fluffy fur. Compared to its muddy kid appearance from yesterday, it was completely different.

The cat that appeared today was snow-white and beautiful, its snow-white fur was like threads, like floating cotton, smooth and very pretty.

It gave people the feeling of liking it immediately after seeing it.

Thinking about Guo Chao Ming’s sour appearance like that of someone who had drunk two pounds of vinegar when he had come in the morning, he patted the back of the kitty’s head, gently saying: “I haven’t thanked you properly yet.”

“Thank you[1] for saving me.” Song Bei had not missed anything in his retelling. When he lay by the side of the icy mountain rock, he had already anticipated his end. But he would have never thought, things took an unexpected turn[2], and he was surprisingly saved by a cat.

In fact, Qin Xiao’s will to live was not necessarily that strong. When he had forcefully fought to pursue Old Liao and the others, he had already expected that there would be more misfortune than luck for him.

The importance of his own life, in Qin Xiao’s heart, was truly not that important.

I was just waiting for you to say that![3]

Bai Xia Xia lightly jumped over Qin Xiao, rolling down the bed smoothly.

Selecting the two boxes of snacks that she had chosen, her snow-white paw hit this one, hit that one.

She turned her body and twisted her head, expectantly looking at Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao was gravely injured and living in the hospital, yesterday, the state of his injuries was serious, adding on that once everybody heard the news, they had hurried to come today.

On the bedside table, beside the bed, various giftboxes were scattered here and there. Big and small, in a dazzling lineup[4], they would not be able to finish eating the fruits.

Qin Xiao was slightly stunned, then nodded: “Ok.”

“Thank you!” Bai Xia Xia was very happy; she had decided, to use them as an advance payment for the stray cats.

She felt that one box was enough, after wandering around for three hours, Bai Xia Xia had only found that three-member group of stray cats, so maybe there were not many stray cats in this period.

One after another, there were other people who came later to the ward to visit Qin Xiao.

He was taciturn; he was obviously the main character, but the whole time, it was Song Bei or Guo Chao Ming who exchanged greetings and joked with the people.

Bai Xia Xia held a magazine bored, nested right beside Qin Xiao.

The little cat was sitting sideways, its heterochromatic eyes were seriously watching fixedly on the magazine, occasionally, it would even use its paw to pinch the corner of a page and turn it.

That posture, so scholarly, as if it really understood words.

Among those who came to visit, when they saw Bai Xia Xia, they would ask a bit about it out of curiosity, when they learned that it was the cat that saved Qin Xiao, every single one looked at it, and there were even some who extended their hands with the intention to touch and hug it, making Bai Xia Xia feel extremely annoyed.

These people looked at it like it was a sightseeing attraction, as if they were watching an animal in a zoo, examining it up and down without stop.

Bai Xia Xia: What are you looking at, have you bought the entrance tickets?

Some even asked Song Bei if they could take the cat away, saying that they were just thinking of raising a cat, and that their kids were also very curious about the cat that saved a person.

Bai Xia Xia: You want to get something good for free?

Song Bei put on his serious work mode act, This cat is smart, it has its own will. He naturally would not agree, so he could only drag it on. Some even got unhappy, stubbornly wanting to get something solid from Song Bei, saying: Why keep talking, isn’t it only a cat?

If we raise it, at least you won’t have to take it back to the mountains to let it rove around, it will have food to eat and drink.

Bai Xia Xia …do I look like a beggar?

A cat saving a person, a tiger carrying a person down the mountains, this story had spread like fire[5].

The first reaction from most of the people was that it was a rumour, unbelieving. What they did believe in was that the little soldier had chased after a cat and found the person, and that it should have only been a coincidence.

Following the cat, he had found the unconscious Qin Xiao unintentionally, how could there be a human-saving cat that was so miraculous and intelligent.

As for… Old Liao and the others being lacerated and bitten and having to live in the hospital, most of them did not know.

Bai Xia Xia did not want to be watched like the animals in a zoo, so she took the magazine and burrowed into a hidden corner, then put up the magazine; no one saw the cat that was lying at the back, reading a magazine with gusto.

With Bai Xia Xia taking the initiative to avoid people and find quiet, Song Bei was able to save some energy.

These people saw that Bai Xia Xia was beautiful and a purebred Persian cat, they thought that since it was intelligent, if they took it back home, maybe they would be able to get some luck, and no more.

When Bai Xia Xia was outside, once guests came, they were immediately attracted to Bai Xia Xia.

Even though, Song Bei also thought that the Persian cat that had been washed clean was beautiful and clever, and made people like it. However, today, there were many people coming to visit, when all their focus was placed on the cat, Song Bei belatedly realized: This cat is very coveted ah! No wonder Guo Chao Ming, this kid, wholeheartedly wanted to take it home.

That’s not being stupid, it’s having insight[6] ah.

As he pondered, Song Bei got angry again, fiercely glaring at Guo Chao Ming who had inexplicably been shot while lying down: With this ability, why can’t you find a good wife for yourself?

Song Bei suddenly looked like a person who had suffered numerous setbacks[7], and many question marks appeared on top of his head; Bai Xia Xia was not able to hold herself back, poking in the air.

Translator’s comments:

Those people are too much, thinking about taking a Persian cat back home just because they want some luck.

Translator’s notes:

[1] Qin Xiao uses a plural you here, so Da Hua is included.

[2] Idiomatic expression ‘峰回路转 (fēng huí lù zhuǎn)’: lit. translation: ‘mountain road twisting around a peak’. It means ‘things taking an unexpected turn’.

[3] Remember that Qin Xiao was thanking her.

[4] Idiomatic expression ‘琳琅满目 (lín láng mǎn mù)’: lit. translation: ‘glittering jewels pleasing the eye’. It means ‘dazzling lineup’.

[5] The real translation is ‘spread bubbling’. What it means is that it caused wave and ripples and that it spread rapidly.

[6] Idiomatic expression ‘慧眼识珠 (huì yǎn shí zhū)’: lit. translation: ‘wise eyes recognize pearls’. It means ‘having insight’.

[7] Idiomatic expression ‘霜打的茄子 (shuāng dǎ de qié zi)’: lit. translation: ‘frosted eggplant’. It means ‘dispirited because of blows and setbacks’.