The kitten was lying on its stomach in the cage, and the light that shone in after the paper shell was removed by Jiang Li made it move its body, slightly raising its eyes to look at him, and purring again breathlessly.
Its fur was dirty, wet, and sticky. One of its front paws was wrapped in gauze, it was wretched and weak.
It was an injured kitten.
Seeing this, Jiang Li squatted down without saying a word. He took the cage to the clean ground from the side of the rubbish bin, opened the cage, stretched out his hand to carry the little guy which was extremely dirty out from the cage, and didn't mind the filthiness on it.
Chi Fang squatted down and asked strangely, "Where did this cat come from? So dirty."
"It must have been abandoned." Jiang Li used his hands to carry it, took a glance at the cage, and found out that the filth was probably the vomit of the kitten. Judging that it might be sick, he said to Chi Fang, "Can you go back to get a clean towel for me?"
"Wait for a while."
After Chi Fang finished speaking, he ran upstairs. He then brought the clean towel down very quickly and had even brought an additional paper box.
"Thank you." Jiang Li spread out the towel at the base of the box, carefully placed the little guy inside, picked up the box, and said to Chi Fang, "I'll bring him to the hospital first, I'll pay for your milk tea next time."
Chi Fang took a glance at the motionless little guy in the box and thought that it would definitely cost a fortune to get it treated in the hospital, while Jiang Li didn't have much money on him, so he said, "I'll go with you."
"Okay."
The two took a taxi to the nearest veterinary clinic. On the way, the little guy vomited twice. When Jiang Li called it, it didn't respond. If it weren't for the weak breathing, Jiang Li would have almost thought that it had passed away.
"Hold on a little longer." Jiang Li whispered to it.
When they reached the hospital, Jiang Li got out of the car with the box quickly, Chi Fang also chased after him after paying.
After seeing the dying little guy, the doctor's expression changed immediately. He ordered the nurse to prepare the equipment needed to save it while strictly saying to the two, "Why did you guys send him when he's in this condition, do you not want him to live?!"
The doctor's scoldings that came right on the face made Chi Fang a little unhappy. "What did you say? We didn't…"
"I'm so sorry."
Jiang Li stopped him and said to the doctor, "We came too late, please save him."
Seeing his sincere attitude, the doctor's expression improved, he nodded and entered the emergency room.
Jiang Li and Chi Fang were not allowed to enter the emergency room, so they could only look through the window outside. Some of the kitten's vomit was left on Jiang Li's hand when he was carrying it, so he went to the toilet to wash it away and came back to the window.
After the emergency treatment, the little guy was initially experiencing an onset of attacks due to bacterial and viral infection. Conditions of vomiting and incontinence appeared, to find out the exact cause, a full set of examinations was required. In addition, its left front paw had fracture marks, which may have been caused by a fall from a high place. Its condition was very unpromising.
"His condition didn't develop in one or two days, why did you guys only send him here now?" The doctor frowned as he said in a displeased tone, if they were one step late, the little guy would have lost its life. "Since you've raised it, you'll need to take responsibility, you guys are not respecting his life by doing this!"
"We only picked him up today, okay? Don't fucking scold us without understanding the situation."
After being scolded twice consecutively, Chi Fang was also angry so he scolded back.
The doctor was taken aback: "This is not your cat?"
"He's ours." Jiang Li who was beside said softly, he looked at the doctor determinedly, "From today on, he's ours. Please save him, please."
"I will." The doctor nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed for misunderstanding, "I'm sorry for misunderstanding you guys. But the little guy's condition is quite serious, you need to prepare mentally and the cost will also be relatively higher.
Speaking of which, he saw that Chi Fang and Jiang Li who were young and looked like high schoolers at most, he then said, "The little guy had signs of being treated, I guess that the last owner had sent him to be treated before, but he might have been abandoned due to the high treatment cost, so I suggest you guys tell your parents about this."
Jiang Li looked at Chi Fang, Chi Fang knew what he meant, he came here because of this, so he said to the doctor, "I understand, you just need to save him."
The doctor saw that he didn't look like a poor kid based on his appearance. Since Chi Fang didn't mind, he didn't say much and ordered the nurse to lead them to take a look at the little guy.
The little guy was placed in the incubator, tubes connecting to its body. Its eyes were closed, they didn't know if it was sleeping or was unconscious. It had coiled up its small body, slight undulations could be seen at its belly, proving that it was still alive.
Just as the doctor mentioned, it was probably abandoned by the last owner because it was sick and the treatment fee was too high.
Jiang Li placed his hand on the incubator, the tip of his fingers rubbing it lightly.
"I'll go and pay first, wait for me here." Chi Fang said softly.
"En." Jiang Li nodded, looked at the little guy fixedly, praying in his heart that it would quickly wake up.
By the afternoon, the little guy still hadn't woken up. While it was unconscious, he had urinary incontinence twice, and its vital signs were getting weaker and weaker. Its condition was not looking good.
Jiang Li called the manager of the cafe to ask for leave and stayed in the hospital without leaving its side. Chi Fang didn't leave as well, after calling the old man who was at home, he stayed in the hospital and accompanied him.
At night, the little guy was brought into the emergency room again. The doctor's words "Family members, please be prepared" were lingering in Jiang Li's mind. He stood upright outside the emergency room, his face was filled with confusion and he was at a loss.
He remembered his Jiang Nuomi.
In their previous life, Jiang Nuomi had lived for 16 years.
For Jiang Li, these 16 years were only a part of his life, but for Jiang Nuomi, it was a lifetime. It spent its whole life to accompany Jiang Li and Jiang Zhan.
Jiang Nuomi was quiet when it left. It passed away due to natural old age, it didn't suffer too much. Its health and spirit were not as good as before as it was already too old, always sleeping while lying on the window sill.
Before it passed away, it rubbed the back of Jiang Li's hand affectionately and scratched the leg of Jiang Zhan's trousers like it did when it was young, but it was too old, and it didn't raise its paw again after putting it down.
Jiang Li still remembered, on the day before sending Jiang Nuomi for cremation, Jiang Zhan woke up at midnight and sat in front of Jiang Nuomi's bed alone for a long while.
If one were to ask Jiang Li who he didn't bear to part with other than Jiang Zhan in his previous life, it would be Jiang Nuomi.
At the moment he removed the paper shells and saw the little guy, he nearly thought that he went back to the moment where he first saw Jiang Nuomi in his previous life. They were equally small, cute, and fragile.
The doctor didn't scold wrongly, if he had found the little guy earlier and sent it here earlier, it might not need to suffer so much.
Chi Fang saw him standing at the window in despair as if he had lost his soul, with a sad expression on his face. Knowing that he was worried about the little guy, he wanted to pat him on his shoulder to comfort him, but his hand was tightly grasped by Jiang Li just after he touched his hand.
Jiang Li's palm was moist, it was even trembling slightly.
He was scared.
Chi Fang was a little shocked, he held him back, "You…"
"He will be fine, right?" Jiang Li lifted his head and looked at him as if he was finding a source that could calm him down by holding Chi Fang's hand tightly. He was putting so much force that the back of Chi Fang's hand reddened.
"He will turn better right?" He asked again.
Chi Fang was met with his slightly reddened eyes, as if his emotions were affected by him, he suddenly felt bitterness in his heart. He raised his head, looked at the closed emergency door, lifted his hand, and caressed Jiang Li's head. He then said softly, "Don't worry, he will get better."
– Don't cry, if he doesn't get better, I'll return you one.
Chi Fang promised in the bottom of his heart.
The two waited outside for a long time and when they heard the doctor say that the little guy's condition was stable, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Li sat on the bench weakly, his head leaning against the wall, and met Chi Fang's gaze in front of him.
Under the white and blinding lights, the tall, handsome youngster stretched out his hand, flicked his forehead, and smiled towards him. "I told you that he will getturn better, don't worrybe worried."
"Ah."
Jiang Li answered him softly, raised his hand, and high-fived him lightly.
The little guy stayed in the hospital for three days and was slowly recovering. Although it still couldn't walk around, its vomiting and urinary incontinence had disappeared. It also started eating and became more energetic.
Other than going to work and tutoring Chi Fang, Jiang Li would go to the hospital and visit the little guy the rest of the time. Chi Fang followed him as well. Looking at the little guy slowly recovering, the two didn't feel restless anymore. During the time they got along, Chi Fang's favorability had also risen to 30%.
After a week, the little guy could slowly move around, but because of the after-effects of its front paw's fracture, it couldn't run quickly and needed rest.
After washing off the filth on its body, the little guy's fur returned to snow-white, which was very pretty. The nurses in the veterinary clinic liked it a lot. When Jiang Li wasn't there, they treated it really carefully.
On the day the little guy was discharged from the hospital, Jiang Li also went with Chi Fang.
The little guy meowed once it saw Jiang Li. It laid on the edge of the cage, looking at him with its watery big eyes widened.
Jiang Li's heart melted with how the little guy looked at him. He opened the cage and carried it up to the cotton cloth on the table. The little guy rubbed his hand obediently and scratched his palms with its soft paws.
The soft fur rubbing his palms made him itchy. Jiang Li looked at the little guy – which had become healthy and energetic – being affectionate with him, and he caressed its head lightly, "So obedient."
Chi Fang, who was nearby, looked at him smiling lightly with a pampering expression. He felt uncomfortable in his heart for some reason, as if he was being ignored. He then followed to reach out and touch the little guy, but it turned away from him once it was touched.
"… What the fuck?" Chi Fang grasped the little guy, "You use laozi's money to eat and get everything, and you dare to give me your attitude?"
"Meow!" The little guy struggled to break free from his confinement. However, its strength was too small, he could only ask Jiang Li for help after struggling a few times.
"Alright, stop it, he just recovered." Jiang Li saved the little guy from Chi Fang's hands, pinched the soft flesh of its paw comfortingly, and scolded Chi Fang, "Getting angry at a cat, don't you feel embarrassed?"
Chi Fang, "…"
The nurse nearby saw their interaction and laughed with her mouth covered. She asked, "The little guy doesn't have a name yet, have you guys thought about it?"
"Yes." Chi Fang said, "Just call him Ungrateful."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Jiang Li raised his gaze and glared at him.
The little guy seemed to know that Chi Fang was mocking it, it called out to him with its teeth shown, objecting to his opinion.
Chi Fang showed a middle finger towards it. Looking at its white fur, he thought about the glutinous sugar porridge cooked by the old man this morning and said casually, "Let's just call him Nuomi, since you picked him up, we'll use your surname, Jiang Nuomi."
Jiang Li's hand which was caressing the little guy paused, he raised his head suddenly and looked at him, "What did you say?!"
"I said to name him Jiang Nuomi."
– Jiang Zhan, let us name the little guy, what do you think he should be called?
– Whatever.
– Don't be like that ah, quickly think.
– Nuomi then.
– Why?
– I ate Glutinous (Nuomi) porridge this morning.
– Enough, but since he's so white, it fits as well, I've decided to call him Jiang Nuomi!
Chi Fang's words were like a knife, cutting open the self-proclaimed protective shell in Jiang Li's heart, these deep-rooted fragment of scenes and conversations caught him off guard and drowned him.
Chi Fang saw him tearing up without any warning and was shocked, "Why are you crying?!"
Jiang Li had always stopped his tears from coming out when he thought of the previous world, because he knew in his heart that the previous world had ended, just like what System had said. No matter how much he was unwilling to part from the previous world, Jiang Zhan no longer existed, he might even be just lines of codes in the game.
However, knowing about it was one thing, and being able to accept it or not was another.
Unless his memories were erased by System, how could he easily forget the person he had loved for an entire life?
Seeing Chi Fang at a loss, Jiang Li lowered his head and took a deep breath. Suppressing the bitterness and pain in his heart, he then said with a hoarse voice, "Nothing, I'm just… so moved."
"Moved?" Chi Fang didn't understand, "Why are you moved by?"
"En!" Jiang Li nodded hardily, lifted his head to look at him, "Because you not only pay to treat the little guy, and even gave him a name, I was very moved after hearing it."
"What's so touching about this…"
As Chi Fang said this, he had a bad feeling inexplicably, as expected, he heard Jiang Li say in the next second, "I was right about you, Jiang Zhan, you're really a good person!"
Chi Fang, "…"
Fuck, why the heck are you crying while giving laozi a good person card?