The rustling of leaves echoed from the grass, followed by a cat, entirely black, leisurely making its way out from the grove. Its demeanor was one of self-satisfaction, as though it had just found something very important in the thicket.
Upon seeing Qin Sisi who had fainted away on the ground, the black cat halted for a moment, then quickly leaped to Sisi's side. It circled her a few times before placing its fluffy black paw gently on Sisi's forehead. Its mouth opened and closed rapidly, making no sound at all, the only indication of any motion being the faint trembling of the whiskers around its mouth.
A refreshing, cool sensation seeped into her from her forehead. The chaos in her mind gradually subsided, and Qin Sisi slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the small, black figure.
"Little black cat?" Qin Sisi called out, surprised.
"Meow..." The black cat replied sweetly, seemingly in response.
Qin Sisi rubbed her temple, mustering her strength to stand upright with the help of a nearby tree. All the while she muttered to herself, puzzled, "How strange, how did I faint? Must have been fatigue from the last few days, but earlier... it must have been an illusion..."
She had been working tirelessly for the past few days, busy arranging her mother's funeral and not eating properly. Hence, she chalked up her experience to physical exhaustion without thinking too much about it.
Looking at the mud stains on her clothes, Qin Sisi frowned and sighed lightly. Picking up the black cat she said, "You shouldn't run around like that, it's dangerous." She pulled an intentionally stern face, looking at the black cat with serious eyes.
"Meow..." The black cat meow-ed lightly, then nestled obediently against Qin Sisi, almost as if it was admitting its mistake.
This gesture of the black cat melted Qin Sisi's heart. She gave its head a gentle pat and, seeing that it was getting very late, quickly walked into her apartment complex, black cat in arms.
Qin Sisi lived in building number four. Several lights in the corridor were broken, with just one or two barely emitting a dull glow. Sisi cautiously began her ascent.
The black cat, seeming to sense Sisi's nervousness, lifted its little head on her shoulder and blinked twice towards the corridor. Suddenly, all the corridor lights flickered on.
Qin Sisi exclaimed to herself, "How strange! These lights have been broken for a while, why have they fixed themselves all of a sudden?"
The black cat curled back into her body, nestling its head inside Qin Sisi's arms, a hint of triumph flashing in its eyes.
In the brightly lit corridor, Qin Sisi's footsteps became much lighter. By the time she reached the top floor, she was slightly out of breath. One hand holding the black cat and the other unlocking her door, Qin Sisi entered her little apartment. The sight of everything so familiar, the warm and safe feeling it invoked, seemed to dilute a bit of the loneliness and sadness in her heart.
Qin Sisi wiped her face with a towel, then grabbed another to comb through the black cat's slightly damp fur. Suddenly, there was a swift change in her expression, and she began to scrutinize the black cat.
The black cat meowed nervously.
Coming back to her senses, Qin Sisi exclaimed, "Your eyes are purple! That's really unique!"
Of all the cats she had seen before, their eyes were either yellow or brown. This was the first time she'd seen a cat with purple eyes.
So, that's it. The black cat stole a glance at Qin Sisi, blinking its eyes where she couldn't see.
When the strange light had initially appeared in the bushes outside the complex, Qin Sisi had promptly passed out, leaving no deep impression on her. She wrote it off as an illusion. At this time, she obviously did not connect the black cat's purple eyes with that purple light, nor could she know that the black cat's hunting expedition into this world had already begun.
After drying off the black cat, Qin Sisi laid the towel aside, deciding to take a hot bath. She stood at the bathroom doorway, taking off her thoroughly soaked and dirt-stained clothes one by one and placing them into the basket next to the door. One of the biggest benefits of living alone, aside from the peace and quiet, was the freedom to do as one pleased.
The young girl's skin, as white as jade, was now exposed. The black cat suddenly meowed sharply, darting onto the window sill, facing the window with its back turned towards Qin Sisi.
Startled by the cat's cry, Qin Sisi pondered for a moment, assuming it was still struggling to adjust to its new surroundings.
Approaching the black cat, Qin Sisi gently patted its head, assuring it softly, "Don't be scared. This will be your home from now. I am going to take a bath. Be good and wait for me, okay?"
The black cat, however, seemed as if it didn't hear her, standing erect, completely still, resembling a black statue.
Qin Sisi turned her back and went into the bathroom. When she came out after her bath, she found the black cat still standing on the windowsill, maintaining the exact same posture as when she had left.
Qin Sisi remembered asking the black cat to wait for her right there, and wondered to herself if the black cat had actually stayed put the entire time.
Qin Sisi walked over to the black cat, picking it up. A faint, pleasing fragrance enveloped them. The black cat tensed slightly, letting out soft "meow" sounds as if it were struggling to get free.
Qin Sisi held it tight, saying, "Even if you don't look dirty, you've been a stray cat. A bath would still do you good"
"Meow!" the black cat lifted its head to look at Qin Sisi in surprise.
Sisi carried the black cat back into the bathroom. She put half a basin of warm water into a big basin, and then gently ushered the black cat into the water to bathe it. Initially, it seemed to resist, but as Qin Sisi's hand gently caressed it, the cat gradually calmed down.
Qin Sisi said approvingly, "There we go, right? Bathing is quite nice, isn't it?"
The black cat blinked, its eyes filled with a playful look. However, Qin Sisi at that time could not understand this.
After cleaning the black cat, Qin Sisi used a clean towel to dry it. Noticing that its fur was a bit messy, she took out a small comb to tidy it up a bit. The black cat now looked even more bright and spirited.
Qin Sisi, holding the black cat, came out of the bathroom and set it down on the sofa, affectionately asking it, "Are you hungry? I'm going to cook some food. For today, you'll have to eat the same as me. Tomorrow, I'll buy cat food for you."
Qin Sisi gave a light laugh and went into the kitchen to cook some millet porridge filled with a few red dates. She hadn't been at home the past few days and didn't have much else to eat, so this would have to do for now.
Once the millet porridge was ready, Qin Sisi poured some into a bowl for herself and then put a couple of spoonfuls into a porcelain basin for the black cat. She initially worried the black cat wouldn't like it, but to her surprise, it wolfed down the porridge. Before she could even react, the porcelain basin was already empty.