Chapter 7
Chapter 7
That night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. In the end, I simply got out of bed again and searched Baidu for the words “cats” and “space.”
The top result was an interesting theory.
“A cat’s whiskers are highly sensitive tactile receptors. They can identify and perceive changes in pressure caused by vibrations in the air.”
Only after I clicked into the details page did I realize the blogger’s profile picture was also a Fat Orange.
They seemed to have done quite a bit of research into time and space. Their blog was almost entirely filled with theories like this, though compared to scientific arguments, they read more like someone talking to themselves. For example, this line: “If you let a cat lead the way, under certain circumstances, it can serve as a pair of eyes-and do so with a sensitivity and precision hundreds or even thousands of times greater than that of humans.”
It was very scientific, one could say, while also carrying a faint whiff of mysticism.
My physics was terrible, so I couldn’t understand the logic behind it. In other words, my cat might very well have used some sort of method to reach three years ago…
The period when Jiang Boguang was still alive?
Since it could go there on its own, I wondered if it could take other living creatures with it…
I had to admit, that thought was far too dangerous.
To fight off that temptation, I slapped myself twice.
“Stop thinking about it. What kind of sleeping position would even let you have a dream like that?”
The crisp sound of my slaps echoed through the room. Director meowed beside my pillow, then quietly hopped onto my chest and started kneading away like it owned the place.
Holy crap…
After spending so long eating at one house and sleeping at another, it had gotten even heavier than before.
For the next several days, I couldn’t eat or sleep.
Every time I saw Director, I thought of the hundred thousand yuan that had once been stolen from me.
Three years ago, I had secured a spot to study in the States. But my parents had already divorced, and after I shamelessly went to them again and again, begging until they couldn’t take it anymore, they each coughed up fifty thousand yuan to buy out their parental obligations.
But just after I got my passport and was ready to leave, the money in my account vanished without a trace.
I reported it to the police and raised hell at the bank, but nothing ever came of it. The bank even produced surveillance footage and a signature to prove that I had withdrawn the money myself.
And just like that, I lived in a daze for three years.
When I thought about having to spend another three years like that in the future-or even thirty-I considered it for a few days, then stretched my evil claws toward my own family.
“Sorry to trouble you, County Magistrate, Mayor. Help me scout the way first.”
Yes.
One arrogant orange tabby, one hamster that couldn’t run fast, and one parrot that couldn’t fly. That was the sum total of my life.
After that, I watched Director trot lightly over to the entrance of Room 404 and crouch there.
Dusk was about to fall. I didn’t know what this lazy Fat Orange was waiting for, but the fur around its collar had all puffed up, and it looked surprisingly focused.
At that moment, the crimson setting sun drifted outside the window. Twilight rolled in like the sea, gradually dyeing that stretch of wall a gorgeous muddy gold.
Then, all at once, as if it had been waiting for the dazzling reflection on the iron door, Director let out a shrill meow.
It started sprinting!
They said that no matter how fast prey moved, in a cat’s eyes, it was all in slow motion.
The scene before me was impossible to describe in words, but it really was happening-because that plump, almost bloated body vanished in an instant!
And following behind it, I stumbled in terror.
Oh shit!
Wait, I wasn’t ready yet!
Ahead of me, the hard texture of the iron door disappeared.
It felt very much like passing through the surface of water. After a brief moment of deafness, the taut pressure released, and my whole body suddenly went light.
When I opened my eyes again, what stood before me was not a cold, empty apartment, but a living room flooded with sunlight.
A breeze stirred the white gauze curtains. Not far away, a young man sat beneath the window with his head lowered, his neck long and slender as he read a book. As if he had heard the commotion, he looked up at me in puzzlement.
“H-Hello.”
I climbed up from the floor, patted the dirt off my knees, and felt so nervous I could barely control myself.
“I’m here to see my cat.”