Chapter 1

The children ran off when they were done laughing. Head bowed, she kept walking home.

A little girl with two pigtails tugged at her sleeve. “Here, this is for you.”

It was a one-yuan coin.

“Mommy says this works best for wishes.”

Surprised and delighted, she accepted it.

“Thank you…”

Before she could finish, a middle-aged woman hurried over, grabbed the little girl by the wrist, and dragged her away.

“How many times have I told you not to play with idiots? Don’t you know it’s catching?”

She stood there blankly. A long time passed before she said, “It isn’t catching.”

Dusk crept in as she continued home.

At the entrance to an alley without streetlights, a white-haired old woman waited with a walking stick. Smiling, she called, “Xiaochi.”

Only then did a smile of relief appear on Xiaochi’s face.

She took the old woman’s free hand and laced their fingers together.

“Grandma, the manager gave me an extra ten yuan today. But I secretly spent five…”

Watching them walk away together, I dragged a fat, big-eared man out of the shadows by his collar. “Talk. What are you hiding here for?”

His eyes were vacant. “We made a bet. Who could get the idiot first.”

Disgusting.

I stuffed him into a garbage bin. Still unsatisfied, I summoned two dogs to piss on his face.

Time to return to the underworld.

I could intervene for a moment, but not for a lifetime.

I reached into my pocket for a cigarette.

And pulled out five yuan instead.

“Fuck.”

I turned and walked into that shabby courtyard.

Piles of junk cluttered it so thickly there was scarcely anywhere to put my feet.

Dim yellow light. Swaying tree shadows. Faint laughter.

Poor and sick. What did they have to be happy about?

I raised my hand and knocked on the door.

“Who’s there?” the old woman asked warily.

I opened my mouth. “Meow!”

Xiaochi opened the door, delighted. “Grandma, it’s a little black cat!”

Xiaochi picked me up. “Where’s your mommy?”

The old woman smiled. “Kittens leave their mothers at a few months old. They have to fend for themselves.”

“You poor thing!” Xiaochi stroked my head. “I’ve still got Grandma. You haven’t got anything…”

She set me on the table. “Do you want some dinner?”

A plate of greens, a plate of tofu, two bowls of plain rice.

I backed away a few steps, then jumped down onto a stool and crouched there.

Xiaochi was still puzzling over it when the old woman explained with a smile, “Cats don’t eat that. Cats eat meat.”

“Oh!” Xiaochi grew anxious. “What do we do? We haven’t got any meat for it.”

“You don’t have to feed a cat. It’ll catch mice.”

Xiaochi had only just relaxed when she looked beseechingly at the old woman again. “If I don’t feed it, I’m not really keeping it. Will it run away?”

“You want to keep it?” the old woman asked.

Xiaochi nodded, smiling.

Such a foolish smile.

“Then give it a name,” said the old woman. “A name will tie it to you.”

“I get to choose?” That stumped Xiaochi.

She thought for ages. Long enough for me to start dozing, before she finally said, “Let’s call it Blackie.”

“…”

That needed so much thought?

“Blackie! Blackie!” she called. “Pspsps!”

When I ignored her, she looked to the old woman for help.

The old woman burst out laughing. “That’s cats for you. They don’t listen.”

Xiaochi laughed too, excitement clear in her voice. “Grandma, Grandma, can Blackie sleep with me tonight?”

The old woman picked me up without ceremony, inspected me all over, and even sniffed me. “Doesn’t smell, at least.”

A humiliation beyond endurance.

I glared. She put me down and scratched under my chin. Once she had me enjoying it, she added, “But who knows if it’s got fleas? Give it a bath tomorrow. Then it can sleep with you.”

Unbelievable.

Disappointed, Xiaochi patted my head. “Be good and sleep by yourself tonight, okay?”

After dinner, Xiaochi washed the dishes.

Once the kitchen was clean, she heated water to wash the old woman’s feet.

By the time she finished, I’d already woken from two naps.

When she fell asleep, I was wide awake.

I heard the old woman trying to suppress a cough that still escaped her throat. The wooden bed rocked gently, making dull, muffled sounds.

Xiaochi heard nothing.

She was too tired. Her even breathing told me she was already deep in pleasant dreams.