The railway tracks shimmered with illusory waves under the afternoon sun. Zhinian’s skirt swayed gently in the breeze, like a fluffy cotton swab tickling my heart.
I discreetly swallowed, resting my arms on my knees, hands propping up my chin, lazily admiring the sight of this little kitty—who, for now, belonged only to me—frolicking back and forth.
The girl with soft cat ears basked in pale golden sunlight, the fine hairs on her nape reflecting sparkling flecks of light.
She reminded me of the wish bells hung with red threads in a temple, divine yet serving people’s worldly desires.
“Hey, Gu Fan, do you like these old things?”
When Zhinian’s black, round-toed white leather shoes stepped onto the seventh sleeper, she crouched down to pick up a fallen, withered yellow leaf.
Holding the leaf above her head, she cast a sly, cat-like glance my way. A beam of light passed through the insect-bitten holes in the leaf, casting trembling golden spots on her fair, pristine cheeks.
I chuckled noncommittally. “I guess I do. Look, I can even make them sing a song for you.”
“Huh? Really? How do they sing?”
A kitty’s curiosity doesn’t need careful coaxing. Just dangle some tasty dried fish, and her ruby-like eyes will instantly gleam. With a soft “meow,” she’ll pounce to your feet, rubbing against you.
Zhinian hopped lightly, the jacket I’d draped over her nearly slipping off. Fortunately, the top button was fastened just right, securing it under the pronounced curve of her figure.
“Quick, teach me! How do you make them sing? Is there some hidden switch or button?”
Zhinian suddenly crouched down, her pleated skirt brushing against my calf. The fresh, soft scent of the girl stirred the dust sleeping between the tracks.
Under the sunlight, specks of dust swirled around the cat-girl, accentuating her bright red eyes fixed intently on me.
Suppressing the urge to cup her little kitty face and give it a good rub, I sat on the old brown wooden bench by the tracks and casually picked up a few rough twigs stuck in the gaps between the sleepers.
“Like this.” Silently reciting a self-made rhythm, I began tapping the rusty track with the twigs, striking it one beat at a time.
The metallic echoes startled a few sparrows perched on the treetops. As I finished my impromptu performance, I saw Zhinian’s cat tail swaying freely to the rhythm in front of me.
“So the tracks can sing! Gu Fan, you’re amazing! If it were me, I’d never have noticed this. I’d probably just wander aimlessly around the park a few times, then go home to sleep, gaining nothing.”
A trivial little trick was enough to make this kitty shower me with delighted praise.
If I didn’t know how limited my own abilities were, I might actually lose myself in Zhinian’s rainbow-like flurry of compliments and turn into an arrogant, puffed-up bad guy.
“Hmm, I just happened to find this twig. Zhinian, you can try it too.”
I hurriedly handed the rough twigs to Zhinian, letting out a sigh of relief. Leaning back slightly, I continued to admire her playful flitting about.
In all the time I’ve known her, it’s rare to see her so lively and carefree.
This warm, beautiful scene reminded me to uphold my gentlemanly virtues and maintain a reliable image in the cat-girl’s heart to keep earning her favor and trust.
At that thought, I suddenly let out a self-mocking chuckle.
In the past, when faced with situations like this, I’d instinctively see them as nuisances disrupting my laid-back lifestyle. I’d use gentle or firm tactics to clear them from my sight.
I never expected that after reconciling with my childhood friend, the cat-girl Zhinian, I’d realize that the man who craved tranquility had been latched onto by this mysterious black kitty.
No matter where I escaped to, she’d shyly chase after me, mumbling incomprehensible kitty-talk in her flustered way.
Then, leveraging her cat-girl figure, she’d pounce into my arms for the most direct confession.
“Ah!”
Zhinian’s small leather shoe got caught in a gap between the sleepers as she hopped along the tracks, her stumbling figure like a paper kite flipped by the wind.
I snapped back to reality the moment I noticed her falter. With my regular exercise habits, I moved quickly, reaching out to steady her.
Zhinian clung tightly to the rough, dark brown twig, her slender knuckles pale as if dusted with soft lotus root powder, exuding an enticing, food-like fragrance.
I saw brown wood chips and oxidized iron seeping into her fingers, like some ancient blood flowing.
Her red eyes shimmered with a layer of glistening tears. “Gu… Gu Fan, sorry… did I scare you? I didn’t mean to! I…”
As usual, her kitty ramblings. I promptly pulled her into my arms, gently patting her back.
Under normal circumstances, a man and woman who haven’t officially defined their relationship shouldn’t act so intimately.
But this cat-girl in front of me repeatedly made me break that rule. Whether it was the longing in her eyes before the hug…
As expected, her eyes, which looked at me with both longing and fear of being scolded, and the two soft “cotton balls” pressing against me after the embrace, were subtly urging me to cross the boundary called “childhood friends.”
Sure enough, after pulling the kitty into my arms, she quieted down like a fledgling fed its meal, no longer whimpering, obediently nestling against me.
With us so close, her gray-black furry cat ears curled near my cheek. Her warm, slightly damp breath brushed against my collarbone, and I could faintly hear her muttering to herself, though the words weren’t clear.
Suppressing the urge to nibble on her cat ears, I knew if I actually did that, Zhinian would turn red from head to toe, letting out strange meows like a boiling kettle visibly steaming from her head.
To avoid that, I had to rein in my overly bold desires and choose to be a reliable childhood friend who keeps the right distance.
Zhinian’s body was so soft, like hugging a plush pillow that molds to you, carrying the unique fragrance of a cat-girl. I couldn’t help but bury my nose in her black hair, inhaling the fresh scent.
My Adam’s apple bobbed, inadvertently grazing her cat ears, making them twitch several times.
This seemed to snap Zhinian back to reality, realizing what she was doing. Reluctantly, she gently pushed against my chest, stepping back a few paces with a clingy gaze.
“Ugh…”
Her disheveled hair hung over her cheeks and neck, adding a delicate, almost victimized charm, like a fragile wife who’d been teased.
Her fragmented, teary eyes, still connected by threads of emotion, locked onto me. When I met her gaze directly, she softly averted her eyes as if scared, lowering her head.
Even with her “cotton balls” in the way, she couldn’t see her own toes. Was she simply too shy to meet my gaze?
The tips of Zhinian’s ears, peeking through her disheveled hair, were red to the point of near transparency.
I couldn’t help but let out a helpless chuckle, reaching out to brush off the wood chips stuck to her sleeve.
In doing so, I suddenly noticed that my own nail crevices were filled with wood dust from holding the rough twig earlier, as if I’d caught some burning fever from her.