The ringing of the bells rang out: "Winner—Red Team, Houston!"
Bai Shuang put the note back, crossed her legs on the sofa armrest, and said with a relaxed and carefree expression, "What's there to worry about? You should be happy! After all these years, you actually found it. Doesn't that mean there's hope of cracking the code? Give your cat an extra treat."
"Wait a minute," he added, "Didn't you mean the sturdiest toy?"
Wen Zheng closed his eyes and slammed his fist on the table in anger: "The cat smashed it. Damn it."
"..." Bai Shuang yelled at him, "Are you sick?! It's a broken toy, you can't even play with it, and it breaks so easily. Your cat did a great job and you're still complaining?"
He kicked the sofa where Wen Zheng was sitting: "Get up! Go take a shower! Stop messing around."
Wen Zheng still couldn't calm down, so he stood up and said, "I'll go up and fight, then I'll wash up."
Bai Shuang told the manager to take him away, and shouted from behind, "Take it easy, don't kill him!"
The mysterious figure [Mask A] is the king of this underground fighting arena, his whereabouts shrouded in mystery. Just when he is about to be forgotten, he miraculously reappears, ending the winning streaks of certain arrogant newcomers.
When Wen Zheng put on the new mask, the person in the mirror immediately changed into an ordinary passerby, occasionally flashing a silver light under the lamplight, which was a sign that he was wearing a mask.
The winner of the previous match had rested for half an hour, still full of excitement and confidence. A wave of noise rose in his ears, and his eyes, fierce as a wild beast, stared at the person who had just come up opposite him.
"Mask A!" someone in the stands shouted, followed by cheers from all sides, some excited, some expectant, and many people stood up and shouted for him.
The winner squinted, sizing up the person before him. Slender build, not heavy enough, muscles not the kind you get from training, the curves were beautiful but subtle, not particularly eye-catching at first glance.
That's it? A mysterious person? You're just trying to fool young girls.
The winner chuckled, poured water over his head, stood up, and raised his fist: "Come on!"
Masked A took a few steps forward, dodging the opponent's lightning side attack with a sidestep, and hooked the opponent's ankle with his foot. This was a standard move. The man with the red belt looked smug, took a step back, and waited for the moment when the opponent raised his foot and shifted his center of gravity to strike the exposed side of his waist!
"Bang."
With his elbows tangled, unable to move forward or backward, the man in red belt was stunned for less than half a second before a sharp pain suddenly burst out from where he was restrained. Then, the world spun around him as he was violently thrown up and slammed heavily to the ground!
"Hoh—" The stands erupted in cheers, with fanatics shouting wildly. The red belt, its edge still sharp, sprang up and clashed with Mask A once more.
Sweat reflecting the lamplight, blurred vision. He parried, struck vital points, dodged the stinging wind of the punches—all as instinctive as if it were his own pleasure.
His opponent wasn't strong, but he still got excited. He vented, and vented some more, wanting to pour out all the dark thoughts he had accumulated. He punched his opponent's flesh, but he couldn't hear the opponent's painful roar, only the sound of his own huge heartbeat.
Everyone understands道理 (principles/reasoning), but emotions defy logic. Does a murderer know that killing someone will result in a death sentence? Does a person prone to anger know that anger harms their health? Does he know that a useless toy is simply broken once it's damaged?
Know.
"Ugh!" A pair of fearful eyes appeared in his vision, and Wen Zheng suddenly woke up. He turned his fist and smashed it into the ring ground along the man's ear.
His breathing was so heavy that even he found it noisy, and the referee's shouts of victory for the blue team and the cheers from the stands came like a tidal wave.
He slowly straightened up.
Go back and apologize to Big Black.
Wen Zheng turned and left, and no one dared to stop him. He made his way backstage without any hindrance, took off his clothes, and went into the shower to turn on the hot water.
"Did you enjoy it?" Bai Shuang's voice rang out from the outer room, echoing heavily in the smoke-filled bathroom.
"Okay. I'm going back."
"Look at you, young people always have such short tempers. I called you a few times before and you didn't come, so you finally snapped!" Bai Shuang clicked her tongue. "Would you dare not come next time your brother calls you?"
“…Dare.” Wen Zheng walked out naked and took the towel that Bai Shuang handed him: “Alright, I’m fine, you can go ahead with your work.”
Bai Shuang squinted her eyes and smiled like a fox: "Oh my, you came to me soaked in the rain like a heroine in an idol drama, now you know how to be ashamed?"
"…………"
Bai Shuang leaned lazily against the wall: "But your cat... I think you should be prepared."
Wen Zheng was putting on the clothes Bai Shuang had given him when he paused, buttoning them up: "What?"
“Full of wildness, huh?” Bai Shuang said, “Rongcheng is the provincial capital, but even in the smaller cities further down the border, there are still stray cats, though they are much less common now. My ex-boyfriend was in a cat-loving association and went on expeditions into the deep mountains and forests specifically to study stray cats.”
Wen Zheng listened silently.
“Modern pet cats have been bred for generations and are very different from wild cats. My ex-boyfriend said that those wild cats are impossible to tame. They yearn for freedom and will cause damage if you try to keep them in cages or at home.”
Seeing that Wen Zheng was unhappy again, Bai Shuang shrugged: "Your cat doesn't look like a stray, but it's so active and loves to roll around... I was just saying, why are you glaring at me?... You don't want to keep a well-behaved pet cat, you have to pick up one of unknown origin, but since you've already kept it, don't get angry and hit it."
Wen Zheng angrily retorted, "What are you thinking? Why would I hit it?!"
Wen Zheng cursed Bai Shuang the whole way, and the other party just listened with "uh-huhs". Before leaving, Wen Zheng took the umbrella and said, "Thanks, I'll bring you some Deng Puyue cookies later."
"Okay, okay!" Bai Shuang said happily, "Xiao Yu is much cuter than you. I'd even break a tooth for him!"
"...He's gone."
Bai Shuang sent him a car, and they arrived at Wutong Garden in just a few minutes. Wen Zheng stood at his doorstep, his heart heavy.
What needs to be faced must be faced.
Big Black is just a cat, what does it know? It's just its nature to like pushing cups, eating good food, curling up to sleep, and licking its paws. The so-called trouble it causes is all judged by human standards; it can only blame itself for not locking the room properly.
Moreover, by sheer chance, he obtained a clue that was of great importance to him.
Wen Zheng became angrier and angrier at himself, especially when he thought about how Da Hei hadn't eaten yet and what would happen if he got hungry.
Pushing open the door, Wen Zheng called out, "Big Black?"
"It is 9:40 PM now. For your health, please..."
He slammed his hand on the wall with a thud, and the room fell silent. The cat didn't come out. Wen Zheng changed his shoes, slightly uneasy. He called out a few more times, then went into the bedroom and saw the big black cat curled up on his bed without lifting its head, perfectly positioned in the center, its rear end facing the door.
The cat's ears twitched; it was pretending not to hear.
Wen Zheng paused for a moment before asking, "Excuse me, are you hungry?"
Big Black raised its head.
Wen Zheng breathed a small sigh of relief and went to the kitchen to make a tender and juicy pan-fried chicken paste. The method was slightly different from making meatballs; it was more juicy and also served with chopped cooked egg yolks.
When he came out, Dahei was already waiting on the table, and Wen Zheng felt even more guilty.
The cat isn't even angry with him, so it must be very hungry.
The TV wasn't on, and the two of them ate quietly. The big black cat's pink tongue rolled and rolled, and Wen Zheng, watching, gradually stopped eating.
"Anyway, thank you." Wen Zheng's voice was slightly hoarse: "Your troubles are balanced out, and the note is more important."
Big Black flicked its tail, licked its little nose, and then buried its head in its food.
"I won't hit you again." Wen Zheng promised, then tentatively tried to pet the cat's head, but it dodged him.
Disappointment.
We'll have to coax her slowly.
After a day of dramatic ups and downs, Wen Zheng was too exhausted to play the game anymore. He clutched the note and lay down on the bed. With the clues in hand, the mystery would be solved sooner or later. Having waited so many years, Wen Zheng wasn't in a hurry anymore.
"The firefly's glow is not fire, and the dew on the lotus leaf, though round, is not a pearl." He murmured to himself. What did this mean? What was he trying to tell him?
Ms. Liu later studied Chinese literature and developed a fondness for classical Chinese poetry. This particular line comes from Bai Juyi's poem "Five Poems of Unrestrained Expression, No. 1." Literally, it likely tells people that some things have deceptive appearances, and one should not be blinded by illusions but rather see through their true nature.
Wen Zheng pondered for a while, then felt a bit dizzy and fell asleep without realizing it.
The smart home system dimmed the lights, leaving only the overhead Milky Way night light. In the middle of the night, Wen Zheng struggled to open his eyes, touched his forehead, and sat up with difficulty.
If you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. Damn, he has a fever.
Wen Zheng hadn't been sick in years, and he felt extremely uncomfortable. His brain felt like it was filled with paste; any movement made him dizzy, accompanied by sharp, stabbing pains, and his breathing was burning hot. His usual medication was in the living room, so he hurriedly went out, leaning against the wall, to get some water and his medicine.
He almost tripped as he left the bedroom, but Big Black circled around his feet and looked up at him.
“…Good boy.” Wen Zheng didn’t have the strength to pay attention to it at the moment. The fever was fierce, and he went back to lie down after taking his medicine. In his drowsy state, in a corner of the bed, Big Black walked gracefully to his side and nestled into his arms, meowing nobly.
It really is a cat.
Wen Zheng's throbbing head trembled with horror as he realized his cat had been switched!
Dahei stamped its feet on the spot, sat down, curled up, and nestled right into Wen Zheng's loosely clasped arms. Wen Zheng's heart suddenly clenched, and a sensation that was both sour and numb spread throughout his body along with the heat.
I reached out and hugged the big black cat tightly, feeling its warm, plush fur. The cat's belly rose and fell with its breath, soft and peaceful.
Wen Zheng closed his slightly moist eyes and thought to himself, "Dahei is the cutest cat in the world."
Author's Note: Zhengzheng: How did I manage to appease you before I even had a chance to do anything? (Confused)
Big Black: Fragile humans!!!
(Update will still be at 3 PM tomorrow. The timing is a bit chaotic before I started using the app, but it will be at a fixed time after that. Thank you!)
(Let everyone pet Big Black's tail!)
Chapter 26
Cat Lover Live Forum - Holographic Game Zone - Survival Space:
[Casual Chat] Let's talk about that "big shot" who relied on random teammates to steal donations and actually overshadowed the truly skilled players.
As the title suggests, three days into the livestreaming competition, Shan Yu's total donations haven't even reached the amount that a certain Z earned in a single night. These days, it's easy to get away with crooked ways.
1l: Is the original poster sick?
2L: You're not wrong. I've wanted to complain about this for a while now. Isn't this just relying on good luck? They ran into a random person who naturally attracts attention, and by acting like a gay couple with that person, their brainless fans are clamoring for donations. They have no talent, but they're certainly making a lot of noise.
3L: Which eye of the person above saw his lack of ability? Dog eyes?
4L: My criticism differs from the original poster's. I don't understand, just because a random person's character creation looks good doesn't mean they're actually good-looking. What if the person behind the character is a bald, buck-toothed monster with moles all over their face? It's perfectly reasonable for someone to have a perverted obsession with someone who lacks beauty, isn't it? I don't see what's so admirable about it.
5L: OP named names, so I'll also say this: the key issue isn't how Z gains followers, but that Shan Yu was suppressed by him. If Shan Yu were smarter and used his brain, he wouldn't have suffered such a loss. These days, honest people are really bullied.
6l: I just laughed.
7l: I laughed too, Shanyu, an honest man? Hahaha
8L: Why are you so angry? The main couple has a good relationship, and the fans are starting this fight? Is that interesting? Do you know that you're all standing up for the eel? Maybe the eel is thinking of sucking up to Z!
9l: What's all the fuss about? Get out of here and stop comparing yourselves. My dear Eel and Z have a great relationship. Look, there's a photo of them eating together. It's solid proof. Post this now.
...
124l: Is this a serious business marketing ploy? Maybe the eel (a nickname for a celebrity) is planning to create a fan base like Xuanyuan Tianlu, attracting rising star z-bkc, and aiming to recreate past glories together.
125l: On a slightly different note, if they were to actually form a family, what prefix would they use?