Shapeshifters - Chapter 7
After a while of this stalemate, I got up to say goodbye, saying I was tired. She didn't say anything, and I went downstairs alone, feeling rather bored, wondering if I had gone too far and made things end so unpleasantly.
Lying in bed, I made a slight assumption in my mind: what if Su Ying did know some secrets she couldn't reveal, and therefore insisted that the Zhidan Garden ruins were related to the underwater people? But in reality, the possibility was extremely slim. In my heart, I still felt that Su Ying was a girl who loved to fantasize.
In the middle of the night, I had barely fallen asleep when a piercing meow woke me up again. I thought it was the cat crying, and I only managed to fall back asleep after the meowing stopped at dawn. Around noon, the sweltering heat woke me up again, and this time I couldn't fall back asleep no matter what. So I mustered my strength and prepared to go to work at the newspaper office. Going to work at noon is practically a daily routine; only newcomers or idiots would often be yawning and rushing to the newspaper office early.
Because of the sweltering heat, I was drenched in sweat by the time I reached the entrance of the residential area. In this kind of weather, people are always unusually lazy, so I naturally hailed a taxi to work. Sitting in the car, the cool air conditioning finally cleared my head a bit. Thinking about last night, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd be invited upstairs again tonight. Judging from yesterday's reaction, I think I seriously dampened Su Ying's enthusiasm. Thinking about it, I find myself funny. Yesterday I was worried about what would happen to my personal space if I was called up every day, and today I'm wondering if I'll ever have another chance to chat with her. Perhaps this shows that I'm too emotional and prone to overthinking.
Just then, my phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. I answered, and to my surprise, it was Su Ying's voice on the other end again.
"Hi, Nado?" Judging from her tone, she seemed to be alright.
"Su Ying?" I was slightly surprised. "Is there something you need?"
"Surprised? I saw your number on your business card. Are you free this afternoon?"
"Oh... I think so." I wondered if they were going to ask me to chat again.
"Here's the thing, if you're free this afternoon, come swim in the big pool, it's on me. Just bring your swim trunks and swim cap."
This was unexpected, but swimming is indeed an excellent pastime on such a hot day.
"Actually, it's because I bought a bunch of tickets before summer vacation, but I've been busy filming and haven't had time to go. If I don't go soon, these tickets will be wasted, which would be such a pity. It would be good if you could help me share some of the burden," Su Ying quickly explained when she heard me hesitate.
"Okay." I don't know why, but I just blurted it out without thinking.
"Great! See you there! You know the way, right?"
"We know each other, see you then."
Having arranged a time with Su Ying, the taxi arrived at the newspaper office. I quickly began writing my report on Ruan Xiuwen's interview.
Halfway through writing, I started thinking about Su Ying again. We're seeing each other quite frequently now, and it's always her who initiates the contact. While I don't mind spending time alone with her, I don't have any ulterior motives. Given this, should I be more discerning? If I keep going to a single female college student's house at night, I'm afraid I'll become the focus of news at the newspaper if people find out. I need to seriously consider how I should interact with her in the future.
But Su Ying is a beauty. To be honest, if Su Ying were less than attractive, or even unremarkable, I would have definitely decided to cut ties with her without hesitation. The problem is that she's a beauty. She seems to have taken the initiative to pursue me, and for most men, such an opportunity is hard to come by and too precious to let go.
Beautiful women are such a hassle; no wonder there's a saying that "beauty is a curse."
However, I had already promised to go swimming with Su Ying that afternoon, and a promise is a promise. As for the future, I'd just have to take it one step at a time. I told myself this. Perhaps this thinking is a bit irresponsible, but it's a common male mentality. After convincing myself, I quickly finished writing the article, left the newspaper office, hailed a taxi, and headed straight to Shanghai University.
Once I got to the pool, I finally felt like my trip was worthwhile. Of course, I'm not referring to the bikinis worn by the female students at Shanghai University. Su Ying's swimming skills were truly superb. Before I could even properly admire her beautiful figure, she had already swiftly plunged into the water. By the time I entered the water, she was already more than ten meters away. She turned and beckoned to me, then leaped back to my side. Not only was her speed astonishing, but her freestyle arm swing and kicking motions were also exceptionally graceful and rapid. She lifted her head from the water, tossing her long hair back, immediately attracting the attention of everyone in the pool, especially the men. She seemed oblivious, laughing loudly, before diving back into the water.
This time she didn't come up for a long time. I was startled and wondered if something had happened. I looked around the entire pool, and after a while, I finally saw Su Ying surface in the far deep end.
I glanced at her; she had swum about fifty meters underwater in one go. I was secretly amazed. I swam over to her, and she did a few more somersaults in the water, then looked up and said to me, still wanting more, "This pool is too small, it's really not enough. I could swim a hundred meters underwater in one go without any problem." She wasn't even out of breath, and spoke so casually, which I found almost terrifying. One of the main reasons I had promised Su Yinglai we would go swimming was that swimming was one of my strengths. I had learned to swim for a while when I was little, and I remember being praised by my teacher.
But now Su Ying makes me feel ashamed. Her body seems to have become as slippery and flexible as an eel. She can tumble freely in the water without splashing much water. I almost suspect that she is a former frogman.
Another "splash"—who knows what trick Su Ying is up to now? She keeps swimming around, sometimes deliberately splashing water to make a loud noise. I've never seen her so wildly happy since I've known her.
Su Ying put on a spectacular show in the pool, making her the center of attention from the moment she entered. Many boys stared intently at her, occasionally glancing suspiciously at me leaning against the edge. The girls, on the other hand, cast envious glances at Su Ying, whispering amongst themselves, and some even began berating their boyfriends.
I suddenly jokingly wondered if Su Ying's swimming skills weren't developed from spending all her time in the bathtub. Then, scenes from Su Ying's conversations over the past few days flashed through my mind, and I found myself asking myself a question: She's such a good swimmer, but I've been forgetting to ask her where she grew up. A ridiculous thought flashed through my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. Impossible. Although she has an unusual enthusiasm for underwater people, always talking about them, and her swimming skills are extraordinary, these don't prove anything. After leaving the pool, Su Ying seemed still not quite satisfied and started talking to me about the ocean. I casually responded, continuing to ponder Su Ying's background. I thought perhaps it was her passion for the ocean that made her particularly fond of swimming. Soon we reached the main road on campus, where more and more students were passing by.
I was somewhat aware that if her classmates saw us walking side by side like this, it might cause her some trouble, but seeing how unconcerned she seemed, I didn't bring it up first, otherwise it would make me seem guilty. She spoke first, saying, "Ah, those are my classmates," pointing to a group of people walking towards us in the distance.
As I was trying to figure out how to explain myself to avoid embarrassment, I saw the classmates Su Ying had mentioned walking towards me. Their attitude towards Su Ying's greeting was rather cold. Some deliberately looked away, while only a few nodded slightly and then looked at me with strange expressions, making me feel uneasy.
Su Ying seemed indifferent to her classmate's unexpectedly bland response, as if she were used to it. It seems she's not very popular. I recalled how she sometimes gave off a lonely vibe; perhaps this was the reason. How could such a beautiful girl be so unpopular? Is there an oversupply of beautiful girls at Shanghai University? I observed the numerous girls and couples passing by, but didn't see any such signs.
Perhaps it was because she was beautiful that she was isolated by the girls, I thought to myself, recalling her performance in the pool.
I recalled that during my university days, we only reacted like this when we encountered those out-of-towners who never socialized, were extremely aloof towards their classmates, and only knew how to bury themselves in their books, and then suddenly discovered that they were walking with a beautiful woman. I then imagined that Su Ying's interpersonal relationships at school were probably like that.
As they approached the school gate, Su Ying suddenly remembered something and called out softly.
"What's wrong?" I asked, wondering what trick she was up to now.
"I forgot something and left it in the dorm. You can go back now."
"Bedroom?"
“I used to live in a dormitory, but I moved out a few months ago because I wanted to live alone. However, I didn’t have time to check out of the dormitory, and I still have a lot of things left in the dormitory.”
"Oh, okay." I thought to myself that if I followed her to her dorm, things would get even more complicated.
"Let's talk again tonight," she added. "See you when you get home tonight!"
"Oh? Okay. Goodbye!" I had no choice but to agree.
When I got back to Zhidanyuan Residential Area, it was already evening. Having just finished swimming, I was still feeling quite refreshed. However, as soon as I reached the bottom of the stairs, before I could even recall that unpleasant cat, I heard another piercing meow.
The cat's meow was shrill and piercing, exactly the kind I'd heard the past two nights, but this time it came from above. I looked up and was horrified to see a dark shadow swooping down from the twelfth floor, accompanied by a hiss. I quickly, or rather, instinctively, dodged to the side, and in that instant, the dark shadow crashed to the ground with a "thud."
I was genuinely startled, and even as the shock subsided, I could still recognize that it was indeed the long-lost black cat. It had fallen heavily to the ground, flattened somewhat, like a lump of black mud. While not as horribly flattened as when it was run over by a truck, it was still a pitiful sight. But this time, it didn't vomit any blood.
I mustered my courage and took a step closer, then crouched down to examine it more closely. The black cat's face was completely mangled from the fall, and it lay motionless. I wondered if this was the same black cat that had been run over by the truck, and perhaps it hadn't quite died this time, but was still breathing?
After a while, it still didn't move. I reached out and touched the cat, and with a slight touch, I was shocked again—all the bones in its body were broken. I touched it again, but wait, I couldn't feel any bones anywhere on its body; it was limp and soft—it was a…soft-boned cat!
If it weren't for its fur, I would have thought I was holding a python or a giant loach—that's the texture. With a mix of fear and curiosity, I picked up the cat and found that its limbs, deformed from the fall, seemed to have regained their shape, as if made of rubber. Even more astonishingly, its skull was soft, seemingly moldable into any shape. Could that be why the truck hadn't killed it? And it was still breathing; I could feel a faint, rhythmic heartbeat through its body.
Just as I was filled with doubt, the cat in my arms suddenly opened its eyes, which seemed to glow faintly. Its previously limp paws shot up, and with a "meow," it scratched me hard. Startled and in pain, I released it and stepped back, only to see three bloody scratches on my hand. The cat fell to the ground with a "thud," then inexplicably stood up and darted into the nearby bushes. But its joints were clearly bent abnormally, further confirming my conclusion that it was a cat with muscular dystrophy. It had survived being run over by a truck and falling from a building, yet it ran unsteadily—what could have caused this cat to become like this? I remembered the cat's eyes; they held a sorrowful look, seemingly tinged with tears. I couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
And what exactly does it want to do? Did it jump from the twelfth floor to attack me? But why?