Dear Mr. Lu

Chapter 60

"Mee..." Ribs stretched out her front paw. Lu Chong held it in his hand, "Good girl, go to sleep in peace."

The big cat opened her eyes wearily and slowly, looking at Lu Chong. Her bright yellow round eyes were full of affection. Then she rubbed her face in the crook of Luo Wencheng's arm and slowly closed her eyes.

The cat's tail fell down, Ribs' body in the hands of the two men was losing its temperature little by little.

Luo Wencheng raised his head, his eyes flushed, looking at the brilliant flowers and plants in the courtyard and the warm sunset, and suddenly felt an inexplicable fear.

Not because of death, but because of parting.

Ribs' body was quickly sent for cremation. Lu Chong didn't choose to bury the ashes in the backyard of the villa, but took them to the amusement park under construction.

He told Luo Wencheng that Ribs was picked up here.

"When she was picked up, she was only the size of a palm. It was a newborn little kitten abandoned by her mother. She seemed to grow so big in the blink of an eye." He talked about the funny and embarrassing stories of Ribs over the years, "She was like a child to me, and she was the only one who kept me company over the years."

Luo Wencheng looked at his slightly red eyes. This was the first time he had seen Lu Chong like this. His nostalgia, his reluctance to part, his melancholy and his deep suppressed sadness all made him look extremely fragile and soft at this moment.

Luo Wencheng forced himself to look away; if he looked any further, he was afraid he might be unable to resist hugging the man.

"In fact, you should be happy for her. She has lived for almost seventeen years, longer than most cats. She has been active and happy all her life. She only felt pain in the last half a month. It's already very good, isn't it? And she had an owner who loved her so much. She received the best care and the best love from you. She accompanied you, and you were also with her. There should be no regrets."

Luo Wencheng looked at the small mound of earth where the ashes of Ribs were buried, right between two trees, with the amusement park for company, where it would be lively and would not feel lonely, and at the same time where no one could disturb this cat that slept here.

He said softly: "So don't feel sorry, sir. Parting is always inevitable. All we can do is to grasp every day before we part. And after parting, with a feeling of blessing and gratitude, it's good to miss each other once in a while."

Lu Chong turned his head, stared at Luo Wencheng and slowly asked, "You are leaving too, aren't you?"

Luo Wencheng smiled and didn't look at Lu Chong: "I have already left, but this time I'm going abroad and I don't plan to come back again. I want to travel, look around, and stay for a while if I come across a place I like. Maybe I'll meet someone who likes me and I also like him, then I might stay with him and live out this life."

Lu Chong suddenly reached out to him and brushed away the tears that rolled down from his eyes.

Only then did Luo Wencheng realise that he was crying: "I really..." He lowered his head and wiped away his tears, then turned his face away and looked at the undulating hills and the vast sky in the distance, and smiled, "At that time, I won't think of you too often, sir. Whether I'm happy or not, I won't contact you again, sir. I won't ask for blessings on my birthday. Sir, you don't have to miss me or send anyone to follow me. You don't need to know my whereabouts, otherwise I will think that you are concerned about me, sir, and I will feel uncomfortable."

The more he said, the more he tried to control his emotions, the more tears surged down and the more he wiped them away. He stopped in tears and laughter: "Really... I really, why am I acting like a girl?"