Xiao Jin'ang was unaware that one of the boxes he bought was missing. Holding the bulging plastic bag, he wandered aimlessly around the living room, contemplating where to hide it. After a moment of thought, he decided to stuff it at the bottom of the wardrobe.
Sang Feiwan had mentioned that these things should not be seen by the other party to avoid embarrassment, so hiding them in a convenient place would be fine.
By the time Ming Zhou finished his shower, Xiao Jin'ang had already disposed of the "evidence" and was sitting on the floor playing with the cat. Without saying anything, Ming Zhou followed the cat's meow and approached Xiao Jin'ang, slowly squatting down beside him, asking, "Should we give it a name?"
Startled, Xiao Jin'ang asked, "Who?"
Ming Zhou whispered, "The cat. Every adopted cat should have a name."
Realizing this, like the system in the interstellar space station, which has many subsystems, each with a different name, Xiao Jin'ang looked at the cat in his arms and then at Ming Zhou, pondered for a moment, and tentatively asked, "How about calling it 'Da Jingang'?"
Ming Zhou was taken aback, almost suspecting he had misheard, "What?"
Xiao Jin'ang insisted, "Da Jingang (Big King Kong)."
Ming Zhou: "..."
Although Ming Zhou couldn't quite understand why Xiao Jin'ang wanted to give the cat such a domineering name, he could only attribute it to Xiao Jin'ang watching too much "Godzilla vs. Kong". Trying to be tactful, he suggested, "How about something cuter?"
Xiao Jin'ang pondered, "Diamond?"
Ming Zhou: "Seems a bit odd?"
Xiao Jin'ang: "Shine (Shan Liang)?"
He liked things that were sparkling, glittering and shiny.
Ming Zhou: "Any other suggestions?"
Xiao Jin'ang: "Amber? Agate? Jade? Crystal?"
It was getting even stranger...
Ming Zhou couldn't help but laugh, "Why are all these names like... gemstones?"
Blushing, Xiao Jin'ang touched his nose, thinking those were names of other subsystems, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "But I'm not good at naming things."
Ming Zhou: "Then let's go with Shine."
That seemed to be the only decent one among the jumble of names, and Ming Zhou wasn't great at naming either.
The little cat on the floor meowed twice upon hearing "Bright and Shiny", whether in approval or protest, Xiao Jin'ang chose to interpret it as liking the name. Carefully, he placed the kitten into its nest, "Shine, will you be called Shine from now on?"
The kitten lowered its head to lick its paw, its blind right eye slightly swollen under the light, "Meow~"
Ming Zhou couldn't see the cat or Xiao Jin'ang. He sat quietly on the floor, his chin against his knees, eyelashes casting a shadow over his eyes, looking a bit lost in thought. After a while, he whispered, "You won't abandon it... will you?"
Hearing this question, Xiao Jin'ang curiously looked at Ming Zhou and then earnestly shook his head, "It's my cat now, I won't abandon what's mine."
Humans are intelligent beings but are also skilled at letting go. From the moment they are born, every passing year, they shed something from themselves. Initially, it's innocence and naivety, then it's shyness and awkwardness, and finally, it's their radiance and carefreeness.
This path of abandonment should have ended, but as humans move forward, they still feel burdened, so they try to discard even more, like kindness, conscience, ideals, beliefs...
In the end, when they have nothing more to discard, they start abandoning their cats, then family, loved ones, until all that's left is an old, feeble shell. Many years later, they suddenly look back and realize they too will be abandoned.
The world may seem unfair, but it is fair in a mysterious way. What you have once neglected and abandoned will be repaid in another form after many years.
Xiao Jin'ang wouldn't abandon anything that belonged to him, including Ming Zhou and the cat.
At night, the bedroom was pitch black. Ming Zhou was only wearing a white shirt and stealthily slipped into Xiao Jin'ang's arms, still damp from the shower.
Xiao Jin'ang felt like he was holding a slippery fish. He buried his face in the crook of Ming Zhou's neck, speaking with a slight nasal tone, like sticky honey, "Dr. Ming..."
Xiao Jin'ang is being playful again.
Ming Zhou knows what he wants to do. Hesitating for a moment, he still doesn't want him to endure too much discomfort, so he affectionately strokes his head, "Gently, once?"
Unexpectedly, Xiao Jin'ang refused. He lifted his head from Ming Zhou's arms and gently patted his back as if comforting him, "Shh, it will be a few more days."
He added, "Otherwise, it will hurt you."
Xiao Jin'ang seems clumsy, but it seems he remembers the important things.
So Ming Zhou tried hard to think, has anyone ever said such caring words to him, fearing he would get hurt? However, the answer is no.
Those people only left indelible wounds on him, like his blinded eyes.
In the darkness, Ming Zhou hugged Xiao Jin'ang tightly, hoping he could also hold him close. For a moment, he even greedily wanted to integrate into this person's bones and blood, sharing breath and blood, never to be separated.
【Ding! Please note, the villain's blackening degree has dropped to 30%, please continue to work hard~】
The system's prompt sounded quietly in the quiet night and then fell silent. Unfortunately, Xiao Jin'ang didn't hear it. He fell asleep holding Ming Zhou, and even the little cat in the living room was curled up in its new nest asleep.
For some time after that, Xiao Jin'ang has been diligently working. Even though the last story he wrote, "Little Diamond's Adventure," was criticized harshly by the editor, Lin, it didn't stop him from his passion for writing. He continued to submit his manuscripts persistently.
A month passed, and his manuscripts were still not approved, but fortunately, he received his first paycheck.
That day, when Ming Zhou returned home from work, he heard Xiao Jin'ang sitting on the sofa, earnestly counting money, "One hundred, two hundred, three hundred..."
He was so engrossed in counting that he didn't notice Ming Zhou had entered. So Ming Zhou stood quietly at the entrance, listening until Xiao Jin'ang finished counting three thousand five hundred, preparing to recount.
Ming Zhou made some noise intentionally.
Feeling his way inside, Ming Zhou asked, "What are you doing?"
Xiao Jin'ang saw Ming Zhou enter, his eyes brightened, and he quickly ran up, "Doctor Ming, I got paid!"
Pay! His first paycheck in his life!
It turns out the Interstellar Executive had been freeloading off him all this time!!
Ming Zhou felt Xiao Jin'ang push a stack of money into his hand, knowing without counting it was three thousand five hundred. He smiled, his eyes becoming even more gentle and sophisticated, and praised, "Impressive."
Xiao Jin'ang looked at him with shining eyes, like a large dog, "All for you!"
Upon hearing this, Ming Zhou raised an eyebrow, "All for me? What about you?"
Xiao Jin'ang was generous, "It's okay, I can earn more."
After all, he doesn't need to eat, so no need for food expenses.
Ming Zhou didn't refuse and, in front of Xiao Jin'ang, put the stack of money into his wallet. Then he took out a card from the side and handed it to Xiao Jin'ang, "Take this."
Xiao Jin'ang looked at it and found it was a human bank card, "What's this for?"
It was Ming Zhou's subsidiary card. He rubbed Xiao Jin'ang's fluffy hair and whispered the password to him, "Use this next time you go out shopping, you won't need to carry so much cash."
Just like Jiang Weimian, he didn't approve of Xiao Jin'ang carrying all his cash every time he went out.
However, Xiao Jin'ang didn't want the card and shook his head, giving it back, "No need, I can earn my own money."
He can't freeload off others.
In fact, this wasn't the first time he refused Ming Zhou's money. Ming Zhou always worried that Xiao Jin'ang would be penniless outside, so he gave him cash and the card, but Xiao Jin'ang never accepted.
Holding the bank card, Ming Zhou pondered for a moment and asked, "How much money do you have in total?"
Xiao Jin'ang subconsciously replied, "Three thousand five."
Ming Zhou confirmed, "All given to me? Not even a cent left?"
Xiao Jin'ang looked at him with bright eyes, showing his full affection, "Yes, all for you."
Out of the blue, Ming Zhou asked, "Then how do you eat outside?"
You can't survive on nothing, right?
Xiao Jin'ang remained silent, not wanting to reveal that he didn't need to eat. His words were extinguished by a single question, his eyes wandering as he stood in place.
Ming Zhou gently placed the card in Xiao Jin'ang's hand and leaned in to kiss him softly, whispering, "Be good, keep it."
Probably due to professional habits, Ming Zhou always spoke with a kind of ambiguous tenderness that unintentionally melted one's guard.
Suddenly, Xiao Jin'ang recalled the original story. In fact, he had already finished reading the book "Bright Day" and knew that if the course of fate hadn't changed, Ming Zhou would encounter a scammer.
That man would deceive Ming Zhou of all his money, and in the end, Ming Zhou would cut his throat, dying on a stormy day with his mouth stuffed with coins.
[Ming Zhou remained calm and even gentle: "You like money, I'll give it to you. It's okay, after all, I am blind, this is the only thing I can give you..."]
When Xiao Jin'ang read this part, he should have felt afraid because he didn't like blood or death. But all he could think of was Ming Zhou jumping off a windy and rainy night.
[In the end, he chose the same ending as his mother, using death to end his battered life, the only path he could choose for himself.]
Suddenly, Xiao Jin'ang felt the bank card in his hand was a bit too much. He shook his head forcefully, frowning, "I like you, not your money."
After speaking, he stuffed the bank card back into Ming Zhou's hand, seemingly afraid that he would be further entangled, and hastily turned to his room, "I'll go fold the clothes."
Ming Zhou was stunned. He was at a loss for Xiao Jin'ang's earlier words, which seemed like a confession but not quite. He groped his way into the room, intending to say something, but suddenly heard a noise of rummaging through boxes and cabinets—
It didn't sound like folding clothes at all.
Ming Zhou asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
During this time, Ming Zhou had been "recovering from his injuries," and the two hadn't been intimate. Xiao Jin'ang had just casually opened the wardrobe, intending to see the condoms he had bought last time, thinking of choosing a box to use that night. However, after counting, he was shocked to find a box of pink ones missing.
Did the cashier forgot to put it in?
But he had personally put each box into the shopping bag.
Did he drop it on the way home?
But there were no holes in the shopping bag.
Xiao Jin'ang searched the entire wardrobe but couldn't find the box of pink condoms with raised dots. Feeling somewhat bewildered, he sat cross-legged on the floor. Hearing Ming Zhou's voice, he instinctively raised his head and asked, "Have you opened the wardrobe? I left a bag of something here, and a box is missing."
Hearing this, Ming Zhou was momentarily stunned and almost instantly understood what Xiao Jin'ang was asking. After all, Xiao Jin'ang wasn't good at housekeeping tasks like tidying up; folding clothes and cleaning were all done by Ming Zhou. Xiao Jin'ang couldn't hide a bag of condoms blatantly placed in a drawer from him.
Ming Zhou remembered the box he had thrown in the trash last time and was taken aback. He was puzzled by Xiao Jin'ang's memory, "Did you..."
After a pause, Ming Zhou said, "I haven't opened the wardrobe. Could you have remembered it wrong?"
Xiao Jin'ang continued to search, rummaging through like a hamster in its grain barn, "It might have fallen somewhere else. Let me look for it."
The storage capacity of the system far surpasses that of the human brain. Moreover, Xiao Jin'ang had personally picked each box of condoms, so he definitely wouldn't forget.
Ming Zhou didn't expect Xiao Jin'ang to be so insistent and awkwardly said, "Did you misplace it yourself? Is it expensive? If it's not, let's forget about it..."
However, Xiao Jin'ang was determined to find that box of condoms. He thought simply: since he didn't lose it and Ming Zhou didn't take it, the item must still be in the room.
So, for the next half hour, Xiao Jin'ang searched every corner of the room, making Ming Zhou extremely uneasy. He listened to the sounds of rummaging, and finally couldn't help but speak up, "Stop searching..."
Xiao Jin'ang instinctively looked up, "What's wrong?"
"I..." Ming Zhou came up with a lame excuse, "I was organizing the wardrobe the other day and accidentally misplaced a box."
After saying this, he fell silent, waiting for Xiao Jin'ang's reaction. However, Xiao Jin'ang remained silent for a while, making Ming Zhou nervous, "Are you... angry?"
"..."
Xiao Jin'ang didn't speak. He wasn't exactly angry, just a little displeased. Upon hearing this, he resumed rummaging through the wardrobe in silence.
It's okay; he had other options.