Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  The alley was not long, and thanks to the picturesque scenery in it, though no one talked, they didn’t feel bored.

  Zhang Zian saw a middle-aged man with whiskers holding a small camera trying to find the best angles to shoot a phoenix tree. Zhang Zian did not understand photography, but he felt that the middle-aged man was much more professional than those students of the photography club who just showed off their high-end equipment. He followed the angles of the middle-aged man’s camera and looked up.

  Hm? Among the branches of the phoenix tree, shrouded by sparse yellow leaves, there was a grey-black little squirrel, tilting its big tail and staring at Fina and Snowy Lionet vigilantly. This squirrel was probably a family pet raised by a child that ran away for some reason or was released back into nature since it didn’t seem to be afraid of people, but was afraid of cats.

  Fina raised its eyes and spent half a second to glance at the squirrel, then began to yawn boringly. Snowy Lionet wasn’t interested in catching the squirrel either. With its short legs and long fur, Snowy Lionet might have difficulty climbing trees — its long fur would probably get caught on tree bark or branches in no time.

  The middle-aged whiskered man was focused on the compositions of his pictures and capturing the squirrel’s movements and had not noticed Zhang Zian and Guo Dongyue passing by. His concentration and dedication was way better than that of the rookies from the photography club who spotted Zhang Zian with his cats from across the road.

  When they walked past the middle-aged man with whiskers, he finally noticed Zhang Zian’s two cats. He froze for a moment, then quickly squatted down on the ground, flipped the screen of the camera 90 degrees upward, and included Zhang Zian, Guo Dongyue and the two cats in his lens at an angle parallel to the ground.

  He pressed the shutter quickly a few times, then stood up to observe the shots. Through the preview on the 3-inch LCD screen, he found that this unexpected photo had a perfect blurring effect, and with a little bit of photoshop, it could be a great photo — the people were in the back of the photo, while the cats were in the front, plus the photo was shot at a low angle, so the cats seemed very big and clear in the photo. The falling leaves around the cats were frozen in the photo. Better still, the white cat had turned its head and was looking at the camera. The lighting was also perfect, which was bright and soft.

  “Okay, I can call it a day now.” The whiskered man turned off his camera, satisfied, stuffed it into his pocket, and walked away whistling like a little boy who had got a new toy.

  Zhang Zian and Guo Dongyue did not know what had happened behind their backs, nor did they know that they had inadvertently become the background for two cats. Though Snowy Lionet saw the man, it was not clear to it what the small black block in that whiskered-man’s hands was for, and because of its ingrained disgust towards men, it had no interest in finding out what the small black block was for.

  When they had walked halfway through the alley, Zhang Zian could vaguely see the deserted kindergarten on the other side of the alley. There were only rusty slides, swings, and teeter-totters in the kindergarten. No people were seen, no laughter was heard, and it might be demolished one day.

  “This way.” Guo Dongyue pointed to the side of the kindergarten.

  A three-story residential building appeared in front of them; there were no other buildings nearby. If there was anything good about this place, quietness might be counted as its only merit. Zhang Zian looked up and saw that the brick wall of this old residential building appeared black and red due to its being exposed to wind and rain for years. Only a few green vines were still hanging on the wire mesh outside the first story and gently swayed in the wind. Most of the residents of the building probably had moved away, since the windows and doors on the balconies of many households had been removed, and he could see directly into the dark rooms.

  Just then, a middle-aged woman who seemed to be in her 40s walked out from the building, carrying garbage bags in her hands. She was probably going to throw out garbage. The moment she saw Guo Dongyue, she smiled immediately. “Xiao Yue, you are back. Hurry, let’s go inside. Your mom seems well today; she’s preparing to cook.”


  Guo Dongyue frowned, “Cook?”


  Zhang Zian understood why he was worried. Guo Dongyue was afraid that his mother might encounter danger while cooking, such as forgetting that she was boiling water, or that she was in the middle of cooking some dishes in the hot frying pan.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve been watching out for her, she will be fine. Listen to your Aunt Bai, it’s good for your mother to move around. Just like what people say, life lies in movement.”


  Guo Dongyue was not happy, but he still smiled, and introduced Zhang Zian and Aunt Bai to each other.

  “Aunt Bai, this is my…friend, he’s called Zhang Zian.” He said to Zhang Zian, “This is my neighbor who lives upstairs, Aunt Bai. Since it’s convenient that we live so close, I hire Aunt Bai to help take care of my mom.”


  He specifically stressed the “hire” part.

  Zhang Zian was not a na?ve college student anymore, and he had understood the implied message in Guo Dongyue’s words. It seemed that Guo Dongyue was not satisfied with Aunt Bai’s caring for his mother, but for some reason, he had not told Aunt Bai.

  Zhang Zian recalled that Guo Dongyue had told him that his mother had become very moody after she got sick. One time, she thought the nanny was a burglar and even called the police.

  “Oh, a friend of Xiao Yue? That’s pretty unusual.” Aunt Bai threw the garbage into the designated garbage can, smiled, approached Zhang Zian, and observed him.

  “Xiao Yue has been a loner since he was a child, and he had few friends. Lucky for him, he’s very talented. He can go study abroad and earn lots of money, so he can be particular when it comes to choosing friends. You are called Zhang Zian, right? Are you his colleague or classmate? ” asked Aunt Bai, who sounded quite friendly.

  “I’m not his colleague, nor his classmate,” replied Zhang Zian, “I’m actually a pet shop owner.”


  “Pet shop owner?” Aunt Bai’s smile froze — how did an architect come to know a pet shop owner?

  “Is it the kind of pet shop that I’m thinking of?” she asked tentatively.

  Zhang Zian smiled, “Most pet shops are about the same.”


  Aunt Bai gasped. She looked at Zhang Zian, then looked at Guo Dongyue. She still couldn’t figure out why a famous architect would have befriended with a pet shop owner.

  Zhang Zian wanted to remind her not to gasp in such a cold weather, or she might get an upset stomach.

  “Can I call you Xiao Zhang, since you are Xiao Yue’s friend?” asked Aunt Bai, who was trying to be friendly with Zhang Zian.

  “Sure, it’s up to you.”


  If he was talking to someone his age, Zhang Zian would have certainly added, “But I would prefer you to call me the Hottie Manager.” But he was talking to a middle-aged woman, and those words would definitely cause embarrassment and misunderstanding.

  Guo Dongyue coughed and said, “Let ‘s go into the house, it’s cold outside.”


  “Right, right. My bad. Come on, let’s go inside.” Aunt Bai greeted them warmly, “My elder sister-in-law would be so happy to see guests visiting.”


  “Thanks for hosting us,” said Zhang Zian politely.

  “Hm? These two cats…” Aunt Bai finally noticed the presence of Fina and Snowy Lionet.