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

  “Oh! What a dense fog!”


  Snowy drew the curtains open, saw the dense fog outside, and sighed. Her parents would certainly keep her inside because of so much fog. The weather had been bad this winter, with a lot of strong wind and rain. She had to cancel a few planned live broadcasts and disappoint the internet fans. Although this was not her fault, but rather the restriction of outdoor live broadcasts, and the fans were not blaming her, she still felt bad about it.

  She laid flat on the bed in pajamas, and lifted Snowball, her Persian cat, out of boredom.

  “Wow! Snowball, you are so heavy, and getting heavier. I can barely lift you!”


  Shi Rong, Snowy’s mother, was a full-time housewife and had nothing else to do at home. She liked cooking and was a good cook. Shi Rong was feeding Snowball with fancy food from expensive supermarkets. Snowball was fat with shiny coat, which was almost as shiny as Snowy Lionet in the Amazing Fate Pet Shop.

  Snowball was twice the size as when it first arrived, weighing almost 5 kilos, making the arms tired after lifting it for a while.

  It was very obedient and domicile, and never fought back no matter how Snowy played with it, just like a big warm fuzzy toy.

  “Snowy, did you get up? Get downstairs for breakfast!”


  Her mother called from downstairs.

  “I’m up! Will go down in a moment!”


  Snowy responded and put Snowball down. “Come, Snowball, let’s go downstairs for breakfast.”


  Snowball meowed and followed her downstairs.

  Her father Jiang Tianda was taking a rare day off today, but was still wearing suit and shirt, ready to go out anytime. He already finished breakfast, and was reading the newspaper attentively, while sitting on the leather couch with his legs crossed.

  A western-style breakfast was served today, with bread, fruits, salad, milk and orange juice on the table.

  The mother was seated and spreading strawberry jam on Snowy’s toast. Snowball’s breakfast was also served in its own plate.

  Snowy was eating her breakfast without much interest, thinking about what to do today. Poor families had few visitors even if they lived downtown, while rich families always had a lot of visitors even if they lived on a remote mountain. A rich family like the Jiang’s usually had a lot of gift exchanges around the end of the year, and it was a headache to choose the gifts. Cheap gifts may make themselves look bad, while expensive gifts might bring trouble to the receiver. The parents were discussing this on and off. Snowy had no interest in such matters and was not listening. She was thinking about where to visit during the Spring Festival.

  “Snowy?”


  “Snowy?”


  Her mother had to call her twice to get her attention. She looked at her mother, looking lost. “What’s the matter?”


  “Did you hear me when I talked to you?” Her mother frowned.

  “I did… But then I forgot about it after you called me. Just repeat it!” Snowy was bold enough to defend herself.

  Her mother didn’t know what to do with her. She sighed and repeated her words. “Snowy, your Aunt Zhou and cousin Vivi are coming today. It’s almost Spring Festival. I’ll go to the hair salon with your Aunt Zhou. Are you coming with us?”


  “No!” Snowy shook her head with resolution. “My hair is too short for a haircut. Why would I follow you to the hair salon? It’s a waste of time!”


  “Your hair is too short, like a tomboy. Most boys like girls with long hair. Wasn’t there a popular Weibo posting about ‘until your hair reaches your waist’… Even if yours doesn’t reach your waist, it should at least cover your neck!” Her mother had been persuading her many times. “You want to save time by keeping your hair short. What do you do with your extra time anyway? Horsing around?”


  Snowy picked up Snowball and covered her face with it. She grinned. “Why should I care if boys like it or not? Snowball has long hair. They should love it!”


  Jiang Tianda complained with a loud grunt, and flipped the newspaper hard. Snowy pretended that she didn’t hear anything.

  “You damn girl! Can you talk nicely?”


  Snowy’s answer was annoying, but her mother was not surprised. Even if she knew her daughter wouldn’t listen, she said it anyway. Maybe one day her daughter would suddenly change. Who knows?

  “Fine if you don’t want to go. But you have to stay home with your cousin Vivi. She finally made a trip. You young people can always find a common topic.” Her mother sighed and added, “I’m warning you one more time. You can’t go anywhere today! It’s foggy outside and the air quality is bad.”


  “Erh! So boring!” Snowy put her head on the desk out of boredom.

  Snowy was the only daughter, and Aunt Zhou was not her real aunt. But a big family like hers always had some cousins, aunts and relatively, and nobody knew where they came from. She had met cousin Vivi a few times, and remembered her as a gentle, well-educated, typical daughter of a high-class family. She would have been the ideal daughter to her mom. Maybe she brought Vivi here to be a good influence to Snowy. She really put some thought into this!

  “Also, clean up your room soon. It’s too messy. And fold up your bed cover.”


  After the breakfast, Snowy took Snowball back to her room upstairs to stay away from her mother’s nagging.

  She looked outside the window, and the fog was not going away. She turned on the computer, then browsed the Weibo and forum aimlessly, not knowing what she was looking for. She was only killing time. It was almost Spring Festival, and even the news was boring, with nothing but festive messages. More importantly, no new stores would open before the Spring Festival. They usually opened after the holidays. Now she had no topic for her live broadcast business.

  Ding Dong!

  The doorbell rang at the gate downstairs.

  Snowy listened, thinking it should be Aunt Zhou and cousin Vivi. She looked at her messy bedroom, and wanted to give up the cleaning. It was too late anyway, so just let it be. Her mother greeted another middle-aged woman in the guest room downstairs, with laughter from time to time. Snowy prayed in her mind. Go, just go. The hair salons are busy before the Spring Festival, and you’ll have to wait there…After you are gone, I’ll have a chance to sneak out!

  Footsteps came from the stairs, and it was from more than one person. Snowy suddenly felt tense, and closed her laptop screen, thinking that her fear came true. The bedroom door was knocked on twice as a warning, then it was opened.

  Her mother looked at the messy room and stared at her angrily. Then she faked a smile, and dragged a young girl inside. “Vivi, come on in. Do you remember your younger Cousin Snowy? She just got up and her room is so messy…Vivi, play with Snowy today. I’ll go out with your mom later.”


  Behind her mother, a young girl slightly older than Snowy came inside. She had long hair over the shoulders, wearing a warm-colored wool coat and chamois leather long boots. Her face looked gentle and nice, a typical cute sweet girl. Even Snowy liked her.

  “Watch your steps, Aunt Shi.” Vivi spoke politely.

  “You girls have fun and don’t fight.” Mother stared at Snowy again as a warning, then closed the door for them with a smile, and left.

  Snowy had only met Vivi a few times and didn’t know her quite well. But she was an extrovert and sociable. She greeted warmly. “Hello! We haven’t seen each other for just a few months, and Vivi, you are looking more beautiful. Your figure looks great! Come on, take a seat. My room is messy. Hope you don’t mind.”


  “Snowy, you are cuter and cuter. Aunt Shi is so blessed.”


  Vivi smiled and took a few steps forward. She looked around the room, and found the only chair occupied by Snowy. She had to sit on the bed.

  “Haha, let’s stop flattering each other. It gives me goosebumps…Vivi, just sit on the bed. Make yourself at home. But I don’t have much to play with here. I don’t even have fuzzy toys or cushions.” Snowy smiled frankly. “But I can play video games with you, if you want.”


  Vivi also realized that Snowy’s room was very simple, without any small decorations and toys that most girls liked. She had a few game stations though. The room was big and empty.

  She walked to the bedside, and lifted up the drooping bed cover which was almost touching the floor. She made some space to sit on, but found a white long hair cat under the bed cover. It swung its tail, stared at her and meowed, as if it was saying, “Why are you moving my cover?”


  “Ah! It’s a cat.”


  Vivi was startled and yelled. She dropped the cover in her hands, and stepped backwards with pale face.

  Snowy blinked, not knowing why she reacted so dramatically. Wasn’t it just a cat? Shouldn’t a girl love cats and pat them? Why was she reacting as if she had seen a rat or cockroach?

  As a matter of fact, Snowy didn’t understand why girls faint at the sight of rats and cockroaches. Her first reaction would be kicking them away or stomp them to death. No wonder her mother called her a tomboy…


  Vivi stepped all the way to the door, and stopped after her back hit the door frame. She pointed at Snowball with shaky hands. “It’s a cat…there’s a cat here…”


  “Right, it’s a cat. Its name is Snowball.” Snowy introduced to Vivi. “It’s a Persian cat.” She observed Vivi’s expression, and asked curiously, “Don’t you like cats, Vivi?”


  “I…I do.” Vivi nodded reluctantly. Her face suggested otherwise.

  Snowy held Snowball in her arms. “If you like cats, why are you hiding so far? Snowball is friendly, it neither bites nor scratches, like a big fuzzy toy. You can sleep with it to keep warm. Would you like to pat it?”


  Vivi was almost crying. She said with a bitter face: “I like cats and always want to pat them when I see one. But…but I’m allergic to cats, and will sneeze as soon as I touch them, for days. Even if I don’t touch them…Ah Choo!”


  She covered her nose, and sneezed.