Chapter 76: That Big Yellow
The new restaurant Xiao Yuze had mentioned was indeed very close to their place. It took them only about ten minutes to walk there, and the service was quite good.
Since it was newly opened, there were also discounts, making it a good value for the price.
At least, Mu Le was very happy with her meal.
As they stepped out of the restaurant, they noticed a light snow beginning to fall.
The flakes were tiny, almost like grains, mixed with cold water droplets.
The already gloomy weather became even colder, and the wind seemed to pierce straight through to the bone.
Even though it was only the afternoon, it felt like it was six or seven in the evening.
Mu Le tightened her scarf around her neck, shivering despite having just eaten and drank her fill.
Xiao Yuze glanced at her, calmly took off his own scarf, and wrapped an extra layer around Mu Le’s neck.
It looked a little odd, but it was definitely warm.
“Let’s head back,” he said.
Holding her hand, he led her back at a steady pace. Mu Le seemed like she wanted to say something but suddenly swallowed the words.
They walked faster than they had on the way there, but when they reached the bottom of the building, Mu Le suddenly stopped.
She raised her gloved hand and pointed to a corner downstairs. “What’s that? It wasn’t here before.”
In a somewhat hidden corner, safe from the wind and snow, there was now a small box.
It hadn’t been there when they first came.
Curious, Mu Le tugged Xiao Yuze over. When they got closer, she realized there was… a cat inside the box.
“A cat?”
Even though the corner shielded it from the wind and snow, the cold temperature still affected it. The little animal curled up tightly, shivering slightly from the cold.
It lifted its head slightly as if noticing them, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes.
The cat didn’t look very large, but it was no longer a kitten. Its orange body was a little thin, but its fur was clean and neat.
“Looks like someone left this cat here,” Xiao Yuze said slowly, looking at the box.
As he spoke, Mu Le, quick-eyed, bent down and pulled out a folded piece of paper from the corner of the box.
“Left behind?” she muttered softly, unfolding the paper to read.
The handwriting was delicate, clearly from a girl.
It said: “Due to family circumstances, the original owner of this cat is moving to a new home where they cannot keep the cat. The parents also do not agree. The kitten is healthy, well-behaved, and there’s nothing to worry about. We hope a kind person can adopt it.”
After reading it, Mu Le looked at Xiao Yuze, her wide eyes shining with a strange light.
The man raised an eyebrow, his gaze lingering on her and the box for two seconds before quietly asking, “You want to keep it?”
“You can’t just leave it here, can you? It’s so cold… it might freeze to death.”
Mu Le bent down and gently picked up the little animal from the box.
Just as the note had said, the kitten was very well-behaved. After a small struggle, it allowed Mu Le to hold it without resistance.
“I don’t really have any objections, but Lele, are you sure about this?” Xiao Yuze paused for a moment, then smiled. “Cats aren’t exactly easy to take care of.”
Mu Le turned to look at him, tilting her head in slight confusion. “Is it really that hard?”
On TV, taking care of a cat always seemed so simple.
Xiao Yuze didn’t say anything. He just thought it might be fun to let Mu Le feel a little of the ‘hardship’ herself.
After all, to him, Mu Le was kind of like a cat. Stubborn, sometimes frustrating, and impossible to fully control.
“Anyway, let’s just take it home for now.”
Hearing his answer, Mu Le relaxed slightly.
She had almost no resistance to cute animals, but she also cared a lot about Xiao Yuze’s opinion. If he didn’t like it or was sensitive about it, she would have to apologize even if she really wanted the cat.
Fortunately, Xiao Yuze didn’t seem to mind. Though… she still thought his expression looked a little strange.
Mu Le had never had a pet growing up. She was fairly lazy and just keeping herself alive was enough, taking care of anything else seemed too much.
Of course, she had thought about getting a cat or a dog before, but for various reasons, she had never gone through with it.
Meeting this little cat now felt like fate.
So, taking it in for a try seemed like a good idea.
What Mu Le and Xiao Yuze didn’t know was that, not far away, behind the glass window of another building, a little girl was watching them closely.
Only after their backs disappeared from view did the girl finally exhale deeply. She looked a little reluctant for a moment but quickly shook her head and turned to leave.
Meanwhile, Mu Le brought the cat home. Since it was already late, she temporarily placed it on the sofa and looked for a place to keep it for the night.
Other arrangements would have to wait until tomorrow.
Back in a warm area, the little cat seemed to understand something. Its eyes became bright and lively as it looked around, observing its surroundings.
“By the way, this is an orange cat, right?” Mu Le couldn’t help but reach out to rub the kitten’s head, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Even though it looked a little thin, it was hard to picture it as the plump orange cat she remembered from memory.
“Seems like it,” Xiao Yuze said, glancing at the kitten. “Since you’ve decided to keep it, let’s give it a name.”
Mu Le nodded in agreement, then paused to think.
After a while, she looked at Xiao Yuze and said, “How about Goldie?”
“You think it’s a dog or something?”
“Who says a cat can’t have a dog’s name?” Mu Le huffed lightly, then turned to smile, rubbing the kitten’s soft little body. “Right, Goldie?”
“Meow?”
“See, Aze? Even Goldie agrees! So it’s decided, your full name is Goldwin, and your nickname is Goldie.”
Watching Mu Le entertain herself beside the sofa, Xiao Yuze couldn’t help the corner of his mouth twitching.
He suddenly felt a bit sorry for the little cat, what would it be like, ending up in Mu Le’s hands?
Goldwin? Did she really have to remember food even in a name?
Looking at the little orange body, Xiao Yuze rubbed his forehead, feeling a little hesitant to look directly at the kitten.
….……………………
Note:
Actually, the original name is Dà Huáng (大黄). I changed it to 'Goldie' in the English translation so it sounds more natural to an English-speaking readers.
The Literal Translation:
大 (Dà ): Big / Great
黄 (Huáng): Yellow