Lights flickered on in the smashed window, and angry curses echoed through the quiet alley.
Zheng Qing held his breath and was about to bolt, but his foot suddenly felt heavy. A mournful whimper came from beside him. He peered down and saw the puppy biting his pant leg, its narrow eyes wide and fixed on him, wagging its tail ingratiatingly.
"You be my witness, I'm not here right now." He nodded irresponsibly, completely disregarding the little fellow's angry gaze, and tried to push his bike away, but his pant leg was immediately tugged.
He lowered his head helplessly, and Zheng Qing then noticed that the puppy's hind leg was unnaturally splayed backward, likely injured in the earlier scuffle.
Watching the puppy stubbornly bite his pant leg and listening to its low whimpers, Zheng Qing inexplicably felt a pang of pity. In his flustered state, without thinking much, he reached out, grabbed the puppy by the scruff of its neck, and tossed it into his bike basket, then quickly fled amidst a barrage of curses from the window.
A hundred meters passed in an instant. Reaching the main street, Zheng Qing let out a heavy sigh, looking at the bright lights all around. Turning his head, the night sky was still silent and serene, with only a huge dark silhouette faintly visible, gracefully soaring into the distance.
The puppy, lazily sprawled in the bike basket, lifted its head to look at Zheng Qing, its dark, shiny eyes bright and captivating like the endless starry sky. Zheng Qing suddenly felt that perhaps bringing this little fellow home would be better. After all, it was a case of one body, two lives, or even multiple lives; if he just left it on the street, this injured puppy might not even survive until tomorrow morning.
In his hurry to get home, he didn't notice the cunning smile that flickered at the corner of the puppy's mouth in the bike basket. Otherwise, he would have immediately pulled out a handful of talismans and hurled them fiercely at this little thing.
***
An endless expanse of red, a rich, vibrant red, an overwhelming red, was the only color in the entire space. It was as if it had been painted with fresh blood, filling the whole world with an aura of desolation and despair. Zheng Qing stood alone in this endless red, still, dazed, and foolish, silently gazing at this monotonous world.
Gradually, soft murmurs began to rise in this monotonous world, growing louder and louder, until finally, wild, deafening sounds echoed through the space, like tens of millions of wild wolves howling mournfully at the moon, or tens of thousands of armored men beating drums and shouting in the wilderness—contradictory yet heavy.
But Zheng Qing, standing alone in this space, felt nothing. He merely stood there silently, arms outstretched and eyes closed. More and more red accumulated, and a progressively thicker, blood-red cloud layer gradually formed above Zheng Qing's head, growing heavier and heavier until it finally engulfed Zheng Qing.
"Thud," accompanied by a yelp, Zheng Qing climbed out from under the bed. He had fallen under the bed again. How many times was this? Zheng Qing felt a bit helpless, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't exactly tie himself to the bed to sleep, could he?
Compared to his childhood experiences of headaches and hitting walls, or sleepwalking onto cabinets, merely falling off the bed while sleeping seemed like no big deal.
Rubbing his throbbing forehead, Zheng Qing completely forgot the blood-red dream, only remembering being chased by a huge something. He kept being chased until he woke up. His clear memory still lingered on the large eagle with a pair of emerald eyes.
Speaking of that large eagle, he lifted his head, nervously searching around. Soon, he found the puppy soundly asleep in the pile of clothes at his bedside.
Yesterday, he had been a bit dazed, so he just casually cleaned the puppy a bit and then went to sleep himself, not expecting this puppy to be so self-aware as to find a comfortable spot. Reaching out to scratch the puppy's upright ears, Zheng Qing felt that this puppy was truly adorable.
He glanced at the alarm clock by his pillow; it wasn't even six o'clock yet.
Zheng Qing walked barefoot and quietly to the balcony, looking up at the sky.
Good, the morning star was still shining.
He casually pulled out a handful of golden pellets and sprinkled them on the balcony windowsill. Zheng Qing squinted at the corner of the wall, a slight smile playing on his lips, then closed his eyes, sinking his qi to his dantian, and slowly extended his fists and legs with the rhythm of his breathing.
It felt very much like Tai Chi, but it wasn't Tai Chi at all. Zheng Qing had been practicing this guiding technique for nearly seven years, diligently every day as his master required.
The paper ball in the corner rustled.
A moment later, a plump, brownish-spotted Hamster-like creature climbed up the smooth wall onto the windowsill. When Zheng Qing finished his rounds of practice, guarding his qi and concentrating his mind, he saw the little creature continuously stuffing things into its mouth.
"Eat slowly, no one's going to snatch it from you." Zheng Qing adjusted his breathing, happily watching this little Hamster.
The little creature paid him no mind, simply stuffing the golden pellets into its mouth until its cheek pouches were visibly bulging before wiping its whiskers and pausing slightly.
This little Hamster, of unknown species, looked somewhat like a guinea pig—short and stout, with round ears, black eyes, short limbs, and no tail, yet only the size of a fist. It also resembled a Hamster, being small-bodied with cheek pouches and sharp incisors. Since Zheng Qing discovered this little creature when he was young, its size had barely changed, which was quite miraculous.
Although its species was unknown, this little creature was never short of names. When Shuke and Beita were popular in his childhood, Zheng Qing called this little creature 'Shuta' and often stuffed him into model airplanes to battle monsters. Later, after the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks was released, the little creature was briefly renamed 'Dabao,' as in "Dabao, see you every day."
Today, after finishing his practice, feeling refreshed, Zheng Qing wanted to give the little creature a new name again.
"Hmm, given that I am completely free now, you shall be called Freedom. However, the name Freedom is a bit common. Transformed into English, it is 'free.' 'Free' sounds like 'Fu Rui,' a good omen. But looking at all your fat, this 'Fu' (fortune) should be 'Fei' (fat)."
"Alright, from today on, you shall be called Fei Rui!" Zheng Qing frowned, making a very complex deduction. The little creature stuffed the last golden pellet into its mouth, glanced at the person who was talking nonsense, calmly wiped its face, and slowly ambled to the window, sliding down a nearby heating pipe into its self-made little nest.
Zheng Qing pouted, vigorously rubbed his face, and lazily returned to his room, collapsing onto the bed, unsure of what to do next.
Freedom. He used to think this was the life he most wanted, but after indulging and relaxing, an uncontrollable sense of emptiness welled up from his heart.
He remembered reading a book on philosophy when he was very young. There was a philosophical school, he couldn't recall its name, that explored the meaning of life, or rather, the meaning of existence. In their view, life had no meaning. People are born to die, decades passing like a single day, living ordinary and numb lives—what was it all for?
The soothing melody of Canon suddenly played. Zheng Qing instinctively picked up his phone and hummed, "Moshi Moshi?"
It was another invitation to hang out. A bitter smile involuntarily appeared on his face. Every day was like this: eat, sleep, wake up, eat, or play on the computer. Such a comfortable life, which used to seem so enjoyable and wonderful, now felt... sigh. Zheng Qing found himself somewhat impatiently awaiting his college entrance exam results. Regardless of good or bad, at least there would be something to strive for. If he did poorly, he could consider working; if he did well, he could enjoy the University life he had long yearned for.
The sleeping puppy turned over, its fluffy tail naturally flicking. Zheng Qing blinked, but quickly turned his head away, dismissing the thought he just had. It must have been his eyes playing tricks; he had just seen three tails! Although this puppy's tail was very strange, much like a squirrel's, it couldn't possibly grow three.
An illusion, it must be an illusion.
He trusted his eyes, and even more, he trusted his feelings. He had brought this little thing back himself; it was definitely not some dirty creature.
His family didn't object to keeping small animals, provided there was no odor and no mess. After Zheng Qing actively resolved these issues, the pregnant puppy settled into Zheng Qing's home.
Days passed like this, and Zheng Qing's life continued to waver between alertness and decadence. The only thing that annoyed him was the puppy he had rescued last time.
After recovering from its injuries, the pregnant puppy gave birth to a small, squirrel-like puppy, and then, once the little squirrel grew to the size of a fist and no longer needed nursing, the mother dog lightly disappeared.
It flicked its tail, leaving no worries behind, only a trail of long fur and a pitiful little white puppy.