Reluctantly Willing

Translator: Larbre Studio  Editor: Larbre Studio

If he went south of B City, he would really be in the south. He’d lived in the north his entire life and had never seen the sea. He wanted to experience a different life on the island.
He bought bus tickets again and boarded one to a seaside city. After getting off, An Xiaoyan went straight to the pier. It was already getting dark. He wanted to reach the island before night.
“Those buying tickets, prepare your ID card beforehand,” the worker in the front yelled. “This is the last ferry for today.”
They needed ID cards. An Xiaoyan had been riding buses these days because he didn’t want to leave any trace. If he used his ID card, he would expose himself.
This was a large pier. The ferries were heavily regulated. This meant that if he wanted to go to the island, he’d have to use his ID card.
But actually, what was he scared of? Gu Jun said that he’d already forgiven him. It was okay if Gu Jun found him after all. They’d already become strangers.
An Xiaoyan handed his ID card over without hesitation. The worker glanced at him. “Watch your cat. Don’t let it pee on the ferry.”
An Xiaoyan took his ID back and nodded.
The island seemed close, but the ferry actually took a lot of time.
The night breeze blew softly. Many people enjoyed the moon on the deck. The end of the ship also created some waves. An Xiaoyan got a bit seasick right as he got on. The ferry shook too violently. Suppressing his urge to throw up, An Xiaoyan hugged Wonton tightly and sat in his seat.
The city lights grew further and further away. This meant that the flourishing cityscape would disappear. The neon lights were like a symbol. They symbolized the life that An Xiaoyan had bid farewell to.
After sitting for a while, An Xiaoyan’s seasickness faded a bit. He brought Wonton with him to the deck. Seeing the couples made him seem lonely.
“Wonton, you’re going to live a hard life with me now. Shrimp, fish…you gotta say bye-bye to those high-class cans now.”
Wonton seemed to understand An Xiaoyan’s words. It struggled free from his arms and landed on the deck. The group of girls nearby all came to look at the pretty orange tabby. They took out sausages to feed it too.
“Wonton, come back.”
Wonton looked at the sausage and then at An Xiaoyan. It lowered its head to pick up the sausage and returned to An Xiaoyan’s side.
An Xiaoyan squatted to pet Wonton’s head. Wonton put the sausage in An Xiaoyan’s hand.
“You eat it. You haven’t eaten good food these days. Just don’t go to the bathroom here.”
After getting its owner’s permission, Wonton gobbled it up. Getting full, it lay inside An Xiaoyan’s arms like an old man.
The island grew closer and closer. A while later, the ferry landed.
The moment he stepped foot on the ground, An Xiaoyan looked back at the mainland. Goodbye.
An Xiaoyan planned to look for a hotel first. Then he would find a suitable place to rent.
The island was nowhere as lively as the big mainland cities. It was only eight, but many stores were already closed.
An Xiaoyan asked around and found the busiest street. He got a single room and the man and his feline friend went in. As soon as they entered, the cat ran into the bathroom. An Xiaoyan let it play around. He took out the money. There were 20,000 dollars.
Ah, they were too thoughtful.
Just as An Xiaoyan fell asleep, Wonton climbed onto An Xiaoyan’s chest and walked around. This was strange. It was usually very obedient.
An Xiaoyan put the cat under the blankets, but it poked its head out again. This was a bit unusual. Thinking that Wonton wasn’t used to the new environment, An Xiaoyan didn’t think much about it. A while later, he heard vomiting.
Wonton was throwing up on the side of the bed. It vomited all the sausage that it had eaten at night. After that, it started vomiting bile.
An Xiaoyan hurriedly put on his clothes. Carrying the limp cat, he went to the front desk.
“Is there a pet store nearby?”
“Yes, but it’s probably closed now.”
Seeing how Wonton was breathing with difficulty, An Xiaoyan said, “It’s ok. Going to check is better than just sitting here.”
The staff warm-heartedly gave him directions. An Xiaoyan carried the cat to the pet store.
As expected, the store had been closed for a long time. An Xiaoyan stood outside and called for a long while without any reply.
Wonton was breathing heavily now. This little thing had only been with An Xiaoyan for a few months, but he felt that he could vent to Wonton. The cat wouldn’t extend its claws, no matter what. This was a sign of trust.
His shouting woke up the family next door. After they calmed down, he noticed a phone number on the pet store’s door. He took out his phone and called. The phone rang; An Xiaoyan’s heart pounded.
“Hello?” said the voice on the other end.
“Wonton’s sick and needs a doctor. Please come right now.”
“Cat or dog?”
“An orange tabby.”
Ji Lin didn’t really want to work at night, but he placed importance on these small lives. “Okay, wait a minute. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“Thank you. Thank you.”
After hanging up, the night was even more silent. An Xiaoyan sat outside the pet store with his cat. He seemed so small.
“It’s all my fault. If I didn’t take you away, you’d be at Gu Jun’s house. You won’t be in a state where you can’t even find a doctor at midnight.”
Wonton did its best to purr as if comforting An Xiaoyan.
Within 20 minutes, a moped drove over from the distance and stopped at the pet store’s entrance.
“When you get in, put the cat on the table.” Ji Lin opened the door and turned on all the lights. As soon as the lights turned on, the countless animals woke up. Cat and dog yowls filled the room.
“Boxer, don’t bark. It sounds so bad.”
“Snowy, go to sleep. You want another shot?”
“Cutie, your owner will take you back tomorrow.”
An Xiaoyan’s first impression of Ji Lin was that he really loved animals. Otherwise, the dogs and cats wouldn’t be so excited when they saw Ji Lin, and they wouldn’t quiet down at his words. They seemed to have been trained.
“Did it eat anything recently?” Ji Lin asked, patting Wonton’s stomach.
“Sausages.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
“I mean, what did he eat yesterday and the day before?”
An Xiaoyan thought back. “Some leftovers.”
“What did he eat before that? Around half a month ago?”
“Half a month ago, he only ate cat food.”
“Okay, no big deal. Just get some medicine later. You can put him here tonight.”
Hearing that it was okay, An Xiaoyan relaxed. He was really afraid that Wonton would die. “What’s wrong with it?”
“Pets can’t always eat human food. There are a lot of seasonings and pigments. This cat is clearly used to eating cat food. Now, its standard of living has suddenly gone down. It’ll definitely get sick. Its stomach can’t take it.”
So An Xiaoyan had hurt it. “How much is your cat food?”
“It’s one or two hundred for a bag. A bag lasts half a month. It’s the staple food. You also need to add other food.”
An Xiaoyan stopped speaking. He didn’t have much money. Raising a cat was expensive, but he didn’t want to abandon Wonton either. He was in a difficult state.
Ji Lin had interacted with many pet owners before. Seeing An Xiaoyan’s expression, he immediately understood what was wrong.
“Did you run away from home or something? The cat seems healthy. It must have eaten well in the past.”
“It’s nothing. To be honest, I don’t have much money. I can’t buy such high quality cat food.”
Everyone had sympathy, but one couldn’t use it all the time. There were many people that couldn’t afford the vet. Ji Lin didn’t say anything else. The cat was still doing the IV drop and lying on the bed with a tilted head. An Xiaoyan sat on the side quietly.
Ji Lin wasn’t busy, so he checked the animal patients from the day. He glanced at An Xiaoyan every now and then. He looked attractive and had a good temperament. He might be some young master.
“The IV drop is 350. Come pay now.”
An Xiaoyan dug out 400 from his pocket and signed his name on the bill.
“Just wait. When the IV is done, you can go home.”
“Okay.”
The light was on, so a lot of the animals didn’t sleep. They stared at An Xiaoyan with wide eyes. Wonton was sleeping, so it probably wouldn’t notice that he was peeking at the other animals. An Xiaoyan quietly circled the pet store and his mood improved. He’d read some books about animals at Gu Jun’s house and had some knowledge about them.
Ji Lin kept staring at An Xiaoyan. This guy was strange. He seemed to really like these animals.
“You look like you just graduated from university. It must be hard to raise a cat, right?”
An Xiaoyan turned around. “I’m 26 already.”
He totally looked to be around 22 or 23 years old. How could he be 26? Ji Lin wanted to lecture him and act like an older brother, but An Xiaoyan was actually older than him.
“Where do you work?”
“Currently unemployed.”
Ji Lin stopped asking. How could someone who looked so poised be unemployed? Apparently, he didn’t know how to judge people.
The two stopped talking for the night. After Wonton finished the IV drop, An Xiaoyan brought the cat back to the hotel. Ji Lin didn’t say anything else. He closed the store and went straight home.
After the busy night, Wonton reverted to its lively state the next day. An Xiaoyan poured out some cat food for Wonton. He decided that even if it’s harder for him, he couldn’t let Wonton get sick again. After all, the hospital fee was more expensive.
In the morning, the seaside city’s style was obvious. The scent of the sea filled the air. The island was a good vacation spot. The view was pretty, but there weren’t many people. The pressure for finding work wasn’t that high either.
An Xiaoyan had wanted to apply for a job at a restaurant, but he somehow ended up as the front desk clerk of a hotel. Thankfully, the work was easy and the salary was quite high. It was enough for a man and his cat.
After finding a job, An Xiaoyan started looking for a room near his work. He would take any room as long as it had a small balcony.
This place wasn’t as developed as the big city. Most of the buildings were small residences. The highest was only six stories.
After running around the whole day, An Xiaoyan finally found a place. It had one room and one bathroom. The room was spacious and had a small balcony. It only cost 1000 per month, but the landlord requested that he helps take care of the flowers on the rooftop.
It was typical for old buildings to plant things on the roof It was common in the city too. When An Xiaoyan reached the top, he was surprised. It was filled with cockscombs, tuberoses, and a small frame wrapped in grapevines.
The landlord had said that the people before promised they would water the plants but neglected to do so. He would check whenever he was back from a business trip. If the plants weren’t taken care of, he would kick the people out.
This was a true idyllic life. He could take care of these plants while working without worry.