Chi Qingya couldn’t shake the feeling that this scene seemed strangely familiar.
Very quickly, she remembered.
Back when she had handed the freshly made Boiled Fish to Su Li, she had cried just like she was now.
At that time, her tears had also soaked the Boiled Fish in her hands.
Chi Qingya felt as though failure had threaded through her entire life.
It seemed like only when she was with Su Li did she taste a fleeting success.
She felt as if she’d finally found a sense of presence.
But thinking back, her success seemed to be built upon Su Li’s suffering.
It was as if, by proving her own presence through Su Li, she was trying to prove that her life wasn’t all failure.
Chi Qingya stared at the Boiled Fish before her, thinking to herself that she really should go and apologize to Su Li…
But…
Now, Su Li didn’t even know where she was. Even if Chi Qingya wanted to apologize, there was simply no way.
She vaguely remembered that she’d had the thought of apologizing a long time ago.
Why?
Why hadn’t things eased between them even now?
Seeing an empty seat nearby, Chi Qingya immediately carried her Boiled Fish over and sat down.
Sensing the strange looks from others, Chi Qingya lowered her head, not daring to meet anyone’s eyes.
Suddenly, she remembered that time when she was feverish, wrapped in blankets and delirious, and Su Li had carefully cooked her a bowl of Meat Congee.
The rice grains had bloomed in the bubbling water, and Su Li had even sliced the ginger as fine as hair, afraid she wouldn’t like the fishy taste, and had added a spoonful of brown sugar.
So what had she done back then?
Chi Qingya kept her head down, gazing at her own blurry reflection in the fish soup.
She remembered knocking over the scalding congee and, with a hoarse voice, scolding Su Li for not even knowing the difference between sweet and salty.
The crisp sound of the porcelain bowl shattering on the floor, and Su Li quietly crouching to clean up the fragments, her reddened fingertips soaking in cold water for ten minutes.
Thinking about it now, that bowl of congee had floated with delicate threads of egg, the rice oil thick and rich, better than any hot congee she’d had before.
With tears in her eyes, Chi Qingya silently stuffed a piece of fish into her mouth, but she had no mind to taste its flavor.
Even when the scalding fish soup burned her, she paid it no heed.
Touching her phone, still stuck on an unaccepted Friend Request, she suddenly recalled that Su Li had never said “Eat while it’s hot” to her.
Su Li always waited until the congee had cooled to warm before bringing it over, even chopping the pickled vegetables into tiny, easy-to-eat cubes.
If she could go back to that winter night, she would have finished that bowl of Ginger and Brown Sugar Congee to the last drop…
Su Li, where on earth are you?
Su Li, what are you doing now?
……
“Careful, it’s hot.”
Since she never knew when Miss Cat would arrive, Su Li kept the dishes warm after finishing them.
She worried that if Miss Cat came, the food might already be cold.
The pieces of meat she’d picked out were piled up like a little mountain on Miss Cat’s plate, but she didn’t mind.
But as for the freshly made rice congee, since it was just finished, it was still steaming.
She set aside the rice bowl she’d prepared for Miss Cat, blowing gently on the congee so it would be just the right temperature for her to drink.
Of course, since she knew Miss Cat would come, she had also specially prepared drinks for her.
Not knowing what Miss Cat liked to drink, she’d gotten a variety.
Seeing Su Li bustling about for her sake, although Miss Cat didn’t really know how to make friends, she was willing to learn!
So she imitated Su Li, placing Su Li’s congee by her own bowl. When she noticed Su Li looking at her, Miss Cat gave her a silly grin.
“This way we can eat together!” Miss Cat said sweetly, putting the chicken she’d prepared onto Su Li’s plate. Worried Su Li couldn’t eat it right away, she even blew on it for her.
Actually, she’d learned this from her Pooper-Scooper!
Unsure if she was doing it right, Miss Cat sneaked a glance at Su Li. Seeing Su Li’s expression unchanged, she finally relaxed a little.
All thanks to the Pooper-Scooper!
If it weren’t for the Pooper-Scooper, she might never have made such a good friend!
If she hadn’t secretly learned from the Pooper-Scooper, she wouldn’t even know how to live in this world by herself!
Miss Cat may have never had friends before, and Su Li was her only good friend!
But she could sense who treated her well and who didn’t!
For those who treated her well, she just needed to learn from them and treat them even better!
“It shouldn’t be too hot now, hurry and eat.”
Su Li said, and Miss Cat nodded obediently.
Last time, she ate while Su Li watched; this time, they were eating together.
She was so happy.
Miss Cat cupped her bowl, her eyes glistening.
As soon as the pickled fish fillet slid into her mouth, her lashes trembled, even her nose crinkling up.
The fish was as tender as melting snow, spicy oil aroma and shredded ginger’s tingle danced on her tongue, her cheeks puffed up as she chewed, not even noticing a bit of red chili stuck to the corner of her mouth.
“So tasty!” she mumbled around a mouthful of rice, chopsticks already darting eagerly towards the Boiled Fish.
Even when the heat made her suck in sharp breaths, she wouldn’t stop, her eyes misty and shining, like a little cat who’d stolen a fish snack.
In the end, she just tipped her rice into the fish soup, stirring it into a golden bowlful. Scooping up a big spoonful and stuffing it in her mouth, even the tips of her ears slowly turned pink with joy.
“So tasty!”
Miss Cat found herself running out of words, but she was sure Su Li could understand her happiness!
She was sure Su Li would feel it!
Seeing the faint smile on Su Li’s cheeks and her nod in reply, she tried hard to smile back, but it was a bit too spicy, so she didn’t really manage.
Only when Su Li placed the prepared juice in front of her did she quickly take a sip and finally say:
“I really like it!”
“Can cats not eat spicy food?” Su Li asked, having already added less chili, but seeing that Miss Cat couldn’t even handle the milder spice, she asked in concern.
“I—I think I can?”
“It’s just… I’ve never had it before!” Miss Cat said quietly. Even with little fish snacks, though there were many colored packages, she always ate the non-spicy ones.
Since the Pooper-Scooper had never given her spicy food before, she’d never tried.
So this… is what spicy tastes like?
Su Li poured Miss Cat cup after cup of juice, having used less chili in the Boiled Fish and prepared plenty of chilled drinks in advance.
This way, if Miss Cat really couldn’t handle spice, she’d have some relief.
“Thank you, thank you,” Miss Cat whispered, staring at her golden rice and swallowing hard.
She still wanted to eat!
At this moment, Su Li got up and prepared a bowl of cold water for Miss Cat.
If she dipped her food in it, it would help reduce the spiciness.