Cat silently committed Su Li’s words to heart.
She panted heavily, trying to clear her head to make it easier to remember what the interviewer would say later.
The jobs she had looked for before didn’t require much of an interview; she only needed to go to the post and follow simple instructions as told by others.
Occasionally, she would hear others mention things like failing an interview, and Cat always felt those people were amazing.
‘Interview’ was a very high-level word to her, meaning she could earn more money and have more opportunities.
At the very least, Cat felt she didn’t have the qualifications for an interview since there were many professional questions she didn’t understand.
Those were things one could only learn by going to school and reading books.
Someone like her without an education could only do very simple work.
It was said that such work was easily replaceable, and she would be phased out once she got older.
So Cat wanted to save more money.
Fortunately, she had met Su Li; otherwise, she might have had to work hard to earn money until a certain age.
Then, after being phased out, she would have to use the money she earned to treat her illnesses.
In the past, when Miss Cat’s Pooper-Scooper treated her illness, it cost a lot of money.
If possible, Cat still didn’t want to get sick.
If she did, it would cost a lot of money.
“Su Li, Su Li.”
Su Li stopped and turned her head to look at Cat, who was suddenly staring at her, clutching the iron box tightly with her little hands behind her back.
Hearing Cat’s words, Su Li was stunned for a moment before saying, “You don’t have to be so polite, Cat.”
Although she didn’t know why Cat suddenly seemed to be thanking her while they were walking, seeing Cat’s pitiful look, Su Li guessed it might be because Cat was moved after finding a home after being displaced.
‘Our lives will only get better and better from now on,’ Su Li thought to herself.
Cat looked at the smiling Su Li and froze for a moment.
For some reason, she felt Su Li was happy, but Su Li’s smile seemed a bit fake.
It was as if Su Li didn’t know how to smile.
Although Su Li looked very pretty when she smiled now, Cat could sense that this was the smile Su Li wanted herself to show.
However, she had seen this kind of smile on Miss Cat’s Pooper-Scooper’s face before.
Sometimes, Miss Cat’s Pooper-Scooper would give her such a strained smile.
Cat’s heart ached a little.
She took a quick step forward and grabbed Su Li’s small hand.
She had seen many girls hold each other’s hands after becoming friends.
She didn’t know if her actions would cause any conflict, but at this moment, she just wanted to hold Su Li’s hand.
“I — can I hold, hold Su Li’s hand?”
Cat lowered her small head.
The touch of Su Li’s hand was like a marshmallow that had been out in the sun, softly sinking into the gaps between her fingers.
She was afraid her palms, roughened from picking up trash, would hurt the other girl, but Su Li had already turned her hand over to envelope Cat’s palm.
“Of course you can,” Su Li said with a smile. She felt that Cat’s small hand was like a cat’s paw pad, very comfortable to the touch.
She used to love touching Cat’s paw pads, and now Cat’s hand felt just as comfortable to squeeze as before.
A warm sensation rose along the lines of her palm. Cat looked down, staring at their overlapping hands.
Su Li’s neatly trimmed nails shimmered like shells, while there were still rust stains in the crevices of her own nails from wiping the door frame that morning.
She instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, but was gently steadied by that warmth, making her nose tingle.
Rainwater from the eaves splashed at her feet. Cat instinctively hunched her shoulders but was gently swayed by the warmth in her palm.
When Su Li’s thumb brushed over the thin calluses on her palm, even the musty, pungent smell of the underground room on her body seemed to give way to the scent of sun-dried cotton.
The sound of a wild cat brushing against a trash can at the entrance of the alley and the mottled shadows of the walls reflected in the puddles suddenly became the faded background of an old movie.
Cat lowered her small head and followed behind Su Li. It was as if as long as she held Su Li’s hand, there was nothing in this world that could make her feel afraid.
Even if she had no money at all and couldn’t afford to eat, she wouldn’t be afraid.
Or rather, it seemed that nothing in this world could make her feel afraid anymore.
Cat followed slowly behind Su Li. With one hand holding Su Li’s hand and the other clutching her small iron box, she felt as if the whole world was by her side.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Cat felt that everything around her was gradually becoming familiar.
It seemed she had been here before.
Hmm? The place where she was going to work seemed quite close to Su Li’s home.
In Cat’s mind, the place of the interview was usually the place of work.
Just like every time Cat had looked for a job before, she worked at the same place where she looked for the job.
‘I think the place for this interview should be very close to home, so I can often go find Su Li to play in the future,’ she thought.
She could even buy some delicious food to send to Su Li after work.
Cat felt even more expectant about her future life.
As they walked, Cat suddenly realized she seemed to have arrived downstairs from Su Li’s place.
Cat realized that because she lacked education and experience, she might have misunderstood something.
Perhaps the place of the interview wasn’t necessarily the place of work.
‘Since Su Li introduced this job to me, it should be normal to have the interview at Su Li’s home,’ Cat thought to herself as she followed Su Li upstairs.
She lowered her small head. ‘Perhaps my workplace will be some distance away from Su Li’s home?’
It seemed that those very impressive people would rent a house near the company after passing an interview.
Some even had to take a car for more than one hour just to go to work.
If the workplace was far away, it might be very difficult to see Su Li.
It wasn’t like before when she was at the convenience store and could secretly look forward to Su Li entering to buy some things.
But even if she couldn’t see Su Li while working, it didn’t matter. If she had time in the future, she could come to Su Li’s home to see her.
Or she could come find Su Li to play together when she was off.
While Cat was thinking this, Su Li naturally didn’t know what was on her mind.
Cat had been very silent all along the way.
Su Li guessed that Cat was nervous because of the job.
So she didn’t disturb Cat.
For Cat, this might be her first job interview, so it was inevitable that she would feel nervous.
In order for Cat to have a better first interview experience, Su Li didn’t disturb her.
However, Cat didn’t even feel curious that the interview was at her home, which made Su Li look at Cat with a bit of newfound respect.
“Alright, we’re here.”
“Let’s go. Let’s head inside.”
“Are you ready to welcome a new job, Cat?”
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