BACKFLIP 4
Chapter 4
42.
On the first night of having a cat, Xu Zhou stayed up chatting with his one and only audience until three in the morning.
The topic of the conversation was "Jiang Ling," divided into two subtopics.
- How great Jiang Ling is, and
- Whether Jiang Ling might hate him.
Speaker Xu Zhou emphasized the need to uphold the guiding principle of “Classmate Jiang Ling is beautiful and kind-hearted,” and to thoroughly investigate the key issue of “Does Jiang Ling actually hate me?”
Bold assumptions were to be followed by careful verification, sticking to the facts and analyzing the situation concretely. He aimed to strengthen planning, enhance his sense of responsibility, and work tirelessly to achieve new heights on the path of liking Jiang Ling. After this passionate speech, Xu Zhou even clapped for himself for a full three minutes. Then he looked expectantly at the cat.
Cat: "……"
What even is this human babbling about?
43.
The cat was sleepy.
Xu Zhou was not.
He jostled the cat awake, rolling across the bed. “What do I do, what do I do, do you think he started hating me because I followed him on purpose? Or maybe he never even noticed me to begin with since I'm basically invisible at school anyway. Or maybe he’s always hated me, since everyone else does. Oh man, if I think about it like that, it’d actually be weird if he didn’t hate me. But wait, Jiang Ling isn’t like other people. To me, he’s like an angel. Do you know what an angel is, cat? It's like... all sparkly and glowing and—”
It raised a paw and firmly pressed it to Xu Zhou’s cheek. It used just a bit of pressure—its soft, warm little paw pad squishing against his skin.
Xu Zhou shut up immediately.
Satisfied, the cat yawned again, curled into a fluffy ball, and snuggled into his arms. Its tail gently swept across Xu Zhou’s face. Stop overthinking. Sleep.
Xu Zhou blinked, and it really did feel like the cat’s tail had brushed all those tangled thoughts away. Drowsiness began to seep in. "Fine," he mumbled, hugging the cat. "G’night."
44.
The consequence of a late-night talkathon was that Xu Zhou was dead tired the next day. His already pale face looked even more ghostly, with big, dark eye bags dragging him down. He looked like some vengeful spirit straight out of folklore. He drifted into the classroom like a wandering soul, dropped his books onto the desk, and collapsed right on top of them. The noisy morning reading session made it hard to sleep properly. Thinking of the cat back home, Xu Zhou groggily rubbed his eyes, dug out his phone from his pocket that barely revived after drying out overnight and painfully, with a screen that barely worked, ordered a pile of cat food, a cat bed, litter box, and toys to be delivered to his place.
The cat had no collar, and no one in the neighborhood group chat had posted anything about a missing cat. Clearly, it was a stray. Xu Zhou had decided that he was adopting it. This morning’s rushed DIY litter box which was a repurposed flowerpot soil in a cardboard box was… questionable. He prayed the cat understood.
Xu Zhou silently prayed the cat would magically understand this is a bathroom.
As for food, that was fine since he’d left it with a can of wet food before leaving.
…Wait.
Xu Zhou suddenly sat up, horror dawning across his face.
DID I FORGET TO LEAVE WATER?!
45.
Worried the cat might die of thirst after a whole morning without water, Xu Zhou ended up skipping class and rushing home.He flung the door open and scanned the living room but no cat was in sight.
“Meow?”
He called out a few times, wondering if it had snuck upstairs. Just as he was about to head up and check when suddenly, he heard the sound of a toilet flushing from the bathroom on the first floor.
Xu Zhou froze in place.
46.
Intruder?
His parents were both away on business trips so they definitely weren’t back yet. Could it be a burglar?
Xu Zhou’s heart shot up into his throat. He tiptoed over to the kitchen island, inching along carefully to grab a kitchen knife for self-defense. But before his hand even touched the knife handle, the bathroom door creaked open.
Xu Zhou held his breath, nerves stretched taut like a rubber band. And then—
A cat walked out.
47.
...Wait, what? The thing using the toilet just now... was the cat?
Xu Zhou instinctively looked at the makeshift litter box he’d whipped up this morning. Sure enough, it was still pristine and untouched.
He was lost. Utterly lost.
48.
But what truly broke his brain was what came next.
The cat ignored his existential crisis, sauntered to its bowl to eat.
After eating, it seemed thirsty, so it batted a paper cup off the table, nudged it over to the water dispenser, and then, with a perfectly practiced paw, smacked the switch.
Water gurgled and flowed into the cup.
For a long second, Xu Zhou couldn’t tell whether the sound was coming from the dispenser… or the sudden tidal wave sloshing around inside his own skull.
Was he losing his damn mind?
49.
WHO SAID ANIMALS COULDN’T BECOME SENTIENT AFTER THE FOUNDING OF THE NATION HUH?!
50.
Xu Zhou sucked in a deep breath. No. He had to stay calm.
According to every shred of common sense he possessed, there was no way a cat should be able to flush toilets or operate a water dispenser. This was clearly in violation of materialist philosophy and basic biology.
His hand, which had originally gone for the kitchen knife, shifted lower. He yanked open a cupboard, pulled out a bag, and in a move that could only be described as “panic exorcism,” flung a handful of glutinous rice straight at the cat.
“I don’t care who you are but get out of that cat’s body, right now!”
The cat, who had been peacefully eating, was so startled by the sudden rice rain that it did a backflip and landed on the couch.
Cat: “...Meow?!”
51.
Huh. Not afraid of glutinous rice?
Xu Zhou didn’t let down his guard. He narrowed his eyes, still suspicious as hell, and aimed some serious exorcist energy at the cat:
"By the power vested in me by the celestial law, begone!"
“Demons, spirits, ghosts—get outta here!”
"Avada Kedavra!"
The cat punched him.
52.
After two full hours of trial, error, and what could generously be described as paranormal investigation, Xu Zhou finally came to a conclusion.
This cat was just a cat.
Maybe a little smarter than average.
But not a cat demon.
And definitely not Catman.
53.
Still, Xu Zhou was dying to know just how smart this furball really was. He dug out a peanut from the snack tray. “You know how to eat peanuts?”
The cat looked at him like he was brain-damaged and—crack—snapped it open with one clean bite. Xu Zhou nodded. Okay. Let’s level up. He grabbed his math textbook.
“Know trigonometry? What’s sin(30°)?”
Cat: “Meow???”
Then he pulled out his waterlogged phone. “Can you fix phones?”
Cat: “Meow????”
Finally, he pointed to the kitchen. “Can you make roast duck, braised goose, soy chicken, marinated duck, saucy chicken, or cured meats?” The cat turned its head away like, “I’m done with you.”
Xu Zhou sighed, completely let down. Okay, so much for being smart.
54.
The last class of the morning was homeroom, and skipping that would be risky. If the teacher found out, there’d be consequences. So, after making sure the cat was okay,, Xu Zhou rushed back to school.
Math class was painfully boring. He chewed on the end of his pen and finished the quiz sheet by picking A for all the answers he didn’t know because A was tall and skinny and kinda looked like Jiang Ling.
Thinking of Jiang Ling again, Xu Zhou spaced out a bit, silently wishing that maybe, just maybe, they’d run into each other again today.
55.
The universe delivered.
56.
The cafeteria was packed. Xu Zhou was sitting alone at a table in the corner when he spotted Jiang Ling entering, tray in hand, scanning the room like he was looking for a place to sit. A bunch of students invited him to join them, but Jiang Ling simply shook his head politely, murmured a quiet “thanks,” and kept moving. Xu Zhou looked up, sneakily watching. He didn’t understand it. Everyone wore the same boring blue-and-white school uniform, but Jiang Ling somehow just looked... different.
He wished Jiang Ling would sit facing him so he was close enough to admire. What’s that phrase again? Oh right, feast for the eyes.
Xu Zhou mentally patted himself on the back for his dazzling literary flair.
And then—his wish came true again.
Jiang Ling turned, scanning the crowd, and when his eyes met Xu Zhou’s, he paused. Xu Zhou froze, his heart skipping a beat. He didn’t even have time to look away like he usually did.
And then… Jiang Ling started walking straight toward him.
Step by step.
Until he was standing right in front of Xu Zhou’s table.
57.
Xu Zhou instinctively looked away. But before he turned his gaze, he still noticed the faint bluish shadows under Jiang Ling’s eyes. They made his eye sockets look even deeper, adding an air of aloofness that made him seem unapproachable.
What happened?
Did Jiang Ling stay up late last night too?
Xu Zhou’s heart thudded wildly. His hand clenched around his utensils, the weight of social anxiety pressing down on him like a mountain. He had no idea why Jiang Ling was standing in front of him, but the next second, the other boy spoke, his tone unexpectedly gentle, “Can I eat with you?”
The chopsticks in Xu Zhou’s hand slipped and fell to the floor with a clatter.
58.
Lunch break was one of the rare moments of freedom for high schoolers. The cafeteria buzzed with chatter as people laughed and talked with their usual lunch buddies. Only one table in the corner, the one with Xu Zhou and Jiang Ling, sat in complete silence.
Jiang Ling wasn’t much of a talker. Xu Zhou, when outside his comfort zone, might as well have been a block of wood. His mind could be sprinting at 100 words per minute, but his mouth was sealed like a gourd. They sat face-to-face.
The same guy who was just daydreaming about feasting on that beautiful face couldn’t even lift his head now.
59.
Despite burying his face in his food, Xu Zhou’s brain was straight-up rioting.
What the hell is happening oh my god how did I get so lucky Jiang Ling is sitting at the same table as me we’re literally less than thirty centimeters apart!!! Why would Jiang Ling choose to eat with me? Was it really just because he couldn’t find a seat? That can’t be it. So many people asked him to sit with them and he turned them all down! That means he specifically wanted to sit with me but why? WHY? Could it be… he thought I looked too pitiful sitting alone, so he came over to keep me company? Okay, that actually tracks… Jiang Ling is just that morally good. Does this mean he doesn’t hate—
60.
Xu Zhou’s mental monologue got cut off. Across the table, Jiang Ling was looking at him. His face was expressionless, but his eyes held a quiet softness. Almost like making small talk, he casually said, “Xu Zhou, people don’t usually eat with someone they dislike, right?”
61.
Xu Zhou stared at him, stunned.
His very first thought was: Jiang Ling actually knows my name???
And then, slower than he’d like to admit, it hit him that what Jiang Ling was trying to say was… he doesn’t hate me.
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