Chapter 24: Lost Miss Lu
Summer always arrived unexpectedly. After a long rainy season, Chuanhai bid farewell to spring, a girl adorned with flowers, and welcomed summer, a boy with fiery enthusiasm. Summer in Lu Li’s memory was always intertwined with the chirping of cicadas, rubber hoses, and rusty metal faucets.
At the end of April, the sun was scorching, its golden rays seemingly burning into his skin. Lu Li heard that in northern China, the sun was harsh and unforgiving. Without protection, your skin would peel and blister. The commotion caused by the sports meet had gradually subsided, and Lu Li had heard enough of the gossip and speculations about Wen Hupo.
Wen Hupo was always the center of attention at school. People speculated that she participated in the sports meet to get revenge on Class 1 of the second-year liberal arts program. Others said she was born with a disability and wanted to prove herself. As for her true intentions, no one knew, because she hadn’t been to school for a long time, as if she had dropped out.
One day at the end of April, Lu Li went to Wen Hupo’s villa alone, ostensibly to visit her on behalf of the class. He carried a basket of fruit, a gift from his classmates, with a card at the bottom containing a handwritten message from Silly Goose.
He rang the doorbell, and soon, a small maid with freckles appeared. The maid looked very young, perhaps the same age as Lu Li? Her demeanor was timid, and it was clear that she came from a poor family. It might be disrespectful to say so, but a person’s appearance and behavior did reflect their family background.
“Hello, are you… Miss Shirley’s classmate?” The little maid was surprised.
“You know me?” Lu Li was puzzled.
“Yes. Miss Shirley often mentions you.” The little maid unlatched the chain on the gate and opened the door for him. “Please come in.”
Lu Li entered the luxurious villa and sat down on a European-style sofa under the maid’s guidance. “Miss went out an hour ago. What kind of tea would you like? We have…”
“Don’t trouble yourself.” Lu Li handed her the fruit basket. “I’ll just wait for her here.” It was considered impolite. If the host wasn’t home, the guest should visit another day. The little maid thought to herself.
“Where did she go?”
“The family cat went missing yesterday. Miss went to look for it.”
The cat? Lu Li suddenly remembered the stray kitten they had found together almost a month ago. Did she really take that little kitten home? And why would such a tiny kitten, barely able to walk steadily, get lost?
As he was talking to the maid, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from outside. He recognized them as Wen Hupo’s, quick but light, decisive yet hesitant. Wen Hupo pushed open the door with a worried expression, still talking. “Xiaowen, prepare the ‘Lost Cat’ posters, we’ll go put them up this afternoon…”
She suddenly saw Lu Li sitting on the sofa. Her eyebrows furrowed, then relaxed. After a moment of silence, as if gathering her thoughts, she finally said, her tone slightly displeased, “What are you doing here?” So, from “Outstanding Representative” to “Lu Li,” and now to “you.”
“You haven’t been to school for a long time. Everyone is worried about you.” Lu Li stood up.
“They are worried about me, are you worried?” Wen Hupo suddenly asked.
Lu Li’s heart skipped a beat. He forced a smile. “Of course I’m worried too.” Since the amusement park incident, he had become increasingly uncomfortable around Wen Hupo, as if their relationship was filled with thorns. Every word he said seemed wrong, and the more he wanted something, the less likely he was to get it. This awkward atmosphere made him uneasy.
“Xiaowen, go print the posters. I’ll talk to my classmate for a bit.” Wen Hupo’s tone, when giving orders, was quite like that of an aristocrat.
She deliberately sat across from Lu Li, keeping a distance, poured herself a cup of tea, and didn’t speak.
The best way to start a conversation with a girl was to find a common topic, and it couldn’t be something like astronomy, geography, cars, guns, or sports. So Lu Li decided to start with the cat. “Did the cat get lost? The kitten you brought home a month ago, the one with the mottled fur?”
“Her name is Lu Li.” Wen Hupo took a sip of tea, her expression unchanged. “She’s a lady, not a ‘thing.’”
Lu Li almost dropped his teacup. “What a coincidence, the same pronunciation as my name.”
A playful glint flashed in Wen Hupo’s eyes, adding a touch of life to her usually indifferent face. “It is quite a coincidence.”
“How did Miss Lu get lost?” Lu Li gestured. “She was so small, she couldn’t even climb down the stairs, right?”
Wen Hupo looked a bit guilty. “I thought it was pitiful for her to be cooped up in a small room all the time, so I wanted to take her for a walk outside. When we were crossing an intersection, a car honked, and she jumped out of my arms. I couldn’t find her after that.”
She’s probably dead. Lu Li thought to himself.
“Xiaowen said that stray cats can never be truly tamed. Lu Li wasn’t scared away, she planned to leave all along. Is that true?” Wen Hupo put down her teacup and looked at Lu Li intently. At first, Lu Li didn’t realize if she was talking about the cat or a person.
“That’s not true. Abandoned cats cherish having a home even more.”
Lu Li’s words echoed in Wen Hupo’s mind. After a long while, she looked at Lu Li as if she had realized something. “But if I have a new kitten now and I don’t want her anymore, wouldn’t she be homeless again?”
“You’re not that heartless, are you?”
“Sometimes, people don’t realize how heartless they are.” Wen Hupo chuckled self-deprecatingly. Lu Li felt like there was a hidden meaning in her words.
Lu Li stood up. “I’ll help you put up the ‘Lost Cat’ posters and look for her. In return, you have to come back to school next month. My seat is always empty, and I can’t even sleep in class without worrying.”
Wen Hupo’s expression remained unchanged. “Don’t you have Jingyi to look after you? And if not her, there’s also that little girl An Baili…”
An Baili wasn’t a little girl, she was much more mature than you, at least in terms of age.
In the end, Lu Li and Wen Hupo left the wealthy district, each carrying a stack of A4 paper, and joined the shady street vendors putting up posters on the walls. The vendors were advertising locksmith services, aphrodisiacs, ID card recycling, and interest-free loans. Lu Li and Wen Hupo’s “Lost Cat” posters looked out of place among them.
Wen Hupo was very meticulous in putting up the posters, her hands covered in dust, her usually pristine boots stained with dirt. She truly wanted to find Lu Li… the cat.
Lu Li looked at the summer sky, the familiar chirping of cicadas filling his ears. He vaguely remembered how, as a child, he and Sister Yameng used to put up small advertisements on walls and then be chased by the sanitation workers.
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