There was only a wall between the temple's back yard and the front yard. Bai Xingyi peeked through the crack in the door to see some worship scenes. The Zhou family all wore plain clothes. The leader, Zhou's father, led the Zhou family's children to bow and offer incense.
The surroundings were quiet except for the distant sound of bells.
Such a solemn scene did not seem to match the Zhou family.
Bai Xingyi withdrew his gaze, first went to the free chef to ask for a vegetarian meal, and ate slowly while enjoying the pleasant scenery of the temple. When he was almost done eating, he heard a cat meowing from nowhere.
It was just one or two sounds at first, then gradually became longer and louder, and finally became shrill and shrill.
When Bai Xingyi was in college, she went to a dog and cat stray station as a volunteer, and she could tell it was a kitten.
Kittens born in temples should be fed by masters, but today... Bai Xingyi glanced at the front yard, broke off the remaining half of the bun and followed the cat's meow.
The cat is easy to find, in the small garden next door. The place is overgrown with weeds, and usually no one comes here. There is only one trail that shows signs of being trampled by people.
Bai Xingyi walked along the trail and found the kitten at the end.
The kitten is a small one, and it looks like it is the offspring of a tabby cat. It is crawling out of the nest made by the monk on its four short legs.
Sensing someone approaching, the kitten retreated.
Quite timid.
Bai Xingyi raised the corners of her lips and made two "puff" sounds like a funny dog. The kitten ignored her and was fighting with the blanket under her body.
The breeze is gentle and the sunshine is pouring out.
Something flashed through his mind, and Bai Xingyi didn't recall it deliberately. He just stared at the kitten with soft eyes. In such a remote place, she wondered if the mother cat was here, so she tried to approach slowly.
I have to admit that animals are also very spiritual.
This time when he got closer, the kitten seemed to realize that Bai Xingyi was not a bad person. He stopped barking or running around randomly, and raised his head to look at her.
Bai Xingyi's heart was so cute that it took him a long time to remember that he was here to feed it. Looking around, I didn't find anything like a bowl or basin. I thought it shouldn't be there, so I stood up and looked for it again.
At this stop, the field of vision widened, and one could not ignore the young man devouring food in the corner.
The other person was squatting behind the cat's nest. Bai Xingyi had just focused all his attention on the cat and didn't see him at all. Now that he took a closer look, he felt that he looked familiar.
Although the clothes he wore were very luxurious, the iconic half-long hair reminded Bai Xingyi of the child he saved at Xiao Nanshan's banquet.
The young man didn't notice her. She was holding a gapped porcelain bowl, grabbing rice with her hands and stuffing it into her mouth.
Bai Xingyi was stunned by that posture.
How long had it been since she had eaten? Why did she look hungrier than just now?
Bai Xingyi didn't know how he came here, and she didn't know why he came here to eat. She was afraid that he would hurt his stomach by eating like this, so he reminded him: "Eat slowly. Eating in a hurry will hurt your stomach."
When the young man heard the sound, he turned around in fear. When he saw it was Bai Xingyi, he stood up immediately without saying anything. He ran very fast, and his body moved the branches next to him, making a loud noise, which startled Bai Xingyi.
Bai Xingyi hurriedly stopped him: "Stop! If you run further, you will reach the front yard, where worship is being held!"
Hearing what she said, the young man stopped. Bai Xingyi guessed something from his back, and said slowly: "I won't tell others that you are here. Come back."
The young man turned to look at her for two or three seconds, and when he spoke, his throat seemed to be filled with sand: "You..."
Bai Xingyi knew what he wanted to ask, and pointed to the kitten in the nest: "I'm here to feed it."
The implication is that she really didn't come to him on purpose.
The young man didn't know whether to believe it or not. He looked very vigilant. After hearing Bai Xingyi's answer, he suddenly tightened his grip on the broken porcelain bowl in his hand, with an embarrassed look on his face.
Bai Xingyi noticed this change and looked at his hand in surprise, thinking, "No way."
"I'm so hungry."
The boy's answer confirmed Bai Xingyi's guess, but Bai Xingyi couldn't be happy. She looked at the embarrassed boy and made some assumptions about his situation.
Being well-dressed means that the family is well off, but if he is hungry and competes with the cat for food, he is probably not favored at home.
Bai Xingyi sighed and waved to him.
The boy bit his lip, as if sensing her kindness, he slowly walked towards her.
"Don't you think it's dirty?" Bai Xingyi gave him the steamed buns, feeling unhappy.
The young man lowered his head and said in a hoarse voice: "The monk is very good to it."
Although the porcelain bowl is broken, the monk always washes it before pouring food for the kitten, and what he pours is not leftover food. Otherwise, the boy wouldn't have done something like snatching cat food.
After he finished speaking, he looked at Bai Xingyi, as if asking her if she had any questions. Bai Xingyi shook her head, stopped asking, and just said: "Eat quickly."
Holding the soft white steamed bun, the young man observed Bai Xingyi carefully for a while, then picked it up and put it in his mouth while looking at her.
That cautious and vigilant look would make anyone look sad.
Bai Xingyi turned her head to leave him some dignity, lowered her head and teased the kitten with her fingers, apologizing to the kitten in her heart and filling its buns later.
The kitten meowed twice, not sure whether it agreed or disagreed.
Half a steamed bun was neither too much nor too little. The young man finished it quickly and regained his aura of not letting strangers in. He said hoarsely: "You are a good person. You saved me twice. I owe you two favors. I I will definitely pay it back in the future.”
The young man's tone was firm and he had the courage to do what he said.
Bai Xingyi didn't take it seriously. She wasn't stingy enough to ask a child to repay her kindness. Just when she was about to say something, the young man looked at her deeply and said, "Also, I'll give you a piece of advice."
"Stay away from Zhou Si, he is not a good person."
"Do you know him?" Bai Xingyi got the key to the question.
Before the boy could answer, there was a sound of footsteps approaching from far away, mixed with Zhou Si's words: "Miss Bai, why are you here? I've been looking for you for a long time, and I thought you had left."
Zhou Si walked towards Bai Xingyi as he spoke. When he saw that she was not the only one in the garden, a trace of disgust flashed in his eyes as he looked at the young man.
"What are you doing here?" The man sounded impatient.
Bai Xingyi's eyes flickered between the two of them, wondering what their relationship was.
The young man turned around and ran away without saying a word.
Bai Xingyi couldn't stop him, so she turned to test Zhou Si: "Is he a child of the Zhou family? He seems to have not eaten for several days. I just saw him and the cat here fighting for something to eat. It's so pitiful."
After the words fell, there was silence.
Seeing Bai Xingyi staring at him, Zhou Si frowned and said vaguely: "He is the child of the Zhou family, but the illegitimate child brought back from outside has a very bad temper and has always been alone."
"Is that so?"
Bai Xingyi's tone was hesitant. When he met the boy twice, he had no friends around him. He really looked like a lone wolf. However, I always feel like something is weird...
