Chapter 474: Youth
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Famous felt sorry for the young man because he just lost one hundred million Yuan.
It was literally one hundred million Yuan if it was truly the last of its kind alive. One hundred million Yuan wouldn't be understandable, but it'd probably be sent to the government.
Even if this young man caught a Dragon Li, it wouldn't mean anything as this wasn't the real world or a real timeline, it was just a period of time in Old Time Tea's memory.
It had been in one of Galaxy's memory before, and now in Old Time Tea's memory. Despite knowing that, it couldn't relax. It had to be careful not to be noticed by the young man or he might take Famous as a something supernatural and kill it.
Galaxy's world was weird and unreal, if you died, you could come back to life. Old Time Tea's world felt so real, if you died here, Famous didn't know what might happen. It was better not to try.
It held its breath and tried to ignore the mosquitos. It barely moved its eyes and nose to keep from being bit.
Luckily, the young man's defenses seemed to be down.
"A Cha, it's mid-autumn again." He looked at the round moon. "My dad arranged for me to go to Xiangjiang to study. I heard there is a tea house opening on Willington Street. We can go there together every morning, have a cup of tea, some snacks. We can have the Osmanthus tea and roasted pork feet and steamed spareribs in lotus leaves as a snack. My mouth is watering just thinking about it."
The Dragon Li was silent.
When he was looking at the sky, Famous saw his face clearly. Not to its surprise, the man was very young, he even didn't have a beard. He looked younger than Zhang Zian.
"A Cha, do you want to drink Osmanthus tea with me? We have Osmanthus tea together every mid-autumn, we'll just change locations this year. What's the difference?"
The young man waited a while and then walked forward, looking back to wait for it. The Dragon Li stayed there and didn't show any wish to walk with him.
This scene reminded Famous of the police dog training base, when Cui Yi said goodbye to Storm. The scenes were similar, but the pets responded totally different. Were dogs more attached to their owners than cats?
The young man sighed, turned away, and pushed the shrub. Suddenly, the horizon was broadened and cleared. A coastal city could be seen at the end of the level plain. The city wasn't as developed as some towns in Binhai, but it was fine in this timeline.
Famous realized that it was at the top of a hill. It saw that the young man was carrying a bag and wore a hat, ready for travel.
The young man looked at the city in the distance and said, "I don't want to leave my hometown for Xiangjiang, but I have to listen to my father. There's a war going on and the society is a mess. My sister married a businessman who left her for money. My father is worried about her so I have to go to Xiangjiang, to take care of her and study."
This sentence sounded normal, but as Famous looked at his eyes, it knew he was lying.
"The world is changing, people are suffering. It's the right time for man to stand up and do something! Our country was invaded by other countries. Our homeland has been torn apart. The government is useless. People who have faith should serve and fight back! As the saying goes, 'black and white, good and bad, they stand side by side,' how could a grown man hide and not fight back?"
Someone said this loudly.
What? Was there someone else here?
It couldn't be. If there was someone else, the young man would've noticed.
Famous turned around in surprise and realized it wasn't another person who talked, it was the Dragon Li.
The Dragon Li's eyes looked like a full moon, staring straight at the young man. It suddenly looked like a giant person and the softness of the cat disappeared. Famous could feel its strong soul.
What was going on?
Famous was shocked. Old Time Tea shouldn't have been able to speak at that time.
The young guy smiled gently, "A Cha, you finally talked. After I told you that I was leaving for Xiangjiang, you haven't ate, drink, slept or talked for days. I thought you were ill or something. Come with me to Xiangjiang. There's delicious food and interesting things to do. Let's go and have some fun, broaden our horizons, like we used to do. Let's be famous in Xiangjiang, what do you think?"
He sounded like he didn't hear what Old Time Tea said. It was like he just heard the noise, but not the words.
Famous thought about it and understood. This was not the real thing that happened, but how Old Time Tea's wanted it to happen. Old Time Tea wanted to persuade the young man to stay and fight for their homeland, rather than hide in Xiangjiang with the excuse of study, but it couldn't talk back then. When Old Time Tea became elfin, it dreamed of this night over and over again.
Memory isn't objective, it fades and changes. Memory turns into what we think we remember. It saves the details we want to remember and adds things that doesn't exist.
The Dragon Li headed down sadly, gazing at the ground in front of it, then raised its head. It was disappointed, but it wouldn't give up.
"You have grown up, but are still a child inside. If you go there, you will lose yourself," it said seriously.
The young man didn't hear what it said, asked again, "A Cha, are you sure you're not coming with me?"
The Dragon Li knew he wouldn't change mind, no matter how hard it tried to delay him, soit kept silent.
Famous looked at it with heartache, as it knew how it would end. Just like Zhang Zian, this man was facing the dilemma of choosing between his own happiness or doing something for the society, and he chose himself.
"Fine."
The young man looking sad, sighed, "I won't be in Xiangjiang long. I'll come back after things become peaceful. A Cha, when I come back, will you still be here waiting for me? Right here, under the moonlight."
The Dragon Li didn't nodded nor shake its head.
Not getting the answer he wanted, the young man turned slowly and said softly, "No matter how far we sent each other, we have to separate here. Thanks for sending me so far. Bye, A Cha. Take care."
He walked down the hill, slowly towards the far away city.
He focused his attention on his ears, hoping to hear the sound of running behind him. He didn't want to go with regrets.
The Dragon Li gazed at his back. It changed positions from squatting to standing up and raised its front paw, keeping it in the air. It held back the thought of chasing after him. It slowly put its paw down, staring at his back until it disappeared in the moonlight.
It looked sad and wanted to cry, but it held back its tears. Its body trembled and its eyes were not as bright as they used to be. Its hair lost its shine.,
Why didn't you chase him? Wasn't he your owner?
Famous was confused. If it was Storm at the training base, it would have chase its owner. It didn't matter where its owner was going, if its owner was angel or demon, it would chase him to the end of the world.
With this memory, Famous finally solved a puzzle it has always been curious about, something Zhang Zian didn't even know.
Galaxy's real name was "Schrödinger's quantum cat."
Fina's real name was "Cleopatra VII's golden cat."
Snowy Lionet's real name was "Pan Jinlian's lesbian cat."
Richard's real name was "Irene Pepperberg's lovebird."
Old Time Tea was different.
Old Time Tea's real name was "The young Ye Wen's Foshan Wing Chun cat."
When he was 18, they separated due to different life goals.
Then, what was my real name? Famous thought.