Chapter 74 p2
Admiring the hundred flowers of spring and the moon of autumn, enjoying the cool breeze of summer and the snow of winter.
The family of three lived so peacefully and stably for many years.
When Ye the Little Seedling was in the fifth grade, a small incident suddenly occurred.
It was the middle of winter, and it was inevitable to be sleepy.
In the early morning, the alarm clock had rung three times before Ye the Little Seedling groggily woke up.
She held the warm little red panda in her arms a little tighter, reluctantly rubbed her head, and cherished a “smack” on her furry ear, muttering indistinctly:
“Neng Bao, how about I take you to school today…”
She had just had a beautiful dream, dreaming that she and Neng Bao had gone to school together and had become deskmates.
It was cold and she was sleepy in the early morning. Ye the Little Seedling was dizzy and, for a moment, couldn’t tell the difference between reality and dream.
She even forgot to eat the breakfast her mother had made and just put the entire red panda in her schoolbag and went out to school.
In the deep winter, the sky was always slow to brighten, making one feel drowsy.
It wasn’t until she had reached the school gate that Ye the Little Seedling managed to wake up properly. She stood under the gray sky, and she and the red panda in her schoolbag looked at each other.
“It’s over.”
Mom had told her not to take Neng Bao out alone, especially to crowded places.
Ye the Little Seedling’s heart jumped in alarm. She quickly turned around, wanting to take the red panda home.
“Ying.”
The red panda poked a fluffy head out of the schoolbag.
Her eyes were fixed on the school, and she raised a paw to poke Ye the Little Seedling’s shoulder.
Having grown up together, even though they could not communicate directly, Ye the Little Seedling instantly understood the red panda’s meaning.
She hesitated for a moment, and in the end, her young heart could not resist the temptation of taking Neng Bao to school.
“Then you hide well in the schoolbag and don’t make a sound, okay?”
The red panda lifted her head proudly.
And so, the human and the ‘Neng’ sneakily went to school.
Having woken up late and been delayed on the way, Ye the Little Seedling barely made it to the classroom on time.
While the teacher was lecturing on the stage, she quietly reached her hand into her desk and petted the little red panda’s fluffy belly.
Her fingertip was lightly nibbled by the red panda in response.
It was extremely joyful.
But this fluffy lesson had only just begun when Ye Zhao appeared outside the classroom.
Ye the Little Seedling inadvertently turned her head to look, and her heart trembled violently.
That morning, her mother’s eyes were red-rimmed, and she held the red panda in the schoolbag tightly.
She did not say a single word of blame.
She just handed over the hot breakfast and said softly to study hard, and then left with the red panda.
But this made Ye the Little Seedling learn her lesson thoroughly, and she was filled with self-reproach.
Before going to bed that night, Ye Zhao came over to cover them with the quilt.
Looking at her little daughter’s guilty gaze, she gently patted Yu Bao’s head.
“Honey, Mom knows you didn’t do it on purpose. It’s just that, I was really scared today…”
The little red panda in her family had been spoiled since she was little and had been meticulously and properly taken care of in every way.
Under all kinds of pampering, she was extremely clean, very picky about her food, naturally timid, a little spoiled, and would occasionally throw a little tantrum.
But in essence, she was very delicate and soft, and had no aggression at all.
If such a little red panda were to be lost and end up wandering alone outside, starving, being bullied, and pitifully unable to find her way home… Ye Zhao dared not think too much about it.
And so, when she had woken up this morning and had found that the red panda was not at home, her mind had instantly gone blank, and she had been so panicked that her soul had trembled.
Fortunately, it was just a false alarm.
After this, the mother and daughter took even better care of the red panda.
***
In a flash, Ye Qingyu graduated from junior high school and received an acceptance letter from her ideal high school.
The fifteen-year-old girl’s figure had stretched out, slender and graceful, and she stood tall and straight.
She had, as she had wished, become a Ye the Little Tree that a red panda loved to climb.
The reddish-brown fluff would always lie lazily on her, its head pillowed on her shoulder, its soft fur lightly brushing against her ear.
Her large tail would unhurriedly scratch the back of her hand, commanding:
“Ying.”
This was her wanting to play the swing game.
And so, Ye the Little Tree would obediently hold her and swing gently.
The large tail behind the red panda would also sway in the air with the rhythm, its beautiful rings particularly distinct…
It was a very ordinary afternoon, the sun warm and comfortable, making one’s limbs feel weak.
It was no different from countless days in the past.
After playing on the swing, Ye Qingyu carried the red panda back to the shop to cool off in the air conditioning.
“Honey, I’m going back to cook the pork rib soup. You two help Mom watch the shop.”
“Okay.”
“Ying.”
Ye Zhao looked at her two daughters and smiled.
She remembered that Yu Bao had been sitting on the sofa at the time, her head slightly tilted back, her smile gentle.
Rong Bao’s two paws were on Yu Bao’s shoulder, and in their play, she had taken a light bite of the girl’s chin, her large tail fluffy and soft, swaying back and forth.
She had never thought that would be the last time she would see them.
And so, she had only glanced for a few seconds, not looking closely, and had turned and left briskly.
And so, this not-so-clear image, in the countless times she had recalled it in the following ten years, had become an out-of-frame old movie.
***
After ten years, Ye Qingyu’s memory of what had happened that day was not so clear.
Or perhaps, she was unwilling to remember clearly.
She managed to come back to her senses from the surging images, her breathing slightly rapid.
Her gaze focused on her side—
The Pei the Red Panda who had been tearing down the house in the middle of the night was now being held by the scruff of her neck by her mother, dangling in the air.
Her four paws were haphazardly paddling in the air, pitiful, helpless, yet with a certain fearlessness of being loved.
As expected.
The next second, her mother took the house-tearing little red panda into her arms and, helplessly and lovingly, kissed her fluffy head.
Ye Qingyu’s gaze was dazed, and for a moment, she was back on that day ten years ago.
The little red panda was being held by her fur by the fierce men in black, and she was crying in pain.
“What are you doing!” the young Ye Qingyu had shouted, her heart aching.
“What am I doing?”
The green bird logo on the man in black’s chest looked ferocious and eye-catching. He sneered and took out a photo from his pocket, and held it in front of her.
She saw that on the photo, all sorts of animal skins and paws were neatly stacked, a bloody scene.
Having grown up in a greenhouse, where had Ye Qingyu ever seen such a scene?
The photo had shocked her so much that for a moment, her heart had a sharp pain, and she was dizzy.
She absolutely, absolutely could not let Neng Bao end up like that.
She trembled all over.
Not knowing where the strength came from, she suddenly snatched the red panda back, held her tightly in her arms, and turned to run outside, shouting for help.
But the exit had long since been blocked.
A group of fierce adults easily pushed her back, determined to get the red panda.
Ye Qingyu was pushed and fell to the ground, her head hitting the leg of a table, and for a moment, she was dizzy.
She held the red panda tightly and stubbornly looked up at those hateful faces.
She only felt that her vision was gradually becoming a double image, and in the end, only a ferocious green bird logo remained.
And so, that green bird had become a cruel symbol, an evil totem, that squeezed her brain and finally congealed into a deep and painful sore.
Later, she held the red panda and turned her back, and willingly took the blows of that group of bad people on her own back to buy time.
Pain spread through her flesh and bones. She was beaten until she stumbled, yet she refused to let go.
Until she was covered in wounds, her strength gone, and she could no longer hold the red panda in her arms steady.
In the end, she fell to the ground in a disheveled heap, her arms empty.
And the red panda was taken away by the bad people, dangling pitifully in the air, crying helplessly:
“Yu—”
That was the first time the red panda had spoken.
***
Ye Zhao held the Pei the Red Panda, who was once again sleeping soundly in her arms, and her fingertips gently caressed her soft and glutinous, furry ears.
Noticing that Ye Qingyu’s breathing had suddenly deepened slightly, she couldn’t help but turn her head to look. “Honey, what’s wrong?”
Ye Zhao squatted down by Ye Qingyu’s side.
She raised a hand and patted her little daughter’s head, and said gently:
“What’s with this expression? Mom didn’t really blame you for tearing down the house…”
But the words were stuck in her throat.
—Her little daughter, who had always been quick-witted, calm, and composed, suddenly buried her head in her arms, and a trembling whimper escaped her throat.
