On the day they got their marriage certificate, they rode bicycles to the registry office.
“One, two, three, eggplant!”
Shu Tang was laughing, her eyes curving up, basking in the radiant sunshine;
The mermaid, expressionless, looked a bit fierce.
Together, they resembled a duo of ‘no brains and not happy’.
This scene was snapped and frozen in time.
It turned into two little red booklets.
She complained about the mermaid not smiling, making her look rather foolish.
But still, she joyfully lifted the marriage certificate—
She said, “Little Rose, let’s go home!”
Shu Tang, holding the marriage certificate, stood on the back seat, singing happily: “We’re married now!”
We’re married now!
Every passerby they crossed showed a smile.
The usually silent and towering mermaid in front started to smile slightly.
It began with a barely noticeable curve, which then grew more pronounced.
—We’re married now!
They moved forward amidst the sound of the wind.
The pinwheel on the little cat’s bicycle spun joyfully in the wind.
Later, this monster wrote in his diary:
At that time, I didn’t want to stop.
I wanted to keep going forward, with her, to the ends of the world.
That was the happiest day of my life.
But I’m not very good at smiling, Little Cat complained that I looked too serious in photos.
Actually, at that time, I was somewhat bewildered.
Because happiness came so suddenly.
Little Cat was talking about the wedding.
She said, “I hope it’s good weather on that day.”
Actually, what I was thinking at the time was:
Every day with you is good weather.
…
The wedding of the monster and the kitten was a grand affair.
That day, many people attended, including celebrities usually seen only on television. An endless stream of cars parked at the entrance of Cape Sanatorium; yet, despite this, only those who had received a blue rose were allowed to enter the sacred site for the wedding.
This included people like Su Yin, Little Chen, Old Wu, and others, as well as the familiar large yellow dog from the emergency department that Shu Tang knew well.
Witnessed by friends and family, the entire forbidden area was carpeted with blue roses.
In a rainbow sprayed by a sperm whale, they walked into the hall of matrimony.
It was the best weather South Island City had seen in a month.
From “The Diary of Zhu Yan”
October 15th, clear weather.
Got married.
The kitten chose a good day based on the weather forecast.
She said, “Zhen Zhen can spray rainbows on a sunny day.”
She wanted to kiss and exchange rings under a rainbow.
A terrible idea, like two drenched chickens getting married.
But she said it was romantic.
Didn’t want the kitten to get wet.
So, an umbrella was opened during the kiss.
That blue umbrella became a witness.
The kitten said she wanted to frame the umbrella and hang it on the fortress roof.
A terrible idea.
It could get struck by lightning.
…
After the wedding, the kitten said she wanted to redecorate the bridal room.
No objections.
The kitten said she wanted to build a place to keep her turtle.
—Wanted to put the wedding witness umbrella on top of the turtle shed.
///
October 20th, a storm, rising waters.
Power and water cuts, but had anticipated bad weather and stocked up on enough firewood and food.
The seawater flooded the first floor.
The kitten sat on the second floor’s windowsill fishing.
The kitten boated from the second-floor window to the window below the next-door study, asking if I wanted to join.
“…”
The kitten stretched out her paw to scratch at a crab.
Got pinched.
Steamed crab for lunch.
While eating the crab, the kitten said it was the biggest natural disaster she’d seen, very frightening.
—Didn’t seem like it.
In the afternoon, we sat by the window watching the first floor being flooded, fishing together.
We began discussing the true essence of love and life.
A profound topic.
Regarding this, I now have some understanding, no longer as clueless as before, easily fooled by a kitten.
I believe the true essence of life is: cleaning up the mess left by kittens.
The essence of love is: finding joy in this.
The kitten has a different opinion.
She believes love is two people standing shoulder to shoulder, listening to the “Weather Forecast.”
And like this, no matter if it’s windy, rainy, flood, or tornado, they can depend on each other.
As for me, my opinion is:
“Kitten, could you come down from my head for a while?”
Though there are some differences.
But life is long.
There is a lifetime ahead to agree on this matter.
///
October 25th, rainy.
Love is like the moon.
Sometimes full, sometimes missing.
After the flood, the kitten got busy.
She said she needed to apply for graduate school and needed a better internship resume.
She had a new job transfer and also got new patients.
—For this, I just want to know the new patient’s door number.
The kitten started moving around the castle, holding documents and a communicator, like a busy little bee.
She calls herself a “workplace expert,” “tomorrow’s star of academia.”
Young people need dreams.
Let the young and passionate kitten go out to work.
///
October 27th, rainy.
After the kitten started working.
I became a poor thing.
Every day I could only get a morning kiss and a goodnight kiss from the kitten.
She didn’t come home until nine at night.
She could only spare two hours and four minutes a day to be with her partner.
One hour was spent eating;
One hour was spent taking a bath;
Four minutes were spent giving me two kisses.
Books say: Marriage is the grave of love.
The books are right.
……
Shu Tang had no idea that her lover had taken up the hobby of journal writing again and was using it to talk about her. She was extremely busy, and when she came home, the mermaid told her they needed to talk and expressed his feelings of being neglected.
She looked at him guiltily, sweetly offered a kiss, and appeased the mermaid with a string of loving words.
Shu Tang said, “It’ll all be better after tomorrow.”
The mermaid thought: Little liar.
True to the name, after giving a sweet kiss, the little liar hurried off to make a phone call.
She turned around and promised the mermaid that she would definitely make time for a candlelit dinner with him the next day.
Then she saw a tall, dark figure emotionlessly writing something in the darkness.
“Little Rose, what are you writing?”
“A recipe.”
In reality, the tall dark figure coldly wrote in his diary:
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow,
How endless it seems.
Zhu Yan is a pitiful wretch.
He only gets the cat’s tomorrow.
///
October 28, clear.
Tomorrow is ruined.
The cat said she had to work late; the candlelit date is off.
But in the evening, the cat frantically called, trapped in a broken elevator.
Going to save the cat.
The cat cried.
No injuries.
The cat became very clingy today.
The cold, indifferent cat was gone, replaced by a kiss.
She even lay on his back and sang loudly, “Rose, rose, I love you”
I think:
Zhu Yan is a pitiful wretch.
The cat only thinks of him when eating fish.
—And when in danger.
Normally, she calls him “Hey!”
When needed, she calls him “dear,” “Little Rose.”
I think, perhaps this is the essence of marriage.
At the end of the year, Shu Tang was assigned as a therapist to the front line to assist her mentor in logistics. This opportunity could enhance her resume, providing her with an advantage during graduate school interviews. Encouraged by her mentor, Shu Tang decided to participate.
Shu Tang thought Little Rose would refuse, as they had never been apart for so long, but surprisingly, the mermaid agreed.
Recently, Shu Tang felt she had been somewhat neglecting Little Rose, and she felt a bit guilty.
Reluctantly, she boarded the pickup truck with Su Yin, heading towards the polluted area at the front line.
On the way, she sent many messages to the mermaid.
Shu Tang thought that once she was enrolled in graduate school, she wouldn’t be so busy, and they could go to the movies and have candlelit dinners together.
However, as the scenery outside the window began to change, becoming unfamiliar, Shu Tang couldn’t help but admit that she was already missing him.
Shu Tang felt somewhat downcast.
But upon arriving at the camp in the polluted area, Shu Tang recognized her commanding officer’s familiar silhouette from behind.
Approaching, she saw the mermaid expressionlessly cleaning a wooden storage area.
Kitty joyfully approached, “Little Rose!”
But the tall mermaid gave her a look and ordered her to stand at attention.
Shu Tang was taken aback and obediently complied.
At that moment, the mermaid resembled the young, imposing leader from the photograph, exuding a powerful aura.
While standing at attention, Shu Tang happily asked when he had arrived.
She also cheekily asked if she could join him for a meal later.
The imposing leader reluctantly agreed to Kitty’s request to share his meal.
Throughout the day, they pretended not to know each other, each busy with their tasks, and occasionally when the mermaid passed by, he would order her to stand at attention.
Shu Tang was a bit happy because each time she looked up, she could see his figure.
It was like being in the Bastille; his presence made her feel less uncertain and fearful about the polluted area.
At night, Shu Tang rushed to Zhu Yan’s vehicle to share a meal.
Kitty poured her heart out to him.
The monster quietly listened, occasionally uttering a pleasant “Hmm.”
After a while, however, Shu Tang asked him why he was here since he was supposed to be retired.
The tall monster turned and said with a hint of sarcasm, “You already know.”
She cheekily moved closer, insisting he admit he had missed her.
The mermaid took off his cap and glanced at her.
He confessed, “Yes, very much.”
Shu Tang noticed that today, Zhu Yan looked rather aggressive, perhaps due to his cold, sharp attire.
When their eyes met.
In the cramped space, the atmosphere became oppressively tight.
The breath of a wild beast, cold and heavy.
Instinctively, she wanted to move back but found herself against the cold car wall.
His leather glove was placed between her thighs, gently tapping her knee with a wooden stock, signaling her to part them.
///
November 3, heavy rain.
The kitten had already fallen asleep in the car.
Kitten said: She thinks Zhu Yan is a very dazzling person, just like the sun.
Kitten considers herself quite ordinary, but she too wants to become someone as radiant as him.
I disagree.
First, the dazzling Zhu Yan is already retired and had been neglected at home for a whole month, with no one inquiring after him;
Second, Kitten is my sun.
Her expression was vivid when she said she wanted to become stronger and braver.
She did not try to leverage “Zhu Yan’s” identity, even pretending not to know me.
How foolish.
But my little sun is still young and vibrant.
She can try doing anything.
///
November 4, clear.
It was a simple task.
The pollutant was easy to deal with.
I saw no risk whatsoever.
But on the way back to the camp after dealing with the pollutant, I noticed an anomaly in my body temperature.
My temperature soared rapidly, and my heart rate exceeded the average.
The fever was so intense it felt like my tailfin was burning.
In Kitten’s words: It was a fever so fierce, I was almost cooked.
My first thought was: some kind of poison.
Post-evolution, my temperature has been constant, so a high fever might become a vulnerability. This level of internal heat might start to destroy my cells.
At that time, I thought it was the closest I had ever come to death.
I should have gone to see the kitten, as she was the one I wanted to see the most.
But she was timid, and I didn’t want to make her cry.
I decided to find a secluded corner where no one could see me and quietly pass away, hoping she wouldn’t find out.
Death was not an unfamiliar word. Ten years ago, I viewed death as a release and a rest, eagerly anticipating the day I could be freed, like looking forward to a long-awaited vacation. Life seemed like an endless trek, with nothing but fatigue to cling to.
But ten years later, the thought of “death” felt different.
I remembered the incessant rain in the Bastille, and the kitten’s eyes.
I waited a long time, but death did not come.
Then I remembered some common sense.
It turned out to be mating season.
Why hadn’t evolution evolved away this?
Thinking of the kitten…
…
I decided to wait until my body temperature cooled down a bit before looking for the kitten.
I told myself to calm down.
But after leaning against the wall for a while, I heard a distant sound.
It was the kitten’s voice.
She was wearing a protective suit, covered in dust on her face and head, as she emerged from a hole in the ruins.
— Perhaps it was the pheromones, but she found this hidden spot.
Later, I asked the kitten why she had followed me.
The kitten said: she had a nightmare during her nap and woke up feeling panicky.
So, as if telepathically, she followed the scent of the pheromones and successfully found this place.
The kitten once said that love is like the moon with its phases of waxing and waning.
If the previous period was a waning phase, now it was full.
She was carrying a large medical kit and kept in professional contact with Secretary Chen, although she was panicked when she touched the high body temperature, she still managed to calm herself down.
Her hands were trembling.
The kitten was crying, she kissed me while telling me: she was terrified of me dying.
…
Because of her look.
I began to fear death.