I Waited for You for Fifteen Years - Chapter 4

I was still looking around when she took a small cake out of the refrigerator, walked over, patted me, and thoughtfully handed me a fork.

It was actually my favorite mango shortcake! How did she know me so well?

While I ate, she hurriedly pulled a pen and paper from her pocket, leaned over the workbench to write, and then handed it to me: “This is a new creation I researched last week. What do you think? Any suggestions for improvement?”

Although I’m not a professional food critic, I consider myself a veteran foodie, so judging a small cake was naturally no trouble for me. I took the pen and paper and wrote: “The flavor is very good! It’s just that the cream is a bit too sweet; everything else is great!”

She nodded thoughtfully after reading it, then gave a sweet smile and thanked me using sign language.

Afterward, she took out materials and a recipe and began to get busy. I strolled around the shop, and when I got bored, I followed behind her to watch her operate machines I had never seen before to make cake bases, which were then placed into paper cups and lined up to be sent into the large oven.

She didn’t stay idle either, following the recipe to research the cream and fillings based on my suggestions. I moved back and forth between her and the oven, “supervising” the progress on both sides at any time. The silence in the air was almost eerie, but I didn’t feel bored; instead, I felt a subtle sense of beauty being with her.

She wore a pink apron over a pure white dress. Her hair was loosely tied in a low ponytail with a red hair tie, sliding from her left shoulder to her chest. The serious and elegant way she looked while leaning down to make cakes gave me a sense of… a beauty radiating maternal brilliance.

“Oh my god, so beautiful. I really want to kiss her.”

My mind was still wandering, and the honest truth slipped out of my mouth before I knew it.

By the time I realized what I had said, my face instantly turned beet red. I looked at Zhang Younice; she still had no reaction, intently studying the recipe in front of her.

Oh right, she is deaf and mute; she couldn’t hear what I just said.

I immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Perhaps she felt my burning gaze because she stopped what she was doing and turned to look at me in confusion. I understood what she meant, waved my hand to indicate nothing was wrong, and hurriedly turned my back to her, pretending to look at the cakes in the oven.

She suddenly walked over and patted my back, giving me a startle. She was clearly startled by my reaction too, staring at me blankly.

I felt a bit awkward; I knew my face was very red without even looking. She pointed to the refrigerator and made a few simple gestures in sign language. For a moment, I couldn’t pull my thoughts back and didn’t understand her meaning, so I just stood there looking at her. Seeing that I didn’t understand, she patiently walked to the fridge, took out a pile of fruit, and handed me a knife. I finally had an epiphany.

I handled the fruit with practiced ease, and by then, the cakes in the oven were finished. I helped her move the small cakes to the workbench to cool; next came the final step.

She put cream into a piping bag, took one for herself, and actually handed the other to me. She even divided the small cakes into two areas, seemingly letting me decorate the cakes with her.

Watching her skillfully decorate each small cake into something exquisite and beautiful, I naturally didn’t want to lose. So, I mimicked her, squeezing cream, placing fruit, and sprinkling powdered sugar. In the end, without surprise, the cakes on my side were a total disaster.

Zhang Younice actually laughed when she saw my “masterpiece.” She gave me a thumbs-up with one hand while pulling out her phone to take photos with the other.

Perhaps she sensed my embarrassment, as she eventually patted my shoulder and typed a message to comfort me: “It’s okay, you’ve already done very well. I didn’t even do as well as this my first time. These cakes are just experiments, it doesn’t matter.”

Receiving her encouragement, my heart felt slightly comforted. She picked the most beautiful cake and handed it to me, signaling for me to taste it. Then, she picked up one of the cakes I made and started eating it too.

The taste of the cake was still very good, and I immediately expressed my praise to her.

She beamed with joy upon receiving the praise, handed me a new one, and then flipped open a notebook to start recording something.

It was getting late. I helped Zhang Younice pack the remaining cakes, closed the shop, and walked home with her.

As we passed a small alley, she suddenly stopped and walked into the pitch-black passage. I was a bit puzzled, but I followed her anyway.

The alley was deep and had no streetlights, which made me feel a bit unsafe. She stopped after a few steps, finished her walk, crouched down, looked around, and began to clap her hands.

Just as I was still wondering what was going on, two meows came from the darkness. To my surprise, two small cats ran out from the shadows after a moment.

The cats seemed very familiar with Zhang Younice, coming up to rub against her legs immediately. Zhang Younice rubbed their heads, took out the box of small cakes (with the cream removed), placed them on the ground, and pulled a cat treat from her pocket to add to the meal.

But then, an even stranger scene occurred. Zhang Younice suddenly stood up and walked toward the roadside. She picked up a short branch under a tree, came back, and started poking one of the tuxedo cats with it.

I watched, feeling completely bewildered, but both the tuxedo cat and Zhang Younice seemed to be enjoying themselves. The tuxedo cat’s tail was even held high, and its front paws were raised to interact with her; it looked just like… elementary schoolers fighting.

In the middle of the fun, Zhang Younice suddenly dropped the stick. She locked eyes with the two cats for a while, then reached out to pat each of their heads and pulled me away.

Naturally, I was incredibly curious. I typed a question to ask her about what just happened, only for her to give me an even more mind-boggling answer: “It was Wu Xue who asked me to poke him with the stick. The more I poke him, the better he feels.”

Me: “…? Who is Wu Xue? That tuxedo cat?”

“Yes, he chose that name himself. The other orange cat is called Jin Hu, also chosen by the cat himself.”

What does “chosen by themselves” mean? How can they choose names? How did she know? Did the cats go to school and learn to speak?

I continued to ask her: “How do you know the names they gave themselves?”

She told me: “I can communicate with animals; I can know their thoughts.”

Animal telepathy? I had never heard of such a thing before, but it sounded quite mystical and miraculous.

She continued to explain: “I’ve had this special skill since I was a child. Although I cannot communicate normally with people, I can talk to small animals without any barriers. Because of this, I’ve heard many interesting things from them.”

I am exceptionally interested in these metaphysical things, so I kept pestering her with questions the whole way. She told me many stories of her experiences chatting with animals and spoke about the two cats from earlier.

She met Wu Xue and Jin Hu on the second day after she rented the shop. The two little fellows didn’t seem to fear people; they squeezed through the door gap into her shop, so she brought out tasty food to treat them. Wu Xue is lively, bold, and enthusiastic; he even invited Zhang Younice to play in his territory. Jin Hu is more honest and gluttonous; he doesn’t like to talk much but occasionally brings beautiful stones as thank-you gifts, and he always eats the most during mealtime.

The two cats are best friends and biological brothers from the same mother. They used to frequently appear near local vendors to beg for food, but ever since they met Zhang Younice, who can communicate with them, they never went to anyone else’s place again. Instead, they ran to her dessert shop every day.

Zhang Younice told me that with the presence of these two little friends, life has become a bit more interesting, and the shop gained a wave of popularity even before it officially opened.

I suppose this is a form of destiny.

In truth, Zhang Younice is a truly unique person. I don’t know if her claim of animal telepathy is true or false, but these extraordinary experiences and her special nature tell me that she is someone worth knowing deeply.

After saying goodbye to her and returning home, the clock on the wall told me it was already late at night.

The day’s busyness left me feeling exceptionally exhausted. After a simple wash, I collapsed onto the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

I was standing on a deserted street in the middle of the night. It was pouring rain, and there wasn’t even a single tree nearby to take shelter under.

I was soaked to the bone, my hair blocked my vision, and I seemed to be injured; blood flowed down my body with the rainwater. I felt so tired and in so much pain; my physical state had reached its breaking point, and I could no longer walk.

Not a single person could be seen around, and there weren’t even any streetlights. For some reason, a sense of despair suddenly rose in my heart, and I dragged my body toward a certain direction. I didn’t know how long I walked; I felt it getting colder and colder, and the rain grew heavier, until the road ahead became blurred.

Next, I fell into the sea. The waves swept me away. I had no strength to struggle; I could only feel the seawater swallowing me bit by bit. Breathing became difficult, and I eventually lost consciousness in agony.

Before closing my eyes, I seemed to see a figure approaching me, but I didn’t feel anyone’s touch until I lost consciousness. Perhaps it was a hallucination.

I sank deeper and deeper until I plunged into the dark bottom of the sea.

“Ring-ring-ring—”

I woke up with a start, sat up, and gasped for breath.

The sound of the alarm was still piercing, gradually pulling me back to reality.

So it was just a dream.

But that feeling was too real the fear and sadness followed the crashing waves, frantically occupying my entire body, and then dying slowly in pain.

Forget it, I shouldn’t think too much. If I don’t get up, I’ll be late for school.

Just as I opened the front door, the auntie who lives across from me happened to be heading out as well. She froze when she saw me, and I froze too. Then I reacted and greeted her.

“Good morning, Auntie.”

The auntie looked at me with an expression that was hard to describe. She glanced behind me into my home, and instead of responding to my greeting, she asked a different question: “You’re out so early today? Aren’t your parents walking you to school?”

“No need to bother them,” I explained. “The school is quite close; it only takes a few minutes to walk there.”

“Oh, I see. By the way, you haven’t had breakfast yet, right? I steamed some buns; let me get two for you.” She put on a kind smile and, without waiting for me to refuse, turned back into her house to get the buns.

Although I don’t know about the past, I could tell from her behavior that she was a new neighbor who had moved in recently.

I accepted her buns; this way, I wouldn’t have to go to the breakfast shop.

The weather was still great today, and the streets were as lively as ever. I hummed a song as I walked toward the school.

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