Why is This Clingy Snow Leopard Acting So Innocent? - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Boundaries — What Relationship Do We Have Now?

A child stood before him, but Su Wen couldn’t see his face.

He heard the child ask, “Wenwen-ge, after you leave, will you ever come back?”

Su Wen was confused as to why he would ask that. Who is he? Where am I going? Where am I supposed to return to?

Seconds later, he heard his own voice respond. It was youthful, sounding no more than ten years old: “Of course I’ll come back! I’m your big brother! I have to protect you.”

“And I just decided,” the voice continued with excitement, “I’ll come visit you every single holiday.”

“Not just every holiday—I’ll be here for your birthday, too! I’ll bring you tons of presents and lots of good food.”

Su Wen couldn’t see the child’s face, but he could clearly feel his emotions. The boy was happy, thrilled, and so excited he seemed ready to jump for joy. It was as if they weren’t facing a farewell, but a reunion about to happen all over again.

The boy said, “Then you must come back. I’ll wait for you forever. If you don’t come back, I’ll…”

“That won’t happen!” Su Wen heard his voice interrupt. “I will come back! You have to wait for me.”

“Brother, brother, Wenwen-ge… then you can’t forget me. You must come back.”

Su Wen reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair. “I never will. Pinky swear.”

“What’s a pinky swear?”

“A pinky swear is a promise children make to ensure they do something. It’s a ritual for kids. Even though I’m a big kid, you’re a little one, so—” He extended his pinky, hooking it into the boy’s small finger. “This is the ritual that guarantees a big brother will never lie to his little brother.”

The child mimicked him like a parrot: “Pinky swear, hangman’s knot, a hundred years, never change. If you change, you’re a…”

CRACK—

Everything shattered instantly. Before he could react, the child’s figure splintered into fragments. He instinctively reached out to grab the shards, but the shadows on them faded until they were nothing but a blank white.

The world flipped upside down. Two familiar voices rang in his ears.

“Wenwen!! Get down!” “Don’t be afraid!”

Before he could process it, he was shielded beneath two bodies. Then—BANG!

After a violent explosion, the world went silent.

Everything was pitch black. He felt paralyzed, and an overwhelming dread swept through him.

“Is it set up?” “Set up. Right in front of him. Guaranteed high-definition detail.” “Hahaha!” “We can squeeze a lot of money out of this, right?”

His body began to shake violently. A sudden sensation of weightlessness intensified his panic; he couldn’t tell if this was reality or an illusion. In his ears, mocking laughter, groans of pain, and children’s giggles tangled into a mess. He curled into a ball, retreating into his shell, trying to shut it all out.

“Ge?” “Su Wen-ge?”

A familiar voice seemed to tumble out from the depths of his memory. A second later, all other noises vanished.

“Su Wen-ge?”

He snapped his eyes open. Yun Shu was standing beside him, his face full of anxiety as he called his name.

His frayed nerves finally slackened. Su Wen sat up, gasping for breath, and looked around to find himself sitting on a bed in a strangely familiar room. He blinked, looking at Yun Shu. “How did I get here?”

Yun Shu sat on the edge of the bed and handed him a glass of water from the nightstand. He watched Su Wen drain it in one go before taking the glass back. “You fell asleep, but you looked like you were in pain,” Yun Shu explained calmly. “So I just brought you home to sleep.”

He tilted his wrist to show Su Wen his watch. It was already 4:00 PM.

He had slept for nearly eight hours. Su Wen rubbed his face hard, feeling inexplicably embarrassed. He quickly changed the subject. “Thanks. Can I go get my luggage now?”

Yun Shu nodded toward three suitcases in the corner by the door. “I already brought them back.”

“Oh. Thanks.” Su Wen looked away. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You seemed exhausted. Did you not sleep last night?”

“Mm.”

“Insomnia?”

“An old habit,” Su Wen replied. It wasn’t just last night. Since his first hospital visit for insomnia, this had been going on for four or five years.

“I see. Is it because…” Yun Shu hesitated, falling into a sudden silence.

Su Wen didn’t catch his meaning. “Because what?”

“Because of some… bad things.”

In an instant, Su Wen’s relaxed nerves tightened again. He felt the hair on his arms stand up; it was like a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. After a long pause, he asked in a raspy voice, “What bad things?”

Silence filled the air. After a long time, Yun Shu replied tentatively, “When you were sleeping just now, you didn’t look right. It seemed like you were having a nightmare because of something.”

The tapping of Su Wen’s fingers against his face stopped. An indescribable sensation spread from the soles of his feet to his entire body. A buzzing sound filled his ears, synchronized with the heavy thudding of his heart. He forced down a sudden surge of nausea, trying to keep his voice steady. “Just a nightmare.”

Yun Shu opened his mouth to say more, but Su Wen cut him off coldly. “Enough. Get out.”

Yun Shu didn’t push. He stood up, took two steps, then paused to look back. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Nothing.”

Su Wen kept his head down, unsure if he was actively avoiding Yun Shu or if he was simply groggy. Yun Shu ultimately gave up, turned the handle, and was about to leave when Su Wen spoke again.

“Yun Shu.”

He stopped and turned back, meeting Su Wen’s guarded eyes.

“There’s something I have to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Even though you call me ‘Ge,’ I don’t think we’re that close. I hope you can maintain a sense of boundaries.”

The words were merciless. After a long beat, Yun Shu gave a bitter laugh and avoided Su Wen’s cold gaze. “Can’t we be friends?”

“I don’t need friends.”

“Fine.” Yun Shu nodded. “Then what relationship do we have now?”

“Partners?” “Strangers.”

Their voices rang out almost simultaneously. Though it was expected, Yun Shu’s heart still gave a painful throb. After a moment, he shrugged it off. “Strangers it is, then. But taking care of you is my job. Sister Ji’an pays my salary. You can order me around however you like, just don’t be too strange with me. After all, I’m just doing what I’m paid for.”

“Mm.”

The air was quiet for two seconds, and then—click—the door closed.

Su Wen sat on the bed in a daze, his mind a chaotic mess. Eventually, he snapped out of it, got off the bed, dragged a suitcase over, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He took one out and put it in his mouth, but after searching his pockets, the floor, the bed, and under the pillows, he couldn’t find a lighter. It was likely left at the station.

With the unlit cigarette in his mouth, he sat on the floor, leaning against the bed. The room had a faint scent of laundry detergent that felt more comforting than smoke. A thin sliver of light peeked through a gap in the heavy curtains as the sky outside began to darken.

He heard the door open and footsteps as Yun Shu entered another room in the courtyard. Then came the sound of a spatula against a pan. A long time later, the noise stopped. Rustling sounds appeared outside his door. The handle turned, but the door didn’t open; Su Wen had locked it from the inside.

Outside, Yun Shu paused for a few seconds, then placed a stool by the door. His voice followed, sounding remarkably unbothered: “Su Wen-ge, dinner is ready.”

For some reason, even though he heard him, Su Wen didn’t want to respond. The voice outside stopped. He stared into space, having no intention of opening the door.

The sounds of herders driving yaks grew fainter and fainter until they vanished. Night had fallen. The light was on in the room, making the darkness outside seem even deeper. At this hour, Sare Village was silent, except for the distant tourist areas.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A sound came from outside—the sound of light footsteps on gravel. It didn’t sound like it was coming from Yun Shu’s direction; it was coming from right behind the window. As if to confirm his suspicion, there was another tap, tap, tap—the sound of something knocking on the glass.

Su Wen’s mind went blank for a second. Then, unable to contain his curiosity, he stood up and walked to the window, pulling back the curtain.

His breath hitched. He stood frozen.

Outside the window, a snow leopard was clinging to the frame with its front paws. The indoor light spilled onto it as the curtain moved. Su Wen recognized it instantly—it was the leopard with the notched right ear, the “owner” of the tuft of fur.

This was their third meeting. No—it was the third time this leopard had tracked him down.

It hung onto the window, its whiskers twitching. Its large, round eyes stared at him without blinking, showing no intention of leaving. It was as if they had known each other a long time ago.

Su Wen held the curtain open, staring back. It looked remarkably ordinary, not like a wild beast at all. In fact, it seemed less aggressive than the fat ginger cat his sister owned. If he had to describe it, it looked like a cat begging for food.

With that thought, he turned and hurried to the door. After a moment’s hesitation, he opened it and brought in the food Yun Shu had left on the stool. Though the food had been sitting there for two or three hours, it was still warm to the touch.

Without thinking much, he pulled a chair to the window and set the food down. He picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks, hesitated for two seconds, and popped it into his own mouth. Then he picked up another piece. Using his elbow to hold the curtain back, he used his other hand to slide the window open just a crack.

Before he could even offer the beef, the snow leopard squeezed through the gap, forcing the window wide open. With a graceful leap, it bypassed the food entirely and jumped straight into the room.

CLATTER—

The chopsticks fell from his hand. Su Wen stood frozen.

The snow leopard’s fluffy tail, which was longer than its body, was held high. Its grayish-green eyes scanned him up and down before it began walking toward him with light, silent steps.