Chapter 235: A Cry from Deep Inside the Soul
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Guo Dongyue was a stranger to Little Celery, so she immediately hid behind a display showcase nearby, sizing him up secretly with her bright eyes.
It was cool in the mornings, so Guo Dongyue wore a thin, high-collared sweater, a leather jacket, and a pair of leather gloves. Zhang Zian mocked him secretly; this man dressed in even more clothes than a pupil. Since practicing Wing Chun Kung Fu with Old Time Tea, Zhang Zian’s body had become increasingly more fit. Under a weather like today, he only needed to wear a shirt or undershirt with a light jacket. Sometimes when he felt cold sitting on the couch, he would stand up and practice the Kung Fu moves taught by Old Time Tea a couple of times, and he would feel warm again.
"When did you arrive?" Zhang Zian asked bluntly.
"I’ve been here for a while." Guo Dongyue did not come in; instead, he kept standing in front of the pet shop’s door.
Zhang Zian felt so awkward that he wanted to find a hole and hide himself in the ground. He wondered whether Guo Dongyue had seen him bragging about himself in front of a little girl. "Why are you so creepy? You should have informed me as soon as you arrived. You can’t just stand here and eavesdrop on me!" A stone-faced Zhang Zian blamed Guo Dongyue.
"I couldn’t disturb you while you were reciting poems." Guo Dongyue said with calm expression on his face.
Zhang Zian was insistent that the sentence was sarcastic. He believed that though Guo Dongyue did not looked like he was laughing, this guy must be mocking him inside his heart.
"If you keep doing this, you will need to compensate me for my mental damage," Zhang Zian muttered.
Guo Dongyue glanced at Little Celery, who was hiding behind the display showcase. "Is this your daughter?"
"You think I have a daughter of this age? Come on, I don’t even have a girlfriend!" Zhang Zian growled.
Why would Uncle Li, Guo Dongyue and Sun Xiaomeng all think Little Celery was his daughter the first time they saw her? What if they told his future girlfriend and she also misunderstood him? So, he must clarify that mistake loud and clear right now.
Unfortunately, his roar was heard by the aunties who were passing by. They were on their way home after buying groceries at the morning market. Hearing Zhang Zian’s cry from deep inside of his soul, they threw him flirtatious looks.
Their gazes gave him goosebumps. Maybe next time he shouted, he should specify the age limits of his future girlfriends?
"I... I am Little Celery," she said sheepishly and raised a hand, as if she was answering a question in classroom.
"My name is Guo Dongyue, Dong as in ‘winter’, and Yue as in ‘mountain’ in Chinese." Guo Dongyue made his dull self-introduction in the same tone as when he introduced himself to Sun Xiaomeng and Zhang Zian.
Zhang Zian complained about Guo Dongyue inside his heart, "Can you stop making that poker face in front of a school girl?"
Little Celery knew how to write "Dong", but "Yue" was difficult. Zhang Zian saw she was confused, and he was happy that his name was simple.
Little Celery became very cautious when there were strangers around. Zhang Zian helped out and talked to Guo Dongyue, "Dude, can you help me with something? I see you are not busy. Why don’t you go to that fruit store for me? When you see the bosses, tell them you are there for the barbecue ordered by my pet shop. They will know what to do."
Guo Dongyue was speechless.
"You see, I can only leave the shop after I have swept the floor and fed these cats. I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to wait a bit longer." Zhang Zian pointed at Fina and other cats that were waiting to be fed. In fact, he planned to ask Little Celery to look after his shop while he went to fetch the barbecue. But right now, he could ask Guo Dongyue to help him for free.
Guo Dongyue quietly turned and headed to the fruit shop.
"If the meat is not ready, you can wait there for a while; there’s no need to rush back here. By the way, can you bring some Shao-mai back for me too? I haven’t had breakfast yet." Zhang Zian reminded him loudly.
Seeing that Guo Dongyue had gone, Little Celery finally rested assured. It was getting late, so she opened her backpack, pulled out the zip-lock plastic bags, and grabbed a handful of dried fruit to feed the little hamster and Lop Ear rabbit. Finally, she brought out a big red apple, "Brother store manager, do you have knife?"
"Let me help you." Zhang Zian took the apple from her and went to the kitchen on the second floor. He used the knife to cut it into several pieces, put it on the plate and went downstairs.
"Wow! Thank you, Brother store manager!" Little Celery took the apple from him. She looked up and found that the grey parrot was on the display showcase and staring at the apple.
"Do you want some?" She picked up a piece of apple and gestured at Richard.
"Quack! Quack! I do!" Richard fluttered its wings and flew down quickly to bite the apple.
"Ouch!"
Richard acted too fast, and Little Celery was a little bit scared. She was afraid that her fingers might be pecked by Richard, so she quickly withdrew her hand.
Zhang Zian angrily knocked on Richard's head, "Are you starving to death or something? "
Richard's beak was strong. It used its claws to stabilize the apple on the desk, and pecked it into smaller pieces. And Richard finished eating the apples in no time. It kept staring greedily at the rest of the apple slices in the plate.
Its greedy look made Zhang Zian feel so embarrassed that he covered his face with his hands.
"Have you never eaten an apple before? Why are you so greedy?" he complained.
Richard glanced at him disdainfully, "Jeff, to be honest, the apples you brought back before were so tiny and not juicy, and they tasted so bad. Did you just go to the fruit peddlers whenever there was a big sale and buy up the apples that no one wants?"
Zhang Zian was speechless—Richard had known the truth!
Little Celery did not feel strange about the conversation between Zhang Zian and Richard, and gave it another apple slice with a smile. "It’s okay. We still have some apple slices."
"Quack! Thank you! Little Celery, do you want to have a bird as your pet? A bird that can talk and play cute?" Richard became gentler this time, pecking at the apple slice at a slower speed. The apple was fresh and juicy, Little Celery must have carefully selected it.
Damn! This arrogant Richard had been tamed by only two apple slices.
Zhang Zian tried to knock its head again, but Richard dodged away quickly.
"My family doesn’t allow me to have pets." Little Celery gazed at Richard while it was eating the apple, and out of curiosity, she carefully stretched out her hand to touch its feathers.
Richard did not move or hide. Instead, Richard not only allowed her to touch its feathers, but it also added, "Do you want some feathers as souvenirs? They can be nice bookmarks."
Little Celery probably thought of the bloody scene of plucking feathers, and she retracted her hand fearfully and shook her head, "No, thank you, you can keep them to yourself."
Zhang Zian consoled Little Celery, "Don’t mind this bird. It’s not comfortable to feel this bird’s feathers because they are too stiff. You can go feel the furs of cats, dogs and rabbits. Their furs are so soft and comfortable."
"You are not allowed to keep pets? What a pity!" exclaimed Richard.
"Yes, my mom doesn’t approve of me…" Little Celery looked a bit dismayed, but she cheered up, "Perhaps I didn’t behave well enough in the past, I will work harder to become a better child!"
Richard finished eating the apple, "Quack? Are you sure this is the reason?"
Zhang Zian was also reflecting on the same question. When he met Little Celery for the first time, he assumed that her mother didn’t allow her to keep pets because she worried that pets would distract Little Celery from her studies, but was that really the reason her mother said no to pets?