"Wuwuwu...my cat! Please catch my cat!"
An Ran scrambled to pick up her scattered belongings while comforting and persuading the crying boy, "Let me take you to the hospital first and treat the wound in your hand..."
"No...I want my cat!"
The little boy cried with tears all over his face, holding onto An Ran tightly, "Please find my cat for me, please...wuwuwu, I beg you!"
Feeling sorry for the little boy, An Ran looked up and saw the cat that had just run past sunbathing on the lawn not far away.
Since it was not far from here, it would only take a few minutes to bring the cat back. An Ran quickly nodded and comforted him, "Okay...wait here, big sister will help you find your cat soon, don't cry!"
An Ran handed her bag to him, "You stay here and wait for me, don't run around, remember?"
However, as soon as An Ran walked out, the little boy caught up with her quickly, holding onto her tightly.
"Let go of me first, how can I find your cat if you hold onto me?"
The little boy sniffed hard and looked pitifully at An Ran, "I'll go with you to find it."An Ran was about to say that the little boy couldn't help much, but when she saw the cat running away again, she didn't have time to say anything and quickly chased after it.
She was wearing high heels and had not eaten much breakfast. Now, running made her feel empty and weak. Due to the high heels, she couldn't run very fast, and she couldn't catch up with the cat's escape speed.
The cat's white fur was very clean, and its body was plump but very agile.
It disappeared from their sight in just a few steps. The little boy chased after the direction in which the cat fled, shouting loudly, "Snow, Snow! Come back quickly!"
But looking at the small alley with only a green belt left infront of them, the pure white cat had long disappeared without a trace.
An Ran furrowed her brows and searched around, but she couldn't find the cat's whereabouts. The little boy was crying in distress, his beautiful eyes filled with tears that streamed down his face. An Ran felt heartbroken at the sight of it.
"Xiaoxue is gone...wah...Xiaoxue is gone!" The little boy cried uncontrollably.
"Don't cry, Xiaoxue must be hiding around here somewhere. Let's search slowly, we will find her!" An Ran comforted him urgently.
"Wah...if you can help me find Bai Xue, I will ask my uncle to give you a lot of money! A lot of money!" The little boy's words made An Ran unable to hold back her laughter.
She touched the little boy's furry head and said in a soothing tone, "Alright, alright! Sister will definitely help you find Xiaoxue. Let's go...let's search together."
The alley was not big nor small, and the two of them searched for a long time, panting and tired. Finally, they found Xiaoxue lying in the sun behind a trash can beside an electric pole.
The snow-white cat looked like a snowball under the sun. When she saw her little owner, Xiaoxue lazily blinked her eyes, probably tired from running around.
An Ran walked over and bent down to pick up Xiaoxue. The little boy was anxious to hold the cat, but An Ran dodged hismovements.
The little boy jumped up and down, "Give Xiaoxue to me! Give her to me!"
An Ran looked at his bloody palm and patiently bent down to him, "Be good, let me take you to the hospital to treat your wound, okay? Your wound hasn't healed yet, holding the cat can easily infect the wound...it will be very painful when it gets infected."
The little boy didn't listen to her at all and desperately tried to grab Xiaoxue from her arms, "I'm not afraid of pain! Xiaoxue is mine! Give her back to me!"
An Ran loved children and was very patient with naughty kids. She smiled and reached out her other hand to touch the little boy's head, her smile gentle and her tone soft, "Do you want Xiaoxue?"
The little boy nodded without hesitation, "I want her!"
As she spoke, her black eyes remained fixed on the cat in Anran's arms. Anran was delighted with the cute little boy and spoke to him in a gentler tone: "If you want, be a good boy and come with me to the hospital to have your wound treated. If you listen to me and bandage your wound, I'll give you the snow you want."
The little boy stared at the cat without blinking, and finally nodded reluctantly:
"Okay, I'll listen to you, but you can't lie to me. If you lie to me, I won't talk to you again."
Anran smiled and said, "Okay, if I'm a big liar, you don't have to talk to me anymore."
As she chatted with the little boy, Anran took him to the hospital. Fortunately, the hospital was nearby. While waiting in line for registration and emergency treatment, Anran suddenly realized that she hadn't asked the little boy's parents.
"Little friend, what's your name? Is your home nearby? Do you remember your parents' phone number?"
The hospital was crowded, and the little boy became very quiet and unwilling to talk, just staring at the white cat. Anran asked two or three times, but the little boy didn't answer.
"Little friend, if you don't answer my questions, I won't return the cat to you!"
The silent little boy finally reacted to these words. He looked at the white cat and said in a low voice, "I don't live nearby. I came to find my uncle. I don't have a dad or a mom... My name is Ruirui."
At the end, Ruirui hesitated for a moment before slowly saying his name.
The little boy was now unusually quiet, and Anran keenly felt that Ruirui's emotions were very low and he seemed very resistant to coming to the hospital. Was he afraid of getting a shot? Anran speculated in her mind and felt even more pity for Ruirui, who had no parents.
"Ruirui, be good. We're just treating the wound on yourhand. You don't need to get a shot. Don't be afraid. Big sister is here with you," Anran said, holding Ruirui in her arms.
Ruirui hesitated and wanted to reach out to touch the snow in Anran's arms, but after a moment's thought, he withdrew his hand.
"I'm not afraid of getting a shot..."
"Wow, Ruirui is such a brave little man!" An Ran smiled gently, sincerely admiring him. Her genuine admiration made Ruirui blush, and he shifted uncomfortably, asking with a mix of anticipation and doubt, "Am I really brave?"
An Ran nodded vigorously, giving him a thumbs up. "Of course you are! Other kids would have cried their eyes out if they were hurt like you were, but you didn't cry at all. If that's not bravery, then what is?"
"I didn't feel that much pain, and I just wanted to get back to playing in the snow as soon as possible, that's why I didn't cry..." Ruirui was interrupted by a cheerful ringtone coming from his pocket.
As soon as he heard the ringtone, Ruirui's eyes lit up. He answered the phone and put it on speaker. A voice filled with urgency and concern came from the phone, "Ruirui! Where are you now? The nanny at home said you ran out to find me. Where are you? Don't wander around by yourself!"
The voice sounded... familiar to An Ran, but she couldn't quite place it.