Extra Chapter 14
Stellar Calendar 278, September 11th, Light Rain
Those leaves have all turned yellow. Baldy didn’t wait for them to fall. He sat on my head and plucked “Little Yellows” down before they could drop.
Baldy noticed this leaf, which was also pitiful. It could have stayed on the tree a while longer.
As the sun sets in the west, we saw a flock of geese, flying in a V-shape against the sky filled with the glow of dusk.
As the song goes, “While the sunset and the lonely swan fly together, autumn waters stretch as far as the sky.”
In the past, when I watched geese flying alone, I always felt lonely. After their long migration, these geese will arrive in warm places to spend the winter. But I have nothing.
I’m like a stray goose, unable to find direction, without belonging, exerting all my strength to flap my wings. But for a stray goose, it’s difficult to return to the flock.
The first half of my life has been wrong from the beginning. I’ve walked the wrong path, going against others, but the world is round, so I finally met the right person.
Thinking this way, the hardships I suffered before have turned into tempering.
As He Ruge stands beside me, holding Bobo, he softly hums a song about geese, “Aligned in rows, the river stretches long, autumn leaves yellow, the grassland’s qin song mournful. Geese, heading south, flying over reed marshes, vast sky, where are the geese going…”
Bobo sings along with He Ruge, his childish voice blending perfectly with the young man’s, like a small stream merging into the sea.
If I had heard such a melancholy song when I was seriously ill before, I might have been depressed all day long. I used to be surrounded by negative energy, my heart weighed down by a heavy stone, dragging it down endlessly, endlessly falling…
But now, when I hear the song, the greatest feeling I have is that autumn scenery is really beautiful. Bleak yet charmingly entangled, like a beauty in her twilight years.
Just as I was about to immerse myself in the world depicted by the song, Baldy suddenly asked out of the blue, “Dad, why don’t geese fly in the shape of a heart?”
I told Baldy, “You talk too much.”
Baldy laughed, gave me a “hup” sound, and then ran away giggling. He spread out his arms and flapped his wings, which still had little feathers.
He ran “da da da” all the way not far from us, and then made a chubby heart with his hands. It was silly, but also very cute.
Stellar Calendar 278, September 12th, Clear
Baldy told me that he decided to like autumn. I asked him why, and he said because autumn has arrived, the leaves are yellow, and the mountains are also yellow. The whole world is filled with his favorite colors.
For Bobo, yellow represents happiness. In Baldy’s eyes, maybe the whole world is happy in autumn.
Autumn also brings another joyful thing—the mosquitoes are all gone. In summer, I could always hear the buzzing of mosquitoes. Maybe because there are so many trees outside, mosquitoes are particularly abundant. It’s fine indoors, but once you go outside, Bobo would be covered in bites.
Baldy has fur to protect him, so it’s a bit difficult for mosquitoes to bite him. Bobo, on the other hand, with his smooth skin, is an easy target.
However, Bobo would use his nails to make a cross mark on the bites. He’s a very serious cub, making a precise cross on each bite. Baldy sees it and envies him, thinking it’s cool.
I seem to mention Bobo very rarely. I should write more about Bobo so that when I get old, I can flip through my diary and reminisce about the past.
Bobo isn’t a clingy cub. Most of the time, he likes to lie on the waterbed and look at his tablet, occasionally enjoying being with He Ruge. Sometimes when He Ruge is typing, Bobo would gently rest his head on He Ruge’s arm. When He Ruge types, his arm sways back and forth, and Bobo’s head follows suit.
This kind of leaning isn’t as comfortable as leaning against a pillow. I used to think it was because Bobo liked sticking to He Ruge, but later I felt it wasn’t entirely.
Before the star tracks of Seventeen Stars were completely built, He Ruge would drive the obsolete car, and I, Baldy, and Bobo would sit in the back seat.
Baldy would always bounce around on me as if he had endless energy to release. Bobo, on the other hand, would quietly rest his little head against the car window. I said to Bobo that the car was bumpy and asked if it was uncomfortable to lean his head against the window.
Bobo whispered, “It’s okay.”
He seemed to enjoy the bumps, as if he liked a strange world that belonged to him alone.
I can understand Baldy, but there are many times when I can’t figure out Bobo. Thinking about this, I realize I really don’t pay enough attention to Bobo. I don’t know what he likes to eat, what he enjoys, and what he dislikes.
On the contrary, with Baldy, I can list out his likes and dislikes.
Stellar Calendar 278, September 13th, Clear
He Ruge would make some desserts at home by himself. Today, he handed over a fragrant dessert to Bobo and told him in front of Baldy that no one could eat this dessert.
Actually, “no one” in He Ruge’s words refers to Baldy. Baldy hadn’t finished his homework yet. To motivate Baldy to finish his homework, He Ruge used this dessert to tempt Baldy, like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey.
He Ruge’s heart is always soft. Sometimes Baldy would act like a little rascal, lying on He Ruge’s feet and constantly rubbing his little head against He Ruge’s legs, begging, “Dad, give me a bite, just a little bit, okay~”
Or he would lie on the ground, revealing his soft little belly to He Ruge, and with a milky voice, he would say, “Dad, don’t you want to touch my belly? Just touch it and give me a bite~”
Under Baldy’s shameless pleading, He Ruge couldn’t help but give the dessert to Baldy. After Baldy finished eating it cleanly, He Ruge would sigh lightly and say he couldn’t do this next time. But the next time, he would still give in to Baldy’s cuteness.
I especially dislike Baldy’s behavior. Once, the study got a new desk, and I thought He Ruge lying on it would look nice. He Ruge said it was broad daylight and in the study, he didn’t want to fool around with me.
At that time, for some reason, I suddenly remembered Baldy acting cute to He Ruge and He Ruge reluctantly agreeing. So I turned into my beast form, squeezed between two rows of bookshelves, and revealed my belly to He Ruge.
He Ruge looked at me with a very indescribable expression.
In his complex gaze, I imitated Baldy rolling on the ground. There wasn’t much space, and although it was difficult to roll, the thought of a new position gave me motivation.
Halfway through rolling, there was a sudden knock on the study door, and Baldy’s voice came loudly, “Dad, was there an earthquake just now?”
In short, that was a regrettable experience.
Returning to the incident where Baldy acted cute for dessert, He Ruge chose a fair and just supervisor—Bobo.
Baldy also tried acting cute towards Bobo. Maybe because they were of the same age, Baldy wasn’t so embarrassed to roll around in front of Bobo. He would cautiously pat Bobo with his palm, while watching Bobo expectantly. Bobo would pat Baldy’s head and say that if he finished his homework, Dad would let him eat.
This time, it was still Bobo guarding the dessert. I suddenly remembered what I had been thinking about last night—I didn’t know Bobo’s preferences.
So I went to Bobo and asked him, “Do you like sweets?”
Bobo nodded.
Pointing at the plate of dessert, I asked again, “Do you think this dessert tastes good?”
“Dad said this dessert can’t be eaten by anyone.”
Bobo seemed to misunderstand something. He thought I was asking because I wanted to eat the dessert.
I decided to play along and teased Bobo, “But Dad really wants to eat it. Can you give Dad a little piece, okay?”
I watched as Bobo furrowed his brows, his small face showing a troubled expression. I had never seen Bobo so conflicted before; I found it strangely interesting.
In Bobo’s mind, was He Ruge’s words more important, or mine?
I was curious about Bobo’s answer.
“Then… give Dad a little piece, let’s keep it a secret.” Bobo seemed to make some kind of decision.
I suppressed a smile, took the dessert from Bobo, and completed this covert operation with Bobo. In that moment, I suddenly felt that the distance between Bobo and me had narrowed. The two of us had a shared little secret.
I ate that piece of dessert, its sticky and smooth texture, with a fruity sweetness. Originally, this matter should have ended there, but He Ruge happened to come out of the room and happened to see that a part of the dessert was missing.
He Ruge asked who had eaten it.
I was about to say it was me who ate it, but what surprised me was that Bobo lowered his head and said softly, “I’m sorry, Dad, I ate it.”
His ears turned red, and his cheeks, hidden by his hair, were also blushing.
… So the little angel can also lie.
Stellar Calendar 278, September 14th, Heavy Rain
On the mountain, the persimmons have turned red, so we went up to pick them. Each of us carried a basket; Baldy and Bobo’s baskets were no bigger than a palm and could hold at most three persimmons.
Baldy couldn’t wait to grab a persimmon and started gnawing on it eagerly, his mouth full of red juice. I worried he might swallow the seeds since persimmon seeds are so large. So, I kept watching Baldy closely.
He Ruge suggested we could make persimmon cakes, which are also very delicious. Baldy wiped his mouth haphazardly with the back of his hand and mumbled, “So delicious, so delicious.”
Bobo held a small fruit basket and took out a handkerchief, earnestly wiping Baldy’s mouth clean. Baldy lifted his face obediently, allowing Bobo to wipe, his tail tip happily curling up, his tiger ears twitching back and forth, looking very content.
I tapped Baldy’s head and said to him, “You’re so big now, but you still eat like a little kitten. Silly, aren’t you?”
Baldy confidently replied, “I’m a little tiger!”
When we were descending the mountain, suddenly a torrential rain started. I spread my wings, using them like an umbrella; my left wing shielded He Ruge, and my right wing shielded Baldy and Bobo.
Baldy tilted his little head back and asked me, “Dad, what about you?”
I told Baldy, “It’s okay if I get a little wet in the rain, but if you two get wet, you might catch a cold.”
Baldy flapped his little wings, solemnly handed his fruit basket to Bobo, then transformed into his beast form. With a swift motion, he climbed up from my legs, quickly leaping onto my waist, then my shoulder, and finally on top of my head.
He crouched on my head; honestly, he’s gotten chubby now, almost turning into a large hat that completely covered my head. I heard the pouring rain and the flapping of Baldy’s little wings. I heard Baldy say seriously, “Dad, I’m not afraid of getting sick, I still have my little wings.”
With his tiny bald wings, he still wanted to shelter me from the wind and rain…
If Bobo is like a thoughtful little cotton jacket, then Baldy is like a little flying hat.
I‘m wearing a little jacket, wearing a little flying hat, holding He Ruge’s hand. Even if the road ahead is long and difficult, I’m no longer afraid of anything.
