Chapter 5: The Best Friend Appears
“Um… your hair is a bit long. I’ll cut it for you later.” After untangling his knotted hair, its true length was revealed, obscuring most of the little hamster’s bright eyes. The little hamster was uncomfortable, constantly trying to push his hair out of his face.
Seeing this, Lin Xia quickly helped him into pajamas and took him to the room to dry his hair.
Having never been in such a nice room before, the little hamster’s eyes widened as he looked around, until Lin Xia brought out a black object with a tail.
“Woo…” The sound of the hair dryer suddenly started, and the unsuspecting little hamster flinched away in fright.
“Scared…” The little hamster’s eyes welled up with tears.
“I’m sorry, it was my fault.” Lin Xia turned off the hair dryer and apologized to the little hamster. He hadn’t considered that the little hamster had never encountered a hair dryer before, causing him such fright.
“This is called a hair dryer, it’s used to dry hair. See how wet your hair is now? Using this, your hair will dry quickly.” Lin Xia explained.
“Dry… dry…” After hearing Lin Xia’s explanation, the little hamster agreed to try. Even though he was clearly afraid and his body trembled constantly, the little hamster still stood obediently.
Lin Xia was once again charmed, clutching his heart after being hit by the cuteness overload, and started to dry the little hamster’s hair.
“Okay.” Lin Xia touched the little hamster’s hair, feeling it was almost dry, and turned off the hair dryer. “Next, we’ll cut your hair.”
Lin Xia had the little hamster sit down, took out his scissors, and snip snip snip began to cut.
After trimming the overly long hair and styling it into a popular hairstyle among college students, the little hamster transformed into a fresh-faced young man.
“Hmm, not bad.” Lin Xia liked it more and more the longer he looked.
At this moment, the little hamster also saw himself in the mirror. He couldn’t believe the person in the mirror was him. He waved his hand, and the person in the mirror waved back. He widened his eyes, and the person in the mirror widened his eyes too.
Was this really him? Just like the stylish men and women walking to and fro on the street, he no longer needed to be scorned, beaten, and driven away by others? He wouldn’t be looked at with strange eyes anymore?
…
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Lin Xia saw tears welling up in the little hamster’s eyes and thought he wasn’t feeling well.
“No… it’s…” Seeing Lin Xia’s misunderstanding, the little hamster quickly explained, “I… I… happy…”
“Glad to hear it.” Lin Xia patted the little hamster’s head. “Okay, I’m going to cook now. You and Bao Bao can watch TV.”
Lin Xia took the little hamster to the living room and let him watch TV with Tuan Tuan (the white cat).
“Aowu?” (⊙o⊙) Wow, who is this?! Tuan Tuan didn’t recognize the changed homeless brother.
“This is the brother who came home with us today.” Lin Xia said with a smile.
“Aowu!” Brother is so handsome! The child spoke honestly.
“Cat… so… cute…” Apparently, the little hamster mistook Tuan Tuan for a big cat.
“Bao Bao, you and your brother watch TV, Daddy will go cook.” Lin Xia said with a smile. He didn’t deliberately tell the little hamster Tuan Tuan’s identity; never mind that it was hard to believe, but even if he did, the little hamster might not understand.
“Aowu!” Okay! Tuan Tuan replied.
Lin Xia went into the kitchen, while Tuan Tuan and the little hamster watched TV in the living room.
“Aowu?” Brother, let’s watch Tom and Jerry? Tuan Tuan asked the little hamster.
“?” The little hamster didn’t understand Tuan Tuan’s words, and looked at Tuan Tuan with equally wide and questioning eyes.
Why doesn’t this cat meow like Xiao Miao, but make an “aowu” sound?
“Aowu?” Brother, why are you watching An An?
“Ah… cat… meow…” The little hamster tried to talk to Tuan Tuan like he talked to Xiao Miao.
“Aowu~” Okay, brother also wants to watch Tom and Jerry, let’s watch Tom and Jerry together. Tuan Tuan heard the little hamster mention cats, immediately used its chubby paw to press the remote control, changing the channel to a children’s channel.
“Aowu~” Brother, look, that little one is Jerry the mouse, and that big one is Tom the cat. Tuan Tuan introduced the main characters of the cartoon to the little hamster.
…
The living room was filled with warmth and happiness. In the kitchen, Lin Xia washed rice, cooked, washed vegetables, and chopped vegetables, all with incredible speed.
“Two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and one soup should be enough.” Lin Xia thought.
“Aowu aowu!” Dad, answer the phone, Uncle Mingjie is calling! Tuan Tuan’s custom ringtone for Chen Mingjie rang, and Lin Xia wiped his hands to answer the phone.
“Hello? Mingjie.”
“Xiao Xiaxia~” Chen Mingjie’s voice was overly sweet.
“What is it?” Even though he was used to Chen Mingjie’s voice, Lin Xia still couldn’t help but get goosebumps when he heard it again.
“I’m coming over to mooch a meal later, remember to cook my portion.” Oh, so that’s what it was.
“There will definitely be yours.” Lin Xia said, “By the way, I have a guest at home today, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Who? Do I know them?” Humph, Xiao Xiaxia has someone else besides him.
“A homeless man, he brought a kitten to the shop for treatment today, so I took him in.” Chen Mingjie was his best friend, and there was nothing they couldn’t talk about.
“Is that so, interesting.” Chen Mingjie had discovered something fun again.
“…” Although they were good friends, Lin Xia found it difficult to understand Chen Mingjie’s train of thought.
“I’m driving, I’ll be there soon. Talk later, bye!” In a place unseen by Lin Xia, Chen Mingjie started his car and drove off.
“Mm, drive safely.” Lin Xia reminded him. Because Chen Mingjie was coming, Lin Xia made a few more dishes. Since Chen Mingjie frequently came to mooch meals, Lin Xia knew his tastes, so he made more of his favorite dishes.
By the time Lin Xia had set the dishes on the table, Chen Mingjie had arrived.
“I could smell the delicious aroma from far away!” Chen Mingjie said while changing his shoes.
“Go wash your hands first.” Lin Xia glanced at Chen Mingjie’s hands.
“Yes, sir.” Chen Mingjie hummed a tune as he went to the bathroom to wash his hands.
After washing his hands, Chen Mingjie saw a handsome boy and couldn’t help but whistle.
“Who is this handsome boy?” Chen Mingjie asked Lin Xia as he sat down.
“Xiao Cangshu (Little Hamster), the guest I told you about today.” Lin Xia replied.
“Not bad, beyond expectations.” Chen Mingjie’s preconceived notions about homeless people were instantly overturned by Xiao Cangshu.
“Hello Xiao Cangshu, my name is Chen Mingjie, I’m Lin Xia’s friend, you can call me Jie Ge (Brother Jie) in the future.” Chen Mingjie turned to Xiao Cangshu and introduced himself.
“Jie… Ge…” Knowing that Chen Mingjie was Lin Xia’s friend, Xiao Cangshu greeted him happily.
“Here, have some soup.” Lin Xia served Xiao Cangshu a bowl of soup.
Xiao Cangshu had never eaten at a dining table before, he was hesitant, not daring to do anything.
“Don’t worry about breaking anything, just feel comfortable.” Lin Xia saw his nervousness.
“Okay…” With Lin Xia’s words, Xiao Cangshu gradually relaxed and ate the dishes Lin Xia picked up for him, his eyes squinting happily.
“Click!” Chen Mingjie took a picture of this scene with his phone. “So cute, I’m going to use this as my wallpaper.”
In the photo, Xiao Cangshu was gnawing on a chicken leg, his eyes squinted into crescent shapes, looking incredibly happy.
The meal was a joyous occasion for everyone. After the meal, Lin Xia and Chen Mingjie washed the dishes in the kitchen.
“Xiao Xiaxia, what are you planning to do with Xiao Cangshu?” As a friend, Chen Mingjie might be unserious usually, but he was serious at crucial moments.
Author’s Note: Muah! (kiss)