Half a year later, I was back at the same hospital.
The man in the white coat took me from Mama and laid me on the familiar table, checking my wounds.
I was in so much pain.
He said I had multiple broken bones and internal injuries. Most cats wouldn’t survive. The woman in the white coat—the one who loved to cuddle cats—cried as she helped.
“But I know you can make it,” the man said gently, stroking my head.
After their care, I slowly regained strength.
I spent two days in a hospital cage.
Next to me was the neutered tomcat, “Lucky,” who’d gotten even fatter.
He’d once been very sick and abandoned by his owner, but the doctors nursed him back to health.
Now, Lucky was the hospital’s mascot—happy and carefree, except for the missing bits.
Back home, Mama never left my side.
She was terrified after what happened. At night, she held me close, gently touching my whiskerless face.
“Nian Nian, do you blame me?
“For not getting here sooner, for leaving you alone?”
I knew she wasn’t just asking me—she was asking Xiao Nian, too.
I meowed softly.
How could I blame Mama?
She’s the best Mama in the world. It was the bullies’ fault, not hers.
With Mama’s care, my broken leg slowly healed. I could walk again. My whiskers started to grow back, and I even got a bit chubby from all the treats.
Xiao Mei was right: “Those who are loved grow strong.”
At night, I kneaded Mama’s arm, purring, feeling like the luckiest cat alive.
Death had come for me twice, but Mama always got there first
After the bullies were arrested, their families tried to offer Mama money to settle things quietly.
Mama refused.
She took them to court.
Breaking and entering, destruction of property, and the previous bullying of Xiao Nian—since they’d turned sixteen and had a record, they faced real consequences.
They were sentenced to years in prison.
Their parents protested outside the apartment, shouting that Mama had ruined their children’s lives.
The old woman who’d lied for them was pushed by an angry parent and fell.
She ended up in the hospital with a suspected stroke, barely able to speak.
I didn’t see any of this.
Mama felt the apartment wasn’t safe anymore, so she sold it and moved us to a new place.
Xiao Mei said Xiao Nian’s death had trapped Mama in that old home, but I’d set her free.
As she said this, I was curled up in my new cat bed, purring and kneading.
“Meow.”
She was right—this was all thanks to me, the mighty Cat King! I deserved at least twenty cans as a reward.
Mama seemed to understand my cat talk. She scooped me up and hugged me tight, smiling for the first time in a long while.
“Yes, it’s all thanks to Nian Nian.
“Tonight, Mama will make you a special feast.”
Yay! More delicious food. I really am the luckiest cat in the world.
Chapter 08
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