Chapter 17
Tucked safely inside the crossbody bag, the cotton doll was peeking out through the crack of the zipper, “spying” on this bustling world with a mix of curiosity and excitement—until it heard the human girl named Lin Zhi propose to its keeper in a cheerful voice:
“Brother Shang, you’re looking so intently—want to try raising one yourself?”
The tuft of ahoge hair atop the cotton doll’s head instantly perked up in alert.
Cotton’s good mood vanished in a flash, like a balloon popped with a pin.
If it hadn’t firmly remembered its promise to its keeper, the cotton doll would have loved nothing more than to blurt out a protest, demanding to be pulled out right this instance so it could puff out its chest and grandly declare to everyone:
This human already has a Cot! ton!
He can only have Cotton!
With no outlet for its huffy emotions, the cotton doll could only pout its stitched cat-like mouth, making a silently indignant face in the dark confines of the bag.
It was still fuming to itself when suddenly, a broad palm smoothed over it through the thin fabric of the crossbody bag. The human patted it gently a few times, then spoke in that tone the cotton doll knew so well:
“No need. Not interested.”
Yes, yes, yes, reject her just like that! The cotton doll was thoroughly satisfied with the human’s answer.
A qualified keeper must keep in mind at all times that he is a person with a Cotton!
Still… why did the human touch it just now?
Could it be… he was worried it would be unhappy hearing those words, so he deliberately comforted it?
Immediately after, it saw the human named Lin Zhi cover the chestnut doll’s ears with two fingers, telling its keeper with a face full of tension:
“Dolls aren’t allowed to hear things like that.”
…Not allowed to hear?
Then earlier… when the human touched it… was it because he didn’t want it to hear words like “not interested”?
The cotton doll wasn’t sure, but it felt that its keeper’s phrase “not interested” was executed brilliantly.
After all, now that he had it, he wasn’t allowed to be interested in other cotton dolls!
The cotton doll blinked its eyes.
Suddenly, the chestnut doll reappeared in its field of view wearing a different set of clothes. It parted its small mouth slightly to express its awe.
Woah~ This Cotton actually has other clothes!
So envious!
It seemed that the human named Lin Zhi was a very good keeper—she proactively rubbed cheeks with the chestnut doll, dressed it up, and brought it out to play.
The cotton doll nodded in satisfaction, awarding Lin Zhi a high score.
As Shang Che walked, the crossbody bag swayed gently, and the cotton doll’s “field of vision” moved along with his steps. Its golden eyes rolled around as it caught sight of more and more cotton dolls brought out by their keepers.
Blue ones, purple ones, red ones, black ones… different hair colors, different eye colors, and even different hairstyles and fabrics!
Every single one was meticulously dressed by its keeper, held in their palms, or affectionately pressed against their cheeks; a few were even lined up hand-in-hand.
So many Cottons! So happy!
This was simply Cotton paradise!
The cotton doll was nearly intoxicated by this joyful atmosphere. Filled with yearning for a bright future, it secretly made a firm resolution: I must make the human fall in love with Cotton!
Cotton is going to live the good life!
As it watched, however, it suddenly noticed a problem—why did these Cottons’ keepers look… similar to its keeper, yet also different?
Even though they all had eyebrows, eyes, noses, and mouths…
Its keeper had short hair, large palms, and a tall build.
Those keepers, on the other hand, had hair of varying lengths and all sorts of colors; they didn’t seem as tall as its keeper, and when gathered together, they talked a whole lot…
Its cotton head worked hard to process this.
Could it be that because its keeper belonged to a different “species” from other keepers, it couldn’t be brought out openly to play like the other Cottons?
Watching several keepers outside hugging, bouncing, and jumping around in excitement, it tried substituting its own keeper’s face into the scene…
Forget it, better not.
The mental image was too intense for Cotton to contemplate.
It was better for the human to remain as he was right now.
Though the human didn’t speak much and was a tiny bit cold toward Cotton, he would clumsily help Cotton get dressed, spread out blankets for Cotton, fetch the snow globe, patiently clean Cotton’s body when it got dirty, and today he even braved the risk of “being discovered” to bring Cotton out.
The cotton doll thought for a long time, recalling every single detail of its short “cotton life” spent with its keeper so far.
After pondering for a good while, it arrived at a conclusion.
Human is very good too!
Although he was a bit different from other people’s keepers, its human was not a single bit inferior to anyone else’s!
Shang Che’s momentary zone-out did not escape Lu Zeming’s notice. Pushing up his glasses, Lu Zeming suddenly spoke, his tone as flat as if they were discussing what to eat later: “Why do you guys like these cotton dolls so much?”
“Because they’re super cute! Brother Lu, didn’t you say they were cute earlier too?” Lin Zhi smiled.
“I indeed said that,” Lu Zeming nodded without denial. “But I said it from an objective standpoint. I wouldn’t be like everyone else…”
Weighing his words, a trace of apology flashed in his eyes: “…treating these cotton dolls with different color schemes and styles in such meticulous detail…”
Lin Zhi waved her hand: “It’s very simple. Let me ask you a question in return, Brother Lu.”
“Go ahead,” Lu Zeming said.
Lin Zhi: “I heard Brother Lu really likes figures. Do you clean them, maintain them, or even take photos of them every now and then? Do you see different figures and get reminded of yourself at a certain point in time? Do you feel happy just seeing them? Do you sometimes think, ‘It’d be so great if it were by my side’?”
Lu Zeming pushed up his glasses. In truth, he already understood: “I do.”
Lin Zhi nodded, holding up the cotton doll in her hand: “It’s the exact same for me.”
“It’s just that compared to figures, cotton dolls are much more convenient to carry around. I really love the feeling of it keeping me company, I really enjoy the process of dressing it up, and I look forward to every outing, joint photo, and check-in with it…”
Lin Zhi beamed a bright smile, looking back at the girls around them—gentle, cute, lively… girls of all personalities were smiling brightly at this moment because of a “cotton doll” that might seem utterly ordinary in the eyes of others, filling even the air with a sense of happiness.
She looked at Lu Zeming and Shang Che, as if answering on behalf of everyone: “A cotton doll is sometimes a baby that needs to be cared for, sometimes a friend you can confide in, and sometimes another version of myself…”
“I’m not asking a cotton doll to give me anything in return. On the contrary, every moment spent with it comes from an emotional sustenance and memory creation that I need. It’s because I treasure it and want to treat it well that I intend to raise it for a lifetime.”
Lin Zhi added a playful remark: “Just like bringing a small animal home—you have to raise it properly, right?”
Listening to her, something in a corner of Shang Che’s heart stirred subtly.
Keeping the cotton doll in his crossbody bag had initially been purely out of not knowing what else to do.
Later, it was out of a bit of helplessness and a sliver of bizarre soft-heartedness, yet he had never thought about how to treat it properly.
It was only today that he firmly decided to keep this little thing and strive to be a qualified keeper.
Shang Che had never considered dressing up the cotton doll or taking it out to create memories; what he thought about more was how to hide it, and how to prevent trouble from arising.
Yet he had to admit that Lin Zhi’s words struck a deep chord within him.
Thinking of the chestnut doll in Lin Zhi’s hands—so meticulously cherished, as if possessing a “life” of its own—and then thinking of the cotton doll in his bag, brimming with curiosity about the outside world, setting its mind at ease over a single promise, a cotton doll that had truly come alive…
Shang Che inexplicably felt a wave of guilt and self-consciousness. He hadn’t treated this cotton doll too harshly, right…?
Perhaps, within a range he could accept, he could let it experience the joys that other cotton dolls enjoyed?
Shang Che’s gaze swept imperceptibly across the room, watching the other keepers.
Taking photos? That was a bit too embarrassing for him.
Calling it “baby”? Please, no.
Snuggling and hugging? That was even more out of the question!
The more Shang Che watched, the worse his expression became, until Lu Zeming patted him on the back: “What are you daydreaming about? I’ve been calling you for a while.”
“I was thinking if I could regret this…” Shang Che’s voice carried a flat, lifeless quality, to the point where he couldn’t help inhaling sharply and closing his eyes.
Lu Zeming guided him persuasively: “Regret what?”
“Nothing.” Shang Che opened his eyes, his dark pupils appearing somewhat deep.
“Sister Zhi! Brother Shang! Brother Lu!” A classmate ran over like a whirlwind, shouting: “Why did you all run over here—”
“The Truth or Dare over there is just waiting for Lin Zhi and Brother Shang to wrap up.”
Lin Zhi was in the prime of her doll-dressing high and had zero intention of leaving. After a moment’s thought, she asked: “Is it fine as long as there’s a witness?”
The classmate nodded blankly.
“It just so happens Lu Zeming and you are both here, so you can be witnesses.”
Lin Zhi’s gaze made Shang Che’s skin crawl. Sure enough, he heard a mischievous voice pause deliberately: “Brother Shang’s dare is to help me… and my doll take a set of Polaroid photos.”
Lu Zeming couldn’t help clapping: “Then you really found the right person.”
Shang Che shot him a dry-smiling side-eye, his gaze packed with the warning: Do you still want that custom doll or not?
“However, I’m a bit worried about his skills. I’ll assist from the side—you don’t mind, right?”
Lu Zeming shifted his phrasing rapidly. Lin Zhi could barely hold back her laughter, shaking her head to signal she didn’t mind: “My stake was originally a handmade doll bed, and a 40-centimeter one at that, but Brother Shang probably has no use for it. Let me think about what to swap it for…”
“No need, I’ll take that one.”
“Oh, okay…” Lin Zhi nodded instinctively, before processing what Shang Che had said: “Huh?”
“My little nephew… er, niece recently got a cotton doll too. She happens to need it.”
Lin Zhi wore a look of having found a fellow enthusiast, clapping her hands in excitement: “Awesome! Then I’ll throw in a few sets of doll clothes for her too. By the way, is her cotton doll a girl or a boy?”
Shang Che looked somewhat incredulous: “…Do they even have genders?”
“How should I put this…” Lin Zhi offered an analogy: “If there’s a backstory, you go by the designated gender; if not, you raise it however you like.”
Then she added in a quiet whisper: “Even if there’s a backstory, you don’t have to care. Whoever owns the doll gets the final say.”
Shang Che: “…Got it.”
He’d ask when he got home.
The classmate looked at Shang Che excitedly again: “Brother Shang, what’s your dare and stake?”
“This guy specifically begged me, saying you wanted a custom doll.” Shang Che patted Lu Zeming’s shoulder, stating his stake first. “Once you’ve decided on the details, just send them to me.”
Lin Zhi cheered in excitement: “Brother Shang, you’re such a great guy! I’ll do whatever dare you give me!”
“The next auditorium speech—you go in my place,” Shang Che said.
“Deal!” Lin Zhi nodded emphatically, then looked at Lu Zeming: “Good bro, I get what you mean.”
Lu Zeming pushed up his glasses, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile that signaled ‘a new figure is about to land in my hands.’
This game somehow achieved a zero-casualty [Happy End].
Holding the photos shot by Shang Che under Lu Zeming’s guidance, Lin Zhi delivered her “acceptance speech”: “Thanks to the two handsome guys for these precious photos. I’ll cherish them properly.”
“…Smiling a bit would make you look less forced.” Shang Che admitted he truly lacked photography skills; even Lu Zeming, who frequently shot photos of figures, couldn’t save him.
Lu Zeming: “Go sign up for a photography class. I think there’s something wrong with your aesthetic taste.”
“I signed you up for a course on ‘The Art of Speaking’ next door,” Shang Che returned the compliment politely.
Lin Zhi burst out laughing: “Alright, alright, it’s not that bad. My baby is photogenic—it looks cute no matter how you shoot it.”
She shook her phone: “I’ll have a courier deliver the item over. Brother Shang, just wait to sign for it.”
Shang Che said, feeling relieved of a heavy burden: “Then I’ll take my leave first.”
Lu Zeming watched his unhesitating, even somewhat hurried steps, understanding clearly in his heart.
“Lin Zhi,” Lu Zeming called out to the girl who was still immersed in changing doll clothes, asking casually: “Do you think there are guys who like… raising cotton dolls?”
Lin Zhi fell silent for a noticeable moment, a hint of hesitation in her voice when she spoke: “There probably are, though I haven’t met any personally yet.”
“Is that so,” Lu Zeming smiled at her, appearing somewhat mysterious. “I think you’ll be seeing one very soon.”
