Chapter 18
The cotton doll had watched the entire lively spectacle inside the crossbody bag, its golden eyes blinking continuously—parting its mouth wide in awe one moment, then welling up with tears the next…
By the time Shang Che entered a private dining room and pulled it out, it still wore a face that looked ready to burst into tears.
Cotton Doll: …
What was with it now?
Could it be that, after seeing so many of its kind today—every single one looking bright and glamorous while it was hidden away inside a bag—it felt its own life was pitiful by comparison and started crying?
The more Shang Che thought about it, the more correct it felt. He helplessly laid a tissue flat on the table and gently placed the cotton doll onto it, just about to ask: “Do you want…”
Hearing him speak to it, the cotton doll assumed it could finally shout out loud: “Ahhhh, mm—”
“Shh.” Shang Che hurriedly covered its mouth, raising his eyes to look toward the tightly closed door, his brows pressing down: “Don’t shout.”
Its spell interrupted mid-cast, the cotton doll blinked its golden eyes, a touch of innocence on its face.
“We aren’t home yet. There’s just no one else here, so I brought you out to catch some fresh air,” Shang Che explained, then warned in a rigid tone: “Keep your voice down. You can’t get caught.”
“If you shout like that again, I’m shoving you right back into the bag.”
The cotton doll grabbed his palm with its tiny round hands, nodding slowly.
Shang Che slowly released his hand, relaxing only when he saw that it truly had no intention of shouting recklessly again.
The cotton doll checked out this new setting with curiosity, asking excitedly: “Human, where are we?”
“At a restaurant,” Shang Che answered briefly.
The cotton doll pressed further: “What kind of place… is a restaurant?”
Shang Che: “A place to eat.”
“!!!”
In the past, whenever the human ate, he would disappear from the room and only return after a long while. The cotton doll had always been intensely curious about what human food looked like, and today it finally had the chance to see it.
Besides, it had been pulled out of the backpack by the human—it was simply wonderful.
A restaurant was a great place! Cotton was going to come back again in the future!
The cotton doll seemed to have stored up a ton of words, chattering away: “Human, do you think that chestnut doll looked pretty?”
What chestnut doll?
Shang Che paused for a second before realizing: “You mean Lin Zhi’s doll.”
“Mm-hmm.” The cotton doll wore a look of waiting for an answer.
Shang Che flipped through the electronic menu, picking out dishes, and replied casually: “It looked pretty good.”
The cotton doll wore an ‘I knew it’ expression, then pouted, twisting its bottom to turn its back on him.
By the time Shang Che finished placing the order and raised his eyes to look ahead, only a round, plush back of the doll’s head remained.
“?”
What was wrong now? It was talking perfectly fine just a moment ago.
Shang Che didn’t force it to turn around this time, poking the cotton doll’s head instead: “Hey.”
“Hmph!” The cotton doll shook its head, putting on a front of refusing to let him touch it.
Shang Che poked it a few more times. Finally annoyed by his poking, the cotton doll turned itself back around with a huffing “heave-ho”, raising a hand in full rage. Just as it was about to accuse this “Cotton-disturbing” human, it came to a sudden halt because of one of Shang Che’s movements.
—The small round hand the cotton doll raised happened to press right against the human’s fingertip. Its eyes lit up in an instant, its cat-like mouth slowly parting.
Shang Che raised an eyebrow, pulling his finger back ever so slightly. The cotton doll leaned its body down, straining its arm to reach for that fingertip again.
The fingertip retreated further, and the cotton doll pursued it relentlessly until it was completely unable to reach, only then realizing that this human was doing it on purpose.
The cotton doll was both enraged and aggrieved.
“Mean human!”
Shang Che offered a subtle smile: “Little creature.”
“What kind of temper are you throwing?” Shang Che asked it.
The cotton doll puffed up its cheeks, speaking much more fluently than usual: “You said another Cotton looked pretty!”
“When did I ever say a thing like that—”
Wait, he seemed to have replied offhandedly earlier.
Caught off guard by its sudden call-out, Shang Che went speechless for a second. The cotton doll seized the moment, looking at him with a face full of resentment before lowering its head, its voice tiny, carrying a trace of unhideable envy and grievance:
“It has so many clothes. Cotton doesn’t.”
“It looks pretty. Cotton doesn’t.”
Shang Che went silent, a headache throbbing faintly: “You…”
Because of its bent posture, the cotton doll held its hands together on its short legs, raising its head—which looked even bigger than its body—to look at him, the pink tuft of ahoge hair swaying back and forth.
Those golden eyes looked like a pair of pure amber, blocking all words in Shang Che’s throat.
He choked for a moment, then spoke: “…You are more pleasing to the eye.”
“What does ‘pleasing to the eye’… mean?” This phrase wasn’t in the cotton doll’s vocabulary at all.
Shang Che took a second: “…It means you look pretty.”
The cotton doll’s delight and satisfaction nearly overflowed from the tuft of hair on its head. Unable to suppress its excitement, it pressed further, its eyes sparkling: “…Really?”
“Mm,” Shang Che responded with a bit of awkwardness.
“Human said Cotton looks pretty! Human said Cotton looks pretty!”
Shang Che turned his face away uncomfortably, resting the back of his hand against his nose and mouth.
When a knock sounded at the door of the private room, Shang Che quickly scooped the still-delighted cotton doll into his lap, shielding it with the tabletop. Once the dishes were served and quiet returned to the room, he placed the cotton doll back in front of him.
“Human, what is this?” The cotton doll pointed at the smallest thing on the table—other than itself—that was closest to the human.
Shang Che looked at what was before him: “Rice.”
“What about this?” The cotton doll pointed at the white porcelain dish beside it.
Shang Che: “Sweet and sour pork ribs with plum.”
“And that one?”
Shang Che looked over: “Stir-fried seasonal vegetables.”
The final item was too tall for the cotton doll to see clearly. Shang Che watched it “run” over with a series of squeaks, propping its little hands on the rim of the soup pot as its head slowly lowered. Wanting only to get a bit closer, it completely overlooked the weight of its own head, nearly losing its balance and tumbling right in.
“That’s sauerkraut fish.” Shang Che, quick-eyed and swift-handed, snagged the collar at the back of its head, saying helplessly: “Be careful.”
He then added another line: “Don’t ruin my food.”
To digest his meal, Shang Che still chose to walk back, picking up a cardboard box from the garden entrance along the way that was much larger than expected. He even double-checked the sender’s information—it really was from Lin Zhi.
What on earth did this friend send over? It couldn’t even be held in one hand.
“Let go. I need to carry something.” Shang Che lowered his eyes, speaking to the crossbody bag at his side.
The cotton doll was immensely satisfied today, its voice sweet as honey: “Okay~”
Even when Shang Che sat cross-legged on the rug to unbox the package, it sat by his side watching obediently.
Loops of tape were wrapped around the seal. Shang Che’s first slice with the blade didn’t even cut it open. Hesitating for a second, he applied a bit of force and sliced through in one smooth stroke.
The tightly compressed items inside the cardboard box finally found an outlet, bursting out with a sudden pop and scattering all around like falling flower petals. Even the cotton doll watching the fun nearby was knocked over by something flying out from nowhere.
…The floor is so dangerous. Cotton is getting out of here.
Shang Che looked silently at the silk scarf draped over his leg: “…”
What kind of zip archive box was this?
Stretching out his arm, he swept away the clutter around him, picking up the cotton doll that had been knocked over by a toy bear—only to realize this little creature had long since run off.
Shang Che turned his head quietly, making eye contact with the 40-centimeter cotton doll sitting on the rocking chair.
“Hahaha~” The big golden eyes flashed continuously, announcing the cotton doll’s boastful gloating: “Human, isn’t Cotton awesome!”
Shang Che set the 20-centimeter cotton doll—which had gone out for a stroll today—onto the rocking chair as well, answering it: “Knowing to run away means you aren’t completely stupid.”
By the time Shang Che unpacked all the items and arranged them neatly, he realized that what Lin Zhi had sent was ridiculously comprehensive.
Not only was the agreed-upon doll bed included, but she had also thoughtfully prepared skirts and pants, along with necklaces, hats, hair clips… even items in various sizes from large to small.
How could there be so much?
Picking up his phone from the table, he was just about to ask her when he received a voice message from Lin Zhi.
[Lin Zhi]: “By the way, Brother Shang, you didn’t tell me what size your little niece’s cotton doll was, so I prepared a bit of everything. See if it’s enough? If not, I still have plenty and can mail you some more.”
[Lin Zhi]: Don’t mention it. (Chestnut doll making a heart shape.jpg)
…How come she even has cotton doll memes?
Shang Che felt a strange sense that he was a complete beginner who had just entered the game, while the other party was already a max-level graduate.
It seemed the road to becoming a qualified keeper was still very long.
Shang Che patted the remarkably exquisite little bed beside his hand, speaking to the cotton doll on the rocking chair that was widening its eyes to look all around: “Look, your bed.”
The cotton doll was completely unfamiliar with this object: “…Bed?”
“Right,” Shang Che had learned to explain proactively, “A place to sleep.”
“Sle… ep?” The cotton doll seemed extremely hesitant, not understanding the meaning of this word.
Shang Che weighed his words: “It means closing your eyes and temporarily losing consciousness in slumber.”
The cotton doll’s expression turned utterly terrified, as if fearing something: “Cotton doesn’t want to sleep… Cotton worked so hard… to wake up…”
Those words left Shang Che entirely bewildered, but he felt it was best to soothe the little creature first: “It’s the kind where you wake up again. It’s not asking you to fall into an eternal slumber. Just like me every night, waking up again the next morning.”
The cotton doll shook its head, its voice faint: “Cotton can’t sleep.”
Shang Che froze. Meaning, over all these days, this cotton doll had been “awake” the entire time.
This tiny “roommate” living in the same room with him had stayed fully conscious in the dark room every single night while he slept, keeping the long night company.
No wonder every morning the moment he opened his eyes, this cotton doll would beam at him with excitement and say: “Human! You’re awake!”
An indescribable feeling welled up inside him. Shang Che asked it: “Then what do you do every night? Weren’t you afraid of the dark?”
“Nighttime?” The cotton doll tilted its head, answering him with a newly learned phrase: “Wait for human to wake up!”
It then put on a brilliant smile.
“Not scared! Staying with human… Cotton is not scared!”
