Chapter 6
The cotton doll didn’t need to sleep, nor could it feel cold or heat. Like a silent little guard standing watch, it held the snow globe tightly, utterly unable to part with it.
Under the warm yellow light, the snow globe emitted a faint glow. A series of elegant, delicate characters was engraved on the golden nameplate of its wooden base, and exquisite bas-reliefs rose from the smooth surrounding surface, as if carrying some special meaning. Unfortunately, the cotton doll’s big golden eyes couldn’t read them, so it could only poke curiosity with its soft little hands.
Mm… Cotton can’t feel it out… and Cotton can’t read it either.
But Cotton knows! Snow globe! Pretty!
The cotton doll pressed its big golden eyes almost flush against the glass, looking determined to get a clear view of the decorations inside the snow globe.
Inside the rounded, crystal-clear glass sphere, a smiling little figure stood center stage on a round platform with its head held high and chest puffed out, bossing everyone around. Behind it was an exquisitely crafted house, with two open little windows that still let light filter through.
In front of the little figure lay a small cobblestone path. On one side stood a lush evergreen tree, while on the other, blooming wisteria climbed up a white wooden swing, swaying subtly as it hadn’t completely settled down yet.
Under the cotton doll’s watchful gaze, the silver star-shaped glitter and white snowflakes slowly settled down, like a fall of snow melting into nothingness.
It stared blankly at the snow globe, assuming this unnamed “snow” could fall on its own again. Yet, after waiting a long time, the cotton doll still didn’t see a second “snowfall.” …? Why was there no more? Could it be broken?!
Cotton didn’t break it! Cotton didn’t!
It instinctively shuffled its bottom, its short little legs flailing wildly. Although it didn’t manage to back away much, the flat blanket beneath it was dragged into messy folds with its movements until—with a soft thud, the snow globe fell onto its side on the soft blanket. The glitter and snowflakes settled at the bottom were impacted by the bump and flew into the air once more.
Cotton Doll: ? (OAO?)?!
Cotton’s sky! The snow globe fell over!!
Its short little legs scrambled and shuffled back over, looking anxious to check if the snow globe was alright.
The cotton doll’s cat-like mouth opened and closed into a round “O”, its eyes sparkling with awe as it let out an exclamation: “Woah—”
Inside the “fallen” snow globe, snowflakes danced in the air, but after a short while, it fell into silence once again.
…Mm?
The cotton doll kept its big eyes open, unhurriedly raising a hand to awkwardly scratch its head: O.O7.
Why was this guy called a snow globe always “going on strike and slacking off”? Was it because it couldn’t get up after “falling over”?
Snow globe, don’t be scared! Cotton is here to help you!
Placing its soft, pure-white little hands on either side of the snow globe, the cotton doll lifted with all its might—clap~ a tiny sound echoed from the doll’s hands as they collided in mid-air.
…The snow globe, completely unmoved, made Cotton feel truly embarrassed!
It rubbed its tiny hands together in sheepishness, then suddenly bent its arms to cheer itself on: Cotton didn’t use all its strength just now, Cotton will try one more time!
The cotton doll declared solemnly with its head high and chest puffed out, seeming to feel its posture was wrong. As it propped itself up on the snow globe to slowly lift its bottom off the ground, it offered a polite apology: “Sorry… snow globe, you help Cotton… stand up first, then Cotton will help you… stand up.”
Though it was still somewhat grueling, as a Cotton with prior “standing” experience, a little difficulty wasn’t going to defeat it.
The cotton doll recalled its experience from the last time it stood up: support with hands, stick out bottom, apply force with legs—now’s the time—
Cotton stood up again!
It nodded in immense satisfaction, looking for all the world like it was rubbing its hands together to prepare for a big task. The soft fabric on its palms pressed tightly against the smooth snow globe, pulling with all its might like it was pulling a radish.
Yet—the snow globe merely gave a slight wobble, remaining stubbornly collapsed on the floor like a rascal.
…You really aren’t giving Cotton any face!
This wasn’t Cotton’s fault at all—Cotton tried its best.
Yet Cotton simply couldn’t lift it, nor could it hold it. It lowered its round head, looking down at its soft, pure-white hands, looking visibly dejected.
What a setback in Cotton’s life!
Why were Cotton’s hands different from a human’s…
A human’s hands were so big. They could pick up the snow globe, dress Cotton, and easily lift Cotton right up…
Human is awesome!
Cotton is envious!
Having failed to rescue the snow globe, the cotton doll collapsed as if stripped of all energy. Its short, slender little arms draped over the snow globe, hugging it tightly in a close embrace.
It remembered that before the human left, he had said the words “we’ll talk tomorrow.” Did that mean when tomorrow arrived, the human would come to see it?
Had the human not shown up because it wasn’t “tomorrow” yet?
Then when is tomorrow? The cotton doll was deeply troubled. It didn’t know when that door would open, or when the human would appear before it once again.
Shang Che’s sleep was extremely fitful. In his dream, a voice lingered by his ear, vague yet clear, faint yet persistent, burrowing into his head from every direction, impossible to ignore.
“Human, hello…”
“Human, are your eyes bad…”
“Human, do you not know how to put on clothes…”
“Human…”
—So noisy.
Shang Che’s brow furrowed tightly as he searched for the source of that voice in his dream, until a blurry pink and gold figure appeared before his eyes. It looked chubby and wasn’t even as tall as his calf; he couldn’t tell what on earth it was.
He slowly drew closer, wanting to find out, but right as he was about to see it clearly, his foot suddenly stepped into empty air. His whole body instantly lost balance and plummeted downward. At the same time, his body twitched, jerking him awake from the dream as those eyes the cotton doll had praised snapped wide open.
Waking up abruptly from a dream was far from pleasant. A thin layer of sweat had even broken out across Shang Che’s back. He mechanically raised a hand to reach into the nightstand for a small white bottle, swallowing a pill dry in one gulp. He then lay flat on his back, staring blankly for a while. Only after the confusion in his eyes vanished completely and restored his usual clarity did he slowly sit up, rubbing his heavy, aching temples.
…At least he hadn’t had a nightmare this time.
But what on earth was that thing in his dream?
The hum of the electric toothbrush buzzed in his head. Standing before the bathroom sink, Shang Che constantly felt he had forgotten something. The more he tried to think, the more his mind drifted, until the high-frequency vibrating toothbrush bumped sharply against his teeth.
A sudden, sharp ache shot through his tooth roots, waking Shang Che up completely—he had “locked up” a “living” cotton doll in the storage room. No wonder he had had such a surreal dream.
He wondered if that cotton doll was behaving itself…
Shang Che finished washing up quickly, and just as he was planning to change clothes and head to the storage room to “visit” the cotton doll, a noisy ringtone blared from the nightstand:
“Chicken egg, duck egg, poached egg!”
“Kaka, my little Uncle~”
Without even looking, he knew who was calling. After all, this ringtone was chosen personally by that brainless airhead—his nephew, Shang Yan.
“Little Uncle! Little Uncle! Little Uncle—”
Urgent, continuous, and sporting that familiar, boisterous voice, the sound echoed from the speaker. Shang Che let out a sigh, pulled a T-shirt neatly over his head, and accepted his fate: “Got it. Stop shouting, I’m going to open the door now.”
As he passed the storage room, Shang Che’s footsteps paused for a moment. After brief consideration, he decided to wait until Shang Yan left before checking on that “trouble” in the storage room.
Hearing the footsteps, the cotton doll felt a wave of excitement. Releasing its arms from the snow globe, it raised its big head, staring intently at the door. But when the footsteps paused for a second and then suddenly moved away, the cotton doll was clearly left bewildered.
Shang Che left too quickly to hear the phrase the cotton doll shouted through the door panel: “Human, where are you going…”
