Let Me Ruffle Your Fur a Little

Chapter 54

Truth

Translated by boilpoil
Edited by boilpoil

When Mu Mu’er wakes up the next day, Bai Yao isn’t around. He’s alone in the cold and lonely room.

He lies staring at the ceiling for a while before going outside to look for Bai Yao, who is actually sitting on the sofa outside. His bun has come undone, and several locks of hair hang by the side of his face. The ashtray on the coffee table is filled with cigarette butts, with a new one almost burning to Bai Yao’s fingers.

Bai Yao, too preoccupied thinking, didn’t even hear Mu Mu’er emerge from the room, and did not even look. He puts his cigarette back in his mouth, inhales, holds it for two whole seconds before exhaling.

The grim expression on his face scares Mu Mu’er a little, and he stands hesitantly by the door.

“Yaoyao,” he calls out meekly, brushing his hands together nervously.

The room is thick with smoke, and Mu Mu’er coughs; he holds it halfway through somehow, almost choking himself, so that he doesn’t annoy Bai Yao.

Meanwhile, hearing the noise, Bai Yao turns to see the poor boy standing by the door to the bedroom. His T-shirt is hanging a little low, and so is his head.

He snuffs the cigarette out in the ashtray and gets up to open the window, while caressing Mu Mu’er’s head when he passes by him.

“Morning.”

Mu Mu’er doesn’t really like the smell on Bai Yao. Something seems different from usual; Bai Yao isn’t a frequent smoker, and he’d usually avoid Mu Mu’er entirely while smoking. He would even go change his clothes before looking for Mu’er after a smoke.

Yet today, the living room is completely filled up with smog. Mu Mu’er doesn’t like it; Bai Yao feels quite scary and cold to him today. Still, like a little tail, he follows after Bai Yao, first going to the window, before returning to the sofa.

Bai Yao sits down, and Mu Mu’er stands, sneakily observing Bai Yao.

He looks at all the cigarette butts in the ashtray, and asks the question most plaguing his mind, “where’s gege?”

Mu Yi said nothing else last night after Bai Yao revealed his sexuality to him. He sat there for quite a while, before returning to his lodgings. After that, Bai Yao sat on the sofa alone until way past midnight before going to sleep. He woke up before seven today.

Bai Yao raises his brow a little, “you miss him?”

“No,” Mu Mu’er shakes his head immediately, and thinks a little, before carefully commenting, “Yaoyao is unhappy.”

This is not a question, but a simple observation. Then he makes a guess, and asks quietly, “is it because of gege?”

Bai Yao sighs a little. Mu Mu’er almost looks like a kid who’s done something naughty. He takes his wrist and pulls him into his embrace, giving him pats on the back, “Yaoyao isn’t unhappy. Are you hungry?”

Mu Mu’er shakes his head a little.

The boy didn’t eat much last night already. He still isn’t hungry? Bai Yao is worried.

Everything else can wait, but not Mu Mu’er’s tummy.

He gets up to go whip up a quick batch of cod fillet salad and stir-fried seafood with eggs. He watches Mu Mu’er until he finishes, satisfied.

Some time after half past ten, Mu Yi comes to visit again.

He’s still in his Mercedes-Maybach, but he’s left his bodyguards behind. He parks the car behind the restaurant, invisible from the main road.

He’s in casual clothing instead of the uptight suit and pants. The simple black T-shirt and jeans makes him look far less unapproachable. The elite businessman feel remains, however.

Mu Mu’er is busy playing with the Moon Rabbit on Bai Yao’s phone in a corner seat when Mu Yi enters. He’s almost buried his face in the screen.

There is a gacha lottery machine in the game that lets players draw for new toys. Mu Mu’er managed to get himself a piece of donut bread last time, which quickly became his favourite new toy in-game. He’s been saving it for when the Moon Rabbit is hungry so that he can feed it.

He’s looking at the lottery machine, thinking about all the good things he can draw, when the chime on the door rings.

He looks up, curious, when he sees it’s his older brother. He panics a little, and his eyes widen. He almost loses grip on the phone.

He wants to get up to go to Bai Yao, but Mu Yi is now standing in between him and the kitchen. He glances towards the kitchen, but doesn’t dare moving. He shrinks a little.

Mu Yi calls out to him, “Mu Mu.”

Mu Mu’er only realises he’s calling him after a while. He mumbles unintelligibly to himself for a moment, before trying to correct him, “not Mu Mu. It’s Mu’er.”

“Mmhm.”

Mu Mu’er really wants to retreat to the kitchen. He’s all curled up on the chair, looking like a kitten being grabbed by the nape. He wants to run away, but he can’t. He can only shrink as much as possible and pretend he doesn’t exist.

Mu Yi can see exactly how uncomfortable he is. He doesn’t force it, and instead backs off into a corner so that Mu Mu’er can run into the kitchen, relieved.

“Yaoyao,” Mu Mu’er pulls on Bai Yao’s clothes and tries to hide in his embrace. Bai Yao, though, is working at the counter. He doesn’t fit.

Bai Yao is cleaning some fresh sea snails in a pool of water with a brush, and asks without looking, “oh, are you hungry?”

Mu Mu’er doesn’t answer for a while, which alerts Bai Yao. He is about to ask again when he hears, “gege just came.”

Bai Yao puts his things down and glances out the kitchen door window, “Mu’er, you can go sit together with your older brother first. Yaoyao will go to you in a moment.”

Though Mu Mu’er immediately starts to look like he’s going to cry. He keeps shaking his head, and sticks closer to Bai Yao.

“Little scaredy cat,” Bai Yao says, pinching Mu Mu’er on the bridge of his nose, before pouring a glass of water to leave the kitchen with Mu Mu’er.

Mu Yi hears them, and nods towards Bai Yao.

“Take a seat. What would you like?” Bai Yao puts his glass of water on the table. His tone is quite business-like.

Mu Yi does not take offence at Bai Yao’s overly polite, customer-oriented tone, but simply sits at the corner booth seat from yesterday, saying, “I’m just here to watch over him.”

Then he pulls out a sea otter plushie from behind him like magic. He puts it on the table, making it face Mu Mu’er, and says nothing else.

The plushie appears worn, but it’s cleaned and groomed well. In fact, the colours appear to have faded a little over time.

Mu Mu’er pokes his head out from behind. When Bai Yao also takes a seat, he follows right after to sit next to him.

He looks at the plushie on the table with great interest. Clearly, he wants to look closer, but doesn’t dare to, giving Mu Yi repeated glances before looking back at the plushie.

Mu Yi sees Mu Mu’er’s restlessness. He smiles, and hands the plushie over to Mu Mu’er with both hands.

The plushie is quite round. A soft little toy about the size of a basketball. Holding it is not unlike holding a cloud in the sky.

Mu Mu’er clearly doesn’t want to let go at all. He squeezes the sea otter plushie on the whiskers. He loves it.

The store is getting a little warm, and Mu Mu’er starts parting the strands of hair to reveal his forehead.

There is a scar about three centimetres across not far form his hairline. It’s usually concealed quite well by his hair, but now it’s become quite obvious.

Bai Yao has seen it before, and it doesn’t stand out a lot among the other myriad of scars dotting his body. He assumed it was the result of another aggressive sea otter interaction.

Mu Yi has never seen it, though, and his attention is immediately fixed on it. With furrowed brows, he extends his hand towards the wound to touch, “how did this scar…?”

Mu Mu’er, though, retreats by reflex, with a little fright in his eyes.

Mu Yi’s hand freezes in mid-air, before retracting slowly.

Seeing both men look at him, Mu Mu’er gulps anxiously. He doesn’t really like being stared at by all the people around. His heartbeat quickens.

Bai Yao holds his hand under the desk, and tries to calm him down, “don’t worry. Yaoyao is here. Mu’er can tell us only when you want to.”

Mu Mu’er thinks about it for a while, as his brows crumple a little, and says, “Mu’er couldn’t find older brother and home, and fell into… into the water. The very long sea.”
“Fell into rocks. It really hurt,” Mu Mu’er then turns towards Bai Yao with a sad face.

Bai Yao takes some time to process what he was talking about. Then he figures out soon enough. The ‘long sea’ could only refer to the river going through Xishi. At night, the streetlamps are scarcely enough to light it up much. The occasional passing ferry does not help visibility any either. Rocks line the shore of the river, and if Mu Mu’er did fall down there… It’s quite lucky Mu Mu’er didn’t suffer fractures.

He spoke quite slowly, and had to take some time formulating his words.

Bai Yao and Mu Yi did not rush him, but waited for him to finish speaking.

Mu Mu’er continues; he thinks he has never spoken so many words together before. His voice is a bit louder as he goes on, no longer as shy.

“Turning human is difficult, and forgot! Mu’er went to look for sea otter friends. Friends are next to the water, a lot of friends! A big crowd of friends.”

Mu Mu’er doesn’t actually fear Mu Yi himself, but seeing him immediately triggers his painful memories of forgetting his way home and drifting out to sea.

He was lost. He couldn’t find his way home. He couldn’t even remember how to turn human; he’s been living as a literal sea otter ever since.

And worst, he isn’t actually intellectually challenged at birth. He suffered a debilitating head injury.