184: Chapter 184 Happy Puzzle

After the system left, Lin Feng felt the world had become much quieter. It wasn't a literal silence, but a mental one. His phone no longer vibrated suddenly, there were no more rusty creaks, and no more notification sounds urging him to collect money. He crouched under the Old Locust Tree, took his phone out of his pocket, and placed it by the roots. With the screen facing up, the happiness map was still there, the red dots still flashing. He watched for a few seconds, then flipped the phone over, face down on the ground. The cat jumped down from the awning, walked over to the phone, and batted it with a paw. The phone flipped over, screen facing up again. The cat batted it again, flipping it back down. It batted it back and forth several times, as if helping Lin Feng decide whether it should be face up or face down. Finally, it stopped batting, sat its bottom right on the phone, and covered the screen with its tail. Lin Feng looked at the cat. "You're sitting on it; what am I supposed to look at?" The cat didn't answer; it closed its eyes and began to purr. Lin Feng crouched beside it, watching the tip of the cat's tail sway gently. He thought to himself that it didn't matter if he couldn't see the red dots. Whether the red dots lit up or not wasn't inside the phone; it was in those places. Even with the cat sitting on the phone, the red dots would light up all the same.

Margaret came out carrying a plate of mushrooms and smiled when she saw the cat sitting on the phone. "Is it watching it for you?" Lin Feng said, "It's holding it down for me." Margaret set the plate on the ground and crouched down. "How many red dots today?" Lin Feng said, "I don't know. The cat is sitting on it, so I can't see." Margaret reached out to stroke the cat's back, and its purring grew louder. She pulled her hand back and looked at Lin Feng. "You don't want to look?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "The more I look, the less I want to. If it lights up, I know. If it goes dark, I don't. Knowing or not knowing, it's all the same. What's meant to light up will light up eventually." Margaret pushed the plate of mushrooms toward him. "Eat some." Lin Feng picked up a mushroom, put it in his mouth, and chewed for a long time. "Now that the system is gone, who do you listen to?" Lin Feng chewed the mushroom. "I listen to myself." Margaret asked, "And what do you say to yourself?" Lin Feng swallowed. "I tell myself to just do what needs to be done." Margaret smiled. "Then what are you doing today?" Lin Feng pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. On the paper was a large circle divided into many small squares, each with the name of a town written inside. Starry Sky Town, Millfield, Greenfield, Baishi Town... and those towns he hadn't visited yet but were already lit up on the happiness map. He had drawn a star in each square—some large, some small, some bright, some dim. In some squares, he had drawn two stars, and in some, three. Margaret looked at the paper. "What is this?" Lin Feng said, "A Happiness Puzzle. Each town is a piece, and when put together, it shows what the area around Xinfeng Town looks like." He pointed to the square for Starry Sky Town. "I drew three stars here because Starry Sky Town has the most stars." He pointed to Millfield. "I drew a mushroom here because Millfield's mushroom night market is the liveliest." He pointed to Greenfield. "I drew a guitar here because Greenfield's Guitar Night has the best music." He pointed to Baishi Town. "I drew a cup here because Baishi Town's Sound Post Office is the noisiest." Margaret smiled. "You've heard it?" Lin Feng nodded. "Old Zhou brought it back. Every time he delivers mail, he goes to Baishi Town for a drink. After drinking, he brings back a QR code. I scanned it and heard those sounds. Some people were crying, some were laughing, some were sighing. There was more crying than laughing. But after the crying, someone laughed." Margaret looked at the puzzle; the squares didn't just have stars, mushrooms, guitars, and cups, but also suns, moons, flowers, birds, fish, and cats. A cat sat right next to Lin Feng, different from the one he had drawn. The cat Lin Feng drew was lying down, curled into a ball. The real cat was sitting up, pressing down on the phone, its tail covering the screen. Margaret pointed to the square with the cat. "Which town is this?" Lin Feng said, "Xinfeng Town." He paused. "Xinfeng Town doesn't have anything special. But it has a cat. The cat crouches and watches people. When people smile, it watches. When people don't smile, it still watches. After watching for a while, the people smile." Margaret looked at the cat; its eyes were closed, and its purring was muffled. "Who is it watching?" Lin Feng said, "Us."

Lin Feng posted the puzzle at the entrance of the Restaurant. He didn't stick it on the wall, but on the door itself, so people would see it as soon as they entered. Passersby stopped to look, finding which square their town was in. Someone found Starry Sky Town and pointed to the largest star. "That's the star from my home." Someone found Millfield and pointed to the mushroom. "That's the mushroom I grew." Someone found Greenfield and pointed to the guitar. "That's the guitar I play." Someone found Baishi Town and pointed to the cup. "That's the sound I recorded." After they finished looking, they smiled. Lin Feng crouched at the door, watching those people smile. The cat also crouched at the door, watching those people smile. Some people left, while others stayed, standing before the puzzle to look again. Lin Feng felt that the puzzle didn't need an explanation because everyone could find themselves in it. Once they found themselves, they smiled.

After that puzzle spread to the various towns, people in every town followed suit. The people of Starry Sky Town made a starry sky puzzle, where every star was the name of a stargazer. The people of Millfield made a mushroom puzzle, where every mushroom was the face of a mushroom grower. The people of Greenfield made a guitar puzzle, where every string was very fine. The people of Baishi Town made a sound puzzle, where every cup had a QR code attached. The puzzles were sent back and forth between the towns, and Old Zhou's canvas bag grew fuller and fuller. Every time he delivered mail, his bag contained not just letters, but also puzzles, rolled up like treasure maps. He delivered the puzzles to Xinfeng Town and posted them at the entrance of the Restaurant. There wasn't enough room on the door anymore, so Lin Feng posted the puzzles on the wall, alongside the micro-paintings, ice paintings, and cat paw prints. Soon, the wall was almost out of space too.

One evening, Lin Feng sat on the steps at the entrance of the Restaurant. He wasn't crouching; he was sitting. Margaret came out with a plate of mushrooms and sat beside him. The two of them sat there, looking at the sky. The stars lit up one by one, just like yesterday. The cat jumped down from the awning, walked to their feet, crouched down, and looked up at the stars. It watched for a long time, then closed its eyes, curled into a ball, and began to purr. Margaret looked at the cat. "It didn't look at the puzzle today." Lin Feng said, "It did. It looked this afternoon. It stood in front of the wall for a long time. It couldn't understand it, but it knew those were cats. It found itself. In the square for Xinfeng Town, a cat was drawn. It meowed at that cat." Margaret smiled. "It recognized itself?" Lin Feng said, "I don't know. But it meowed. Meowing means it saw it." The wind blew, carrying the scent of the puzzle's paper pulp, the ink of the colored pens, the aroma of coffee, and the sweet fragrance of mushrooms. Lin Feng closed his eyes and took a sniff. He opened his eyes, stood up, and brushed off his pants. "I'm going to sleep." Margaret also stood up. "Will you still draw puzzles tomorrow?" Lin Feng shook his head. "No. They'll draw them themselves now. Every town will draw its own puzzle. When they're done, they'll send them over, and I'll post them on the wall." Margaret looked at him. "Is there enough room on the wall?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "Not enough. We'll build another one." He turned and walked into the Restaurant, and Margaret followed behind him. The door closed, and the lights went out. The cat jumped down from the steps, walked back into the awning, curled up on the blue cloth, rested its head on the Iron box, and closed its eyes. The moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting the puzzle's shadow on the ground in squares, like a small field. The wind blew, and the shadow wavered but did not scatter. Lin Feng stood inside the Restaurant, looking out the window. He saw the shadow of the puzzle, the shadow of the cat, and the shadow of the stars. He watched for a long time, then drew the curtains and went to sleep.

[End of Chapter 184]