194: Chapter 194 The First Day Without a Cellphone

That night, after Lin Feng drew the curtains, the phone screen was still lit. The cat crouched on it, its tail covering the screen, but light leaked through the gaps in its tail in thin wisps, shaped like cat paw prints. Lin Feng didn't see it; he had fallen asleep. The next morning, the first thing he did when he woke up wasn't to check his phone, but to go crouch by the Old Locust Tree. He crouched by the roots; the cat wasn't on the phone anymore, and the screen was dark. He pressed the power button once—no response. He pressed it again—still no response. The battery was at zero. He flipped the phone over, checked the charging port, and saw no cable plugged in. He put the phone back by the roots. The cat crawled out from its shelter, walked over to the phone, and batted it with a paw, but the screen didn't light up. It batted it again, and it still didn't light up. It stopped batting and crouched by the phone, tilting its head as if asking: "Why aren't you lighting up anymore?"

Margaret came out carrying mushrooms and saw Lin Feng crouching, the cat crouching, and the phone screen black. "Out of power?" Lin Feng nodded. "Completely gone." Margaret placed the plate on the ground. "Are you sad?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "I'm not sad. It doesn't light up anymore, but the red dots are still here. They're drawn on the wall; they won't go out." He pointed at the drawings on the wall—red dots drawn with a red marker, densely packed like a starry sky. The cat stood up, walked to the wall, and looked up at the red dots. It reached out a paw and batted one; the corner of the paper curled up, but the red dot was still there. It batted again, and the red dot was still there. It stopped batting and crouched in front of the wall, the tip of its tail swaying gently. It seemed to feel that these red dots were better than the ones on the phone—they wouldn't run away, and they wouldn't go out.

When Old Zhou came to deliver the mail, he saw the phone screen was black but didn't ask why. He pulled a letter out of his bag and handed it to Lin Feng. "Yours." Lin Feng opened it; there was only one piece of paper inside with a single line of text: "Lin Feng, the Star Clock in Starry Sky Town has stopped again. It's not out of power; the cat knocked the clock off the shelf." There was no signature. Lin Feng folded the letter and put it in his pocket. He stood up and patted his pants. "Let's go, to Starry Sky Town." The cat ran over from the wall and followed behind him. Old Zhou watched their retreating figures. "You don't want your phone anymore?" Lin Feng didn't even turn his head. "It's out of power. I don't want it anymore."

When they arrived at Starry Sky Town, The Grocery Store Owner was standing by the mine pit, looking up. The clock had fallen to the ground; the glass was shattered, the hands were bent, and the casing was cracked. The cat ran past Lin Feng's feet and crouched by the clock, batting a fragment with its paw, making it clink. The old man saw Lin Feng and walked over leaning on his cane. "You're here. The clock fell. It's not the cat's fault; I didn't hang it securely." Lin Feng knelt down, picked up the clock fragments one by one, and pieced them together. The casing was cracked into four pieces, two hands were bent, and glass shards were everywhere. He taped the fragments together, straightened the hands, and pulled a circular piece of glass from his pocket—he had cut it in advance in Xinfeng Town, and it was just the right size. He installed it and fixed it with glue. The clock could move again, the second hand ticking and stopping, click-clack. But the cracks on the casing remained, with strips of tape like wounds. The old man looked at the repaired clock and smiled. "It's sturdier than before." Lin Feng hung the clock back on the shelf, tied it with two lengths of rope, and tied a dead knot. The cat crouched under the shelf, looking up at the clock, the tip of its tail swaying gently.

Lin Feng asked the old man, "Are you still afraid of it falling down later?" The old man said, "Not anymore. It's tied with a dead knot; it can't be untied." Lin Feng took a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket and crouched on the ground to draw a diagram of how to hang the clock. He drew how to tie the rope, how to tie the dead knot, and how to reinforce the shelf. After finishing, he pasted the diagram on the wooden shelf next to the clock. "Next time the clock falls, hang it according to the diagram." The old man looked at the diagram and smiled. "You draw more clearly than the clock." Lin Feng said, "The clock is for looking, the diagram is for learning. They're different." He stood up and patted his pants. "I'm going back." The old man watched his back. "If the clock falls again, will you come back?" Lin Feng looked back. "I won't. You'll know how to hang it." The old man stood under the clock and nodded.

Back in Xinfeng Town, Lin Feng crouched under the Old Locust Tree, looking at the red dots on the wall. The cat crouched beside him, also looking at the red dots. Margaret came out with a plate of mushrooms and crouched next to him. "Did you fix the clock in Starry Sky Town?" Lin Feng said, "It's fixed. Replaced the glass, straightened the hands." Margaret looked at the red dots on the wall. "You didn't look at your phone today." Lin Feng said, "The phone is out of power. Can't look at it." Margaret placed the plate on the ground. "You're not going to look at it anymore?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "I won't look at the phone anymore. I'll look at the wall. The red dots on the wall won't go out." He stood up, walked to the wall, and touched those red dots drawn with the red marker. His fingertip got a bit of red on it; he looked at it and wiped it on his pants. The cat also walked over and touched a red dot with its paw; the tip of its claw also got a bit of red on it. It rubbed it on the sandy ground, rubbing it off. It touched a red dot again with its paw, but this time it didn't rub it off, looking at the red on its claw as if wondering what it was.

In the evening, Lin Feng sat on the steps in front of the Restaurant. Not crouching, but sitting. Margaret came out with a plate of mushrooms and sat beside him. The two sat there, looking at the sky. Stars lit up one by one, just like yesterday. The cat walked back from the wall, came 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 its phone today." Lin Feng said, "The phone is out of power. It's not looking anymore." Margaret asked, "What will it look at from now on?" Lin Feng pointed to the wall. "Look at the wall. Look at the red dots. The red dots won't go out, and they don't need power." Margaret looked at the red dots on the wall and smiled. "The red dots you drew are even more numerous than the ones on the phone." Lin Feng said, "The ones on the phone go out; the ones in the drawing don't. Once they're drawn, they're always there." The wind blew, carrying the chemical scent of glue, the sharpness of glass shards, the aroma of coffee, and the light sweetness of mushrooms. Lin Feng closed his eyes and took a sniff. He opened his eyes, stood up, and patted his pants. "I'm going to sleep." Margaret also stood up. "Will you still draw red dots tomorrow?" Lin Feng shook his head. "No more. It's enough. There are enough on the wall." 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 to the wall, crouched under the red dots, looked up, and closed its eyes. The moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting the shadow of the wall onto the ground, perfectly square, like a giant canvas. Those red dots on the wall couldn't be seen, but the shadow was still there. The wind blew, and the shadow wavered but did not scatter. Lin Feng stood in the Restaurant, looking out the window. He saw the shadow of the wall, the shadow of the cat, and the shadow of the red dots. He watched for a long time, then drew the curtains and went to sleep.

[Chapter 194 End]