Chapter 351: Nightwish
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Due to being hoodwinked repetitively by Zhang Zian, Fina was not interested in his promise. She was lazily teaching the kittens to dance without putting in much effort.
Unlike the languages of humans, the language of cats didn’t possess abundant expressions that enabled Fina to make the kittens understand how to dance by only uttering a few meows. She had to demonstrate the movements by dancing in front of the kittens so that they could remember and comprehend.
Though the movements were exactly the same, they were interpreted by Fina and the kittens differently. The kittens clumsily tried to imitate every movement made by Fina, but frequently, their left legs tripped on their right legs, and they would stumble onto the ground like limbless fur balls. Their devastated looks made people feel bad for them and want to hold them up. As for Fina, one could tell how its dancing was by looking at the admiration in Snowy Lionet’s eyes. It was so sexy and seductive!
The dance movements of the kittens originated from the dancing of South Korean and Japanese girl groups, especially the South Korean girl groups, whose choreography always emphasized the waist and legs of the performers. With her slim and slender physique, Fina’s limbs were long among cats, making Snowy Lionet inferior. The way cats walked were charming and fascinating. That was how the reputation of a “catwalk” was born. If anyone had seen Fina’s dancing, a new word—”catdance” —may be born.
Zhang Zian had never set up a tent or grill before, and he succeeded by reading the manuals and restarting several times. After igniting the fuel, he boiled the water, added the tea leaves he had brought from China, and brought it over to Old Time Tea. Old Time Tea was lying comfortably in a camping chair, narrowing its eyes to overlook a corner of the city of Los Angeles. From this small mound, the tall buildings could be seen vaguely.
“Zian, Los Angeles is so big!” The tone of Old Time Tea revealed a rarely disclosed surprise. “Does that large group of buildings in the distance belong to Los Angeles? This is much bigger than Binhai City, and it is also much more prosperous!”
“Of course, Grandpa Tea,” laughed Zhang Zian, pouring tea for it. “Binhai is only a medium-sized city in China; it can’t compete with Los Angeles or other cosmopolitan cities. Just wait for nighttime. I heard that the night view of Los Angeles is also very beautiful. It is a city without darkness.”
Old Time Tea nodded full of expectation, “Then this journey will be worthwhile.”
Richard fluttered its wings, flying around to tease the kittens. Though it was not flying high, it was as annoying as flies were. Zhang Zian warned it not to land on the barbecue grill. If it insisted, at least it should pluck out its own feathers first, otherwise it might not be delicious.
Galaxy was exploring the small mound. Due to the year-round warm climate in Los Angeles, even in the winter, there was very little rain and snow, so the bush on the mounds still appeared green and luxurious.
Zhang Zian was never good at using the oven to grill meat at home, not to mention this was his first time using a barbecue grill in a field. As he hurried and scurried, his face was smeared by the smoke the grill emitted, and several pieces of chicken had already been burnt. When it was time to eat, Fina was complaining and fussy as usual, while Zhang Zian, as always, was immune to her nagging.
In the afternoon, the gentle sunshine made everyone drowsy. Zhang Zian lined up the tarpaulins and camping chairs that he brought. Everyone covered themselves in blankets and took a nap under the sun. He also put on a pair of blindfolding goggles to help him sleep even more soundly.
Richard’s fluttering wings and quacking awakened him. When he removed his goggles, he found that it was already sunset. He must had slept for two or three hours.
It seemed that Fina had completed the task of training the kittens to dance, since the kittens were playing hide-and-seek with Galaxy. Seeing that he had been awaken, Old Time Tea stretched out a paw and pointed to another hill far away, “Zian, what is that place?”
There were several English letters erected on that small hill and they couldn’t be seen clearly during the day. Because of the angle of the sun light, the letters were sparkling right now.
“It’s the famous Hollywood sign, the center of the world’s film industry,” explained Zhang Zian. “Many of the movies you watch are actually produced there.”
“Oh!” said Old Time Tea with surprise, “So, it is a place full of Masters?”
“No, most of the performances of the Kung Fu Masters in the movies are made using stunts. If the actors really knew any small tricks of Kung Fu, that would be enough for them to boast for a lifetime.” Zhang Zian quietly whispered to Old Time Tea, “But there are lot of interesting attractions that are worth visiting. I will take you there in a few days.”
Seeing that Galaxy and the kittens were running further away, Zhang Zian worried that they might encounter danger, because snakes might still be active even in the warm winter of Los Angeles. He rushed over to take care of them, preventing them from running into the dense bushes.
The sun sets earlier in winter. After dinner, in almost the blink of an eye, night had fallen.
“Grandpa Tea, look over there!” Zhang Zian pointed into the distance.
When the evening lights were lit, Los Angeles was breathtakingly beautiful. It was a fantastic world composed of luminous spots. There were several flowing rivers of light. Some were broader, some were narrower, some were brighter, and some were darker. All of them were meandering through different terrains, but in the end, all the rivers converged into the ocean of lights. The colorful neon lights were like numerous round pebbles immersed in and scoured by the rivers of lights. A certain area of the ocean of lights was brilliantly illuminated as if it was daytime there. That was downtown Los Angeles, where even an inch of land came at a premium. It seemed that over the ocean of lights, a layer of luminous mist shrouded it, so bright that it could even eclipse the stars.
Old Time Tea, Snowy Lionet, Galaxy, and even Fina were all attracted by this, but not everyone was. Because of the night blindness of parrots, Richard couldn’t see anything clearly, and it was quacking annoyedly.
“Shining things …”
Fina was fascinated, and her grumpiness towards Zhang Zian during the day had vanished. Her pupils wide-open, the reflective films of her eyes gathered the glows and then re-emitted them twice as bright as before. Her pupils were so astonishingly green right now that even opals or tigers’ eyes were dwarfed.
Looking at Fina from its behind, her silhouette was almost identical to that of the statue of the Cat Goddess thrown in the corner of the pet shop.
Gazing at Fina’s profile face affectionately, Snowy Lionet forgot itself.
“Galaxy, look at what’s over our heads,” Zhang Zian gently urged it.
Galaxy raised its small face and exclaimed, “Meow! So many stars!”
Ever since they had enjoyed tea and admired flowers on the pet shop’s roof, Zhang Zian had been thinking of taking Galaxy to stargaze in the wilderness, but such a plan had been delayed for several reasons. Although Binhai City was not a big city, they lived in the downtown area, where the light pollution was still very serious, and the air quality in winter was not very good.
The dazzling Milky Way drooped near the horizon, as if a lightsaber was obliquely cutting through the hill erected with the Hollywood landmark.
Their location was not the best place for stargazing, but the advantage was that no one was bothering them. Except in the direction of downtown Los Angeles, they could see in the other three directions of the night sky clearly.
Galaxy was running around excitedly at the top of the hill. Between the interior of the pet shop and the green field behind the shop, it had never experienced anything as spacious as this hill! Today, it could have a wonderful time here!
The rays illuminating from Old Time Tea’s brass eyes were as bright as those of Fina, but they were more stable and mature, unlike Fina’s eyes that were breathtakingly beautiful. Gazing at the rivers of lights across Los Angeles, it slowly recited a poem: “Stars rise over fields that spread far and wide. The river that is perpetually flowing reflects the moon and it shines. I’ve been roaming without purpose — what does that say of me? I am no more than a gull with no fixed abode on earth, prowling in the sky.”
Because of night blindness, Richard couldn’t see anything and felt it was disadvantaged. It couldn’t help but shout, “Quack! What gull?! I’m a parrot!”
Its words made everybody smile, and diluted the melancholy implication contained in the poem.
Zhang Zian looked up and suddenly his eyes brightened. He pointed to the sky and yelled, “Look! It’s a meteor!”
Everyone looked up, and saw that a bright meteor with its long tail was streaking across the sky from west to east, and right now it was just over their heads. They turned their heads alongside the meteor’s trajectory and were amazed by it. Even Richard was pretending to be able to see it.
“Make a wish! Hurry!” said Zhang Zian urgently.
Everyone stared at the fleeting meteor silently. Near the City of Angels, everyone made their own wishes.
