Zheng Qing fell asleep in a daze. In his blurred vision, he saw a faint glimmer of light. He stood up, swaying from side to side, his stiff neck slowly moving toward the light, his legs repeatedly acting against his will. In the center of the light, there was a woman in white, facing away from the source. Backlighting and side lighting blurred her body outline, leaving only her fluttering hair dyed a soft yellow.
Zheng Qing staggered closer to this woman, and gradually, from her plump yet familiar figure, he recognized her as Huo Tong. He reached out his hand, but it passed right through her chest, touching only a wisp of air. Huo Tong's figure slowly melted within the light, turning into a wisp of smoke until it vanished entirely. Zheng Qing felt lost and empty, letting out a long sigh as though he had exhausted all the strength in his body. Suddenly, he felt something lightly nibbling at his calf. Looking down, he saw the long-haired Siamese rabbit with teeth similar to Huo Tong's burrowing beneath him. Next to it were two fluffy, pink little bundles, clumsily following behind in a playful tangle. Zheng Qing felt a bit dizzy. He recalled eating these two baby rabbits as rabbit soup at Jin Liufu's Chao cuisine restaurant. How could they be appearing again now? It must be a dream, he thought, shaking his head vigorously, trying to clear his mind. Indeed, when he fully woke up, he found himself lying in bed, drenched in cold sweat.
Zheng Qing opened his eyes, seeing only the dark, lifeless ceiling. Water stains seeping from upstairs had formed pale black circles, one after another, like countless eyes staring at him. In his daze, those eyes gradually transformed into Huo Tong's sorrowful gaze. A chill ran down his back; he felt a shiver though it wasn't cold, his hairs standing on end.
Suddenly, he sat up with a jerk, intending to turn on the bedside lamp. When he turned his head, he saw a pair of glittering blue eyes staring at him from the edge of the bed. Zheng Qing felt his mouth dry, his throat sore, and his heart racing as if countless cat claws were scratching at him.
He turned on the light and saw the Siamese rabbit lying on the desk at the side of the bed, looking at him with a plaintive gaze that almost bled. Startled, his whole body shivered. After the tremor passed, he got out of bed and picked up the Siamese rabbit.Holding the rabbit, Zheng Qing walked over to the glass window, picked up a cigarette, and then blew a wisp of smoke at the little rabbit's head. In the past, he liked most to blow a wisp of smoke at Huo Tong's face, and at that time, Huo Tong would always cough exaggeratedly, like an old man. Now, the Siamese rabbit in his arms also began to cough quietly, like a baby. Sitting in the wicker chair by the window, the glass window was open, and outside it was pitch black—no stars, no moon. The cold wind coming through the window was rather biting, so Zheng Qing held the Siamese rabbit in his arms tighter, as if he were holding Huo Tong years ago. Drowsiness gradually swept over him, and Zheng Qing leaned wearily against the back of the chair, his body sliding slowly down, finding the most comfortable angle, his eyelids heavy as if filled with lead. Finally, he fell asleep. After sleeping for a while, Zheng Qing began dreaming. In his dream, he was riding in the passenger seat of a convertible driven by Huo Tong on the coastal road, the car speeding forward. Huo Tong excitedly stood up from the driver's seat, spreading her arms and shouting loudly, feeling the thrill brought by high speed. But Zheng Qing felt very cold, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, shivering all over. Ahead was a left turn. Zheng Qing hurriedly called out to Huo Tong to sit down and drive, but it seemed she didn't hear him and stayed standing in the seat, screaming, screaming madly. The car moved forward, broke through the guardrail, and below was a cliff… Zheng Qing slowly came to, trembling all over. He opened his eyes and saw the long-haired Siamese rabbit lying on his chest, sleeping peacefully, its front legs stretched out in front of its body, just resting on Zheng Qing's left chest over his heart. Zheng Qing guessed that it must be because the rabbit's front legs were on his heart that he had such a nightmare. In fact, when he used to sleep on the same bed with Huo Tong, she also liked to place her arm over his chest, and each time it would cause him to have relentless nightmares. Zheng Qing smiled bitterly and wanted to put the rabbit down on the floor, but unexpectedly, the rabbit woke up. The Siamese rabbit lifted its head to look at Zheng Qing, and its red eyes seemed to drip blood, full of resentment, just like Huo Tong's gaze. Zheng Qing felt a sudden jolt in his heart, his thoughts chaotic and tangled.The Siamese rabbit's front legs slowly wandered over Zheng Qing's chest. Zheng Qing felt ticklish and lowered his head to try to stop the rabbit from being playful, but as soon as he bent down, he froze.
He clearly saw the nails on the long-haired Siamese rabbit's front paws suddenly grow very long and sharp, like several knives, slowly scraping across his chest. Before he could react, he saw a pool of fresh blood seeping from his chest. At first, it trickled slowly, but when the wound suddenly opened, a large amount of blood gushed out. Zheng Qing wanted to scream, but found his throat was tightly gripped by an invisible hand, unable to let a single breath in or out. He could only watch helplessly as the rabbit used its front legs skillfully to tear open the wound. He saw his internal organs neatly arranged beneath his ribs, his heart still beating—thump, thump, thump...
Even though a bloody hole had appeared in his chest, Zheng Qing did not feel a bit of pain. He felt like a detached observer, as if he had drifted out of his body, coldly watching this live performance, admiring the Siamese rabbit's long and cruel slaughter of him. He saw the Siamese rabbit bury its head into the wound, and then saw it climb out, holding his heart in its mouth, warm and still beating, with blood vessels attached. The Siamese rabbit lifted its eyes and coldly stared at Zheng Qing, its red eyes almost bleeding, filled with resentment and hatred. This was an intense, inextinguishable grudge, like the hatred of having one's own flesh and blood devoured alive by Zheng Qing.
