Chapter 101: That easy?

"I’m right here."

Renren gazed down at her. He could barely hear her murmuring. It didn’t seem like she heard him.

Yet, a smile still turned up on his face. The sight of her put his heart at ease. His eyes slowly veered to the carriers, making him smile. He quietly sat down and placed the carrier he was bringing next to him, taking the one where Chunchun was.

Meow.

"Chunchun, wait a minute..." Penny tried to pull herself out, but her shirt got stuck. "I’m just stuck a little—I’m coming..."

After snapping the small branch that was stuck in her shirt, Penny forcibly pulled herself out. She used more strength than she should have, making her tumble down on something.

"Ah!" Penny rubbed the back of her head and looked back to see where she had fallen. Her face twitched the second she saw Renren, who had his back arched as if he had broken his spine. "Oh, no! I’m—I’m sorry!"

Compared to her size, Renren was almost just skin and bones. Having someone like her fall on his back, it wouldn’t be impossible to break his spine!

"Are you okay!?" Penny panicked as she crawled to his side.

Renren had a frozen look and forced a nod.

"Hehe..." she sighed. "Sorry."

Sweat broke out on his forehead before his entire body quivered, making him hunch over.

"Hey, are you really okay?" she asked worriedly, rubbing his back gently to ease the pain. "I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were here."

Renren looked up at her and smiled. "I’m okay." But his pale face didn’t look okay. "I am okay," he repeated as if he could read the doubt in her eyes easily.

"Are you?" he inquired, making her brows rise. "You don’t seem okay."

"Oh, I’m not hurt."

"Not that," he said as he slowly straightened his back. "You don’t seem okay to me. Are you sad?"

Ah.

Penny smiled subtly and sat down beside him. "Well, I don’t know."

"Why?"

She didn’t want to tell him more, but looking at him, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity in her heart. His eyes didn’t seem to pry negatively, but more like he was innocently curious.

"Because I feel like I’m doing something wrong," she muttered and gazed down to hide the bitterness in her eyes. "It’s just... I don’t want to get hurt." By the same people who hurt her so deeply, she ended up hating herself.

Penny pressed her lips into a thin line as her eyes softened. She didn’t like thinking of the past because she preferred to live in the present. But sometimes, she couldn’t help it.

She might not have thought of revenge and didn’t want to be a vengeful person, but the scars in her heart remained. No matter how much she tried to conceal them and no matter how much she tried not to think about them, there were days those scars itched. They stung, reminding her they were and would always be there.

"And I don’t want to hate myself again," she blurted out under her breath. ’Especially, when my last words were those... words.’

Resenting her family was easy, but if she resented more than she already did, that also meant resenting herself.

"It’s strange, isn’t it?" she turned to Renren and smiled subtly.

"What is strange?"

"Family."

One word wouldn’t explain everything, but Renren understood.

"Family is indeed a strange thing," he said. "I also dislike the fact I was born without asking for my permission. Now, I have to deal with family matters as well."

Penny blinked, wondering if she heard him correctly. "You’re more depressed than I am, aren’t you?"

"I’m not depressed. I’m just... dying."

Again, Penny was rendered speechless. The way he uttered his words sounded so simple as if it wasn’t even worth mentioning. Now that she was looking at him up close, he did seem unwell. She knew he looked sickly, but was his condition that bad?

"If you’re sick, why do you keep coming here? You should rest and get better," she blurted out innocently.

"And die in my bed?"

"Oh." Penny nodded. "Right." He better enjoy the last days of his life.

Having this thought in mind, Penny couldn’t help but look at him with pity. Such a kind soul, but only given a short life.

Renren spoke about death and his health so casually, but Penny felt even more depressed. Her first friend was dying. What tough luck.

"Don’t be sad," he said, but the dark clouds hovering over her head thundered even more. She sulked with her eyes down, making his face twitch a little. He carefully reached out to her, patting her back lightly.

’She’s not the one who has bad health,’ he thought. ’But it looks like she’s the one dying.’

"Hey," Penny called as she slowly gazed up at him. "Don’t die."

"Hmm?"

Her eyelashes fluttered and the corners of her lips were still curved down as she repeated, "Don’t just die without fighting. Life’s too precious, you know? There’s a lot more to see."

"Like?"

"I don’t know," she shrugged. "But I know if we live long enough, we’ll know... maybe."

Renren’s face softened, and he nodded. "Then, I will not die."

That easy?

Penny opened her mouth, but then her eyes caught the unfamiliar carrier by his side. She tilted her head and her brows knitted.

"What is that?" she blurted out, making him gaze at the carrier he brought with him.

"Oh, that’s Amanda’s child."

"Amanda?" she glanced at him again, only to see him smile.

"I’m taking care of it now. Want to see it?"

"Of course!" Her eyes twinkled as she hurriedly jumped to his other side, lowering her head to see what breed his cat was. But when she looked at it closely, deep lines started to resurface in the space between her brows. The longer she looked, the more her mouth fell open.

"Amanda..." she slowly looked up at Renren in disbelief. "...is a black panther?"

Renren nodded. "Mhm."

Penny studied his nonchalant expression with conflict. When her eyes fell on the little cub, she was now hesitant to take it out of its little cage.

"Don’t worry. It won’t bite you," Renren reassured her, and then added, "As long as I tell it not to, it won’t."

Was that really necessary to tell her?

Penny couldn’t help but look at him in dismay. ’This kid is just strange.’ If she didn’t feel sorry for him, she would have second thoughts about building a friendship with him.

Oh, well.

Everyone’s strange, and Renren wasn’t the bad kind of strange.