The Versatile Master Artist

Ah Wang’s tail gently twitched.

Yet the tabby cat did not resist; instead, it gently moved aside a little, allowing Bu Dao to help scratch the itchy spot between its tail and back.

It enjoyed the moment while munching on cat food.

”Ah Wang has acknowledged Bu Dao.” Gu Weijing revealed an aunt-like smile.

Autism patients find it difficult to interact with normal people.

No one expected him to win the affection of a wild cat like Ah Wang so quickly.

Old Wu had been raising Ah Wang for so many years since it was a child, yet never managed to develop this closeness. Whenever near food, Ah Wang’s claws would furiously swing without mercy.

Bu Dao, however, found an unexpected way to establish a wonderful mode of interaction with the cat.

Every time Jasmine would hold Ah Wang in her arms, petting it here and there—scratching its belly, touching its whiskers, occasionally stroking its tail—she would compress and mold Ah Wang however she liked.

Bu Dao’s courage is no greater than that of a rabbit.

He feels quite satisfied just being able to touch this chubby kitty.

His hand cautiously scratches Ah Wang’s lower back, as if touching a snowball that might melt upon contact.

Ah Wang enjoys the scratching.

It devoured its canned food contentedly and now lies beside Bu Dao’s legs, enjoying the service.

Suddenly.

The tabby cat stood up, turned around to look at Bu Dao, curiously sniffed his pants, meandered two steps, and rubbed its head against Bu Dao’s right-hand fist.

Gu Weijing then realized that Bu Dao had been petting the cat with his left hand the entire time, while his right hand remained clenched into a fist.

Bleeding?

The surveillance cameras purchased and installed by Mrs. Sakai, valued at 1200 US dollars, boast high definition and have three different physical focal segments for zooming.

Gu Weijing zoomed in and vaguely saw two small dark red spots on the light gray pants of the chubby child.

It must be... caused by the can lid.

The edges of the intricately pressed thin metal can lid are razor-sharp; Bu Dao had just torn and bitten it and likely slightly cut his finger by accident.

Ah Wang nudged open Bu Dao’s fist with its head, intently sniffing at the wound on the side of his index finger with its soft black nose.

Then it opened its mouth and began gently licking his finger.

Again and again.

Faced with this sudden contact, Bu Dao appeared somewhat flustered.

The defensins, lysozymes, and lactoferrin in the cat’s saliva caused the wound some pain.

The soft papillae on the cat’s tongue tickled his skin a bit.

He dared not move, sitting there as if petrified into a statue, letting Ah Wang endlessly lick the wound.

The can-cut wound was somewhat deep but not large. Initially, a few drops of blood were released from his finger’s rich capillaries, but now they’ve begun coagulating.

Ah Wang licked the wound for a while, and seeing little blood flow, it ceased licking.

But as a proud and lively cat, she found Bu Dao’s silent demeanor, which seemed unable to utter even a single word, quite unsatisfactory.

She went for a stroll and fetched the toy ball she played with earlier.

The electric toy ball had run out of power.

Ah Wang dropped the toy ball beside Bu Dao, swept his ankles with her tail, then with a paw, flicked it off to the far side of the floor, sidelong glancing at the chubby child next to her.

Bu Dao remained unresponsive.

Ah Wang patiently brought the toy ball back again, placing it at Bu Dao’s feet once more.

”Meow?” Ah Wang called out.

This sound was unlike the previous calls from the tabby cat.

Not like when it initially bared its teeth in pride, teasing Bu Dao, nor like when, during the opening of cans, it seemed they were competing to see whose meows were louder; this call sounded...

Somewhat gentle?

Even Gu Weijing seemed to understand the highly anthropomorphized meaning of this call, clearly saying—

”Little one, why are you dazing, come play together.”

This time Bu Dao showed a bit more courage; he picked up the toy plastic ball and gently rolled it to the other side of the room.

Ah Wang made an agile leap and jumped over to pounce on the toy ball.

She pressed the light blue ball with her front paw, letting it stay in place, then turned her head to continue fixing her gaze on Bu Dao.

Bu Dao stood up, moved over in small steps to pick up the ball.

Throw again.

Ah Wang pounced again.

In this narrow painting studio, the person and cat started playing.

Bu Dao’s courage grew larger and larger, occasionally uttering some meaningless words and some distinctly cheerful laughter.

Bu Dao’s laughter, as if lifted by air, passed through the walls and reached Gu Weijing’s ears outside the door.

At the moment of hearing such joyful laughter.

A part of Gu Weijing’s heart felt struck by lightning.

Though he had spent a considerable amount of time with Bu Dao, he had never heard this little autistic patient emit such laughter.

So bright.

And so cheerful.

”In the photo, thirty years ago in Milan Hotel, swimming with Amy, was Tony laughing like this then too?” This thought irresistibly sprang forth in Gu Weijing’s mind.

No need to phone Dr. Jin Anqing or consult Mr. Tree Sloth.

At that instant, Gu Weijing suddenly realized the relationship between Amy and Tony.

It wasn’t Tony feeding Amy, but Amy taking care of Tony.

In this relationship between the two, the cat truly is the cherished nanny.

It’s not such a novel concept for a baby’s pet nanny,

In many trendy households, a pet is raised alongside children as they grow.

Caring for pets can cultivate a child’s sense of responsibility.

While pets can substitute for adults in giving emotional support to babies when they are busy working.

Common pet nannies include cats or golden retrievers, as well as more docile reptile varieties such as golden pythons.

It’s said that in the Middle East, there are more adventurous folks with chimpanzee or young cheetah pets.

In the founding myth of Ancient Rome, the twins Romulus and Lemo were said to have been nurtured by a she-wolf into adulthood.

For many years, people treated this as a complete myth nonsense. However, modern Western scholars have noted that in environments where food is absolutely abundant, even carnivorous beasts exhibit lower aggression levels and often show a more gentle side.

In some zoos, well-fed tigers may even allow tourists to pay for rides and photography.

Watching the scene on the phone where it’s unclear whether Bu Dao is teasing the cat or the cat is teasing Bu Dao.

Gu Weijing suddenly understood how the emotional bond between autistic children and pets forms.

Even a wild, unruly cat like Ah Wang can sometimes show greater patience than adults, becoming more accessible and approachable in the human world.

Sometimes you play with the cat.

And sometimes the cat actively plays with you.

Gu Weijing clicked on the drawing tool.

Procreate, specially designed for the IPAD system, is a powerful drawing software that many illustrators have already switched to, moving away from paper and pen to complete their entire workflow using it.

In comparison to more delicate drawing tablets.

This software’s ability to handle details of pen pressure sensitivity is slightly deficient, but its customization level is higher, and by importing certain custom brushes, it can achieve a texture on the screen similar to the effect when a painting knife smears oil paint.

There may still be some gap between the combination of real paste paint and canvas, but it simulates about seventy or eighty percent with no major issues.

Its convenience is its strength.

Being a legendary level of painting skill, minor inconveniences can still be overcome using painting techniques.

Gu Weijing selected a suitable pigment combination, tried applying a few strokes on a blank canvas and, feeling generally satisfied, created a new piece of work, starting to draw quickly.

The starlight peeking through the gently blowing curtains, the wooden-colored flooring, the orange-yellow kitty and chubby child chasing the ball...

The scene just beyond the wall flowed into Gu Weijing’s pen.

This vivid scene swiftly began to take shape on the tablet computer’s display screen, with Ah Wang’s image becoming more vibrant than ever.