Chapter 316: Magic of Languages
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
While Zhang Zian was patiently teaching the meaning of friendship to Little Celery and her two classmates, Yi Le was shaking nervously in front of the black and white kitten that could "speak".
Galaxy felt this was very interesting. It just needed to open its mouth, and Richard would speak on its behalf.
Several days ago, when Richard and Zhang Zian discussed how to punish this brat, Richard had learned what happened that one fateful evening, so it had a thorough understanding of the personality of Yi Le.
"Quack...I mean, Meow, do you admit you're wrong?" said Richard in Galaxy’s voice.
If he could admit his wrongdoings easily, Yi Le would not be considered a typical brat.
"What... What have I done? I'm not wrong!" argued Yi Le loudly.
"Do you know what would have happened if that man didn't stop you?" Richard’s tone suddenly changed. The voice was still Galaxy’s, but the tone was totally different, like it was the voice Galaxy would have when it grew up.
"What would have happened..." Yi Le rolled his eyes and recalled what happened that day—trying to seek his mother's attention, he intended to run across the road and hide behind the barbecue stand.
"Nothing would have happened!" he yelled. "I was just crossing the road."
"Crossing the road?" Richard sneered, "You were just crossing the road? No, you were running across the road and didn't pay attention to the vehicles driving on the road. What would have happened is you would have been hit by a car, because the driver didn’t have enough time brake. You were bleeding severely, blood would have been all over the ground... Your mother would have been devastated. The driver in the car didn’t make any mistake, but he would have to suffer monetary losses and blame himself, and his newly wedded wife would divorce him—all these are the results of you crossing the road recklessly, and this man—"
In cooperation with Richard, Galaxy raised a paw and pointed to Zhang Zian.
Richard continued, "He stopped you, he prevented that future from becoming reality. But you were ungrateful, you vilified him as a bad guy... If you are not wrong, then who can be wrong?"
"Nonsense! I don't believe anything you said!" For some unknown reason, Yi Le became scared, his heart raced, and he was so nervous that he couldn't even quote any lines from the games he played.
He vaguely believed that what the black and white kitten said was true because those things were playing vividly in front of him. This was probably because of the phenomenon called "déjà vu": these scenes had really happened in a parallel universe, from where his mother's sadness had traveled across the boundaries of time and space and transmitted to his heart, making him feel an excruciating pain...
"You know what I said is true, you know that." Galaxy was just adorably staring at Yi Le, but Richard’s words, with their tonal variations, possessed some kind of magic, leading him to deploy his own rich imagination and turn the language into vivid images.
"How did you know that? Who the hell are you?" His face turning pale, Yi Le was constantly retreating to stay away from Galaxy.
Using an ethereal and emotionless tone, Richard even used a technique to create echoes, as if it was trying a sinner in a majestic hall, "I am the Prophet, I am the Herald, and I am the entity that transcends mortals. And now, I am going to forebode your future."
Arms covering his ears, Yi Le shook his head frantically, "I'm not listening! I'm not listening!"
"If you don't listen to me, your most terrifying imaginations will become reality. If you listen to me, and do as I tell you to, you will be fine, and grow up to be an adult like every normal kid," Richard solemnly warned him.
A moment later, Yi Le put his shaking hands down, "Go ahead, I’m listening."
"Your father has encountered great frustration at work today, and he's really upset and annoyed. Your mother will unintentionally provoke him, and they will quarrel. You know it's not the first time for them to have a fight, but today’s quarrel will be very serious, involving some long-standing issues, such as your education, and the car they recently bought. And then your mother will smash plates to vent out her anger, while your father will smoke cigarettes one after another silently... Their relationship will break down today. Your mother will take you to live in a hotel, and divorce your father several days later, and you will become a child without a father..."
"No... No... I don't want to live without my father..." Yi Le was almost crying.
He knew all these were true—it was not the first time his parents had fought, his mother would smash plates when bickering, and his father would smoke silently. This kitten knew all about these! Whenever they had a fight, he would hide in his room, wear his headphones, play the Arena of Valor, and imitate the words of every hero in it until the storm outside had subsided...
Compared to his mother, who was stricter on him, he liked his father better, because his father would always play games with him on weekends, buy him Gundam models, and sneak out with him to have junk food prohibited by his mother... Thinking that he might lose his father, he was so panicked that he almost had a breakdown.
Besides, he once mocked and bullied a schoolmate whose parents got divorced, and soon, he was going to be the one laughed at.
Richard paused for a moment and continued, "You have the chance to stop all of this — when you leave this shop, you will go back home as fast as you can, and before they start fighting, you will offer a cup of tea to your father, and say, 'Dad, thanks for your hard work'. Then you will go tell your mother that you are sorry, and confess to them every mistake you have ever made, and beg for their forgiveness."
Yi Le used the back of his hands to wipe away his tears. He sobbed and stuttered, "I've done a lot of mischievous behaviors and caused a lot of troubles... They will not forgive me..."
"No, you are wrong. They will forgive you, because they are your father and mother. They love you and will not punish you for your honesty. Honesty always brings understanding." Richard's tone suddenly became extremely gentle, as if the kindest teacher was instructing its student.
"Really? You are not lying to me, are you?" Yi Le looked at Galaxy in tears, "Will they really forgive me?"
Richard said, undeniably, "Yes, I know they will! Because I am the Prophet, I am the Herald, and I am the entity that transcends mortals."
A hope was kindling in Yi Le’s heart. He looked at Galaxy as if it was his life-saving straw, but Galaxy just gazed at him with its innocent eyes.
"Now, what are you waiting for?" Richard suddenly raised its volume like a formidable general was giving command on the battlefield, "Run! Run! Run back home right now at your fastest speed! Run towards the setting sun!"
Yi Le bounced up like a spring, and rushed out of the pet shop, sprinting home!
...
Zhang Zian didn't want Little Celery and her classmates to hear the previous conversation, so he let them go to the second floor to visit the hamster and the lop-ear rabbit while he had been observing Yi Le on the first floor.
He walked over to Richard and said, "Galaxy only told you that when Yi Le was home today, his parents would have a fight. Where were the rest of the story from? How could you make the details sound so real?... "
"Quack! Quack! You got me!" Richard changed back to its original voice and fluttered its wings, "The rest of the story was made up by me, with some linguistic techniques."
Zhang Zian had guessed so, he felt annoyed and amused at the same time, "How can you tell lies so easily!"
"About that, you are as good as I am!" Richard answered back sarcastically, "Anyway, I should go upstairs to dub for the hamster and the lop-ear rabbit... I’m telling you, I demand extra meals today!"
"Okay, okay, I promise. But... Do you think it will work?" Zhang Zian gazed at Yi Le's receding figure as he was running away.
"Of course it will work." said Richard confidently, "When a child expresses care to his parents and confesses his mistakes, they will absolutely eliminate any previous grudges…"
"Because of love," said Richard significantly.