He was the son of a scavenger, born amidst this garbage dump. His mother was an innocent but simple-minded woman who descended further into madness after giving birth to him. Soon after, she was buried under the garbage by his so-called father.
As he grew, his days were filled with the sight of that nauseating man sprawled on the garbage heap, passed out from drinking whatever scavenged liquor he could find.
But he always remembered one phrase: "Garbage is a good thing. The stench keeps everyone away, so this place holds not just trash, but decomposing evil!"
Indeed, it wasn't just trash buried here, but humanity itself...
For instance, his mother rotted away beneath this pile of garbage. And when he was a little older, he buried his father there with his own hands.
But he didn't want to be trash. Everyone was repulsed by his stench. No matter how much he bathed, the smell clung to him as if it were seeped into his very flesh and blood, impossible to wash away.
Growing up eating nothing but scavenged trash, he was severely malnourished. He was rail-thin, and spondylitis had begun to curve his spine into a permanent hunch. That, combined with his stench, made people avoid him like the plague.
It seemed some people were born without the right to even a meager existence.
He loathed the world but lacked the courage to die. He didn't want to end up rotting under a pile of garbage like his parents.
But life was too lonely, existence too painful. He yearned for a family member who would stay with him forever.
At first, he took in a stray dog, but the dog refused to live in the garbage dump. In the end, he chained it up and left it hanging in his room.
After that, countless small animals became his playthings. He enjoyed watching them struggle, beg for mercy, and finally draw their last breaths.
One night, as he was lying in wait for prey on a small path, he saw a drunk prostitute staggering toward him. There was no shortage of women selling their bodies in a dilapidated place like this.
For some reason, an impulse seized him. He wanted to try it.
But as he approached, the drunken woman stumbled backward, covering her nose and mouth in disgust and telling him to get lost!
He was furious. As the woman turned to flee, he caught her with a dog chain and dragged her home.
And so the game began. Every day, he would diligently scavenge for clean food to bring home. He would feed the woman, wash her, dress her in beautiful clothes, and sit beside her, chatting.
The woman's mouth was gagged, but he was still happy. It was a pleasant feeling, having someone waiting for him at home.
Unfortunately, the woman eventually broke the rules of the game. She tried to escape, to call the police, to leave him forever.
There was nothing for it but to change the rules. He began torturing the women, using every method he could think of, hoping they would have a change of heart and willingly stay. But even at the cost of their own lives, none of them would agree to stay with him forever. It made him very sad.
Now, he lay on the ground, the familiar stench suddenly suffocating him. He could only gasp for breath.
Qiao An stood before the man, her gaze cool and surprisingly free of disgust.
"Why would you come to a place like this? Doesn't the stench bother you?"
'He had tried every trick in the book, but couldn't even get a small animal to stay. Yet Qiao An had walked in here of her own free will.'
"Because my friend is here. Forget the stench—I'd walk through fire and face any danger to get here..."
Qiao An turned and went upstairs. She found Ao Bai on the cold balcony, his fur soaked through with blood and filth, matted into stiff knots.
"You stubborn fool. Next time you're in trouble, you need to learn to ask for help. Aren't we friends?"
Ao Bai thought he was dying. He must be hallucinating. It looked like Qiao An was standing right in front of him.
Before he could believe his eyes, a pair of gentle hands scooped him up and pulled him into an embrace. The stench seemed to vanish, replaced by Qiao An's reassuring scent. It made him want to cry.
When Qiao An came downstairs carrying Ao Bai, the man stared at her with even greater disbelief.
"You risked coming into this stinking heap of garbage just to find a stray cat?"
'He had tempted them with money, threatened their lives, tried every method imaginable, but no one was ever willing to set foot in here. Yet for a mere stray cat, Qiao An was willing to climb and crawl through the trash, not caring that she was getting covered in filth.'
She used her slender, white fingers to part the fur on Ao Bai's body. The act of letting him witness his captor's pathetic state was a form of revenge in itself.
"He's not just a stray cat. He's Ao Bai. My friend. Got it?"
At this, Qiao An couldn't help but chuckle.
"But I imagine you wouldn't understand!"
'Because every day before sunrise, Ao Bai would be waiting outside her door. He'd accompany her as she went out to clean, and then he'd pretend to mug her, demanding food as his payment.'
'He's a gentle stray cat, the guardian of all the small animals in the Urban Village. He didn't even know the man was a criminal, yet he staked him out, rain or shine, terrified that others would get hurt the way he had.'
'Ao Bai... gentle, kind, intelligent, and strong. His ferocity was just a front, a false bravado. Who couldn't love such a cute little cat?'
"Affection that's coerced is built on lies. Don't try to wrap the evil you've done in a tragic backstory. You're just angry that people despise you, so you try to force them to submit. It's nothing but a pathetic disguise for a man who can only bully the weak."
As if showing off a trophy, Qiao An proudly held Ao Bai high.
"Then look at our Lord Ao Bai here. You hurt him, yet he chose to stay behind. He didn't want his friends to suffer the same cruel fate, to experience the same agonizing struggle. *That* is what's truly worthy of love."
Cradling Ao Bai and shouldering the injured dog, Qiao An turned to leave. Just then, Little Qing's head poked out from her collar.
"Sister, it's a waste to leave trash lying around. Why don't you let me swallow him? I don't mind the smell."
Qiao An sighed, pushing Little Qing's head back into her collar. She couldn't help but roll her eyes.
'Eating any old trash will kill you one of these days. If Little Qing got sick and had diarrhea, we might have to see a doctor. Wouldn't that be even more expensive?'
'It wasn't that Qiao An was kind; she just didn't want to attract trouble. Now that the target was located, she just had to find a way to get the police to investigate this place. The guy would end up dead sooner or later, but he wouldn't die by her hand.'
'She had worked too hard to escape her life as a wanted fugitive; she had no intention of going back to being on the run.'
The large dog was seriously injured, so Qiao An had no choice but to grit her teeth and take it to the vet. As for Ao Bai, he looked pitiful, but his wounds were all superficial. A simple bandage and some ointment at home would be enough for him to recover.
At that moment, nestled in Qiao An's arms, Ao Bai started whimpering coquettishly, which made her break into a smile.
'Oh, well. What could she do? The protector of their Urban Village was just too darn cute. She had no choice but to keep spoiling him.'