The Missing Cat

"My Mimi is gone!" Aunt Wang's voice, laced with a sob, broke the tranquility of the residential area. Her beloved white Persian cat, Mimi, who was usually glued to her side, had vanished as if into thin air today.

The neighborhood doesn't have many residents, and they quickly gathered at Aunt Wang's doorstep. Discussions broke out; some said it had run away, others that it had been stolen, and even more pointed their gaze directly at Uncle Li, who lived next door. Uncle Li was usually quiet and kept to himself, owning a fierce German Shepherd and preferring not to socialize with others.

"It must be his dog that ate Mimi!" someone muttered softly, their eyes filled with suspicion. Aunt Wang seemed to have been awakened by this, pointing at Uncle Li's house, "It must be your dog! It's so big, it must have scared Mimi away!"

Uncle Li stood at his door, his face ashen, not saying a word, just silently shaking his head, his eyes revealing helplessness and fatigue.

The sound of discussion in the neighborhood grew louder, and it seemed like it was about to turn into a quarrel. At this moment, Xiao Zhang from the property management brought surveillance footage. The camera was pointed directly at the main road of the community, clearly showing the last place Mimi was seen.

Everyone held their breath, staring at the screen. Mimi was seen leisurely strolling on the road, when a delivery scooter passed by. Mimi seemed to be attracted by something, suddenly jumped onto the back seat of the scooter. The delivery guy was completely unaware, and Mimi was taken away just like that.

Gasps and sighs came from the crowd, and the tense atmosphere suddenly dissipated. Aunt Wang looked at the surveillance footage, tears welling up again, but this time they were of self-blame and remorse. She apologized to Uncle Li, saying that she shouldn't have suspected him.

Uncle Li remained silent, only nodding his head. At this moment, his German Shepherd suddenly ran out, carrying something in its mouth, and carefully placed it at Aunt Wang's feet.

It was a small, soft, plush toy cat with white fur.

Aunt Wang was stunned. She bent down and picked up the toy cat, noticing a small tag on its back, on which was written in crooked handwriting: "Mimi's friend, please take good care of it."

She looked at Uncle Li again, only to find that his eyes no longer held their previous coldness, but rather a hint of subtle tenderness and concern.

She suddenly understood something. It turned out that Uncle Li was not as cold as she had imagined. He was simply not good at expressing himself, guarding the tranquility of the community in his own way. Perhaps he had known all along that Mimi had been taken away by the delivery guy, and also knew that Mimi was not in danger, which was why he hadn't said much.

Aunt Wang held the toy cat, remaining silent for a long time. The neighborhood was quiet, only the rustling of leaves in the wind remained.