Kuze and Danny sat opposite each other. It is a very formal way of sitting: the short table in the living room is moved over and placed between the two. In front of each person is a glass cup filled with tea. Kuze sat on the cushion at Danny's request, and Danny, after learning to sit for five minutes, finally gave up and sat cross-legged across from Kuze.
"You know, I wasn't going to be in a hurry to talk about it." Danny said solemnly, and he wrote the long sentence for a long time, "I want to give you more time, I want to let us live I'm happy. But the candid filming made me know that even today, there are some misunderstandings that I don't make clear, I may still hate you when you don't know anything. I don't want to hate you inexplicably. We have to make it clear. "
When it came to secret photography, Kuze felt a little guilty, but he obviously didn't understand the rest of Danny's words. He frowned slightly and looked at Danny incomprehensibly, only to keep quiet out of respect because Danny rarely prepares a long speech so seriously.
"You've always called me 'cat', so in my heart, I've always called you 'doctor'. But of course I know your real name. For this official conversation, I'll call you by your first name, Kuze." Danny announced.
"Uh... ok?" Kuze's expression was still blank. He looked at Danny the same way he did every time Danny brought up the subject of "people" and "cats", obviously he thought Danny was going to repeat the old words.
But this time is different.
Danny calmed down, sorted out his thoughts, and brewed his rhetoric. This brief silence made Kuze a little uneasy, and he interrupted, "Did you give the video to your lawyer friend? The satellite network is relatively slow, so we can first—"
"That's not important," Danny said, and then changed his mind. "Of course it's important, but don't worry, I need to talk to you first."
"Then, what do you want to talk about?" Kuze's tone was uncertain, "What do you want to talk about?"
"I want to talk about three years ago," Danny said, taking a deep breath. "I want to know if you were discriminated against and malicious at that time."
The air was suddenly silent. The change was almost visible to the naked eye, and suddenly, Danny couldn't see Kuze's expression changing with their conversation, and couldn't see his chest rising and falling slightly with his heartbeat. All feedback from Kuze stopped, and he could only see the dust particles floating in the sun. Danny winced involuntarily. He took another deep breath and focused his eyes on Kuze's face.
"Three and a half years ago, during the Great Plague." Danny paused for a moment, remembering that Kuze said that his grandfather died of lung cancer. It has no direct relationship with the plague, but has an inseparable indirect connection - during that time, which death was irrelevant to the current situation? Chronic patients die before being admitted to the hospital due to lack of beds, care and medication. Violent cases do not have sufficient police force to intervene. There was even a lake of ornamental waterfowl that starved to death that silent spring because of the loss of food from the caretaker.
Danny skipped this point and continued, "At the time, the atmosphere in America was pretty unfriendly to Asians - there were violent incidents, there were mass protests..."
It was really violent, and it was really large-scale, so that Danny, who didn't care about current affairs at all, heard about it and remembered it to this day. That year, it seemed as if everyone had lost their jobs, but also joy and hope, and all they saw was debt and bankruptcy, empty neighborhoods and homes for sale, hatred that had nowhere to hide.
Kuze didn't speak. He stared at Danny, as if waiting for what happened next. So Danny began to tell his guess.
"I think because of your close relationship with your grandpa, your original impression of America should have been very good. But everything you encountered..." Danny choked. He used to be ashamed of the events that happened when he was scouring the year for the long-lived, "Those weren't nice—they sucked. I'm sorry."
Danny looked at Kuze, trying to convey his emotions in words, but Kuze just shook his head slightly, as if to say, "What does it have to do with you?" Danny couldn't do anything, not even at that time. Realize these. He was the "cat" in Kuze's eyes, a beautiful white man with blond hair and blue eyes, and his Caucasian ancestry was shining brightly, Danny couldn't have imagined that.
Of course, someone can think of this. It's the Asians themselves in the bureau. Asian Americans who rarely participated in political activities also launched self-help actions at that time, forming associations in states and cities, protesting discrimination, and providing legal aid. But doctors are still helpless.
Danny stared at Kuze. What he was about to say next was rather cruel, and he hated his own heart of stone. But he has to go on. There is no point in giving up halfway. He had stabbed Kuse's old scar, and he must not let it bleed in vain. Danny has to follow through on this.
"Idaho has a small Asian population and is a stubborn deep red state. I don't think there are any organizations around this town that can help. Even you just came here and you were busy taking care of people who were in the hospital. Grandpa…" Danny pursed his lips, "you may not have any local friends at all. In this case, you're discriminated against in the town—"
"The cat's hostility is not discrimination." Danny's words were interrupted before he finished speaking, Kuze looked at him with a calm expression, as if he was just using a natural fact to correct a trivial slip of the tongue from Danny, "The cat did not The ability to understand humans, no empathy, no empathy. They shouldn't be expected to understand. It's natural for them to do wrong. That's not discrimination and abuse."
"But they're not cats..." Danny whispered. He quickly realized the weakness and resignation in his tone. Danny stared at Kuze and repeated solemnly, "They're not cats. They're town folks."
"Small town residents?" Kuze opened his eyes wide and laughed in horror, "How is it possible? You say those people are locals who have been with grandpa for decades? Impossible, humans can't be so vicious, let alone the town. The residents of the town where my grandfather lives. People are casual and friendly. They chat, hunt and ski together. Grandpa received flowers, coins and bread when he was sketching on the street. Those few street scenes of the town are stored in the interior of the basement Now, you say those cats are town dwellers?"
Danny felt his fingers shaking involuntarily. In Kuze's laughter, the hysterical despair was too strong, and it also infected him. Danny clenched his fists, trying to calm himself: "I know the change is incredible, but that's because it was so chaotic... After losing a job, losing hope, anyone can become vicious. Just a few people Lost of judgment, guided by xenophobic news and rhetoric—"
Kuze stopped smiling. He quieted down, looked at Danny, and shook his head slightly but firmly: "No, you haven't been to town, you don't understand... Those are cats, just like people. How could a human do that? In the hospital, A cat spit on grandpa's dinner plate. It coughed and spat on grandpa's food! I went to blame the cat, but a bunch of cats came up..."
Kuze's emotions gradually grew agitated, "They threatened me! They hooted and shoved me! I went to the bakery to buy food, and the clerk pretended not to understand my accent and refused to provide service! I went to rent a house near the hospital, The agent refused to rent it to me, saying that I was a high-risk group, which would cause panic in the community... Even our car hood was covered with urine! Can people do that? Defecate anywhere, fight in public, and blame innocent people. Get a sense of security?"
Kuze's accusation made Danny's spine tingle. He had seen those reports in the newspapers, certain states, certain small towns, the wickedness of the few and the silence of the many. Danny didn't feel anything at that time, just jealous that those people didn't have to run for survival, and had the time and energy to take to the streets to take action. At that time, he even hoped that they would make a bigger trouble and issue a full-scale resumption order, so that he could find a serious job to feed himself without having to sell his ass.
But the economic depression did not end with atrocities. It took Danny a year or two to realize that most people wouldn't benefit from those riots. After another year or two, he met Kuze, and he really saw that it was even more than that. Apart from the majority who did not benefit, there were also victims like Kuze.
"That's not a human, how could it be?" Kuze's voice was low again, and he murmured, "Humans are like grandpa, like the seniors in the research room, like the small town in the oil painting... Those in the town, It's just a bunch of cats."
… just a bunch of cats.
This is where Kuze's cognitive dissonance comes from. Even though Danny had expected it, he shuddered involuntarily when he heard it. Kuze's understanding of the world and human beings is soft and fragile, and when he encounters the hard reality of a special period, he immediately shatters. Danny couldn't think of where to retort without hurting him again.
He tried to persuade Kuze: "Those people... They are afraid, they are ignorant, they are misled by public opinion, and it is their fault. But they are also human. They must take responsibility for their actions."
"But they're not responsible. No one is responsible, because cats can't be responsible," Kuze said, his voice trembling from light to heavy. "Cats can't be responsible for people, and they can't be responsible for themselves. They're afraid, but Don't understand anything, only mess things up. Can't blame them. Because they're cats. They have to be cats, only cats..."
It was obvious that every sentence was a firm assertion, but Kuze's voice sounded so weak and helpless. Once Danny was afraid of this oriental man, afraid of his threatening size and always rational and indifferent temper, afraid of his unfamiliar language and knowledge, afraid of all the unsolved mysteries about him. But now, this indifferent and mysterious Oriental has completely collapsed in front of Danny.
And Danny was truly terrified.
He stumbled over the coffee table and rushed over to take Kuze's hand. The glass fell to the ground, and the cold tea wet the carpet, and the coldness spread across the room like a snake. Danny hugged Kuse tightly, feeling the uncontrollable trembling of the other person. He put his forehead on Kuze's forehead, and kept repeating the pale consolation, trying to convey a little strength with his words, but Kuze's eyes directly penetrated Danny and cast into the unknown void behind him.
His hands were as cold as ice.