Episode 888: The Kingdom of Late Arrivals (12)

Chapter 6: The conductor is a cat, and it's wearing your hat. The sixth carriage was very quiet. There was only one cat. It was a calico, sitting on a folding chair, its tail curled neatly around its paws, wearing a dark blue conductor's hat. Three words were embroidered on the brim: Chen Jiande. "Give me back my hat," Chen Jiande said. The cat looked at him with the tired eyes of an office worker. Then, it tapped the ticket validation machine next to it with its paw. The machine spat out seven words: Honesty is the only ticket. "...You want me to tell the truth here." The cat nodded. Chen Jiande stood there, scratching the back of his neck. Outside the window, whales swam slowly by; the mint leaves of the Snack Forest rustled; the braised egg spirit from the Bento Forest was still singing. "Okay," he took a deep breath. "It's not that I'm afraid of those forty dollars. What I'm afraid of is—" His voice bounced around the carriage. "I'm afraid that even with all my careful calculations, I still can't figure out how to raise you. I'm afraid that every time you say, 'Dad, you're so embarrassing,' I'm thinking the same thing: How many more years do I have to take you on car rides like this?" He paused. "I'm afraid you'll grow up too fast. I'm afraid I won't have learned how to be a dad in time." Silence. Then, the Snack Forest began to applaud. Bags of Kuai Kuai snacks fell from the trees, pat, pat, pat, like a cookie rain. The spirits in the fifth carriage raised their highlighter pens in salute. Even the electronic signboard, broken with two black dots, diligently flashed three new words: On time 0 minutes (To be continued)