Chapter 1: Wind Blows the Eggshell

Zheng Tan jumped onto a branch of a sycamore tree, narrowed his eyes to look at the sunlight filtering through the leaves, flicked his ears with his current furry paws, found a comfortable position to lie down, and yawned.

In the September afternoon, the sunlight was just right, suitable for a nap.

Zheng Tan is a cat, but he used to be a genuine human; he also doesn't understand how this happened, he woke up like this after a sleep.

An unfamiliar city, an unfamiliar house, unfamiliar people, an unfamiliar new identity that is even more despair-inducing, an expanded world, and, an era of time flowing backward—2003.

Zheng Tan used to dislike cats, even to the point of loathing this kind of animal; he always felt that cats were creatures on the same level as lunatics, yet now he himself has become such an animal.

Retribution? Zheng Tan admits his conduct hasn't been good, he has bullied the weak, set a few not-so-big fires, been idle and unemployed, once lived extravagantly and decadently, indulging in drunken dreams, but at least he hasn't killed anyone; using his moral compass that he has kept kicked into a corner since he could remember to judge, there are many worse than him, so why is it him who suffers retribution? Bewildered? Helpless? Angry? Despairing? In the face of crystal-clear reality, everything seems futile.

Regarding his former indulgent life, Zheng Tan can only comfort himself with the phrase "Wind blows the eggshell, wealth departs and people are at peace."

To console himself.

Three months have passed, a quarter of a year, the natural cycle's turning wheel has rotated ninety degrees, allowing Zheng Tan's tumultuous feelings upon arrival to settle, from being unaccustomed to gradually becoming familiar.

Sometimes, getting by without ambition is also a rare state of mind.

This is Chu Hua University, a century-old renowned institution in central Huaxia that ranks first among dragons in university rankings; the advantage of a century-old university is its ample size and thorough greenery.

Occasionally, students walk along the road under the trees; here the atmosphere is tranquil yet full of vigor.

In this pleasant atmosphere, Zheng Tan dozed for a moment before being awakened by a burst of dog barks.

He twitched his ears; without looking at Zheng Tan one knows which two are causing the commotion again.

At a distance of a hundred meters from Zheng Tan, a brown Chihuahua is barking at a camphor tree, while on a branch of that tree sits a black-and-white cat; the cat is simultaneously wagging its tail and calling down to the ground.

Judging by appearances, this situation is quite common; people who keep pets often encounter it.

However, the difference now is that both this dog and this cat are saying "wang wang" in their mouths.

Sound.

This cat's name is "Jing Chang".

, now eight months old, slightly smaller than Zheng Tan, named because its fur color resembles that of the black cat Jing Chang in the cartoon.

At the same time, this cat is also one of Zheng Tan's mischievous friends after he became a cat.

This cat has two traits: one is being belligerent, fighting desperately; the other is imitating dog barks, full of dog nature.

Zheng Tan first saw "Jing Chang"

when, that guy was crouching on a ornamental stone about a meter high, barking at that Chihuahua.

Waiting for "Jing Chang"

noticed Zheng Tan looking this way, it then slowly changed from "wang wang"

sound to a "meow.

Actually, at that time Jing Chang's "dog language"

was not standard, felt somewhat off, but as these days passed, this "dog language"

became more and more genuine; ordinary people just by listening cannot tell if the call is real or fake.

Moreover, when tired, this little guy sticks out his tongue and pants like a dog, so Zheng Tan often wonders if a dog's soul resides inside this cat's body; not paying attention anymore, Zheng Tan yawned and continued lying down to sleep.

He doesn't worry at all about "Jing Chang"

's safety, "Jing Chang"

and that Chihuahua have been fighting since childhood, experienced.

To ask why "Jing Chang"

always can't get along with that Chihuahua, the reason being that the Chihuahua is the smallest pet dog in the Dongqu Dayuan staff residence.

Fish pick the fresh to eat, persimmons pick the soft to pinch; even cats know this.

Zheng Tan slept until the bell for the third period in the university teaching area rang, then he got up, stretched, and slowly slid down from the tall sycamore tree.

He jogged along the path beside the road, then after passing through a peach grove he would see a wall.

This is the affiliated primary school inside Chu Hua University, where many children of faculty and staff study; drop-off and pick-up are convenient, giving parents peace of mind.

Zheng Tan jumped onto the wall, glanced at the two classrooms on the second and sixth floors, then walked along the wall toward the school gate.

Zheng Tan waited on the wall about twenty meters from the school gate for seven or eight minutes, then the affiliated primary school's dismissal bell rang.

It wasn't a sharp ding-ling sound, but a segment of cheerful, lively music, very personified.

A little girl wearing a small floral dress, carrying a hellokitty backpack, walked out of the corridor; as soon as she exited the stairwell she looked directly toward Zheng Tan, seeing him crouched on the wall, her usually unexpressive eyes instantly brightened and she ran over.

"Yuan Ge said they have a small quiz in the last class, might need to wait a bit……"

Before the girl finished speaking, Zheng Tan saw a person burst out of the stairwell, dragging his backpack like a sack, hair messed up like a chicken coop, rushing straight toward them, smiling smugly, making a "V" sign at Zheng Tan and the girl.

-shaped victory gesture; it seems this kid did well on the last class's small quiz.

The boy is called Jiao Yuan, the child of the family currently fostering Zheng Tan, in sixth grade.

The little girl is called Gu Youzi, Jiao Yuan's cousin; after her parents divorced, for some reasons Jiao Ma brought her back from abroad to live in the Jiao household, now she studies in second grade at Chu Hua University Affiliated Primary.

Jiao Yuan took the backpack from Gu Youzi's back, and the two of them plus the cat left the school gate heading toward Dongqu Dayuan.

"Look, Jiao Yuan's family cat has come to pick them up again."

Someone said.

Many people encountered on the road have grown accustomed to this scene; from the start of term to now it's been nearly three weeks, and initially it even became a topic of after-dinner chatter among those nearby.

The staff residence is not far from the affiliated school; it's reachable in under ten minutes on foot.

The Jiao family lives on the fifth floor of Building B in Dongqu Dayuan; each building's entrance has access control, Jiao Yuan tapped his keychain on the card reader, and the iron door sounded "dang"

and opened.

On Jiao Yuan's keychain there is a small round tag, which is the access control "key"

, nearly everyone living in the staff residence has one; Zheng Tan also wears one around his neck, only this one is special: the front bears his current likeness, the back the Jiao family's home address and phone number, an access card merged with a pet tag, specially made by Jiao Ba.

When Zheng Tan entered the building, he glanced at the balcony of a first-floor household, didn't see that fat guy, guessing that fat guy had again been taken to visit relatives.

At this mealtime, the Jiao family's door is always open, after all it's a staff residence of the school; the entrance still has access control and surveillance cameras, making its safety far higher than that of some ordinary apartment buildings outside.

Jiao Ma was cooking, but there were voices talking in the living room.

"Then, the advertising matter will be a hassle for Teacher Jiao"

Zheng Tan paused in his steps upon entering.

He recognized the voice—it belonged to the owner of a pet supplies store near Chu Hua Da Xue, surnamed Guo; his older brother was a veterinarian, and Zheng Tan's vaccine had been the shot administered by that brother.

Last week Zheng Tan had also heard Jiao Ma say that Xiao Guo intended to ask Zheng Tan to help shoot a cat food advertisement; so, is today's visit specially arranged to explain the advertising matter?