Chapter 101

Wei Leng came the day after Zheng Tan agreed to help, just as before; he first called Jiao Ba to let him know, then went to Dongqu Dayuan, looked around but didn't see Zheng Tan, so he honked the horn rhythmically.

Zheng Tan was sleeping on a nearby tree; hearing the horn, he jumped down and went to Wei Leng's car.

But unlike before, this time Zheng Tan didn't jump straight into the open car window; instead he walked out.

"Hey, Hei Tan, where are you going? Tonight there's a celebrity at Ye Lou, a rare chance!" Wei Leng said while driving and catching up.

Zheng Tan jogged toward the school gate; this time he didn't cut through the bushes but ran on the sidewalk so Wei Leng could see him. After leaving the gate, he headed toward Jiao Wei's small eatery.

Wei Leng in the car wondered, what is this cat up to now?

Further down that street the car would be hard to maneuver, so Wei Leng first parked near the school gate, then went to Jiao Wei's family's small eatery. When he arrived, Zheng Tan was already crouched on a chair waiting.

Since they were already acquainted, Jiao Wei's parents weren't too surprised to see Zheng Tan, but when they saw Wei Leng, one of them came over warmly to greet him—after all, Wei Leng had helped them before—while the other went to call their son's dorm.

Jiao Wei had told his parents the day before when he came back out: if that cat brought Wei Leng over, they should call him right away; if he wasn't in the dorm, they should try to get Wei Leng's phone number, or directly give him their dorm number, and contact Wei Leng when he had time.

The parents thought asking Wei Leng for his number was a bit awkward, but since their son had spoken up, if the dorm was empty they'd have to try. Fortunately, Jiao Wei and his friends hadn't gone out today; they'd been exhausted from yesterday's play and were resting in the dorm.

Upon receiving a call from home about the shop, Jiao Wei hastily grabbed his bag and rushed there. He had originally planned to go help at the shop at this time, but—if Wei Leng came over—he would bring extra money just in case. He had heard that when asking for favors one should bring a gift; even if Wei Leng didn't want it, there were still others.

Speaking of which, Jiao Wei had still been thinking about this last night; he remained doubtful about the cat, never expecting news the next day.

As Su Qu said, this cat really is quite capable.

Wei Leng sitting in the shop was still puzzled. Seeing Jiao Wei's parents looking a bit embarrassed, he waved his hand: "You two go ahead and get busy; don't worry about me—students will be coming out soon."

Wei Leng didn't plan to eat here either; he just had Jiao Wei's father bring over a cup of water.

"Hei Tan, what's the matter exactly? Why did you bother to come get me?" Wei Leng asked, looking at the cat on the chair beside him.

Zheng Tan ignored him; he himself didn't know how to answer Wei Leng.

Jiao Wei had come running; his dorm was some distance away, the campus shuttle often stopped midway and detoured, so he hadn't taken it. It seemed he should buy a bicycle—then coming and going would be convenient, and later, when the shop starts delivering takeout, he could help with the deliveries.

After drinking two cups of water and catching his breath, Jiao Wei said to Wei Leng: "Uncle Wei, I have a matter I'd like to ask you to help with."

"Don't keep calling me 'uncle' and using formal 'you'—it makes me feel old." Wei Leng laughed, stood up, and walked out, knowing Jiao Wei's request wasn't something to say in front of his parents.

After greeting his parents, Jiao Wei picked up his bag and walked out with Wei Leng.

Zheng Tan followed, curious about what the matter was and why they needed Wei Leng's help.

After leaving the eatery and walking a bit farther, Jiao Wei, feeling a little embarrassed, explained the situation at his family's shop, hoping Wei Leng could provide some information—at least to know who to give the gift to.

Since this happened at his family's shop, Jiao Wei had asked some classmates and indirectly inquired at other shops to learn more outsiders didn't know. Sometimes after paying the "fee," things aren't necessarily settled; someone might still come looking for trouble. Now Jiao Wei is thinking of stepping back—just let his parents run the shop peacefully, avoid other issues, and given that they're newcomers, making some gesture is better than nothing.

Zheng Tan flicked his ears nearby, thinking, "Just this little trivial matter." But that's true—ordinary folk aren't easy, especially newcomers with no background running a small stall.

"The situation is just like that; so I wanted to ask your opinion—could you give me some advice, point me in a direction?" Jiao Wei said, a bit nervous. After glancing at Wei Leng, he lowered his head, the hand not holding his bag shoved into his pocket, his palm sweaty.

This time Wei Leng didn't get hung up on the "uncle" and formal "you"; he shook his head and said, "I'm not a local either, and I don't know this area well. But…"

Hearing Wei Leng's preceding words, Jiao Wei felt a bit disheartened, but that final transition word gave him hope.

"However, solving the problem is doable—it's just a bit overkill. In any case, you don't need to worry about this; those people shouldn't come next month, and if they do, just give me a call."

Wei Leng gave his phone number to Jiao Wei, who quickly took out pen and paper to write it down.

Zheng Tan thought, Wei Leng is probably going to look for Hetaoshixiong or Ye Hao's people—one white, one black. But whichever side, it's indeed overkill.

Wei Leng's impression of Jiao Wei is still good; from the few times they've met, the young man is decent, ambitious, but that's not bad—just having a righteous heart is enough.

"Um, Uncle Wei..." Jiao Wei didn't know how to put it; he hadn't expected Wei Leng to take on the whole matter himself, "Thank you! Let me treat you to a meal sometime."

Upon hearing the meaning of those words, Wei Leng knew what Jiao Wei was thinking: "We don't do that gift-and-money thing; how about this—next time I come to your place for a meal, it's on the house?"

"Of course! Whenever you come is fine!" Being able to settle his family's shop matter made Jiao Wei feel happy inside.

"By the way, do you have anything going on today?" Wei Leng asked.

"No, none!" Jiao Wei replied quickly. Although he had originally planned to help watch the family shop, he was worried Wei Leng might have other commitments, especially related to the shop.

"Then let's go together. I'll take you out to have some fun, young man—why stay cooped up in school?" Saying this, Wei Leng walked toward the parking spot.

After going home and telling his parents, Jiao Wei got into Wei Leng's car.

"You take the front passenger seat," Wei Leng told Jiao Wei. "The back seat is for Hei Tan; when he's bored he rolls around back there, and you sitting there would be disliked—don't take his spot."

Jiao Wei: "……" Humans aren't as good as cats.

"Hei Tan, the rat will bring Jueye over today," Wei Leng said while driving.

"That big cat? Zheng Tan thought back. Speaking of which, he hadn't seen that big cat for a while; hearing that after following Ye Hao, the fellow had been doing pretty well, with Tang Qiye always taking him out to show off. So imposing."

Jiao Wei sat honestly in the front passenger seat, listening to Wei Leng talk to the cat in the back seat. Although the cat didn't utter a word, Wei Leng never stopped talking—about "Jueye," about an "nb" band, and such. Jiao Wei had no idea what he meant.

When they arrived at Ye Lou, Jiao Wei was a bit dumbfounded. Yesterday he and his classmates had passed by here; on the bus, they'd seen the outside sign "Ye Lou," discussed it with a few roommates, and wondered when they'd get a chance to go inside—just hearing that the consumption there… is far from ordinary.

Jiao Wei looked at his own casual outfit, which totally clashed with the surroundings; he'd felt a bit awkward, but seeing Wei Leng also in casual wear steadied him.

Just as before, Wei Leng didn't go through the main door; Jiao Wei followed him and the person-and-cat pair through a side door.

Not long after entering Wei Leng's private room, Ye Hao came in with Jueye.

After the big shot above fell, Ye Hao no longer needed to lie low; he's been busy day in, day out, unseen. Today he happened to have free time, so he came to Ye Lou to rest a bit and have a few drinks with Ye Hao.

Zheng Tan looked and saw that beside Ye Hao was Baizi, same as ever; he didn't see Long Qi, guessing now Long Qi might have developed a fear of cats.

Unlike last time, this big cat now indeed bears a bit of Jueye's bearing—whether "cfh" or the so-called super cat, it's still a cat; cats are naturally a bit aloof. Previously the big cat lived a stray's life, its fur wasn't smooth, but now it looks not only sleek and shiny but also a bit more muscular, its spirits are good, imposing; when it walked in, its tail rose like a banner—just short of having "tall, rich, handsome" stamped on it.

Jueye stayed well-behaved beside Ye Hao; after coming in it just sat at the side, not wandering around, unlike Zheng Tan, who lounged on the sofa, hopped onto the coffee table to nibble and sip, then went to the toilet, causing a ruckus.

However, Jiao Wei was seeing Jueye for the first time, and also seeing a cat this big for the first time; just a moment ago he thought it was a dog, but looking again—holy cow, what a huge cat!

"This is the child of a friend of Hei Tan's family, studying at Chu Hua Da Xue," Wei Leng introduced to Ye Hao.

Jiao Wei noticed that when Wei Leng introduced him, he said "Hei Tan's family" rather than "Associate Professor Jiao's family"—that's worth pondering.

Ye Hao gave an "oh," then stopped asking and just chatted with Wei Leng. Anyway it's not a secret topic, he doesn't mind Jiao Wei hearing, and since he's an acquaintance of Hei Tan's family and someone Wei Leng brought over, it won't be to his detriment.

"By the way, how's that joint project of yours coming along?" Wei Leng asked.

When Ye Hao brought this up, he frowned: "Can't get in touch with the person; his secretary keeps saying he's busy, you need an appointment, but there are so many applicants that the waiting list is ten days or more."

"Director Fang, he's swamped with affairs; being busy is to be expected—it's not just you getting this treatment." Wei Leng picked up the bottle of erguotou, clinked it with Ye Hao's, and took two sips.

Ye Hao glanced at the black cat squatting nearby eating peanuts: "Yeah, even when Director Fang is swamped, he still sent over a cat climbing frame for the cat."

Pfft!

Wei Leng spat out a mouthful of wine.

"What? Third Master Fang still sends that thing? He personally went to deliver it?"

"Yeah." This is what Ye Hao managed to find out.

Jiao Wei, sitting at the side, lowered his head; the alpaca in his heart began to race. Could it not be what he was imagining?

"Not bad for sharing weal and woe! Haizi, you'd better hold onto this cat's thigh tight." Wei Leng laughed. The phrase "sharing weal and woe" is emphasized.

Zheng Tan tugged at his ears, pretending not to catch the meaning of that phrase. Those days he really didn't want to recall.

Although Wei Leng's remark sounded like a joke, it also made sense. Ye Hao also planned that after meeting Third Master Fang, he would first avoid talking about the project and instead bring up this cat.

As a businessman, he certainly wouldn't make a decision lightly just because of a person or a cat, but at least he could narrow the distance between the two sides, so as not to be overly passive when he doesn't even know the other's preferences. (To be continued..)