Chapter 106: The Cat's Life Has Turned Gloomy

Beside the cabinet there was a window; Zheng Tan looked out from the window and saw Jiao Yuan and several kids about his age roughhousing, running all over. Then he looked inside the room, and the contrast was stark.

It must be said, girls are generally quieter than boys; at least the girls in this room are quite quiet.

As for the sole boy, who was also a toddler under one year old, Zheng Tan simply ignored him, letting him drool and babble "bah-pah-ah-da" to himself downstairs.

But not long after, an old lady came in and carried the toddler away, presumably his grandmother. With the toddler's noise gone, Zheng Tan didn't jump down from the cabinet; he just squatted on it, eagerly wishing time would pass quickly.

Seeing Zheng Tan squatting on the cabinet, Xiao Youzi stopped worrying and joined the other little girls in watching a rented cartoon. Those were the kinds girls liked; Zheng Tan couldn't get into it, so he could only doze off while squatting on the cabinet.

According to local custom, a tenth‑birthday feast consists of two meals, one at noon and one in the evening.

Actually, it's called a tenth‑birthday banquet, but if you count by actual birth date she's only nine; still, the custom is what it is, and Zheng Tan couldn't be bothered to argue. He was thinking that Xiao Youzi is also about eight, almost nine—would they hold a tenth‑birthday party for her in Chu Hua Shi too? But Xiao Youzi's irresponsible mother has been staying abroad.

Well, when the time comes we'll go to Master Fang San's Shaoguang Jiudian and give Xiao Youzi a proper celebration.

Finally noon arrived; Jiao Ma came over to take Xiao Youzi away, and Zheng Tan jumped back into the bag, where Jiao Ma picked him up.

The hotel wasn't far; a group of people walked straight there.

This time Zheng Tan didn't go into the hotel; he stayed in Jiao Ba's car. Originally Xiao Youzi wanted to bring Zheng Tan inside with her, but when Jiao Ba let Zheng Tan choose, he jumped straight into the car. He glanced in and saw many kids entering with Jiao Yuan; he didn't want to crowd in there. Later, the table would be full of people, lots of unruly kids, and strangers all around, so he decided to wait until Jiao Ba and the others finished eating and then have food brought to him.

Staying in the car was a bit boring, but it was still better than facing the bratty kids and various strangers over there. It was too noisy inside.

When he woke up from a nap, Jiao Ba was already coming over with a bowl of food. After delivering the meal, Jiao Ba immediately turned back, as someone else still wanted to talk to him.

Zheng Tan wasn't used to the hotel's food, but it was still warm, as if just reheated, so he forced himself to eat a bit to fill his stomach. Hearing that the kids would later go to the amusement park to play, Zheng Tan decided to stay in the car as before—after all, given the current amusement facilities and this small town's equipment, there probably wasn't much fun to be had, and with his adult mindset he had even less interest in playing with those little kids.

After eating, Zheng Tan lay on the back seat for a while, feeling a bit bored, then got up to stretch his body, resting his paws on the car window and yawning.

He had stretched halfway when, looking out the window, he happened to see a wave of bratty kids pouring out of the hotel entrance, heading this way. They ranged from three‑year‑olds to kids about Jiao Yuan's age, boys and girls, a crowd walking over. A few little ones held balloons, banging them "peng-peng" against the adults holding them, and those adults laughed, happily leaning in to be photographed.

Zheng Tan felt his bones ache; upon seeing such bratty kids, he felt his cat‑life had gone dark.

Because there were too many kids for the amusement park, everyone split up; each car that had one took a few, and the leftovers hired a shared vehicle to go together.

Thus, Jiao Ba's car ended up with two unfamiliar kids: one sat in the front passenger seat, Jiao Ma sat in the back holding Xiao Youzi, and there was Jiao Yuan plus another boy about ten years old.

That boy also had a balloon; upon seeing Zheng Tan, he started hitting Zheng Tan with it, ignoring protests from Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi, paying no heed to whatever Jiao Ma said, and simply refusing to behave.

Zheng Tan could no longer bear it; he raised his paw and popped the balloon.

In the end it was Jiao Ba who spoke, and the boy quieted down for a moment—just a moment—while sitting there his eyes kept darting toward Zheng Tan.

Look, you damn thing, look!

Zheng Tan was very annoyed.

The amusement park in this city is about twenty‑plus minutes' drive from here; every five minutes Jiao Ba has to lecture the boy, otherwise the kid spins like a top stuck on his butt, reaches out to poke Zheng Tan, tries to pull Zheng Tan's tail, and if he can't grab the tail he goes for the ears and whiskers, only to be swatted away by Zheng Tan.

Dodging didn't help either—the car's cramped, and the brat would reach past people to poke him. Zheng Tan couldn't run to the front and interfere with Jiao Ba's driving, and besides there was another kid up front; who knows if that one would be even harder to handle.

Jiao Yuan wanted to beat the boy, but Jiao Ma stopped him, for if they really made him cry they'd have to argue later; but the boy truly wouldn't listen. So Jiao Ba has to warn him every few minutes—apart from Jiao Ba, nobody's words get through to him, likely because he knows others dare not lay a hand on him.

Zheng Tan suddenly missed Chu Hua Shi, really wishing time would hurry up.

Finally, when they arrived at the amusement park, the brat's attention was diverted, and as soon as the car door opened he bolted outside.

"Hei Tan, want to come along?" Jiao Ba asked after parking the car in the lot.

Zheng Tan lay still in the back seat, ears flattened back, ignoring everyone.

"All right, just stay here and behave; there's a litter box, so if you need to pee you can make do." Jiao Ba pulled out a shoe‑box‑sized simple litter box, set it on the open ground, and then left.

The car had water and some snacks, and now even a "toilet" was available, so Jiao Ba wasn't worried about Zheng Tan getting into trouble.

The car windows were closed but not sealed tight, leaving a little gap; he wasn't afraid someone would try to break in, anyway Zheng Tan was on guard.

Zheng Tan glanced out the car window; the amusement park's facilities were just as he imagined—rather monotonous and simple, nothing like roller coasters, but there were similar attractions enough to amuse the kids.

Zheng Tan lay on the car seat, a bit bored, unable to sleep; these two days he hadn't gone out to wander, the place was too unfamiliar, he wasn't acquainted with the surroundings, and Jiao Ba probably wouldn't allow it, so he simply settled into the routine of eat—sleep—eat—sleep.

Really unable to sleep, Zheng Tan sat up and looked out the car window at the scenery.

Around the amusement park there aren't any tall buildings; this small city hasn't developed much, lagging far behind Chu Hua Shi, let alone the more southern Nan Cheng. This is still called the "urban area," while Jiao Ba's family home is still in the countryside; according to Jiao Ba's plan, they intend to go there for a look around the eleventh month, though they don't know the exact date. Anyway, as long as they don't have to face those bratty kids, it's fine.

While he was thinking, Zheng Tan saw a woman in her forties carrying a child pass by the window, her steps a bit hurried.

Zheng Tan noticed her not because of the woman herself, but because of the child she held in her arms; although she had a coat over it, being close enough, as she passed she glanced back, giving Zheng Tan a clear view of the child's face.

Wasn't this the toddler who had been following him and crawling earlier today? He clearly remembered the little bear‑patterned outfit. However, the toddler seemed to be sleeping soundly, eyes shut.

After glancing behind, the woman simply carried the child forward; not far ahead stood a motorcycle with a sunglass‑wearing man riding it. He said something to the woman, then lifted the coat covering the toddler to have a look, and Zheng Tan got the impression the man was checking whether the toddler had a little "jj".

Then the sunglass‑wearing man took the woman and left.

Zheng Tan didn't know whose child this was, nor did he recognize any of Jiao Ba's relatives; he hadn't intended to pay further attention, and even if he were curious, he couldn't get out right now.

But less than five minutes later, someone came running out of the amusement park—several adults who had been with Jiao Ba's group, looking anxious, and they were asking passersby.

Zheng Tan suddenly felt something was off; upon reflection there were indeed many suspicious points—he had never encountered such a thing before, having only heard that people lure kids with food or toys and abduct them, but this toddler was under a year old, couldn't even walk, and yet someone had supposedly snatched him?

Weren't there lots of people watching around? The child's grandmother had been with him the whole time—how could he be stolen?

Only after ten minutes did Jiao Ba and Jiao Ma emerge, their mood terrible; Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi also sensibly stayed quiet. Now each family had brought their own kids, and this time two children came to ride in the car—but they weren't the same two as before. These two were much better behaved, very quiet, and one seemed to have been crying.

The atmosphere was completely different from before; the car was silent with an undercurrent of repression, and though Jiao Yuan opened his mouth several times, he ended up asking nothing.

Jiao Ba returned the child to her sister's house, then took Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi back to their town residence; the old man and old woman hadn't come back. After seeing Jiao Ma and the two kids home, Jiao Ba made a few calls and hurried out.

Before Jiao Ba left, Zheng Tan overheard Jiao Ba and Jiao Ma talking in the room.

Usually traffickers deceive in place A, hide in place B, and sell in place C; if they aren't found quickly, the traffickers will likely take the child elsewhere, making him harder to locate. So Jiao Ba and company are racing against time to search.

And that child is the second child of Jiao Ba's maternal aunt; their first child was a girl, and after much effort they finally had this son, whom they usually dote on. But this time, because the boy's father is busy with business and his mother is hospitalized, the grandmother had been taking him out to play, never expecting this to happen. Now everyone is frantic, those with connections are pulling strings, and Jiao Ba has no spare time.

This underdeveloped small city has few surveillance cameras, making the search indeed difficult.

Zheng Tan recalled his own experience of being snatched by a cat‑trafficker, and felt the toddler was quite pitiful—the child knows nothing, unlike Zheng Tan who can save himself, and moreover he probably had been fed drugs.

Just like those pet cats—no matter how precious, if turned into a dish they're worth only a few dozen yuan. And Zheng Tan had heard that abducted children are sold cheaply, for just a few thousand yuan, whereas at home they're treasured like precious objects, but in the traffickers' hands they fetch that price.

Zheng Tan sincerely hopes that Jiao Ba and the others can find that toddler soon. (To be continued...)