Chapter 113

() Ye Hao slammed the door shut instantly, then looked toward Wei Leng.

"How did it come over again?"

Wei Leng stood up, stretched his body a bit, and replied, "That guy is in a bad mood, came over to vent, but this time he didn't drink; after howling for an hour or two, it'll be about done."

"An hour or two…"

"How long have you been squatting here?" Ye Hao asked.

Wei Leng pulled out his phone and looked: "Over fifty minutes, almost an hour."

Ye Hao shook his head, about to suggest changing places so Wei Leng wouldn't have to keep waiting, but before he could speak, the door opened.

This time there was no "demonic sound"; Zheng Tan opened the door himself, and after opening it he didn't even glance at the people outside, ran to the sofa, lay down to rest, having sung himself out and vented his emotions pretty well, drank a cup of water, peed, and felt much better.

Ye Hao looked at the open door, using his eyes to signal to Wei Leng how to decide.

Wei Leng pursed his lips, cigarette clenched between his teeth, and walked into the room.

Ye Hao followed him inside, but Baizi and Dragon Qi behind him hesitated a little, especially Dragon Qi, whose complexion looked as if he'd been constipated for ages; after being nudged by Baizi, he touched the evil‑warding amulet he wore, took a deep breath, and went in.

Zheng Tan originally didn't intend to pay attention to what these people were talking about, but his ears caught a few key words, and his interest was piqued.

Ye Hao planned to take over the abandoned project surrounding Chu Hua Da Xue and develop that area. In fact, he had had his eye on that plot for a long time, but had never decided to act; earlier, when that project caused a huge uproar, Ye Hao had kept to a prudent, self‑preserving stance and stayed out of it. Later, personnel reshuffles from above led to a wave of dismissals, and the people who once called the shots in Chu Hua Shi vanished without a trace. It wasn't until this past summer, when someone schemed against him, that Ye Hao turned his attention back to that parcel of land.

But even now it's not easy to move on it, which is why he's been trying to find a way in.

"How's it going now?" Wei Leng asked.

"I've gotten in touch with Master Fang the Third and set up a time to talk," Ye Hao said, rubbing his forehead. "I don't necessarily need Master Fang the Third to do anything for me; I just want to know what his attitude is now. If he's not short‑handed, there shouldn't be a problem."

"Has Master Fang the Third taken a liking to that place?" Wei Leng wondered curiously.

Zheng Tan also perked up his ears to listen.

Ye Hao shook his head. "I've only heard rumors, but no one knows what Master Fang the Third is thinking. Whatever the case, it's always good to give a heads‑up in advance. Shaoguang Group's publicly announced development plans and movements already show they're coming in strong, and some of their moves look risky, but I believe Master Fang the Third isn't the sort to act without confidence."

As for what Ye Hao and the others said afterward, Zheng Tan wasn't entirely clear, and he doesn't know the details of those matters; he only knows that Ye Hao is preparing to move on the area not far from the side gate of Chu Hua Da Xue, though he has no idea when they'll acquire it or when actual construction might begin—could be years or months away.

After chatting with Ye Hao for a while, Wei Leng took his leave and departed.

After Zheng Tan and Wei Leng left, Ye Hao sat in the room for a moment, then suddenly asked Baizi and Dragon Qi, "What do you think—should I set aside a special room just for that cat to vent in?"

Dragon Qi, who had just relaxed a bit after the cat left, stiffened. "A whole room just for the cat? Nationwide, who sets up a VIP suite for a single cat? And just so it can sing and vent?! Moreover, if we do set aside a room, does that mean the cat will start coming by often? Maybe even bring some friends?"

Baizi and Dragon Qi remained silent; after Ye Hao chain‑smoked two cigarettes, he got up and left, looking as if he'd made up his mind. Still, Baizi and Dragon Qi had no idea what decision Ye Hao had actually reached.

Meanwhile, on his way back, Zheng Tan suddenly realized that perhaps Ye Hao and the others hadn't noticed his beard issue.

Could it be that they missed it because of his fur colour and the lighting at the time?

Only after returning to the Jiao family home did Zheng Tan think of an explanation.

Not everyone can spot something off about you at a glance; if they don't care enough or pay enough attention, with their thoughts elsewhere, how could they notice those details?

Some pet owners notice even the slightest change in their animal's state—whether it's lively, walking normally, nose moist, habits shifted—and so on. But others might not even realize their pet is down to its last breath.

The same goes for people. Take, for example, whenever Jiao Ba or one of the kids coughs, Jiao Ma can hear a lot from that cough, worrying it might be a cold or throat inflammation, and she quickly takes action to keep things from getting worse. But how many of the people around them actually have that kind of attentiveness?

As for Zheng Tan himself, it seems the Jiao family members are usually the first to notice when something's off with him.

Thinking about this, Zheng Tan felt a strange sensation he couldn't quite put into words; back when he was still human, he had never experienced anything like it, or perhaps he simply hadn't noticed then.

After venting his inner frustration and figuring out a few things, Zheng Tan no longer cared so much about his beard. Now his beard has grown in quite well, and everything is gradually improving.

Since he's in a good mood, Zheng Tan can't stay still anymore; the weather outside is nice, and sometimes seeing A Huang and the others rolling on the grass to sunbathe makes him envious—there's a big difference between basking on the balcony and lying out in the open.

That day, Zheng Tan finally decided to go out for a stroll.

His beard, grown for two weeks, is already much longer than right after the trim; although it still looks a bit shorter than when it was in perfect condition, it's plenty presentable. Besides, when he goes out, others might not even notice his beard, and he doesn't care what irrelevant people think or how they judge him.

After swiping the access card and exiting the building, Zheng Tan breathed in the warm afternoon air, felt the sun's temperature, and felt relaxed.

Upon reaching the residential compound's grassy area, he saw A Huang lying there sunbathing again, while Jing was over in the bushes catching bugs to play with.

Da Pang sat off to the side, eyes half‑closed, ears twitching now and then. This fellow only comes out to play when the old lady leaves the house; if she's home, he stays on the balcony and goes nowhere else.

Seeing Zheng Tan approach, the A Huang lying on the grass rolled over, rubbed his back against the grass, then stretched out his paws to scratch Zheng Tan's tail twice.

Flicking his tail to shake off A Huang's claws, Zheng Tan lay on the grass, yawned, then flicked at the grass beside his paws to play.

As he was doing that, a person entered from the compound gate, apparently intending to take a shortcut across the lawn to the residential building. However, while walking on the grass he spotted the cat over there.

Zheng Tan also thought the guy looked familiar; after a moment he realized it was the fellow who lives on the first floor of the building farther inside, who never draws his curtains in the morning and stays inside getting busy with his girlfriend.

Later Zheng Tan went over a few more times, and the curtains were always drawn tight; they were only opened when the room was empty.

Zheng Tan had expected the guy to pick up a stone and throw it at him, even bracing to dodge, but instead the man stood there, his complexion shifting a few times, then acted as if he hadn't seen them, continued on—though his path veered a bit and he sped up, avoiding Zheng Tan and the others.

What Zheng Tan didn't know was that the man had indeed thought about picking up a stone to throw at the cat, but had restrained himself. Later he asked a few people in the compound, who told him that in Dongqu Dayuan, the two cats and two dogs are not to be provoked.

The two dogs refer to the muscular Bull Terrier Zhuangzhuang and the mixed‑breed Sahala with three bloodlines; the former's fighting power is ferocious—everyone in the compound knows it, it's caught thieves, earned fame in one battle, its reputation spreads abroad, and even when out for a walk it's scrapped with dogs from the Xijia residential compound, a true daredevil. As for Sahala, it's a bit clever, loves to stir up trouble and hold grudges; if you offend it, it'll poop on your doorstep, shove you from behind when you're not looking, tug your shoelaces, or piss on the blankets you've left out to sun—basically it can drive you crazy, and its backing is strong, so even disciplining it depends on the owner.

As for the two cats, they're both in Building B of the residential compound—one is a plump pear‑flower cat, the other a black cat. Their description isn't nearly as detailed as the dogs', just a simple bit of info, yet it leaves plenty to the imagination; precisely because of that vagueness, people find them even more intimidating.

Although the talk about the two cats and two dogs is partly joking, there's also truth to it. So whenever that person entered the compound gate, seeing those two cats and two dogs, he'd steer clear.

As he walked off the lawn, he turned his head to glance at the cat sunbathing nearby; seeing that the black cat was still staring at him, the look gave him the creeps, making him feel that a few more glances would raise gooseflesh.

He shook his head and quickened his pace away.

Zheng Tan didn't know what the man was thinking; he only wondered why the fellow looked at him as if he were a raging flood or ferocious beast, but it was just a fleeting curiosity—he turned his head and forgot about it.

Around four o'clock, Jiao Yuan and his friends rode their bicycles back; today, because the school was doing a massive clean‑up, it wasn't their turn on duty, so they just tidied up a bit and headed home.

After entering the compound gate, each went riding to his own building; as they split up, Zheng Tan overheard them talking about tomorrow's run.

It's strange—how did little Jiao Yuan decide to go for a morning run?

At dinner that evening, Jiao Yuan brought it up, and Zheng Tan learned that the autumn sports meet was about to begin. Unlike elementary school sports days, competition among junior‑high students is far more intense, and all sorts of petty thoughts are starting to sprout among the kids in their growth spurt.

Just entered junior high, many boys haven't started growing yet, while girls generally develop earlier, so many boys still look petite. Jiao Yuan and his pals are about the same height as the little girl Shi Rui, and sometimes they even seem shorter than her, but Xiong Xiong is the exception—he's built strong, considered tall in class, quite active, and as soon as he joined, he snagged the post of sports committee member.

For these boys, the teachers tend to look out for them—not just because Xiong Xiong's mom has some standing, but because several of the students in this junior high are children of Chu Hua Da Xue faculty, so the school's teachers give them extra attention. Some of those teachers might also have kids in college, and thus would need the Chu Hua Da Xue professors to look after them in return; everyone understands this unspoken arrangement.

But precisely because of that, the class has split into little cliques, and Jiao Yuan and his friends form one such group.

This little clique includes the sports committee member; moreover, many events in the sports meet have no sign‑ups, and since the classmates still barely know each other early in the term, Xiong Xiong roped in Jiao Yuan and the others, telling each of them to pick one of the remaining unattended events.

Zheng Tan looked at the paper Jiao Yuan had taken out, two 800 meters, one 1500 meters. (To be continued.)