Chapter 115

()Since he had decided to go watch Jiao Yuan's school sports meet later, Zheng Tan planned to scout ahead first.

From Chu Hua Da Xue to Jiao Yuan's school, it's not far, but not something you can reach instantly; Zheng Tan prepared to exit from the side gate of Chu Hua Da Xue nearest the junior high, then head that way.

After sending Xiao Youzi to the attached primary school in the morning, Zheng Tan jogged all the way to that side gate.

The side gate is relatively narrow, with only the school's students coming and going, plus many people pushing bicycles; Zheng Tan still didn't want to squeeze in with them, so he climbed over the wall and then headed toward the junior high.

Zheng Tan had never been to Jiao Yuan's school; he only remembered Jiao Ma's usual driving route and the markings he'd seen on the map, and besides, that junior high isn't far from here, so he shouldn't get lost.

After coming out of the side gate, Zheng Tan clearly felt the bustle of this street.

Different from the prosperity near Zhong Xin Guang Chang, but it's very lively. There are also many old residential areas here; the aunties walking to and from the market chat about today's vegetable prices and what they bought, and their Chu Hua Shi accent can be heard everywhere.

There are no towering buildings, no rushing luxury cars, and the road surface isn't smooth. Bicycles, small electric vehicles, and some mass-market family cars are the main elements—this is the life of ordinary folks, with liveliness seeping into the mundane.

If it were a school bus, it wouldn't take this road, so Zheng Tan couldn't possibly find a Chu Hua Da Xue‑marked shuttle heading to the attached middle school here.

Buildings line both sides of the street, and on the side Zheng Tan is walking, many outer walls have been built; he therefore simply jumped onto the wall and walked along it, avoiding having to compete for space with the morning‑shopping aunties on the sidewalk.

The other side of the street is mostly shops, many breakfast stalls; the sound of frying youtiao Zheng Tan can hear, and local‑flavored breakfasts always attract many students and office workers to come here for breakfast. However, Chu Hua Da Xue is huge, so this area isn't close to the school's main gate, teaching area, or dorms; students who live far and lack time can only come by occasionally.

Zheng Tan walked along the wall, watching the people coming and going on the street, feeling somewhat moved. It seemed that each gate of Chu Hua Da Xue opened onto a different scene.

Just then, Zheng Tan heard a catcall from not far ahead and looked forward.

A six‑ to seven‑month‑old kitten jumped onto the wall, blocking Zheng Tan's path. However, after glancing at Zheng Tan, the kitten went on ahead, seeming to be heading the same way.

This cat came out of a nearby building, then jumped straight onto the wall, never walking on the sidewalk; perhaps for a cat, this wall is a more suitable road. It not only lets them look down from above, but also lets them avoid humans so they won't get kicked by passersby on the sidewalk.

Since it was going the same way, Zheng Tan didn't think much of it; he didn't know the kitten and had no intention of going over to say hello.

After walking a bit farther, Zheng Tan noticed the kitten ahead pause, lift its head and look; looking past the kitten, he saw another cat, larger, moving in the opposite direction to his own.

Is this a narrow‑road encounter?

Should we fight?

Zheng Tan prepared to observe first, after all the wall here is too narrow for two cats to walk side by side. In this situation, would they go straight into battle, or would one jump down to avoid the clash?

Too bad, neither happened.

To Zheng Tan's surprise, the kitten ahead and the larger cat further forward didn't stop; they kept walking at their original pace, with no intention to fight. When they met, the kitten lowered its body and slipped under the larger cat's legs, while the big cat lifted its paw to cooperate.

Soon the kitten slipped through successfully, and the large cat walked toward Zheng Tan's side.

Zheng Tan looked at the cat ahead, which was about his size, and guessed it wasn't the type to back down.

As the cat drew nearer, Zheng Tan braced for a sudden swipe, but the other seemed not to want to fight and showed no aggression.

When the cat was less than ten centimeters from Zheng Tan, it stopped, flicked the tip of its tail, raised its neck, lifted its chin, and moved its front paws; its gaze seemed to say, 'Come on, you can slip under.'

Zheng Tan: '……'

Damn it, this trick of slipping under the crotch is better left to other cats!

Zheng Tan thought, turned his head to look at the wall ahead, estimated a bit, then prepared to jump!

He leapt over the big cat, watching the narrow wall approach, and finally landed safely!

Phew, phew—his judgment and control were much stronger now; although he landed a bit off‑center, he could still steady himself. Zheng Tan turned his head to glance at the big cat, tilted his head back, and walked off!

The big cat flicked its tail, stopped looking at Zheng Tan, kept its gaze forward, and strode ahead with head high.

The kitten that had been ahead of Zheng Tan reached a junction, jumped down, having arrived at its destination; Zheng Tan looked in the direction it went—it was also an old residential area with decent greenery, likely where its playmates were.

Jumping from one wall to the next, Zheng Tan continued forward, observing the buildings on both sides as he walked; he didn't know which side of the street Jiao Yuan's school was on, so he had to pay close attention. Moreover, the junior high wouldn't be as large as Chu Hua Da Xue, and he didn't know how big its gate was—if the gate were small, he might miss it if he wasn't careful.

After walking forward for about five minutes, Zheng Tan twitched his ears and heard reading voices.

Good, it's right ahead.

The first thing Zheng Tan saw wasn't the school gate but the teaching building; walking along the wall he could hear the reading voices coming from inside the building next door— a teacher leading the reading, a chorus of youthful voices, some drowsy and lazy, some shouting at the top of their lungs, and some soft, girlish tones, all carrying the mood and vigor of kids that age.

Numerous students, the sound of reading aloud.

Zheng Tan could see the students sitting in the first‑floor classroom windows; a few boys seated in the back who weren't quite honest poked their heads out from behind their textbooks, lingering wistfully over a certain silhouette.

Zheng Tan couldn't help but chuckle.

Pure, green‑filled youth!

Compared to that, the kids now are still relatively pure, not like a few years later when computers became widespread and they were exposed to the impact of the internet, becoming precocious.

Not many students dare to stare blatantly out the window in a daze; occasionally a student notices the black cat on the outside wall, looks over, and the next moment the teacher calls on him to answer a question.

Zheng Tan didn't stop there; he kept walking forward, intending to check out the school's main gate—since he was here to scout, he definitely needed to familiarize himself with the area.

The junior high is still a fairly ordinary middle school, certainly not on the scale of Chu Hua Da Xue; even its main gate is no larger than the side gate of Chu Hua Da Xue.

Having looked around, Zheng Tan felt there was nothing more worth studying, so he jumped down from the wall and walked into the school grounds.

Here, Zheng Tan certainly wouldn't dare just stroll straight onto the school's main avenue; he didn't know the local rules, nor was he sure whether security or similar personnel might come to chase him away, so he kept to the flowerbeds, using some greenery for cover as he went inside.

He didn't go straight to the teaching building to look for Jiao Yuan's classroom; first he checked other places like the cafeteria, the tuck shop, the parking lot, etc., then came to the ** field to have a look.

In less than half an hour, Zheng Tan had walked a full circuit of the school, figuring out the layout of the main buildings and grounds, and only then came to the teaching building.

The teaching building consists of a single, fairly large block. At home, Zheng Tan had heard Jiao Ma and Jiao Yuan say that the first and second floors are for first‑year students, the third and fourth for second‑year students, and the top two floors for third‑year students. The teachers' office is at one end, the toilets at the other, with staircases at both ends and in the middle.

This school doesn't have the so‑called fast and slow classes—at least not for the first and second years; the graduating class is another matter.

Zheng Tan remembered that Jiao Yuan's class was first year, class one; Xiong Xiong ** felt that even though there were no fast/slow divisions, the number one still felt superior, so he pulled Xiong Xiong and a few others into first‑year class one as well.

Since it's class one, it should be at the head of this floor, and indeed on the first floor; Zheng Tan looked at the class signs on each classroom door and located the position of first‑year class one—this side is near the teachers' office, likely also a focus of observation.

Because the front has a corridor, with people constantly passing—patrolling teachers or students needing to pee—it wasn't convenient for Zheng Tan to peek. After thinking, he went to the rear of the teaching building, picked a window at the back, and jumped up onto it.

The lower windows on this side are all covered with newspaper, probably because there are no curtains and the sunlight shining in would be glaring, so the students paste newspaper over them. Still, they leave a little corner or the like so they can idle and watch the outside scenery when they have nothing to do.

Zheng Tan jumped onto the sill of the rearmost window, originally intending to stand up and peer inside through the uncovered pane above, but seeing that the lower window had an uncovered corner, he peered in through that little gap.

Sitting beside this window was a boy who wasn't listening to the math teacher's lecture on the podium; he was currently using an automatic pencil to fill in the zeros in his textbook, making them solid, then finding numbers like 4, 6, 8, 9 and filling in their outlines, and after finishing he erased them with an eraser.

Zheng Tan suddenly recalled that he used to do this kind of ** thing himself. Besides that, he would also draw in his textbooks, adding a few strokes to the characters there.

Thinking about it, writing with a pen was something from a very long time ago; later everything was typed on computers, many university assignments were directly printed and submitted, and if something needed handwriting, he would pay someone to do it. In short, Zheng Tan has forgotten when he last held a pen.

Not sure if he sensed someone watching his every move, the boy looked up at the teacher on the podium, frowned, then turned his head intending to peek outside through the small corner without a sticker, but as soon as he glanced, his eyes met one eye.

Moreover, it is obviously not a human's eye. (To be continued.)