Chapter 119: Jiao Yuan, Your Cat

Fu Lei missed half a day of school in the morning; at noon his parents weren't home, and when he was at school he always ate at the student cafeteria.

But now that he's at home, he has to make do. Fu Lei rummaged through the fridge, bought two steamed buns from a small shop outside, and got by for lunch; this kind of situation is quite ordinary for him.

After eating and taking a nap, Fu Lei came to school with his backpack, handed the leave note to the homeroom teacher for a look; the teacher didn't say much, since it wasn't the first time, and saying anything would be pointless.

After leaving the homeroom office, Fu Lei sat at his seat in a daze; his desk mate only sighed, "Skipping class again," and didn't say more—everyone was already used to Fu Lei's habit of skipping class. Some even envied him, because at least Fu Lei had a genuine leave note written by his parents, something they couldn't get from their own parents.

Fu Lei had no mood to chat with the few people nearby; he felt heavy-hearted. In the morning he'd escaped punishment because his dad was in a rush, but tonight he wouldn't get away—seeing his father's reaction today, he was sure to get a severe beating.

He let out a long sigh, heard the class bell ring, Fu Lei took out his textbook from his bag, spread it on the desk, and stared at it blankly.

Midway through class, Fu Lei noticed a shadow flash by the window, felt a flicker of joy, turned his head to peek through that small gap, and sure enough it was that black cat again!

Zheng Tan, Xiao Youzi, and Jiao Wei went out together; after watching Xiao Youzi enter the attached primary school's gate, they headed straight this way. They jumped onto the window sill to look inside. Sure enough, they saw Fu Lei spacing out again.

Seeing Fu Lei look over, Zheng Tan glanced at him, then looked toward the front of the classroom; Jiao Yuan and his group were still paying attention in class, at least from the back view.

Although this window was shut, a window at the front of the classroom was open; moreover, even if all the windows on this side were closed, Zheng Tan could still clearly hear the teacher's lecture inside.

It was Chinese class, and the Chinese teacher was explaining the points to watch out for when writing an essay.

"Whether you're writing something real or fictional, when you write an essay you need to note the following: first, no single-character personal names; second, no traces of Qiong Yao..."

The teacher on the podium spoke with great enthusiasm. But Zheng Tan saw many people down front secretly yawning. There's nothing to be done—it's the first afternoon class, everyone's spirits are low. After October 11, the lunch break was shortened, so many students didn't nap at noon; it's surprising if anyone feels energetic now.

When the dismissal bell rang, among those half-asleep, some suddenly woke up, feeling refreshed and ready to go out for a stroll, while others relaxed their tense nerves, just waiting for the teacher to leave the classroom so they could slump over their desks and sleep.

Upon hearing the dismissal bell, Zheng Tan jumped off the windowsill, climbed onto the wall and lay there, pondering whether to go look for Jiao Yuan and Jiao Ma.

On this side, Fu Lei saw that the black cat was no longer on the windowsill, opened the window to look out. Just then, Xiong Xiong walked over.

Xiong Xiong was going around asking everyone, leaving no possibility unasked, but so far no one had volunteered to run the 800 or 1500 meters. Last time during PE class they ran laps around the track, many were exhausted to the point of death, giving them a rough idea of the 800-meter distance, so now nobody wants to run, let alone 1500 meters.

Many in this class have good grades, but few are good at sports; Xiong Xiong, as the sports committee rep, feels stifled, so taking advantage of the break he went to ask the back row.

Just like before, those classmates hesitated when hearing "800," but when it came to "1500" they just shook their heads—nobody wanted to go.

"Hey, you, are you signing up for the 1500?" Xiong Xiong asked Fu Lei, who was looking out the window.

Before Xiong Xiong could finish his question, Fu Lei bolted out of the classroom.

"Who the hell is this guy? So arrogant!" Xiong Xiong also seethed with anger; it was the first time he'd been ignored like this in class.

"Him? Fu Lei, right? The guy rumored to be good at fighting and often skips class without getting scolded by teachers—a real tough guy." Fu Lei's desk mate said, with a hint of schadenfreude. Although not said outright, everyone knew Xiong Xiong's family had connections; the homeroom teacher spoke to him in a very friendly tone, nothing like his usual sternness.

Xiong Xiong rolled the list in his hand into a tube, tapped it hard on the desk, snorted, turned to leave, but before doing so he glanced casually out the window and happened to see the black cat lounging on the nearby wall.

However, Xiong Xiong didn't think much of it; returning to his seat he told Jiao Yuan, "Just now I saw a black cat outside the window that looks a lot like yours."

Although Xiong Xiong had mentioned it offhand, Jiao Yuan was different—he knew his cat's talent for wandering off; when he first entered middle school he'd wondered whether his cat would roam over here, and after over a month with no sign, hearing Xiong Xiong bring it up made him urgently ask, "Where did you see it?"

Xiong Xiong pointed to the window in the back row.

Jiao Yuan didn't go to the back row himself, since it was crowded, while the window beside the podium had no one around, so he walked over, opened the window, and looked out.

Zheng Tan had been lounging on the wall thinking, but within two minutes he noticed Fu Lei running over.

The wall was a bit high; Fu Lei couldn't climb up, nor could he reach it, so he stood there talking to Zheng Tan, sharing a packet of mixed-flavor peanuts. Zheng Tan had no interest in the peanuts, so he just lay there listening to Fu Lei complain that he'd probably get a severe beating when he went home that night.

"Hei Tan!"

While listening to Fu Lei's complaints, Zheng Tan suddenly heard someone call his name, turned his head, and saw Jiao Yuan leaning against the window looking this way.

Zheng Tan stood up, turned, and walked along the wall a distance until he was opposite Jiao Yuan's window.

"Holy shit, it really is!"

Perhaps Xiong Xiong thought all black cats look alike, but when the cat on the wall turned its head to look at him, Jiao Yuan knew it had to be his own cat, and seeing it walk toward him only confirmed it.

Jiao Yuan turned and ran out of the classroom, quickly circling back; however, seeing Fu Lei standing there, he was a bit curious but didn't ask much—right now his most urgent question was why his cat was here.

"Hei Tan, how did you get here? Does Dad know? Huh? Where's your cat tag? Where did you toss it this time?"

After firing off a string of questions, Jiao Yuan stood there; Fu Lei, who was cracking mixed-flavor peanuts nearby, glanced at Jiao Yuan then at the cat on the wall, his face showing disbelief. He really hadn't realized this was Jiao Yuan's cat—no wonder he always saw it when looking from the window to the front of the classroom.

Before Jiao Yuan could say a few more words, the class bell rang.

"Don't go running around; I'll come back after class!"

Having said that, Jiao Yuan ran back to the classroom; behind him, Fu Lei also stopped eating, stuffed half a bag of peanuts into his pocket, and followed him back to class.

While sitting in class, Jiao Yuan occasionally glanced out the window, only stopping after the teacher on the podium glared at him a few times.

As for Fu Lei, still spacing out in the back row, he doodled a few strokes in his Chinese textbook, glanced out the window, and saw the cat still lying on the wall, unmoved, which puzzled him. Those few people all live at Chu Hua University, right? How could his cat run so far and come straight to the school?

Zheng Tan lay on the wall basking in the sun, even took a nap, until he heard the dismissal bell again.

Having grown accustomed to the musical bell of the attached primary school, hearing this bell now felt a bit harsh.

This time, as soon as class ended, Jiao Yuan ran out, intending to bring Zheng Tan to find Jiao Ma, but Zheng Tan didn't move. Jiao Ma's office is on the second floor—who brings a cat straight to the teachers' office?

Jiao Yuan also realized that, and after saying a few words to Zheng Tan, warned him to watch out for the big dog on campus, kept by the gatekeeper; it's fine with students but rather fierce toward other animals…

Jiao Yuan went on talking for another ten minutes, until the class bell rang, then he ran back.

Zheng Tan didn't stay put either; bored, as Jiao Yuan ran back to class, he too strolled slowly toward Chu Hua University.

Fu Lei sat by the window, not going out, having just been looking outside. He envied Jiao Yuan, whose cat came to visit him during class. As for himself, it's different—his parents are busy, they can't even take care of their only son, let alone keep a pet.

When the third period ended, Jiao Yuan glanced out the window, didn't see his cat, went out for a quick look around, confirmed his cat wasn't there, then came to the back row and summoned Fu Lei to go out and talk.

From Fu Lei I learned that my cat had come yesterday, and today it even followed Fu Lei to his home, Jiao Yuan was even more surprised. (To be continued...)