Chapter 129

Seeing Zheng Tan follow Fang Shaokang into the house, Tang Qiye originally wanted to leave "Jueye" outside, but after thinking, he still brought him along.

As for that plump little puppy, it also followed and ran into the house; this time it was quite obedient, just staying by Lao Liu's leg. Lao Liu's expression looked better; at least the puppy didn't directly run after someone else's cat, otherwise today he'd have another embarrassment.

If these people kept bringing up today's incident to needle Lao Liu, Lao Liu would probably have to send the dog away, or simply never take it out again. For them, face is important; moreover, the puppy hasn't been around long, so they haven't formed deep feelings—if they really sent it away, Lao Liu wouldn't feel too much reluctance, at most feeling it's a pity.

The puppy had no idea its image in its owner's mind was falling into crisis; it innocently followed Lao Liu into the house, missed a step on the stairs and almost tumbled down. Fortunately, only a couple of people saw this, and everyone's attention was on Tang Qiye's big cat.

Zheng Tan didn't hear Lao Liu call the puppy's name, and even now he still doesn't know what the puppy is called. After following them up to the second floor, several people there were already seated. Zheng Tan glanced around, saw Zhao Le waving at him, and hurriedly ran over, then flopped onto Zhao Le's leg. Since he couldn't find a suitable spot right away, he first lay on Zhao Le's leg for a while.

Fang Shaokang also waved, but as for why Zheng Tan lay on Zhao Le's thigh instead of going to Fang Shaokang's side—need we even say?

"Jueye" lay obediently beside Tang Qiye's chair, front paws stretched out and crossed, plus that whole demeanor, making everyone feel this cat indeed bore the bearing of a superior.

By comparison, Zheng Tan was much more casual, no different from an ordinary house cat, and Zhao Le even took out a comb from his bag to groom Zheng Tan, looking like a harmless house cat. If people hadn't previously seen this cat swipe a larger cat aside with a single slap, they really wouldn't notice anything special about it.

Everyone looked at the black cat rubbing against Zhao Le's leg, then at the imposing "Jueye" lying there, and couldn't help thinking: Cats really are peculiar creatures.

Unlike the well-behaved Zheng Tan and "Jueye", the little puppy couldn't sit still, probably teething; it wanted to gnaw, so it bit the chair leg where Lao Liu was sitting.

But before Zheng Tan had been lying there long, he felt a gaze steadily fixed on him; he looked up and saw a plump middle-aged man. The man's gaze was rather complex, conveying something not pleasant; Zheng Tan felt the guy was badmouthing him, and he initially didn't want to pay attention. However, being stared at like that made him feel irritated and uneasy; if it continued, he wasn't sure whether he'd end up going over and kicking the guy twice.

Whether goodwill or ill intent, Zheng Tan could tell the difference; this fat guy was probably cursing him in his heart. Zheng Tan remembered there was a rather plump teacher in Dongqu Dayuan who treated people well, leaving Zheng Tan with a good impression. You say, both are fat—why can't this one be fat with a beautiful soul?

Fang Shaokang and his companions were chatting, but Zheng Tan had no interest in their conversation; this seemingly harmonious atmosphere that actually hid ulterior motives made him feel stifled.

Jumping off Zhao Le's leg, Zheng Tan glanced at Fang Shaokang, then headed out the door.

Seeing this, Fang Shaokang said nothing, meaning he was just letting Zheng Tan do as he pleased; the others merely chuckled, and since the host had no objections, what complaints could they possibly have?

"Jueye" glanced at Zheng Tan, then continued lying there obediently.

However, the puppy couldn't stay put; it glanced at Lao Liu, then at the black cat already heading out the door, took a few steps toward it, looked at Lao Liu again, then moved a few more steps toward the door.

Lao Liu couldn't stand it any longer, whispered a couple of instructions to the person behind him, and took the puppy out.

As soon as he got permission, the puppy sprang off after the receding black cat, bounding along happily.

Tong Qing continued to follow Zheng Tan's side, but after Zheng Tan came out, someone came over and whispered a few words to Tong Qing; hearing it, Tong Qing was a bit surprised, yet still nodded and said, "I understand."

That person was one of Fang Shaokang's several important assistants. Actually, the assistant responsible for relaying messages, though his expression didn't show it while speaking, might not be calm inside; however, sometimes one shouldn't ask too much about what shouldn't be asked—just follow the boss's instructions and do one's duty well.

After Zheng Tan came out of that room, he wandered around the second floor but found no surveillance equipment or the like. Although Fang San Ye seemed unreliable, he still proved competent in his work; besides, today's visitors were all rather special—no one would like having a monitor pointed at them here.

The second floor was boring; Zheng Tan remembered there was a backyard on the first floor—when he went upstairs earlier he had only glanced at it casually, not paying much attention, but now he decided to go take a look.

The puppy followed Zheng Tan downstairs; apparently, in its excitement it rushed a bit, and when only a few steps remained it missed a step and tumbled down. Fortunately, its fur was thick and its constitution decent—after rolling down it didn't even grunt twice, got up, and was still fine, spirited.

Zheng Tan glanced around; fortunately, those few big shots inside didn't see it, otherwise the puppy would surely have been laughed at.

Many of the people guarding indoors hadn't seen Zheng Tan earlier slap that serval-bloodline fellow aside, so they didn't know of his special nature and lethal power, and thus gave this seemingly ordinary cat little wary glance.

At times like this, Zheng Tan's own advantage shows: he looks just like an ordinary house cat; if he rolls around on the ground and heads outside, people would surely take him for a stray cat, and the most they'd guard against is stealing food.

But like "Jueye" and that earlier leopard-spotted big cat that looked much like a serval, others would definitely be on higher guard against them; this kind of lethal power forces attention, and if they tried to hide their strength and play the weak to eat the strong, sorry, it's nearly impossible. Moreover, "Jueye" and its ilk have no intention of hiding their strength—they appear in regal bearing as soon as they show up; even if not overbearing, they can still dominate the scene.

Types differ, and so do lifestyles. That said, compared to the alternatives, Zheng Tan still prefers this ordinary-looking appearance; he has no intention of deliberately pretending to be weak to eat the strong—he just feels this way gives him more freedom, and incidentally lets him enjoy some things he previously overlooked.

Get by, get by, laugh and get by.

Such a thought, if placed in Zheng Tan's former human form, would be absolutely impossible.

The villa's backyard was planted with some flowers and evergreens; even in autumn it didn't show a bleak feel. Yet Zheng Tan didn't feel refreshed by the beautiful scenery, because—he had just reached the back door when he saw a little rugrat playing with a model car in the garden, looking a few years younger than Xiao Youzi, about six or seven years old.

Zheng Tan often heard Jiao Ma talk about things, since the Jiao family raised Zheng Tan this cat. The Jiao family adults also paid attention to other cat-keeping households, and those topics became after-dinner chatter. I heard those kids are lively, curious, and bold, lacking responsibility, with little strong sense of right and wrong; when the adults haven't deliberately taught them to love animals, these little rugrats can yank the family cat or dog's tail and swing it, but if they then lash out with claws, scratching or biting the child, sorry, the owner will beat you—or even withhold meals for several days.

In Jiao Ba's hometown there's a saying: "Three- to four-year-olds are annoying, five- to six-year-olds are disliked by dogs," and it's not without reason.

So, aside from the few relatively familiar children, Zheng Tan has always kept his distance from kids of that age.

Seeing such a child puts him in no good mood, especially since it's a boy—boys are even more mischievous. Thus, as soon as Zheng Tan arrived at the door and spotted someone in the backyard, he turned around and left.

Zheng Tan hadn't taken a few steps when Tong Qing suddenly spoke up.

"Hei Tan, you need to go to the bathroom, right? Come, I'll take you." Saying this, Tong Qing waved at Zheng Tan, meaning for Zheng Tan to follow.

Zheng Tan wondered, when had he shown any sign of needing to pee or poop? Still, going to the bathroom would be fine; if he really had to go, it's not like he couldn't produce anything. He also prepared himself in case he urgently needed to pee and couldn't find a toilet—then he'd just find a flowerbed to relieve himself.

Tong Qing originally thought he'd need to spend some effort persuading, but he didn't expect that after saying that, the cat actually followed him.

Upon reaching the restroom, after seeing the cat enter, Tong Qing closed and locked the door. The restroom's soundproofing is good, so even if they discussed confidential matters, they needn't worry about being overheard outside—this was also what that assistant had told Tong Qing.

Since coming into contact with this black cat, Tong Qing has felt all kinds of weird, all kinds of overturned. A pet should have a pet's demeanor—for instance, that little puppy just now, even if it's a lion-headed mastiff, it's still merely a pet; moreover, it's still this small, so aside from its name and certain frequently used command words, it understands nothing else—people beside it talk, it plays its own game, praise or belittle it, it remains indifferent, still there happily gnawing on branches.

But this cat in front of you? Say one thing to it, and it can stare you down for half a day, making your skin crawl.

Tong Qing simply couldn't understand. Are all cats like this—odd and enigmatic, hard to grasp, occasionally revealing an eerie vibe? Perhaps that's also why many people dislike cats.

No matter what, Tong Qing just needs to convey the message as the boss intends.

After closing the door, Tong Qing turned around, preparing to convey some words—but as soon as he turned, the words he was about to speak got swallowed back.

On the toilet, the black cat was squatting on the rim, peeing inside. After finishing, it gave a comfortable shake twice, then pressed the flush lever, jumped onto the sink to wash its paws, grabbed some toilet paper to wipe its fur. Next to the sink was a hand dryer; the black cat stood on the edge of the sink, propped itself on the dryer, dried its paws, and after drying, flicked the short fur that had flipped up on its head twice in the mirror.

Tong Qing: "……"

His view of cats was overturned again.

Even if he were calmer, even if his inner strength were greater, seeing this, Tong Qing couldn't help but yell "fuck", the alpaca had already started to gallop, hooves spreading. (To be continued...)

ps: 【The following text's word count is not counted toward the v chapter】

Thank you for everyone's votes and tips! By the way, I have three things to say.

1. I've been pretty busy, so updates haven't been strong; please bear with me, tomorrow's update will likely be a bit late, but I won't skip it.

2. Regarding the question about cat whisker color, more than one person has asked; I'll explain here. Cats don't just have white whiskers, they also have black whiskers, half-white half-black, and some other relatively rare colors, so this is not a bug.

3. Many readers want to share pictures but the links don't show; the issue of posting images in the comment section works like this: scroll down the book page, under the comments click 'View all discussion comments' → 'Post' → 'Image', then you can upload the picture; friends who want to share pictures can try it.