Chapter 168

Zheng Tan felt his luck was really bad today; as soon as he went out, nothing good happened.

Ignoring the shout, Zheng Tan prepared to keep running forward, hoping…

"Waaah—"

As expected.

Zheng Tan stopped in his tracks; without turning, he knew the little brat had flung himself on the ground and started crying again.

He'd used this trick many times, but Zheng Tan really couldn't stand it; hearing the crying always gave him a twinge of guilt, after all the little brat still called him "Black Bro".

After standing there for a few seconds, Zheng Tan let out a long sigh and, as if ordered, turned to look over there. His gaze swept over the child lying on the ground crying, then landed on a woman in her thirties standing beside the child—clearly the nanny, and even closer, yet she showed no intention of helping the fallen child up; it was truly odd for a nanny to behave like that.

Seeing Zheng Tan looking over, the woman smiled and didn't move.

What a laugh!

Zheng Tan flicked his ears, dug his claws into the dry yellow grass beneath him and tore out several withered blades, then gave his tail a couple of wide sweeps before walking up to the crying child on the ground.

By now, Zhuo Xiao Mao's little brat is almost a year old—time really flies. This month Zheng Tan has already run into Zhuo Xiao Mao several times.

Xiao Zhuo wasn't there; the woman beside them was looking after Zhuo Xiao Mao, supposedly summoned by Fo Ye. Fo Ye was busy with official duties and couldn't often look after the child, so the task of caring for him fell to this woman. Fo Ye called her Xiao Wan, and Zhuo Xiao Mao called her "aunt".

In local culture, "aunt" refers to one's father's sister. As for Zhuo Xiao Mao's father, Zheng Tan knows full well that his biological father isn't here and may never appear. Meanwhile, the father listed on registration forms, certificates, and files has already become a martyr. Because Xiao Zhuo participated in the project, Zhuo Xiao Mao enjoys special protection; the name entered in the father field is merely a result of that policy, allowing Zhuo Xiao Mao to avoid those around him who wear tinted glasses.

As for this "Xiao Wan" nanny—whether Fo Ye found her or she was sent from above—Zheng Tan isn't sure. At least so far, Zhuo Xiao Mao's development has been quite good.

Before Zhuo Xiao Mao was born, many wondered if he would have deformities or congenital diseases; after he was born, some doubted his intelligence. But now Zheng Tan is quite certain the child's IQ is not low at all—he's not even a year old yet. His ability to read people is getting sharper. If a child like this were called intellectually disabled, what would others be called? Labradors?

Knowing full well the little brat was fake-crying, Zheng Tan still walked up to him. Sure enough, the crying stopped the next second.

Calling it fake crying, the boy really could shed tears, but as soon as Zheng Tan approached, the brat stopped crying immediately, looking in a decent mood. It seems kids find this trick especially easy to use.

Zhuo Xiao Mao especially loves this trick, and it never fails—each time it makes Zheng Tan grit his teeth.

"Black Bro!" the Zhuo Xiao Mao lying on the ground called again.

Zheng Tan flicked his ears, raised his hand and pushed Zhuo Xiao Mao's head.

Zheng Tan didn't need to do anything else; Zhuo Xiao Mao crawled up on his own and then held onto the wooden rail to stand.

Xiao Wan, standing to the side, smiled as she watched the scene—she'd grown used to it, it always went like this. At first she guarded against the black cat, fearing it would scratch people with its claws, but after talking with Xiao Zhuo on the phone, he told her not to worry; after a few tries she saw the cat really hadn't hurt the child, so she relaxed her guard.

Xiao Wan still remembered that when Zhuo Xiao Mao first started walking, he liked to hold the wooden rail and take a few steps each day, but whenever he saw the black cat he'd flop to the ground and cry. She used to try to help, but it was useless unless the cat came over. Once she didn't rush over right away, waiting to see how things would develop. The child's clothes were thick, protecting the key spots that could easily get hurt, so she wasn't worried about a fall, and the surroundings were just grass, so landing wouldn't hurt. Later, when she saw Zhuo Xiao Mao deliberately flopping down and fake-crying, she just ignored it.

Every time Xiao Wan heard Zhuo Xiao Mao call the black cat "Black Bro," she wanted to laugh; after learning a few things from Xiao Zhuo, she relaxed her guard toward the cat. Sometimes seeing the black cat swing its two forepaws to pat Zhuo Xiao Mao's head made Xiao Wan suppress a smile, because although the cat looked like it was swinging its claws hard, the actual landing was light—barely a touch—and it always retracted its claws neatly.

Seeing Zhuo Xiao Mao get up, Zheng Tan didn't want to waste more time here with the little brat; finding a quiet place to nap would be more comfortable.

After walking about ten meters, nearing the bend, Zheng Tan saw someone coming from that direction, and his mood worsened instantly.

"Hey, Black Coal, what are you doing here? Oh, this—want some? I just bought these mixed-grain crackers!" Er Mao held out the half-eaten cracker in his hand toward Zheng Tan symbolically, then pulled it back to keep chewing.

Just after helping Professor Lan move the flower pots at the little garden, Er Mao felt hungry, ran to the school gate's small stalls, bought some snacks, and was still carrying a packed bowl of tofu pudding to bring back to the garden for Professor Lan later; he hadn't expected to run into this black cat while taking a shortcut.

Zheng Tan stopped when he saw Er Mao, and during the time he stood still, the little Zhuo Xiao Mao behind him also walked over holding the railing, stepping with tiny feet and calling: "Black——Bro——"

Er Mao heard the child's voice, looked around—at this time the students were all in class, few people were moving, especially on this little path. Right now it was just the few of them; after scanning the area Er Mao saw no one else, so who was the kid calling?

When Zhuo Xiao Mao called again, Er Mao almost spat out his mixed-grain cracker; he had already followed the child's gaze to find the target of that name.

Black Bro?

Just this cat?

First time I've seen a kid call a cat "Bro".

Er Mao rose and walked toward Zhuo Xiao Mao; as he approached, Xiao Wan stepped forward to block him, smiling but with clear vigilance in her eyes.

He raised his hand to show he understood, stopped a step away, reached into his pocket and pulled out a lollipop—the cartoon‑doll‑face kind.

"Hey, little buddy, want it?" Er Mao waved the lollipop in his hand.

Zheng Tan looked down on him. Still calling him "Bro"? He should be calling him "Uncle" generation-wise.

Zhuo Xiao Mao pushed Xiao Wan aside, stepped forward with small steps, and reached out to grab it.

Er Mao pulled his hand back, moving the lollipop farther away, then pointed at the crouching Zheng Tan and told Zhuo Xiao Mao: "Tell him Black Coal is an idiot. Big bro will give you this… you can also call it an idiot. Just shout 'idiot'."

Zhuo Xiao Mao took a small step forward, kept reaching out, wanting to grab Er Mao's lollipop.

After Er Mao repeated it several times, he saw no effect at all—the kid totally ignored him. Forget it, he's just a tiny tot who can't even speak clearly; what could he understand?

Not wanting to waste more words on the child, Er Mao handed over the lollipop in his hand, about to say a couple of things.

Just then——

A stream of water arced through the air and shot toward Er Mao's shoe.

Although Er Mao reacted quickly and jumped aside, his shoe still got splattered with some bird droppings.

Holy crap! Even a diversion?!

This must have been planned long ago—otherwise how could he piss that much and that far?!

Er Mao stared at the urine stain on his shoe, his face twisting in a rare expression.

Xiao Wan suppressed her laughter, continuing to block Zhuo Xiao Mao in front; although Er Mao showed no ill intent, staying wary was wise—after all he was a stranger, and Xiao Wan thought this twenty‑something‑year‑old who looked like a college student might not be easy to deal with.

Zhuo Xiao Mao, on the other hand, wasn't scared at all and didn't think he'd done anything wrong; clutching the lollipop, he laughed "ka ka ka," drool dripping from his mouth.

Seeing this, Zheng Tan's mood instantly shifted from gloomy to bright.

Nice work, Zhuo Xiao Mao!

Er Mao shook the urine off his shoe, wiped his sneakers with the paper from the mixed‑grain cracker package, and looked conflictedly at the small child before him. Did this little brat really not understand what he'd just said? Is this brat actually the black cat's blood brother?! Revenge—he was definitely getting back at himself for urging the kid to insult the cat!

It wasn't over yet; Zhuo Xiao Mao left the wooden rail, took his still‑unsteady steps toward Zheng Tan, and on the uneven lawn almost toppled headfirst.

He placed the lollipop in front of Zheng Tan and looked at him.

Er Mao: "……" Damn, these two are definitely blood brothers!

Zheng Tan felt quite touched inside; this little brat clearly wanted to eat it badly, his drool was flowing faster, yet he still put the thing in front of him.

What a good kid.

Zheng Tan lifted his paw, pushed the lollipop toward Zhuo Xiao Mao's hand, and patted his head. For now the child is still small; when he grows a bit bigger, Zheng Tan won't be able to reach him.

Zhuo Xiao Mao helped make Er Mao angry, Zheng Tan felt very happy, he stayed cheerful for several days, and whenever he thought of the scene where Zhuo Xiao Mao pissed on Er Mao's foot, he couldn't help laughing.

But Zheng Tan's good mood only lasted a week.

After a week, Zheng Tan went out to get some sun and fresh air; when he went downstairs, he noticed that the commotion on the third floor was rather loud.

Lan Lao Tou's front door was open, and the door of the usually empty house opposite him was also open, from which came Lan Lao Tou's voice at full volume.

"Put it there, yes, just put it there; you can stay in the master bedroom, I'll fix up the study for you, and the second bedroom will be used to store their original belongings......"

Zheng Tan listened, quite curious; having lived here so long, he had only seen the people of this household a few times.

Coming to the door, Zheng Tan poked his head in to look, and just happened to see Zhailaotaitai wiping the table with a rag.

Seeing Zheng Tan, Zhailaotaitai laughed and said, "Yo, Hei Tan also came; hurry in and walk around the house, I just saw a mouse earlier."

Zheng Tan: "..." Forget it, better not go in.

Just as he was about to leave, a person walked out from the room next door.

Zheng Tan looked up and exclaimed, "Holy shit, how could this bitch be here?!"

Er Mao was wearing a blue work uniform; having heard the old lady's words outside, he came out specially to say hello. He waved at the black cat by the door, Er Mao looking pleased with himself.

"Hello, neighbor." (To be continued...)

ps: (2.20)