Chapter 171

When returning to Chu Hua Da Xue, Er Mao was still telling Zheng Tan about that black-and-white spotted cat crouched in the box sleeping. However, food had been given, words had been written, but Er Mao had no intention of adopting.

Also, recalling the second time he saw Er Mao, Zheng Tan knew this person's feelings toward cats were quite complicated—not absolutely dislike, not exactly close, and different from that peculiar dragon person.

Forget it, let fate decide; although Zheng Tan really hopes that cat gets adopted, this can't be forced.

When Zheng Tan previously filmed an advertisement at Xiao Guo's pet center, during his free time he would also stroll on the grassland around the pet center. There sat some people who brought pets for medical checkups or shopping. One day when Zheng Tan went for a stroll, he saw a lame old man chatting with other cat friends nearby. He said that when keeping pets, one should go by affinity; if you don't take a liking to it, no matter how precious, you wouldn't want it. And the cat that old man adopted was one that had lost a hind leg in a car accident. That cat was well cared for and very spirited, showing that this person and cat got along very well.

So, it all comes down to affinity. If a person doesn't take a liking to a cat, even if they keep it they won't take good care of it; if a cat doesn't take a liking to a person, it probably won't stay long before running away from home. After all, cats like Li Yuanba that find their own owners and then cling to them are rare in this world; of course, Jueye is also somewhat of an oddball.

While thinking, Zheng Tan walked along the route he usually took, which was slightly different from the way out of the school gate; it split at a fork, one way for going out, another for coming back. Because when returning from outside after a detour, at noon Zheng Tan would not directly go back to Dongqu Dayuan.

Every time Zheng Tan returns from outside at noon, he passes by the International Academic Lecture Hall, because outside it hangs a large electronic screen displaying announcements, with a time display. Inside the school, whether it's the university teaching building's schedule or that of the affiliated elementary school and kindergarten, they all match this time exactly, down to the minute. So, by looking at the time on that screen, Zheng Tan can gauge the moment to go to the affiliated elementary school to pick up Xiao Youzi.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Er Mao shouted.

Having already walked several steps toward Dongqu Dayuan, Er Mao turned his head and didn't see Zheng Tan; after looking around he realized the cat hadn't taken the same path it came from, so he turned around, holding the bag in his hand, and followed the black cat ahead in that direction.

Zheng Tan ignored him. Besides, Zheng Tan couldn't answer.

Wei Leng had told Er Mao some things about Zheng Tan, but not in detail. So Er Mao couldn't figure out why the cat wasn't heading home as mealtime approached, until he saw the gate of the affiliated elementary school and noticed that black cat jumping onto the wall beside the gate and squatting there, then he realized, oh, this cat still had to go pick up the child.

Anyway, Er Mao had nothing to do at the moment, hadn't prepared lunch, the food he'd just eaten on that street was already plenty, and there were still some snacks in the bag, so there was no need to buy a boxed meal.

Around, some parents living nearby came to pick up their children; most were already quite familiar with Zheng Tan and even greeted him proactively. Zheng Tan ignored them, after all he was just a cat now, and not responding wouldn't be considered rude.

After the school bell rang, the children going home at noon ran out one by one; Xiao Youzi saw Zheng Tan and trotted over, glanced at Er Mao beside her, then waited together with Zheng Tan at the doorway.

Er Mao wondered, who else are we waiting for?

Six or seven minutes later, Jiao Wei came running.

"Sorry, the last class ran over a bit," Jiao Wei said to Xiao Youzi, then glanced at Er Mao standing nearby; there were no other parents around, and Er Mao looked unfamiliar. Since they didn't know each other, Jiao Wei didn't prepare to initiate conversation, and led Xiao Youzi toward the school gate.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Er Mao called out as he followed.

Jiao Wei looked puzzled at Er Mao, wondering who this person was; then he glanced at Xiao Youzi, who also looked puzzled, not like seeing an acquaintance.

"Who are you?" Jiao Wei asked.

"I live downstairs below her building, third floor, just moved in. My surname is Wang." Er Mao gave a serious self-introduction, then after thinking pointed at the black cat squatting on the wall watching the scene and said, "I'm fairly familiar with this guy."

Zheng Tan flicked his ears. Familiar my ass!

Unexpectedly, Jiao Wei's face lit up with realization, he let out an "oh," and said, "So you two know each other."

Not to mention Jiao Wei, Xiao Youzi's guard against Er Mao also lowered a bit, which surprised Er Mao even more—he hadn't expected that pulling strings via a cat would work so well. This cat's face is bigger than a person's!

Jiao Wei also gave a brief self-introduction, then smilingly said to Er Mao, "Brother Wang, let's go out together; lunch is on me, don't be polite—it's my family's own shop, if you find it to your taste you can come back next time and look after us."

Er Mao really wasn't being polite: "Alright, I'll go scout the place first."

At lunchtime, Er Mao chatted with Jiao Wei, and as they talked they brought up Wei Leng.

"So you're a friend of Brother Leng, my apologies for the oversight!" Jiao Wei recalled some past events, saying, "Back then it was thanks to Hei Tan's help that I asked Brother Leng for assistance; otherwise my family's shop wouldn't be running so smoothly."

Er Mao muttered to himself, "No wonder I always felt this kid's gaze at that black cat was off—nothing like how one looks at a pet; turns out he's had experience with this."

Having thought that, Er Mao waved his hand and said, "What's this? Wei Leng is my senior brother; he's not often around here either. I'll help you—if you run into any trouble later, just call me; I'm good at fighting and holding the line."

Jiao Wei curled the corner of his mouth: "Hehe."

When leaving the small restaurant, Er Mao left two packets of the snacks he had bought in the shop; although Jiao Wei's parents had been here for half a year, they had only been to that old street fewer than three times, so they couldn't often find time to go there, and some of those snacks they had never actually eaten.

In the afternoon, after seeing Xiao Youzi off to school, Zheng Tan returned home; to be safe, he also locked the door.

He turned on the computer, entered the password, and went online.

After browsing the web for a while and looking at various gossip, Zheng Tan logged onto that pet website.

Originally Zheng Tan just wanted to look at the thread reposting his own photographed advertisement to satisfy his vanity, but upon opening it he discovered that the hottest thread was about a recent cat-abuse incident.

The thread posted some pictures: a college student around twenty years old, with a cat lying on the ground beside him, the cat's eyes still bleeding, and multiple wounds on its body.

The several pictures below were all of that student and the dead cat on the ground, including close-ups and various angles; looking at them made Zheng Tan's spine chill, as if he were watching a horror film.

If Zheng Tan were still human, such pictures wouldn't make him feel this way. But now he is a cat, having gone through cat traffickers and cat meat restaurants; this experience is truly profound. Relating to these pictures, the visual and psychological impact is stronger. Even the scene years ago in the old residential area where a tattooed man threw a small cat wasn't this bloody.

The student in the pictures doesn't look like the typical great villains on TV. Zheng Tan continued reading down to see the student's introduction: he's from a nationally known university outside the province, a top-tier student. His father is a big boss, his mother also a high-level executive. The combination of prestigious school, top student, and cat abuse seems incongruous, but that's the fact. Moreover, the number of cats that have died at this student's hands is already ten or so, perhaps more; the student himself says he can't even remember exactly.

Zheng Tan never knew that, besides those scumbags like the tattooed man, animal abusers could also be such top-tier students.

He stopped looking at those mood-affecting pictures and scrolled down to the netizens' replies.

"Fuck, really damn cruel! And still a top student!"

"Character has nothing to do with education!"

"Drag them out and execute them a hundred times!"

"Nowadays, besides guarding against cat traffickers, we also need to guard against those who adopt with malicious intent. Don't do good deeds that turn bad by handing cats over to those sweet-talking, empty-promising hypocrites who talk nonsense like farts—by then regret comes too late."

"Lately I suddenly noticed there are fewer cats near my home; I originally thought it was cat traffickers, but could it be some pervert grabbing them to abuse?!"

"Where do all these perverts come from? Don't scare yourself. The main thing is to manage your own cats well, especially those that are free-ranging—pay more attention."

……

From the perspective of when he was still human, Zheng Tan definitely wouldn't care about this matter; given his personality back then, he wouldn't even bother with such trifles, let alone argue online about them. But now his feelings are quite complicated.

"The netizen with ID 'Violent Cat' commented: 'The cause lies in upbringing. Father's indifference, and the mother of a new-era career woman also has no time to care. From a psychological perspective, in family relations, indifference is worse than beatings, indicating your existence has no value. In the process of being neglected, a child easily learns to ignore others' feelings.'"

"The netizen with ID 'Miao Fashi Xiao Ai' commented: 'Some people present very different impressions outside versus at home; outwardly they appear passive and obedient, yet inside they are full of hostility and aggression. When they flatter and appease leaders while suppressing their true feelings, inner conflict and contradiction become extremely strong. When they face vulnerable groups and use violence or other extreme means to abuse, they do not simply express dissatisfaction with the perpetrator or victim's performance; rather, the behavior results from multiple pressures and anger piled together.'"

This is relatively rational analysis; the further down, the fiercer the arguments become.

Zheng Tan flipped forward two pages.

"Damn, can't you accumulate some virtue?"

"What's the point of talking about virtue with beasts? Their virtue is already exhausted and overdrawn."

"Everyone, calm down."

"If your cat had its eyes gouged out, been beaten, and abused to death, could you tolerate it?!"

"Aren't these all stray cats?"

"Just because they're strays, can they be killed indiscriminately? That's not random killing of innocents? Is he not wrong?"

At least legally he's fine.

Poor stray cat.

……

We can't treat people the way we treat abused cats. Since he decided to repent, everyone should give him a chance, instead of pressuring him and rallying social groups to ostracize and blame him—that would destroy him.

Damn, it's hilarious—does saying he'll change mean he actually will? As the saying goes, a dog can't change its habit of eating feces!

Upstairs, you black, my big Wang star person!

……

The post quickly rose to ten pages; Zheng Tan skimmed the later pages, and those posts that started the flame war were far from refined—even ancestors began to be greeted.

Some people strongly condemn him; since the law can't punish him, they use social morality and public opinion to pressure him. Others think it's just cat abuse, not murder; since that student admitted fault and decided to repent, everyone should forgive him—why ruin a person over a few cats?

Of course, in the Mao Qu Lun Tan forum, of course the former type are more numerous; the latter type mostly aren't from the Mao Qu Lun Tan forum but come from other sections to speak.

Zheng Tan looked at those replies and thought of the black-and-white-spotted cat curled up in a cardboard box, still bearing wounds. Perhaps it too had been abused, but it was luckier—at least it was still alive.

Actually, Zheng Tan understands that no matter how heated the argument gets, the standards for people and cats are forever different; it's inevitable. After a few years, the elite will still be elite, while the abused cats will be long gone.

In terms of ethnic notions, society is always more tolerant of people, especially those who achieve success at a young age and live in a splendid world; in the end they still live in a glorious world of stars surrounding the moon. If Zheng Tan were still human, he certainly wouldn't think so much. But now, he feels stifled in his heart.

When he came to his senses, Zheng Tan refreshed the webpage and found that the post's replies had reached fifteen pages; the flame war continued, escalating further.

After thinking, Zheng Tan lifted his paw, held the mouse, dragged it, clicked reply, and pressed keys one by one to type a sentence:

"As a cat, I feel very sad." (To be continued..)

ps: 【The following word count does not count toward v chapter】 (2.23)

Originally prepared to post a single-chapter thank you, but thought better of it—single chapters are too troublesome, would be deleted after a day, so better to place it at the end of the chapter to last longer.

Thanks to friends who supported the book in January and February; since many previously complained that the end-of-chapter acknowledgments were too many, we didn't thank everyone individually. During this period the book gained a new Alliance Leader, and there were many big‑donor supporters; many records appear in the backend, visible when we check them during daily updates.

February has passed; Chen Ci here thanks everyone for voting, donating, and supporting in various ways—thank you very much for your support of the book! The February monthly ticket count exceeded seven hundred! I didn't expect that; I originally thought passing five hundred would be rare. In short, thank you everyone.

March's primary goal—clear the debts owed! Other matters will be discussed after the debts are paid off.