Chapter 20

Before that, someone had already suspected that the thefts in the courtyard were carried out by a gang; Zheng Tan, although not adept at case analysis, also knew that stealing in the family building likely required inside and outside cooperation. However, the investigation that was called in at the time found nothing conclusive, and the matter ended unresolved. Consequently, during that period the landlords who had rented out their houses were forced to return and explain to other residents of the family area, and even signed agreements to guarantee that the renters were trustworthy.

Zheng Tan heard a "clang"—the sound came from the building's access control system.

These two individuals have access cards and are sufficiently familiar with the building's residents, so their purpose is likely not the few units inhabited by retired senior staff.

In fact, many retired teachers living here lead very modest lives; even if they are actually wealthy, when they go to the school canteen they still buy a large bag of white Mantou and, back home, cook simple porridge and side dishes rather than living in luxury.

Moreover, if the target were the homes of those retired teachers, why wait until now?

Thus, after excluding the old tenants, the relatively newer residents are the two units on the fifth floor. Coincidentally, why choose today—when Jiao Ma is in trouble and Jiao Ba is away—leaving only two elementary‑school children who have little threat or resistance?

After one of them entered the building, Zheng Tan gauged the time and came from the balcony to the doorway.

He glanced at the clock on the wall—2:10. Generally, at this time people are usually deep in sleep.

If the other party's target isn't the Jiao family, Zheng Tan will hold off for now, lest he wake the two children who have finally fallen asleep. As for the others, honestly, Zheng Tan doesn't care—people's hearts are naturally biased; someone else's burglary is none of his business, they're only stealing, not killing. Of course, even if he does act, he'll wait until the target is about to leave; unless absolutely necessary, Zheng Tan doesn't want to cause a disturbance at the doorway.

However, things didn't go as planned.

After stepping onto the fifth floor, the person paused, apparently confirming that the fifth‑floor residents had settled, then moved toward the Jiao family; shortly after, the door lock emitted a soft click.

Listening to the faint footsteps outside the door, Zheng Tan's ears twitched, and the claws on his paw extended.

The person on the other side of the door wouldn't expect that, just a meter from the door, a black cat was crouched in the dark entryway; as the footsteps drew near and the lock clicked, the black cat changed posture, bent its legs, lowered its body, and its intermittently flicking tail tip ceased moving, poised to strike.

After a light "click", the door gradually opened.

An unfamiliar presence…

The person at the doorway carefully pushed the door open, but just as it opened a bit, before his foot entered, he felt a sudden sharp pain across his face—from the left eyebrow to the right corner of the mouth—several bloodstreaks instantly appeared, each bleeding outward.

Before the person could react to the sudden pain, a powerful blow struck his chest, forcing him to stagger back two steps and collapse to the floor. The hallway lights were off, and the small flashlight in his hand fell from the impact.

The person panicked, thinking he'd been discovered; the earlier information he'd gathered was false—clearly the house held more than just two children!

After a howl of pain from his face, the person scrambled to his feet and fled down the stairs, but the flashlight's feeble beam was insufficient to see the steps; blood streamed into his eyes, further blurring his sight, and the facial pain stimulated his nerves, causing him to stagger, roll down, then hurriedly scramble up at the stair landing and continue running down.

Zheng Tan shut the house door and gave chase. The intruders had already gotten their hands on the door, and Zheng Tan was unwilling to let it go without dealing with them in one fell swoop.

The person must be familiar with the family building's stairs; otherwise, even with the lights out and his eyes injured, he couldn't run that fast.

When they chased to the first floor, a person lay near the access control—a woman. Da Pang's owner, an elderly lady nearing seventy, stood there holding an electric baton. Da Pang crouched at the old lady's feet.

Da Pang's signal wasn't intended for Zheng Tan's ears, but for the old lady. She is highly sensitive to the sound of this wooden plaque, which is why the wind chime is fashioned that way. Despite her age, she's not at all sloppy when she acts; otherwise the young woman wouldn't have collapsed there without making a sound.

The young woman's accomplice, at that moment, had no intention of assisting his partner and rushed straight out; the old lady had already seized one, so she didn't block that man. Moreover, being elderly, she couldn't match a robust youngster; forcing herself to act would certainly be a disadvantage.

So the old lady shouted powerfully, "Catch the thief!!"

Then, in the courtyard, every dog began barking, interspersed with a few cat cries familiar to Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan gave chase, and although the man's face was wounded and one eye was clouded with blood, his speed of escape remained swift.

Behind Zheng Tan, a white figure also rushed this way. Though not as fast as Zheng Tan, it indeed followed Zheng Tan's chase route toward the fleeing man.

The man's escape speed was fast, and Zheng Tan was no slower; his training wasn't wasted, as he ran while contemplating the right moment to act. When the man passed the flowerbed at the corner, Zheng Tan accelerated, surged forward, leapt up from behind, and gave the man a push.

The man didn't expect a blow from behind; he lost his balance, his leg twisted, and he fell onto the flowerbed, his head resting on the concrete edge.

For a moment the man was dazed, lying there he twitched a couple of times but didn't get up. Not long after, as he began to regain his senses, a white figure rushed forward and bit his calf—blood spurted.

"Ah—"

Another wail, different from the earlier one at the Jiao family doorway; after being discovered, chased, and fleeing, the excruciating leg pain gave him a desire to vent his fear, so the scream was especially loud, making the night especially chilling.

He strained his leg to break free and even kicked down.

Kicked and rolled several times, Niu Zhuangzhuang scrambled up, surged forward again, this time even more ferocious, following the fresh blood mark he'd just made, he bit again, growling a low "grr".

Zheng Tan crouched in the nearby shrubbery, watching the under‑four‑month‑old bulldog's performance, and thought, "Niu Zhuangzhuang, truly a damn good one!"

Although its appearance is a bit unconventional, one must admit the bulldog truly is a fighting dog! That single bite made Zheng Tan feel leg pain just watching, let alone two bites—the piece on the calf was already a blood‑and‑flesh mess.

Zheng Tan hid in the shrubbery because he sensed the old lady's shout had drawn the callers close; at that moment he didn't want to expose himself—the claw marks on the person's face were sufficient, the rest of the credit could go to Niu Zhuangzhuang; after all, no one saw him when he gave chase.

Looking up toward Building B, Zheng Tan saw the Jiao family's lights on; that building's lights are on whenever someone is home. With people shouting, dogs barking, and cats meowing, such a ruckus would wake even the soundest sleepers.

Zheng Tan stopped concerning himself with the people here, hurried toward the Jiao family, the two children were likely frightened.

When Zheng Tan returned to his front door, it was still tightly shut as when he left, but the living‑room light was on. He could still hear Jiao Yuan speaking softly to Gu Youzi inside the living room.

Zheng Tan called out twice, gently scratched the door with his paw, and the door opened instantly; Jiao Yuan was holding a rolling pin, with Gu Youzi standing behind him.

Zheng Tan: "......"

Who taught these kids to grab a rolling pin when trouble arises? Last time Xiong Xiong did that, this time Jiao Yuan reacts the same way.

Upon seeing Zheng Tan at the doorway, the two children's previously tense moods eased slightly. At that moment, Qu Xiangyang, opposite the door, stepped out wearing SpongeBob pajamas, his face blank.

Because of this incident, many people in the family courtyard stayed awake until dawn; the two culprits were caught, and the person who had been robbed last time was still shouting for an on‑the‑spot interrogation, demanding a full investigation. They're not easy to fool. Clearly, based on what was learned from interrogating the two, the situation isn't as simple as people imagined. Knowing the courtyard's residents so well isn't something an ordinary student can achieve.

Jiao Yuan and Gu Youzi followed Qu Xiangyang downstairs to investigate, after all there were bloodstains in the fifth‑floor hallway; without clearing it up, they wouldn't feel at ease.

Upon hearing that the two's target this time was the Jiao family, Aunt Ling, who came out to chase her own cat, gave two slaps. As for the captured young woman, the courtyard's men didn't act; she was weeping, looking pitiful, possessing a touch of beauty, appearing obedient, speaking in a soft voice—under ordinary circumstances, no one would think she was a thief.

After receiving two slaps, the woman cried even harder, but she looked somewhat pitiful; unfortunately, Aunt Ling didn't buy it, delivering two more slaps; had it not been for someone pulling her away, Aunt Ling was ready to kick twice.

Zheng Tan followed Jiao Yuan down, staying away from the crowd gathering, and with Aunt Ling and Qu Xiangyang watching the two children, nothing untoward would occur.

Zheng Tan was watching Niu Zhuangzhuang; the little fellow was crouched beside Old Yan, whose face was beaming like a flower, praising it while wiping the blood from its mouth.

"Zhuangzhuang, truly a good one—tomorrow—no, as soon as daybreak I'll go buy you a big bone and reward you properly!"

Niu Zhuangzhuang "woof woof" barked twice, unsure if it understood, but its tail wagged exuberantly.

Since Niu Zhuangzhuang was brought to the courtyard, in Old Yan's building he slept in the hallway; that building had been robbed before, so everyone thought to have Niu Zhuangzhuang guard the family building. After the old lady's shout, someone immediately came to check, and that was when he burst out.

That night, Aunt Ling and the others didn't inform Jiao Ba, who stayed at the hospital. Until dawn, Jiao Ba learned of the courtyard incident and specially authorized Jiao Yuan and Gu Youzi to skip school; he called the teachers to request leave, and Qu Xiangyang, who rarely left the house, took the two children to the hospital.

Qu Xiangyang has a car, so Zheng Tan no longer has to ride the bus in his backpack. However, when exiting the hospital parking lot, he still inevitably gets placed inside the backpack.

As Zheng Tan peered out through the backpack's zipper seam, he saw Xiao Zhuo, who had come to the hospital for a check‑up.

————————————————————————————

Thanks to Wan Yao Zhi Shu Yao, Lian Dong Feng Sheng, the Divine Clan, the beloved dog named Wangcai, Moon‑ki God, rhn, syaoran532, Qi Huang Liu Xuan, lazyorange, Oufei Mos, Seruo, Feng Chui Xu Xu's donations! Thanks to Lightcrystal, Feng Chui Xu Xu, Prophet · War‑Chariot, Elder Jia's rating votes! Thanks for everyone's various support~

;