Chapter 227

Zheng Tan opened one of the hidden compartments in the cat climbing frame, a compartment he had specially cleaned out to keep business cards and such. Before, he hadn't thought about business cards, after all, who would give a business card to a cat?

But now that he knows more people, there are always some who are special, think differently, like when Wei Leng's wedding day, in the suite of Er Mao and his several senior brothers, Zheng Tan received many business cards; at the time Er Mao was holding them for him, and later when they returned to the dormitory they gave them to Zheng Tan.

Those with business cards gave business cards; those without cut a piece of paper about the size of a business card and wrote contact information, like Er Mao's master did, letting Zheng Tan visit when he had time and also get to know Dashan. It's unclear whether the paper was meant for Zheng Tan or for the Jiao family behind him; the latter seems more likely. In these people's eyes, a cat that can understand anything and collect business cards is quite capable.

Peiliang's business card looks professional, made delicately, he often goes out, meets many people, pays attention to details. Peiliang also let Zheng Tan have time to accompany the Jiao family people there to travel, to enjoy mountains and waters.

Zheng Tan really wanted to go out and enjoy mountains and waters, but now in his cat form it's impossible for him to act alone; the three Jiao family members also can't leave, and even on vacation Jiao Ma doesn't dare take the two kids far away; wanting to go on a long trip to enjoy scenery, he can only wait for Jiao Ba to return.

Zheng Tan counted the days; since Jiao Ba left, only half a year has passed, so there's still waiting to do.

Wei Leng is now married, has a wife, lately busy trying to have a child, quit smoking and drinking, and doesn't go to Ye Lou anymore, very proper. Meanwhile Er Mao often goes out, running around with Qin Tao and others, having a carefree time. After careful calculation, the only ones who could serve as Zheng Tan's transportation and driver for outings are these two; now both are busy with their own affairs, Zheng Tan can't even go out to play.

As for Fang Shaokang, he's now so busy you can't see him, with a big family and big business; Zheng Tan doesn't count on him.

After looking at the business cards, Zheng Tan sighed inwardly, relocked the drawer and hid the key, stretched, and decided to go out for a walk.

A Huang and Jingzhang were intently watching sparrows by a few trees in the dormitory compound, while Da Pang lay on the grass basking in the sun, looking utterly lazy.

Zheng Tan walked out of the dormitory compound. He intended to walk a loop along the campus main road. At this time there weren't many people, and traffic was light.

Zheng Tan was walking absentmindedly along the main road when he suddenly heard a scolding from behind; he turned and saw a modified three-wheeled bicycle. It resembled the kind of heavy-duty cargo bike he usually saw, but the cargo area at the back was smaller, didn't require pedaling, and could be used directly as an electric vehicle. There was also a basket at the front.

The rider was an old man; behind his bicycle was a border collie, the object of his scolding, which at that moment was running alongside the bike. Before being scolded, it had apparently smelled something and run into the bushes beside the road. Judging by its build, the border collie was not yet adult, but full of energy; when the old man scolded, it sprang from the grass and continued running after the bike.

The old man controlled the speed, not fast, but the border collie, distracted, had fallen behind some distance; after the old man rode his bike past Zheng Tan, a moment later the border collie came wind-like from beside Zheng Tan and sped past.

Zheng Tan walked on the sidewalk, the old man rode his bike on the road; just now he hadn't noticed Zheng Tan on the sidewalk, and after the border collie ran past Zheng Tan's side, it suddenly stopped, looked at Zheng Tan, wagged its tail and ran toward him, seeming curious about this cat, without showing hostility.

If it were an ordinary cat, regardless of whether you meant harm, seeing a big dog run toward you, the first reaction would be to flee; if not fleeing, it would arch its back, puff up fur, and growl. But Zheng Tan had no intention of paying attention to the dog, since it would soon be called away by the old man.

Indeed, before the border collie got close to Zheng Tan, the old man riding ahead called it back; it seemed fairly obedient, whereas if it were Sahala, calling it several times would be ignored, and it might even run farther away.

After climbing the slope, Zheng Tan saw the border collie jump onto the old man's vehicle, crouching in the cargo area with its chin resting on the edge, curiously looking around.

Zheng Tan thought it over, confirming he had never seen this dog before; perhaps it was because he hadn't wandered around campus these past few months. In June, to avoid people recognizing him, he had put the title "divine beast" on himself, so he rarely ran around campus, instead going out for walks more often; then he stayed outside during summer vacation, and in September, although he wandered around the vicinity, he hadn't covered many places, or perhaps new members had joined, making it normal not to have seen it.

He shook his head, stopped thinking about it; whether there were new members or not didn't matter much to him, then he continued strolling slowly along the main road.

As he passed the physics institute building, Zheng Tan glanced over and happened to see the three-wheeled electric vehicle parked not far from the entrance, with the border collie sniffing around the grass nearby. As for the old man, three people stood at the building's doorway: one was the old man who rode the bike, one he didn't know, and the third was someone Zheng Tan knew well.

Speaking of which, it's true he hadn't seen the Buddha Master for a while; upon reflection, the Buddha Master is also a very busy person.

The Buddha Master was as usual, his face always carrying an undispellable solemnity, standing there with a strong presence; however, the other two also seemed to have some status, judging by their manner of speech—not restrained but rather casual—indicating that all three were old acquaintances.

Zheng Tan was still some distance from the physics institute's gate; he hadn't originally intended to get close, just passing by while strolling. But when he was about to leave, the border collie sniffing wildflowers in the grass saw him, immediately wagged its tail and ran toward him, looking very excited.

Zheng Tan: "……" Damn, it's just seeing a cat, what the hell is this dog getting excited about!

Ignoring the dog jumping about in front with excess energy, Zheng Tan continued on his original route.

The old man riding the bike was talking with his two friends, but also keeping an eye on his dog; out of the corner of his eye he saw his dog dash off and turned his gaze that way.

"Huh? That looks like the black cat I saw on the road earlier." the old man said.

The other two also looked that way, especially the Buddha Master.

"Hei Tan!!"

"What? Ye He, you know that cat? Whose is it?" the old man asked.

Ye He is the Buddha Master's given name. Students nicknamed him Ye He because his name resembles Yehe Nara; officials with sufficient stature adopted that name, while teachers usually call him "Director Ye", "Professor Ye", or "Teacher Ye", and only those of comparable familiarity call him Ye He.

"Tan Fang, hurry up and call your dog back, don't let it bite the cat." the Buddha Master said to the old man.

"It's fine, Le Ke won't really bite; it just wants to find a friend to play with, it's only been here a short while and hasn't made many friends yet. It's so excited because it saw a new friend. Earlier, his son's family also had a black cat. At home it had no companion, so it kept pestering that cat to play, but whenever the cat saw it, it ran away, the more it ran the more it chased. In the end the cat was so scared it hid on top of a tall cabinet. Now I've brought Le Ke over. It's lonely at home; just now on the road you could tell—it probably thinks any cat that looks like that is an old friend. It feels a sense of closeness."

The old man recounted what had just happened on the road; Tan Fang's first impression of Zheng Tan was: this cat is either not too stupid or extremely bold, otherwise, seeing a dog many times larger than itself, how could it remain so calm?

"Ye He, you say that cat has a problem with its intelligence, or what?" Tan Fang asked the Buddha Master.

"Nonsense, that cat is smart, and it isn't afraid of dogs; it lives at the teacher's house near the Life Science Institute in Dongqu Dayuan. This cat is quite famous in Dongqu Dayuan, almost everyone there knows it. I only learned of it through a student. Tan Fang, hurry up and call your dog back!" the Buddha Master still worried the dog might harm Zheng Tan.

"All right." The old man called the dog back, though he was thinking that after dinner he'd take the dog out for a walk.

Tan Fang moved into Xiqu Dayuan only this summer; previously he lived outside. This year, because his granddaughter was admitted to Chu Hua Da Xue, he decided to move into the school to live with her, and he can also look after her more often. He still doesn't know much about many school matters.

While Zheng Tan continued strolling around the school, he didn't know that the old man who rode the electric vehicle was elsewhere inquiring about him.

Without inquiring, one wouldn't know; but once inquired, Tan Fang was indeed surprised. Although he knew these things weren't comprehensive and contained exaggerations, even what he knew showed the cat was quite clever, especially the catching-thieves business—people say dogs catching mice are meddling, but how would you say about a cat catching thieves? It does the dog's job as well. As for how credible this is, it's just rumor, not to be fully believed, but where there's smoke there's fire; still, it's worth taking a look when free, since his dog finally found a playmate at school, and he himself is idle, so why not go see?

After dinner.

Zheng Tan lay on the sofa, pulling his ears, looking rather unwilling at the old man and the dog in the living room.

Beside the sofa, Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi were gathered around the border collie named Le Ke; not sure if dogs more easily excite children's enthusiasm, but Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi's attitude toward the dog was good.

Meanwhile Jiao Ma was chatting with the old man surnamed Tan, wearing an enthusiastic smile.

Tan Fang only said he was a retired physics institute teacher, but Jiao Ma had some insight; from the way this old man casually uttered the Buddha Master's name, she could tell his status was comparable to the Buddha Master's.

Getting to know more big shots, regardless of whether they are from Jiao Ba's institute, will definitely be helpful when Jiao Ba returns; these old-timers are quite capable.

Communication between people often gets faster and closer when it starts with pets. The old man mainly talked about pets, and he got Jiao Ma to talk about her own cat; without realizing it, the pressure in Jiao Ma's heart decreased a lot. However, the smile on Jiao Ma's face soon froze.

"I now take Le Ke out for a ride on my bike every week; since your cat is so well-behaved and also goes out often, when I take Le Ke out I'll also bring your cat along for a walk." Tan Fang said it as if he were just doing a favor.

Jiao Ma: "……" Why does everyone like to take our cat out?! (To be continued…)

ps: (4.13) Missed number 13. I rested early last night, didn't type; tonight I messed around with the net for half a day, sorry, only now posting.