Chapter 239

Zheng Tan actually hesitated about whether to inform on Hetaoshixiong, but later he still gave up; generally speaking, he has no grudge against that "senior swindler"—when they were on the mountain, that person's behavior could actually be considered helpful—and since it doesn't involve his own interests, it seems not threatening to him and Hetaoshixiong and the others, so Zheng Tan can't be bothered to meddle.

Over the next period, when Zheng Tan walked from the affiliated hospital side, he never saw that "senior swindler"'s figure; the number of people coming to the affiliated hospital for treatment each day was truly too many, after all this is a genuine tertiary hospital, and the number of people coming here for treatment or already hospitalized is so great that Zheng Tan can't even keep track, let alone that elderly lady—running into her three times is a rare occurrence; previously being able to see her could only be called luck or coincidence.

Regarding that "senior swindler", days passed one by one, and Zheng Tan didn't think about it anymore; he was too lazy to spend much energy on people and matters that had nothing to do with his life.

That day, Zheng Tan came again to a place he hadn't visited in a long time—Ye Lou.

The one who brought Zheng Tan over was Wei Leng, and accompanying Wei Leng was his wife.

It's rare to see Wei Leng bringing his wife to Ye Lou. Although Ye Lou is completely different from those messy clubs, nightclubs, bars, etc., his wife looks like an honest person; she was also a well-behaved girl in school, and she rarely goes out at night to do such things, basically never going to nightclubs or bars.

Wei Leng's wife is not particularly beautiful; her appearance is only average, but she is very kind, virtuous, and family-oriented. When Wei Leng was chatting with some friends before marriage, he had said that marriage was for living life later on. Finally finding someone this suitable, Wei Leng is quite satisfied with this wife—just look at his current routine: no longer chaotic, he goes to bed early and rises early, and it's been a long time since he came to Ye Lou.

The reason he came today is actually for a performance tonight at the "East Palace".

The band performing tonight at the "East Palace" is from abroad; they blend traditional old-school blues with the later-developed urban blues, embracing and integrating them into their own style. While they may not be well-known among some domestic teenagers in their teens and twenties, their international reputation is actually far stronger than that of some so-called popular domestic bands.

Of course. Many people in China like this band, and Wei Leng's wife is one of them—not because she particularly likes blues music, but because she read a book written by the band's lead singer. That's why she likes the band. This is also why Wei Leng, who has upgraded to a good husband and hasn't been out wandering for a long time, brings his wife here as the main reason.

And to come to Ye Lou, Wei Leng finally remembered Zheng Tan. He drove his wife to Chu Hua Da Xue, picked up Zheng Tan, and then came to Ye Lou.

Wei Leng came with his wife. Zheng Tan certainly didn't want to be a third wheel, and besides he had his own private room at Ye Lou, so he didn't want to disturb the couple.

However, Wei Leng was worried Zheng Tan would be bored alone, so he asked Zheng Tan whether he wanted to invite some buddies over to play. Zheng Tan thought about it; animals are hard to find now, but he could also look for people.

So, after A Jin and the others resting at home received the call, they jumped up immediately. They've been busy these two days; Ye Lou doesn't have a slot for them, but they still have other matters, working during the day and planning to rest early when they return, never expecting to get a call from Wei Leng.

A Jin and the others released their first album last year, achieving decent results—especially the track "Cat's Fantasy," which has no lyrics but incorporates some cat meows; many people called it last year's divine song. Saying it's a divine song might be an exaggeration, but its popularity likely stems from the song's style being too bizarre yet not annoying; instead, it sometimes feels quite worth savoring.

A critic also said, everyone has a cat in their heart—be it lazy, clever, arrogant, or lovable… and everyone's feeling when listening to this piece is different.

Although A Jin's band achieved some results last year, overall they are still far from the big names—just as they still aren't qualified to perform at the "East Palace"; many bands that play at Ye Lou outside the East Palace are more famous than A Jin's band, and they aren't qualified to enter the East Palace either, let alone A Jin and the others.

Given A Jin and the others' status, it's also impossible for them to have a private room at Ye Lou, let alone an exclusive one; now someone tells them they have this opportunity placed before them, and they are certainly willing. They naturally know about the band performing today at the East Palace; being able to listen to these masters' performances and learn something from them would be greatly beneficial for their future development.

"Hey, A Jin, is it really Mr. Wei who invited us?" the band's drummer Wang Ze quickly put on his clothes and asked. Although people at Ye Lou usually call Wei Leng "Leng Ge," when A Jin and the others encounter Wei Leng they directly address him as "Mr. Wei," with a hint of reverence.

The other few people nearby also waited for A Jin to explain further.

"The call was from Mr. Wei; he just asked whether we wanted to go see the performance. As for the private room…" A Jin, now calming down, realized that Wei Leng seemed not to have let them go to his own exclusive private room.

"Forget it, we'll talk about it later; being able to go to a private room to watch is already nice—normally we can't even afford to spend money to enter the 'East Palace.' Be content."

Although not said, A Jin intuitively felt it had to do with that cat; he knows himself well, and the invitation definitely didn't come from Ye Lou people—otherwise they wouldn't have waited until now to mention it, and even during the period when they achieved results they hadn't heard any invitation movement from that side. As for Wei Leng, if we really talk about connections, his familiarity with them is still not as close as that cat's.

When A Jin and the others arrived at Ye Lou, they happened to run into a band that performs in the same area as them—all young people, with strong competitive spirit; usually whether they perform or not, these two bands take things seriously, so upon meeting they inevitably exchange a few barbs, but now they are at Ye Lou's entrance, and both sides have restrained themselves a bit.

A Jin and the others are now in a hurry; they can't let Wei Leng wait longer over there, so they stop Wang Ze, who was about to resume his jabbing, and lift their feet to enter Ye Lou. They don't have the qualifications to use the side's dedicated door; they can only go through the main entrance, then follow the guidance of the people inside.

Since Wei Leng had already greeted them, the Ye Lou staff were familiar with A Jin and the others; after recognizing them, they led them straight upstairs. This left the band that hadn't gone far yet stunned for a good while.

This private room has only been visited by A Jin before; even so they are still nervous, and Wang Ze, who usually talks a lot, has clenched his mouth shut, fearing a mishap.

The person leading them brought A Jin and the others forward all the way; when they passed Wei Leng's room, A Jin thought: indeed, this isn't Wei Leng's private room. Just as he thought that, he saw the person ahead raise a hand and knock on the door of the room next to it.

Click!

With a soft sound, the door opened.

The person ahead gestured that A Jin and the others could enter.

Swallowing their saliva, A Jin and the others tidied their clothes, afraid that if they later saw the important figure they might give a bad impression.

However, after they stepped inside, the décor nearly made the five of them pop their eyeballs out.

This… is too unconventional, completely different from what they had imagined.

What's with that hanging furry mouse?

And what is that soft cushion shaped like a cat's paw supposed to express?

And what are those paintings on the wall?!

Could this be prepared for children?

Such a dignified Ye Lou actually has this kind of place! This is the first impression the five of them had upon entering. And when they saw the cat sitting calmly on the sofa, the whole group felt uneasy.

This cat, to them, seems to exist just to overturn their cognition.

"Captain." Wang Ze poked A Jin from behind and whispered lowly. After years of scrambling about, he had picked up some skill at reading people's faces, but facing a cat, he had no idea how to proceed.

A Jin paused, having formed some rough ideas in his mind, then walked toward the sofa where Zheng Tan was and sat in the chair beside the tea table.

Zheng Tan glanced at him, then pushed the plate of nuts in front of the tea table toward A Jin.

A Jin looked at the various nuts on the plate, began to shell them, and the shelled ones he didn't eat but placed in another small plate in front of Zheng Tan.

The four people behind A Jin: "……" Does this mean we're supposed to serve?

At this moment, Wei Leng came over from the next room; after entering, he briefly told A Jin and the others, the gist being that he had summoned them purely to keep the cat company, and incidentally they could also listen to the performance.

After giving those instructions, Wei Leng returned to the next room to keep his wife company; the performance outside has already begun.

Besides A Jin, the other four felt some restraint and helplessness, unable to communicate due to language barriers and different species, feeling quite awkward. However, seeing A Jin like that, they couldn't just idle, so they came over to help shell the nuts.

Zheng Tan is only fairly familiar with A Jin; the other four have met him few times, but looking at it now, these people are quite adept at handling situations—even facing a cat and this unexpected situation beyond their expectations, they can try to stay calm and respond, without making too many small movements.

Overall, Zheng Tan's impression of these people is still not bad; thinking about if he comes again later, he could call them over to help shell nuts—this would be mutually beneficial, since Zheng Tan is here just to relax, while A Jin and the others can better listen to the masters' performances at the East Palace.

Zheng Tan's consumption here doesn't require him to pay; it's all free, and actually he doesn't consume much—he doesn't dare drink alcohol now, because if he did he'd surely get scolded when he returns; he's just here to listen to the performance and eat some snacks, and the cost to Ye Lou is practically negligible.

When the group had shelled half a plate, Zheng Tan lifted his paw and pushed the remaining nuts toward A Jin again, then ate a few pistachios and went to the window side to look down at the performance venue.

"Does the cat even eat this?" Wang Ze opened his mouth soundlessly to ask A Jin, carefully pointing to the small plate on the tea table holding the shelled various nuts.

A Jin gave him a glance, indicating Wang Ze shouldn't talk nonsense, and then also went to the window side to watch the performance below. Their main purpose in coming here was indeed to watch the performance.

Soon, the five of them swept away their earlier helplessness and embarrassment, watching the performance below, and they also exchanged some thoughts and feelings, talking about their own gaps.

Zheng Tan has no interest in music appreciation; when he looks down, he mainly checks out the good-looking girls—for instance, the white-collar beauty in professional attire, or the rather pure-looking schoolgirl, and so on…

Hmm?

Holy shit!

When Zheng Tan's gaze swept over a certain spot, it stalled.

He saw an acquaintance.

That "high‑level swindler"!

That person was holding a glass of wine and talking to a curvaceous beauty with big wavy hair. Although he still maintained that "I'm a gentleman, I'm elegant" demeanor, Zheng Tan felt that the person's mind was probably thinking about this and that, papapa. (To be continued...)

ps: (4.28) Happy May Day, everyone!

These days, so many people are getting married; I've already received several calls, looking at my pay card... sigh!