Chapter 241: You damn kidding me?

Zheng Tan, under the old lady's invitation, calmly stepped onto the nearby sofa and lay down. The nanny originally wanted to say something, but seeing the old lady didn't mind, she stayed quiet, though she thought she'd better go out later to buy some flea medicine or such, hearing that outside cats have lots of fleas, not sure if they'd bring fleas in; just to be safe, it's better to take precautions.

Zheng Tan noticed the nanny's attitude toward him wasn't great, but it wasn't malicious—at most a little petty, negligible.

The nanny placed a small bowl of warm fish soup on the little tea table beside the sofa. Zheng Tan sniffed it but didn't eat. He wasn't hungry, and even when outside he wouldn't eat randomly; most importantly, the bowl contained half a fish head, which Zheng Tan dislikes.

The nanny looked at the old lady and asked if she wanted to change to something else.

The old lady glanced at the cat on the sofa, waved her hand, "Just leave it for now." After saying that, she turned to the person, "This cat is the one I saw when I was hospitalized; I feel we have some affinity. I had been wondering whose cat it was around here, never expecting to run into it here."

The person sitting on the other sofa, while listening with a smile to the old lady's sigh, was actually seething inside; he didn't feel any affinity with the cat, only that their energies clashed, ill-fated enemies. The old lady kept marveling at the coincidence and luck of encountering the cat both in the hospital and at home; hearing that, he felt he ought to sigh even more.

Even in mountain areas hours away by highway from Chu Hua Shi, you can run into this cat; in Chu Hua Shi you can meet it at the hospital; going out at night to get high, you can run into it; now, coming out to find a target, chat, pump someone for info—damn, you can still run into it! How to say that? Still "affinity"? More like the affinity of cat shit!

The cat just squatted there, neither meowing nor eating, simply staring at you. It seemed to be sneering at you, its eyes seeming to say: "Make up, you damn keep making up!"

The person had no doubt this cat was the same one he'd encountered years ago; his eyesight was still good. After so many years, this was the first time he'd run into such a weird cat.

"Hey, Xiao Gao. Where were we?" the old lady finally turned the conversation back.

Zheng Tan looked at "Xiao Gao"; he remembered that the fake ID on Hetaoshixiong's hand didn't bear the surname "Gao".

"Xiao Gao" obviously also noticed the cat's gaze from two steps away on the sofa; although the atmosphere and mood he had painstakingly built had shifted, his cultivation was decent. It was as if he hadn't experienced the earlier black cat incident or seen that black cat's contemptuous look. With a perfectly timed smile, he maintained his previous expression and tone, saying, "You were just about to tell your past story." Nowadays, who out there mixing in society isn't thick-skinned? Add a sturdy mental fortitude, and it's enough to handle any sudden situation.

"Oh, yes, we were here." The old lady smoothed the wrinkles on her clothes, took a deep breath, as if beginning to recall.

Xiao Gao gently set down his teacup, as if afraid to disturb the old lady's recollection, and focused his mind to listen to her past story, to determine whether she was the person he was seeking—this was his third suspect, the most likely; if confirmed, the job could be completed smoothly.

Just as the two were beginning to build the mood again.

The "ding ding ding ding" sound of a spoon being stirred rang out, pulling the old lady's thoughts back from her reverie. She looked up and saw the black cat rise to its feet, one forefoot propping on the sofa's armrest, the other paw stirring the ceramic spoon in the fish soup bowl placed on the small tea table beside.

The old lady didn't blame Zheng Tan; instead she smiled kindly, reached out to pat his cat head, but Zheng Tan dodged, and she didn't stir the spoon anymore, seemingly sitting properly on the sofa.

When the old lady again began chatting with Xiao Gao about the past, Zheng Tan over there started clinking and clanking about again.

Zheng Tan guessed this person was probably trying to pump the old lady for information; he had a good impression of the old lady, but seeing this pretentious youth wearing a thick disguise, he couldn't resist giving him trouble.

Obviously, Zheng Tan succeeded in causing trouble.

Even though Xiao Gao maintained a near-perfect disguise on his face, inside he actually wanted to clutch his chest and spit out a mouthful of old blood. Often, opportunities don't come easily; you can't appear abrupt, can't raise suspicion—miss one and you might have to wait an unknown length of time for the next good chance.

For Xiao Gao, this job seemed to have progressed smoothly so far, with no difficulty—pumping for info would be easy—but he hadn't expected that ever since this cat appeared, things would become less smooth.

Damn, he must be clashing with the black cat, right? No wonder people say encountering a black cat brings bad luck; Xiao Gao now truly feels it—after meeting that black cat that night and leaving Ye Lou, halfway down the road his tire blew out, damn unlucky.

After Zheng Tan repeatedly interrupted her, the old lady lost the enthusiasm to continue reminiscing, though she held no grudge against Zheng Tan; she merely told Xiao Gao, "Young people, seize the opportunity—I missed mine when I was young, and even if I regret it now, it's too late."

Xiao Gao's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't ask much more; after so much time had passed, he politely bade farewell to the old lady, and as he left he seemingly glanced unintentionally at the sofa where the black cat was looking this way.

Zheng Tan stared him down, but his gut told him this guy was full of nasty schemes, probably plotting how to strike back later.

After Xiao Gao left, the old lady took Zheng Tan to the backyard to see her flowers, and let him have time to come keep her company. She actually didn't expect the cat to understand anything; she just sometimes wanted a suitable confidant, especially when recalling past events.

The old lady sat on the backyard wicker chair and sighed, "It's almost sixty years already."

Zheng Tan didn't quite grasp the meaning of the old lady's sigh, but after thinking he guessed it might relate to Xiao Gao's visit to probe. Too bad the old lady doesn't want to say more now. No matter—whenever she feels like wandering over here later, she can come to mooch food and drink, and likely hear her reminisce about the past again.

Meanwhile, after leaving the old lady's villa, Xiao Gao drove along the lakeside, preparing to exit this residential area via this route, when his phone rang; he pulled over and saw the display show "Jin Gui", then answered.

"Hey, Liuba, are you busy right now? I've got a job I can't take—see if you're interested," the other party said.

"Tell me." Said the "Xiao Gao" of the old lady's mouth, the "Liuba" on the other end of the line; his tone was no longer the modest one he'd shown facing the old lady, now more casual, as if hardly anything could faze him.

After hearing a few sentences from the other end, Liuba interrupted: "The pay's too low, the job's too boring—I'm not taking it."

"All right, I guessed you'd refuse—I'll look for someone else," said Jin Gui. In fact, when he decided to call, he had already thought Liuba would likely turn this down; though the fee was a big job for others, for Liuba it still couldn't compare to the small jobs he used to play with five years ago.

Liuba is a well-known figure in the private investigator circle; it's said he started as a kid helping people catch cheating partners and gather evidence to make money, and now he's experienced, perceptive, lands jobs with a high success rate, keeps secrets well, keeps his mouth shut, and likewise earns high pay. Even when the pay is sometimes absurdly high, people still flock to him.

In the country, regulations actually forbid private investigators outright, so the profession still can't operate openly and register officially, yet social reality creates a need for PI development, and loopholes are easy to exploit; nowadays more people make a living this way. Still, every industry has its tiers, and within this special circle Liuba is considered a legendary figure—his legends and rumors are many, but confined to this small circle; outsiders don't know them.

From starting with small-time jobs to now taking only big ones, Liuba can be said to have reached the top of the pyramid within this circle.

As for Jin Gui, it's likewise a code name, its fame far inferior to Liuba's. Jin Gui currently works as a sidekick at a marital counseling agency, while secretly also taking on jobs like investigating mistresses, divorce evidence gathering, etc. —these are easy to do and bring quick money, generally causing no major trouble; sometimes when encountering wealthy clients, he'll also scoop up a sum. Of course, Jin Gui knows what they're doing now are just Liuba's leftovers; put another way, Liuba could be considered half a master to Jin Gui, but purely by age, Jin Gui is actually ten years older than Liuba.

"What's up, ran into trouble? Surely nobody blind offended you again?" Jin Gui, from the other's words, sensed the person was in a bad mood.

Liuba snorted, "You make it sound like I'm a flood and ferocious beast."

"Nah, even flood and ferocious beast underestimate you. Let me think: the last person who offended you suddenly fainted while having sex with his wife and lost vigor; the one before that, during an interview, suddenly coughed blood nonstop, prompting public speculation and losing all face; the one before that, while dancing, suddenly snapped his arm, hospitalized, unknown if he's out now—well, that's all I know; I believe and firmly believe these are just a small fraction, with many more I don't know about."

"So?"

"So, heh, I'm just curious which unlucky bastard offended you this time?"

Liuba chewed gum, blew a bubble, waited for it to pop with a snap, then slowly said, "A cat."

"What?"

"I mean, the one causing me trouble this time is a cat."

"... You damn kidding me?!" (To be continued…)

ps: (4.30)