Chapter 26: You Dare Try Biting My Ear?

After finishing a cigarette and giving his subordinate instructions for the remaining work, He Tao lit another one and sat down beside Wei Leng. With this case wrapped up, he felt much more relaxed; before, to keep his movements easy and avoid a heavy smell of smoke on his body, he had been limiting his smoking, but now he didn't care.

"Where are you planning to work as a security guard? A residential complex? A company? A factory?" He Tao asked.

"Probably a company or a factory; we'll see at the time, after all the plant hasn't started operating yet," Wei Leng replied.

"Whose plant?"

"Hei Tan's dad started it with a partner, and I got a foot in the door, but my knowledge is limited, I can't grasp their advanced expertise. I invested part of the money I have, and a job like security is more suitable for me. Later I'll look for some veteran comrades to join in."

He Tao was silent for a moment, then, holding his lighter, he angled his thumb and pointed at the black cat squatting in the high part of the storeroom, "Its dad?"

"Yeah." Wei Leng flicked the ash, "People in that neighborhood call them that—dog dad, cat dad, and so on."

"Huh, since when have cats gotten such a high status?"

"People get disappointed with humans, so cats' status rises. I heard recently that the more people you know, the more you think cats are cute. That's a one‑sided, extreme view; I don't find those cats cute, like that one." He turned his head toward Zheng Tan and pointed, "Its temper is huge; can't be controlled."

He Tao clicked his tongue twice, originally about to tease, but remembering he owed that cat a favor, he held back and said, "By the way, tell your friend to tone it down lately; the higher‑ups are cracking down."

"Even if you hadn't mentioned it, I'd tell him. Things have been uneasy lately; it's time to straighten things out."

The police officer over there had already tidied everything up, and He Tao said no more, patting Wei Leng's shoulder, "If you need help, let me know. If the plant gets sorted, I'll drop by to see."

Wei Leng waved his hand, indicating he understood, "Senior brother, don't just focus on climbing higher; your skills have slipped. If it weren't for that cat, you'd definitely be at a loss this time."

He Tao smiled, "You all are a handful, one or two of you are a pain. In Chu Hua Shi, if I don't climb a bit higher, how can I cover you? So you don't have to put on fake smiles or owe others favors."

Watching He Tao walk away, Wei Leng took a deep drag, stomped out the cigarette, and shouted toward Zheng Tan, "Hei Tan, go back!"

Zheng Tan rose, stretched lazily, glanced around, then looked at the real‑estate billboard not far off, shook his fur, went downstairs and headed home.

On the way back to Chu Hua Shi, Wei Leng didn't drive fast this time; he eased the speed, sometimes taking detours as if to unwind.

When they arrived at the eastern family compound of Chu Hua Da Xue past three in the afternoon, Zheng Tan, after returning to the compound, took a shower first and used the dedicated bathtub, asking Wei Leng to help heat the water.

Wei Leng also rinsed off with the leftover hot water, because he was heading to the hospital later to see a patient; he had been out that morning and got dirty, and going to the hospital in that state was inappropriate. Appearance was secondary; he was mainly afraid of bringing too many germs in, even if it's not a sterile room, a ward still requires you to be clean.

When Zheng Tan was taken to the hospital, light giggles came from Jiao Ma's ward—it was Jiao Ma's laugh, along with the medical school intern Li Xiaoqian who was helping care for her.

Hearing the laughter, Zheng Tan tugged his ear; at that moment Jiao Yuan and the others were in class—what could make Jiao Ma laugh like that?

Zheng Tan's puzzlement was answered when he opened the door and saw the scene on the bedside.

On the bed now, Jiao Ma lay there, and beside her uninjured hand was a blue figure rolling around, then lying on its back with half‑spread wings, scratching an itch.

Zheng Tan: "… That damned thing was on a business trip and came back so fast?!"

Next to the ward, Professor Qin, the owner of "General", was speaking with Jiao Ba.

Professor Qin, about the same age as Jiao Ba, said with a hint of color on his face: "When we went to the national nature reserve in the south, we ran into a blue‑purple macaw just like 'General'. It was kept by a professor studying ecology. His macaw is also quite smart, but its pronunciation isn't as precise as 'General's'. They even had a singing contest; the blue‑purple macaw's talent was lacking—its high notes couldn't reach, its low notes wouldn't settle, the low notes sounded like hiccups, the high notes like a chicken being slaughtered."

A few people in the ward laughed again at Professor Qin's words.

Lying on its back beside Jiao Ma, "General" heard Professor Qin praise its achievements, rolled over, lifted its head and shouted, "General is mighty, General is mighty!"

"General, sing another song," Li Xiaoqian said.

General tilted its head, seeming to ponder which song to sing, and five seconds later…

"Sweet, sweet~ Your smile is sweet~ Like flowers blooming in the spring breeze~ Blooming in~ the spring breeze~"

As it sang, it kept shaking its head, and Zheng Tan regarded it with utter contempt—what a conduct!

Ignoring General's showoff, Zheng Tan leapt onto Jiao Ma's bed and pushed the parrot beside her aside.

Seeing Zheng Tan jump up, Jiao Ma even tucked the blanket for him, letting him sit more comfortably.

Standing on the soft, still‑warm bedding, Zheng Tan felt a lot more at ease.

"General" sang while moving toward Zheng Tan; when it finished the last syllable, its mouth stayed open, turning toward Zheng Tan's raised cat ears, ready to bite.

Zheng Tan shifted his palm on the mattress, his ears flapped like airplane wings, and he glanced sideways at the parrot, his gaze threatening.

"How dare you try to bite my ear? I'll kill you!"

Probably because it hasn't seen any cats during the trip, this damned parrot's beak got itchy; seeing cat ears makes it want to peck.

The parrot, stared at by Zheng Tan's threatening gaze, froze for a moment, then twisted its neck to the other side, no longer looking at Zheng Tan.

People in the ward couldn't stop laughing at the cat‑and‑bird interaction.

Li Xiaoqian checked the time, went out to attend to other matters, and would return later to change Jiao Ma's dressing.

Wei Leng lingered a while then left; Zheng Tan reclined beside Jiao Ma. Her injured arm was the other one, so lying here wouldn't touch the wound, and Zheng Tan also took care not to disturb her other injuries.

Professor Qin and Jiao Ba were discussing some large recent school projects. Bored, "General" grabbed a plastic medicine bottle from the nightstand to practice opening and closing caps. When its feet got too close to Jiao Ma's wound, Zheng Tan would flick it away with his tail or claw.

The interior was indeed much warmer than outside, and Zheng Tan felt drowsy. A knock on the door jolted him awake. Lately, Li Xiaoqian has been in charge of Jiao Ma's care, and a few doctors occasionally stop by. Besides those doctors, Li Xiaoqian and others know Zheng Tan is around—Jiao family often brings their cat here—so they say nothing. But if it were an outsider, Zheng Tan would still keep his distance.

"General" already clutched the bottle and flew onto Professor Qin's shoulder; Zheng Tan also leapt off the bed and crawled into the bag beside Jiao Ba.

The person who entered was a woman in her late twenties, dressed rather formally but not stern, with a friendly look and a hint of authority—though far less than "Father Buddha".

Seeing her, Jiao Ba quickly stood up.

"Teacher Yang, why are you here?!"

She is Teacher Yang, the homeroom teacher for Jiao Yuan's class, teaching Chinese language. Zheng Tan has seen her a few times but never paid much attention.

"I just heard today that Teacher Gu is ill, so I came to check," Teacher Yang set down the fruit she had bought.

Teacher Yang doesn't live in the Chu Hua Da Xue family area; she has a house elsewhere. She left early today due to some matter, and this morning learned Jiao Yuan's mother was hospitalized, so she brought the elderly from home to the hospital for a check‑up and also to visit.

"By the way, the school had a power outage today due to some malfunction, and by four o'clock the classroom lights were dim, so students couldn't see the blackboard, and the whole school dismissed a period early. I saw Jiao Yuan and a few classmates at the fruit stall beneath the hospital, and they came together to visit Teacher Gu. Oh, I promised them to keep it secret—Teacher Gu, Professor Jiao, please don't say I leaked it," Teacher Yang joked.

"…" Poor little brats, turned around and got betrayed, and the betrayer was their respected homeroom teacher.

Because she had other business, Teacher Yang chatted for a while then left. Within five minutes, Zheng Tan indeed heard children's footsteps outside.

The door opened a crack, and Jiao Yuan stuck his head in, looked around the ward, and said, "My classmate heard Mom was hospitalized, so they came to visit."

"Then what are you waiting for? Let your classmate in quickly," Jiao Ba pretended to be just finding out, stood up to welcome them.

The ward was already cramped; Jiao Ba and Professor Qin both stepped out to let the kids in.

Zheng Tan peeked out from the bag's opening; besides the usual Lan Tianzhu, Xiong Xiong, and Su An, there was also a girl.

"Eh, who is this little friend?" Jiao Ma looked at the sole girl.

Jiao Ma told Jiao Yuan that she doesn't claim all the kids in his class know each other, but she does remember those she's seen; looking at the girl standing here now, she thought for a moment and was sure she had never seen her before.

"She's a new student in our class, her name is Shi Rui!" Jiao Yuan especially emphasized the name "Shi Rui" when introducing her.

"Ah, no wonder I don't have an impression; turns out she's a new transfer student." Jiao Ma said.

"Her name is Shi Rui!" Jiao Yuan emphasized again.

"I know her name is Shi Rui."

Jiao Ma found Jiao Yuan's repeated emphasis on the little girl's name somewhat puzzling, but Jiao Ba and Professor Qin, standing at the door, exchanged a knowing smile, already understanding Jiao Yuan's meaning.

Jiao Yuan, feeling helpless that Jiao Ma still hadn't reacted, pointed to Su An, whose face was flushed and ears almost red with blood, then pointed at Shi Rui, who was glaring at him, and said, "Do you understand now?"

"Jiao Yuan!" Shi Rui shouted.

"What's there to be afraid of? Anyway, everyone will find out sooner or later. You didn't say your family is moving to the East Family Estate in a couple of days, did you?" Jiao Yuan said, completely unfazed by Shi Rui's glare.

With Jiao Yuan's hint, Jiao Ma finally understood what was going on; she looked at Su An, whose face was flushed and didn't know what to do, then at Shi Rui, who was glaring while looking at the chuckling Xiong Xiong and the others, and shook her head with a smile. It really was a coincidence.

The only ones who didn't understand were the "General" perched on Professor Qin's shoulder and Zheng Tan, huddled in the bag, completely bewildered.

Only when Jiao Yuan mentioned the recent events concerning Shi Rui did Zheng Tan finally understand what these little brats were up to.

As an organic acid in chemistry, litmus is used as an acid-base indicator, turning red in acid and blue in alkali, and is often seen in middle school textbooks.

On the morning that the girl named Shi Rui transferred, Su An missed school because of diarrhea and only went in the afternoon. After class, Lan Tianzhu, Jiao Yuan, and a few others asked Su An, who was slumped over her desk looking utterly exhausted, "Do you know Shi Rui?"

Su An looked up and said, "I know, it's the indicator!"

At that time, classmate Shi Rui was standing behind Su An, looking unwell. She hated it when people called her "indicator"!

After that, every time Su An saw Shi Rui, her face would flush, and she often became the butt of jokes from Jiao Yuan and the others.

The pinyin of Su An's name together sounds like the word for "sour".

That really is quite a coincidence.

While the little brats were laughing and chatting, Jiao Ba's phone rang. Professor Qin, with the "General" on his shoulder, said goodbye and left; as he departed, the General flew out the window to wait for Professor Qin downstairs, since walking through the hospital interior would look bad.

Before heading out to answer the call, Jiao Ba thought for a moment and decided to go back and wring out the bag where Zheng Tan was staying, since those little brats couldn't keep their mouths shut, and now there was also the new Shi Rui; to avoid unnecessary trouble, he still wrung out the bag.

Hurrying to the end of the corridor outside the ward, Jiao Ba picked up the phone.

Zheng Tan, still in the bag, listened to Jiao Ba's phone call; the caller was a university classmate whom Jiao Ba had previously called "Yuanzi," and they were talking about starting a company.

After hanging up, Jiao Ba said to Zheng Tan in the bag, "Hei Tan, I also put the 30,000 yuan you earned from filming ads on your card into an investment, so I'll give you a dividend later."

Zheng Tan's earnings from filming ads with Xiao Guo kept increasing; originally he went once a month, but after Xiao Guo saw the results were good, he changed it to every two weeks, and the pay kept rising. Zheng Tan didn't know what "good results" entailed, but each time he went, Xiao Guo looked at him with the expression of having seen the god of wealth.

Whatever, let's just invest it; Zheng Tan feels he doesn't need it now anyway, and earlier Xiao Guo said they could try other ads later, with pay definitely not low, so even if the money Jiao Ba invested loses, they can make it back later.

And Zheng Tan never imagined that one day the number on that card would reach an astonishing level.

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Thanks to 0 Yun Feng 0, Ofimox, Bei Cheng Si Lang, Xi Xi's Qilin, Happy Little Cat, Love to Roast, lazyorange, Right Grass Clothes Person, Wang Mao~!, Ding Ning, nego118 for the rewards! Thanks to Love to Roast, Pure White Phantom Wing for the evaluation votes! Thanks to everyone for the support~

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