Chapter 264

After Jiao Ba made his decision, the next day after dinner he brought Zheng Tan rushing to the lakeside villa.

Before leaving, they had called; the old lady was already waiting at home, and when she saw Zheng Tan her eyes crinkled with a smile, making Jiao Ba's eyelids twitch.

What on earth happened to make this old lady so affectionate toward her cat son? This fondness doesn't look like how one treats an ordinary pet; no matter how special the cat, to most people it's just an animal, yet the old lady's obvious affection is over the top, which only deepens Jiao Ba's suspicion: what does this guy do when the family isn't looking?

Yesterday when Yan He came over, many things were only mentioned casually, not explained in detail, and Jiao Ba still harbors doubts—after all, nowadays stumbling upon such a bargain is hard to believe, yet it actually happened. Over the past two years Jiao Ba has saved some money; he could afford a typical three-bedroom new apartment, but perhaps not this villa, and the other party has driven the price so low that anyone would suspect.

Today Jiao Ba came over just to get things clear a bit; otherwise he wouldn't rest easy, and no matter how great the bargain, he wouldn't act until he understood it fully. But after arriving at this villa, Jiao Ba grew increasingly uneasy: the car parked outside was valuable, bearing a Nan Cheng license plate; the house had servants and bodyguards, and even in casual clothes they exuded an unmistakable bodyguard aura—Jiao Ba didn't believe they were relatives of the elderly couple.

"Hei Tan, come here, I've prepared something for you to eat!" the old lady called Zheng Tan over.

The old lady usually observes propriety well, but today she was overjoyed at seeing Zheng Tan. Moreover, her life had been good lately, and this joy pushed Jiao Ba to the sidelines. It was actually the old man behind her who greeted Jiao Ba and invited him to sit.

Zheng Tan watched the old man's series of movements, which bore the air of a host; it seemed the two elders communicated smoothly, their feelings developing quickly.

The old lady realized her behavior was a bit improper and apologized; before Jiao Ba could say "It's fine," the old man beside her waved a hand and said, "It's fine. He won't mind."

Jiao Ba: ……

The old lady gave the old man a reproachful look. That was too rude.

They discussed the house, and Zheng Tan had nothing to do with it, so he just stayed quietly aside; the old lady had specially prepared food and drink for him—not cat food. It looked as if she had investigated Zheng Tan.

What Jiao Ba mainly wanted to know was how Zheng Tan came to know the old lady; knowing that would let him infer other matters.

The old lady slowly recounted the events, speaking with feeling. The old man seemed reluctant to have her bring it up—understandable. At that time her health wasn't great, and she was at a crossroads awaiting a decision. If the surgery hadn't succeeded and she hadn't pulled through…… the old man's expression darkened at the thought, only easing after the old lady lightly patted his hand.

After finishing the story, the old man wouldn't let the old lady elaborate further, but moved straight to the house matter, taking over the topic and launching into discussion with Jiao Ba.

Jiao Ba had indeed considered buying a house before; with property prices rising, he planned to act early—even if he didn't move in now, buying and holding would be good. He hadn't expected to encounter such a fortune; after clarifying the situation, although he found the old lady's decision somewhat hard to grasp, he had no further doubts about the house, so he spoke with the old man.

The old lady sat quietly beside them, listening to their conversation, her face always smiling; she glanced at Zheng Tan and recalled the first time she saw this black cat. That day she felt torn, undecided about the surgery, and the black cat evoked some buried memories. Moreover, when the cat raised its paw and touched her palm, her heart gave a sudden jolt—an inexplicable feeling—as if she had received a blessing from the black cat, making her think she might actually pull through.

To others this might seem merely a psychological effect on the old lady, but often a patient's mental state significantly influences their condition; regardless of whether Zheng Tan's paw affected her, the old lady felt she could make the right choice, pull through, and now she had also encountered someone she once missed, her life improved—all thanks to that black cat.

This cat is extremely benevolent!

The old lady indeed drove the price down low; moreover, the house's decorations are all suited for domestic life, and when it was renovated only top‑grade materials were used, leaving a piano, tables, chairs, beds, wardrobes, etc., all high‑end and in perfect condition. All told, the Jiao Family has secured an enormous bargain—truly a windfall from heaven.

While discussing the house, the old man also sounded out Jiao Ba, wanting to gauge the buyer's character. But when the topic turned to Jiao Ba's former mentor—Yuan Zhiyi's father, the elder Yuan— the old man sighed deeply. He had known the late Professor Yuan; when the professor passed away, the old man was tied up with affairs and unaware, only hearing about it later, by which time Professor Yuan had long been laid to rest in his hometown. Afterwards Yuan Zhiyi's career centered mainly in the central region, and aside from occasional business trips he rarely came south, so the old man never met Yuan Zhiyi and lost contact. Only now, talking with Jiao Ba, did he realize they weren't completely unconnected.

Because of this connection, the old man became much more amiable toward Jiao Ba, his smile more sincere, and their conversation grew increasingly harmonious—especially after the recent red‑haired rat incident; when it ended, the old man's slight annoyance vanished completely.

"Since I've chosen to sell to you, whether you live there or rent it out is entirely up to you," the old lady said.

The old man stood by without interjecting, though his smile faded slightly.

"Don't worry—if we live there we'll certainly treat the house well, and even if we rent it out we'll pick someone who cares for the property," Jiao Ba said earnestly. He spoke sincerely; the Jiao Family always looks after their home. Though the compound dwelling is small, it's orderly and neat, giving a cozy, small‑family feeling they're accustomed to. And if they were to rent out the villa, Jiao Ba wouldn't want someone with a chaotic private life to damage their property.

After Jiao Ba said that, Zheng Tan noticed the old man's restrained smile return to his face—clearly the old man was pleased with his words. Internally he scoffed: "This meddling old man, sticking his nose in everywhere; to the uninformed it might seem he loves this land deeply."

The old man gave Jiao Ba a business card, telling him that when he and Yuan Zhiyi go to Nan Cheng they can drop by for a visit. This was the old man's personal card, not a commercial one.

"All right. When the time comes I'll definitely go to Nan Cheng to visit Uncle Han."

Zheng Tan looked. The old man's surname is Han, his name Han Fei, and to Zheng Tan it sounded like "han fei"—a bandit.

Old Man Han hurried to leave Chu Hua Shi and return to Nan Cheng; once a decision was made he saw to it immediately. There was no need for Jiao Ba to worry further. After the matter was settled, Jiao Ma and Jiao Ba came to inspect the villa. For now they didn't tell the two children, since it's better not to broadcast such things—after all, Jiao Ba had been prominent enough this summer, and if word got out those sour‑grape types would surely kick up a fuss.

Although they hadn't spoken of it, Jiao Ba probed the two children indirectly. Jiao Yuan liked a big house, but he still preferred staying in the compound, since all his little friends were there and it was convenient; Xiao Youzi thought that as long as everyone was together, location didn't matter.

Zheng Tan himself leaned more toward the compound, finding it easier to stroll around; moreover, though the campus area isn't absolutely safe, it's still much better than outside.

Since everyone wanted to stay in the compound, the villa could be rented out—but the tenants must be strictly vetted.

The new semester was about to start, and at this time many people were looking to rent; Jiao Ba wasn't in a hurry to lease it out—what mattered was finding the right people.

During the last two days of August the school was already bustling, with people lugging big and small bags everywhere, plus some parents sending their children to university for the first time.

Zheng Tan crouched in a tall tree, watching the people coming and going below, and also checking out the new cute girls.

Every year from June to September is a period of turnover between old and new; from late May to early June the campus broadcast is filled with sentimental, nostalgic remarks like "Brothers who slept on my bunk," but in the final stretch the school practically wants to stamp a "scram" on your clearance form—get out early to make room for newcomers.

And September brings a completely different atmosphere—campus broadcasts brim with vigor, positivity, and fervor, imprinting on freshmen the notions that "senior sisters are wonderful, senior brothers are hardworking."

Beside the phoenix tree where Zheng Tan lingered was a large flowerbed, with many people sitting along its edge; the big pine tree in the middle provided a broad patch of shade. A newcomer who had rolled up with a drag‑bag saw no space on the flowerbed's edge, so he went to the shaded area, sat directly on his bag, propped up his leg, shook his foot, pulled out a palm‑sized MP4, and opened an electronic document to read.

"What are you up to, buddy?" someone nearby asked.

"Reading novels." The guy shaking his foot handed over his MP4 for the other to look at, then eagerly described the story's plot.

"That sort of thing—I've heard of it, it's just monster‑grinding and level‑up stuff; my cousin likes it, but I think it's pretty ridiculous." The person beside him spoke with a hint of contempt, feeling the other's taste was too low.

Then that person disagreed.

"What's wrong with monster‑grinding and leveling up? Are you discriminating or what? Haven't you spent your whole life fighting monsters and leveling up? You grind homework assignments, you grind every kind of exam, you finish elementary‑to‑middle‑school, switch maps and grind the middle school exam, finish that, switch maps and grind the college entrance exam; along the way you might grind some 'little monsters'—maybe you have good talent or maybe your on‑the‑spot performance explodes, grinding 'monsters' to reach graduate‑student level… Only later do you realize, ah, undergraduates are everywhere, graduate students as numerous as dogs. Isn't life just about grinding monsters, leveling up, and clearing the game?"

That guy swayed in his flip‑flops, seated on a drag‑bag of unknown contents, continued looking at the e‑book on his MP4, paying no heed to his own remarks and feeling nothing was wrong. Meanwhile, not far behind him, the staff of the graduate reception office wore subtle expressions, silently watching him.

Zheng Tan felt that those few graduate reception staff were probably thinking, "Damn, which college is this guy from? Don't let him end up in my hands, or I'll beat him to death!" (To be continued…)

PS: (5.22) Today's most gloomy thing isn't squeezing onto a packed bus for two hours with a big bag, nor being told after two hours of standing that the meeting was cancelled, but rather having to go see the boss tomorrow… get a good night's sleep, then brace for a scolding. Wish me luck.