Chapter 267: Just Like That, It Ran Away

Zheng Tan had no interest in the thin, small kitten that came running toward him with its tail held up, although he was a little curious about how this leopard-spotted cat had ended up in such a state; but it was just a passing curiosity—whatever happens, happens. Everyone has their own fate, every cat its own life.

He lifted his foot to push aside the kitten hopping toward him, Zheng Tan turned to leave, but before leaving, he heard a child's voice.

"Big Flower—Big Flower, where are you?!"

Big Flower?

Having turned, Zheng Tan looked back at the leopard-spotted cat, whose ears twitched and whose expression was no longer so tense—could "Big Flower" be calling it?

Hearing the footsteps drawing nearer, Zheng Tan hurried away, but he stopped at the corner, jumped onto the uneven red-brick wall, and looked back that way.

A seven- or eight-year-old child came running, with an old man behind him holding a flashlight. Upon seeing the leopard-spotted big cat, the child visibly relaxed, then ran over and picked up the kitten, stroking the big cat's head: "Big Flower, it's late—don't run around, go back."

"Big Flower" seems to be its new name; the name sounds rather common.

Zheng Tan watched the two people and two cats leave, thought for a moment, then followed behind to see what would happen.

That household belonged to the last batch of relocating residents; their original living conditions probably weren't great either—how could such a family afford to keep a leopard-spotted big cat?

The leopard-spotted big cat looked much thinner and weaker than before, even the kitten was frail. Probably there wasn't much milk to feed the kitten; this family certainly isn't as well-off as Er Mao's.

Zheng Tan didn't stay long before heading back; over the next two days, he would also go to the old residential area in the evenings to take a walk and check on the leopard-spotted big cat's current life.

Although it wasn't as luxurious as before, at least its life now had some guarantee; moreover, the two children in that household were very kind to the leopard-spotted big cat. The father, after delivering goods by car, brought back two not-too-large braised chicken legs for them, and they even saved some meat for the cat. While overly strong-flavored food isn't great for pet cats and dogs, sometimes having something to eat is good enough—there's no point being picky, and this household is no different: whatever people eat, they give to the cat. It's likely the leopard-spotted big cat hasn't fully adjusted yet; it's lost so much weight that even the kitten isn't growing well.

Once when Zheng Tan passed by, he saw the two children hugging the leopard-spotted big cat as they slept. The cat leaned against them gently, occasionally licking to help tidy the children's messy hair, looking just like an ordinary house cat.

Zheng Tan learned from Er Mao how the leopard-spotted cat had come to this state; that day Zheng Tan planned to go downstairs for a stroll, and happened to see Er Mao cleaning at home—he had just given Hei Mi a bath, leaving wet paw prints all over the floor.

After mopping the floor, Er Mao sat on the sofa resting, looked down on Zheng Tan for loafing around all day, and meanwhile mentioned the leopard-spotted cat to him.

It turned out that the leopard-spotted cat's second owner had run into trouble—a major mistake in business left them scrambling over debt problems last month, so no one at home paid attention to the cat. Later a relative saw it and got the idea to fight cats, so they took the leopard-spotted big cat to bet on cat fights, which had become their new pastime. He originally thought the cat was tough, but after winning a few matches it was defeated by a stray cat, its ear bitten off leaving a notch, and it bore many wounds from the bouts; after losing several more fights it was even beaten up by people.

"After that, I guess it was sold to some cat meat restaurant," Er Mao said, his tone filled with strong contempt and disgust for those people.

Zheng Tan thought, the leopard-spotted big cat is still alive; although its life isn't great now, it's still better than being eaten.

Actually, Zheng Tan felt that if the leopard-spotted cat had kept the condition it was in when he first saw it, even if taken to cat fights it might not have lost; the key was that during its second ownership it had been tamed—cats are hard to tame, their wild nature deeply ingrained, so a cat trainer's so-called training to soften its temperament quickly would likely resort to extreme measures. When Zheng Tan saw the leopard-spotted big cat a second time, its temperament had indeed softened considerably; fighting in that state, even with its size advantage, it might not always win against those cats that had survived by fighting in the wild.

That day, after dinner Zheng Tan went for another walk in the old residential area; thinking of what Er Mao had said, he felt quite sympathetic toward the leopard-spotted cat. As a pet, encountering a good owner is truly a great fortune; by comparison, Zheng Tan increasingly felt that staying with the Jiao Family was the best.

Just then, Zheng Tan looked up ahead and saw the leopard-spotted cat crouching there; upon seeing Zheng Tan, it immediately stood up—unlike last time when it had assumed a wary posture, it simply turned and ran.

Zheng Tan: "……" Do I really look that scary?

The leopard-spotted cat's courage is truly getting smaller and smaller. Zheng Tan muttered to himself.

He was about to go over to that household to have a look, but before he'd taken a few steps, Zheng Tan discovered the leopard-spotted big cat had gone and come back—this time it was holding something in its mouth, namely that kitten.

Zheng Tan found it strange—why was this guy carrying the kitten over?

The leopard-spotted big cat approached Zheng Tan; at first its steps were hesitant, moving slowly bit by bit, but when it saw that Zheng Tan showed no sign of aggression or ill intent, it quickened its pace.

The kitten being carried looked a bit bewildered, appearing quite innocent, not knowing what its mother intended to do.

Watching the cat draw nearer, Zheng Tan felt a bad premonition well up inside him; he very much wanted to just turn and run.

Before Zheng Tan could shift his foot to run, the leopard-spotted cat stopped half a meter away from him and set down the kitten it was carrying.

After landing, the kitten shrank back and looked around; probably having smelled its mother's familiar scent, its courage returned, and it snuggled up beside the leopard-spotted cat—only for the cat to nudge it gently with its head toward Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan: "!!" Could it be what he was thinking……

The kitten hadn't yet realized its mother's intention; resistance was futile. Being nudged, it moved toward Zheng Tan, and upon seeing him it immediately perked up its tail and ran over to play with his palm—the kitten's teeth had grown, but its bite lacked strength, so Zheng Tan didn't feel pain.

Zheng Tan looked at the kitten wriggling in his hand, then at the leopard-spotted cat, and saw that the cat had already turned back.

Hey, you forgot to bring your son!

Zheng Tan watched the leopard-spotted cat go faster and faster; after its steps quickened, a problem showed in its hind legs—it wasn't well balanced, and when it ran it looked somewhat lame.

This isn't the point!

The point is, after the big cat brought the kitten over, it just ran off itself!!

Zheng Tan, still playing, hadn't noticed at all that the kitten abandoned by its mother was being pushed back; the kitten thought Zheng Tan was playing with it and writhed even more energetically. When it looked back and saw its mother getting farther away, it let out a few cries and chased after her—but its little arms and legs were still underdeveloped, so after just two steps it tumbled over.

While the kitten cried, the big cat stopped, glanced back, then turned and kept running; the kitten's speed could not keep up, and soon it realized its mother was gone, it too was worn out from chasing, sat where it was, and looked down the dark alley, softly mewing.

Zheng Tan now understood—the big cat wanted him to help look after the kid!!

I'm not going to help raise someone else's kid! Its own mother doesn't even care—why should I bother?

Zheng Tan turned around, also intending to leave.

The kitten finally remembered there was still a cat here, glanced toward Zheng Tan, then got up and stumbled after him—running two steps, rolling in a circle, getting up and running again—but of course a kitten can't outrun a big cat, let alone someone like Zheng Tan, who disappears from sight in just a few seconds.

Zheng Tan ran to the fork, heard the kitten's cries, stopped and squatted there to think, then lightly stepped back to the corner, carefully poked his head out from there, and looked toward the alley already full of construction brick and rubble.

The kitten wasn't crying loudly anymore; it just sat there bewildered, not knowing what to do, letting out a soft mew.

Zheng Tan drew back his neck, thought it over, then poked his head out again toward that spot, hesitated a while, then lifted his foot and kicked a small stone aside; the stone rolled away, its sound drawing the kitten's attention, and it also saw Zheng Tan at the corner.

Under the alley's sole streetlamp, in the dim light, that fuzzy mass walked toward Zheng Tan.

Pat—

Drip drip drip!

Raindrops fell, striking some glass bottles and metal sheets and making noise.

Zheng Tan looked up at the sky and cursed in his heart: "Damn the weather forecast! It said it would be clear all week?! It said it would be suitable for going out?! It won't even let people enjoy a leisurely stroll?!"

The rain fell harder and harder; seeing the kitten tumbling every two steps, Zheng Tan hurried a few steps, scooped it up, stood it upright, and ran on two legs into the dark, unlit alley—anyway, there was basically no one around here, and even if there were, they wouldn't see.

At this time of day, there should be plenty of people over at Chu Hua Da Xue; running over like this wouldn't be good, so Zheng Tan thought, turned, and ran toward the villas by the lake—after all, it's not far from here, and the important thing is that there aren't many people there now.

Zheng Tan took the inconspicuous side paths and places with plenty of cover; when he got near the villa complex, he jumped over a bush, landed with a slip of his feet, almost toppled, and instead just stopped to catch his breath—only to notice that not far ahead, under the big umbrella at a shop's entrance, a child stood there watching him.

The child was holding a drink, blowing bubbles into the beverage bottle with a gurgling sound, when suddenly seeing this scene, he got excited and puffed—spraying the drink out of the cup; the child didn't even mind the drink, eyes unblinking as he stared at Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan saw that the one who noticed him was just a tiny kid, so he paid no more attention; after checking the route, he scooped up the kitten and darted into the greenbelt woods two steps away, continuing to run toward the lakeside villas.

After Zheng Tan ran off, the child's mother came out of the shop, picked up the child, opened her umbrella, and prepared to head home.

"What are you looking at?" the child's mother asked.

"A big cat holding a little cat, and just like that it ran off……" the child said, bending one arm to demonstrate.

The child's mother looked around, saw the two cat toys, one big and one small, displayed in the toy store window across the street, smiled, and continued listening to the child speak, thinking that children's imaginations are truly rich. (To be continued..)

ps: (5.25)