Chapter 30: Chapter Thirty: Colleges Always Have One or Two

Due to the arrival of several overseas-returnee professors in the College of Life Sciences, plus the reason for expansion, the college reallocated some resources, which included the teachers' offices.

Jiao Ba's original office was divided into three offices for young lecturers, and the college gave Jiao Ba another separate office, though its area was a bit smaller than the original, less than ten square meters.

At first the college worried that Associate Professor Jiao might have objections, but unexpectedly he expressed understanding and moved his things to the new office the next day. Because of this, the college leadership's good impression of him rose another notch.

Of course, the reason Associate Professor Jiao moved so easily certainly wasn't out of consideration for the college's superiors, rushing to meet their needs. Zheng Tan could also guess part of the reason. Since the college had already decided on this allocation, as faculty he could only accept; arguing would only cause him to lose out, especially since Jiao Ba was just a junior associate professor.

But Jiao Ba not only agreed to move offices, he didn't seem reluctant; the main reason was the new office's location. The office window faces south, allowing good sunlight in winter, and the most crucial point is that it's at a corner on the second floor, with a large Chinese parasol tree by the road below; its branches extend to the window side, making it convenient for Zheng Tan to jump in when he comes to see Jiao Ba.

So often when Zheng Tan got tired from playing or bored, he would run to the Life Sciences building and jump directly from the parasol tree branches onto Jiao Ba's office windowsill. Normally Jiao Ba didn't lock the window, only doing so when leaving at night. Thus after jumping onto the sill, Zheng Tan could easily push open the screen and window with his paws; the window was a pull‑type, so if unlocked it was easy to push open.

Beside the computer chair in Jiao Ba's office there was also a small chair; whenever Jiao Yuan and the others weren't around, Zheng Tan would lie on it to sleep.

That day was the same; after Zheng Tan kept company while Jiao Yuan and the others slept at home, he ran to the Life Sciences building, climbed in through the window into Jiao Ba's office to sleep. At that time the sunlight happened to shine on the chair, so Zheng Tan lay on the small chair to sunbathe and sleep, with no one disturbing him.

After sleeping until past five, Zheng Tan glanced at the wall clock and stretched. Jiao Ba probably wouldn't be coming home for dinner today either; lately he's always had students bring him meals.

Now Jiao Ba has three students under him: one is Yi Xin, who is doing graduate research under Jiao Ba; the other two are undergraduates working on their bachelor's theses with Jiao Ba. Recently Jiao Ba has been eating meals with them, and the four often work until midnight.

Although earlier Boss Jiao said he would take in a few more graduate students next year, when it came time to select he still followed his usual standards. Some teachers in the college already have several recommended‑admission graduate students in their labs advancing projects, but on Jiao Ba's side there remains only Yi Xin as a true direct disciple.

The promising graduates about to finish either go abroad or are snapped up by a few big names in the college; the slightly better leftovers are divided among teachers who have many projects and more money. Finally, those remaining who came in through recommended admission, Boss Jiao didn't fancy any of them, thinking he'd wait until after the national graduate entrance exam to see which applicants show up.

Besides being busy with project research, Jiao Ba also had to keep an eye on Yuan Zhiyi's company.

Yuan Zhiyi's company is called "Tianyuan Biological"; the "Tian" comes from one character in Professor Yuan's old name, and the "Yuan" is a homophone of "Yuan".

Zheng Tan had heard Jiao Ba and Yuan Zhiyi chatting that they might later set up a dedicated R&D department, but for now the company's talent pool is limited; many excellent people aren't willing to join a newly founded small firm. So for Jiao Ba and Yuan Zhiyi, the task is arduous and the road long.

Associate Professor Jiao now buys some experimental equipment and supplies from the company, allowing him to get more necessities for less money; Yuan Zhiyi also voiced support, and if this project succeeds it will be of great use for Jiao Ba's promotion to professor.

Associate Professor Jiao also recommends the company to teachers who want to save project funds, without openly saying he has a stake, merely mentioning it casually in conversation. Those teachers have plenty of projects, with granted funds ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions, and they hope to get rich from these allocations, buying equipment and supplies—this cat‑nip (i. e., the sweet spot) is understood by Associate Professor Jiao and Yuan Zhiyi, but they say little about it.

After waiting another ten or so minutes, when the hour hand pointed to six, Zheng Tan jumped out the window, pulled it shut, and went home to eat. After eating he continued to wander outside. During this time A Huang had been kept under tighter supervision, but Jingzhang and Da Pang remained as usual, often following Zheng Tan to play until late before returning.

Because the weather was cold, aside from some students coming out for class or self‑study, many places were empty at night, which was good for the cats—at least they could play without being disturbed.

Occasionally he would run into couples doing intimate things in secluded corners; then Zheng Tan would hide at the side to watch, reminiscing about his former self, recalling how when he first entered college he often invited a few girls to the school's out‑of‑the‑way spots for some fun, seeking novelty and excitement.

And whenever he encountered such a scene, Zheng Tan couldn't help wondering, when he himself was "doing it" back then, why hadn't he noticed whether any cats were peeking around? Perhaps even if he had seen a cat back then he wouldn't have thought much of it.

Zheng Tan brought Jingzhang and Da Pang to the woods where he usually climbs trees; this period they've been playing here at night, along with some cats from elsewhere—there are cats kept by the logistics staff, and also some from off campus, since this area is already the edge of Chu Hua Da Xue, close to the side gate, and many off‑campus cats often come here to play.

With many cats around, fighting is natural; Jingzhang has already fought many bouts, while Da Pang remains as usual—no one provokes him, and he couldn't care less about other cats.

Zheng Tan himself had been in a fight once, triggered by a female cat.

Zheng Tan swore he had no interest in that female cat at all; deep down he still regarded himself as a person, and he couldn't get excited over a cat—he'd rather go to a secluded corner of the school to watch those live‑action erotic shows. But the female cat still came up to him, which made him feel hostile toward her.

So Zheng Tan fought that off‑campus cat; it wasn't really a fight—he slapped it once and the cat rolled away. He hadn't controlled his strength, using a bit too much force.

Therefore the cats that witnessed that scene, when they saw Zheng Tan again, all kept their distance; the cat he slapped didn't come near the woods for a long time afterward, and even if it did show up it dared not provoke him.

In the nighttime woods, aside from the rustling and falling of leaves stirred by gusts of wind, there was also the sound of a lone cat darting about in the forest.

Cats can express affection either directly or coyly. Two cats that get along well will unfortunately lick each other's fur; licking and licking they may start to bite, biting and biting they'll swipe paws and kick legs to fight, and after fighting they'll still lie together in a clingy heap.

Thus Zheng Tan often sees two cats darting through the grass, chasing and striking each other; he hears the miserable yowl of a bitten cat, and then shortly afterward the two cats snuggle up again to lick each other's fur.

In the grass under the tree, a lone cat runs back and forth, occasionally one hears a cat's meow; Zheng Tan paid them no mind.

Zheng Tan liked such nights—undisturbed, under the cover of darkness, even if he acted shockingly he wouldn't be spotted, allowing him to run about without restraint.

Those cats darted through the grass, while Zheng Tan darted through the trees, from one tree to another like a monkey; under the moonlight only a vague black shadow could be glimpsed, and without close inspection it couldn't be seen.

Night, black cat.

Zheng Tan quickened his steps; the sense of safety from being high up and the self‑satisfaction of looking down on everything made him unwilling to stop, so he ran along the branches, and when he neared the treetops he kicked off and leapt onto another tree.

Facing the evening breeze, sometimes he'd encounter falling leaves, brush them aside and press on, as if breaking through a barrier, his heart feeling suddenly opened, making Zheng Tan inexcitably excited.

When Zheng Tan stopped and came to his senses, he realized he had shaken off those cats by some distance, though Jingzhang and Da Pang would surely come this way later, and the other few cats would follow after.

Standing on a branch, Zheng Tan caught his breath, breathing in the cool evening wind; the chill stimulated his nerves, letting the earlier excitement gradually subside.

He lifted a paw to scoop up the fallen leaves, stepped on them with his claws, filed his claws, shredded the leaves into small pieces, and when a gust blew, the shredded leaves scattered.

After Zheng Tan finished scratching two leaves, he still hadn't heard any movement from Jingzhang and Da Pang, and inwardly complained why they hadn't arrived yet.

Suddenly Zheng Tan's ears twitched, and he looked toward a certain direction ahead.

From that side came dragging sounds and other noises, as if someone had their mouth covered, only able to emit sound from the nostrils; the struggle caused the surrounding bushes to emit rapid, short‑pitched rustling.

From the sound, the one with the mouth covered was a female; besides her, Zheng Tan also heard a lowered male voice, not knowing what was said, and the sound went deeper into the woods.

Zheng Tan lightened his steps, carefully leapt onto another tree, using the rustling of leaves stirred by gusts of evening wind as cover, and moved toward that spot.

Soon Zheng Tan understood what had happened; in fact, even without seeing it himself he could infer it.

Every university has one or two so‑called "PhD lanes".

This isn't a good term; in fact it's full of sarcasm.

In many universities, especially those with large campuses, there are one or two secluded spots far from the center where bad incidents occur from time to time; the most typical are forced‑sex‑type events.

As for the victims, the school gives compensation according to severity; for example, tuition waivers for graduate or doctoral study. Over time, these high‑frequency accident zones have been dubbed by students as "PhD lanes" or other names.

Since Zheng Tan often strolls around this area, he also overhears chats of students or school staff resting here, and there's plenty of gossip about such incidents.

Chu Hua Da Xue has also seen quite a few incidents in this area before; because it's remote, the surroundings are mostly half‑derelict old houses, the long history means the original planning no longer fits today, the roads have too many turns, and aside from some necessary engineering vehicles, private cars are unwilling to come this way.

The streetlights around here are often smashed; repaired, they get broken again within a week, no one knows who does it. Installing campus broadcasts here also gets destroyed, perpetrators can't be caught, evidence can't be found, so the school eventually gave up, merely having some homeroom teachers or counselors gently advise students not to go alone to those secluded spots at night. Among the areas warned about, this grove is one. That's why Zheng Tan has so far rarely seen female students in these woods.

Perhaps this is also why the college is demolishing the old houses around here and building new ones to draw crowds, liven up the vicinity, and lower the probability of such incidents occurring?

Zheng Tan pondered the gossip he'd heard earlier while moving toward the incident site; at the same time he heard those damned‑behind cats behind him also running over here.

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