Chapter 326

Zheng Tan had been curled up in his backpack, only popping his head out when he heard Qin Tao's voice; just as he stuck his head out, wondering how this guy could be here, he caught Qin Tao's following remark.

No matter when or where, Qin Tao always acts like a goofball, and no medicine can fix that.

Two minutes later, Qin Tao and Er Mao were laughing "hahaha" at the restaurant entrance until they couldn't straighten their waists; passersby stared at them as if they were lunatics—no, actually there were three of them. Another person had come out with Er Mao from inside; Zheng Tan didn't know him, but he could tell he was on good terms with Er Mao and Qin Tao.

Even with a thick face, Fang Wenjie couldn't help feeling embarrassed under the strange stares of so many passersby; his composure fell far short of Er Mao's and Qin Tao's. As for Fang Mengmeng, she had already stepped back several paces when Qin Tao began his "haha" laugh, putting distance between herself and Fang Wenjie and glancing elsewhere to show she wasn't with those goofballs. Zhong Yan and his friend felt a bit awkward, unsure how to respond, still lacking the thick skin to brush it off.

Qin Tao and Er Mao came to the capital just to attend a friend's wedding; they had arrived two days early to hang out, but they never expected to run into Zheng Tan and his companions the moment they stepped out, and they also noticed Zheng Tan wearing a coat that clashed badly with his own style.

Er Mao said, "Hei Tan, how did you end up like this?" as he tugged the bear ears on that polar bear hat, and with his other hand he snapped a few photos on his phone to show his wife later, joining in the laughter—uh, and later he'll also buy some new clothes for Hei Mi.

Zheng Tan couldn't be bothered with those two idiots, though he wondered—Er Mao aside, how did Qin Tao recognize him at a glance?

Just then he heard Qin Tao say in surprise, "Ah? This cat really is Hei Tan?"

Zheng Tan: "…" Turns out I overestimated this guy's eyesight.

Er Mao paused mid-text: "If you didn't recognize him, what were you laughing about just now?" He laughed because he was accustomed to seeing this black cat always solemn and serious; in Chu Hua Shi, aside from the little vest, he'd never seen the cat wear anything else, and spotting this outfit today made him burst out laughing—it was like seeing a burly man in a doll's costume, the contrast was too stark.

"I just think this cat looks pretty stupid—obviously it has a black face yet it's wearing all white," Qin Tao said.

Just thinking that the cat in front of him was the black cat from Chu Hua Shi, Qin Tao, who had just stopped, started laughing again.

Hearing Fang Wenjie say that Zheng Tan had come to the capital to film a documentary, Er Mao and Qin Tao were both surprised, and they also said they would definitely go to support it and do some extra promotion when the time came.

Not only Qin Tao and Er Mao—Zhong Yan, standing nearby, also heard it, and he thought that once the documentary came out he would visit the forums of his school and a few nearby schools to spread the word, since those university forums were still quite active; he believed the effect would be good.

The documentary still hadn't been released, and Yang Yi and Xiao Guo hadn't begun promotion either, yet the ads had already been aired. Although documentaries seldom enjoy the star effect of films or TV dramas, rarely involve hype, and few of the people featured are recognizable to the audience—most are ordinary folks—Yang Yi probably never imagined the advertising impact Zheng Tan's trip would generate.

Apparently finally realizing they'd lost face, the group headed into the restaurant. Er Mao had wanted Fang Wenjie to skip a separate private room and join them, but since his side only had three people today he reconsidered, guessing that if they all sat together their topics wouldn't click—Qin Tao would surely keep going on about his "a man's demeanor is directly tied to the kind of wife he marries" spiel, while Fang Wenjie would likely keep complaining about his menopausal homeroom teacher—so it was better to stay apart, speaking freely without restraint being the way to enjoy themselves.

Upon entering the restaurant and the parties splitting up, Er Mao still called Zheng Tan over to say a few words.

Zheng Tan's irritation from being mocked earlier hadn't faded, and he wasn't giving Er Mao any good looks, but after hearing what Er Mao said, Zheng Tan uncharacteristically became serious.

Er Mao told Zheng Tan that yesterday when he went out he had seen A Wu and heard some things, and the matter also concerned cats.

If Er Mao hadn't mentioned it, Zheng Tan would have almost forgotten about the former cat trainer A Wu. Apparently, as part of a series of events scheduled for the capital next year, the relevant authorities have accelerated investigations into certain criminal cases and potentially threatening individuals; after A Wu arrived in the capital, through some unknown channel he was recruited to assist in the investigation and apprehension, and unexpectedly those cats had actually made considerable contributions.

Ordinary people wouldn't think much of seeing a cat in broad daylight or at night; in areas like drug detection, firefighting, search and rescue, manhunts, etc., only dogs are widely known—who would think to involve cats? When those cats were taken in, they still didn't know exactly where they had slipped up and given themselves away.

Er Mao was just giving a reminder; he didn't think Zheng Tan would get involved, but it's also a heads-up: don't let yourself be duped later, don't let someone set you up as a pawn, especially don't be taken in by that so-called A Wu—this isn't Chu Hua Shi, nobody's covering for Zheng Tan, and if something happens he might not find help in time, after all he's just a cat with no rights and no legal protection; if he dies it's a pointless death, and if something really goes wrong the Jiao family would likely break down in tears in the bathroom.

Fang Mengmeng and Fang Wenjie surely haven't heard of this; if it weren't for happening to bump into Er Mao today, Zheng Tan wouldn't have known. Even now that he knows, he doesn't think he'll have any connection with those A Wu people; besides, in these days in the capital he hasn't seen any familiar cats or suspicious individuals—maybe he just hasn't noticed—but thinking about it, in two or three days someone will send Zheng Tan back to Chu Hua Shi, where he'll have more people to rely on, and if anything happens someone will have his back.

Thinking this through, Zheng Tan's recently anxious heart settled; it's only two or three days—just stay low-key, don't be curious, don't meddle, don't get into trouble, eat your fill, drink your fill, sleep, and it'll pass.

When Er Mao told Zheng Tan about this, he didn't let anyone else hear, and nobody else would have thought Er Mao would actually say such things to a cat, so they didn't ask further.

Just as Er Mao had anticipated, Fang Wenjie spent the private room nonstop complaining about his homeroom teacher, then he ran through each teacher from other subjects, pulling them out one by one to criticize—whether he liked them or not, he could always drag out a long list of reasons. If Er Mao and Qin Tao had been there, Fang Wenjie might not have said all those things, since he wasn't sure whether they'd turn around and go tell his father.

Zhong Yan and his friend were just listening nearby, while Fang Mengmeng had long grown accustomed to Fang Wenjie's remarks, eating expressionlessly at the side and at the same time adding some dishes to Zheng Tan's plate.

While raising Hei Mi, Fang Mengmeng had read plenty of professional literature, noting what's edible and what shouldn't be fed, etc.; but her father also said this black cat is special and can't be judged by common sense, so after some hesitation she followed his advice and simply gave it some vegetables.

Relationships always can leap forward over drinks; after the meal, Fang Wenjie had become quite familiar with Zhong Yan and his friend, and their conversation grew casual.

After the meal, the three exchanged contact details; Fang Wenjie offered to send a car for Zhong Yan and his friend, but Zhong Yan declined, saying they could just take the bus—it's still early and there are direct routes. Er Mao and the others were still inside eating; after they finish they'll go out to have fun, though none would dare anything too outrageous now—one is married, one is about to marry, and Qin Tao is in the process of turning over a new leaf. As Fang Wenjie left and went over to say hello, the three were already drinking happily, presumably chatting about topics unsuitable for minors; he hadn't even gotten two sentences out before he was shoved out the door.

The driver who was to pick up Fang Mengmeng and Fang Wenjie got the call and arrived shortly after.

The night was chilly, but the car interior was warm.

Zheng Tan leaned against the window, peering at the night scenery outside.

Billboards for some major event slated for next year lined many streets; endless streams of vehicles and all kinds of people flashed by as the car drove past, giving Zheng Tan no chance to linger—even if he'd just spotted a tall foreign beauty, he didn't have time to stare for more than a few seconds.

Probably from eating too much tonight, his gastrointestinal absorption was overly active, reducing blood flow to his head and limbs, leaving his brain undersupplied; combined with the car's warmth, Zheng Tan felt drowsy. Beside him, Fang Wenjie was already asleep, and Fang Mengmeng was yawning.

At a red light, the car stopped.

After another yawn, Zheng Tan glanced outside.

Huh?!

Zheng Tan sat up and pressed himself against the window to look out.

Three meters away from their car, by the sidewalk there was a row of stone bollards; on one of them sat a cat—a white-bodied cat with a black tail.

Many cats worldwide have that coloration, but Zheng Tan could still tell at a glance that this was the same cat he'd seen before beside A Wu; he recalled its name was probably Guiyuan or something like that.

The car window was filmed, so no one inside could be seen from outside, and Guiyuan naturally couldn't see Zheng Tan either.

He remembered that previously this cat had been accompanied by two others, named Lianzi and Babao; but as Zheng Tan pressed himself against the window to look around carefully, searching for the other two cats, the car moved and soon Guiyuan was out of sight.

The chill from the car window cleared Zheng Tan's head a little; based on what Er Mao had told him, Zheng Tan wondered what Guiyuan and its companions were actually up to—drug detection? manhunt? That really seemed plausible. When he'd encountered them before, those three had been pretty well trained, so doing similar work would make sense; Zheng Tan himself had even participated in similar operations.

Regardless of what they were doing, Zheng Tan felt it had nothing to do with him; in two or three days he'd be heading back to Chu Hua Shi, and the capital's affairs were none of his concern, so he quickly put those thoughts out of his mind.

The driver first took Fang Wenjie home, then drove Fang Mengmeng and Zheng Tan back.

When they arrived at Fang Mengmeng's house, Zheng Tan saw Hei Mi running outside, and in front of Hei Mi was a little pug in a cotton jacket, its tail tucked, darting about wildly.

Upon hearing the car's sound, Hei Mi finally ran over here, no longer chasing that pug.

The pug then barked a few times in this direction, bluffing; Hei Mi took two steps toward it, and the dog immediately ran farther off, waiting until Hei Mi stopped before barking again.

"Hei Mi, you're bullying it again!" Fang Mengmeng scooped up the running Hei Mi.

Zheng Tan could see clearly that Hei Mi's paws still had dog fur caught between them; it seemed Hei Mi was quite ferocious, just like its father—sure to be a formidable fighter if it ever got into a scrap.

One can't help but marvel, this family's genes are truly formidable. (To be continued...)