Chapter 375

As in past years, this year's New Year was also spent returning to Jiao Ba's hometown.

Compared to last year, Zheng Tan finally gave out the biggest red envelope this year. When Jiao Yuan received the red envelope, he still felt awkward, while Xiao Youzi didn't say anything, but after returning home Zheng Tan saw Xiao Youzi put the money-filled red envelope into her piggy bank, which already contained last year's red envelope.

Only Jiao Yuan, Xiao Youzi, and Jiao Ba in the Jiao family knew about Zheng Tan giving the red envelope; they didn't let Jiao Ma know, otherwise she would have nagged for a long time.

After the year ended, everyone went their separate ways, getting busy—those who work went to work, those who study went to school.

Zheng Tan was also busy, because someone came looking for him again.

Yang Yi acted as the intermediary, but the one who actually sought Zheng Tan was Li Wei.

Li Wei wanted to shoot a set of photos, photos with animals, apparently for some animal protection publicity. Before coming to find Zheng Tan, Li Wei had also done some shoots with other animals.

Although there were several animals involved in the collaborative shoot, only one would ultimately be chosen, and that one was very likely to end up on the cover of a fashion magazine.

This made Xiao Guo very excited, even though it wasn't really his business; after all, Zheng Tan had signed a contract with his studio, so he bore some responsibility and was therefore quite concerned about the matter.

Accompanying Li Wei was a dedicated photography crew, who would follow her to various locations to shoot, since many animals like Zheng Tan aren't convenient to take far away. Zheng Tan was sent by Xiao Guo to Li Wei's studio in Chu Hua Shi, and the photography team also included several foreigners; before shooting, they had to undergo several days of 'training'.

Zheng Tan didn't know whether the few animals that had previously shot with Li Wei had also undergone this training; he only knew that this time Li Wei's company offered a generous payment. There was also free training, which Zheng Tan didn't mind— to him it was just a bit boring. When he accepted the assignment, Zheng Tan wondered if he'd have to walk a T‑stage, but upon arrival he realized he merely had to strike a few poses as requested, cooperating with Li Wei.

Needless to say, a supermodel is a supermodel—just standing there, presence comes naturally. To avoid being outshone by Li Wei's aura, Zheng Tan reined in his initial nonchalance. Having taken on the job, he had to treat it seriously, after all, the reward was tied to it.

After the shoot, Li Wei gave Zheng Tan a red envelope; the money inside was enough to replenish the red envelopes he had given out during the New Year, with some left over. This made Zheng Tan very happy.

Li Wei and her company's people didn't stay in Chu Hua Shi for long; they were rushing. Li Wei still had another show coming up soon.

Xiao Guo said that if the photo from this collaboration between Zheng Tan and Li Wei were selected, Zheng Tan would make it big, and there would also be other opportunities that others could hardly imagine.

Zheng Tan actually didn't care much about the 'opportunity' Xiao Guo mentioned. If it meant filming another movie, he didn't want to go through that again—one such experience was enough, and he had no intention of making a career out of it, unlike Qi Dada.

The appearance of Li Wei and her team didn't really change Zheng Tan's life; he remained Zheng Tan, a cat in the compound that looks much like an ordinary house cat.

In the warm spring when flowers bloom, the campus is always lively, whether it's people or animals.

Zheng Tan went out for a stroll, then returned and headed to the downstairs balcony of Da Pang's house to pull out his access card and key, intending to go upstairs, when he heard a sound coming from the fourth floor.

"One monk, hey, carrying water to drink~ hehey, carrying water to drink~"

A bald guy came out onto the third‑floor balcony and shouted at the fourth floor: "If you sing that song again, I'll come up and pluck your feathers!"

The nasty bird in the fourth‑floor cage strained to look out, then said: "Bald donkey!"

Zheng Tan, Er Mao: "……"

"I……" He wanted to swear, but considering there was still his daughter at home, Er Mao forced back the curse that had popped out—"cao"—and shouted at the fourth floor: "You just wait!"

"Damn it, why hasn't my hair grown back yet!" Er Mao thought resentfully.

Er Mao moved into the compound with his wife and children when the weather warmed up in March this year—or rather, he was still renting the same third‑floor apartment he had before; the original owner had already moved out many of his belongings, and after clearing out a room, the study was turned into a nursery, the secondary bedroom given to the hired nanny, and Hei Mi also came along.

Since he had lived here before, the smell was still somewhat familiar, and after moving in Hei Mi adapted quickly, without becoming agitated and vocal due to the change of location.

With the nanny helping tidy up, the place wasn't as messy as before; after all, he's now a married man with a child, and compared to his former sloppy self, Er Mao has become much steadier. Of course, if it weren't for that bald head, people might still believe he'd matured, but the bald head changes that impression.

Speaking of Er Mao's bald head, it happened when his daughter Er Yuan celebrated her birthday this year—Er Mao was overjoyed, and while helping her blow out the candles he got carried away, leaned in too close, and the birthday candle scorched a patch of his hair. Fortunately he wasn't burned and it was nothing serious, so afterward Er Mao simply shaved his head completely. The one‑year‑old Er Yuan would then pat her father's bald head a couple of times, making a slap‑slap sound; Er Mao didn't get angry, just let her do it, and if the hair that grew back felt prickly to her, he'd shave it off again.

Just like how Master Fang San dotes on his daughter, pulling hair and slapping palms is entirely up to them; as long as the daughter is happy, nothing is a problem.

His wife and daughter didn't mind Er Mao's bald head, but the bald head sometimes gives people a poor first impression. For example, a few days ago Er Mao took his daughter to see a flower exhibition; when they left, the venue's security stopped them, and even a police officer who happened to be patrolling the area came over to inquire, asking Er Mao to show his ID and giving him a suspicious glance.

A bald man wearing sunglasses doesn't look very respectable, especially when he's holding a clean, pretty little girl in his arms—looks suspicious from any angle. Adding to that, there had been several child‑trafficking cases earlier in the year, so people stopped Er Mao outright.

Qin Tao and his friends teased him a lot over this, saying Er Mao just wasn't suited to a bald head, so Er Mao decided that unless his hair fell out naturally, he wouldn't go shaving his head like others.

Because his wife and her friends went abroad to attend some cat show, Er Mao simply brought his daughter to stay at the compound of Chu Hua Da Xue; compared to the environment back home, he still prefers this place—there are many kids, the people around are nice, and Er Mao doesn't expect his daughter to become erudite and multi‑talented; he just wants her to be healthy. This place merely serves as a supplementary aid.

As for this, Er Mao's parents were quite supportive; nowadays many neighborhood relations in residential complexes are indifferent, and one doesn't know their background, plus Er Mao's parents don't trust his character. Being able to grow up in a good environment, at least his granddaughter won't end up twisted like her father, right?

But Er Mao never expected that, as soon as he moved in, he would be mocked by that bird on the fourth floor.

What's wrong with its song that it has to sing about monks? This is clearly a mockery, and now it's even calling him a 'bald donkey'.

Simply… simply outrageous!

Aside from the problem with that nasty bird, Er Mao feels that life here is still quite harmonious.

With the nanny around, there's no worry about food and drink; he just needs to take his daughter out each day. Don't be fooled by Er Mao's idle days with no work—his pocket stays full, and the money in his bank account keeps growing; every now and then you check and find another few hundred thousand have appeared. Even his parents don't know how many investments he's made; back then the old couple urged him to do some honest work, save up, and marry a wife, but now his wife has given birth to a child.

With his purse also well‑filled, the old couple no longer bother to meddle in Er Mao's affairs; instead of getting headaches whenever they bring him up, they'd rather talk about their granddaughter.

Every afternoon, Er Mao takes his daughter downstairs to exchange experiences with other people in the compound who are out walking with their kids. The elderly residents of the compound are very enthusiastic about these little children, and Er Mao has even placed Er Yuan on the back of the Saint Bernard puppy Xiao Hua for a few rides; many kids in the compound really like Xiao Hua, whereas compared to the bull‑terrier Zhuang Zhuang—which many see as small, misshapen, and fierce—this gentle giant Xiao Hua is indeed very popular among the children. Of course, few parents would feel comfortable letting their own kids approach Zhuang Zhuang, since everyone knows this breed is not easy to get along with, and Zhuang Zhuang has truly bitten people more than once.

That morning, Zheng Tan went out for a stroll; when he came downstairs he saw Er Mao on the third floor moving a four‑wheel children's princess carriage down, and after bringing it down Er Mao went back up to fetch his daughter.

Is he going to take the kid out for a walk again??

Zheng Tan had once tried lifting that carriage; it weighed about thirty kilograms. Since it looked inconspicuous, he initially assumed it was like the plastic cars the kids in the compound usually use, weighing only ten or so kilograms, but when he actually tried it he found it was fairly heavy, and Er Mao hauls it up and down several times a day without complaining.

If you look closely, you'll discover that the carriage contains a lot of hidden engineering; many protective measures are well done, making it absolutely sturdier and safer than it appears.

After Er Mao carried Er Yuan downstairs, he let her walk over herself to open the carriage door and climb in.

Er Yuan is now over one year old but not yet one and a half; she can walk, but can't run, and getting into the carriage takes some effort—however, since she's played with it before, the sequence of motions is familiar, and if she can't climb in, Er Mao gives her a hand.

Once Er Yuan was seated in the carriage, Er Mao had her fasten the safety belt; Zheng Tan checked and indeed there was a safety belt—the equipment is quite complete.

Er Mao was wearing a tracksuit today; once everything was ready, he pulled out a small remote control and set off, and at the same time the princess carriage that Er Yuan was sitting in began to move.

Using a vehicle to walk the child now seems fairly common; it's no longer as novel as it was when Zhuo Xiao Mao was little, and many young parents have taken to this method.

When Er Mao runs faster than the carriage, he slows down, switches from running to walking, waits for the carriage to catch up, then starts a light jog again—no matter what, he never lets the children's carriage get far from him.

Er Yuan seems quite excited, not at all afraid, smiling all the while, and occasionally she pats the steering wheel inside the carriage that doesn't really do anything.

Watching the two of them, Zheng Tan thought it was quite leisurely to bring a child out for a stroll first thing in the morning.

Anyway, he was idle, so Zheng Tan followed and ran over to them. (To be continued…)

ps: First release a chapter, continue writing.

There's only one day left this month; if you have a ticket, don't hold onto it.