Chapter 377: Let Me Tell You

During school time, he stood outside without his backpack, just holding a file bag, coldly looking this way. This was very different from the Xiao Jiu Zheng Tan usually saw.

This child Xiao Jiu, when she likes someone she is extremely good and very considerate of others; the opposite is also true—when she dislikes someone, even her blood-related father is the same, especially since this father once sold her; if Zheng Tan hadn't helped her back then, perhaps Xiao Jiu would not be alive now.

Repay kindness with kindness, repay grudges with grudges—decisive and ruthless enough. Perhaps this is why Blind Old Master Kun Ye originally allowed Xiao Jiu to stay.

Given Xiao Jiu's current backing, there's no need to fear these people at all. So Zheng Tan isn't worried that Xiao Jiu will be bullied by them; he only worries that, given Xiao Jiu's current age, she may not be able to make a decision.

Seeing Xiao Jiu, the few people over there became excited; her father even planned to shout a couple of habitual curses, but Xiao Jiu simply waved her hand, signaling them to move elsewhere to talk.

"Hey, you little brat, you made me look hard for you…" As her father approached, he still intended to raise his hand, but upon meeting Xiao Jiu's gaze he forcibly stopped himself.

He was afraid.

Without another glance at this blood-related father, Xiao Jiu led the four of them to a not-too-large restaurant, where a "Closed for Business" sign hung at the door; she ignored it and pushed the door open to go inside.

Inside, the boss and staff were each doing their own things as usual, showing no curiosity about the five who had entered, as if they had already known, and didn't give them a second glance, just carrying on with their work.

The five sat around a table, and a server brought over a cup of water. Yes, there was only one cup, placed solely in front of Xiao Jiu; as for the other four, they were treated as if they weren't there.

"Hey, what's going on here? Don't you know the customer is God? If you don't even know this, what business are you running?" the leader shouted.

As soon as his words fell, the three waiters and the boss in the restaurant rolled up their sleeves, looked over, with extremely unfriendly eyes.

"Or should I send you to meet God?" the boss said with a light smile.

The leader choked, turned his head resentfully, no longer wanting to argue; he now just wanted to quickly collect the debt and leave.

Xiao Jiu drank some water, set down the cup intending to speak, then caught sight of a black cat standing outside the window; a smile flashed in her eyes, which had been filled with complex emotion. She quickly rose and opened the door.

"Hei Tan!"

The leader's face twitched again and again. Another black cat? When they were beaten up at Chu Hua Da Xue not long ago, there seemed to be only a black cat present. Indeed. Running into a black cat never brings good. However, the cat's name sounds just like that black cat from that day—could it be the same one? Though this place isn't all that close to Chu Hua Da Xue.

After Zheng Tan entered, he openly squatted on a chair nearby, watching the developments unfold, lending Xiao Jiu his support.

A staff member in the restaurant pursed his lips at the boss: "Boss, there's a cat!"

Another staff member quietly said to the boss: "That cat is so calm—does it know Xiao Jiu? It's pretty bold, not at all afraid of strangers."

The restaurant boss curled the corner of his mouth, having heard that this cat even dares to play with Kun Ye's beard—what wouldn't it dare? Others might not know, but he's heard rumors about this cat.

Because of Zheng Tan's presence, the atmosphere in the restaurant shifted just a little.

Xiao Jiu took a deep breath, pulled out the contents of the file bag—a thin sheet of paper, as if just printed, with no creases or stains, stark white.

She pushed the paper toward her father and said, "Sign this agreement, and we'll have bridge to bridge, road to road—no further relation."

Xiao Jiu's father doesn't fully recognize characters, but he can understand most of it; the paper clearly states that Xiao Jiu will help him repay his debt, after which they will owe nothing to each other, and the debt of upbringing is considered settled.

Seeing that he could repay the money, Xiao Jiu's father didn't think much, picked up a pen, signed his name, and also pressed a fingerprint.

Xiao Jiu lowered her eyelids, making it hard for those around to see what she was thinking; she appeared calm, but Zheng Tan could tell from her clenched fists that she wasn't as composed as she seemed. Regardless, after all she is blood kin; the man signing the agreement showed little hesitation, having come this far, Zheng Tan didn't know what to say.

Er Mao and the man before him are both fathers—why is the difference so great? Is it because of poverty? Or something else?

This agreement is merely Xiao Jiu's probe; even before Blind Old Master Kun Ye decided to keep Xiao Jiu, all the paperwork had already been completed, so Xiao Jiu no longer has any relation with this family, and even if they met in court she would have ample proof to win overwhelmingly.

From the moment this man signed, Xiao Jiu truly made a clean break with the past.

She crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the trash bin; as the man across from her prepared to shout, Xiao Jiu produced a card and placed it in front of the debt collector leader.

"The password is six 9s," she said, then took out three hundred-yuan bills from her pocket, pointed at the blood-related man sitting opposite, but looked at the leader and said, "You take this person from wherever he came and send him back where he belongs—I don't want to see him again. If he shows up here again, neither he nor any of you will get away."

"You're threatening me?!"

The leader rose to his feet—but before he could straighten up, a cleaver chopped down beside his arm, nearly grazing the arm and sinking into the table; his sleeve was already slit, and a little more offset would have sliced off a chunk of flesh.

What knife technique! Zheng Tan thought.

Whether the three debt collectors or Xiao Jiu's father, their faces were deathly pale; the leader's face twitched a few times as he looked toward where the knife had come from.

Over there, the boss at the mealtime sat at the cash register, his fingers tapping the tabletop rhythmically, still wearing his usual smile, as if what he'd just done were something utterly ordinary: "Whoops, sorry, my hand slipped—I was actually trying to swat a fly."

A staff member seated by the doorway watched the people at this table, hehehed, and on his fingers a table knife spun rapidly, as naturally as twirling a pen, yet his fingers remained unharmed.

Damn it, I'll absolutely never come to this restaurant to eat again, even if I starve!

This was the shared thought of the three debt collectors.

If they still didn't grasp the situation now, that would be pretty brainless; fortunately these three debt collectors haven't gone completely brainless—they can assess the situation, and since they can't dominate here, having already gotten the money, leaving early is the right move.

Forcing composure, the leader put away the card and the three hundred dollars, and the man with the beard stubble hurried out the door.

After walking a short distance, the three debt collectors finally let out a long breath; after the fright came anger. The leader raised his hand and slapped Xiao Jiu's father: "It's all because of you! Damn it!"

The beard-stubble man didn't dare to speak in defense, continuing to shrink back.

"What do we do now?" another asked.

"What else can we do? Naturally we find an ATM to check if there's money on the card."

"If there's no money, should we go back and demand it?"

"..." The three fell silent.

Inside the restaurant, the atmosphere suddenly became harmonious again. The staff and boss comforted Xiao Jiu a bit; they knew her, she often came here to eat, and sometimes she even napped here.

The restaurant boss set down a plate of covered rice before Xiao Jiu: "Eat up, then hurry back to class."

Xiao Jiu spooned the food into her mouth bite by bite. She hadn't eaten breakfast that morning, and these past days she had no appetite because of this matter; her head hung low, she ate while tears streamed down, her face showing no expression.

After all, she's still a child.

Nobody in the restaurant spoke; the boss gently patted her head and set a bowl of warm red bean soup beside her.

After finishing the meal and drinking the red bean soup, Xiao Jiu returned to being the lively Xiao Jiu.

Zheng Tan escorted Xiao Jiu to school, worried she'd be reprimanded for being two periods late; but upon entering, she produced a sick note and hospital certificate from her bag, and seeing her slightly red eyes, the person in charge at the school gate didn't feel like saying more and simply let her in.

Zheng Tan: "……"

After watching Xiao Jiu enter the classroom, Zheng Tan then went back. Whether it's Xiao Jiu or Xiao Youzi, as their grade level rises, their classroom floor goes up too, making it inconvenient for Zheng Tan to go up.

At the restaurant where Xiao Jiu had stayed, the "Closed for Business" sign at the entrance had already been taken down.

"Hey, boss, who were those three cowards just now? So arrogant," a staff member said.

The boss casually waved his hand: "It's nothing worth mentioning; just toss them out of the territory another day."

Those three people who were deemed 'not up to the table' stared at the numbers displayed on the ATM, immersed in thoughts of how much money they could get, completely unaware that they had already been targeted.

As some people once said, without that discernment, you won't last long in any line of work you get into.

Zheng Tan, returning to school, felt heavy-hearted because of Little Nine's matter; he thought about how Er Mao treated Er Yuan, and how Little Nine's father treated Little Nine—the difference was stark. But then Zheng Tan recalled the time before he turned into a cat, that irresponsible father whom he only saw a few times a year, and then thought of the present Jiao Ba... tsk.

Familial affection is actually quite complex as well.

That's not right either.

After all, is it familial affection that's complex, or the human heart?

When passing by the kindergarten, Zheng Tan halted; this morning Zhuo Xiao Mao and company's last class seemed to be an outdoor activity lesson, so Zheng Tan leapt onto the fence rail and squatted there, waiting for Zhuo Xiao Mao and company's outdoor activity class to start.

Lately, Zhuo Xiao Mao's classmate has also been in a bad mood—why?

Zhuo wants to attend elementary school, but the teacher objects.

Six is the legal school-entry age, though some places still use seven; being too young may bring various inconveniences, and for many children, early enrollment isn't necessarily a good thing, which also puts schools in a difficult position.

Not long ago, when Zheng Tan came around, he heard Zhuo Xiao Mao complain that their teacher still made him attend an extra year of preschool; however, that little brat had once privately told Zheng Tan that even if he went to the Buddha grandpa to fool around, he still wanted to start elementary school this year. Because, if Zhuo Xiao Mao enters elementary school, per Xiao Zhuo's promise, she ought to return.

When the outdoor class started, the children in Zhuo Xiao Mao's class all ran outside, scrambling for their favorite climbing frames and 'castles' and such; only Zhuo Xiao Mao first glanced toward the wall, then narrowed her eyes in a smile and toddled over, running while shouting, 'Hei Ge, Hei Ge, let me tell you...'

Upon hearing those four words 'let me tell you,' Zheng Tan reflexively sat up straight. (To be continued...)

ps: third watch!