Chapter 409

No matter how much those reporters hate the person who wrote that article, this matter indeed sparked a period of heated discussion; some mainstream media also came out to give explanations due to public influence, and in the short term entertainment news won't necessarily decrease too much—at least it will be kept within certain limits—and some TV stations even aired additional interview programs full of positive energy in response to higher-level calls because of this.

In private, someone will surely look into who wrote the article, but unfortunately, Zheng Tan's phone was given by Liuba, and when posting online it has automatic protective measures, so those people can't find anything, which also reduces Zheng Tan's trouble.

During the period when Zheng Tan's impulsive post sparked heated discussion in society, Zheng Tan didn't pay much attention to the direction of the debate, and the Jiao family's focus was all on Jiao Yuan's exam. It wasn't the college entrance exam, but the recommendation qualification exam for Beijing University; after the written test, during the interview Jiao Ba took him to the capital, and while attending the interview they also visited two professors at Beijing University—one was an old professor Jiao Ba had long known, the other a young teacher Jiao Ba had met during his time abroad.

Precisely because there were acquaintances there, they got the notification early; the teachers at the affiliated middle school hadn't even called yet, but the Jiao family already had the news, and Jiao Yuan successfully obtained the recommendation qualification.

Besides Jiao Yuan, Su An was recommended to Ningda University, where his father's former advisor, a very impressive professor, awaited him—this was also something Su An's family had planned all along. As for Lan Tianzhu, she was recommended to Nanhua University.

Since he had obtained the recommendation qualification, Jiao Yuan didn't plan to go to school to stir up resentment, and many classmates were busy preparing for the exams. During the final push of senior year, it didn't look good for someone like Jiao Yuan, who had obtained a recommendation, to loiter in front of others, as it might be seen as disturbing morale; so after Jiao Ba spoke with the teachers at the affiliated middle school, he let Jiao Yuan hang out with his graduate students in the lab.

The Jiao family wasn't worried about Xiao Youzi's exam; judging by her monthly test scores from the last half of ninth grade and the competition awards she had won, getting into the affiliated middle school was no problem, so there was no need for parents to intervene.

Xiong Xiong and Fu Lei both had to take the college entrance exam, so during this period before the exam, Jiao Yuan, Lan Tianzhu, and Su An pulled Xiong Xiong and Fu Lei along for tutoring; after finally enduring until the exam ended, Xiong Xiong was almost so excited he almost went out waving his arms and streaking naked.

After the college entrance exam ended, the four little buddies from the compound and Fu Lei went out to have a wild celebration. Zheng Tan was dragged along by them. Why? Because Jiao Yuan and the others had long wanted to go to 'Triumph,' and Zheng Tan made a great 'pass.' So Zheng Tan brought those five guys, who already had personal ID cards, into the private room that belonged to him in Triumph.

Although these five people weren't all eighteen yet, the situation was special; the person in charge of Triumph, out of consideration for Zheng Tan's special 'access card,' didn't argue with these few youngsters who had just finished the college entrance exam and were in an excited state.

While the five were discussing how Zheng Tan's unique 'cat room' treatment was even better than a person's, Zheng Tan was thinking, if these guys go on to further education, should I give them something?

Thinking back, those guys used to be elementary schoolers with backpacks, knocking on the door to rummage through the fridge; at that time Yi Xin was merely a first-year graduate student working as a 'nanny.' Now those elementary schoolers have entered adulthood and are about to start a new life at a turning point, while Yi Xin has already returned from abroad and works as a teacher in the Life Sciences College of Chu Hua Da Xue, collaborating with Jiao Ba.

Although Jiao Ba now supervises many graduate students, among them—whether Zheng Tan or other members of the Jiao family—everyone still feels that Yi Xin is the most approachable; as Jiao Ba's first student, who back then both assisted him and served as a 'nanny,' the Jiao family's feelings for him are the deepest. Now in the Life Sciences College, Su Qu and Zeng Jing have already graduated and started working, and among the students Jiao Ba currently supervises, most still habitually follow the current senior apprentice Ke Heng and senior sister Dai Tong, calling Yi Xin 'Yi senior brother' rather than 'Yi teacher,' because addressing him as 'senior brother' feels more intimate.

Zheng Tan reminisced, marveling at how quickly time had passed; the Yi Xin who once broke a bicycle chain while riding now was a teacher, and those little troublemakers from back then had grown up.

Looking at the five people drinking beer from bottles, Zheng Tan pondered, maybe I should still send a graduation gift—after all, I've watched these guys grow up.

Until those five people had howled and reveled all night, sleeping until noon the next day before leaving Triumph, Zheng Tan still couldn't think of what gift to give. Since he couldn't come up with a good idea, Zheng Tan decided to simply give money.

After returning home, Zheng Tan took out five red envelopes from the drawer; these were extra money he had snatched from Grandpa Jiao during New Year's and hidden away for a rainy day, and now they came in handy.

He counted the cash currently in the drawer, averaged it out for the five people, and each got exactly five hundred.

After the scores came out, the admission notices arrived one after another, and following the successive celebration banquets, the five of them would each go their separate ways.

Fu Lei applied to another university in Chu Hua Shi; although the school isn't as good as Chu Hua Da Xue, it's still considered a good school within the province, and Fu Lei's parents are already very satisfied—compared to the troublemaker who used to love fighting back then, Fu Lei's performance now has exceeded their expectations.

Xiong Xiong was the only one staying at Chu Hua Da Xue; however, his scores seemed to fall just short, so his mother pulled strings to squeeze him in, not expecting him to become famous in academia later—just to gild his resume.

When the five prospective college students received the red envelopes and learned who had given them, each stared in disbelief as if seeing a tadpole turn into a monster, and then the other four grabbed Jiao Yuan by the neck.

"Speak, how many red envelopes have you gotten from your cat over the years! Let's split them fifty-fifty when we meet!"

From the initial disbelief, to gradual acceptance, to then 'interrogating' Jiao Yuan, the group had formed a tacit understanding: they knew jokes were jokes, but they still understood what could and couldn't be said; they accepted the red envelopes and promised Jiao Yuan they wouldn't spread the matter, and afterward they also secretly pondered what to give back.

The next day, Zheng Tan looked at the helpless Jiao Yuan holding four boxes of premium cat food, lifted his leg and kicked the cat food boxes away. 'Let those little bastards eat it themselves!'

Finally, those four boxes of cat food were given to A Huang and the chief of police. As for Da Pang, he always only eats what his grandmother makes; he doesn't eat cat food.

In August, Jiao Ba had settled the affairs at the compound, then took the family and Zheng Tan to the capital to send Jiao Yuan to school, while also preparing for the family to take a side trip.

They had booked a hotel in advance; after arriving and resting one night, the next day the family began taking photos together at various sights in the capital. Zheng Tan couldn't go openly to certain places, so he hid in a backpack, and the Jiao family secretly smuggled him in—no matter where they took pictures, he was there, so the group photos always showed four people and one cat. Nobody would be missing.

It so happened that, while hiking, Zheng Tan ran into Fang Shaokang, who had brought his daughter out to play; it was rare for Fang Shaokang to have free time these two days, and since they ran into each other, he also invited the Jiao family to his home for a meal.

"Is that Big Rice?" Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi both looked at the cat sitting beside Fang Mengmeng that was noticeably larger than an ordinary cat.

At that moment, Big Rice was crouched beside Fang Mengmeng, appearing indifferent to everyone and everything around, half-lidded eyes giving a somewhat languid look. But when you meet his gaze, you notice a sharpness that makes people pause. Of course, Big Rice's aloofness is always directed outward; toward his own kind he is still fairly amiable.

Big Rice remembers Zheng Tan, but may not remember the other Jiao family members, so when Jiao Yuan tried to pet him, Big Rice dodged away; to him, Jiao Yuan is a stranger.

Seeing Big Rice like that, Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi didn't insist either—after all, it's a cat; if you push it, it'll swipe at you with its paws.

"Back when we first saw Big Rice and Little Rice, they were just this big little dough balls." Jiao Yuan gestured with his hands and said.

"Yeah, Big Rice has gotten this big now." Jiao Ma glanced at Big Rice, then asked Fang Shaokang, "By the way, have you seen Big Rice's uncle?"

"Big Rice's uncle?" Fang Mengmeng asked curiously.

"Uh, it's the younger brother of Big Rice's dad, Peanut Candy." Jiao Ma said.

"What does Big Rice's uncle look like?" Fang Mengmeng asked curiously. She had only seen photos her father took of Peanut Candy and Hei Mi; she hadn't seen anything else.

However, Jiao Ba and Jiao Ma hadn't taken any photos either, and Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi had only seen him once or twice; fortunately, Sesame left a deep impression on people, so even without photos a description would do.

"Big Rice's uncle is a spotted cat. Well, similar to the coloring of a spotted dog—white base with black spots—but the fur is a bit longer, and he's a real mischievous troublemaker."

When the topic turned to cats, Jiao Yuan, Xiao Youzi, and Fang Mengmeng started chatting.

Meanwhile, the adults' conversation continued; knowing that Jiao Yuan would be studying at Beijing University, Fang Shaokang reassured Jiao Ba, saying he knew many people at Beijing University and would have someone look out for him when the time came.

Although they had already visited a few professors and friends at Beijing University, after all their child was alone in the vast capital, Jiao Ba and Jiao Ma weren't entirely at ease; but with Fang Shaokang's words, they felt a bit more reassured. The waters of the capital run deep—if anything happened, Jiao Ba in Chu Hua Shi couldn't come to the rescue in time, and distant help can't put out a nearby fire; it's still more reliable to rely on someone familiar with the capital, like Fang San ye.

Zheng Tan's this was the second time he'd come to Fang Shaokang's home; the previous time he had come to the capital to film a documentary and stayed a few days, and this time Zheng Tan came over, Fang Mengmeng also notified her little companions. Especially Hou Junyi, whose first words upon seeing Zheng Tan were, "How's my treasure chest?"

Zheng Tan thought about it; the box Hou Junyi gave him, he had flipped through it initially and then hardly opened it again, and it was still stashed under Xiao Youzi's bed.

Hou Junyi still has a bit of a stubborn streak now, but he also knows that what he did back then was indeed somewhat foolish—giving a cat a treasure chest? That's nonsense! Still, Hou Junyi won't ask for it back: first, he truly thanks Zheng Tan for his earlier help; second, there's no reason whatsoever to demand a gift back after giving it; besides, these past two years he's also acquired a new treasure chest, gathered more tools, updated and replaced some items, and no longer has use for the old one.

Although no one expected Zheng Tan to understand, when Hou Junyi talked about it he inevitably mentioned some details of the treasure chest; Zheng Tan had nothing else to do, so he crouched nearby listening as Hou Junyi analyzed and introduced what the various items in the treasure chest were roughly used for, thinking that when he got back with nothing to do he'd open the box and try playing with each item one by one.

After finishing the meal, Fang Mengmeng took Big Rice out for a stroll, also bringing Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi to wander around the neighborhood; the greenery in their residential area was still quite nice.

Having heard that some celebrities also lived around here, Jiao Yuan asked curiously, but Fang Mengmeng's enthusiasm wasn't high; Zheng Tan guessed that the incident back then had a greater impact on Fang Mengmeng's three kids, so they weren't keen on the celebrity topic anymore. Although there's a tendency to tar everyone with the same brush, kids are just like that—past experiences shape their future thinking.

Just as they were speaking, Jiao Yuan suddenly poked Xiao Youzi beside him.

"Hey, Youzi, it's Wei Kala!"

Wei Kala is a star who has acted in many TV dramas and movies; when Jiao Yuan and the others were still in elementary school, they had already seen many TV dramas starring Wei Kala, but now Wei Kala acts in TV dramas less often and basically does movies. The reason Jiao Yuan and the others like Wei Kala somewhat is that she is indeed pretty, has a good figure, high popularity, and little negative news; another reason is that Wei Kala is a native of Chu Hua Shi, although her career is now elsewhere and she basically doesn't stay in Chu Hua Shi anymore, but she has also done quite a bit for her hometown; in January this year she was also invited back to Chu Hua Shi to participate in the province's annual Wind and Cloud Gala, and the autograph that Jiao Ba wanted included Wei Kala's signature, after which Jiao Yuan even bragged about it to his classmates. Compared to that person who was cold and impatient toward Jiao Ba at the event, Wei Kala's attitude toward Jiao Ba back then was much better—whether her surface manners were good or she was genuinely kind, at least she wouldn't cause someone to lose face.

Xiao Youzi looked over; her impression of this star wasn't bad either, and the two Chinese-language movies she liked most both featured Wei Kala.

Zheng Tan just watched as Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi ran back and forth, excitedly, to find Wei Kala walking her dog and ask for an autograph.

Fang Mengmeng sighed and said, "Actually, if they want an autograph, they can just go directly to Uncle Yang's company."

Uncle Yang?

Yang Yi that guy?

Is Wei Kala now at Yixing Culture?

Thinking about how rare it is to make a trip to the capital, Zheng Tan pondered whether he should go to Yang Yi's place for a stroll to help Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi snag some autographs. He himself counted as a contributor, after all—that movie back then not only brought Yang Yi considerable profits but also boosted his company's exposure, skyrocketing its popularity. To get a celebrity's autograph, Yang Yi wouldn't have any objections, would he?

While Zheng Tan was pondering, Jiao Ba's side also received a call from Yang Yi.

Yang Yi stayed home resting all day today, didn't go out, and saw that the person with Jiao Ba and the others was now somewhat famous director Kong Han; today Kong Han was taking a friend to a hotel when he happened to see the Jiao family people and Zheng Tan, but he was busy entertaining his friend, the Jiao family side also left quickly, and Kong Han didn't have time to say hello. After returning home in the afternoon, he called Yang Yi to tell him about this and urged him to find a way to keep Zheng Tan.

Upon hearing that Zheng Tan had come to the capital city, Yang Yi, who had been about to take a nap, instantly perked up, quickly looked up the phone number, and called Jiao Ba.

After Zheng Tan learned that Yang Yi had called him on his own initiative, his first reaction was, "What evil idea is Yang Yi cooking up now?" (To be continued…)

ps: From the 28th to October 7th is the Double Monthly Ticket period; friends who haven't cast their votes can go ahead and do so. Hmm, for the monthly ticket, there will be an extra update on Sunday.