Chapter 42: Sahala That Guy Just Deserves a Beating!

Zheng Tan lay on the living room sofa, the tip of his tail swaying gently.

Zheng Tan liked to think in this state; as for the tail's swaying, it was a habit he formed after becoming a cat, originating from an unconscious movement, just like some people like to tap the table with their fingers when thinking, Zheng Tan liked to sway the tip of his tail when lying on the sofa thinking.

Actually many cats like to do this, but not every cat thinks about complex problems like Zheng Tan does; this action might just be their way of expressing comfort, indicating they are in a good mood and living leisurely, or perhaps, like Zheng Tan, they are pondering some things not as complex as his but still beyond people's guesses. After all, a cat's thoughts are hard to fathom.

Zheng Tan still dreamed of those scenes these past few nights, though not as severely as the first night; he had already adjusted his mindset. Actually, if Zheng Tan were still in his original human form, he would not have left a deep impression of those scenes, perhaps forgetting them upon turning away, or perhaps not caring at all. But after becoming a cat, the different status and environment made his perspective on things and thinking different.

If he were human, putting someone in a sack and hitting them with bricks would be simple, and he could find someone to teach that tattooed man a lesson—cutting off hands and chopping feet would be nothing unusual, and he wouldn't need to do it himself. But now, without those factors, he still had to rely on himself.

In the living room, Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi were watching an educational series about wildlife; Jiao Ma was knitting a sweater in the bedroom; Jiao Ba had gone out on business. Outside the house, large snowflakes were drifting; after a clear spell, it snowed again, starting at midnight last night; when they looked outside this morning, everything was white; just now Jiao Yuan pushed the window open to look, and it was still snowing, the snowfall unabated, truly flying snow filling the sky.

On TV, the just-awakened cheetah crouched on the grassland; at this moment it should be hunting. There were many prey on the grassland—gazelles, wildebeests, etc. —but time passed second by second, and it seemed not in a hurry.

Zheng Tan used to not distinguish cheetahs from other leopards; the spots on their bodies felt hardly different to him. The host on the program said the cheetah's appearance differed from other distant feline relatives, but Zheng Tan couldn't really tell. He had only seen leopards in person at the zoo, and couldn't even remember what kind of leopard it was, so in his impression, cheetahs and other leopards looked about the same.

Beside them, Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi were discussing the cheetah's characteristics; earlier Zheng Tan, lost in thought, hadn't paid much attention to the host's words, only catching a few sentences intermittently.

From Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi's discussion, Zheng Tan learned that the cheetah has a black stripe running from the corner of the eye to the corner of the mouth, looking like two black tear streaks. This is also one of the most obvious features distinguishing cheetahs from other leopards. These two black stripes help absorb sunlight, thereby widening the field of vision.

Zheng Tan felt he had the advantage—his whole body was black!

"Cheetahs can really endure; if it were me, I'd have burst long ago, with so many gazelles, they didn't go after them." Jiao Yuan peeled a candy and put it in his mouth, then handed the wrapper to Zheng Tan's nose, "Do you like mango flavor?"

Zheng Tan turned his head, flicked his ears, ignored this bored little brat.

"They need to increase success rate and conserve energy." Xiao Youzi said seriously.

"Yeah, the survival rules in the wild." Jiao Yuan concluded.

Zheng Tan rolled over, changed his posture and lay down.

Thinking about it is one thing, putting it into action is another. Zheng Tan wanting to teach that tattooed man a lesson is not simple either; the most important thing is that Zheng Tan doesn't want to expose himself, otherwise he'll surely invite trouble.

That is, it's best to act at night.

That tattooed man belongs to the sturdy type; he probably usually fights, but to what extent and what is his fighting power? Zheng Tan has some doubts.

When people in the old residential area alleys talked about the tattooed man, they exaggerated, only noticing his muscular shoulders and ferocious tattoo. Zheng Tan had seen those who lived by the knife before; those people also had tattoos, but at the same time, their arms bore many scars, and even without scars, that kind of aura, a casual glance, couldn't be compared to that pretentious tattooed man.

Guys like that tattooed man can at most be considered small-time thugs; maybe things aren't as hard as Zheng Tan thinks. However, understanding the target is necessary; Zheng Tan still needs to stake out and observe.

Endure, wait for the opportunity, one strike to kill.

This is the survival way of cheetahs on the grassland, and Zheng Tan needs to learn this kind of behavior.

Endure……

Zheng Tan glanced out the window. A layer of water droplets clung to the glass, making the outside scene unclear, but the haze also has its merits. To know whether it's snowing and how hard, either wipe off the droplets or push the window open to look; if you don't open it, a layer of vapor will obscure the truth.

Zheng Tan came to the living room window, stood on the sill, and stared at the droplets on the glass. He leaned in and exhaled a breath.

One of the droplets on the glass began to slide down, then met other droplets, merging and growing larger, sliding faster, until it truly reached the windowsill, by then it was unclear how many droplets from the glass had gathered.

If each water droplet is seen as preparation before action, then when the moment is ripe, is it only as easy as exhaling a breath?

He flicked his tail, Zheng Tan prepared to go out for a stroll, to clear his mind. The room was too warm, too cozy, making Zheng Tan feel drowsy.

"Huh? Hei Tan, you're going out?" Xiao Youzi, about to peel a candy, saw Zheng Tan heading toward the door and said.

"Go out and play, come back in time to eat; otherwise you'll be hungry, anyway if you don't come back by mealtime, your drumstick is mine!" Jiao Yuan emphasized the word "drumstick".

Jiao Ma had prepared three drumsticks, one each for the two kids and Zheng Tan, to be eaten at dinner.

Hearing Jiao Yuan's words, Zheng Tan snorted from his nose, indicating he understood.

After leaving the building, Zheng Tan looked at the layer of snow on the ground; he stepped onto it, his four legs almost submerged. Walking outward still had some resistance. But for Zheng Tan, this was nothing.

Step by step he walked outward; on the pristine snow, a black silhouette moved from the residential building outward; viewed from above it was especially conspicuous. However, at this time it seemed few people had the leisure to go out and blow cold wind to watch the snow.

Zheng Tan lowered his head and could touch the snow on the ground; a cool breath blew over his face.

There was basically no wind, just large snowflakes falling.

Zheng Tan lifted his head to look at the snowflakes falling in the air, shook his ears, flicked off the snow that had landed on his ears, and continued walking forward.

The chill all over let Zheng Tan's mind clear considerably; the sleepiness he had stored at home vanished completely.

Zheng Tan was heading toward the residential area gate when suddenly a barking sound came from not far away; after the dog barks, someone shouted, "Sahala, come back here!"

In response, Sahala's figure ran farther and farther, running a stretch then stopping to look toward his home building, barking "woof woof" twice; if he saw someone chasing, he didn't need them to chase far, just move his legs a bit and Sahala would immediately dash off like he'd been injected with chicken blood.

Usually this brat just has this peeing habit; over these past few days of the New Year, his family has had many visitors coming and going, the gate often open when there are guests, after all many people come to pay New Year calls, hard to control.

Sahala's original owner had him leashed, but when a kid played with him, he undid the knot on the dog's neck rope, and then this guy seized the chance to slip out when people came and went.

Sahala's owner still had to greet guests, so at this time he wouldn't abandon the guests to chase the dog; besides, this situation has happened several times during the winter break, no need to worry too much, Sahala will naturally return within an hour, but when he comes back he'll either be rolled in mud or stained with something else; in any case he needs a thorough wash.

The surrounding neighbors have long been accustomed to this; every time they see this, everyone thinks the same thing: they enjoy hearing about it.

Sahala bolted outward; because his body is much larger than Zheng Tan's, running in the snow is easy for him; when he runs, his hind legs kick up snow, flying; I don't know if he does it on purpose, anyway Zheng Tan hasn't seen Xiao Youzi and Niu Zhuangzhuang do that.

After Sahala ran past Zheng Tan's side, Sahala suddenly made an abrupt stop, turned his head to look at Zheng Tan in the snow.

"Woof woof!!"

"Woof my ass!"

Zheng Tan ignored it, continued walking toward the gate.

Sahala stood there for a while, seeing Zheng Tan really had no intention of paying attention to him, he wagged his tail and walked toward Zheng Tan; while walking, Zheng Tan could still hear the sound of his claws scraping on the concrete ground.

As he approached Zheng Tan, Sahala suddenly lunged forward, lifted a front leg, and pushed Zheng Tan sideways with his paw, shoving Zheng Tan into the snow. The force wasn't great, wouldn't hurt Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan didn't expect this guy to suddenly pull such a move; inattentive, he face-planted into the snow, his whole face buried.

After landing the hit, Sahala ran off happily into the distance.

Zheng Tan shook off the snow on his body, shook his head, and flung the snow stuck to his face away.

"Damn it! Sahala you little bastard deserve a beating!"

Zheng Tan shot forward, no longer the slow shuffle in the snow; his speed didn't lose to Sahala running ahead, and he even used his leaping advantage to jump directly onto the circular flower bed in the middle of the road, then went straight.

When the security guard opened the window, he saw that black cat from Associate Professor Jiao's home chasing the mixed-breed dog raised by Professor Ruan's grandson; he didn't mind Sahala baring teeth and growling, the black cat caught up and raised its cat paw for a series of strikes.

Seeing this, the security guard chuckled, he recalled his own son as a child spinning a top, the fastest spin still lacking the vigor of that cat's strikes.

"Great strikes! Sahala that guy just deserves a beating!"

The gatekeeper uncle drew the curtains, took a swig of baijiu, held two peanuts, made two tsk sounds, then lay down and continued to prop his legs up while watching the small TV play Spring Festival–related programs.

After Zheng Tan got tired from punching, he stood there catching his breath.

And after Sahala saw Zheng Tan stop punching, he also stuck out his tongue and panted, feeling a bit thirsty, he lowered his head and licked the snow on the ground, making a dab-dab sound while licking. Licking the snow wasn't enough, so Sahala rolled directly in the snow, rolling and rolling until he reached a slope, then rolled down along the slope.

Below the slope was the family compound's tennis court, fenced with iron netting, but the slope itself was about ten meters.

After Zheng Tan lost sight of Sahala rolling away, he went to the edge of the slope and looked. After Sahala rolled to the bottom, he shook his fur, looked around, then charged back up the slope.

Zheng Tan had thought Sahala would go off to play after coming up, but the next moment the guy rolled down again, seemingly dissatisfied with the speed of the descent, wriggling as he slid down.

Zheng Tan watched the dog having fun, shook his head, and walked toward the gate.

Few people were moving around the campus, only a scattered few, and there weren't many vehicles either. The School Security Office staff, wearing thick coats, were shoveling snow, first clearing the snow from road sections prone to accidents.

Zheng Tan came to the place where three kittens were buried, looked from a few meters away; no one had come this way, and there were no other marks in the snow.

Zheng Tan also didn't know how the big white cat was doing now; after that old man had taken it away last time, Zheng Tan hadn't seen it again, nor did he know where the old man lived. However, the old man said he lived nearby, so since it's not far, they'll surely meet again someday.

Zheng Tan strolled around some parts of the campus, not going to the woods where one could climb trees, as it was too far.

After wandering a few places, Zheng Tan glanced at the sky's color and decided to head over to Old Man Lan's little flower garden.

Zheng Tan discovered that Old Man Lan's little flower garden actually had many treasures; as long as one was good at finding, one could always find what one wanted.

The year wasn't over yet, and Old Man Lan's household always had visitors; recently, the time spent coming to the flower garden had been shorter. However, the parts that needed careful tending had already been taken care of by Old Man Lan before the year's end, and otherwise he would occasionally come by to check the temperature and humidity inside the greenhouse and so on.

Zheng Tan still went in by climbing over the wall along the old route.

A thick layer of snow piled on the transparent greenhouse; if one wasn't careful, one would slip.

Wooden boxes still stacked up beside the greenhouse; Zheng Tan didn't jump down from the transparent greenhouse right away, but stood at its edge, looking down on the scenery of the flower garden.

With his eyes closed, Zheng Tan tilted his head back slightly. A snowflake fell on his nose bridge and slowly melted.

The air carried a faint plum blossom fragrance.

Snowflakes fell on the leaves, making a faint rustling sound.

Zheng Tan couldn't reach the state of wandering freely in the unity of heaven and man like Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly; he just suddenly wanted to sit quietly here for a while, just a short while.

A sneeze broke the flower garden's tranquility.

Other cats, after sneezing, would lick their noses, but Zheng Tan didn't; he kept the human habit of sniffing, giving his nose a little sniff.

Damn it, hurry up and finish looking then go home. It's so freaking cold! I'm all soaked!

After jumping down from the wooden crates, Zheng Tan checked a few flower sheds and finally stopped in front of one marked "No Idlers Allowed" and with a compulsory stop sign.

The flower shed was locked, its windows tightly shut. Zheng Tan couldn't squeeze into the ventilation openings. But it didn't matter; his purpose this trip was just to have a look.

Unfortunately, this transparent flower shed had temperature control; its inner walls were coated with a layer of vapor and traces of dripping water, so Zheng Tan couldn't see the interior very clearly.

Flicking his tail, Zheng Tan sat for a while then left, planning to come back another time to look.

No rush, need to have patience, and there's still a lot to prepare.

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Thanks, Lezixiao, Yanshan Baishui g, Ofimoxis, Mao Mizi, Ai Yimi, Hunyuan Weishi, lazyorange, Qihang Liu Xuan, Flower Falls Dot Dot, Wuwu Xiang, nego118, Zhao Sichong, Book Friend 130611132353226, Ethereal Melancholy g, Right Grass Clothes Person, Digital Account: 680139, Ruoye Xi, Liu Yan, Using Dreams to Sacrifice Sharp Dreams, Urgent Like a Virgin, Xiao Bei of the Homebody, _Don't Forget Me_, Mu Ruoli, Farewell pyq's reward! Thanks, Dark Night Flower Appreciation (2), Cat on the Tiger's Back, Ethereal Melancholy and the recommendation votes from friends who couldn't find the records! Thanks to everyone who voted for the Three Jiang and recommendation tickets over the past week~