Chapter 45

Zheng Tan stayed at Xiao Zhuo's place until after dinner before coming out; Xiao Zhuo saw Zheng Tan out of Xiqu Dayuan, watching him go far away.

After leaving Xiqu Dayuan, Zheng Tan did not go back right away but went to the woods by the side gate.

Because the woods along the campus edge were under construction, few students went that way, and even fewer at night.

Zheng Tan leapt through the woods and came to squat on a big tree.

Deep breath.

Aoo—

Seems not right.

Waa—

Also seems not right.

Zheng Tan carefully recalled the big white cat's call and howled again.

Maa—

Still not right!

After several tries, Zheng Tan analyzed the cause. Perhaps because he had always avoided meowing like a cat, he had grown used to howling at random; now suddenly needing to make other cats' sounds, he couldn't switch quickly. Zheng Tan didn't expect to sound exactly like that big white cat; he just needed something similar, but the sound he made was literally a ghost's wail!

Hmm?

Ghost wail?

Zheng Tan narrowed his eyes.

After becoming a cat, Zheng Tan especially liked to narrow his eyes, though he himself hadn't realized this habit. His tail tip flicked as he pondered some thoughts.

As he thought, a sudden rush of footsteps came; Zheng Tan knew without looking it was the black-backed dog kept by the side gate guards. The sound of its paws kicking up dry leaves while running was especially noticeable in this quiet setting.

The black-backed dog came running hurriedly, sniffing around, then circled a tree twice, lifted a hind leg and urinated on the trunk. After finishing, it excitedly scraped its paws, then wandered nearby sniffing for a loop; upon hearing the side gate's whistle, it barked twice and ran back.

Zheng Tan looked at the tree stained with dog urine; he had noticed two days ago that the tree always smelled of urine, and the black-backed dog came to mark it every time it was let out, sticking to that spot. At the same time, Zheng Tan thought of the tattooed man, who also liked to urinate in a fixed place, something Zheng Tan had discovered while staking out near the tattooed man's home, and that habit gave Zheng Tan an idea.

Originally Zheng Tan only intended to give that man a physical lesson, but after thinking, he felt pure physical harm would be too lenient, and the man probably wouldn't connect the lesson to those dead kittens. There's no guarantee he wouldn't later do similar things to other cats, so Zheng Tan decided to try another method.

Since he decided to change the original strategy, it meant the matter couldn't be done in a day; if one day wasn't enough, they'd take it day by day.

Thus Zheng Tan had been making preparations over this period. Moreover, lately the tattooed man seemed to be having a rough time, avoiding some red, sticky substances.

Zheng Tan would come to these woods these two days to practice vocalization; since he couldn't hold back a sound like that big white cat's, he would just howl like a ghost, perhaps increasing the effect.

Zheng Tan practiced vocalizing a bit more, then checked the sky; it had become completely dark.

After leaving the woods, Zheng Tan went to a secluded corner near the school gate by the old building area alley; there were several old pine trees with lush branches, and he hid the assorted items he had gathered there, wrapped in black plastic bags. In that corner, the chance of discovery was small; even if found, Zheng Tan wouldn't fear, who would think those things were done by a cat?

Carefully opened the bag.

At first, due to inexperience with using claws, they kept snagging the plastic bag; after a few times he got more used to it. After all, inside this cat's body is an adult human soul, so opening and tying a bag is nothing he can't manage.

Inside the bag were four dolls: one slightly larger, with patterned cat doll; the other three a bit smaller, about the length of an adult's palm, pure white, fluffy, the kind girls like.

These four dolls were taken by Zheng Tan at night from the second-floor warehouse of a gift shop near the school gate.

Besides those four toy cat dolls, the black plastic bag also contained a pack of cotton swabs, three small packs of tissues, various-sized snack bags, several ketchup packets the size of fast-food sauce packets, and several hair ties girls use. The hair ties are wider than the ordinary rubber bands Jiao Ba's lab uses, and they also ensure that when Zheng Tan puts one around his own neck it won't be too loose nor too tight.

All these were obtained by Zheng Tan during this period; to avoid detection he put in considerable effort.

Acting as a cat has pros and cons. Sneaking into someone's shop storage is easy, but actually "taking" things isn't that simple.

Zheng Tan took out a black plastic bag, put the slightly larger fluffy toy cat inside, added a ketchup packet, two cotton swabs, and a tissue pack. He tidied up the other items not needed for now, tied the bag, and placed it in its old spot on the tree, where the pine branches are dense, hard to see from outside, and even if seen, no one would bother climbing the pine to rummage through the bag.

After placing today's items in the bag and wrapping them up, he secured it with a hair tie.

After a glance, Zheng Tan confirmed everything was packed and wouldn't fall; he bit the hair tie securing the bag, took the bundle, and jumped down from the tree. He slipped out through the wall fence near the old building alley at the campus edge, swooshed into the landscaped flower beds, using the plants and night as cover, and vanished quickly. Meanwhile, the hurried vehicles passing by didn't notice the fleeting black shadow.

At this spot, the old building alley is much quieter than the central department store area, a completely different scene. Occasionally a yellowish street lamp casts light; many stretches are pitch black, only able to make out the alley's rough layout from the faint light leaking from nearby homes; other details are invisible.

Those working night shifts or heading home after work, if they ride electric bikes it's fine, but if they walk or bike they'll bring a flashlight for illumination.

In such an environment, surely no one would notice a black cat crouched by a trash can at a corner.

Zheng Tan roughly estimated the time; based on what he'd learned earlier, the tattooed man usually leaves home around nine p. m. most nights of the week to go to his workplace club.

Sure enough, not long after, the tattooed man's voice came; he was with another person, and they were talking.

"So, lately we should keep a low profile; the wind is tight, I guess Brother Ye clashed with our boss, brothers, stay alert, lest we lose an arm or a leg without knowing when." The person beside the tattooed man said.

"Heh, big shots like Ye don't even look down on small fry like us." The tattooed man sounded like he was laughing, but the laugh was forced.

"Anyway, when they clash, we just play dead. Also, don't cause trouble, don't get caught by your pigtails."

"I know that. Oh, wait, I'm gonna take a piss, hehe!"

Saying that, the tattooed man walked a few steps, turned into a dead-end alley; this is where he goes to urinate when leaving or returning. The dead-end is close to the corner where Zheng Tan is crouched, diagonally opposite, so Zheng Tan can see the situation from the trash can.

After the two walked away, Zheng Tan then carried the bundle in his mouth and headed toward the tattooed man's home.

He entered through the broken kitchen window as before; the place was just as messy as the first time he came.

Without turning on lights, Zheng Tan could see the interior layout using light from neighbors' windows shining through.

He removed the hair tie, opened the bag, tore open the ketchup packet, and smeared it on the toy cat, also on its mouth; with the plastic bag underneath, the ketchup wouldn't drip outside.

Then Zheng Tan placed the ketchup-smeared toy cat beside the tattooed man's pillow.

This was just one thing; he took the cotton swabs from the bag and pinched them in his paw. Compared to human fingers, a cat's paw is inconvenient, so Zheng Tan had practiced using his paw to hold objects when bored at home, and after some practice he became adept.

He dipped the cotton swab in the remaining ketchup, then, holding it in his paw, daubed a red cat paw on the wooden wardrobe not far from the bed. Zheng Tan's drawing skill is limited, but it's just a few circles; as long as it looks roughly like a cat or dog paw, it's fine.

Because the spot on the wardrobe where he needed to draw was a bit high for his current cat body, he dragged over a stool, stepped on it, supported himself with his two hind legs, and stood up to bring the drawing height to the required level.

After finishing, Zheng Tan tossed the cotton swab into the plastic bag, jumped up, and vigorously scratched a few claw marks in front of the drawn cat paw; his strength is great, so the marks are deep.

After scratching, he pushed the stool back, took a sheet from the small tissue pack, wiped some dirt off the floor and his paws, then threw the used ketchup packet, cotton swabs, paper, etc., into the plastic bag.

After thinking, Zheng Tan turned as if to leave, then lifted the sheet under the pillow to have a look.

This was just a spontaneous act; back at the Jiao family's place, he had once seen Jiao Yuan hide pocket money under the bedsheet pressing down, prompting this behavior.

As it turned out, this really surprised Zheng Tan; the tattooed man also had this habit. Could he be counting money to sleep?

Zheng Tan counted: there were eight hundred yuan; he took out one hundred-yuan bill, rolled it up, wrapped it in tissue, and put the remaining seven hundred back where it was.

After looking around and seeing nothing else to deal with, Zheng Tan tied up the plastic bag holding the trash with a rubber band several times, also tucked the tissue-wrapped money into the rubber band to secure it, then, holding it in his mouth, he left the tattooed man's house.

After leaving the alley, Zheng Tan found a trash can, pulled out the money from that bundle, threw the plastic bag into the trash can, then, holding the money in his mouth, went to a gift shop, using some tools from outside to climb into the second-floor warehouse. He unfolded the tissue and threw the one hundred yuan onto the floor. As for the tissue, he casually tossed it out the window.

After finishing, Zheng Tan returned to Dongqu Dayuan feeling light-hearted, swiped his access card, and entered the building.

Actually, Zheng Tan also wanted to see the tattooed man's reaction, but unfortunately, the Jiao family had been going to bed early lately, all asleep by ten o'clock. Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi went to bed at nine-thirty. Zheng Tan couldn't come back too late either.

Knowing Zheng Tan goes out to play every night, Jiao Ma didn't lock the door, just left it ajar; when Zheng Tan returned he only needed to push it open, no need to unlock himself, saving him quite a bit of trouble.

After returning home, Zheng Tan took a bath in the warm water Jiao Ma had prepared, sat on a stool letting Jiao Ma help blow-dry his fur, then went to his room to sleep.

Around ten o'clock at night, the gift shop outside the school gate was preparing to close; the shop owner, as usual, went up to the upstairs warehouse before closing to make a round, checking whether any valuable items were missing.

When the gift shop owner arrived at his own second-floor storage warehouse, his sharp eyes spotted a one hundred yuan on the floor. He glanced around and didn't hear any staff say money had been lost. After thinking, he quickly squatted, picked up the money and put it in his pocket, without asking the movers or staff if they had lost money. He casually glanced at the warehouse shelves, checking whether any large or valuable items were missing; he didn't pay special attention to the other small trinkets.

Seeing that nothing valuable was missing, the gift shop owner left humming a tune, very pleased to have picked up a one hundred yuan for free today.

But the shop owner didn't know that his warehouse had been visited multiple times by a black cat, which had taken a few dolls in batches; who knows what else it might take later—this one hundred yuan was merely the cat's consolation money.

At around four o'clock the next morning, the tattooed man came home reeking of alcohol.

He wasn't a meticulous person, nor would he notice minor details at home, and he didn't even notice that anything was different from usual.

Yawning, the tattooed man kicked off his shoes, lay on the bed, and habitually took out the eight hundred yuan pressed under the mattress beneath his pillow to count. This was the accumulated "protection fees" he had collected from accompanying those street-vendor students last time; he had deliberately kept the relatively newer eight hundred yuan under the mattress to count each day.

"Eight-eight prosperity," just for luck—this is one of his little quirks.

Indeed, just as Zheng Tan had expected, the tattooed man likes to count money before sleeping.

Eight hundred yuan isn't eight thousand; it only takes a moment to count.

Missing a hundred?

The tattooed man frowned.

He licked his finger, then recounted slowly and carefully, bill by bill.

Still seven hundred.

No way!

Irritated, the tattooed man casually spat on the ground.

He didn't seem to have taken any money from here when he went out tonight.

Has he attracted a thief?

Who would dare steal from here? Asking for death? The tattooed man considers himself the hegemon of this generation. Besides, if there were a thief, they wouldn't take just a hundred.

The tattooed man racked his brains, recalling everything he did before leaving today, but still had no memory of taking money.

Scratching his head, the tattooed man lay down and turned over to continue recalling, only to discover a toy cat doll covered in "blood" beside him.

"Fuck!"

The tattooed man jumped up in fright, not because he's overly timid, but because the club nearby has been uneasy lately—several days ago a bouncer at the club had his hand chopped off, and a few others were slashed, quite serious; the bloody scene at the time stimulated him. This isn't a cat, it's a person, a real person! So whenever he sees something red like blood, he can't help but get goosebumps; lately the club hasn't been ordering sweet-and-sour pork.

After a few panting breaths, the tattooed man looked around and then his gaze settled on the wooden wardrobe.

Those reddish marks…… what are they supposed to be?

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The "farmer's tuck" mentioned in the previous chapter—many people have asked what it is. Cat owners should know that when a cat squats, it sometimes pulls its two front paws, placed in front of its chest, inward; the arrow indication looks like "→←", resembling how laborers in winter used to tuck their hands into their sleeves, and in this pose the feet are not visible—so many find it especially funny. Anyway, whenever I see my cat like that, I can't resist stuffing things into its tucked paws.

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