Chapter 47: Chapter Forty-Seven: Absolutely No Decency!!

Hey, have you heard? That someone in the old alley was set up!

I heard he was messed up pretty badly; when people found him, he seemed already crazy.

Wasn't it said he got messed up after drinking too much? He still hasn't recovered, right?

I also heard that when his friends asked him who did it, he just kept saying 'cat' and 'monster' and such; he must have been truly scared stupid.

Not long ago he didn't just kick a kitten to death? For that I said a couple of things and he kicked me, and it still hurts. In my opinion, this is karma… sigh, boss, give me another fried dough stick!

……

Early in the morning, at some breakfast stalls near the old residential area, people were eating breakfast while talking about the tattooed man.

The tattooed man was discovered around eleven or twelve at night; his few buddies who hung out at the club saw he hadn't shown up, so they sent two idle guys to look for him, but no one was home, and they finally found him in a dead-end alley.

When they found the tattooed man, he was still curled up on the ground, twitching all over, his consciousness hazy, muttering something in his mouth that no one could make out. Around him were shards of broken beer bottles; his clothes were ripped in many places by flying fragments, and there were wounds on his hands, face, and exposed part of his lower leg; his pants were still down, but there was a strong smell of urine.

At that time, someone coming home from a late-night shift passed by, saw the flashlight beam, took a look, and then the rumors spread.

No one called the police; even if they did, the police wouldn't want to get involved. These people all have records, and for their personal grudges the police now can't be bothered, plus that guy was just a small fry—no need to waste time and effort investigating.

Regardless of what was happening with the tattooed man or how the residents around the old alley were gossiping, over at Dongqu Dayuan Zheng Tan got up feeling light and squatted on his usual chair to eat breakfast.

When he came back last night, even after washing his paws and airing out, the alcohol smell on him hadn't dissipated much, and as soon as he returned Jiao Ba noticed.

Jiao Ba even suspected Zheng Tan had sneaked into that tavern to eat or drink, but seeing Zheng Tan was quite sober, walking steadily, in good spirits, and clean, he didn't think much of it—still, he warned Zheng Tan not to go to restaurants or eateries at night, lest he get stewed.

Zheng Tan flicked his ears; the matter was settled, and he wouldn't linger there late at night.

Having settled a worry, Zheng Tan slept especially fragrant last night; this morning he ate a big bowl of Jiao Ma's three-fresh noodles, then went out with the four members of the Jiao family.

After going downstairs, Jiao Ba rode his scooter to the science building, Jiao Ma carried a basket, and together with Zheng Tan they walked the two kids to school; then Zheng Tan went for a stroll while Jiao Ma went to buy vegetables.

The weather was gradually warming up; the sun now felt pleasant on the skin.

The birds on campus started squawking again, the leaves began to bud; before long, those few 'poop lanes' on campus will start rattling down bird droppings. Anyway, Zheng Tan now avoids those paths; while a green, pleasant campus is one thing, more birds mean more droppings, and even from far away Zheng Tan can smell the bird poop.

Zheng Tan walked along the campus greenbelt, where stepping is prohibited—of course that only applies to people; for a cat it doesn't matter, and Zheng Tan often steps on it anyway.

Some flowers were blooming here; Zheng Tan had seen them when it snowed, but he hadn't come over to look. He stepped closer and saw that the leaves resembled the camellia Old Man Lan mentioned; he didn't know the variety, but it was pretty.

Zheng Tan leaned in to sniff; there wasn't much fragrance.

As he was looking at the flowers, Zheng Tan heard a girl's voice not far off, presumably talking on the phone with her boyfriend.

"You've been assisting the project in Ming Zhu Shi for over three months; wasn't it supposed to be three months then you'd come back… delayed? How much longer… okay, I hope to see you next month. By the way, how do you like the specimen I sent you?"

The girl spoke on the phone while her high heel kicked a small stone on the road.

"What did you say?!" the girl's voice suddenly rose, "That's a specimen I made myself from the leaves of the chicken-claw maple in front of the dorm! How could it be those low-quality goods sold on the street… you obviously can't tell! Do you know the difference between poppies and cornflowers? Do you know the difference between cherry blossoms and peach blossoms? You don't—you can't even tell a husky from an Alaskan!"

Zheng Tan, listening nearby: "……" Brother over in Ming Zhu Shi, you've worked hard!

Soon the girl hung up, her high heels clicking as she hurried away.

Zheng Tan again recalled his college days chasing girls; back then, to win those few high-and-lofty blossoms he'd pulled out all the stops. He looked down at his current furry paws, then looked up and sighed, "Life is unpredictable!"

Zheng Tan was gazing at the sky with a thoughtful expression when a voice suddenly came from behind.

"Hei Tan, are you bird-watching?"

Zheng Tan's ear twitched at the sound; he turned his head, and in the next moment a lump of bird droppings fell from the sky, landing right on his ear.

Zheng Tan: "……"

Damn it, I swear I hate these birds that poop everywhere! They have absolutely no decency!!

The culprit had already flown off, but before leaving it gave two calls to announce its presence.

When the bird droppings first landed on his ear they were still warm, but they cooled quickly; the smell made Zheng Tan want to grab that stinking bird and tear it apart.

"Don't shake your ear, it'll shake your whole body," Xiao Zhuo said, her tone amused.

Hearing Xiao Zhuo's words, Zheng Tan froze on the spot.

Xiao Zhuo took out a tissue from her bag and slowly squatted down.

Watching her move, Zheng Tan felt a bit startled—was it safe for her to squat like that with such a big belly?

After Xiao Zhuo wiped the bird droppings off Zheng Tan's ear with a tissue, she tapped his head with her finger and slowly rose, saying, "What luck you have!"

Zheng Tan flicked his ear; this luck really sucks!

"Come, let's go to my place and wash your ear," Xiao Zhuo said, walking to the trash can to toss the tissue, then speaking to Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan also felt his ear was weird; he kept sensing a lump of droppings there and could smell it. Only after washing it clean would he feel comfortable; otherwise it would be nauseating.

As they walked toward Xiqu, Xiao Zhuo's smile never faded, and she told Zheng Tan, "I heard most birds lack a bladder, and their intestines are very short, so they urinate and defecate simultaneously. Humans and cats can hold it if they need to go, waiting until they reach a toilet, but birds can't—they can relieve themselves anytime, anywhere, even while flying."

That's why these bladder-less birds are truly the shameless creatures that poop wherever they please!

Zheng Tan walked on, cursing the noisy birds in his heart, including the long-absent 'General' whom he also cursed.

Once again arriving at Xiao Zhuo's residence in Xiqu Dayuan, Zheng Tan saw a few cats out for a stroll, plus a few more lounging on their own balconies, basking in the sun and flicking their tails.

The cats in Xiqu were also increasing; when Zheng Tan first came he'd visited the area around Xiqu Dayuan, back then there weren't many cats, and several still had their baby fur. In the blink of an eye, the kittens had grown into adult cats.

I don't know if the cats from east and west will end up in a big fight; Captain Jingzhang would be very pleased.

A brawl—just imagining that scene Zheng Tan thought it would be spectacular; he'd never actually seen cats fight in a group.

As he thought, he had already reached Xiao Zhuo's home; the nanny was watching TV, and seeing Xiao Zhuo return with a concerned smile, but when she noticed Zheng Tan following Xiao Zhuo's footsteps inside, her smile instantly cracked.

Zheng Tan didn't bother with what the nanny thought; he just wanted to wash his ear quickly, the smell of the droppings making him want to vomit.

Xiao Zhuo prepared some warm water; lacking pet shampoo, she picked a mild body wash, dropped a bit on Zheng Tan's ear, and gently rubbed it with her finger.

For Xiao Zhuo's convenience, Zheng Tan jumped onto a high stool while Xiao Zhuo sat on a chair, so she wouldn't have to squat uncomfortably.

Since it was just bird droppings on the ear, it was cleaned quickly; after drying with a towel, it still carried the scent of the body wash.

Zheng Tan felt his mood improve, and his tail began to sway unconsciously.

Just like last time, Xiao Zhuo reclined on the lounge chair while Zheng Tan lay on the moon chair beside her; the difference was that this time Xiao Zhuo wasn't reading a book but was looking at a photo album.

In the album was also pasted a plant specimen.

Zheng Tan stretched his neck to take a look; it was a four-leaf clover specimen. This kind is hard to find; Zheng Tan had once searched the school for ages trying to find one to impress a girl, coming up empty, and eventually had to buy one from someone else.

Seeing Zheng Tan come over to look, Xiao Zhuo said: 'This is a four-leaf clover, a mutant variety of three-leaf clover. I heard it represents luck; this specimen was given to me by a junior from the physics department before. Here, it's her.'

Zheng Tan looked at the girl in the photo Xiao Zhuo was pointing at—wasn't that the tough girl on the phone he saw today?

'But she's no longer in the physics department; she crossed over to take the graduate entrance exam to study botany, and she's always been quite interested in plants.' Xiao Zhuo said, 'This four-leaf clover was given to me by her, but she said it's a four-leaf medick; medick producing four leaves is a common mutation, so the probability of finding a four-leaf one is relatively high. Originally she wanted to find a four-leaf wood sorrel, but only the three-leaf wood sorrel of the Oxalidaceae family has true heart-shaped leaves—unfortunately she never found any.'

Four-leaf clovers are themselves mutant individuals; relatively speaking, the mutation rate of wood sorrel is very low, making it hard to find individuals with four heart-shaped leaves, and only an extremely small number of plants will grow a fourth leaf under genetic mutation.

Any difference?

Zheng Tan examined it closely, not knowing how the specimen was made, yet it remained green, with each leaf having a white 'V' shape at the center of its surface. Is this the medick four-leaf clover Xiao Zhuo mentioned?

Zheng Tan recalled the grass he had found when trying to pick up girls before; when he found it himself, it was the kind with heart-shaped leaves and no white V, but the four-leaf clover he later bought had that V, resembling the specimen tucked in Xiao Zhuo's photo album.

Wood sorrel four-leaf clover?

The difficulty is indeed quite great.

'Oh dear!' Xiao Zhuo let out a soft exclamation.

Zheng Tan's nerves tightened instantly; he looked over, wondering, 'Is it about to give birth?!'

Xiao Zhuo simply put the photo album down and said with a smile, 'It moved.'

'What moved?' Zheng Tan wondered, bewildered.

Then, following Xiao Zhuo's gaze, Zheng Tan looked at her protruding belly.

After returning home, Xiao Zhuo took off her coat, and the sweater revealed the protruding curve.

Zheng Tan was still dubiously eyeing Xiao Zhuo's big belly; just as he was about to look away, he noticed it suddenly twitch.

'Hei Tan, little brother is saying hello to you.' Xiao Zhuo said to Zheng Tan, 'Come over quickly.'

'What for?'

Zheng Tan hesitated and hopped from the moon chair to the recliner, but still tried to stay as far from Xiao Zhuo's big belly as possible, feeling it rather terrifying.

But Xiao Zhuo didn't let Zheng Tan avoid it; she grabbed one of his arms and pulled him toward it, so his palm was about to touch the big belly.

Zheng Tan hastily pulled his hand back; this paw of his had thrown bottles, dropped medicine, and messed with people yesterday, and he felt touching it wouldn't be good.

Seeing Zheng Tan pull his hand back, Xiao Zhuo was about to speak when the belly moved twice more.

Zheng Tan watched where it moved.

Really saying hello?

After thinking, Zheng Tan slowly moved over there, not raising his paw but directly pressing his forehead lightly against the spot that had just moved; the next moment, his forehead felt as if something had lightly touched it.

Perhaps…

This must be the feeling of new life, right?

'From now on this little guy should also call Hei Tan big brother, uh, call Hei Ge.' Xiao Zhuo said.

Zheng Tan retreated to the moon chair, and a scene appeared in his mind of a human toddler trailing behind a black cat's butt calling 'Hei Ge'; he shivered, finding it hard to imagine.

Damn, will it pull my tail when it grows up? If it does, I'll surely whip it.

At noon Zheng Tan didn't eat at Xiao Zhuo's place; the nanny looked at him as if he were a plague god, always staying two meters away from him.

Returning to the Jiao family after lunch, Zheng Tan rolled around on the sofa for a while, unable to sleep, so he went out again. Wandering, he arrived at Old Man Lan's flower plot and suddenly thought he had seen the wood sorrel Xiao Zhuo mentioned in Old Man Lan's flower shed.

Doesn't Old Man Lan's little flower plot always have 'treasures'?

Zheng Tan prepared to try his luck.

Except for the flower sheds with special tags, the other sheds were unlocked; when Zheng Tan entered the flower plot, Old Man Lan was busy working inside one of the sheds.

Hearing the movement on the shed, Old Man Lan merely glanced sideways at Zheng Tan, then continued his work.

Some shed doors were open; Zheng Tan checked them one by one and finally saw wood sorrel in a shed near the front.

This shed wasn't used for any specific planting; whatever had been planted before was moved away, and then nothing was planted here afterwards.

When Zheng Tan used to come here, this shed still had a special tag hanging, and afterwards it remained closed, but today it was opened—probably Old Man Lan was taking samples again. This is where Old Man Lan conducted mutagenesis experiments; I don't know what new flowers resulted, Zheng Tan doesn't recognize them, but Old Man Lan and a few other old-timers treat them as treasures.

Zheng Tan walked in, came to that patch of wood sorrel, examined it closely, and indeed the leaves were heart-shaped—he hadn't mistaken it.

This plant is too common; he usually doesn't even bother to notice it while strolling. Nevertheless, Zheng Tan still approached it with a mindset of giving it a try, looking to see if there were any special mutant individuals here.

Three leaves… three leaves… four leaves!

Seeing one with four leaves, Zheng Tan felt happy, having heard that it represents luck.

Before Zheng Tan could even be happy for two seconds, he noticed that beside this four-leaf one there were many more with four leaves, while the three-leaf ones had become rare here.

What the hell is going on?!

Wasn't it said that this four-leaf variant is rare?

Back then, I wore myself out looking for four-leaf clovers to impress girls, and now this patch right in front of me has over seventy percent four-leaf!

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Thanks to Lezi Xiao, Looking forward to the bright moon hanging high, 0773, Prophecy Ink 〓 van, Ofimosi, Right Grass Clothes Person, syaoran5328, Moon directly overhead, Battle of the Heavenly Dragon, Am I easy?, Heaven as canopy, earth as stage, lazyorange, Flowing Face, dark, If there is heaven, wymrmm, Cain's cat's tip! Thanks for the fragrance of tea and books, red sleeves adding fragrance (2), Watch my invisibility grand decision unlimited time, hkk19890318's rating ticket! Thanks to the readers who voted recommendation tickets!