Chapter 60: His Brain Must Have Been Kicked by a Donkey

Chu Hua Da Xue, Science Building.

Associate Professor Jiao had just finished class, was returning to the Science Building and was about to take out his keys to open the office door when his phone suddenly rang.

He didn't have time to get his keys; Associate Professor Jiao quickly took out his phone and checked the caller ID.

It was an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?"

"Aooo—"

Hearing the cat's howl like a ghost's wail from the other end, Associate Professor Jiao froze for a moment, then his usually expressionless face broke into a radiant smile.

A few young female teachers walking over saw Associate Professor Jiao's dazzling smile and thought, actually, in terms of appearance, Associate Professor Jiao might not lose to Professor Ren.

Associate Professor Jiao looked around; this area was all faculty offices, with people constantly coming and going in the hallway, making it inconvenient to talk, so he hurriedly took out his keys to open the office door, but because he was too excited, he fumbled the key several times before getting it in.

After entering and closing the office door, Associate Professor Jiao casually tossed an important meeting record he was holding onto the desk.

"Hei Tan?" Jiao Ba said tentatively.

As for the idea that his own cat would call him, Associate Professor Jiao had merely fantasized about it. Perhaps because of his science background, he analyzed the situation too rationally, calculating probabilities for various scenarios, and the conclusion he reached left him disappointed.

Within the city, many people helped, using many channels and manpower to search, yet there was no news; He Ju and the others all said it must have been shipped out of the province. Once out of the province, it's hard to find, even though they had people help search in the south and posted notices. Still, no word came. And if it had been taken out of the province, even if his cat were unharmed and had a chance to call, he surely wouldn't know to add the area code first, right?

But now, he actually received a call from his own cat. Associate Professor Jiao felt this mood was even better than learning his project application had succeeded.

Without realizing it, they had long regarded Hei Tan as a family member; after Hei Tan disappeared, life felt as if a piece were missing. Each time they came home and saw that gap, they felt heartbroken. The two children felt the same; their mood stayed low. Neighbors suggested getting another black cat to comfort the kids, but both children refused. Everyone in their household knew Hei Tan was irreplaceable.

On the other end, Zheng Tan was also excited, letting out another howl. This howl was louder and louder than the previous one. He completely failed to notice Fang Shaokang's face showing the expression of seeing an ET. Moreover, the three puppies that had heard the howl and been stunned.

Even though the howl sounded terrifying, Associate Professor Jiao felt it was utterly familiar.

Those outside who were talking about Associate Professor Jiao would never have imagined that the person they were discussing was currently on the phone with his own cat.

"Hei Tan. Is anyone around you?" Associate Professor Jiao said.

Zheng Tan's excited feelings gradually calmed; he looked around, then fixed his gaze on Fang Shaokang, responded with an acknowledgment into the phone, and then pushed the phone toward Fang Shaokang.

As Zheng Tan was pushing the phone, someone knocked on the door of Associate Professor Jiao's office on the other end.

"Come in." Associate Professor Jiao said without taking the phone from his ear.

The one who entered was Zhao Le; after learning that the black cat that had saved her had been captured, she had been searching nonstop, even rallying many friends to help, but the cat‑napper was too slippery, leaving no useful clues. Although she and Associate Professor Jiao suspected Ren Chong of wrongdoing, they lacked evidence, so Wei Leng had gone to lurk at Ren Chong's house for a while before finding a few traces. Today she came specifically to discuss with Associate Professor Jiao how to deal with Ren Chong and obtain leads from him.

Zhao Le hadn't expected to see Associate Professor Jiao's irrepressible smile as soon as she entered the doorway; her heart stirred—had he found something?!

On Zheng Tan's side, Fang Shaokang was puzzled by the cat's behavior, glanced at the phone screen, still in the call, and picked up his phone.

"Hello?"

Upon hearing a voice, Associate Professor Jiao didn't have time to chat further with Zhao Le; he introduced himself and explained the identity of that black cat on the other end, then fired off a series of questions.

While answering the questions, Fang Shaokang also learned the general situation; it was truly unexpected to encounter such a thing, and indeed there was a cat calling home.

In the office, Jiao Ba, upon hearing Fang Shaokang's self‑introduction, wrote down his name with a pen on paper: "Fang as in 'square', Shao as in 'double ears', Kang as in 'health'…"

"Fang Shaokang?! Fang San Shu?!" Zhao Le asked.

Although Zhao Le's voice wasn't loud, the area beside the orange grove was so quiet that the conversation from the other end of the phone could be heard, so Fang Shaokang naturally heard Zhao Le's words as well.

In his family, Fang Shaokang is the third son, with two older brothers above him; only someone familiar would call him Fang San Shu.

"Who is that over there?" Fang Shaokang asked.

Associate Professor Jiao glanced at Zhao Le, then handed the phone over.

"Really Fang San Shu? I'm Le Le, Zhao Le!"

Zhao Le, on the other end, said a few words about Zheng Tan, then explained that this black cat had helped her and hoped Fang Shaokang could lend a hand, etc.

Fang Shaokang looked at the cat squatting nearby, hooking its tail and still in the mood to tease the dogs, and was astonished; he hadn't expected to encounter a cat in this rural mountain village that still knew an old friend—this cat was quite capable! Moreover, as the village elders say, black cats always have a touch of the uncanny about them.

Zheng Tan now felt pretty good; he hadn't felt this good in a long time. Since being captured, he had been constantly anxious and fearful, suspicious of anyone he saw, pondering each step whether it would work out, sleeping out in the wind and dew, and even risking recapture to scavenge food, since he couldn't stomach raw food; all in all, it had been a rather miserable experience.

But! This miserable history was about to end!

He was about to return to that familiar turf, see those familiar people, have a warm blanket at night, be able to take a bath with someone to brush and blow‑dry his fur, and have breakfast ready in the morning; just thinking about it now, he really missed it……

While Zhao Le and Fang Shaokang were discussing how to bring the cat back to Chu Hua Shi, Jiao Ba made a gesture to Zhao Le and whispered softly, "Ren Chong!"

Zhao Le quickly caught on; even if they brought the cat back, if Ren Chong weren't dealt with, cat‑snatching and the like would likely happen again.

"You mean…"

"Knowing it's safe puts my mind at ease. Since Mr. Fang is an acquaintance of Miss Zhao and trustworthy, let's not rush to bring Hei Tan back; please ask Mr. Fang to look after Hei Tan for now, and we'll talk after we've settled things here."

Zhao Le nodded, briefly explained the situation to Fang Shaokang, and Fang Shaokang indicated he understood.

"Fine, I'll take the cat and walk slowly that way; it'll probably take at least ten days and a half month…"

"Take the cat? Ten days and a half month?"

"You mean the fastest it could take to get back to Chu Hua Shi is ten days and a half month?! Zheng Tan's boiling enthusiasm was doused with a bucket of ice chips."

"Why the hell?!"

"Even if you can't take the train, driving back wouldn't take that long, so why would it need ten days and a half month?"

Jiao Ba told Zheng Tan over the phone to obediently follow Fang Shaokang, and Fang San Shu would take him to Chu Hua Shi. For now, the Chu Hua Shi side can't send someone to pick up Zheng Tan, as there are still matters to handle there.

Although Jiao Ba didn't explain much, Zheng Tan deduced the reason from the few words; he agreed, saying it was also for his own good, since he himself didn't want to return only to face certain ill‑intentioned people again.

Fang Shaokang stared at the cat attentively listening to the phone; even though Fang San Shu boasted of having seen the world and many strange things, he couldn't help but marvel. That cat's father was also special, actually explaining so much to a cat. If it were the villagers in this situation, they'd probably be thinking about how to exorcise evil spirits.

After the call ended, Zheng Tan's wariness toward Fang Shaokang lessened considerably, since he was someone Zhao Le and her circle knew, and he had even received Zhao Le's assurance, so he saw no need to expend much mental effort on guarding against him.

Meanwhile, that young man who had previously been on the phone came running home after finishing his call, saying he would drive out tomorrow and could, by the way, bring those three puppies to his friend.

Knowing the three puppies had a place to go, Zheng Tan felt completely at ease; from listening to Fang Shaokang and that young man's conversation, he could tell the person preparing to adopt the three puppies was decent.

That evening, Zheng Tan followed Fang Shaokang to the young man's house; naturally, Zheng Tan hid inside the backpack, as the villagers disliked black cats and feared the landlord would object if he found out. As for the three puppies, the young man also placed them in a basket and carried them back.

Having eaten and drunk his fill and slept soundly, Zheng Tan rose early the next morning and followed Fang Shaokang onto the young man's three‑wheeled vehicle.

The puppies were kept in the basket; they had eaten well both last night and this morning, and now they continued to sleep.

The rural roads were rough, with long stretches uneven; the bumpy ride made Zheng Tan feel his head swimming.

A journey of over three hours, if the road is flat, would take less than an hour according to estimates.

That young man's friend raises sheep, also keeps some cattle and such, and has built a dedicated place for poultry farming, the scale is quite large, so it's no wonder they want to raise dogs.

After looking at the three puppies, that friend was very satisfied. He had already tidied up the dog kennel yesterday, and after seeing the three puppies he picked it up and took it over.

Zheng Tan followed Fang Shaokang to have lunch here; in the afternoon that young man will give them a ride to the county seat.

The road to the county seat is much better, not so bumpy; although the distance is twice as long, the time taken is about the same.

Zheng Tan wasn't wearing that Kati cat tag on his hand; when he was in the village, for convenience he had taken off the cat tag and hidden it, and even when following Fang Shaokang he didn't go back to get it, so now he is truly a stray cat without license or tag. But with Fang Shaokang standing beside him, Zheng Tan isn't so jumpy at every sound.

However, the good mood didn't last long; after Fang Shaokang bought a bicycle, Zheng Tan became uneasy.

He thought, this guy Fang Shaokang must have been kicked in the head by a donkey! (To be continued...)