Chapter 62

In the metropolis, the city square at night is always extraordinarily lively.

Store music, various mobile advertisements, energetic street dance tunes, and even the ethnic styles of elderly women……

But tonight, more and more people are gathering toward a corner that usually goes unnoticed.

Hey, hurry over and look—there's a cat tapping bottles over there!

Tapping bottles?

Yeah, I heard it's kept by a wandering singer; those two are performing for money!

Sounds interesting—come on, let's go check it out!

Mom, I also want to see the bottle‑tapping cat~

Alright, let's go see the bottle‑tapping cat.

……

In the city, people aren't that wary of black cats; they come just for novelty, for fun. Living standards have risen, no need to worry about food and clothing, so they try to find amusement to pass the time. After so long, this is still the first time they've seen someone performing with a cat in the square, and the act really works well!

Zheng Tan watched the growing crowd, his head lowering further, intently staring at the glass bottle before him, refusing to glance at the onlookers.

For Zheng Tan, even if his conduct wasn't great when he was human, he still cared about face just as much now; he never imagined he'd end up reduced to street performing, watched by a crowd.

Zheng Tan could only be glad this wasn't the highly connected era a few years later; otherwise, the moment he tapped the bottle, it would be online instantly, possibly shared n times, which would be even more embarrassing.

Tapping the glass bottle in time with Fang Shaokang's hoarse voice, Zheng Tan felt wistful. How could time crawl so slowly! It felt like hours had passed, but in reality only two songs had played, less than ten minutes.

Zheng Tan suddenly recalled what Jiao Ba had once told Jiao Yuan: 'People must learn to self‑regulate; when you don't want to face something but must, try shifting your mindset to comfort yourself, so you can meet the next challenge with a better attitude.'

Shift mindset, regulate mentality?

Zheng Tan slightly lifted his head, glanced at the paper box stuffed with who‑knows‑how‑much money, and thought from another angle. This too was earned by his own bottle‑tapping, not by sneaking through windows or cracks to steal.

Come to think of it, why did stealing through windows and cracks never bring guilt, yet earning money as a street performer now feels embarrassing?

Put bluntly, it's just a face issue. It's a rather absurd and shameless attitude, yet many people possess it.

However, under everyone's gaze, it really feels unnatural. Look at Fang Shaokang next door, singing with gusto—he's gone off-key and forgotten the lyrics several times, yet he's still singing cheerfully. Evidently I still need to thicken my skin. To wander the martial world, north and south, you need a thick face.

Zheng Tan first understood the meaning behind 'blood and sweat money'.

His paws ached from tapping the bottles; when Fang Shaokang considered changing songs, Zheng Tan switched to his other paw, drawing another gasp from the crowd.

Oh my, that cat actually switches paws!

My cat can do that too.

He must be tired, how pitiful.' An aunt rummaged in her purse, walked to the box, and shoved her money inside.

Once someone took the lead, a second, then a third followed……

Fang Shaokang also felt in his heart that a person's face isn't as effective as a cat's; I've been singing half the day, my voice hoarse, yet no one pays attention, while that cat over there gets sympathy just by switching a paw. Earlier that big sister pulled out a hundred bucks at once! It seems the living standard of this city's people is indeed good.

After singing two more old songs, Fang Shaokang took an intermission.

Then someone came over to chat with Fang Shaokang, asking where he was from, how the cat came to be, why he decided to sing here, and so on.

Zheng Tan couldn't be bothered to listen to Fang Shaokang's nonsense there; the guy never tells the truth and even stirs up others' sympathy. As for the enthusiastic aunties around, Zheng Tan truly couldn't stand them, so he climbed up a nearby tree and refused to come down no matter how they called.

Sometimes Zheng Tan doesn't understand why people always shout 'mee‑mee' at cats, regardless of gender or whether the cat has a name. The first person to call a cat that was truly talented.

Before, that word in Zheng Tan's dictionary was only linked to big‑breasted girls, but since becoming a cat he's lost count of how many times no one has called him that; whenever he hears it, no matter who it is, Zheng Tan turns and walks away.

So, when the aunties watching below shouted 'mee' at Zheng Tan, his ear twitched and he promptly climbed the tree.

While Zheng Tan crouched in the tree to avoid the enthusiastic aunties, Fang Shaokang chatted nonsense with people, and the five youngsters singing in a corner were also discussing.

Is that the guy from yesterday?

That uncle came yesterday to ask us questions; I didn't expect him to show up today with a guitar.

That uncle…… I think I saw him yesterday with a camera hanging around his neck?

Or maybe it's a DSLR!

Yeah, a digital DSLR—expensive stuff; I remember it because of his camera.

After they finished speaking, the five fell silent for a moment, then one said, 'Damn, so this old uncle is just bored, well‑fed, and came to steal our business?!'

Youngsters occasionally doing that is rebellion or curiosity. But when a guy nearing forty does it, people think he's out of his mind.

Actually…… the key factor is that black cat, right?

Suddenly I feel hit.' One person said.

The eldest, called A Jin, as the lead singer of this newly formed band and also its boss, greeted the variously minded people, preparing to continue singing. Just then a woman wearing heavy makeup walked over and greeted them.

They knew this woman; she was a relative of the small bar owner who had hired them to sing. She was just out strolling, got a call from the bar owner, and passed along a message. After speaking, she flicked her hair and walked away in stilettos. She truly looked down on these street performers.

The woman's message mainly told them they didn't need to go tonight, because another band performing before them had a birthday boy, was booking the whole venue, and would likely play until dawn.

The five youngsters looked grim, but they'd encountered plenty since leaving home, similar situations before; they now have no money or fame. Put bluntly, they're nothing. It's no wonder others look down on them.

As the band's bassist, the young man stood aside, silent; he never liked talking much. He plucked his bass, the music carrying a hint of fatigue and struggle.

Hey. You few brats!

Just as the five youngsters were thinking about how to arrange their evening, Fang Shaokang approached them and proposed a plan.

"A jam session?" As the band's lead singer and captain, A Jin sounded somewhat surprised.

"Yeah, a jam session, of course. I know my limits, so it won't be me joining you." As Fang Shaokang spoke, he pointed to Zheng Tan, crouched in the tree looking up at the stars, and said, "How about it comes over to play with you guys?"

A Jin thought it over; just seeing the earlier scene showed that cat could draw a crowd, so joining forces would certainly work. Besides, they'd already been planning to leave this city for the next stop, so they weren't in a rush.

After deciding, A Jin nodded and said, "I'm fine; how about you all?"

The other four had no objections; before leaving, they'd have this special experience, which made them quite happy. They'd never played with a cat before.

Zheng Tan had been idly counting stars in the tree, but was told he'd have to jam with those few people.

"Hei Tan, look, Uncle I can't sing anymore—my voice is hoarse, I don't have enough money; teaming up with those little guys could earn a bit more. You just need to hang out nearby, no need to exert yourself." Fang Shaokang raised his head and said to Zheng Tan, "Besides, those kids are pretty pitiful; today's likely their last performance in this city—they'll leave tomorrow. I want to help them, but I don't have your face."

Zheng Tan glanced at the people still lingering nearby, then at the five seventeen‑ or eighteen‑year‑olds over there. After thinking, this thick‑skinned performance was something he'd built some resistance to; helping out a bit for a little extra cash was fine—just a paw's worth of labor, since he only needed to pretend and tap the bottle twice.

After they'd agreed, Zheng Tan stepped up to the five youngsters.

Facing the only black cat, the five young people were somewhat unsure how to get along.

Fang Shaokang helped bring over the bottles and spoons from behind, discussed with A Jin, then borrowed a high stool and placed it beside them, setting down the bottles and iron spoon.

Zheng Tan jumped onto the high stool; this time he felt a bit better than at the start, his skin had thickened a little, and his mindset had adjusted. It's just tapping the iron spoon twice—what's the big deal?!

Seeing that they were about to start again here, the crowd slowly gathered once more; it was only past eight, the city's nightlife was rich, and moreover, this commercial plaza actually had more people now than before.

Unsure whether they could cooperate with a cat, the five felt uneasy, until Fang Shaokang came over and said a few words to reassure them.

Zheng Tan, standing nearby, still had a few minor complaints: 'Do these young whippersnappers still look down on us?'

As soon as Fang Shaokang saw Zheng Tan pull his ears like that, he knew the cat was surely angry again.

"Alright, let's get started!" Fang Shaokang waved his hand, placed the paper box in a conspicuous spot, then stepped aside and sat down to watch.

Seeing that paper box, the five young people's expressions were all unnatural—this was too blatant. Their cultivation was still not as high as Fang Shaokang's.

"Hey, these kids are still shy, huh?" Fang Shaokang said to the person sitting beside him.

There, a middle-aged man was also seated; he was the owner of the instrument shop from which Fang Shaokang rented his guitar. Apart from guitars and basses, A Jin and the others rented drums and keyboards from this man's shop. Most of the time he would come here to listen to these young people perform.

Hearing Fang Shaokang's words, that man smiled and said, "After all, they're still young." (To be continued...)

ps: I've got diarrhea… going out every half hour… dragged on till now, otz

Also, if there's no update by 1 a. m., I'll set it to update around 7 a. m.; if there are special circumstances, I'll note them at the end of the chapter. Everyone, don't stay up late at night—staying up is unpleasant.

Thanks to wudongfengli, Daming, ed got lost, apple45945, michuel, Handsome Guy's brother, Liu Sheng Xiduo Liezhai, Gan Hongxiang, kasimgfu, Sheng Baishi, Xiao Feng Qing, xii's inverted cross, huge huge huge trash, the non-cute bunny, Mengniu's Love, swfish, double_chen, jessicazhao, silver1990 (2), white rice, δFour Seas Peace and Prosperityδ, Liu Yan, Жfollow the windЖ, cuo luo., zhi wu shao, 117764743 mimimi, 820627 classmates for casting their precious monthly votes!