Chapter 66: You Used Up Mr. Fang and Then Threw Him Away, Right?

Not far from the intersection, another inconspicuous car was parked. Inside, someone was holding a phone and making a call.

"It really wasn't us; we hadn't even moved to intercept, and he already messed up on his own—just bad luck. Tell Baige that Ren Chong has already been sent to the hospital; the rest is up to Baige to decide. We're wrapping up here."

Chu Hua Shi High-Tech Development Zone, Tianyuan Gene.

Sitting opposite Wei Leng was a person about the same age, with little expression on his face, even when answering the phone; Wei Leng had long been used to this, after all they'd grown up together since childhood.

"How? Any new developments?" Wei Leng asked.

The person opposite put his phone in his pocket and said, "Baizi said that guy messed up while driving himself; they didn't lay a hand on him."

"Oh?" Wei Leng, curious, said, "Even if Ren Chong was messed up, with all sorts of trouble constantly arising, it's not crazy to the point of being unable to drive steadily—Your people really didn't move? No intimidation either?"

"No." The person opposite affirmed, "He's already in the hospital; he'll probably have to stay there for a while. What are you planning to do?"

Wei Leng thought for a moment, waved his hand, and said, "Forget it, have your people withdraw; I'll handle the rest."

The person opposite nodded, made a brief call, then sat down again.

"Haozu, how's the consideration of what I told you last time going?" Wei Leng asked.

"The transport matter? I've already started picking people." Ye Hao said.

"Good, these past days Yuan Zhiyi has been pushing; the order volume is relatively large. Moreover, some samples are quite special, so we're preparing to set up a dedicated logistics department after expansion. It'd be best to finalize the personnel this week; he said he wants to start training as soon as possible."

The two discussed the personnel matter further; Ye Hao glanced at the time, rose, and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, Ye Hao asked a question: "You're doing all this just for a cat?"

Ye Hao was referring to some recent events, such as cracking down on a batch of cat traffickers and repairing that surnamed Ren university professor. He couldn't understand why these people would go to such lengths for a cat. After all, it's just a cat—is it really worth it?

It could truly be called "a blood case sparked by a cat."

Wei Leng chuckled. "Yeah. My senior fellow apprentice still owes that cat a favor. In short, it's a very special cat; you'll know when you meet it. Oh. That guy seems to be coming back soon."

Regarding Wei Leng's words, Ye Hao gave a noncommittal response, patted his clothes, and left.

At that moment, Zheng Tan, sitting in the off-road vehicle, was unaware of what had happened in Chu Hua Shi during his absence.

When Ren Chong's car hit the lamppost, the vehicle Zheng Tan was in had already driven far away, so he didn't know what had happened to Ren Chong. At that moment, the green light turned on and the two cars separated; Zheng Tan was still wondering when he could get his revenge.

The scene that unfolded while the vehicles waited at the red light was seen by Fang Shaokang; as for Ren Chong, Fang Shaokang had already obtained his information through some means, so he recognized Ren Chong and planned to add fuel to the fire when he had the chance.

As the off-road vehicle neared Chu Hua Da Xue, Zheng Tan cast aside his other distracting thoughts, watching the gradually familiar road and buildings; he could no longer sit still, stood on the seat, and leaned against the window to look outside.

Over a month, many leaves on the trees had grown lush. I didn't know what the compound would be like.

The off-road vehicle entered through the main gate of Chu Hua Da Xue, but Fang Shaokang and the driver didn't know where the Dongqu Dayuan family compound was, so they kept asking along the way. Zheng Tan, growing impatient, scratched at the window, had Fang Shaokang open it, and then jumped out.

The familiar environment made Zheng Tan feel his whole body relax; he took a deep breath, inhaled the familiar scent in the air, felt his heart about to lift off, stopped caring about Fang Shaokang, and sprang into a run.

Even though he'd only been away for a little over a month, having experienced so much made it feel like years. Yet, as soon as he stepped foot on this ground again, the familiar routes naturally surfaced in Zheng Tan's mind.

The leaves of the plane trees beside the road had grown thick enough to shade the sky above the road, and the noisy birds on campus seemed less annoying.

Running through the roadside flower and grass clumps, his body, which had been weary from travel, became ever lighter in the face of the oncoming wind.

What does it feel like to be eager to return home?

Now Zheng Tan finally understood that feeling.

In the off-road vehicle, the driver looked at Fang Shaokang, who returned a helpless glance and said, "Catch up."

But within two minutes, they lost sight of the cat.

"Why is this cat running so fast, truly impatient! Ask someone nearby where the family compound is." Fang Shaokang said.

The reason Fang Shaokang and company couldn't find Zheng Tan was first, he ran fast and was still in the flower-and-grass patch; second, he had taken a shortcut.

Having spent so long at Chu Hua Da Xue, he'd stroll around whenever idle, knowing all the shortcuts; thus, to reach the Dongqu Dayuan as quickly as possible, Zheng Tan took a direct shortcut.

Upon seeing the familiar gate of the Dongqu Dayuan, Zheng Tan felt like doing a few backflips to vent his excitement.

The gatekeeper uncle had one elbow resting on the windowsill, chin propped up, reading a newspaper. Zheng Tan's current size was too small; from the gatekeeper's angle, he couldn't see Zheng Tan walking over.

As he passed the guardroom window, Zheng Tan jumped up and slapped the uncle's head.

Startled by the sudden slap, the gatekeeper lifted his head and saw a black shadow flash by; he poked his head out to look, only to see the black figure that had vanished over a month ago.

"Yo, Hei Tan's back?!" the gatekeeper chuckled, not bothering to see if the cat could respond. Although many black cats of this kind exist, he could tell at a glance who it was. Besides, could someone with poor eyesight be a gatekeeper?

Seeing the cat walk away, the gatekeeper finally sat back down, shook his newspaper, ready to continue reading, but then suddenly thought, "The Jiao family's home is empty now; how is this cat supposed to get inside?"

Zheng Tan excitedly ran to the Jiao family's building. Moreover, as a reflex, he jumped up and rubbed against the card reader, but there was no response at all.

Only then did Zheng Tan realize he wasn't wearing an access card around his neck.

"Holy shit, how do I get into the building without a card?!"

"Besides, if no one's home, even getting into the building won't open the apartment door."

"Moreover, it's already past two; few people are entering or leaving the building, so maybe someone will come back around afternoon mealtime."

Irritably flicking his tail, Zheng Tan turned his head toward Da Pang's home.

That fat guy was currently lying on the balcony, eyes wide open, staring at Zheng Tan. He was probably still wondering how Zheng Tan had disappeared for over a month and now suddenly reappeared.

Zheng Tan jumped onto Da Pang's balcony, intending to find the old lady there for help.

Da Pang got up, ran over, stopped in front of Zheng Tan, sniffed—seeming to verify his identity—then lifted a paw and patted Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan didn't mind Da Pang's way of greeting; what he noticed was that after not seeing him for over a month, this guy seemed to have gotten fatter, his "base" also larger—probably from squatting while eating instant noodles. From behind, when he runs, his legs can form an eight shape.

Seeing Da Pang now, and recalling the first time I saw him last year, I can only sigh: "I still remember how fresh and clean he used to be."

Inside, there was the smell of food—not the old lady's lunch, but Da Pang's rations; the old lady makes all of Da Pang's cat food herself, and his current physique is, to some extent, her doing.

When Zheng Tan entered, he found the old lady resting, presumably having just lain down; the large bowl left on the table was still warm.

In front of the old lady's door, Zheng Tan didn't go in right away; Da Pang, standing beside him, seemed to want to block Zheng Tan but hesitated.

Zheng Tan flicked his ears, "Look at you!" as if afraid of disturbing the old lady.

The old lady is elderly and had finally fallen asleep; Zheng Tan didn't want to bother her again, and besides, he wasn't out of options.

After leaving Da Pang's home, Zheng Tan prepared to head straight to the Science Building to look for Jiao Ba.

As for Da Pang, he continued to squat on the balcony, guarding his family's old lady—like a watchdog, but no, he's even more responsible than a dog.

The gatekeeper uncle who had been watching the window saw Zheng Tan come out, waved, and said, "Hei Tan, come wait here a bit, don't run around, hey, I still have some small yellow fish…"

Before the gatekeeper uncle finished speaking, Zheng Tan darted off like a gust of wind.

Between Dongqu Dayuan and the Science Building, there is a shortcut; taking it is quicker, so Zheng Tan didn't run into Fang Shaokang and the others.

Returning to the Science Building, Zheng Tan felt a little nervous, hoping Jiao Ba hadn't changed offices.

He didn't see Yi Xin or Su Qu in the first‑floor public lab, so Zheng Tan went to the tree near Jiao Ba's office and peered inside.

There were two people in the office, neither of whom was Jiao Ba.

Yi Xin was teaching Su Qu how to analyze the experimental data; the two huddled at the computer, typing with one hand and scribbling in a notebook with the other. Suddenly hearing a movement behind the window, they both turned and saw a black cat push open the screen and jump in.

"Hei Tan?!" Yi Xin exclaimed.

"Is that the boss's cat? I thought it was lost," Su Qu asked.

"Yesterday I heard the boss say someone had found it and was bringing it back. I didn't expect it to arrive today."

Zheng Tan ignored their words, stared at Su Qu, making Su Qu feel creeped out.

"Senior brother, why does it keep staring at me?" Su Qu rubbed his arm, goosebumps rising; the cat's gaze was a bit chilling.

"You should change seats," Yi Xin said.

"Oh." Su Qu got up and pulled a stool over to the opposite side of the table.

After Su Qu stood up, Zheng Tan jumped onto the small chair, glanced at the time display in the lower‑right corner of the computer, and thought Jiao Ba probably had a class this afternoon, not knowing when he'd return.

Just then the office door opened; Associate Professor Jiao walked in carrying teaching materials, saw the cat's head peeking out from the desk, and smiled. He had just gotten a call from Fang Shaokang, come over after finishing a class, and still had two more classes to teach—three in a row this afternoon.

Associate Professor Jiao handed the teaching materials to Yi Xin, saying, "There are two more classes; go give your junior schoolmates a lecture. I'll tell them the last two classes will be taken over by you to continue sharing experience—they're all waiting."

Yi Xin: "……" This is the second time this month.

After saying that, Jiao Ba turned to Zheng Tan and said, "Come on, let's go home. You used up Mr. Fang's thing and just threw it away, right?" (To be continued…)

ps: The next chapter will be updated tonight.

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