Chapter 76

Ye Hao did not come over right away to talk to Zheng Tan, and he also did not appear at Ye Lou the next day; it was heard that he left first due to some matter.

A Jin and his several companions have now been transferred to a nearby hospital, which is much better than the small hospital they were previously in, and it also allows them to receive better treatment. It is not that their injuries are particularly severe, but rather to ensure that there will be no other aftereffects when they perform in the future; going to a better hospital also provides more security.

Wei Leng drove the car, with only Zheng Tan in the back seat, and A Jin sitting in the front passenger seat.

Originally A Jin had intended to sit in the back seat, but he realized he did not quite know how to treat this black cat. He knew that he was able to get help because of this black cat; Wei Leng had already directly said that he was helping them out of consideration for the black cat's face.

But A Jin did not understand; isn't this just a cat? Even if it's special, it's still only a cat, right?

Besides Wei Leng's attitude, the several people at Ye Lou were the same. A Jin recalled what had happened that morning; when they left Ye Lou, they ran into Long Qi talking with someone on the first floor. Long Qi smiled and greeted him and Wei Leng upon seeing them, which was normal, but his expression changed unnaturally when he saw the black cat. A Jin, having spent years out in the world and practiced reading people's faces, noticed even though Long Qi's expression was only a fleeting flicker.

As for Wei Leng, A Jin felt some wariness. Yesterday he had been drunk, but he still remembered some things. Wei Leng had drawn out too much talk from him, even extracting the hospital addresses and ward numbers of the other four, although Wei Leng meant no harm. Yet A Jin felt he was still not vigilant enough; he had been too impulsive at Ye Lou yesterday, especially when seeing the performance at the East Palace, he let his guard down all at once. It seems he still needs tempering.

As for that Mr. Fang…

Wei Leng told him that regarding that Mr. Fang's matter, he should not discuss it with others later, otherwise it could bring disaster upon himself.

Indeed, they are not ordinary people! Even the cat is not an ordinary cat.

After parking the car, Wei Leng took out his backpack, opened the zipper and shook the bag in his hand, then looked toward Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan felt helpless inside, but he could only jump into the bag.

Long Qi had already told them their ward numbers. Wei Leng and A Jin went straight to the ward. It was not a single room; each ward had four beds, but currently only A Jin's four little companions were in this ward. Three were hospitalized and lying in bed; the fourth, when on guard, could also sleep on the remaining bed.

Upon seeing A Jin enter, the four had many questions they wanted to ask. But because Wei Leng was present, they did not ask too much. Even now they still wondered: strangers had come the night before, but only this morning were they told they would be transferred to another hospital; after going through the process, they arrived at this new hospital, and they need not worry about other matters, as someone had already taken care of them.

There's no such thing as a free lunch; having experienced a vagrant life, they understood this all too well, so the other party's actions left the four feeling uneasy, and they hoped A Jin would return quickly so they could figure out the reason behind things.

After hearing A Jin's brief account, the four looked dubiously at the black cat crawling out of Wei Leng's backpack, as if thinking, "This cat has quite a background?"

Regardless of how big its background is, they can stay here and have the chance to enter Ye Lou to learn those resident-singing techniques; even if it's only in the northern part of Ye Lou, it's tremendous good news for them. Originally they had prepared for the worst outcomes, even getting ready to pack up and return home in disgrace, but they never expected things to turn around. Everyone wishes to return home in glory, rather than flee back only after being reduced to near destitution.

Zheng Tan glanced at these hospitalized people; the three lying in bed: one had his head wrapped in bandages, another had his leg in a cast, and the last likely still had internal injuries. Yet the three appeared fairly spirited, indicating that their injuries were indeed not serious.

Going to a bar to sing a song and ending up like this is indeed quite unlucky, but this is also common; clashes with other singers at the bar are not unusual. However, A Jin and his companions have no backing here and know no one else, so being bullied and excluded is not surprising.

Zheng Tan came over just to have a look at these people; after looking, he jumped into the backpack, signaling that Wei Leng could leave the hospital.

As Wei Leng left, he patted A Jin on the shoulder, saying, "Young man, there's still a lot you need to learn; remember not to be so easily led into giving away information in the future."

A Jin was surprised; looking at it this way, Wei Leng actually realized his approach was improper, yet at the same time he gave A Jin a lesson.

After leaving the hospital, Wei Leng directly took Zheng Tan to the eastern faculty housing area of Chu Hua Da Xue. If he did not send the cat back, the Jiao Family would surely have stronger objections, making it difficult later to borrow the cat to bring Zheng Tan back for fun.

However, on the way to Chu Hua Da Xue, Wei Leng drove while also keeping an eye on the black cat in the rear seat, which had its head tilted as if pondering something.

Zheng Tan was actually recalling some details from after he got drunk yesterday, secretly sighing that he had still been too impulsive. He himself had not expected his heart to hold back so much emotion; because of this opportunity, it all came out through howling. Fortunately it was at Ye Lou, where the soundproofing is good and no one else heard it, otherwise he would have made a huge fool of himself.

Besides that, Zheng Tan also guessed that what Wei Leng wanted him to help with was certainly related to Ye Hao.

Ye Hao, together with people like Long Qi and Baizi, probably had some kind of background; Zheng Tan could roughly infer a bit. Being able to support such a large Ye Lou and operate safely in that prosperous district certainly indicated they possessed some strength.

As for what exactly Wei Leng needed Zheng Tan to help with, Zheng Tan had not yet figured it out.

Zheng Tan was pondering when Wei Leng, who was driving ahead, spoke up.

"Hei Tan, look outside, there are pigeons." Wei Leng said.

Zheng Tan sat up and looked out the window; there was a plaza over there with a few pigeons, not many, not like the flocks shown on TV, and at this time no one would be feeding pigeons, so there was nothing to see. But why did Wei Leng bring up the topic of pigeons?

"I heard that in the last century, abroad some people used pigeons as spies; after training the pigeons, people would install a miniature eavesdropping device on these special pigeons, letting them fly toward the target to be surveilled under laser guidance, such as window sills and the like. When these special pigeons land, they follow the training steps, peck at the eavesdropping device to open the special switch on it, and then the eavesdropping device originally attached to the pigeon's leg automatically detaches and begins its eavesdropping mission, while the pigeon has already flown far away."

After saying that, Wei Leng inwardly mocked himself for actually discussing such a profound topic with a cat, and moreover the talk was roundabout—how could a cat possibly understand? Even if the cat is smart, it wouldn't think in circles like a person.

Just then the car reached an intersection and hit a red light; Wei Leng looked via the interior rearview mirror at the cat in the back seat, expecting the cat to behave as usual, indifferent and crouching there, but instead he saw the cat narrowing its eyes and staring at this side.

The meaning in that gaze…

Wei Leng's heart jolted—had it understood? Really damned spooky!

Although his master used to say "cats are spiritual beings," being too spiritual borders on monstrous and would frighten people.

"Hei Tan, Ye Hao's side has run into a little trouble; it's not unsolvable, it just takes a bit more time, but Ye Hao hopes to resolve things as soon as possible, so he wants to plant a listening device in someone's home, but that place is hard for people to get into, hence he hopes you can lend a hand. How about it? Did you understand?" Wei Leng looked toward the back seat via the interior rearview mirror.

Zheng Tan yawned and lay down.

Wei Leng then said, "In that case, if you understood my meaning, just pat the car seat."

Zheng Tan flicked his tail and patted the car seatback.

Wei Leng's eye twitched—this damn cat really understood! Does that mean we can skip training and go straight into action?

"This isn't very dangerous; we just don't want to startle the snake. If you were to carry out a mission, I'd be outside providing backup, and if anything happened I guarantee I could get you out of there—okay?"

Zheng Tan flicked his tail and patted the car seat again.

"How about it? Are you interested in taking this job?" Wei Leng asked.

This time Zheng Tan did not flick his tail immediately; only after about half a minute did he do so.

This time it was Wei Leng's turn to be surprised—did it really understand? Does it truly know what it needs to do?

Maybe this cat actually understood nothing at all and is just flicking its tail to tease people.

According to Wei Leng's original plan, training, coordination, etc., would take at least a week, so that the cat would know what to do and how to do it. But the current situation is somewhat beyond his expectations.

"In any case, think it over first; I'll come pick you up the day after tomorrow." Wei Leng said, his tone not sounding like he was speaking to a cat but more like to a person. Moreover, the conversation went too smoothly, which made Wei Leng worry instead. Is this cat truly understanding or just pretending?

After arriving at Chu Hua Da Xue, Wei Leng's car drove into Dongqu Dayuan.

After Zheng Tan got out of the car, he jumped back onto it.

"What are you doing?" Wei Leng wondered.

Zheng Tan lifted his paw and scratched his neck.

"Oh, I forgot." Saying that, Wei Leng took out Zheng Tan's access card from his pocket and hung it around Zheng Tan's neck.

This time Zheng Tan then jumped down from the car and left. However, he did not go upstairs, as there was no one up there at the moment, and going up would be boring.

On the lawn of the compound, A Huang and Jingzhang were basking in the sun, with the Saint Bernard puppy Xiao Hua lying beside them, and A Huang was moving his paws, alternately stepping on Xiao Hua's body.

Zheng Tan had no leisure to keep watching them; he was currently thinking about some things.

By this time next year, Jiao Ba is expected to go abroad, and once he leaves it will be at least a year; by then the Jiao Family will lack a pillar, and if Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi get bullied, what will they do? One can't always rely on the people of the compound to help much, can they?

Jiao Ba's friends will certainly look after them, but Zheng Tan also hopes to contribute his share; since he has decided to stay here, he must certainly demonstrate his own worth. If someone really comes to bully them and legitimate channels prove ineffective, then resorting to underhanded tactics—things like striking from the shadows—would still be more convenient by seeking Ye Hao and his group. Sometimes violence can solve problems more directly.

So, Zheng Tan hadn't thought of giving up on Ye Hao's lead.

It's just a small task, isn't it? Since Wei Leng said there's no danger to life, why not give it a try? (To be continued...)