Chapter 83

The campus in July was lush and dense.

Although people often went to repair the flower beds and some green belts, the plants grew too fast, changing their appearance in just a few days.

For the people of Chu Hua Shi, July and August always make them irritable; the weather is too hot, so people rarely go out during the day.

Zheng Tan lay on the balcony of the fifth floor, beside a pot of orchid grass sent by Orchid Old Man; Zheng Tan liked to lean against the flowerpot and sleep here. At this time, the balcony was in shade, which might be hot for humans but comfortable for a cat, after all a cat's body temperature is naturally higher than a human's.

In the blink of an eye, it had been over a year since he arrived here; Zheng Tan hadn't noticed before, but when he learned that Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi were on summer break, he realized it was summer vacation again.

At this time last year, Zheng Tan had just arrived here, feeling resistant to everything, lacking a sense of security, bewildered; indeed, various complex emotions were tangled together. Now recalling it, his feelings then are somewhat fuzzy, but the scenes of arriving here remain vivid in his memory.

His chin felt a little itchy; Zheng Tan rubbed it against the protruding edge of the flowerpot, yawned, and squinted at the people hurrying below with sun umbrellas.

Jiao Yuan recently hung out with Xiong Xiong and a few others, always going out to play—today to the swimming pool, tomorrow to play basketball, his schedule packed full; aside from mealtimes, he hardly stayed home during the day. Anyway, the several kids in the compound always went out together, with some parent tagging along, all acquaintances, so other parents weren't worried either.

Having left primary school behind, Jiao Yuan was always filled with inexplicable excitement; even in the scorching midsummer he wore a goofy grin. Not long after graduating primary school, he had already gotten a tan.

Thinking about Xiao Youzi staying in her room doing summer homework, Zheng Tan couldn't help but feel that the little girl was quieter.

After a nap, Zheng Tan was awakened by a calling sound.

"Meow—meow—"

Two cat calls came from downstairs.

It wasn't A Huang, wasn't Jingzhang, and certainly not Da Pang.

Just by hearing the sound, without looking, Zheng Tan knew it was that Peanut Candy fellow.

Since it was little, Peanut Candy has followed Li Yuanba on walks, familiar with the surrounding terrain from the pet center to this side of Chu Hua Da Xue; these are the places it often walks.

Unlike dogs, when cats go out for walks, the distance they cover can be far greater than people imagine—of course, we won't mention the directionally challenged cats. Take A Huang, for example; the farthest it goes is still within Chu Hua Da Xue, and only when accompanied by Zheng Tan and the others. If left to its own devices, A Huang wouldn't even step out of the compound gate.

Zheng Tan once thought A Huang was afraid of strangers and unfamiliar pet dogs, but after a few occasions when this fellow went out, he realized it simply didn't remember the way—perhaps after being neutered it no longer marked its territory, so lacking 'landmarks' it forgot the route.

As for why Peanut Candy now walks the streets on its own, it's mainly because Li Yuanba fell ill—some intestinal infection or something—worrying Yanzi and Xiao Guo greatly. Li Yuanba usually gives the impression of being sturdy and healthy, never even suffering minor ailments, but once he gets sick it becomes quite serious; lately he's been kept at the pet center to recuperate, not coming out.

And Peanut Candy still goes out every day; however, when Zheng Tan went to film an advertisement last time, Xiao Guo told him that each time Peanut Candy goes out and returns, it carries a large rat to Li Yuanba, seemingly seeking praise, or perhaps trying to show people that it has grown up and is no longer the little cat that constantly needed companionship.

Regardless of what Peanut Candy thinks, this behavior continues.

Sometimes Peanut Candy comes over to summon a few cats to go out together; with more cats, it likely has presence and won't always be bullied.

Peanut Candy appears to be only seven or eight months old, yet it is larger than other cats of that age, about the same size as Zheng Tan and the others; plus its fur is somewhat longer and thicker, making it resemble a big cat.

As for that distinctive 'mole' on Peanut Candy's mouth, as its head grows, the mole enlarges too, looking rather comical.

Zheng Tan has gone out with Peanut Candy a few times, and from these outings he noticed a phenomenon. First, Peanut Candy's rat-catching technique is very skilled—clearly Li Yuanba's teaching played a crucial role, indispensable. Second, this fellow never catches rats in the same spot; today it's on the neighboring street, tomorrow in some warehouse at Chu Hua Da Xue, the day after in another location.

In short, the rats come from different places each day, which leaves Zheng Tan puzzled.

Could it be that the rats smell different in different places?

Or perhaps this is Peanut Candy's way of telling Li Yuanba that it is very familiar with the surrounding terrain?

Zheng Tan doesn't understand, but he still appreciates Peanut Candy's behavior.

When Peanut Candy calls from below, the Jingzhang who was sleeping in that thicket rushes out, looking quite pleased, because whenever Peanut Candy summons companions, it's likely to go fight the cats of a certain territory—or perhaps the cats there are blocking its path, and a fight clears the way.

Zheng Tan rose, stretched, and ran downstairs.

A Huang has been kept at home lately, and Da Pang won't wander far from his grandmother's place, so only Zheng Tan and Jingzhang are taking Peanut Candy out for a walk.

Just beyond one of Chu Hua Da Xue's side gates, a few hundred meters out lies a small lane lined with private rental buildings—several stories high, meant for students, and rather disorderly. Most tenants are male; female students rarely dare to come, mainly because the area is isolated. Behind it stands a supposedly abandoned construction site, never cleared, where brawls break out and have even turned bloody a few times. Consequently, most people avoid it now; only a handful still rent there, attracted by the cheap rent—otherwise the place would be utterly desolate.

Zheng Tan and Peanut Candy headed there today, only to find that several families were holding celebrations—promotion banquets and the like. No one went to a fancy hotel; locals prefer to host at home, given that their buildings are four or five stories high with ample space, so a little tidying up suffices.

If only one family were celebrating, it'd be fine, but now there are several, cars line the street, people keep coming and going, and it's already past four p. m.

Zheng Tan noticed a cat crouched by a wall of one house—fairly big, its pattern similar to Jingzhang's. Aside from that cat, he saw another with somewhat long fur, lounging lazily beneath a small cart.

Peanut Candy looked around, then stopped advancing—it likely hadn't anticipated this scene. It flicked its tail and turned back.

Jingzhang was ready to charge in and pick a fight, but Zheng Tan tugged him back; with so many people around, a cat scuffle is tolerable, but if humans joined in it would be complicated, and besides, this is someone else's turf.

Cat fights are best at night, when no human interference occurs. But Peanut Candy doesn't get to go out every night—it all depends on Yanzi's mood that day. From Peanut Candy's decision today, it likely won't come out tonight; if it were able to go out at night, it wouldn't be here during the day.

As Zheng Tan returned to the courtyard, before he even stepped inside he heard a voice from within.

"Buddha Master?"

"Why is the Buddha Master coming over now?"

Zheng Tan was puzzled.

Upon stepping inside, Zheng Tan saw Buddha Master cradling a baby while talking to Jiao Ma.

Seeing Zheng Tan come in, Jiao Ma exclaimed, "No need to wait for the restaurant—Hei Tan is back right now!"

Zheng Tan flicked his ears, thinking, "What nonsense—talking as if I were a glutton."

Buddha Master sat on the living-room sofa, gazing at Zheng Tan, and said, "Hei Tan, come here—this is a kitten."

"A kitten?"

"Zhuo Xiao Mao?"

No wonder Buddha Master's perpetually stern iron visage has softened so much it hardly looks like him.

Zheng Tan walked over, leapt onto the sofa, and stared at the baby cradled in Buddha Master's arms.

Going by the timeline, Zhuo Xiao Mao is roughly three months old, still unable to talk or crawl. His hair is sparse, his eyes not big, but they are dark and bright.

It's said that babies' eyes are like that—distinct black and white, fairly clear, not murky like adults'.

Zhuo Xiao Mao has a pendant around its neck—a charm Xiao Zhuo fashioned from nine-leaf grass, now dangling from Zhuo Xiao Mao.

Buddha Master shifted his grip so Zhuo Xiao Mao could face Zheng Tan.

So the person and the cat simply gazed at each other.

Then Zhuo Xiao Mao started giggling "ka-ka-ka," waving its arms as it laughed, like a chick flapping its wings.

"What a laugh!"

Zheng Tan gazed at the baby before him, the little one incessantly babbling "ee-ya ee-ya," not knowing what it was saying, and its eyes and expression were dead serious.

"He's greeting you," Buddha Master said.

Really?

Zheng Tan looked at the person still there making ee-ee-ya-ya sounds; this little guy laughed so hard drool came out—really damn silly.

"Hei Tan, say hello to your little brother." Jiao Ma said from the side.

Say hello?

How?

Zheng Tan felt a bit lost; with a kid this small, would poking him hurt him?

However, seeing the little guy waving his arms, Zheng Tan still approached, rubbing his palm on the sofa to wipe off some dust, then shook it, looked at his palm, made sure to retract his sharp claws, and then reached out. He touched Zhuo Xiao Mao's chubby face.

Seeing Zheng Tan's earlier action, Buddha's face showed a hint of a smile.

Zhuo Xiao Mao, after being touched by Zheng Tan, started laughing again.

Zheng Tan felt somewhat helpless; this little brat, why does he like laughing so much?

"Buddha" didn't stay here long, and soon left.

In the evening, at the dinner table, Jiao Ma brought up what happened that afternoon; Jiao Ba merely grunted twice, not saying much. But Zheng Tan always felt Jiao Ba seemed to know something. (To be continued...)