Chapter 327

At year-end, Fang Shaokang became especially busy; although he was usually busy too, he would also set aside a day each week to relax, but now he had no time at all, even when calling Fang Mengmeng he was rushed and hurried. Fang Shaokang had arranged for someone to send Zheng Tan back to Chu Hua Shi, and the specific date was confirmed; due to some temporary matters, it was postponed two days later than originally planned. But it was only two days—Zheng Tan could wait.

Zheng Tan lay on the sofa, yawned, looked at the date on the calendar, hmm, it's fine, he'll be able to go back the day after tomorrow.

These past few days Zheng Tan stayed indoors, eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating, not going out; one reason was the cold outside, another was what Er Mao had said, so Zheng Tan simply lazed around indoors to avoid trouble.

In the afternoon Fang Mengmeng returned home from school, after dinner she told her mom and left; their school had a model competition, and recently she had been discussing with two classmates how to proceed. Those two classmates of Fang Mengmeng also lived in this villa area, nearby, so forming a small group to discuss things was convenient.

Da Mi followed Fang Mengmeng out; every day when he came back, Da Mi's paws would have a few short dog hairs stuck to them—the Pekingese that Zheng Tan saw that night being chased by Da Mi was Da Mi's bullying target.

"Hei Tan, let's go out together, you need to move around—look, you've gotten a bit chubby these past few days," Fang Mengmeng said to Zheng Tan on the sofa before heading out.

"Chubby? Really? Maybe it's muscle."

Zheng Tan lowered his head and looked; he didn't feel chubby, but compared to the days filming the documentary, he had indeed gotten a bit better. Mainly those few days of filming were tiring, and afterward he followed the crew around. He lost some weight, but after finishing filming, staying at Fang Mengmeng's house with nothing to do but eat and sleep, the lost flesh came right back.

However, it's true that he hasn't been exercising much.

After thinking, Zheng Tan decided to go out for a walk with Fang Mengmeng and Da Mi, just to digest, strolling only around this villa area—should be fine—and incidentally see how these kids are working on their models.

This time he didn't wear that polar bear costume that Er Mao and Qin Tao had mocked; after all, he wasn't going far, just nearby. Zheng Tan also didn't want to wear it again, otherwise others would laugh at him.

After going out, the temperature difference between indoors and out made Zheng Tan shiver involuntarily; he glanced at Da Mi beside him, unaffected. Zheng Tan sighed inwardly. There was no way. This enviable trait couldn't be copied. Compared to summer, Da Mi's fur in winter is noticeably thicker; he was already sturdier than other cats. Now he looks even more solid, his fighting strength greater—no wonder several cats in this residential area bolt when they see Da Mi, likely having been bullied before.

Fang Mengmeng wrapped her scarf, leading Zheng Tan and Da Mi toward her classmate's house. After walking less than five minutes, they arrived at a Western-style villa; instead of ringing the doorbell, they stood below and shouted.

"Chu Laiya!"

When Zheng Tan first heard that name, he thought someone was being called "come out," but later learned it was the name of a mixed-race little girl, a classmate of Fang Mengmeng and a member of their model team.

After Fang Mengmeng shouted twice from below, Chu Laiya came out holding a small bag.

"Huh? Whose black cat is this?" Chu Laiya asked, looking at Zheng Tan standing beside Fang Mengmeng and Da Mi.

"It's a cat from my dad's friend's house, my Da Mi's……well, an elder." The term "elder" was something Fang Mengmeng heard from Fang Shaokang when she called him, so afterward when introducing Zheng Tan, Fang Mengmeng always adds that phrase.

"An elder?" Chu Laiya walked alongside, glancing curiously at Zheng Tan a few more times, "but it's not as tall as Da Mi."

Zheng Tan: "..." He felt as if a sword had pierced his chest.

"They're not related by blood, different breeds, can't be compared," Fang Mengmeng explained.

"Oh, also." Chu Laiya nodded, not giving Zheng Tan another jab.

The two walked along the road for about ten minutes, arriving at a villa; this time Fang Mengmeng didn't shout from below, but went with Chu Laiya to the front door and rang the bell.

"Woof woof woof woof woof!"

Because the doorbell rang, the dog inside started barking; Zheng Tan recognized the sound as that of the Pekingese constantly bullied by Da Mi.

Soon the door opened; a boy about the same age as Fang Mengmeng and Chu Laiya opened it, a biscuit sticking out of his mouth.

This must be the other member of Fang Mengmeng's group, a boy named Hou Junyi.

"You're late."

Hou Junyi opened the door; as he did, his family's Pekingese Maodou had already gathered at the doorway, waiting for Da Mi to enter, then immediately ran off and hid beside Hou Junyi, barking at Da Mi.

The three had long grown accustomed to this cat-and-dog dynamic; speaking of which, the two could be considered childhood friends, having fought since they were little, and Maodou had been bullied by Da Mi from childhood onward. Although Da Mi usually acts fierce toward Maodou, if Maodou gets into a fight with another dog or cat, Da Mi will definitely rush over to help Maodou.

"Monkey, your Maodou really keeps losing battle after battle," Fang Mengmeng laughed.

Hou Junyi's nickname is "Monkey"; his surname has caused him quite a bit of trouble, the nickname being just a minor annoyance. Hearing Fang Mengmeng's words, Hou Junyi snorted, offering no comment.

"Huh, there's a black cat!" Hou Junyi exclaimed upon seeing Zheng Tan. His impression of cats only had two types: those that run when they see a dog, and those that pick a fight when they see a dog.

Zheng Tan counts as an exception to Hou Junyi's experience—he ignores Maodou, doesn't fight, seeming to have no interest in Maodou at all.

Fang Mengmeng again briefly explained Zheng Tan's background.

Hou Junyi's family has a specially arranged "workshop" for him; Fang Mengmeng and the other two design their projects in that workshop.

Zheng Tan watched from the side as the three kids crafted their handmade models; Da Mi and Maodou were already racing around the room, and Hou Junyi's parents didn't say anything, having long grown accustomed to it.

After the three had been busy for an hour, they took a break. Hou Junyi's mother brought in a stack of desserts and some small snacks.

The three kids chatted on and on, eventually talking about TV dramas and mentioning their favorite stars.

Hou Junyi had no interest in the stars Fang Mengmeng and Chu Laiya mentioned; he wasn't a celebrity chaser. Instead, he admired some big names in engineering—his grandfather was from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, his father also talented in that field; from childhood exposure he became more interested in that area, as for chasing stars, what's the point?

Zheng Tan curled his lip; this kid doesn't even have his fur fully grown, so naturally he doesn't know why certain female stars and some xx-industry actresses are so popular with men; as for the male stars Fang Mengmeng and Chu Laiya mentioned, tsk. Zheng Tan said he's only interested in things like x-photo-door.

Because Hou Junyi's facial expression was too obvious. After Fang Mengmeng mentioned a few idol stars' names, she asked Hou Junyi, "What's with that expression? Don't you like them?"

"I don't like them!" Hou Junyi affirmed.

"Men with strong jealousy are the most despicable!" Chu Laiya sneered.

Zheng Tan: "..." It felt weird hearing that come from the mouth of a girl younger than Xiao Youzi.

Hou Junyi's face flushed red, "I'm not jealous at all; they simply aren't worth admiring. Just like that rather pretentious guy next door. Looking at him is unpleasant."

"Xiao?" Fang Mengmeng and Chu Laiya both looked at Hou Junyi. "Isn't the place next door to your house a company?"

"No, that was a while ago; the house was transferred three years ago to some Xiao." Hou Junyi said.

"What exactly is this Xiao?"

"Maybe it's Gongzi Xiao or something." Hou Junyi thought for a moment, then said.

"Gongzi Xiao?!"

Zheng Tan felt that when these two little girls heard "Gongzi Xiao," their eyes lit up, making both Zheng Tan and Hou Junyi involuntarily shift back a bit.

Knowing that Gongzi Xiao lived next door, and that it was rare for him to be home today, the two girls couldn't hold back; they immediately got up, saying they'd talk about the models tomorrow, since Gongzi Xiao wasn't someone easy to meet—otherwise they wouldn't have been unaware for three years that he lived next door to Hou Junyi.

The two blamed Hou Junyi for lacking righteousness—Gongzi Xiao had lived here three years and Hou Junyi only just mentioned him. Hou Junyi also felt aggrieved; he didn't like those celebrities anyway, and besides, that Gongzi Xiao often wasn't home; today he just happened to see him while walking his dog.

The two girls were going to visit Gongzi Xiao; the displeased Hou Junyi was dragged along, and Zheng Tan followed them.

Speaking of Gongzi Xiao, Zheng Tan was fairly familiar with him. This person has risen to fame over the past two years; "Gongzi Xiao" is a role he played, and since his own name also contains the character "xiao," fans came to call him Gongzi Xiao. He has filmed several decent dramas, both historical and modern; when Zheng Tan was at the Jiao family's home, he and Jiao Ma had watched this Gongzi Xiao's TV drama together. Based on his past TV roles and the management and promotion of his entertainment PR, many think this Gongzi Xiao is good-looking, good-natured, considerate, humorous, and adept at handling situations—a handsome young lead. As such, his fans range from eight-year-old girls to eighty-year-old women; the hot historical drama aired in the first half of this year features him, and Jiao Ma, after washing dishes and sweeping the floor each night, sits on the sofa staring at the TV waiting for it.

Since the two kids were going to ask for autographs, Zheng Tan thought he might also get a copy to take back to Chu Hua Shi for Jiao Ma; although Jiao Ma had passed the age of obsessive star-chasing, a beloved celebrity's autograph would surely make her happy for a long time. It's rare to come to the capital, so it's not a wasted trip.

Actually, Zheng Tan felt that for people like Fang Mengmeng, getting autograph photos and such was just a matter of a word from her father; obviously, however, these kids perhaps haven't realized that yet.

When they went downstairs, Hou Junyi's father saw the three about to leave and asked, "Going out?"

"Mm, just going out for a bit; I'll drop them off home on the way back," Hou Junyi said.

Hou Junyi's father nodded, said no more, and only added, "Don't go out late at night."

"Got it!"

Asking an idol celebrity for an autograph photo is such an embarrassing thing; Hou Junyi really didn't want to tell his parents.

Seeing his little master go out, Mao Dou darted out before the door was fully closed, and Da Mi moved just as quickly, beating Mao Dou by a step.

Three people, two cats, and one dog stood at Gongzi Xiao's door; Hou Junyi was pushed forward to press the doorbell. Seeing a light on in an upstairs room, he knew someone was home.

After waiting a minute with no sound from inside, he pressed again, but still no one came to open the door. Hou Junyi turned around, originally intending to let the two give up, but seeing their disappointment, he steeled himself and pressed the doorbell a while longer.

Just as Fang Mengmeng was about to give up, the door opened. The one who opened it was a young man in his twenties with decent looks, wearing a sports outfit, a little sweat on his forehead, as if he had just finished exercising.

Not bad, it's Gongzi Xiao; Zheng Tan had seen this face on TV. (To be continued...)