Strange Life of a Cat-Chapter 217 - 214 How Are These Two Here
Chapter 217: Chapter 214: How Are These Two Here?
Chapter 217 -214: How Are These Two Here?
Jiao Ma deeply regretted praising her cat so excessively earlier because now there was no taking back her words. She really wanted to dissuade the person in front of her right away, as she was very aware that people like him meant what they said. Today he spoke of it, who knows, tomorrow he might just take her cat out.
“Well… Mr. Tan, actually, my cat often causes trouble, has a bad temper, and is beyond control…”
“No problem, you also mentioned that this isn’t the first time the cat has been taken out to play. Moreover, your cat is much stronger than my Cola. When I take him out, I must use a leash, otherwise, this fellow might see some other cats or dogs he likes on the road and could just jump down. However, at the university, I don’t leash him, because it’s safer than outside; it’s not as chaotic.”
As soon as Tan Fang started talking, he babbled on and on. After finishing, he didn’t wait for Jiao Ma to respond. The old man checked his watch on his wrist, “It’s getting late, I won’t bother you further, I’ll head back now.”
Seeing Tan Fang getting ready to leave, Jiao Ma was thinking about quickly saying something to refuse this old man from taking her cat out. Before she could say anything, Tan Fang raised his hand, “No need to see me out, you are too polite, Mr. Gu.”
Jiao Ma: “…”
After Tan Fang finished speaking, he called for Cola and hummed a tune as he went downstairs. At the third floor, he ran into Mr. Lan who was going out to throw the garbage. The two knew each other and chatted all the way down, which made Jiao Ma, wanting to explain more as she followed them down, retract her steps. She didn’t know how to deal with these two old men.
Turning around to close the door, Jiao Ma sat on the sofa and sighed before looking at Zheng Tan, “Heitan, why do you always get to know these kinds of people?”
Zheng Tan tugged at his ear, unable to answer this question.
He indeed wanted to go out for a stroll. He had already explored around Chuhua University, and less so the areas a bit farther away, apart from the road near Jiao Yuan’s school that he traveled farther. Of course, if Jiao Ma firmly disagreed, he would ignore the old man.
After watching Zheng Tan for a while, Jiao Ma sighed again and got up to walk toward the bedroom. She decided to send an email to her husband across the ocean, to discuss this matter and seek Mr. Jiao’s advice. It wasn’t just about today’s matter, her cat always tended to run out, leaving her not very pleased when Wei Leng and Ermao had taken it out before. Now there was another person involved. If this continued, would her cat grow wilder and eventually run away? Her colleagues in the office always said cats are less home-loving than dogs, so Jiao Ma couldn’t help but worry.
If Zheng Tan knew Jiao Ma’s thoughts, he would certainly think her worries entirely unnecessary. He really had no intention of leaving the Jiao family, although the Jiao’s were not a very wealthy family, the living place was small, and the family had no power or influence, but Zheng Tan felt very safe here, and that was enough.
If something were to happen to the Jiao family and they needed money, and the money in their account wasn’t enough, Zheng Tan thought he could also earn money like Qi Da had done, providing for the family. If Qi could earn money, why couldn’t he?
Uncertain of how Mr. Jiao would reply to Jiao Ma, two days later Jiao Ma told Zheng Tan, “If you want to go out and play, go ahead, but be extra careful, take your cat card, and be safe.”
Tan Fang truly kept his word. He informed Jiao Ma the day before going out, and the next day he rode his electric tricycle into the East District.
Zheng Tan had been lying on a tree in the courtyard early on, waiting. The Border Collie named Cola was sitting on the tricycle, apparently excited to see the other three cats in the courtyard. It looked as if it wanted to jump down but stopped when Tan Fang scolded it. It had a leash around its neck, so it couldn’t jump off even if it tried.
Zheng Tan looked at the basket in front, which was filled with stuff, so he had to squeeze in with the dog. He came down from the tree and jumped onto the back of the tricycle, where goods were loaded. Although the space wasn’t large, it was enough for a dog and a cat. There were also two packs of wine that didn’t take up much space. Zheng Tan didn’t feel cramped, but the Border Collie’s wagging tail kept annoying him, and he kicked it lightly without using much force.
“Woof!” Cola yelped after being kicked but wasn’t really upset.
“Stay still, Cola! We’re cycling!” Tan Fang said without looking back.
Cola glanced at Zheng Tan and shifted to the side. However, its tail kept wagging joyfully. The dog seemed in a good mood and paid no attention to Zheng Tan, constantly looking at people and objects along the roadside and sometimes barking at other dogs it encountered.
The route Tan Fang took wasn’t a busy highway. After leaving the vicinity of Chuhua University, Zheng Tan was much less familiar with the surroundings. He didn’t pay attention to Cola’s swishing tail and carefully observed the buildings and signs around him, wanting to remember the route as it was rare for him to come this way.
They turned into a small street lined mostly with snack and miscellaneous goods sellers. Some people were also riding three-wheeled electric bikes like Tan Fang’s, but they were carrying two children, unlike Tan Fang, who was carrying a cat and a dog.
Another vehicle, moving a bit faster, caught up from behind. The driver talked with Tan Fang as they passed, as they often traveled this way and recognized each other and could chat a bit.
The person in that vehicle was carrying his twin granddaughters. The two children, dressed identically and with similar braided hairstyles, reacted differently when they saw Zheng Tan and Cola, showing that despite their similar appearances, their personalities were different.
For a few seconds, as the two tricycles rode side by side—one with a cat and a dog, the other with a pair of twins—they stared at each other. The child sitting closer to the seat was more lively and even tried to grab Zheng Tan’s whiskers but missed as Zheng Tan dodged. Cola, however, moved closer and licked the girl’s hand, making her laugh until her eyes disappeared with joy.
Since the road was narrow, the vehicles couldn’t ride side by side for long. Tan Fang slowed down while the other vehicle went ahead, gradually pulling away.
Tan Fang’s destination was a normal university, which was quite decent but a bit far from Chuhua University. Since it was too time-consuming for Zheng Tan to walk, he had never been here before.
He had been wondering why there were so many small streets and shops around, only to realize it was because they were near a university.
Tan Fang entered through a side entrance where the security guard was already familiar with him and greeted him proactively.
When the tricycle stopped, Zheng Tan looked around and figured it was the faculty residential area of the school. The buildings were old but slightly newer than those in the East District.
An old man was standing on the balcony on the second floor, watching them. He came downstairs as soon as he saw Tan Fang, carrying a chessboard and a bag in his hand.
“Wait, let me carry these two bottles of wine upstairs for you first,” Tan Fang turned around to lift the wine.
“Just leave them there, no one will take them anyway,” the old man said. He didn’t bother with polite phrases like “why bring the wine over.”
Before Tan Fang went upstairs, the old man’s spouse came down, waved them off to go play chess, and said she could still carry the two bottles of wine herself without any trouble.
“Oh, there’s a cat this time?” the old man asked curiously, and then immediately scolded, “Did you bring someone’s cat out? You old fellow, why do you always do such unreliable things?!”
“What’s unreliable about it? This cat’s clever; it was well-behaved all the way, knew its place,” Tan Fang said.
“Aren’t you afraid of losing it?”
“Not afraid, I’ve asked around, this cat is often taken out by people, it’s used to it. Didn’t you hear about the cat that rode the bus abroad a few days ago? So, don’t underestimate the cat’s intelligence,” Tan Fang said with a scornful look.
“I’m not going to argue with you, you never listen anyway, just make sure to keep an eye on it, don’t lose someone’s cat,” the old man said, looking at the Black Cat in the car.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Tan Fang said while urging to quickly start playing a couple of rounds, “If you lose, give me that orchid from your balcony. I met a friend the other day, I’ll give it to them as a gift.”
“Heh, not sure who loses more,” the old man remarked.
The place where the two old men played chess was next to a forest area near the staff dormitory, where there were stone benches and tables. For the elderly, sitting on these stone benches could be a bit cold this season, yet the two old men preferred not playing chess indoors, saying it wasn’t as enjoyable, so they even brought a special tool—a thick cushion. The thick cushion was what the old man was holding in the bag earlier.
Zheng Tan could tell that this old man wasn’t in as good physical shape as Tan Fang; you could tell from his fast walking that his legs were a bit off. Perhaps that’s why Tan Fang rode his bike over instead of letting the old man come to Chuhua University to find Tan Fang for a game of chess.
“Woof woof!” Cola barked twice.
Upon hearing the barks, Tan Fang waved his hand, “Okay, go play over there, don’t run too far.”
Once given permission, Cola immediately started running around the bushes, sniffing here and there, then lifted its leg next to a tree to mark its territory.
Zheng Tan was curious about this unfamiliar place and decided to walk around. However, soon enough, the excited Cola caught up with him.
Zheng Tan learned from the conversation between the two old men that in the past, after getting excited, Cola couldn’t run off far. There were very few other dogs and cats around, so it would just lie boredly by Tan Fang’s feet, yawning and sleeping. Old man Tan had made all the effort to bring himself out just to entertain his dog.
Zheng Tan had no intention of helping Tan Fang with the dog. Seeing Cola following alongside, Zheng Tan tested flicking a tree branch with his foot, and Cola immediately fetched it. Zheng Tan flicked it again and again, and it seemed quite happy as it fetched each time. Zheng Tan flung the branch far away to watch Cola chase after it, planning to sneak away, when suddenly he heard a wolf howl not far away.
“Owooooo—Owooooo—
The evening light is off the shoulders closed quietly
Sparks interweave, confined in sediment…”
That ringtone is really unique. Zheng Tan tugged at his ear.
Just as he thought that, Zheng Tan heard a familiar voice and lifted his foot to walk towards it.
From his higher position, looking down, he saw two people squatting down below. It was Ermao, who had been unseen recently, and Qin Tao, nicknamed “Beast.”
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.
Ermao seemed to sense something, looked up, and seeing a familiar cat’s head, his eyes twitched.
Qin Tao didn’t notice Ermao’s reaction; he was busy answering a phone call.
“Hello… I’m at the normal university, checking out a girl from the university who’s said to be the beauty of a faculty… A birthday party? Whose birthday… I don’t know her… Oh, her, it’s almost a month now, who remembers what she looks like… I’m not going, I’ve been in a bad mood lately… Not working, no need to look for me at the office, and no need at the apartment either, I’ve been staying at a hotel, that’s it.”
After hanging up the phone, Qin Tao began complaining to Ermao, noticed Ermao’s action, and looked up, his mouth forming an “O.”
That one! That stupid look in the eyes, it’s definitely this one! No need to check the cat card, Qin Tao was sure just by the cat’s look.
When Zheng Tan saw these two people, his thought was: What are these idiots doing here?
And at the same time, when the two people below saw Zheng Tan, they had the same thought: “Damn, this guy shows up everywhere!” (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
