Strange Life of a Cat

Tong Qing was one of Fang Shaokang’s men, so Zheng Tan didn’t hide his actions from him. Fang had told him they would see a lot of each other in the future, so he wanted Tong Qing to get to used to him.

He checked Tong Qing’s face in the mirror when he was fixing the fur on top of his head. The man was too quiet, so seeing his expression change gave Zheng Tan a lot of pleasure. Thankfully, Tong Qing was not like Long Qi and managed to recover his composure shortly.

Zheng Tan turned around after fixing his fur and waited for Tong Qing to say what he brought him to say. Zheng Tan was not stupid, he had been watching Tong Qing ever since they entered the washroom. By the looks of it, Fang had something he wanted Tong Qing to tell him.

Tong Qing took a deep breath, though it was weird to do so in the washroom. The black cat was sitting on the sink and watching him calmly like he knew he had something to tell him.

He took another deep breath. “The kid in the backyard is Mr. Liu’s son Liu Yao. The boss said if you play with that kid, you could bring your owner a big client.”

Zheng Tan thought about what Tong Qing said and his tail swayed from side to side.

Which Mr.Liu?

Zheng Tan recalled the men in the room upstairs. He managed to remember their names during their conversation. Mr. Liu was the puppy’s owner. He seemed to harbor no ill will towards Zheng Tan.

This regarded him and the family so Zheng Tan needed to carefully consider the implications. Zheng Tan had never been to Papa Jiao’s company. He heard that the company was doing better now, but it was still a small company in Chuhua city. If he could get the company a big client it meant more money for Papa Jiao and more money for Papa Jiao meant a better life for the family and him.

Tong Qing observed the cat’s reaction as he talked. The cat’s head was down but his ears were perked up. His tail swayed as he listened.

What a strange cat. No wonder his boss told him to just get to the point and not worry about anything else.

Tong Qing told Zheng Tan why he could win Papa Jiao a client. He analyzed the situation for him. Liu was a good businessman and would never give a small company like Papa Jiao’s a big order. However, his child could be key.

Liu was nearing his forties and only had this one bastard son, whose mother was a woman with whom he had an affair. He only learned of the boy’s existence last year when the mother needed money. The boy only just started living with him.

The doctor had told Liu he had very little chance of having children because of problems with his sperm. He had been through several courses of treatment, yet nothing worked. He had about given up on having children when his son Liu Yao was returned to him. He had the boy’s DNA tested and proved he was his son. Ever since then, the boy became the center of his universe.

Unfortunately, because of his mother, the boy was very introverted and didn’t talk much. Even animals didn’t like him.

Liu had gotten a red and tan mastiff but had to give it away because the dog either avoided his son or barked at him threateningly.

Liu loved dogs but he loved his son more. The boy was his only child and he wouldn’t upset his son just for a dog, so he gave up the mastiff and got this Tibetan spaniel.

When Tong Qing finished talking, Zheng Tan’s first thought was it was amazing that Fang Shaokang managed to find all this out. The second thought was did he have to sacrifice himself to please the kid? Would the kid pull his whiskers, tails or ears?

If so, he refused to go. The company wouldn’t go bankrupt without this client.

There was a scratching noise at the door, probably from the puppy.He didn’t whine like normal pet dogs when rejected. He instead showed his feelings directly by scratching and biting the door.

The people taking care of the dog were feeling very awkward. The dog was embarrassing them all. They tried to drag the dog away from the door, but every time he just went back. They were frustrated to the point of wanting to kick the puppy.

They tried to pull him away again. The dog would bite everyone except Liu, so they needed to avoid hurting the dog while not getting hurt either. It was hard.

Just when the caretaker bent down to pick up the dog, the door opened and Tong Qing was looking at him like he was a peeping tom.

Tong Qing listened to the man explain then followed the black cat into the backyard without saying a word.

The caretaker didn’t know if he believed him or not but didn’t have time to worry. The puppy had run off again.

The boy, Liu Yao, was playing with his model car alone. He looked up when he felt people approaching but quickly went back to playing with his car.

Though the boy only glanced at him, Zheng Tan could sense something wrong with the kid.

His eyes were cold and emotionless which was probably what caused animals to avoid him. Zheng Tan had seen Yi Xin right after he had finished a lab session involving dissection. Cat and dogs always ran away from them. The ones that didn’t avoid them were simply stupid.

Liu’s dog probably detected the cold in his eyes and treated him with hostility. This Tibetan spaniel, on the other hand, was stupid.

People who knew dogs well could tell which of the two dogs were better. However, it was because he was stupid that this Tibetan spaniel got to stay with the Liu’s.

Even if he wasn’t close with the boy, he didn’t growl at him. Other than this, this dog was in no ways better than the tan and black mastiff. However, he was still a pup, who knew what he would turn into when he grew up.

Tibetan dogs only recognize one master. The pup might grow up to recognize Liu as his master or maybe he will recognize his son as his master. Even if he is a mastiff, growing up in the city and living as a pet probably made him unable to fight like his ancestors.

As long as he could guard the house, he could be considered a good dog even if he was slow.

A woman stood near Liu Yao. She was Liu’s current wife. No matter what she really thought of Liu Yao, she behaved like a loving mother.

She would tell him to be careful of tree branches and ask him if he was cold.

Liu Yao ignored her every word.

She looked up at Tong Qing and Zheng Tan when they entered the backyard. The puppy’s caretaker came up to her and explained the situation. She nodded.

In truth, Mrs. Liu was deeply annoyed at the moment. She should be networking with the other wives on the lawn. Instead, she had to stay with Liu Yao because of Liu’s orders. She needed to pretend to care about him and she couldn’t even say anything when his car bumped into her.

Mrs. Liu moved her legs and smiled at the puppy, “Come here, Bun.”

Bun?

Zheng Tan looked at the puppy. Who named him? It was a fine name when the dog was a pup. However, it definitely didn’t work for a grown-up Tibetan Spaniel.

Duke was a great name for a majestic animal. He seriously suggested someone write a paper on the importance of names.

Bun was biting a branch when he heard someone call his name. He looked up but decided biting his tree branch was more important.

Zheng Tan watched Mrs. Liu’s smile freeze with amusement. Suddenly he heard the toy car coming at him.

Tong Qing wanted to save the cat but suddenly remembered what had happened on the lawn.

Zheng Tan raised a paw to stop the car. He could easily stop a model car. To his surprise, the car made a sharp turn in front of him.

So did the boy just want to scare him? Zheng Tan guessed so. In that case, he wasn’t too bad after all.

Liu Yao didn’t quite understand. Why didn’t this cat run away at the sight of his model car like other cats?

The model car started driving in circles around Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan squinted. The boy was targeting him.

A kid was a kid. Even if this one was gloomy, he was still a kid. He did things according to his own logic and will.

Even the puppy stopped attacking the branch.

Everyone was watching the boy and the cat. Some believed the black cat was in for trouble and wished Liu Yao wouldn’t do what he was doing. The boy was attacking Fang Shaokang’s cat after all.

Zheng Tan remained calm. He watched the car go in circles around him and suddenly felt like playing. He found a chance and jumped onto the car.

Youzi didn’t have a toy car and Jiao Yuan preferred playing with toy guns. Zheng Tan could tell this model car was well designed and most likely expensive. The Jiaos wouldn’t spend this much money on toys. He had owned one like this when he was a human.

The model car was well made and was large enough to withstand Zheng Tan’s size and weight. Zheng Tan could hear the sound of the motors but the car had stopped when he jumped on top of it. It couldn’t even move if there was this much weight? He supposed he had become too heavy for toy cars.

However, he suddenly felt the toy car start to move.

He felt like he was riding a horse and wanted to yell “Ja!”