Strange Life of a Cat

Zhong Yan had liked cats ever since he moved here.

His mother remarried and formed a new family. He didn’t feel like he belonged to his new family and was going through adolescence.

Zheng Tan didn’t know what Zhong Yan had been through, but he could tell it wasn’t a pleasant memory.

Zhong Yan had run out of the house after a fight with his mother. He was in a corner in the yard letting out his anger on the grass in the flowerbed. He hid in the shadows even though sunlight was only a step away.

He saw a cat on the fence. It was so calm as if the people moving by the fence had no effect on it at all.

Zhong Yan took a step back and shielded his eyes against the sun. He saw the cat look at him. He looked back. They stared at each other for two seconds, then the cat left.

The moment the cat looked at him, he had a warm feeling as if the world was smiling at him. Then the cat walked away.

People liked to compare him to his stepbrother and they all concluded that he lost in every regard.

“People are complicated. You cats don’t understand, I don’t understand to be honest. When I grow wings, they snap them off, then blame me for not being able to fly. Oh, kitty. I worked so hard to prove myself, then they told me I had to attend a normal high school with my brother. When it was time to pick science or arts, I chose humanities, yet that man said he was a physics teacher and his child had to study science. So I thought to myself, why do I want to prove myself? What’s the point? Being too keen isn’t a good thing.”

Zhong Yan picked up a pebble. He looked at Zheng Tan, “Do you know cosmic velocity?”

“…”

Cosmic velocity? What was that? It sounded familiar though.

Zhong Yan tossed the pebble into the air and it fell to the ground.

“This kind of speed can only make this rock move like this. ICBMs can fly tens of thousands of kilometers and land somewhere far away. Satellites can reach first cosmic velocity and leave the ground to orbit the Earth. When satellites reach second cosmic velocity, they can escape from the pull of Earth’s gravity and enter the solar system. If something reaches third cosmic velocity, it can leave the solar system and wander the milky way. At an even higher speed, it can leave the milky way and enter the universe. Of course, there are issues to consider before a satellite can leave Earth…”

Zhong Yan kept talking. Zheng Tan felt it was creepy, this boy was explaining cosmic velocity to a cat. He felt the boy was a Papa Jiao in the making. His words seemed to have a deeper meaning.

Zheng Tan could tell that the boy wasn’t just what he showed.

He was hiding his true capabilities and had been hiding them for three years.

Zheng Tan couldn’t imagine a boy in his teens hiding his strength from the first day of high school.

Zhong Yan couldn’t tell anyone, not even brother Ning. Yet he was still young and needed to confide in someone or something. So he talked to cats. Zheng Tan just happened to become his audience today.

However, most people found his habit of talking to animals creepy. No wonder the people in his neighborhood looked at him like he was weird and his mother greatly disliked cats.

Zhong Yan hadn’t been able to talk to anyone for too long and Zheng Tan didn’t run away or fall asleep like other cats. Zhong Yan kept talking, he went from cosmic velocity to Confucius’s golden mean to how great it would feel to be the dark horse that won during the college entrance exam.

“Everything you do during high school is all evaluated during that one exam. If you do well, all can be forgiven, if you don’t do well then whatever you did is wrong. I’m thankful they like to talk about me in the third person. I can pretend to not hear them. They didn’t name me after all.”

Zheng Tan twitched his ears. He knew enough grammar to understand third person and objects and somewhat understood what Zhong Yan was trying to say.

As for Zhong Yan, he might be trying to live by the rules of the golden mean, yet he never passed a chance to extract some revenge on the people around him. He had used hydrogen peroxide, potassium iodide and dish soap to play a prank on his stepbrother and no one knew he was the culprit.

He was thick-skinned, shameless yet innocuous looking. He had become this way due to his past experiences.

Zheng Tan could tell he couldn’t wait to get away from his current family. What would he do after he entered college? He probably had plans. No matter what they were, Zheng Tan admired them.

After he finished sharing his secrets, Zhong Yan picked up a pebble and threw it with all his might. The pebble landed behind a temporary construction house.

“F*ck, who the f*ck threw it!”

Zhong Yan started running the moment he heard the voice. He turned and waved at Zheng Tan, shouting, “Run!”

Zheng Tan could tell by the yelling and Zhong Yan’s expression that he had accidentally hit someone he shouldn’t bother.

What luck!

The two ran out of the alley. Zhong Yan panted while leaning on a lamp post. Zheng Tan checked to see if anyone was running after them.

“That person has a really bad temper. I heard he was in a gang and was quite famous some years ago. I couldn’t believe I hit him. Thank goodness we didn’t get caught or I can stop thinking about coming here to work in the winter.”

They rested for a while then Zhong Yan stood straight and patted dust off his clothes. He looked at the sky then headed home.

Zheng Tan jumped onto the fence. It was dinner time.

“I really envy you cats.” Zhong Yan was walking very slowly. He deeply resented having to go home.

Was it good being a cat?

If Zheng Tan could talk, he would tell Zhong Yan what it really was. People always thought cats can play by themselves. They could spend hours playing with their tails and paws.

After dinner, Papa Jiao received a call. He said to Zheng Tan who was watching TV on the sofa. “Charcoal, Mr. Fang would like to talk to you.”

Zheng Tan was watching a soap opera with Mama Jiao. Today’s episode involved two single-parent families so he managed to stay awake. The child on TV was crying his heart out after being berated. He had snot running down his face and was hiccupping from crying too hard. Zheng Tan imagined this was what Zhong Yan was like years ago. Then he heard Papa Jiao call him.

Fang?

Why was he calling?

He hadn’t heard from Fang Shaokang ever since he saw Tong Qing last time.

Papa Jiao pressed the speaker button. Zheng Tan sat next to the telephone. He patted the microphone to indicate he was listening.

“Charcoal, haven’t seen you in a while. I planned a surprise for you but you need to do me a small favor first. I’ll come get you the day before New Year’s Eve. Be ready!”

Fang was talking to Zheng Tan but also notifying Papa Jiao.

Zheng Tan’s attention was captured by Fang’s surprise. Knowing him, it must be something big.

Before they could say anything, Fang hung up. He seemed very busy these days.

Zheng Tan went back to the sofa but kept thinking about the surprise. He also wondered what Fang needed him to do. What was Fang San planning?