Strange Life of a Cat

“Chen La’s son?”

Everyone looked at the man in the photo.

“Chen La’s son, Chen Zhe, was in university when his family died. He didn’t go to Chuhua University but attended another business school in the city. He didn’t stand out amongst the kids in his circle. He wasn’t good looking either, so no one knew much about him. It’s just that…”

Ye Hao put out his cigarette and said, “He completely disappeared off the radar. If he’s not dead, then he’s more resourceful than anyone ever thought. Chen La was not a stupid man, or else he wouldn’t have made his fortune. His only mistake was to trust Lai Er.”

“Maybe Chen La’s friends helped him,” Long Qi said.

“It’s possible.” Ye Hao paused. “I heard Chen La had some stuff on his hands that could send Lai Er to his grave. Lai Er had been searching for whatever Chen La had for many years but came up empty. I suspect whatever Chen La had, Chen Zhe has it now. Lai Er has lost two of his people in a short amount of time. The way they died is sure to alarm him. He must know something. A lot of people have their eyes on the stuff in Chen La’s hand.”

“You included?” Wei Ling asked.

“Of course. If Lai Er or anyone close to him gets their hand on the material first, it would be a blow to us.”

“Tell me about Lai Er.” Wei Ling was interested.

“Lai Er’s last name isn’t Lai. I heard from Qiye that Lei Tou said he had the quality ‘lai’ so he changed his last name to it [1]. He was the second son so everyone called him Lai Er. He doesn’t see this name as shameful, but as proof of how he used Lei Tou to reach where he is now.”

Ye Hao told them about Lai Er but Zheng Tan was only half listening. He kept staring at the picture of Chen La’s family. He compared the man on the left to Uncle Wintersweets. They were slightly similar, but the Chen Zhe on the photo was too fat and too young. Uncle Wintersweets had a normal build and the look of someone who had been through a lot.

Zheng Tan compared the girl to her family. She was very pretty and the only one who was not overweight. According to Chen La, she looked like her mother while Chen Zhe looked like him. Chen Zhe indeed looked like Chen La. Zheng Tan wondered if he would look like Uncle Wintersweets if he lost weight.

He couldn’t be sure that Chen Zhe was Uncle Wintersweets based only on a photo. He never saw any photos at Uncle Wintersweet’s home and his suspicion was based on instinct only.

Suddenly he noticed writing on the picture. Chen La’s wife’s maiden name was Mei.

La Mei? [2]

That could be something that linked this family to Uncle Wintersweets.

Zheng Tan thought about it, then decided to visit Uncle Wintersweets again. He could never be sure if he just sat here thinking.

If he really is Chen Zhe…well, there was nothing a cat could do about it. Ye Hao had said the situation had spiraled to a level beyond their control. As a cat, it was best if he stayed out of things.

He looked at the other picture. Ye Hao had mentioned this woman was friends with Chen La’s daughter. She took her to that bridge and may have played a role in her suicide.

The woman had lived safely under the protection of Lai Er, but her luck had run out.

Who led her to her death?

Who did all this?

The person must be very smart.

Ye Hao and Wei Ling started talking about the construction projects. Zheng Tan listened whilst enjoying the peanuts Wei Ling peeled for him.

Duke remained on the sofa this whole time. The movement of his ears from time to time betrayed the fact he was still alert though he appeared to be resting. Compared to Zheng Tan, Duke was very well-behaved.

Zheng Tan waited two days before visiting Uncle Wintersweets again. He was on a mission.

Zheng Tan arrived at three in the afternoon. Like last time, there was a cup of cold milk beside a cushion on the balcony. He sniffed the milk, it hadn’t gone bad yet.

Zheng Tan entered the house and went straight to the desk. He stayed on the desk and surveyed the room. The doors to the other two rooms were shut as usual. He already knew one of the rooms was a music room. The other one was still a mystery.

Uncle Wintersweets placed a cup of milk in front of Zheng Tan. He didn’t do his translation work today, but was working in front of the large whiteboard. Post-its covered the board. He drew signs and lines beside and between the post-its. He made notes in his unreadable English handwriting.

Zheng Tan was upset. He didn’t understand a word.

However, judging by the serious expression on Uncle Wintersweet’s face, Zheng Tan guessed the post-its on the board contained a secret. Zheng Tan was the closest…well, cat…to these secrets. Sadly, he couldn’t understand the writing on the board.

He decided not to disturb Uncle Wintersweets. He was different now then when he worked on his translations. The atmosphere was heavy and Zheng Tan could sense an aura of danger emanating off of him. It made him uncomfortable.

Zheng Tan looked away.

There were a lot of books on the desk. There was a magazine close to him. People weren’t glued to their phones yet, so magazines still sold well.

He sat next to the magazine and read the content to ease his nerves. The atmosphere was too depressing. However, after reading the page his mood was further dampened.

The magazine was flipped to a page on psychology.

‘Awakening the devil in everyone’ was the topic of the article.

The article was very long and involved a lot of terminology Zheng Tan didn’t know. He took a quick glance then left it.

The article was too deep for Zheng Tan. He was a simple person and could only understand parts of what he just read.

“There is a thin line between good and evil. This line could move and be crossed. A change in a situation could cause a change in people’s behavior. Under certain circumstances, black is white and white is black. Good is evil and evil is good. People all have amazing capacity to do good and to do evil. One decision and Lucifer went from angel to devil…”

Zheng Tan was still slightly upset on his way home.

He saw Tiger in a flowerbed. He was napping in the afternoon sunlight. Zheng Tan almost envied him. Ignorance was bliss sometimes.

Zheng Tan decided to let out his anger on Tiger. He slapped the yellow cat. Tiger was deeply confused and looked at Zheng Tan with a surprised expression. Then he saw a bird and forgot all about what had happened. He went to chase the bird.

Papa Jiao didn’t go back to his office after dinner, nor did he go to his study. Mama Jiao stayed home as well. They were discussing something on the sofa.

Youzi’s tenth birthday party?!

Zheng Tan’s spirit lifted.

Youzi was indeed almost nine. According to local tradition, a child was one year old when they were born. Therefore, Youzi is almost ten. Her birthday is in a few months, but by that time Papa Jiao would be abroad. After asking Youzi, they decided to hold her birthday party next week.

Compared to her important part, nothing else seemed important.

[1] Meaning rascal

[2] Chinese for wintersweet