Strange Life of a Cat

The pocket watch wasn’t large but it seemed heavy.

Chen Zhe’s reaction made Zheng Tan feel there was nothing special about this watch. He didn’t treat it with great care, nor did his expression change when it dropped onto the table with a thud. He didn’t even check to see if it was broken.

But he remembered what Chen Zhe had said about it and he wasn’t so sure anymore.

He had heard from Ye Hao that Chen Zhe had stuff on his hands that could bring down Lai Er. Ye Hao had wanted to get that material. Zheng Tan had heard Lai Er and Chen Zhe mention ‘stuff’ and ‘material’ during their video call. The ‘stuff’ seemed very important to Lai Er.

Stuff…

Zheng Tan looked at the pocket watch again. This was something that made people betray their closest friends. How could it not be special?

Chen Zhe saw the cat look down at the watch and thought he saw it as a new toy and was curious. He said, “Before his death, my father told me to leave if I could. He said I should go somewhere else and start a new life. If I couldn’t make a living anymore, then I should open this watch – but I hate this thing. Whenever I see it, I’m filled with hatred. This was what caused the betrayal that led to my parents’ death. I’m fine with living a low-key life. I don’t need to shine.”

Chen Zhe poked Zheng Tan’s head. “I’ll leave this thing here like you wanted. Whoever finds it first can have it. Leave it to fate, right?”

F*ck!

Zheng Tan tilted his head and avoided another poke. He was still trying to figure out what was so special about this gold watch. However, Chen Zhe was watching him so he couldn’t do anything out of the ordinary, such as open the back of the watch.

Chen Zhe suddenly remembered something and opened a paper box.

Zheng Tan went over and saw the box was filled with notebooks, folders, and pens.

Chen Zhe took out a plastic pencil box. It was filled with color pencils. He had received them from the kids in the neighborhood. He had sketched for them once and they gave their old coloring pencils to him.

Chen Zhe took out a pencil and opened his notebook. Before he could start sketching, he saw the cat lay a paw on the paper box. He realized the cat was looking at the color pencils.

Did he want to be drawn in color?

Chen Zhe considered it for a moment then took out a color pencil.

The pencil was cheaply made and his drawing techniques were merely so-so but Zheng Tan liked his drawing. He thought the drawing of him looked life-like.

He hadn’t done any works in color for many years.

However, he suddenly felt color was good.

He dated the sketch and looked at Zheng Tan. “I’ll keep this as a souvenir. I don’t like taking photos so I’ll draw you. When I look at this drawing, I’ll always remember I once met a special cat.”

Zheng Tan placed the drawing in a folder. He sat back in his chair. “I’m leaving tonight and probably won’t be back ever again.”

Tonight? So soon? Was someone on to him?

Zheng Tan spent another ten minutes here with Chen Zhe, then he had to go home.

Chen Zhe stood on the balcony and watched the black cat disappear into the distance.

The next day Zheng Tan did a new video ad for Mr. Guo. He didn’t get any free time until after dinner. The gold pocket watch was still on his mind. He decided to go to Chen Zhe’s place once more.

He stretched and went to the door.

“You’re going out Charcoal?” Mama Jiao, who was doing dishes in the kitchen, asked.

Zheng Tan let out a low howl. He still couldn’t meow like a normal cat but the Jiaos were used to the ‘aw’ sound he made.

Mama Jiao understood what he meant and said, “Don’t stay out too late.”

Many people talked to their pets.

A family who had a dog in the neighborhood would always open the front door and say ‘go poop’ to their dog when it seemed restless. The dog would do its business on the lawn then run back home to its owner and beg for a treat. Zheng Tan always looked on with disdain when the dog did this. He didn’t understand why the dog deserved a treat for going to the bathroom.

Zheng Tan headed straight to Chen Zhe’s neighborhood.

He saw that the light was off in Chen Zhe’s apartment. The door to the balcony was closed but not locked. He jumped onto the balcony and opened the door. It was already dark but the street lamps weren’t lit, so he wasn’t worried he would be seen.

The room was empty of life. There was some furniture left behind, but that was it.

This was what Chen Zhe meant by following his advice. He had slapped the watch away because it was irritating having something sway in front of him. However, Chen Zhe misinterpreted his meaning.

Zheng Tan twitched his ears and made sure no one was here. He jumped onto the desk and saw the gold pocket watch lying there in plain sight. The computer wasn’t here anymore. Nor were there books and magazines on the desk. Even Chen Zhe’s teacup was gone. The pocket watch stood out like a sore thumb.

Zheng Tan picked up the watch with his front paws. No one was here so he could walk on hind legs.

It was dark in the house, but Zheng Tan didn’t want to turn on the light. It was too risky and he could see in the dark.

The pocket watch was slightly heavy like he had expected.

Zheng Tan opened the lid of the watch. He was worried that Chen Zhe might have left a trap in the watch. Though he wasn’t frightened anymore, he was still slightly wary.

When he opened the watch, he realized it wasn’t a watch at all. There was a dial and a needle, but no numbers. When he moved, the needle moved as well.

Was it a compass?

Didn’t compasses have an N and an S on the dial? The needle wasn’t pointing to south either.

He made several other guesses. Could this be pointing to a location hiding something?

Could it be the material Ye Hao mentioned?

No matter what it pointed to, Zheng Tan didn’t dare take it with him.

If this thing really was that important, then it wasn’t something the Jiaos should have.

He didn’t want the Jiaos to end up like Chen Zhe’s family. He was a cat now and wasn’t even protected by the law. The Jiaos were normal people too.

Normal rascals on the streets could cause big trouble to Mama Jiao and the kids, not to mention people on the level of Fang and Ye Hao. He didn’t want to overthink things, but he had realized recently ‘accidents’ were not hard to fake.

He didn’t want to leave this here though. Chen Zhe didn’t care about this watch anymore. He had gotten his revenge and was living a peaceful life. However, other people still cared.

Zheng Tan’s ears moved. He heard a sound at the door. He was immediately alert. Could it be Chen Zhe?

If it wasn’t Chen Zhe, then it must be people searching for this watch. It might be Ye Hao’s people or it might not be.

He closed the lid and carried it to the balcony. Thankfully he didn’t close the balcony door when he entered the apartment. He could leave without making any noise.

He hid on the balcony. It was dark in the parking lot, so no one saw a cat walking by with a watch clutched in its front paws.

He placed the watch in a corner and sat in front of it. He perked up his ears and listened to the noises in the apartment.

He could hear more than one person entering Chen Zhe’s house. They didn’t turn on the light. He heard them swear. One of them was making a phone call.

Soon those people left. Zheng Tan went to the edge of the balcony and looked down. He saw three young men get in a car. One of them swore again. Zheng Tan was sure they were the people who had entered the apartment.

Zheng Tan was about to go back into the house when he saw someone get out of a car. He couldn’t see the man’s face but he seemed familiar.

The man looked up when he passed by the balcony. As if he felt something, he saw Zheng Tan.

It was indeed someone familiar, Zheng Tan thought.

Long Qi didn’t have any thoughts in his mind. Oh, f*ck!