Strange Life of a Cat

Zheng Tan lost his patience after a while. People under the tree were looking at them as if they were rare species. Tiger and Sheriff would have left already if not for the other two still being there. Fatty continued to ignore everyone he deemed irrelevant.

Zheng Tan was swatted once again on the back by Tiger’s tail. He looked sideways. Tiger meowed pathetically, indicating that he wanted to leave.

Well, since he had seen the ‘chesty’ foreigner already, Zheng Tan decided it was time to leave.

However, right at that moment, he heard a familiar voice.

He turned to find the “Buddha” accompanying a foreigner to the auditorium. They seemed to have met before since the “Buddha” had walked over with the person just because he had some business at the physics department.

Zheng Tan had no interest in observing them, but the topic of their conversation caught his attention. They mentioned a certain “Mary” quite frequently. Zheng Tan remembered his time with Zhuo by the lake; he recalled seeing “To dear Mary” on the title page of a book.

Besides that book, Zheng Tan had seen the name ‘Mary’ written on several other books as well. Zhuo had the habit of jotting down notes directly on books, so those were definitely her books. This meant that Zhuo was Mary.

Zheng Tan sat back down on the branch.

Tiger’s eyes shone when he saw Zheng Tan start to leave. He was preparing to run down the tree, only to find Zheng Tan back where he was. His ears drooped, and he meowed again. This time, louder. Unfortunately, Zheng Tan didn’t take notice.

Zheng Tan listened to the ongoing conversation carefully. He didn’t understand most of the physics related matters, but he did manage to find out what was going on with Zhuo.

The foreigner appeared to have romantic interests in Zhuo, but didn’t know what was going on with her life. The “Buddha” seemed weary. She was going to regret what happened to Zhuo for the rest of her life, yet it was not something she could talk about.

The foreigner was not good at reading between the lines. He went on talking about Zhuo despite the “Buddha’s” very forced smile.

Zheng Tan shook his head. Dear Mary was pregnant at home. The foreigner should give up.

Something else that caught Zheng Tan’s attention was the “Buddha” mentioning Zhuo’s plans to go abroad. She was set to leave next year and wouldn’t return until at least three years later.

The foreigner asked for details, but the “Buddha” was unwilling to let out more information. She didn’t mention where she was going or why. She only said that Zhuo was going abroad for a few years.

Since Zheng Tan knew Zhuo’s situation, he was puzzled. The “Buddha” was not someone who would start rumors. She seemed very certain when she talked about Zhuo going abroad, or else the foreigner wouldn’t have believed her.

But in Zhuo’s current condition, could she go abroad as a scholar? Or was she leaving to work on a corporate project? What about her baby?

Sadly, the two people disappeared into the auditorium before Zheng Tan could learn more about the situation.

The electric screen outside the Hall showed the day’s topics. The current report was on Quarks. People were still showing up. They rushed inside.

As the report began, it quieted down outside the Hall. Zheng Tan stretched and looked over to find Tiger and Sheriff nodding off. He swung his tail at them and jumped off the tree. He walked towards the quarters with the three cats behind him.

Entering the gates, Zheng Tan saw an old man pulling something towards Building B. Zheng Tan didn’t recognize the man but followed behind him slowly. He seldom jumped to open the door when he ran into people downstairs.

The old man noticed the black cat behind him as he flicked away his cigarette. He shooed, “Go away, cat. Leave my fish alone!”

Zheng Tan rolled his eyes. As if he cared about some fish!

Among the things the man dragged behind him were two buckets. The buckets had holes on top, emitting a fishy scent. The scent did nothing for Zheng Tan. He didn’t eat raw fish. But other cats can’t eat what he ate as well.

Zheng Tan ignored the old man and ran to the gate of building B. He stopped and watched the old man walk towards him.

The old man saw the black cat in front of the door. He hesitated slightly but still pressed the call button on the downstairs entrance pad. Mama Jiao answered the door.

“Ronghan, it’s me.” The old man said.

“Dad?! When did you come over? Wait, I’ll come downstairs to get you.”

“No, just open the door,” the old man ordered.

The door opened. The old man carried his stuff in and Zheng Tan followed behind him.

There were so many things that the old man could not carry them upstairs all at once. However, since they were already in the Residential Quarters, the risk of theft was low. The old man firmly believed in the trustworthiness of those in academia.

After some thought, he stared at the cat running upstairs and moved the box above the two buckets. He then carried one bucket in one hand and started upstairs. Although he was not young and the two buckets were heavy, his steps were steady.

He noticed the black cat walking upstairs without any hint of stopping and wondered whose cat it was.

“Dad, how come you came home with Charcoal?” Mama Jiao watched them while leaning handrail on the fifth floor.

“What? Charcoal?”

“Charcoal, our cat, the one before you.”

“This is your cat? I just wondered whose it is. This cat is well raised, neither too thin nor too fat. Does it catch mice?” The old man asked.

No one else was in the corridor, and it was very quiet. The old man didn’t have to speak loudly for Mama Jiao to hear him.

“Of course. It’s good at it.”

“That’s good. I heard that cats in big cities don’t catch mice. Then why should we keep them! What a waste of food.”

The old man didn’t quite understand the concept of “pets” and Mama Jiao didn’t want to start an argument. To the older generation, cats that didn’t catch mice were not good cats. Dogs that didn’t guard the house were not good dogs. They had gone through some tough times, and it was understandable that they didn’t get why people kept a pet that needed feeding yet did nothing.

Mama Jiao was thankful that Charcoal could catch mice or a scolding by the old man would have been unavoidable.

“What are you carrying?”

“Some fish, two soft-shelled turtles and eel. There’s another box of pomelos downstairs. It’s a new kind. They were planted experimentally in our city, but I heard that these pomelos were provided only to the government. I managed to get some. What’s the use of bank cards? Nowadays, you need contacts to buy things. Money alone won’t do.”

“Yes, yes. You have an enviable social network.”

“Of course. How else could I find out that you were in the hospital?” The old man glared at Mama Jiao.

Mama Jiao didn’t argue. Grandpa Gu took explaining to be a sign of guilt.

Mama Jiao wanted to go downstairs to help him, but she knew that if she really did so, her father would definitely be angry.

After the old man put down the buckets, Zheng Tan came to have a look from the holes. The two turtles were really big. He merely glanced inside the other bucket with the eel since the old man was staring at him as if he was a thief.

After taking a break, the old man went downstairs again to bring up the box of pomelos. The trolley was left downstairs. No one would steal it.

Zheng Tan looked at the pomelos Grandpa Gu brought. They were huge, but the taste was an unknown.

“Why did you buy so many apples and oranges?” The old man saw four boxes in the living room and asked.

Zheng Tan was also curious. The boxes were not there this morning. Two boxes of apples and two boxes of oranges, all imported and sold only in high-end supermarkets.

“They are from a student. We helped her before. Her father’s company bought fruit for staff, and she sent us some.”

Zheng Tan knew immediately who the student was.

Unknown to Zheng Tan, Zhao Le visited the Biology Department from time to time to inquire about him. She had heard from Papa Jiao that he didn’t eat cat foods, so she sent fruits instead. Mama Jiao and Papa Jiao guessed that Zhao Le was afraid they would mistreat the cat.

Grandpa Gu and Mama Jiao chatted about Gu Youzi. Zheng Tan laid on the sofa and listened. He refused to move even when Grandpa Gu stared at him.

Zheng Tan didn’t care much about Gu Youzi’s background. He only knew that she was Mama Jiao’s younger sister’s child and that her parents were divorced. Her mother was abroad. Only now did Zheng finally understood why Gu Youzi always kept silent.

Gu Youzi had always lived abroad with her mother. Her parents were both successful but fought often. This year, they finally decided to get a divorce. She still lived with her mother, and after returning to China, she even changed her family name.

Her mother sent her to live with her aunt and wired money every once in a while.

In the beginning, Little You had problems with the language. After all, she had spent many years abroad and had trouble adapting. Not to mention that she was a quiet child to start with. All these factors made her even more quiet. However, after a few months with the Jiao family, she was way less gloomy.

Zheng Tan felt for the girl and understood her completely. They both had irresponsible parents. Their fathers only cared about money, and their mothers were self-centered. All were successful, but none were decent. Zheng Tan had seen many people like this. He predicted that in the next ten years, as the economy developed, the number of people like this would grow to resemble a ‘J’ curve.

Grandpa Gu cherished Gu Youzi very much. Grandpa Gu had two daughters, none of his grandchildren carried on his family name. But now, Youzi had changed her last name.

By the time the two kids got home, Grandpa Gu had already peeled a pomelo and gave it to them. He put the peel on Zheng Tan’s head as a joke.

“WTF!” Zheng Tan swore silently.

Grandpa Gu picked up Gu Youzi into his arms and said, “You’re growing!”

Youzi smiled, which was rare, and said “Grandpa” shyly.

The dinner was not yet ready, so the kids went to do their homework first.

“Go do your work, and I will cook eels for you.” Grandpa Gu said.

Zheng Tan didn’t want to stay with Grandpa Gu, so he followed Youzi into her room.

She seemed to be in a good mood and was more talkative today due to the arrival of Grandpa Gu.

She told Zheng Tan about her art class. She often talked to Zheng Tan when nobody was there. Many people would lose their guard around animals. They believed that there was no difference between talking to animals and talking to themselves. But in fact, having an audience made a huge difference.

“The teacher asked us to draw familiar scenes in daily life. I drew something, but…”

She opened her drawing book and put it in front of Zheng Tan. Her mood dampened.

Zheng Tan took a look at her painting. She did quite well, and the teacher gave her a 92, which was quite high to Zheng Tan. He himself usually scored in the 70s when the teacher was merciful.

Youzi didn’t have a problem with the score; she pointed at the teacher’s comments. She could recognize lots of characters already, and the teachers would leave phonetics on top of the difficult ones. This was supposed to help the kids learn Chinese.

The comments for the painting were written below the score. It said: “Nice work painting soybeans and peas. Keep up the good work. ^_^”

To hell with soybeans and peas!

Zheng Tan was sympathetic. These comments were hurtful.

Actually, Youzi had painted a golden staphylococcus and paramecia. These two creatures were on the cover of the biology magazine on the living room table.

Zheng Tan’s sight rested on the phonetics; one of them was ‘a’. This reminded him of the “Project A” he had heard the “Buddha” mention. The excuses she gave to the foreigners… could it all be because of Zhuo’s envolvement with Project A?