Strange Life of a Cat

Wei Ling didn’t come the next day.

Zheng Tan was disappointed. He had imagined himself in all kinds of 007 scenes, performing dangerous tasks with style. But Wei Ling didn’t show up. He suspected Wei Ling had called Papa or Mama Jiao for permission and was rejected.

Unlike Zheng Tan, the Jiao family were very happy to not see Wei Ling for the next two days. Mama Jiao had taken Zheng Tan to Mr. Guo’s pet center for a check up right after Wei Ling brought him back.

Much to the surprise of Mama Jiao and Mr. Guo’s brother, Zheng Tan had passed his health test with flying colors. They thought that if the cat was really drunk the night before, it shouldn’t be absolutely fine. It should at least seem tired or grumpy.

What they didn’t know was that Zheng Tan had managed to unload all of his pent up frustration during his drunkenness. It would be difficult for them to imagine a cat with so much stress, but it was the truth.

For humans, too much stress could lead to mental health issues. Being unfocused could lead to ADD. Too much stress from studying could cause depression or anxiety. Hitting obstacles during a task could cause OCD. From kids to elders, mental health issues could happen to anyone.

Zheng Tan was still human inside. Though he had come to terms with his situation, he wasn’t happy about it. Getting drunk was damaging to his image, but was a great way to release his stress. He didn’t know how long he was going to be a cat, nor did he know when he would truly accept this fate, but at least for now, he had a good stress relief. It was free too.

If he ever felt depressed again, he could always go to the Night Tower again. The Jiao family wouldn’t see him like that nor would the people around him. As for what Ye Hao’s people thought of him or how they felt, he couldn’t care less.

He came up with this decision yesterday afternoon. Ye Hao and Long Qi who were busy with work didn’t know their nightclub was now targeted by a cat.

He didn’t have a photoshoot that week, nor did Wei Ling call. The house was empty. People were at work or at school. Zheng Tan was resting on a tree in the quarters. The bushes near the lawn he always wandered about turned out to be banana shrubs.

The air had a sweet scent.

Zheng Tan yawned, high up in his favorite parasol tree. Mighty was digging a hole in the lawn below him. The dog had his eyes set on the lawn ever since he saw Sahara dig there once. The only places on campus where he could dig were the lawn or the flower beds. Whenever Mighty was let out, he had a go on the lawn. Sometimes he hid things in his hole, sometimes he dug for the sake of digging.

Maybe that was his stress relief.

Zheng Tan didn’t know. He wasn’t a dog. He barely knew what cats thought, though they were complex animals to start with.

He was bored and planned to make trip to the Western Quarters. He hadn’t seen Zhuo for a while. She should be well past her due date and probably had delivered her baby already. He hadn’t heard Papa Jiao or Mama Jiao mention anything.

He had to look for the answer himself.

It was like with Ren Chong. He had to find out for himself what happened to Professor Ren by eavesdropping on students during a trip to the bio building.

Apparently, Ren Chong was sleeping with a economics student as well as a girl in the language department. He was married actually, but his wife was abroad. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and had a temper to match. She flew back after the scandal and slapped Ren Chong in the face right in public. It was absolutely humiliating. It was said that Professor Ren was found with ties to the mafia too.

All sorts of things were being said. The rumors spread across campus like wild fire. The school had wanted him to take a leave of absence until the rumors quieted out. After all, Ren Chong still had talent. However, something happened and he was fired instead. Many guessed he had made some powerful enemies in the school, or else he wouldn’t have been let go like that.

Zheng Tan recalled Ren Chong’s face which always had a gentlemanly smile that seemed just a little bit fake. He thought about the rumors and decided Wei Ling and Zhao Le must have had a hand in it. Zhao Le would know all the gossip among students. As for him being fired, the Buddha and Professor Lan must have helped. Papa Jiao wasn’t high up enough to make it happen.

Ren Chong was not the only teacher sleeping with students. It was more common than one would expect. People just didn’t know or they kept quiet. Such things were even more common abroad. The issue could be large or small, depending on who was calling the shots.

Zheng Tan was moved when he realized how many people cared about him. Even the stern Buddha had helped. Though he guessed the reason behind her kindness was Zhuo.

Zheng Tan thought about Zhuo as he walked toward the Western Quarters.

He immediately felt he was being watched after entering the gate. The gaze was that of a cat’s.

He looked up and saw a tabby on a tree. It looked like a larger Tiger. The cat was watching Zheng Tan from a tree branch. He could feel the hostility.

Zheng Tan waved his tail and ignored the cat.

He ran into several cats on his way to Zhuo’s place. Some of them were just kittens when he last visited. Now they had grown up. There were quite a few cats in this part of campus as well. He wondered if any of them ever had a fight with Sheriff.

He waited downstairs when he reached Zhuo’s building and snuck in when someone opened the door.

As usual, he took the stairs. People always stared when he took the elevator. He didn’t liked being gawked at so he always took the stairs.

He ran up to the sixth floor. Outside 606, he perked up his ears to listen. He didn’t hear anything, so he jumped up and rang the doorbell.

When he was waiting for someone to open the door, he wondered if the nanny was still working here. If so, he would probably be despised again.

He waited for a few minutes, nothing happened.

He jumped up and rang the doorbell again. Still, no one came to the door.

Was Zhuo still in the hospital?

Zheng tan knew next to nothing about childbirth. He had no idea where Zhuo would be. He waited for another ten minutes, still no one opened the door. He pressed his ear to the door. There was no sound inside.

So he decided to leave.

There was no point in waiting any longer, by the looks of it, there was no one home.

He turned to leave. The elevator door opened at that very moment. He peered inside and saw the Buddha.

“Charcoal?” the person in the elevator asked.

The Buddha had a folder in her arms and looked tired.

Zheng Tan didn’t think he would run into the physics department’s iron lady. He was nervous around her. She would never give him treats and probably not let him sleep on the chair. He heard that people like her most likely had OCD or were neat freaks.

Those were things he had heard, though he was unsure about the validity of the rumors. After all, it was foolish to attempt to guess the thoughts of a person like her.

“Are you here to see Zhuo?” She asked.

The tip of Zheng Tan’s tail twitched. He didn’t know how to answer.

The Buddha didn’t wait for a reply. She checked her watch. She waved Zheng Tan to her. “Come. Let’s go downstairs together.”

Zheng Tan considered the offer and entered the elevator.

The atmosphere was overly serious and very uncomfortable in the elevator. Closed spaces caused anxiety and the Buddha was not the sweetest of people.

Zheng Tan decided to always take the stairs in the future. He preferred the larger space.

Zheng Tan thought the Buddha was only seeing him out. However, she showed no signs of turning back into the building.

“Zhuo said you understand humans, walk with me.” The Buddha headed out.

Zheng Tan was motionless for a second. He didn’t know what she was up to, but followed nevertheless.

The guard had been on the phone. He had missed his nap and was tired. Midway through the yawn, he saw the Buddha coming this way.

He quickly sat up straight, trying to feign professionalism.

All the guards had secret lists of those who could be fooled and those who couldn’t. The Buddha would without a doubt be on the second list. Everyone knew who she was and everyone knew she had her own rules. Ass kissing didn’t work with her at all.

He was curious though. The Buddha only came back for naps or short rests these days. She didn’t appear to have napped today and somehow there was a cat following her.

Was the Buddha a cat person?

No one had ever mentioned this, but it was not impossible.

The guard wondered if he should start selling this information to those who wished to butter up the Buddha.