Strange Life of a Cat-Chapter 186 - Bad Temper
Chapter 186: Chapter 186 Bad Temper
Chapter 186 -186 Bad Temper
For Zheng Tan, the days of staying at home and “reflecting upon his misdeeds” could be summed up in one word—boring.
In the first couple of days, he could still go online to kill some time and incidentally check out the commercials he had starred in. Aside from these activities, he spent his time at home snoozing. Wei Leng had visited once, but to prevent getting scolded by Jiao Ma, Wei Leng only went to Ermao’s place on the third floor. Zheng Tan sneaked over to listen in on the aftermath of their discussions.
The Cat Tamer was sentenced, but Wei Leng did not specify the details. However, Zheng Tan learned that the cat he had injured was taken away by Ah Wu. Apparently, that cat was too aggressive, and its temper had gotten even worse after being beaten by Zheng Tan. Someone had even suggested to Senior Hetao that they should euthanize the cat, arguing it was too dangerous to set loose. Eventually, Ah Wu spoke up. As payment for this incident and to rid them of the “Boss” nuisance, Hetao was more than happy to hand the cat over to Ah Wu.
The news that Ah Wu was banned from approaching Chuhua University was actually spread by him on purpose, as a bait to lure the snake out of its hole. Clearly, his plan had worked; no wonder Zheng Tan had been able to see Gui Yuan around the school during that time. After the incident settled down, that person and cat disappeared somewhere.
Mostly, Zheng Tan had been fattening up at home for the past few days. For a cat like him, who enjoyed wandering outside, it was quite stifling. Every day, he would lie on the balcony, looking outside with sorrow.
Finally, one morning a week later, after having breakfast, while Jiao Ma was leaving with Jiao Yuan and Little Youzi, Zheng Tan tentatively followed them out, all the while watching Jiao Ma’s expression. Little Youzi glanced at Zheng Tan and pursed her lips without making a sound, whereas Jiao Yuan couldn’t help but snicker with his mouth open.
Zheng Tan followed them all the way down to the first-floor access control. Then, when the three of them stepped out without Jiao Ma showing any reaction, he boldly dashed out before the access control door closed.
Looking at Jiao Ma’s face again, it didn’t look too good, but there was also a sense of helplessness.
“You’re not allowed to cause trouble or meddle in affairs that don’t concern you. If you run into thieves, don’t rush in by yourself. Catching thieves is a job for the police and dogs. What’s the use of you, a cat, getting involved?” That night had indeed frightened Jiao Ma; otherwise, she wouldn’t have remained upset for such a long time.
Though this was a scolding, it also implied that Jiao Ma had temporarily acquiesced to Zheng Tan going out. If it weren’t for Jiao Ma watching, Zheng Tan would surely have jumped up and somersaulted with excitement—a maneuver not too difficult for a cat.
After taking Little Youzi to the Affiliated Primary School and watching Jiao Ma and Jiao Yuan leave until they were out of sight, Zheng Tan stretched his legs and ran toward the nearby lawn, leaping about. He felt like he was rusting all over during this past week, so restless that now, running about made him feel much more relaxed.
After teasing a few magpies, Zheng Tan walked along the flower beds and reached the staff activity center, where he heard voices, including a highly familiar one.
Zheng Tan jumped onto a windowsill to take a peek inside. He saw that cheeky bird perched on a rack meant for hanging towels, bobbing its head and singing Kunqu opera pieces along with the retired teachers. No wonder this fella had been acting so strangely lately, always singing operatic tunes; it had been picking it up from these old men and women.
Da Pang’s grandmother was also inside, and Da Pang was squatting beside her; now and then, General would run over to tease her and then be swatted back.
Zheng Tan couldn’t understand those arias and wasn’t interested in them either. He didn’t wander too far in the morning, just strolling around the campus. It was only in the afternoon that he decided to venture outside.
Some people, after being confined for a long time, yearn to run even farther when they finally get out. Zheng Tan was one of those.
He chose the old street where Jiao Yuan School was located, the furthest he had ever walked along this road was around the area where Uncle La Mei lived. Today, Zheng Tan decided to walk even further.
As the pace of urban construction accelerated, Zheng Tan felt there had been some changes since his last visit.
When he reached the community where Uncle La Mei used to live, Zheng Tan thought about it and climbed over the wall to get in, arriving at the front of the building.
Whoosh—
At the familiar window, the sash was opened to reveal a strange face and the sounds of conversation. There were some potted plants on the balcony instead of the cardboard boxes from before. It seemed the place had been sold to someone else.
Since he didn’t recognize anyone, Zheng Tan didn’t stay any longer; he walked out of the community and continued on his planned route.
The further he went, the more prominent the differences became compared to the old street—whether it was the shops or the walls, they all exuded a sense of new-era vitality.
When there were no walls, Zheng Tan kept close to the edge as he walked. Occasionally, some passersby would give him a second glance, but most people were too hurried to pay attention to an apparently ordinary cat.
After walking for a while, Zheng Tan saw a footbridge up ahead.
There were many pedestrians on both sides of the street ahead, and no acceptable walking path along the sidewalk for Zheng Tan, so he didn’t plan to go any further. Yet, he wasn’t keen on turning back immediately either and decided to take a stroll across the footbridge.
Ignoring the calls of those trying to play with him, Zheng Tan climbed the steps on his own. At the turn of the staircase, there were people selling fruit, with some haggling over the prices.
Upon reaching the top of the footbridge, Zheng Tan took a look around; it was quite an assortment. Aside from a few fruit sellers, there were also vendors selling rice cakes, small toys, and more. Were there no urban management law enforcement officers making rounds?
Standing on the footbridge, with the ceaseless flow of traffic below, and looking from one side, Zheng Tan saw streets filled mostly with old buildings. Many of them might be marked “demolition” at any time; on the other side stood a more colorful and bustling world, with towering modern buildings showcasing the breath of a metropolis.
Redirecting his distant gaze, Zheng Tan glanced around the footbridge and eventually his eyes settled in the middle where an elderly man with graying hair, dressed in outdated gray-blue clothing, was sitting on a simple folding stool, leaning against the railing. Beside him was a white cane and above his head, a large black umbrella was open to block the sunlight, with the handle tied to the railing.
The old man cradled an erhu in his arms, with a small open wooden box at his feet containing some coins and small-denomination bills.
A street performer? And a blind one at that?
While Zheng Tan was observing his surroundings, the people around him were also curiously watching the black cat. They had been selling things on the Sky Bridge for some time now, and this was the first time they saw a cat come up on its own; moreover, the cat seemed not afraid of people at all, very calm, and did not pay attention to the teasing sounds of the passersby.
Originally, some people were just curious about the black cat that had suddenly arrived and took a look, and then started calling out to passersby who might want to buy something. However, when they noticed the black cat walking towards the blind old man in the middle, some couldn’t help but stop their shouting and pay attention to the activity over there.
Zheng Tan was purely curious. He had heard about some things from Ermao and the others, such as the scammers that are popular nowadays, many of whom pretend to be blind and to be pitied, to defraud people’s sympathy, and can make more money in a day than some office workers. However, this old man did not loudly proclaim his pitifulness to beg from passersby, nor did he have any written notes or pre-prepared sob stories to evoke sympathy on the ground. As for the third… Zheng Tan felt that this man was somewhat odd, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was strange.
Is this person really blind?
Zheng Tan approached the old man and stopped half a meter away, squatting down and tilting his head to look at the person who appeared to be sleeping with his eyes closed. After waiting for two minutes, he noticed that the old man showed no intention of opening his eyes.
His gaze fell on the open wooden box at the old man’s feet. Zheng Tan stood up, walked over, looked at the coins in the box, then at the old man who was not moving, still leaning against the railing with his eyes closed, and again at the box. Then he lifted his paw, scooped a little, and hooked up a yuan coin with his bent claw, and then put it down.
The coin fell, hitting the other coins and making a “ding” sound.
When Zheng Tan put the coin down, he kept his gaze on the old man. When the coin made a “ding,” he noticed the old man’s ears move. Among the people Zheng Tan had seen, there were not many whose ears could move. It was rare to come across someone whose ears could move, and Zheng Tan’s mischief, which had built up after a week at home, returned. As long as he did not go too far, the people around would only think that the cat was curious about the coins in the box but couldn’t scoop them out, and they wouldn’t think too much else.
He scooped up another coin and at the point of scooping it out of the box, loosened his grasp, making another “ding.”
The old man’s ears moved again.
Another scoop, loose grasp, “ding”!
The old man’s ears moved again.
…
After several repetitions, Zheng Tan was getting impatient. Why wouldn’t this old man open his eyes? Even if he truly had eye problems and couldn’t open them, couldn’t he speak? Or was it that this old man was both blind and mute?
Even if he was blind and mute, he at least had his hearing. Judging from what had just happened, the old man’s hearing couldn’t be that bad. Hearing his coin box being tampered with, he had no reaction at all! Not even a flicker of change on his face!
This was just too calm.
Zheng Tan remembered when he performed with Mr. Fang out in public, although he felt embarrassed, if anyone touched the coin box, Zheng Tan would have definitely gone up to beat them up. But what about this old man?
Squatting in his original spot and thinking, his tail tip moved rhythmically. Then, Zheng Tan turned his gaze to the half bottle of mineral water beside the folding stool, walked over, raised his paw, and pushed!
This was a “bad habit” Zheng Tan had picked up after spending a lot of time with the sheriff and Ah Huang.
After the half bottle of mineral water fell over and rolled in a direction away from the old man, the bottle that was originally within reach of the old man’s hands was now difficult to touch even if he got up, after all, he was blind.
The onlookers who witnessed this scene all shared the same thought: This cat has a really damn nasty character!
Zheng Tan didn’t care what others thought, looking at the person who was still sitting there as usual, and cursed in his mind: Is this person a block of wood or what? Aside from his moving ears, what else can he do?!
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How boring. After so much harassment, still no reaction.
Zheng Tan rolled the half bottle of mineral water that had rolled far away back into place. Although he didn’t stand the bottle upright, he still pushed it back to its original place, where the old man could touch it by reaching out his hand.
Just as he was about to leave, Zheng Tan noticed that the old man’s beard on his chin was quite long, fluttering on both sides in the wind. Thinking of how the old man hadn’t reacted for so long, Zheng Tan’s mischievous impulse rose again, and he jumped up, reached out his paw, and flicked the old man’s long beard.
Then, still no reaction.
Zheng Tan felt that if those naughty kids grabbed his beard, he would definitely get angry and explode. He really didn’t know how this old man could tolerate it.
If this old man would give some reaction other than moving his ears, Zheng Tan would have lost interest in provoking him. But since the old man was sitting still, he stubbornly kept making repeated attempts to grab his beard.
The dark-skinned uncle selling mangoes nearby noticed this situation, his mouth agape, displaying a row of white teeth, forgetting even to respond to the price inquiries from passersby, and thought to himself: This cat is certainly asking for trouble!
Zheng Tan was busy trying to get a reaction out of the old man and hadn’t noticed the changing expressions of the nearby stall vendors at all.
When Jin arrived on the Sky Bridge with a guitar on his back, he saw the long-absent black cat, bullying the blind old man. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
