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Three months ago, when Zheng Tan first saw Da Pang, it was still small and skinny, but now it was developing toward what its name suggested, so Zheng Tan was quite impressed with the old lady who had named Da Pang. She really had a gift.
Seemingly sensing some movement on the balcony, Da Pang, who was squatting on the instant noodles, turned to look outside the window. As a result, due to a slightly exaggerated movement, the instant noodles under its butt made a crisp "crack" sound.
Hearing this sound, Da Pang's turning motion immediately froze, then it drooped its ears and slowly twisted back, not looking toward the balcony anymore. Its silhouette from behind was so dismal.
Zheng Tan tugged at the corner of his mouth, feeling a bit guilty. Alright, it looked like Da Pang's late-night snack was going to be reduced again tonight.
The old lady who fed Da Pang had a son working in the provincial military district. Every month, he would take his mother to stay with him for a week or two, and Da Pang would go along. Sometimes, the old lady's son would come stay for a few days, and that's when Da Pang's suffering began.
Zheng Tan remembered that during his first year of college, they would be punished by being made to stand in military posture for mistakes during military training, but for a "soft-boned" cat like Da Pang, standing in military posture was impossible. Therefore, Da Pang was often punished by squatting on instant noodles, and after squatting, the degree of the noodles' shattering determined how much food would be deducted.
By now, Mr. Jiao had parked the car. Zheng Tan turned around, hopped down from the balcony railing, and followed Mr. Jiao into the building and home.
When he entered the house, Jiao Ma was already back, but she was giving Zheng Tan a strange look, making his skin crawl. He quickly ran into Gu Youzi's room and hid behind the door, ears perked up to listen.
"What's the matter?" Mr. Jiao asked.
"Ah, Ah Huang has passed away!" Jiao Ma sighed.
Zheng Tan was stunned for a moment. Ah Huang, that goofball, had been bouncing around full of energy just a few days ago, how could he...
After listening to Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma's conversation, Zheng Tan understood. It turned out to be "neutered" rather than "deceased". Does that mean Ah Huang had become a eunuch?!
"Ms. Ling said it could help Ah Huang kick some of his bad habits. Plus, Ah Huang is about eight months old now, so it's possible to have the surgery... Today, Ms. Ling even asked me if we should have our Heitan go to Xiao Guo's place for the procedure, but I refused," Jiao Ma said.
Hearing this from behind the door, Zheng Tan broke into a cold sweat, but upon hearing the last sentence, he felt a sense of relief.
"Our cat doesn't need it," Mr. Jiao made a decision. "Cats from different families are not the same. Her cat might be suitable, but ours might not be. In the future, when Ms. Ling persuades you, just reject her straight away."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too." Jiao Ma's face broke into a relieved smile, supported by her husband.
Meanwhile, Zheng Tan, crouched behind the door, also let out a long sigh of relief. If he were to really be taken for surgery, he'd rather run away, far far away than have a knife anywhere near his privates.
Zheng Tan silently mourned for Ah Huang, that goofball. He had heard before that Ah Huang liked to urinate everywhere; when home, even if you put him in the litter box, he would manage to spray all of his urine outside without spilling a drop inside. That's why Ah Huang's family used a double-layered litter box, with the outer layer being crucial. When it came to outdoor markings, Ah Huang was even happier, as many places in the East Family Courtyard carried the stench of his urine. Zheng Tan didn't know how many times he had chastised Ah Huang for this, but clearly, he was the type that never learned.
Since Ah Huang's life was not in danger, Zheng Tan didn't need to worry about him anymore. A cat had a cat's fate, and ever since he realized he had become like this, Zheng Tan had been telling himself to adapt as much as possible.
The next day, the homebody from across the way came knocking on the Jiao family's door with dark circles under his eyes.
It was Saturday, and Jiao Yuan and his family were all at home, having breakfast.
"Yo, Mr. Xiao Qu, you're up early!" Jiao Ma was somewhat surprised.
This early? Wasn't it already past nine o'clock?
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Gu Youzi glanced at the brilliant sunshine outside and exchanged a look with Jiao Yuan before the two continued their silent battle against the egg noodles in their bowls.
For Qu, who was accustomed to going to bed late and waking up late, this was indeed early. Jiao Ma knew this, so she was surprised that Mr. Xiao Qu actually made a rare appearance before noon!
Qu pulled out a smile, looked around the living room, and asked, "Jiao isn't here?"
"He had to teach a lab class today, so he left early in the morning. Do you need him for something? If it's urgent, I can call him," Jiao Ma said.
"Well... Hehe, it's not anything urgent." Qu's gaze drifted to a low stool next to the dining table, where the Black Cat was eating noodles. He turned to Jiao Ma and said, "Ms. Gu, um... would it be possible to... borrow your family's cat?"
Jiao Yuan and little friend Gu Youzi, who were struggling with breakfast, simultaneously put their chopsticks down and looked towards Mr. Xiao Qu standing awkwardly by the door. They vividly remembered the boastful claim "My home doesn't even have half a mouse" made by someone at a certain time and place last month, with one hand leaning against the wall and the other on his hip!
Feeling the kids' gazes, Mr. Xiao Qu grew even more embarrassed, cleared his throat, and said to Jiao Ma, "I already brought this up to Jiao yesterday."
Jiao Ma did not see anything wrong with this; to have someone want to borrow their cat was a good sign, proof of the cat's ability, which gave her an inexplicable sense of pride.
So Jiao Ma gestured grandly, "There's nothing to it; you can just come take him whenever you need to."
Zheng Tan, Jiao Yuan, Gu Youzi: "..." With Mr. Jiao not around, Jiao Ma was always so autocratic.
"That's really kind of you, Ms. Gu! I'll come over to take Heitan home after dinner tonight. Ah, Ms. Gu, you have no idea, the mouse at my home is nearly driving me to a nervous breakdown." Having received permission, Mr. Xiao Qu immediately brushed away his dejection and happily returned to his room.
Jiao Ma's face bloomed with a smile like a trumpet flower, "That's the good thing about having a cat!"
Jiao Yuan hung his head and poked at the little porcelain bowl in front of him with his chopsticks, mimicking Qu's earlier words in a muffled voice: "My home doesn't even have half a mouse—"
Jiao Ma lightly tapped Jiao Yuan on the head, "Eat your noodles!"
Gu Youzi pursed her lips, looking rather unhappy.
Come evening, around eight o'clock, Qu came to borrow the cat. Without needing Jiao Ma to say much, Zheng Tan walked over on his own, sooner or later he had to deal with it, or else what was the use of training those white mice?
Jiao Yuan was still at the doorway, cheering on, "Go Heitan! Show them what you're made of!"
Jiao Ma turned with a stern face, "Go back to your homework! A single mistake and your allowance is cut in half!"
On this side, Zheng Tan followed Qu into his house.
The moment he entered, the first thing Zheng Tan felt was a sense of familiarity—damn messy! Just like his past self.
On second glance, he recognized a familiar creature.
As soon as Zheng Tan entered, he saw three cockroaches: one had just crawled into the bathroom, another scurried out from under a cabinet, felt someone's presence, and hurried back, and the third one, which was closest to Zheng Tan, stopped in its tracks when it saw him, shook its long, filamentous antennae, and then quickly disappeared into a pile of magazines.
As one of the earth's oldest insects, existing even before the dinosaurs, and sharing an era with beasts like trilobites, cockroaches, with their freakish vitality to survive up to nine days headless, truly lived up to their Mandarin nickname "Little Strong". It's said that their resilience has been evolving; who knows what they might become in the future.