When Zheng Tan stepped out and descended the stairs, he noticed a note pasted at the corner between the fifth and fourth floors, perfectly in line with his line of sight.
"Turn off unnecessary power when going far to avoid safety hazards, close the doors and windows to keep the sand and dust out, and remember to bring food… For specific steps, please see the detailed instructions on the desk."
It was Mr. Jiao's handwriting.
Zheng Tan tugged at his ear, reluctantly turned back, and somewhat awkwardly used the key around his neck to open the door. He entered the Jiao couple's bedroom, jumped onto the desk, and sure enough, there was an open notebook listing everything that needed to be done. Zheng Tan read through it, made a round through the house, and according to the instructions, turned off some of the power and closed the doors and windows.
After organizing everything, Zheng Tan held a bag of thumb cookies and headed out, swiped his access card, and came to a plane tree next to the cement road in the East District Family Compound, where he climbed up the tree. At the third forked branch, there was a fist-sized hole where Zheng Tan placed the key and access card, then covered them with two leaves.
Usually, birds rarely stayed in the trees by the road in the family compound, including that cheeky parrot; and other cats seldom climbed trees here, preferring those in the small woods, rather than by the cement road. Thus, Zheng Tan felt secure keeping his items there as he couldn't possibly carry the pet-marked access card and house keys on a long trip, which would be too inconvenient, and getting caught after doing something bad would be even more troublesome.
After placing everything properly, Zheng Tan then went to the bushes next to the East Garden Supermarket to wait for a ride.
The delivery driver was helping unload the goods and after moving the last box from the small truck, he leaned against the door smoking a cigarette when he noticed Zheng Tan squatting in the bushes with a bag of thumb cookies, commonly eaten by children.
"Yo, Heitan, off to play again today?"
The delivery driver recognized Zheng Tan and was familiar with the scene; what was different today was that the cat also brought a bag of cookies—was he preparing for a long trip?
Before, Zheng Tan had also ridden this delivery truck out for a couple of trips. Initially, the driver had some complaints, but after Mr. Jiao gifted him two packs of cigarettes and a bottle of liquor, whenever the driver saw Zheng Tan, he smiled like a blooming chrysanthemum. As long as Zheng Tan hitched a ride, it meant that he would continue receiving nice gifts. Those cigarettes and liquor were premium goods, selling for over a hundred at the supermarket in Central Department Store.
Zheng Tan stretched lazily, grabbed the thumb cookies, and jumped into the back of the small truck to wait for the driver to settle the account with the supermarket owner and leave.
Today, there were no other items in the truck's compartment; it was cleanly unloaded.
"Heitan, today's deliveries are done; we're not heading to Central Department Store. I'm going straight home, not passing the East Gate but taking the back North Second Gate."
In the previous two trips, Zheng Tan had walked around the vicinity of Central Department Store, two stops from the East Gate near the family compound, which took about twenty minutes by foot. From there, you could clearly see the tall buildings of Chuhua University. The university was large; it took several stops to go from one end to the other.
The words of the truck driver were just a casual remark; he didn't really expect a cat to understand what he was saying. All he could do was offer the black cat a ride, and where the cat ended up wasn't his concern.
As six o'clock approached, everything at the East Garden Supermarket was accounted for, and the bills settled. The truck driver called to Zheng Tan and then drove the small truck toward the North Second Gate.
The setting sun had turned orange and was nearly touching the horizon near the North District Cafeteria doorway, where students were coming and going, just out of their last class, joyfully discussing the day's events.
The small truck passed by the North District Cafeteria, and Zheng Tan, squatting in the truck's shadow, watched them, reminded of his former self and suddenly felt a touch of melancholy. Before arriving here inexplicably, he too was a junior in college.
As the small truck reached the junction near the North District Cafeteria, Zheng Tan saw a young man in a white uniform pedaling a loudly rattling 28-style bicycle heading toward the North District Cafeteria. Ignoring the "Chuhua University North District Cafeteria" printed on his uniform's left chest, one might think he had just come from a laboratory.
The others rushing around were the country's future elites, but the young man on the bicycle didn't show much envy nor inferiority. His uniform flapped in the wind like a high-end trench coat, and he hummed a song, facing the bright red sunset with a brilliant smile.
Leaving from the north gate of Chuhua University, the truck didn't approach Central Department Store, only viewing its lights from afar. Those were all familiar scenes to Zheng Tan; the neon around Central Department Store had also lit up, the huge screens flickering, displaying the prosperity of the metropolis.
Zheng Tan watched everything recede outside the window like a misfit observer. Despite seeing so much, his mind was blank, in a daze.
The truck went from the city center to the Third Ring Road, to the suburbs, as night fell deeper and the wind grew colder.
A sudden stop made the daydreaming Zheng Tan bump his head against the truck compartment's panel with a "thud".
Zheng Tan raised his furry paw to scratch his head.
Listening to the conversation outside, Zheng Tan knew the truck driver had reached home. He got up, shook off the dust, and holding the bag of thumb cookies, jumped out of the truck. After looking around, Zheng Tan decided to find a place to sleep first and go out during the daytime, even though he was now a cat; he still preferred roaming during the day.
When Zheng Tan was looking for a place to stay for the night, a phone in a dormitory at Chuhua University rang.
The person closest to the phone picked it up respectfully and said a couple of phrases, then said, "Please hold on a moment, he should have finished showering by now, I'll go call him," and then set the phone down on the desk and walked over to the bed across.
The person in the bed was sound asleep, grinding his teeth and even smiling in his sleep. The other three in the dorm had moved past their initial shock and had become numb to it.
The guy who had answered the phone nudged the tooth-grinding sleeper, whispering, "Yi Xin, it's your boss on the phone! I told him you were just in the bathroom taking a shower, so don't mess it up."
Hearing the words "your boss," the groggily sleeping person suddenly became alert, quickly climbed out of bed, and ran to the bathroom to clear his throat. His voice was a bit hoarse just after waking up, and Yi Xin didn't want his mentor to know he was actually sleeping during what was supposedly prime studying time at night—wouldn't that ruin the image he had in his boss' mind?
"Mr. Jiao, sorry, I was just showering. What can I do for you?" Yi Xin picked up the phone, feeling quite pleased with his act.
To help him out, his roommates—who were playing video games—even stopped typing on their keyboards and pretended to discuss the academic matter of why eating meat with garlic was nutritious.
On the other end of the line, Mr. Jiao paused for a moment before saying, "Sorry to disturb your sleep."
Yi Xin: "..." What kind of ears does Mr. Jiao have! Such high resolution!
However, Yi Xin was relieved that Professor Jiao didn't dwell on the subject any further and instead asked, "Do you have time right now?"
"I do!" Yi Xin quickly responded, ready to make time even if he hadn't any.
Twenty minutes later, holding the keys he found in Professor Jiao's office drawer, Yi Xin was standing in the Jiao family living room.
It was Yi Xin's second time at the Jiao residence. The first time had been earlier this year after the graduate entrance exam results were announced. As Professor Jiao's first student and a capable one, Professor Jiao valued him highly and had invited him to dine at their home.
Yi Xin had never met Zheng Tan. When Zheng Tan visited the Life Science Building, aside from the Jiao family, no one else knew, so Yi Xin was unaware that his mentor's family cat was somewhat unusual.
After searching around and not seeing the cat, Yi Xin went to the bedroom and used the phone there to call Professor Jiao back.
"Mr. Jiao, I didn't see the cat. Could your cat have run away from home?" After saying that, Yi Xin immediately wished he could slap himself. Keep your mouth shut!
"Did you unplug the air conditioning?" Mr. Jiao asked from the other end of the line.
"Unplugged! And I turned off the kitchen outlets too!" Yi Xin hurriedly said, describing the situation around the house.
"Mr. Jiao, should I go buy a bag of cat food to leave here?" Yi Xin asked.
"No need, as long as there are snacks on the sofa and the fridge is still full."
Yi Xin: "..." Is that how you're supposed to take care of a cat?
"Just come over each day to check and use my home phone to let me know. As for your work summary, no need to report this week."
Relieved he didn't have to report his experiment progress, as things hadn't been going smoothly the last couple of days, Yi Xin let out a sigh of relief.
"Okay, don't worry, I will come by every day at this time."
On the train, having given all the instructions, Mr. Jiao put his phone back in his pocket and stared out into the dark night outside the window.
That little rascal had run out again!