After Mr. Gu returned to his hometown, every now and then, he sent things over because this year the Jiao family of four wouldn't be going back for the New Year. Both sets of parents missed them, and once they found out that someone from their hometown was traveling to the provincial city, they'd have them bring over new year goods. Preparations for the New Year started early back in the hometown, and this year the New Year came early too. Many people from there often went to the provincial city to sell things, supplying goods like fruits and meat products to certain regular customers. So, by the end of December, every few days someone would call Mr. Jiao to come and collect things.
The aquaculture industry was well developed back in the hometown, with many people contracting fish ponds and growing all kinds of fish. The Gu family raised eels, and homegrown produce was always the most trustworthy.
However, none of that was any of Zheng Tan's concern. Since Wei Leng had moved to the company's premises, the furthest Zheng Tan would go around the school was to Xiao Guo's place. There was nowhere else he could go.
During the day, he couldn't run around outside the campus unchecked, the area outside was by no means as simple as within. On campus, Zheng Tan could visit many places to wander and relax. Most college students who saw Zheng Tan were inclined to be kind toward cats—after all, they were more innocent than the people out in society who had been fighting their way through life for years.
But once outside the campus, many people looked at Zheng Tan as if he were a dish on the menu. If he were still human, Zheng Tan assuredly wouldn't have noticed anything, but from the perspective of a cat, he could feel the meaning behind those stares.
A cat that frequently traversed through streets and alleys was always very sensitive to people's movements, and Zheng Tan's ability to pick up on these subtleties had only grown stronger after some time.
Therefore, Zheng Tan later took to taking his strolls outside the campus at night when there were fewer people around and there was less need to startle at every turn.
The working-class people who entered society hurried home at night and wouldn't pay much mind to a cat. However, toward the year-end, many started to trap stray and pet cats walking around, selling them to some restaurants. Some, to avoid trouble, would directly transport them to other provinces. These were the real dangers that the cats needed to beware of.
Zheng Tan never encountered a cat trader, but he nonetheless faced many obstacles.
As a cat, Zheng Tan admitted there was still significant pressure. He had underestimated the male cats' determination and persistence in fighting for territory. The restless cats would urinate, defecate, or pick a fight for no reason. Zheng Tan tried venturing further afield, but ultimately, he always returned home, disappointed.
Not that Zheng Tan couldn't beat those cats—he certainly could, and not all of them were unreasonable, but there were always one or two exceptions.
One evening, as Zheng Tan was walking toward Xiao Guo's Pet Center, he encountered a black cat just like himself. However, that black cat always had a few other cats around it. Zheng Tan figured they must be its minions. If you put it elegantly, they were its direct subordinates; if you spoke plainly, they were its followers.
Although Zheng Tan never lost a fight, what really vexed him was that this black cat never learned its lesson. If you knocked it down once, it would bounce back and challenge you again, full of vigor. This, what they call being indomitable and getting stronger with every battle—Zheng Tan thought this type of guy was simply a dimwit, an idiot, a masochist.
Originally, Zheng Tan had thought that fighting was a necessary part of being a cat; wherever you went, you had to fight your way through. But one day, he discovered an exception.
Christmas was approaching, and some international students in the school were all busy preparing for it. Xiao Guo then came up with an idea for a cat food advertisement themed around Christmas, having Zheng Tan play Santa Claus and the golden retriever "Lord" play the role of a reindeer.
When Zheng Tan was brought to the studio by Xiao Guo, he saw "Lord" sitting by the side, with a pair of plastic antlers stuck on its head, squatting there with its mouth open, panting—heavy. It had probably been training nonstop for the actions needed in the advertisement and was now taking a brief rest.
Zheng Tan had cooperated with several cats from Xiao Guo's shop and this golden retriever before. Although there wasn't much understanding between them, they didn't exactly clash either. The pets got along quite harmoniously. Aside from "Prince" in Xiao Guo's shop, the rest of the cats had been neutered. Even though "Prince" was also a male cat, because he was accustomed to being kept indoors, his aggressiveness was much less than that of the cats Zheng Tan encountered in the streets and alleys. Moreover, with so many cats in Xiao Guo's shop, they were used to the presence of cats other than themselves and rarely fought over territory.
They had shot many advertisements before, and the staff here was well-acquainted with the routine, knowing that only the other actors in the advertisement had to be well-trained. As for the black cat, he was a "highly-paid expert" who didn't need any guidance. Hence the situation where "Lord" was panting heavily while Zheng Tan sat by, so bored that he dozed off.
Finally, when "Lord" had managed to perform the whole string of actions, Xiao Guo called Zheng Tan to wake up and start filming.
After changing into that ridiculously silly Christmas Cat costume, Zheng Tan felt his IQ was being dragged down.
The outfit was uncomfortable, not because it was too tight, but because it felt awkward all over. And that wasn't the end of it; Xiao Guo even brought over a fake beard to put on Zheng Tan, and once the hat was placed on his head, the silliness level was off the charts.
People watching this ad would probably mock: "Santa Claus is a black cat, really black!"
Well, for the sake of the advertisement, just endure it. "I am sacrificing myself for art," Zheng Tan reassured himself.
The Christmas Cat's mission was to drive a golden retriever sleigh, delivering "gifts" from the Mingming Pet Center to the other cats and pups, including cat food, dog food, pet clothes, pet beds, and so on.
After a series of bumps and scrapes during the shoot, Zheng Tan walked off the set and kicked off his costume, flung away the beard, and perched on a tall cat tree to wait for Xiao Guo to finish up and take him home.
The post-production was now Xiao Guo's and Yanzi's responsibility. Yanzi had become a regular at the Pet Center, and with good computing skills, Xiao Guo often asked for Yanzi's help. Of course, the help wasn't for free; Yanzi got free accommodation, free food, and could even free-feed the cats.
While a bunch of staff were busy with the post-production work, the corner where Zheng Tan perched was a lot quieter. Having snoozed earlier, he couldn't fall asleep now and looked around out of boredom.
In the end, Zheng Tan's gaze fell on Li Yuanba and his offspring.
Li Yuanba was still the same; the other cats in the shop always kept their distance. The curious few who ventured close were repelled by a mere glance from him; no need for a raised paw. A look was enough to do the job, something Zheng Tan quite admired.
The cat with a "mole" beside its mouth, sitting next to Li Yuanba, was none other than his son, Huasheng Tang. Xiao Guo and the others simply called him "Hua."
When Zheng Tan first saw the photo, he hadn't looked closely, so he didn't notice Huasheng Tang's distinctive "mole." The fur around Huasheng Tang's mouth was mainly white, but there was a yellow spot the size of a mung bean that stood out against the white, making it look rather comical.
Zheng Tan thought that in a few months, that mung bean-sized "mole" would probably grow to the size of a soybean. As for whether Huasheng Tang's "mole" would become as big as a quail egg when he was fully grown, that remained to be seen; but Zheng Tan was quite looking forward to it. It would be amusing.
Huasheng Tang's fur was longer than that of other shorthair kitten breeds yet different from the longhair breeds. Likely, his father was either a longhair cat or a mixed breed.
Another peculiar thing Zheng Tan found was Huasheng Tang's serious expression on his face.
In Ah Huang's case, "serious" was just a superficial act, but Huasheng Tang's seriousness was genuine, deeply inheriting Li Yuanba's expression. However, being still young, Huasheng Tang had a naïve look in his eyes and lacked his mother's commanding presence.
After squatting for a while, Li Yuanba picked up Huasheng Tang and walked into the house. There was a room belonging to Yanzi, with a cat-flap designed specifically for cat access at the bottom of the door.
Zheng Tan had a view of that room and watched as Li Yuanba carried Huasheng Tang into the room. It didn't take long before he came out again, this time alone. Then, instead of heading back towards the studio, he walked towards the other end of the corridor.
Zheng Tan remembered that there was a back door over there, which was only opened when moving goods or large props and equipment. Otherwise, it was always closed.
"Li Yuanba" heading over there, for what purpose?
Having nothing better to do, driven by curiosity, Zheng Tan leapt down from the cat climbing frame and followed.
"Li Yuanba" glanced back and saw Zheng Tan not far behind, but didn't react and continued towards that direction, arriving at the back door.
Some goods were stacked near the back door, but they were far from the actual door. In the corner near the wall was a small window, quite high up and left open, probably for ventilation—many of the shipped goods had strong odors.
And the height of the small window was out of the jumping range for the store's cats, so Xiao Guo wasn't worried about them escaping through it.
"Li Yuanba" walked towards it and, just as Zheng Tan was wondering, suddenly sped up. Its direction wasn't towards the window, but rather towards the side wall. With a powerful leap, it touched the side wall and quickly changed its angle, its hind legs forcefully pushed off, using the wall's reactive force to jump toward the small window. It landed precisely.
Fuck! That skill is fucking awesome!
Zheng Tan nearly dropped his jaw in amazement from behind.
Indeed, Xiao Guo would have never anticipated that a cat could escape through the small window by such a method of jumping.
Outside were some empty boxes stacked up, forming makeshift steps for "Li Yuanba" to safely jump down. Soon, it disappeared from Zheng Tan's view.
Zheng Tan crouched there hesitating for a moment, then tried to jump directly towards the small window, as his jumping power was slightly stronger than the average cat. After several attempts, Zheng Tan gave up, just a tiny bit short.
Therefore, Zheng Tan began to attempt "Li Yuanba's" method of jumping. The first time, he didn't control the angle and force right, and directly collided with the wall, but fortunately, Zheng Tan managed to control his body at that moment and landed safely, with just a numb leg.
The second time, it was a tiny bit better than the previous attempt, not hitting the wall but the opened glass window instead, creating a "bang" sound.
After moving his legs and waiting for the pain to subside a bit, Zheng Tan tried for the third time. Finally, he managed to claw onto the window ledge. With a few kicks and a strong push with his paws, Zheng Tan flipped over and peeked outside.
Unexpectedly, not far away, "Li Yuanba" was squatting on an empty cardboard box looking over this way.
Waiting for me?
Upon seeing the black cat at the window, "Li Yuanba" turned and jumped off the box, heading out.
Zheng Tan hurriedly followed.
Containing cats is harder than containing dogs, and Zheng Tan now fully understood this. "Li Yuanba" must have known somehow, found several gaps to squeeze through, and after several twists and turns, it left the pet center without being noticed by anyone.
At first, the place they passed through was unfamiliar to Zheng Tan, but gradually, the scenery became familiar. Zheng Tan had been here before on his walk from the campus, and had encountered...
"Meow—"
Just as he was pondering, Zheng Tan heard that annoying voice.
Fucking hell, it's that stupid cat!
Looking up towards the source of the sound, Zheng Tan indeed saw the black cat sitting on a low wall, with two other cat minions around it.
Different from previous encounters, Zheng Tan felt that today that stupid cat was a bit off, with the other two cats not running up to join in the commotion. Taking a closer look, Zheng Tan noticed that the three cats were on high alert, watching in the direction of "Li Yuanba."
The "indomitable" cat, when facing "Li Yuanba," could only let out a few weak "meows" before taking off running, unlike when it faced Zheng Tan—knowing it would be defeated yet still charging forward looking for abuse. The other cats scattered cleanly as well.
Not just these three, but as they continued deeper into the alley, Zheng Tan spotted several more cats, two of them quite large, with their own territorial smells around them. Yet "Li Yuanba" passed unfazed through their domains, as those cats upon noticing "Li Yuanba" just let out some "meows." With a sidelong glance from "Li Yuanba," they fled as if a big dog was chasing them.
Zheng Tan felt deeply moved by this scene.
This demonstrated that, as a cat, Zheng Tan still had a long way to go. It wasn't just about strength, but also presence.
And Li Yuanba, akin to a tomboy among cats, a cat's Mao Slar in the eyes of underlings, with her intimidating appearance coupled with an imposing aura, was fully capable of dominating this alleyway mixed with stray and pet cats.
The intensive territorial instincts of those cats seemed to dissipate at that moment, with Zheng Tan identifying the fear in their eyes when they saw "Li Yuanba."
Zheng Tan glanced at the tortoiseshell cat walking ahead, unperturbed. It exuded an aura that was casually revealed, without pretense and not just anyone could mimic. Zheng Tan still remembered when Xiao Guo first saw "Li Yuanba," besides opening the pet bag, Xiao Guo hadn't approached it again. It was not only an understanding of pet cats on Xiao Guo's part but also related to a silent message transmitted by "Li Yuanba" itself.
Cat language is not scarce. Different tones, lengths of sounds, and ways of vocalization convey different meanings. However, since leaving the pet center, Zheng Tan hadn't heard this tortoiseshell cat make a single sound, relying entirely on a silent presence and aura instead. Those who didn't understand might fail to see the difference, but Zheng Tan could now clearly sense something emanating from the tortoiseshell cat ahead, markedly different from other cats.
Appearance is decided at birth, but the aura is honed by life's experiences and time.
Zheng Tan didn't know what "Li Yuanba" had gone through, but for an ordinary-seeming cat to have such an aura and presence, its past surely wasn't simple.
At the same time, however, Zheng Tan couldn't help but wonder, what kind of cat would be able to take down this motionless cat? Who's Huasheng Tang's daddy? He really wanted to know the answer.