Er Mao's phone was clawed down from the table into a bucket of water, by his "daughter".
Truthfully, because of Er Mao's crappy mood at the time, the moment he got back home, he was at a loss for what to do. With a sudden enthusiasm, he picked up a bucket of water and tasked himself to clean the tables. His beer cans and take out containers were still littered on the table from the last few days. Multiple oil stains littered on his table and seeing how his "daughter" dragged herself across that very table, Er Mao rolled up his sleeves, picked up a bucket of water, and grabbed the workout towel his ripped yesterday and began his little mission around the house.
He left his phone on the bed side table. Er Mao received the call from Wang Bin when has was cleaning the computer desk. The ringtone had caused the nearby Barley to jump up in surprise. Then she went up to the phone and gave it a good smack, landing right on the answering button.
All cat owners knew that cats liked to attack in a consecutive order.
So, after the fist attack, another quickly followed. The second blow that landed on the phone caused it to coincidentally plummet into the water bucket that Er Mao had placed next to the bed—where he had started the entire cleaning mission.
Thus, Wang Bin, who was on the other side of the line, had only managed to catch Er Mao's shout of despair and a "ker plunk" of something falling into water, before losing signal.
In despair, Er Mao reclaimed his phone from the water bucket. The screen had completely blacked out without any response from the power button either. He took out the battery and tried to dry it, but it was hopeless. His phone was completely dead.
Helplessly, he looked at Barley who was crouched on the table and had a look of innocence about her. Er Mao massaged his forehead, and suddenly understood a cat owner's complex feelings. However, he no longer wanted to go out today. He could just get a new phone tomorrow. There was no rush. The people he talked to often could reach him through social media. It's just that he didn't know who had just tried to reach him.
Wang Bin tried the number a few more times, but there was no response from the other side. He could confirm that the shout was indeed from his younger twin, but upon hearing this content of his brother's shouting, Wang Bin desperately wanted to figure out what this "daughter" business was about. Earlier today, his mother was still ranting about when Er Mao could properly get himself a girlfriend, which could eventually lead to marriage and a stable household. It just so happened that he had to hear this piece of "outrageous news."
Wang Bin disliked being caught unaware, especially if Er Mao had really screwed up big time. He needed to prepare beforehand, otherwise when everything blew up, the family would be in turmoil. Obviously, he needed to find Er Mao first, but Wang Bin didn't have much longer of a stay at Chu Hua.
After calling Zhao Le to get a handle on the situation, Wang Bin thought back to the time where he had seen a black cat at the banquet held by his third uncle, but the cat didn't leave much of an impression at all. He had the option to either hire some professionals or to use brute fore to find Er Mao. These tactics were all attempted in the past, but they all ended up backfiring on him. Or he could ask the cat's owner? It seemed like the family of the black cat lived in Chu Hua University's family housing. There's weren't too many people there in the day and if there was anyone, it'd likely be children. Zhao Le recommended not to go in and disturb them.
After a long silence, Wang Bin decided to call a friend of his who currently lived at Chu Hua. Anyways, that guy was recently bored out of his mind. Might as well assign him something to get him up and moving. If nothing came out of this, Wang Bin planned to come back to Chu Hua the next weekend to personally visit that cat's owner.
Just like Fang said, anyone who knew Er Mao would never expect him to be living in the family housing units within the university. This was exactly why Wang Bin had initially overlooked the possibility of Er Mao being there.
On Zheng Tan's side, he had laid around the platform for so long that he was bored to the point of stupidity. Now, he could finally follow the Jiao family home. When Mama Jiao had brought her two children to participate in the activities, it had already been the afternoon. They immediately picked up Zheng Tan after they waited for the activities to end and headed home. Of course, all of this was carried out behind the scene. No one knew that BC, the cat who dominated the top platform of the climbing tree, was in fact with Mama Jiao's family.
As for the settlement of wages, Guo would naturally transfer it onto the card. That was what was agreed upon with Papa Jiao. There was nothing for Zheng Tan to worry about.
Zheng Tan didn't have much to do in the following days after the event. He spent his time wandering within and around the campus, but soon enough, his mood started to turn sour again. He discovered someone stalking him and he was not pleased with the situation.
The only decent thing was that the stalker was an absolute idiot.
The first time that Zheng Tan was targeted, there was also someone who had been stalking him. However, that guy probably paid more attention to cats, and remembered to at least conceal himself. But this guy, don't even mention concealing, he was completely out in the open and even confronted Zheng Tan: Hey, I'm watching you!
The young man was suited up. A pair of black sunglasses covered his eyes. He was acting all pretentious with his fists thrust into the pockets. The third time that Zheng Tan saw the young man, he recalled the string of events that had occurred recently. Was it because of Green Wing's event that he was being targeted?
No, it couldn't possibly be. Zheng Tan overruled that idea. It wasn't that Zheng Tan belittled himself, but anyone could guess from the activities and situation at the event. Being a cat, he wouldn't have had much of a presence. Other than the few acquaintances such as Fang, Liu, and Zhao Le who were at the event, the rest of the semi-famous individuals there all had some sort of ulterior motive. Especially people like Ye Hao, several media personnel, and politicians.
The guy who was stalking him looked like he had a decent background, not like he was in dire need of money. And based on logic, no one could guess that BC was the bored cat that was always wandering around campus. There were so many black cats and they were all so similar. So why was he the one being targeted?
Giving a stretch, Zheng Tan leapt down from the tree and continued down a path.
If shades guy wanted to follow, so be it. As long as he didn't regret it!
Shades guy had just dialed someone out of boredom; likely his girlfriend.
"...I'm not at the office now, I came out to destress...yea, it's spring, the season of birds and flowers...ok, I won't say much more, I still have some business to attend to, come on babe, give me a kiss..."
Seeing how Zheng Tan was leaving, shades guy quickly hung up on his call and chased after him. Even though he had promised to help out a good friend, this was just too boring. But, because he was at a university, he got to see many gorgeous young ladies. He would hit the jackpot if only he could encounter a beautiful woman on campus. However, that thought was short-lived. That black cat only lazed around on the tree for an hour, resulting in him calling someone to kill some time.
Zheng Tan was very familiar with Chu Hua University. Regardless of how remote the area was, he had been to all of them.
Just like what shades guy had said, it was the season of birds and flowers.
However, in certain places, birds chirping did not indicate aromatic scents of flowers.
Zheng Tan did not trot at a very fast pace. Instead, he went along leisurely enjoying the afternoon. Shades guy followed along unsuspecting, until he caught the scent of something strange in the air.
There was no one else here on this path, except for the guy that was following Zheng Tan. Students who had class were all at their lectures. Those who didn't have class and were on their way to find a study spot would not be walking down this "Angel's Path".
Originally, shades guy was observing his surroundings, in awe of the greenery. This deed could only be accredited to the hundred-year-old Chu Hua University, well worthy of it's fame.
Just as he was digesting the rush of emotions, he felt a quiet splat on his shoulder.
Shades guy looked towards his shoulder and his face immediately turned a slight shade of green.
A whitish substance with speckles of grey had landed on him. Even if he wanted to wipe it off, it probably wouldn't come off.
Zheng Tan started to quicken his pace for this stretch of the path. On a usual basis, he would avoid this route at all costs because of the abundance of birds. This was one of many Angel's Path at Chu Hua University.
Instantly, he caught a barrage of curses from shades guy behind him. He must have got caught in the trap. Zheng Tan decided not to stay for much longer, those birds didn't care to hold it in if there was someone down below them.
Realistically, it wasn't everyone who walked here that would "hit jackpot", it was still up to chance. It was pure luck that shades guy not only "hit jackpot", but also received another splattered on his sleeve. This piece also had a bit of red imbedded. Probably something that the bird ate.
In short, Shades guy never paused his angry cursing. As Zheng Tan secretly celebrated, he heard some strange things come out of shade guy's mouth. There was mention of both Wang Bin and Er Mao. This allowed Zheng Tan to understand the call that shades guy made after exiting the path.
"Wang Bin, I'm telling you. Just to help you, I have gone through all sorts of pain and suffering..." Shades guy talked on his phone while continuing to walk. He had already taken off his jacket and scrunched it into a ball that he now held in his hands. Noticing that the black cat had jumped onto stone bench, he sat down on a nearby stone bench as well.
"You didn't find Er Mao? What about that cat?" Wang Bin had asked after listening to the onslaught of complaints.
"The cat is within a meter of my vicinity, just beside me. Don't worry, I'm watching it. We will definitely catch Er Mao." Shades guy declared with confidence.
"...Then, how was the look he gave you when he looked at you?" Wang Bin finally asked the question after a few moments of hesitation. He heard a lot of stories from Zhao Le about that cat and knew that this cat was vastly different from others of its kind.
"Look? It can't be much, that cat's looks..."
Shades guy casually looked over to the stone bench beside him, and met Zheng Tan's eyes, catching the gaze of someone observing an idiot.
Shades guy swallowed the next half of his sentence, and finally spit out: "F***"
"Qin Shou, I remember telling you, to pay attention when you're following. And not to be too obvious." Wang Bin sighed.
"Ha, it's just a cat, look at you being so serious...Never mind, it was only a coincidence this time. I'll continue following it, you never know, Er Mao might just run out by himself." Shades guy ended the call, took off his shades and gave a serious look to the cat on the stone bench.
"Hey, are you trying to play me?" Shades guy asked.
Zheng Tan ignored him, and settled there acting dumb. Even though this guy was a little stupid, he had no ill intent towards Zheng Tan.
Right after he asked the question, he laughed at himself. He must've lost some brain cells after being shat on, to have seriously asked a question like that to this cat.
However, shades guy suddenly had a bout of inspiration. He remembered that a friend once told him about a specific dog, upon hearing his master's name, would immediately search for the master. Perhaps he could use a similar tactic? Yes, Definitely!
So, shades guy, chanting in a mantra, started to repeat to Zheng Tan, "Er Mao".
Zheng Tan could no longer handle this predicament and jumped off the stone bench to leave.
Shades guy followed close behind. When he chanced upon a garbage can on the side of the road, he threw in the scrunched-up jacket.
Zheng Tan tugged on his ear and thought: a damned black sheep!
Zheng Tan had forgotten that back in the days when he was still human, his personality was quite similar to this guy.
Shades guys was still following Zheng Tan and opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly saw something out of the corner of his eye. He immediately ran in the direction of the figure. To get there in the shortest amount of time, shades guy had to cross a particular lawn. Around this lawn were metal railings and so shades guy took a leap.
A single leap!
Coincidentally, shade guy's right foot landed on a turd. It was made by Sahara this morning when escaping his ropes to come out and play. Shades guy, simply did not realise it.
Zheng Tan looked about. Turns out that Er Mao's return had caught the attention of shades guy. All that could be said was that this was a real, true coincidence.
While Zheng Tan slowly jogged back to the East Yard, Er Mao and shades guy had already conversed for a while.
Once Zheng Tan arrived on the third floor, he found that Er Mao's door had been left slightly ajar, allowing Zheng Tan to overhear the two's conversation.
"Can't believe you'd be in a place like this. You trying to be more cultured? The great student Mao who couldn't even manage to write "deal" for "It's not a big deal" in his primary school essay?" This was the voice of shades guy.
"Well then, who was it who wrote "Qin Tao" as "Qin Shou" back in the day? Our teaching even forced you to rewrite the two pages you submitted. And then thinking that it was unjust, you decided to pass it around the classroom to display the "grievances" that you suffered? Someone who's too stupid to remember the three dots on the other side of their name has no right to talk about me." This was the voice of Er Mao.
Zheng Tan: "..."
Were these two competing on stupidity?