Strange Life of a Cat - Chapter 119

Zheng Tan waited downstairs while Papa Jiao and Bai Yang went upstairs.

As for the bird, General didn’t sing when he didn’t have an audience. He stood on top of the tree and watched Zheng Tan. His eye lingered dangerously on Zheng Tan’s ear. Zheng Tan glared at him menacingly and he flew away to look for a new audience. He had planned to bully the cat earlier but ran into Bai Yang instead. He preferred singing to bothering cats.

Zheng Tan knew the bird too well. He kept his guard up because General would attack his ears if he got the chance. He only relaxed when General left. He yawned. He hadn’t had dinner yet but was not very hungry. He had eaten some peanuts at the restaurant earlier and decided to take a nap while waiting for Papa Jiao.

Before he could fall asleep, he heard a car honking at him. He opened his eyes and saw Fang Shaokang’s car heading this way. Fang poked his head out of the window and waved at Zheng Tan.

He wasn’t driving today and had a driver with him. Zheng Tan had never met the man but he looked reliable. The driver showed no emotion when his boss waved at a cat.

Zheng Tan stretched and shook his fur, then jumped off the tree upon which he had been resting and came to the side of the car.

Fang did not get out of the car. He had his cellphone in one hand and motioned for Zheng Tan to come inside.

Zheng Tan jumped into the car, then looked at Fang curiously. He knew Fang wasn’t here to take him out for some event, he would have notified the Jiao family first if that were the case. Only Wei Ling would drop by to take him to the Night Tower unannounced.

Fang Shaokang examined the black cat. “I see your whiskers have grown back nicely. You look much better now.”

Fang compared Zheng Tan to the picture he had taken on his phone and nodded. He managed to pocket his phone before Zheng Tan flipped it out of his hand. “I was passing by Chuhua University and decided to pay you guys a visit. I need to leave soon so I won’t be going upstairs.”

Fang Shaokang had called Professor Jiao earlier, or else he wouldn’t have known Zheng Tan was on a tree. He had communicated the details to Papa Jiao and only gave Zheng Tan the short version.

Papa Jiao waved his hello from the balcony on the fifth floor, then went inside to continue his conversation with Bai Yang. He had just managed to charge his phone and turn it back on when he got a call from Fang. Fang explained there was an event on Saturday and he would like to borrow the cat.

……

Bai Yang had heard parts of the call. He had learned that this cat was a special one during his time at the company. Yuan Zhiyi had a pure black lucky cat statue on his desk after all. The Mr. Fang Professor Jiao was talking to was probably the one from Shaoguang Group. He couldn’t believe that Mr. Fang called just to ask to take the cat to an event. Since when did cats go networking? The cat was busier than most humans!

Downstairs in the car, Fang explained he wanted to take Zheng Tan somewhere that Saturday to meet some people and that his driver would be here to pick him up. Fang himself obviously didn’t have the time. The driver who got the task was the man driving now.

“This is Tong Qing. I came here to introduce him to you. He’s very nice and quite capable. He can drive and fight but is just a little bit too quiet.” He pointed at the man in the driver’s seat and said to Zheng Tan. He then told the driver to memorize Zheng Tan. There were lots of black cats in the world and he could easily bring the wrong cat. However, Fang knew that once they got familiar there was no way to confuse Zheng Tan with other cats.

During this whole process, the driver Tong Qing’s face didn’t betray any emotions. He did have the slightest trace of doubt in his eyes though. He didn’t understand why his boss was talking to a cat. Did the cat understand him?

Tong Qing started working for Fang in Chuhua after the national day holidays. He used to drive for Fang Shaokang in the capital. Fang felt the man was reliable and could take the shock that was Zheng Tan. Tong Qing was a man who could accept Zheng Tan and keep a secret.

Zheng Tan didn’t care, he trusted Fang. He was happy as long as the guy wasn’t like Long Qi.

Fang left after he told Zheng Tan of his plans. Zheng Tan watched Fang Shaokang’s car leave. He waited on the tree for Papa Jiao and they went to dinner together.

The next week, Mama Jiao tried her best to make Charcoal look like an expensive and precious cat. She had been to Mr. Guo’s multiple times to discuss Zheng Tan. She learned that Fang was taking him to an event and assumed it was better for Fang to show up with an expensive cat.

Most famous people were not like Fang and preferred rare breed pets.

It wasn’t that Mama Jiao looked down on house cats, she just didn’t want Zheng Tan to be laughed at. No one would say anything in front of Fang, but she still didn’t want anyone to look at her cat in disdain. She worked her best to dress Zheng Tan up in that week.

Sadly, Zheng Tan was not interested in what Mama Jiao was up to. He had short fur and a pet beauty spa at Mr. Guo didn’t change him much. He didn’t want to wear clothes either. He had an organic fur coat already. Why would he ever need clothes?

Papa Jiao was much calmer. He didn’t quite know what Fang was thinking but trusted him to look after the cat.

Zheng Tan wasn’t worried either. He was going to a party as far as he was concerned. It wasn’t his first time going to a party after all.

While Mama Jiao was trying to doll up Zheng Tan, Zhao Le was in Fang Shaokang’s office discussing the party on Saturday. She had received an invitation as well. Her father was busy so she would attend in his place. She had run into Professor Jiao earlier that week and learned that Charcoal was going too. She didn’t quite understand why Fang had invited Zheng Tan.

Zhao Le knew that among the people attending the party, there were a few who liked pets and brought their pets everywhere. However, their pets were all special breed animals. Charcoal was a plain house cat.

Though she knew it was awful to think like that, she too agreed with Mama Jiao. However, she knew Fang well. The man definitely thought out of the box, and though his actions sometimes seemed plain bizarre, they always made sense in the end. He was a legend because he thought ahead of everyone.

By the third day, she just couldn’t control her curiosity anymore and came to Fang’s office.

Fang finished reading a report before saying to Zhao Le, “I had a chat with your father last week and he mentioned an interesting story. To transport a live fish like sardines, which love to stay still but also can easily suffocate, shipmasters keep a meat-eating catfish into the fish tank.”

“The catfish effect, I know.” Zhao Le knew the concept, it was often used in business management.

Fang Shaokang nodded and continued, “Don’t you think these parties are boring? It’s the same people every single time. People smile, shake hands, and endure hours of formalities.”

Was it boring? Zhao Le didn’t think so. Sure there was a lot of praising going around in these parties, but they provided a chance to network and form new business partnerships. Weren’t these parties always like this? Did Fang want to add some chaos to the party?

“Anyway, I heard this story and thought your father was too right!” Fang pushed the cat-shaped tumbler on his table.

Zhao Le was speechless. He got the meaning of the story wrong.

“That’s not what my father meant!” Zhao Le emphasized. This was no joke. She couldn’t have her father taking the blame if something happened.

When Mr. Zhao told this story he meant Fang was the catfish. His rare and bizarre ideas stimulated the industry. He was weird and brilliant at the same time. He looked at things from a different angle and saw problems in a different way.

Fang looked at the tumbler on his table and rubbed the back of his neck. He recited a few names on the list of invitees. “These parties are formulaic. They are too boring.”

“There’s going to be chaos!” Zhao Le said seriously. She thought of the people who were coming and her head hurt. She was worried there would be hell to pay. It wasn’t just Charcoal. Even if he didn’t come, the party wouldn’t be a peaceful one.

“Don’t worry about it. I have faith.”

Just like that, Saturday was upon them.

After breakfast, the driver arrived right on time.

Zheng Tan refused to wear the clothes Mama Jiao bought him. He even left his cat tag at Fatty’s house.

He jumped into the car through the window, then lay down in a comfortable position.

Like Fang Shaokang had said, Tong Qing was a man with a strong stomach. He was quiet though. He didn’t talk or even play music while he drove. He only turned on the traffic channel once in a while. He was a driver and drive was all he did. He was the opposite of Wei Ling, who talked all the time.

They were going to a destination some distance away from Chuhua University. Shaoguang Group had built a neighborhood of villas and was holding a celebratory party.

The people guarding the gates knew Tong Qing and the car. They peered inside but didn’t see anyone. They were curious because the boss was here already but didn’t have time to ask. They had other responsibilities.

Tong Qing parked the car, then actually got off to open the door for Zheng Tan.

He was very pleased – he hadn’t expected this kind of treatment after he became a cat. Wei Ling always let him jump out the window.

However, his excitement didn’t last. People were gathering around the car to check out the people exiting. Even if it was just a pet, it might be a rare breed. The cat that had just come out of an earlier car was a leopard cat with a cat tag made of diamonds.

The people coming out of this car, however, were much different.

The driver was an ordinary driver.

The cat was a house cat. It didn’t even have a nice name tag.

To these people, Zheng Tan was basically naked. The look in their eyes said it all. They couldn’t believe a cat like this could attend this party.

People felt that such a cat was beneath them. Why would someone bring a regular house cat to a party like this? They held their tongues though. Who knew who the owner was? Maybe the person just liked house cats.

Zheng Tan wanted to roll his eyes as well. Why was a cat judged by his collar or tag or stupid clothes?

Did a tux make a cat a gentleman cat? Would a suit of armor make a cat more majestic?

F*ck that!

This was who he was! He was 100% organic.

Zheng Tan turned and left.

Tong Qing raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. He followed the cat without giving the crowd another glance.