Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 259 - Chapter 259 Chapter 252 Just Ran Away Like That

Chapter 259: Chapter 252 Just Ran Away Like That Chapter 259: Chapter 252 Just Ran Away Like That Zheng Tan was not at all interested in the thin and small kitten that ran towards him with its tail raised, although he was curious about how the leopard cat had fallen to such a state, but his curiosity was fleeting, and he went on with his business. Every person faces their own fate, every cat has its own life.

As he lifted his foot to push away the kitten that pounced over, Zheng Tan turned around to leave. Before leaving, he heard a child’s voice.

“Big Flower–Big Flower, where are you?!”

Big Flower?

Zheng Tan, who had already turned around, looked back at the leopard cat whose ears moved and its expression was no longer as tense. Was “Big Flower” a call for it?

Listening to the footsteps getting closer, Zheng Tan quickly walked away, but he stopped around the corner, jumped onto a bumpy red brick wall, and looked back at the scene.

A seven or eight-year-old child ran over, followed by an old person carrying a flashlight. Seeing the leopard patterned big cat, the child visibly sighed with relief, then ran to pick up the kitten and petted the big cat’s head, “Big Flower, it’s too late to run around, let’s go back.”

So “Big Flower” seemed to be its new name, which sounded quite common.

Zheng Tan watched the two people and two cats leave and decided to follow them to see.

The family was among the last to relocate, and their living conditions didn’t seem very good; how could such a family afford to keep the leopard patterned big cat?

The leopard patterned big cat looked a lot thinner than before, and the kitten was frail as well. There probably wasn’t much milk to feed the kitten, unlike Ermao’s family.

Zheng Tan didn’t stay there for long and went back. For the next two days, he also went to the Old Building District at night to check on the leopard patterned big cat’s current life.

Although it wasn’t as luxurious as before, at least it had some stability now. Moreover, the two children in that family were kind to the leopard patterned big cat. Whenever their father returned from delivering goods, he would bring them two moderately sized braised chicken legs, and they would even save some meat for the big cat. Although heavily flavored food isn’t great for pet cats and dogs, sometimes having something to eat is good enough, and one cannot be choosy. Whatever the people ate, they gave the same to the cat. It was likely that the big cat had not fully adjusted yet, having lost so much weight and subsequently affecting the kitten’s growth.

Once, when Zheng Tan went there, he saw the two children sleeping with the leopard patterned big cat, which lay beside them, occasionally licking and grooming the children’s messy hair, looking like a regular house cat.

Zheng Tan found out the reason for the leopard cat’s downfall from Ermao. One day, planning to go for a walk, Zheng Tan happened to see Ermao cleaning the house; he had just bathed Heimi, leaving wet footprints of cat and human on the floor.

After mopping the floor, Ermao sat on the sofa to rest, looking down on Zheng Tan for idling away his days. In passing, she brought up the issue of the leopard cat.

It turned out that the leopard cat’s second owner had encountered some trouble; a major mistake in business. Last month, due to debt problems, they were extremely distressed, and no one at home paid attention to the leopard cat. Later, one of their relatives noticed it and was tempted to use it for fights, a newly acquired hobby. The relative thought the leopard cat was mighty, but after winning a few fights, it got defeated by a stray cat, its ear bitten and left with a notch. It suffered numerous injuries from the fights and even got beaten after losing a few.

“Afterwards, I guess it was probably sold to a cat meat restaurant,” Ermao said, her tone filled with intense disdain and disgust towards those people.

Zheng Tan figured the leopard patterned big cat was still alive, and although its current life wasn’t great, it was certainly better than being eaten.

In fact, Zheng Tan felt that if the leopard cat had retained its condition from their first meeting, even if it were taken to fight, it might not have lost. The key issue was that it had been tamed by its second owner. Cats are not easy to tame; their wild nature is deeply ingrained. So the cat tamers’ so-called training might have adopted some extreme measures to tame its temperament in a short time. The second time Zheng Tan saw the leopard patterned big cat, it had indeed become much more docile. With such a temperament in a fight, even with its size advantage, it might not always win against those cats that fought for survival in the wild.

That evening, after dinner, Zheng Tan took another walk to the Old Building District, thinking of what Ermao said. He felt quite sympathetic towards the leopard cat. As a pet, having a good owner truly is a stroke of great luck. Comparatively, Zheng Tan increasingly felt that staying with the Jiao family was the best option.

As he was pondering, Zheng Tan looked up and saw the leopard cat squatting ahead. When it saw Zheng Tan, it immediately stood up and ran away, not putting up a wary stance like last time but turning to flee instead.

Zheng Tan: “…” Do I really look that frightening?

The leopard cat’s courage seemed to be getting smaller and smaller. Zheng Tan thought to himself, somewhat critically.

Deciding to go over to check on that family, he hadn’t taken a few steps when Zheng Tan saw the leopard patterned big cat return, this time with something in its mouth–it was the kitten.

Zheng Tan was puzzled. What was this guy doing bringing the kitten over?

The leopard patterned big cat approached Zheng Tan, starting with hesitant steps, slowly moving closer. Noting that Zheng Tan showed no sign of aggression or malice, the big cat quickened its pace.

The kitten being carried seemed baffled, looking very innocent and unsure of what its mother intended to do.

Watching the cat draw nearer, Zheng Tan felt an uneasy premonition welling up inside and was tempted to turn tail and run right there and then.

Before Zheng Tan could move to run, the leopard cat stopped half a meter away and set the kitten down.

Once on the ground, the kitten shrank back and took in its surroundings, probably catching the familiar scent of its mother and gaining some courage. It cuddled up to the leopard cat but was nudged gently toward Zheng Tan by the leopard cat’s head.

Zheng Tan: “!!” It can’t be what he’s thinking…

The kitten still didn’t realize its mother’s intentions. Resistance proved futile as it was nudged towards Zheng Tan. Upon seeing Zheng Tan, the kitten immediately scampered over with its tail held high to play with Zheng Tan’s palm. Although the kitten’s teeth had grown, its bite wasn’t strong enough to hurt Zheng Tan.

Looking at the kitten floundering by his hand, when Zheng Tan looked towards the leopard cat again, he found that it had already turned and started to walk away.

Hey, you forgot your son!

Zheng Tan watched the leopard cat walk faster and faster. Once it quickened its pace, its hind legs revealed a problem–it was unsteady and seemed to limp when running.

That’s not the point!

The point is, after that big cat brought the kitten over, it ran away by itself!!

Zheng Tan pushed the kitten, which was so engrossed in play that it hadn’t noticed its mother’s abandonment, back towards where it came from. The kitten thought Zheng Tan was playing with it and struggled even harder. When it looked back and realized its mother was getting further away, the kitten cried out a few times and chased after her. Unfortunately, with its underdeveloped little limbs, it stumbled and rolled after just a few steps.

When the kitten cried out, the big cat stopped, looked back, then turned its head and continued running. The kitten couldn’t keep up at all, and soon it realized its mother was gone. Tired from the chase, it sat down, quietly meowing as it looked towards the dark alley in the distance.

Zheng Tan now understood that the big cat wanted him to help take care of the kitten.

Taking care of someone else’s kid? Hell no! If its mom doesn’t care about it, why the hell should I?

Zheng Tan turned around, intending to leave as well.

Finally remembering there was another cat around, the kitten glanced towards Zheng Tan, then got up and wobbled after him. It ran a few steps and tumbled, got up and continued chasing, but alas, how could it possibly match the speed of a big cat, let alone that of Zheng Tan? In just a few seconds, it was out of sight.

Zheng Tan ran to the fork in the road, heard the kitten’s cries, stopped, and squatted to think. Then, he tiptoed back to the corner, carefully poking his head out to survey the alley now filled with construction debris.

The kitten wasn’t crying loudly anymore. It sat there, confused, not knowing what to do, emitting a soft meow.

Zheng Tan retracted his neck, thought for a moment, then poked his head out again to look over. He wrestled with his decision for a while then kicked a small stone nearby. The noise of the rolling stone caught the kitten’s attention, and it saw Zheng Tan around the corner.

Under the only street light in the alley, the dim light revealed the fluffy mass walking towards Zheng Tan.

Pitter-patter!

Drip, drizzle!

The raindrops fell, making noise as they hit some glass bottles and metal sheets.

Looking at the sky, Zheng Tan cursed in his mind: Damn weather forecast! What happened to the clear skies for a week?! What happened to it being good for going out?!! Can’t a guy enjoy a walk in peace anymore?!

The rain fell harder and harder. Seeing the kitten that moved two steps then rolled, Zheng Tan quickly picked it up, stood on his hind legs, and sprinted into the dark alley, away from the lights. There were practically no people around, and even if there were, they wouldn’t see anything.

At this time of day, there should be many people around Chuhua University, and it wouldn’t be good for him to run over in this state. Thinking it over, Zheng Tan turned and ran towards the villas by the lake. It wasn’t far from here, and importantly, there were few people around.

Zheng Tan specifically chose a discreet path with plenty of cover. As he neared the cluster of villas, he leaped over a bush. Landing, his foot slipped, nearly causing him to tumble. Zheng Tan decided to stop to catch his breath, then noticed, not far ahead, a child standing under the big umbrella at the entrance of a store.

The child was busy blowing bubbles into a drink bottle, making gurgling noises. Startled by the scene, the drink splashed out of the cup. The child ignored the spilled drink and stared wide-eyed at Zheng Tan without blinking.

Seeing that the one who had spotted him was just a small child, Zheng Tan didn’t bother any further. After checking his route, he carried the kitten and dashed towards the nearby green belt’s woods, continuing his run to the villas by the lake.

After Zheng Tan had left, the child’s mother came out of the store, picked up the child, opened an umbrella, and prepared to head home.

“What are you looking at?” the child’s mother asked.

“A big cat holding a kitten, just ran off like this…” The child bent one arm to demonstrate.

The mother looked around, spotted the pair of cat toys–one large, one small–in the toy store’s window across the street, smiled, and continued to listen to the child. She thought to herself that children really do have the most vivid imaginations. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (NovelFire.net), cast your monthly vote, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.NovelFire.net.)

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