Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 276 - Chapter 276 Chapter 269 Triumph

Chapter 276: Chapter 269 “Triumph Chapter 276: Chapter 269 “Triumph Wei Leng’s house was in a neighborhood not too far from Chuhua University, in an apartment building with elevators.

When Zheng Tan and Ermao arrived, Wei Leng was busy in the kitchen, and the table was already laden with dishes, the house filled with the scent of food.

“Yo, Senior Wei, your cooking skills have grown impressive,” Ermao commented, looking at the spread of dishes.

Ever since Wei Leng’s wife got pregnant, they had hired a nanny to cook, and sometimes when the nanny wasn’t around, Wei Leng took to the kitchen himself. Today, as a few brothers were getting together, Wei Leng hadn’t asked the nanny to come over.

Wei Leng brought some hot, steamed dishes to the table and smacked Ermao on the head, “Nonsense, it’s clear these were ordered from a restaurant.”

Ermao chuckled, he realized it but just teased Wei Leng a bit.

“Where’s Heitan? Haven’t seen him for a long time. Go find something to play with,” Wei Leng said to Zheng Tan, who was sitting on the sofa, before he ran back to the kitchen to bring more dishes.

Hearing Wei Leng’s words, why did Zheng Tan feel like he was being spoken to as if he were a little kid?

Senior Hetao arrived half an hour later. He was surprised to see Zheng Tan there as he knew many pregnant women were extremely wary of cats, fearful of toxoplasmosis, and he had heard Wei Leng complain before about his wife and mother-in-law objecting to bringing the Black Cat over. He never expected to see the cat here today.

“Long time no see, Heitan,” he said.

The few people were familiar with Zheng Tan, and since Zheng Tan had helped them out several times, Ermao and the others didn’t have the same reservations as other people. Even when He Tao was peeling peanuts for himself, he peeled a few for Zheng Tan and left them nearby.

Wei Leng’s wife came out for a while to entertain the guests but was soon urged by the three men to go back and rest. She had been tired from a series of tests at the hospital earlier that day and needed more rest. Besides, the men were familiar with each other and didn’t stand on ceremony.

There were four stools beside the table, and one stool was raised higher–that was for Zheng Tan.

Sitting at the table with a cat didn’t seem odd to the three men at all. They had been in such situations many times at Night Building, so they were used to it, and in this setting, with only themselves around, there was no need for formalities.

“Recently, we’ve got some good new members. On my way over, I ran into them having dinner. I stayed there to drink a couple of glasses before coming. Didn’t dare to drive, so I took a taxi,” He Tao explained the reason for his late arrival.

“Has that case been dealt with yet?” Ermao asked. He was involved in that matter when he left Chuhua City to find He Tao and now he’d heard there was a leak, he inquired further.

“It’s settled, not too much got out. That group hid things really well, didn’t dare to move them until half a year later, but just as they started, someone reported it. Ah, speaking of which, there’s an interesting story about the person who reported it, very mysterious and quite intriguing,” He Tao opened up more, after a few drinks and being among his own people, and talked about the mysterious phone number with all sixes.

Zheng Tan next to him tried hard to pretend like he knew nothing, leaning in with his ears perked up to listen to them talk, but it seemed Senior Hetao rather admired that “mysterious person.”

“A vigilante? So, such people really exist,” Ermao commented. “But it sounds like this person is capable. I’ve mixed in Chuhua City for so long and have never heard of such a person.”

“That’s called staying under the radar,” Wei Leng was also curious. “If this person is ever found out, do tell us. I want to see what kind of character this new era Chu Liuxiang combined with a domestic version of Spiderman really is.”

Zheng Tan focused on eating shrimp quietly, not making eye contact with them; he felt guilty, and since the three sitting there were shrewd, he was afraid of giving himself away. It seemed he needed to be more careful using that number in the future.

Only when the topic at the table changed, did Zheng Tan finally lift his head. He didn’t need to serve himself as the other three would put a bit of whatever they picked up onto the plate in front of him–except for the chicken butt that Ermao tried to serve him, which Zheng Tan tossed back.

“Ermao, you’ve become quite well-known in the young people’s circles of Chuhua City. I always hear people mentioning you, and the last time I saw you, I even heard someone calling you ‘Second Brother,’ so you’ve become a ‘Brother’ now, huh?” He Tao laughed.

“What should they call me, ‘Second Brother’ if not?” Ermao snorted. As he came into contact with more people over time, naturally, some learnt of Ermao’s background and didn’t judge him solely by his dress anymore. Who would have thought someone who looked like an average Joe would have such a strong background? When people saw him, they’d often go out of their way to greet him with a smile and call out “Second Brother.”

It felt strange to Ermao at first, but as time went on, he just let them be.

“By the way, Ermao, I heard you got into an argument with a match-making date recently?” Wei Leng asked.

Zheng Tan turned to look at Ermao; he liked hearing this kind of gossip.

“Yeah,” Ermao said nonchalantly, “At first, I thought this person was pretty decent–good looks, build, education, personality, and she liked cats too, even served as a judge at some famous cat shows. But when talking to her, she kept mentioning famous breeds, saying that domestically only tabby cats and Linqing Lion Cats were worthwhile. From the way she spoke, it was as if no other cats were good enough to be considered. That rubbed me the wrong way right there. Hey, in what way is my Black Cat Heimi not as good as that chubby tabby downstairs?!”

Zheng Tan: “…” Da Pang, who lived downstairs in the courtyard, was being unfairly criticized.

“It’s like this: she likes to wear international designer brands, and I just wear whatever clothes I take a liking to, regardless of whether they’re branded or not. You can’t force me to strip off my own style and don something that doesn’t match my vibe, right?” Ermao argued convincingly.

“So you blew up at her just for that?” He Tao felt Ermao was making a mountain out of a molehill.

“You didn’t have to take it out on the girl, right? How are you ever going to have a successful blind date like that?” Wei Leng also chided him.

Meanwhile, Zheng Tan thought to himself that only someone like Ermao would compare cats to clothes.

“What are you going to do now? Keep going on blind dates after this failure?” He Tao asked.

Ermao’s face beamed with a self-satisfied smile, “Who said it was a failure? Gong Qin and I are getting along just fine.”

He Tao, Wei Leng: “…” What a perfect match. One of them permanently sports claw marks on his arms, happy to spend an afternoon in a 70-square-meter room just playing with a cat and enjoying it; the other got yelled at by Ermao and didn’t walk away or slap him, but instead forgave and apologized, continuing to get along. Both are true masochists.

He Tao asked Wei Leng, “Are all cat owners like this?”

“Probably… I guess.”

Zheng Tan didn’t ponder the personality traits of cat owners; he was thinking the name “Gong Qin” sounded familiar. After a while, he remembered a female judge named “Gong Qin” he had seen at the cat show. Could it be the same person?

“By the way, I almost forgot. ‘Triumph,’ owned by Ye Hao, is about to open, and I have a private room there. Ermao, your and Heitan’s private room is already ready as well. Our three exclusive private rooms are right next to each other. Ye Hao will have someone deliver your cards directly. As for Senior Brother, given your special status, it’s better if you steer clear of such places.”

“Heh, now I won’t have to go so far. Although ‘Triumph’ may not match ‘Night Building’ in some respects, it’s still a good place to invite people for a meal, a drink, and some fun. Black Coal, let’s check it out together before it opens, see if anything’s not right and tell them to fix it in advance,” Ermao said, rubbing his hands and kicking Zheng Tan’s stool to make his point.

The “Triumph” Wei Leng mentioned was actually a club-like establishment built by Ye Hao and others near Chuhua University, within the newly constructed Hengwu Commercial Square. With “Triumph” completed, Zheng Tan also had a new place to hang out. Even without a driver, he could stroll there by himself.

So, hearing this news, Zheng Tan was quite pleased.

The grand opening of “Triumph” was set for early October, by which time the Hengwu Commercial Square was mostly perfected, roads were open, and pedestrian and vehicle traffic skyrocketed. During the National Day holiday, Hengwu Square conducted a promotion that attracted not only nearby residents but also students from several close-by universities. Suddenly, Hengwu Square’s popularity rivaled that of the central square. The central square was frequented by older folks, while Hengwu Square drew the younger crowd and students. The two locations started to differentiate significantly, both clearly having growth plans.

Before the opening, Ermao and Zheng Tan had already checked out their exclusive private room. Busy with other things, Ye Hao couldn’t make it, and Long Qi, wary of Zheng Tan, left the task to Baozi to personally show them around.

The layout was somewhat similar to that of the “Night Building,” except it wasn’t divided into North, South, East, and West Chambers, nor did it frequently host famous international bands. In fact, the styles of some historical international bands weren’t embraced by many current students. To them, those bands were unheard of in China. Even if they had heard of them, they didn’t care for their music.

For “Triumph’s” opening promotion, they invited a few well-known inland bands, as this was more recognizable and attractive. This included Jin’s band.

Speaking of Jin, his band was no longer the little group they were two years ago. After participating in several competitions, being packaged and hyped by an experienced team, they gradually gained popularity among young people. The students from Chuhua University’s Guitar Association were there for Jin’s band, with ten free tickets from Jin, in a pretty decent seating section. These same students had never imagined that a substitute they had invited on a whim could reach such heights. Now, the university Guitar Association didn’t even need to advertise for new members; plenty of volunteers were eager to dedicate themselves to the band.

The opening ceremony of “Triumph” was set to begin after seven in the evening, but Ermao dragged Zheng Tan over right after dinner at about five. Upon arrival, Ermao, carrying Heimi in a pet bag with Gong Qin in tow, headed off to his exclusive private room for their two-person and one-cat world. As for Zheng Tan, alone and bored in this place, he rolled around on the sofa for a while before deciding to go out for a walk; staying here by himself felt too lonely.

The staff in the corridors had been briefed, and those handpicked by Ye Hao and his team weren’t the kind to show offensive demeanor. As Zheng Tan walked past them, they didn’t make any awkward expressions.

Exiting “Triumph,” Zheng Tan didn’t go far before spotting several familiar figures. It was Jiao Yuan and those five boys.

During this National Day holiday, the Jiao family hadn’t traveled far. Mr. Jiao was still tied up with work and couldn’t leave, so the rest of the family also stayed home. The others probably didn’t have plans for the evening either and joined together for a stroll around Hengwu Square to enjoy the bustling scene. Kids their age are naturally full of energy and curiosity.

However, at the moment, Jiao Yuan and his group seemed to be surrounded by others, and it didn’t look like they were getting along.

Zheng Tan weaved through the crowd as he headed in their direction. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (NovelFire.net) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.NovelFire.net to read.)