Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 332 - Chapter 332 Chapter 325 The Source

Chapter 332: Chapter 325: The Source Chapter 332: Chapter 325: The Source “Heitan, what’s wrong?”

Boss Cai couldn’t help but stand up from his computer chair and walk over to the window. He looked outside, but everything seemed normal. He then turned his gaze back to the Black Cat on the windowsill, who was still staring intently inside the room as if there was something terrifying inside.

“Hei… Heitan?”

Boss Cai called out again, his voice laden with even deeper unease and impatience. He couldn’t help but recall some incidents that had happened back in South City. The business world was like a battlefield, full of overt conflicts and underhanded tactics, and he was not particularly adept at handling such matters, often relying on friends there to resolve them. Subsequently, those issues subsided until now, when he was again reminded of those past events due to the current anomalies.

He now lacked helpers, and the security measures in his restaurant needed reinforcement. Over the New Year, he had gone back to South City to seek friends’ help in finding reliable people, but it would take some time before they could come over to take up their posts.

What exactly was wrong?

Boss Cai had always believed that animals had a stronger perception of danger than humans. Knowing that this Black Cat was out of the ordinary, he was even more inclined to trust it psychologically. It was this belief that now made him feel particularly unsettled. The unknown danger was disquieting.

Zheng Tan wasn’t ignoring Boss Cai; he was just thinking. Perched on the windowsill, he hadn’t even attempted to jump through the window. He had caught a whiff of an odor, and it seemed that Boss Cai hadn’t noticed it.

The smell was faint, almost indistinct–in fact, beyond human detection. Even with Zheng Tan’s heightened olfactory senses, he merely detected a trace of it. He had never encountered this particular odor before, but there was a sense of familiarity, perhaps similar to something he had smelled in the past. Whether known or unknown, the scent made Zheng Tan feel threatened, the kind where one’s instinct was to turn tail and flee without a second thought.

While contemplating, Boss Cai saw that Zheng Tan wasn’t responding, so he reached out to poke Zheng Tan to snap him out of it.

But when Zheng Tan looked up and saw the approaching finger, he hastily retreated. Unfortunately, with no room to back up, he slipped and almost fell off the second-floor windowsill. If not for his quick reaction to grab the edge, he might have taken a tumble.

Seeing Zheng Tan react like this, Boss Cai looked at his own hand, his heart filled with rising trepidation. Usually, the cat wasn’t overly friendly, but tolerating a light poke now and then was normal, not this panicked avoidance as if dodging a plague. Boss Cai wondered if he was overthinking, but the growing unease in his heart was real, making it hard for him to calm down and think clearly.

After a few seconds of silence, Boss Cai called the restaurant manager to announce an afternoon closure for refurbishment. He explained that customers with reservations would be phoned to apologize, offering either refunds or compensation, or an option to reschedule. He trusted the manager knew how to handle these matters; otherwise, he wouldn’t be in his position.

After the call, Boss Cai made a few more calls, and Zheng Tan, listening in, gathered that Boss Cai was summoning people to take a look around.

Indeed, Boss Cai could have discretely sought someone to investigate while keeping the restaurant open, but he was afraid that if anything went awry, it could ruin everything he had worked for over the years, a loss incomparable to an afternoon’s earnings.

Naturally, Boss Cai wasn’t concerned there was an issue with the food. Having been framed in South City before, he had taken great care with kitchen cleanliness. Both procurement and produce were meticulously supervised, and every batch of vegetables was tested for pesticide residues after delivery, even the tap water was checked, eliminating any chance of food poisoning.

During his calls, Boss Cai had confirmed again with the person responsible for procurement checks, ensuring that the only recent issues were supply shortages and price hikes, nothing else.

If it wasn’t a food-related issue, then what was it? Was it targeted at “Shiwei” or at himself personally? Boss Cai tapped his forehead, pondering all the possibilities. Lacking the shrewdness of others, he couldn’t figure out what to do and decided to step outside for a walk. However, he stopped at the door and turned back to the windowsill, “Heitan, can you help me out?”

Zheng Tan hesitated on the windowsill, guessing what Boss Cai was asking of him. He had planned on slipping away to Chuhua University to Jiao Wei’s small diner for a meal, but hearing Boss Cai’s request made Zheng Tan waver. After all, Boss Cai had been quite good to him, always feeding him well whenever he visited, and never minding Zheng Tan occupying the couch for an entire afternoon. Considering this, Zheng Tan felt it heartless to leave at such a time. Since Boss Cai had been kind to him, it only seemed right to help out in his time of need, and besides, it didn’t seem like a huge favor.

Zheng Tan didn’t leave by the room. Though doing so wouldn’t have put him in immediate danger, it just didn’t sit right with him, so he decided to climb down from the second floor and exit through the main door with Boss Cai.

The restaurant was in its peak hours, bustling with people coming and going. Some customers recognized Boss Cai, but not many, and they casually greeted him after seeing him.

Boss Cai felt as if his facial muscles were stiff from forced smiling, his distress concealed from everyone. It was only after spotting the Black Cat not far from the entrance that he felt a slight relief, glad that the cat hadn’t left outright.

The sign for the afternoon closure was already hanging at the door, with many people inquiring about it. The manager was handling the queries with polite explanations. Everything appeared to be running smoothly.

Boss Cai walked in with Zheng Tan, circumventing the edge of the dining area. Most customers were busy enjoying their meals, studying menus, or chatting with companions while waiting for their orders. With Zheng Tan sticking close to the wall and Boss Cai blocking the view, few people noticed them, and even fewer showed any interest.

Zheng Tan wasn’t concerned about the patrons; he was carefully discerning the odors inside the establishment. Whether the strong, delicious smells of the dishes overwhelmed it, or it was absent to begin with, he couldn’t detect the odor from Boss Cai’s rest area in the restaurant.

Zheng Tan walked around the first floor, then climbed the stairs to the second floor. The second floor had many partitioned small rooms, and those sitting inside wouldn’t notice Zheng Tan. Only those walking back and forth in the corridor might take notice.

At this time, Boss Cai wasn’t concerned with that issue anymore. An acquaintance even asked him why he let a cat roam around here. Boss Cai made up a few excuses to brush off the question, and since the other party wasn’t really making an issue of it, they didn’t press any further.

After walking around the second floor, just like on the first floor, Zheng Tan didn’t detect that smell. He figured that the scent was too faint to distinguish, probably overpowered by the aroma of the food, and with so many people moving about, a mix of various scents, it was excusable not to recognize it.

Wondering if he simply hadn’t recognized the scent, Zheng Tan suddenly halted, looking towards a table beside him.

Seeing that Zheng Tan hadn’t shown any particular reaction from the first floor to the second floor, Boss Cai felt a lot more relaxed. This meant there probably wasn’t an issue with the dining area, and the customers wouldn’t be affected. Could it really be that only his room was problematic? Was someone really going to such lengths to target him?

As Boss Cai ruminated on the problem, he noticed the Black Cat suddenly stop and look at the table used for storing items. This table wasn’t close to the dining area on the second floor. It was sometimes used for the convenience of collecting tableware. Mostly, it held the employees’ belongings and was also near the staff break room.

Could the issue be with the staff?

Zheng Tan also wondered if a staff member had a grudge against Boss Cai and deliberately sabotaged him, but he didn’t smell anything suspicious at the door to the staff break room. He even followed Boss Cai inside for a look, startling two resting workers into standing up immediately, afraid that their boss would think they were slacking off.

The staff break room didn’t have a problem either.

In that case…

After stepping out of the staff break room, Boss Cai glanced at the closed door of the small room nearby. This was the rest area for the cleaning staff. Since there were not as many cleaners as waiters, the space was small.

Opening the door, Zheng Tan followed Boss Cai inside. At that moment, only two middle-aged women awaiting their shift were present, with shelves for various cleaning supplies nearby. Every cleaner had their own locker, inside which were the cleaning kits provided by the restaurant. Different people were responsible for different areas, and if there were issues, the person in charge of that area during the problematic period was accountable.

The cleaners were visibly uncomfortable upon seeing Boss Cai, not appearing to be the type skilled in flattery. They had performed well over the last few months of the previous year without any issues. They were experienced and had never been reprimanded by the former boss. It was evident they had excelled at cleaning in the past, or else they wouldn’t have been retained until now. There had been no changes in the cleaning staff this year.

Boss Cai forced a smile and chatted with the two cleaners, knowing one of them had cleaned his room that morning. Upon closer inspection, it was possible to see a hint of guilt in that cleaner’s eyes, but Boss Cai didn’t believe she would harm him. Some people might skim off the top for personal gain. As long as it was within an acceptable range, Boss Cai was unlikely to pursue it, considering it a form of balance.

While talking to the cleaners, Boss Cai also kept an eye on Zheng Tan. He continued watching until he saw Zheng Tan stop in front of a locker.

“Whose locker is that?” Boss Cai pointed and asked.

“Boss… it’s mine…” said the cleaner responsible for his room that morning, looking very nervous.

Even Boss Cai, with his usual good temper, couldn’t muster a smile now.

“Open the locker,” Boss Cai demanded.

The two cleaners thought the boss was doing a spot check, to see if the “equipment” was in order, but the cleaner’s panicked expression made Boss Cai’s expression darken.

The cleaner opened the locker to show Boss Cai the cleaning tools inside, and she also admitted her fault–she had sold the cleaning chemicals provided by the restaurant and replaced them with cheap cleaning agents from her own supply. The quality of the restaurant’s provided cleaning agents was very good, and much more expensive than the average ones. Outside, many cleaning agents cost thirty to fifty yuan for a 500g bottle, while the restaurant’s supply was fifty yuan per bottle.

Zheng Tan watched the middle-aged woman aggressively admitting her fault. Her words seemed truthful, and indeed, Zheng Tan could now smell that distinctive odor here. This person’s locker smelled different from the others; he hadn’t wanted to approach it at first.

Zheng Tan looked at the woman’s hands, hands that spoke of labor–aged, wrinkled, showing her frequent engagement in lower-level work. Simultaneously, Zheng Tan noticed her nervous fingers clutching each other, the fingernails marked with white lines, not the usual half-moon marks found on normal fingernails.

In the professional jargon Mr. Jiao and his colleagues used, those were called Mee’s lines. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, your welcome to vote and give monthly support at . Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.NovelFire.net to read.)