Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 354 - Chapter 354 Chapter 347 I Know But I Just Wont Say

Chapter 354: Chapter 347 I Know, But I Just Won’t Say Chapter 354: Chapter 347 I Know, But I Just Won’t Say If I remember correctly, Sesame is the spotted cat that Li Yuanba had this summer.

Xiao Guo was locked outside by a cat?

Zheng Tan walked in and went straight to Xiao Guo’s lounge.

Xiao Guo was standing at the door of the lounge, pounding on it and also twisting the doorknob a couple of times; obviously, he was truly locked out.

The lock on Xiao Guo’s lounge was a lever lock, which was relatively easy for a cat to operate, easier to twist than a knob lock.

The door was locked, but where was the key?

Zheng Tan watched as Xiao Guo shouted at the door, while several employees nearby whispered and laughed among themselves, accustomed to such a scene.

“Boss got locked out by Sesame again.”

“Ever since Sesame first locked the boss out when he was three months old, it happens several times a month. We’re used to it.”

Sesame was born in mid-June, and now it’s mid-December; that makes Sesame half a year old. Zheng Tan couldn’t help but marvel at how fast time had flown.

While Zheng Tan was wondering how that rascal Sesame was doing, he heard someone from the studio say, “Our boss likes this kind of thing. He clearly has the key and could open the door from inside, but he insists on not using the key to open it.”

“He’s playing with Sesame. Of all the cats in the shop, our boss likes Sesame the most. No matter how much he’s shouting about not feeding him now, as soon as it’s feeding time and Sesame meows, the boss will run excitedly to cook cat food. He won’t feed him for three days, psh–”

“However, Sesame is also teasing the boss. That little guy is so clever; he wouldn’t play like this if the boss were truly angry.”

The employees at the studio had long since figured out Xiao Guo, and could predict his reactions and next moves.

Zheng Tan really wanted to say: Boss Guo, when you named Sesame back then, did you foresee today’s situation?

Xiao Guo, who was shouting at the door, heard the conversation and looked over. Seeing Zheng Tan and Mr. Jiao, his face reddened, feeling utterly embarrassed. He coughed and then came over to greet them.

“Heitan has come, Professor Jiao, I’ve put your package in the lounge, do you need it urgently?” Xiao Guo looked at Mr. Jiao.

“No rush.” Mr. Jiao also found the current situation amusing. He hadn’t yet seen what Sesame looked like. Since it had become busy in the courtyard, he seldom came to the Pet Center now, often sending Charlie to pick up the cat.

Not waiting for five minutes, presumably Sesame inside saw there was no movement at the door and tried meowing a couple of times. When no one outside responded, he opened the door.

The half-year-old Sesame was already about the size of Zheng Tan. Looking at the size of Huasheng Tang and Big and Little Rice, this guy is still growing, and might even become bigger than Huasheng Tang.

Long-haired, with spots, he looked very peculiar.

Mr. Jiao looked at Sesame with great interest.

Sesame was wary of Mr. Jiao, a stranger, but as this was its own territory and Xiao Guo was also nearby, it didn’t show any aggression.

Everyone in the studio knew that although this guy seemed to get along well with people and animals, it had a strong fighting ability. It had once gone out to fight under Huasheng Tang’s lead, battling an adult cat, and Sesame had won without any injuries. However, Xiao Guo was relieved that it happened at night when no one saw Sesame; otherwise, it might have caused trouble. Since then, Xiao Guo had kept a closer eye on Sesame, and even played the “Open Sesame” game with it.

However, unlike Huasheng Tang who always liked to pick fights when going out, Sesame didn’t seem to like leaving, sometimes even staying put when the back door was open. Generally, the studio was filled with familiar faces, so Sesame only caused a ruckus in this area. Sometimes Xiao Guo wondered if Sesame was aware that its fur color could cause trouble, which might be why it chose not to go out.

Sesame, always hanging out with the people inside the studio, seemed smarter than Huasheng Tang and learned things quickly, especially how to open locks, which it could play with for half a day.

Although Sesame was cautious around Mr. Jiao, it still remembered Zheng Tan and there were things belonging to Zheng Tan here, the smell of which reassured it that this was not unfamiliar.

Leaving for a while and then coming back only to find that certain things had changed so much.

In summer, Sesame was just a tiny kitten and now it had grown so big.

When they returned to the courtyard from the pet center, Jiao Ma had already finished cooking. Little Youzi was very happy to see Zheng Tan, and while Little Youzi did her homework, Zheng Tan sat with Jiao Ma on the couch, watching TV and listening to Jiao Ma’s chatter, which she always loved to do.

Previously, Little Youzi’s mother had returned from overseas because of domestic business. It wasn’t clear whether she had had a change of heart, considering taking Little Youzi to their home on the other side of the ocean for Christmas, but Little Youzi had refused.

Youzi’s mother bought her an iPhone, but she never used it, just left it sitting there. Later, on a weekend, Jiao Ma took Jiao Yuan and Little Youzi shopping and bought each of the kids a phone. Nowadays, many students have phones, and since Little Youzi spends time at school and Jiao Ma couldn’t take care of her all the time–despite entrusting other teachers–it made more sense to have a phone for easier contact in case of necessity.

However, the iPhone that Youzi’s mother bought was too eye-catching. You couldn’t underestimate the pettiness of high school students. Having been a teacher for years, Jiao Ma had seen it all and did not approve of students having such expensive phones. Naturally, when buying phones, Jiao Ma took Little Youzi’s opinion into account, and Little Youzi chose a model under one thousand yuan, which was comparable to some of her classmates’ phone price range. Jiao Yuan made a similar choice. They both could have bought better ones with their savings but didn’t.

With the new phone, Little Youzi called her mother to let her know. Her mother had seemed very understanding, mentioning to stay in contact frequently, but she hadn’t called since. Little Youzi didn’t reach out either, although it did affect her mood somewhat.

When Jiao Ma called Charlie, she was thinking that it would be good for Zheng Tan to come back soon, so he could keep Little Youzi company more often. She had heard that children don’t tend to become sullen when they have pets around, and now, being in her adolescence, a child tends to overthink things, so Jiao Ma was worried. That was why Zheng Tan felt something was off when he heard Jiao Ma’s voice.

Now that he knew the reason, Zheng Tan naturally planned to spend more time with Little Youzi. He had even checked out her middle school, where she was as cheerful as at home, surrounded by familiar friends and protected by Xiao Jiu, so there shouldn’t be any trouble.

But sometimes, Little Youzi would zone out, especially upon hearing the word “Christmas”.

Students always carried a sense of novelty towards foreign holidays, perceiving them as extravagant. Since Christmas is indeed a major holiday abroad, it was frequently mentioned, which made Little Youzi zone out even more. At home, after finishing homework, Little Youzi would sometimes get lost in thought, mindlessly twirling the phone in her hand.

One day, Zheng Tan finally charged the phone’s battery and turned on the long-unused phone.

After powering it on, there were still text messages and various alerts. Zheng Tan briefly scanned them and then composed a message, sending it to a number he remembered well.

When Little Youzi checked her phone after class and saw the message alert from an unknown number, she initially wanted to delete it but decided to open it instead.

The first message:

“Stop daydreaming, or you’ll get half the New Year’s money if you do poorly on your finals.”

Second message:

“We aren’t religious and aren’t keen on foreign holidays like Christmas.”

Little Youzi was very puzzled. These two text messages showed that the sender knew her well, even possibly the reason behind her daydreaming. She hadn’t even told Xie Xin and the others with whom she was close what she was thinking, so how did this person know?!

So, Little Youzi composed a text message in reply, “Who are you?”

Soon, a text message came back from the other side, “My name is Zheng Tan.”

Little Youzi wanted to ask more questions, but the bell for class rang, so she could only put her phone into her bag. After class, when she tried to send another message, there was no reply from the other side.

This question persisted until she got home. She even asked Xie Xin and a few other classmates who walked home with her if they recognized the number, but no one knew.

“Heitan, who do you think this person is?” Little Youzi, having finished a set of test papers, lay on her desk, her phone on the surface, spinning with the movement of her fingers.

Zheng Tan, squatting beside her, shook his whiskers: I know, but I’m not telling.

After that incident, Zheng Tan and Little Youzi exchanged a few text messages, but considering that final exams were coming up, he didn’t want to distract her.

In the following days, Little Youzi sometimes daydreamed, but it wasn’t necessarily because of her mother’s issues, and her mood had improved greatly. When talking to Zheng Tan, he could clearly sense that the child had come to terms with her mother’s concerns.

That evening, after finishing dinner and going out for a walk, Zheng Tan wondered whether to send another playful text to Little Youzi. He looked up, sighed at the night sky, paused, then quickly ran to where he had hidden the phone. From a small hole in a tree in an inconspicuous grove, he pulled out the phone. Suddenly remembering he wasn’t wearing his vest, but not wanting to go back now, Zheng Tan held the phone and sprinted off into the night.

He skulked all the way to the courtyard’s normally locked side gate and snuck in, then hid in the bushes to text Little Youzi.

Little Youzi, who was working on practice questions, heard her phone vibrate with a message. She glanced at the number, set down her pen, and picked up the phone to take a look.

After seeing the content of the text, Little Youzi frowned in confusion, hesitated for a moment, then wrapped a scarf around herself, told Jiao Ma she was heading out, and went downstairs.

Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, before she had a chance to text back with a question, another message came in.

“Walk to the right, turn at the first fork, and go straight to the lawn.”

Little Youzi did as the text said. She was in the courtyard, so safety was assured. If it had involved going outside, she wouldn’t have done it–for she wouldn’t wander around alone late at night.

Arriving at the courtyard’s lawn, which was surrounded by streetlights illuminating only the path next to the lawn, the light was just enough for Little Youzi to make out her surroundings.

She didn’t see anyone.

Then, another text came.

“Turn left thirty degrees, look up at the sky.”

Little Youzi turned slightly to the left, then raised her head.

Although the air quality in Chuhua City wasn’t good and sometimes stars couldn’t be seen at night, as if separated by a layer of fog, at that moment, the two bright spots and the crescent moon were quite prominent against the dark night sky, impossible to overlook.

It was a “smile” in the sky.

An astronomical phenomenon, planets in conjunction with the moon.

Venus and Jupiter, along with the moon, formed the brightest entities in the night sky, creating a smiling face.

Little Youzi gazed at the large smile in the sky, stunned for half a minute, then a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

She took a deep breath, as if to exhale all the depression in her heart, then smiled broadly again, looking down at her phone to press the call button.

Merry ringtone sounded from the bushes. It was quite loud.

Zheng Tan: “…”

Fuck!

Why wasn’t the ringer off?! Hadn’t I set it to silent?

Without waiting for Little Youzi to react, Zheng Tan hit decline and took off with the phone.

By the time Zheng Tan came to his senses, he was already in the Old Tile House District, catching his breath. He thought about leaving the phone hidden there for the day and quickly going back to see Little Youzi’s reaction.

After hiding the phone in a place he had used before, Zheng Tan turned and ran towards the courtyard. Taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped to look around. It was still pitch dark, without even a streetlight, and very quiet. Shaking his head, Zheng Tan continued running to the courtyard.

After Zheng Tan left, from behind a nearly two-meter-high bush beside a tile house, the phone screen lit up and then quickly dimmed again as someone put it on standby.

Click!

The lighter flared to life, followed by the flickering red glow of a cigarette being lit.

Once the lighter’s flame went out, in the quiet Old Tile House District, amidst the darkness, the glow of the cigarette flickered uncertainly in the cold winter night. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (NovelFire.net). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.NovelFire.net to read.)