Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 364 - Chapter 364 Chapter 357 Let Me Tell You

Chapter 364: Chapter 357: Let Me Tell You Chapter 364: Chapter 357: Let Me Tell You At schooltime, he stood outside without wearing his backpack, just holding a document holder and looking over here indifferently. This was very different from the Xiao Jiu Zheng Tan usually saw.

Xiao Jiu was usually very kind and considerate toward others, but the opposite was also true; if she disliked someone, even her own father with whom she shared blood didn’t matter, especially since this father had once sold her. If it hadn’t been for Zheng Tan’s help at that time, Xiao Jiu might have been gone long ago.

She believed in repaying kindness as well as vengeance, was decisive, and quite ruthless. Perhaps, that was why Blind Mr. Kun had originally agreed to let Xiao Jiu stay.

With Xiao Jiu’s current backing, she really didn’t need to be afraid of these few people. Thus, Zheng Tan wasn’t worried about Xiao Jiu being bullied by them, but he was worried about her making decisions at her current age.

Several people over there became excited upon seeing Xiao Jiu, and Xiao Jiu’s father even planned to shout and habitually scold her, but Xiao Jiu just waved her hand, indicating they should talk somewhere else.

“Hey, girl, you made me search hard for you, you…” Xiao Jiu’s father approached, intending to start a physical altercation, but he abruptly stopped when he caught Xiao Jiu’s gaze.

He was scared.

Without giving her biological father another glance, Xiao Jiu led the four people into a not-too-large restaurant. The entrance of the restaurant had a “Temporarily Closed” sign hanging, but Xiao Jiu didn’t care and pushed the door to enter.

Inside, the owner and staff went about their business as usual, showing no curiosity toward the five newcomers as if they already knew they were coming, and paying them no extra attention.

They surrounded a table and sat down, and a server brought over a cup of water–yes, just one cup, and it was placed only in front of Xiao Jiu. As for the other four people, they might as well have been air.

“Hey, what’s going on here? Don’t you know that the customer is king? If you don’t even know this, how can you run a business?” the leader among them complained.

No sooner had he finished speaking than three servers and the owner rolled up their sleeves and gave a menacing look.

“How about I send you to meet God?” the owner said with a faint smile.

The leader choked, his face souring as he turned back, no longer dwelling on the matter. All he wanted now was to settle the debt quickly and leave.

Xiao Jiu sipped some water, set down the cup, and was about to speak when she saw a black cat standing outside the window. A smile flickered through the complex emotions in her eyes, and she quickly got up to open the door.

“Heitan!”

The face of the leader twitched again. Another black cat? They had been beaten up at Chuhua University some time ago, and a black cat had been there too. Indeed, nothing good happened when a black cat was around. Moreover, why did the name of this cat sound the same as the one on that day? Could it be the same one? But it wasn’t very close to Chuhua University here.

After Zheng Tan entered, he boldly squatted beside a chair nearby, watching how things unfolded, supporting Xiao Jiu.

An employee inside the restaurant hinted at the owner: Boss, there’s a cat!

Another employee whispered to the owner, “That cat is very calm, does it know Xiao Jiu? It’s quite bold and not afraid of strangers at all.”

The restaurant owner twitched his mouth. He had heard that this cat even dared to play with Mr. Kun’s moustache; what else would it not dare? Others might not know, but he had heard rumors about this cat.

The atmosphere in the restaurant shifted slightly due to Zheng Tan’s presence.

Xiao Jiu took a deep breath and pulled out some papers from the document holder, a thin paper that seemed freshly printed, without any folds or stains, paper-white.

Pushing the paper toward her father, Xiao Jiu said, “Sign this agreement, and afterward, we go our separate ways, no more relationship between us.”

Xiao Jiu’s father wasn’t completely literate, but he could understand most of it. The contents were clear–Xiao Jiu would pay off his debts, and then they would owe nothing to each other, settling even the debt of upbringing.

Seeing a way to repay the money, Xiao Jiu’s father didn’t think much before picking up a pen, signing his name, and pressing a thumbprint on it.

Xiao Jiu lowered her eyelids, making it hard for those around her to see what she was really thinking. She appeared calm, but from the fists Xiao Jiu clenched, Zheng Tan could tell that she wasn’t as composed as she appeared. No matter what, he was still her blood relative, and the man did not hesitate much when signing the agreement. As to what to say about it, Zheng Tan wasn’t sure.

Er Mao and this man, both fathers, yet how different could they be? Because of poverty? Or something else?

This agreement was just a test by Xiao Jiu. As soon as Mr. Kun had decided to keep Xiao Jiu, all the necessary paperwork was handled. Xiao Jiu had no ties with this family, and even if they went to court, she had enough evidence for an overwhelming victory.

The moment this man signed, Xiao Jiu truly disconnected from her past.

Xiao Jiu crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the trash can. As the man opposite was about to shout, Xiao Jiu pulled out a card and placed it in front of the leader of the debt collectors.

“The PIN is six 9s,” she said as she took out three hundred-yuan bills from her pocket and pointed at the blood relative sitting opposite, but spoke to the leader, “Wherever this man came from, take him back. I don’t want to see him again. If he shows up here again, he, and you, won’t leave unscathed.”

“Are you threatening me?!”

The leader stood up, but before he could straighten himself, a cleaver chopped next to his arm, almost embedding into the table, slicing through his sleeve. A little bit further, and it would have taken a chunk of flesh from his arm.

Nice knife skills! Zheng Tan thought to himself.

Whether it was the three debt collectors or Xiao Jiu’s father, their faces were deathly pale at this moment. The leader’s face spasmed a few times as he looked toward the source of the flying knife.

There, the restaurant owner sat at the cash register, rhythmically tapping on the table, his face still sporting the usual smile as if he had just done something very ordinary, “Oops, sorry, my hand slipped. I was just trying to hit a fly.”

A waiter, stationed at the entrance, watched the people at the table and snickered. On his fingers, a dinner knife spun swiftly, as natural as spinning a pen, yet his fingers remained unscathed.

Damn it, I will absolutely, absolutely not come to this restaurant again, even if I starve!

This was the unanimous thought among the three debt collectors.

If they didn’t understand the situation by now, they must be idiots, but fortunately, these three debt collectors were not complete fools. They knew how to assess the situation. Since they couldn’t assert their dominance here and had received their money, it was best to leave early.

Feigning composure, the leader pocketed the card and the three hundred yuan, and hurried out with the man sporting a scruffy beard.

A little distance from the restaurant, the three debt collectors finally let out a sigh of relief. After the initial shock wore off, anger set in. The leader raised his hand and slapped Xiao Jiu’s father, exclaiming, “All because of you! Damn it!”

The scruffy-bearded man didn’t dare to speak up, merely continuing to tremble.

“What do we do now?” another asked.

“What else? Obviously, check the ATM to see if there’s money in the card.”

“And if there’s no money, do we go back to demand it?”

“…” The three fell silent.

In the restaurant, the atmosphere become harmonious once again. The waiter and the owner comforted Xiao Jiu, who they knew well since Xiao Jiu often came to eat there, and sometimes even took afternoon naps at the place.

The restaurant owner placed a dish in front of Xiao Jiu, “Eat up, then hurry back to class.”

Xiao Jiu spooned food into her mouth bite by bite. She had skipped breakfast that morning and hadn’t had much of an appetite these past few days due to the ordeal. Her head hung low, tears silently falling as she ate without any expression.

After all, she was still a child.

No one in the restaurant spoke; the owner gently patted her head and placed a bowl of warm red bean soup beside her.

After finishing her meal and drinking the red bean soup, Xiao Jiu reverted back to her spirited self.

Zheng Tan escorted Xiao Jiu to school, worrying that she might get scolded for being late for two classes. However, as they approached the gate, Xiao Jiu pulled out a sick leave note and a medical certificate from her bag. Seeing Xiao Jiu’s somewhat red eyes, the person in charge at the school gate couldn’t really say much and simply let her in.

Zheng Tan: “…”

After watching Xiao Jiu enter her class, Zheng Tan returned home. Whether it was Xiao Jiu or Xiao Zhuo, their classroom was on a higher floor now as they advanced in grade, and Zheng Tan couldn’t go up there.

Back at the restaurant where Xiao Jiu had stayed, the “Temporarily Closed” sign at the entrance had already been removed.

“Hey, boss, who were those three wimps just now? Acting all tough?” the waiter asked.

The boss waved his hand dismissively, “They’re nobody significant. We can just kick them out of the territory some other day.”

The three individuals, dismissed as “nobodies significant,” were engrossed in how much money they could divide amongst themselves from the ATM, completely unaware that they were being targeted.

As some have said, lacking foresight, no matter what line of work you’re in, you won’t last long.

On his way back to school, Zheng Tan was weighed down with worry because of Xiao Jiu’s situation. Reflecting on how Er Mao treated Er Yuan compared to how Xiao Jiu’s father treated her showed a stark contrast. Yet, Zheng Tan also thought about his own father, who he had barely seen before he became a cat, and that irresponsible father he knew then, and then he thought about Mr. Jiao now… sheesh.

Family affection is quite complicated indeed.

Or not.

Is it the kinship that’s complicated, or is it human nature?

Passing by the kindergarten, Zheng Tan paused. This morning, Zhuo Xiaomao’s last class was supposed to be an outdoor activity class, so Zheng Tan leaped onto the fence railing and squatted there, waiting for Zhuo Xiaomao’s class to start.

Lately, Zhuo Xiaomao was also in a bad mood. Why?

Zhuo wanted to attend elementary school, but the teachers objected.

Six years old is the legal age for school entry, and in some places, it’s even seven years old. Being too young could present various inconveniences. For many children, starting school early may not be beneficial, and the schools find it difficult too.

A while back, when Zheng Tan had come here, he heard Zhuo Xiaomao complain that their teachers wanted him to attend a year of preschool. However, that little tyke once confided to Zheng Tan that he would rather roll on the floor at Buddha’s place than not start elementary school this year. Because once Zhuo Xiaomao started elementary school, according to Zhuo’s promise, she was supposed to come back.

The outdoor class began, and the children from Zhuo Xiaomao’s class all ran outside, rushing to their favorite climbing frames and “castles,” but Zhuo Xiaomao first glanced at the fence and then ran over, eyes squinted with a smile, calling out loudly as he ran, “Black, Black, I have something to tell you…”

Upon hearing the words “I have something to tell you,” Zheng Tan reflexively sat up straight. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (NovelFire.net) to vote and support. Mobile users, please visit m.NovelFire.net to continue reading.)