Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 367 - Chapter 367 Chapter 359 Little Gold Badge

Chapter 367: Chapter 359 Little Gold Badge Chapter 367: Chapter 359 Little Gold Badge With Xiao Zhuo’s return, Zheng Tan had originally planned to block Zhuo Xiaomao from bringing people to the courtyard and then give him his Children’s Day gift, but now it seemed unnecessary, as no gift could make him happier than Xiao Zhuo’s return. The so-called consolation gift was also redundant.

The gift would not be given today, and there was no hurry, he would wait for another opportunity.

Unexpectedly, before Zheng Tan could choose the right moment, Xiao Zhuo showed up at the door. After visiting Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma for a while, Xiao Zhuo spoke to them, obviously not about the projects she had participated in–those were covered by confidentiality agreements and could not, should not be disclosed. Just like the excuse Buddha had found for her to go abroad for research, she only talked about the studies she had participated in overseas these years. She did not elaborate much, after all, it wasn’t true, and Xiao Zhuo did not want to tell too many lies.

Mr. Jiao understood in his heart and did not ask further.

In addition to visiting the Jiao family, Xiao Zhuo also took Zheng Tan to her house to spend Children’s Day with Zhuo Xiaomao.

On Children’s Day, none of the four members of the Jiao family had a holiday, and Zheng Tan was fine staying at Xiao Zhuo’s place for a day.

After the Dragon Boat Festival, on Children’s Day that Monday, Zheng Tan left the house with the Jiaos. Little Youzi went to junior high school, Mr. Jiao went to the academy, Jiao Ma to the affiliated school, and Jiao Yuan had returned to school on Sunday, so that morning, only Jiao Ma was heading to the affiliated school.

Zheng Tan, after going downstairs, simply stayed in the courtyard, lying on a wooden chair and waiting. Next to the chair was a cushion meant for gift-giving, bagged and tied at the opening with a ribbon bow by Little Youzi.

According to Xiao Zhuo, she would go grocery shopping that morning and then come directly to pick up Zheng Tan. They still lived in the elevator apartment in the West District courtyard. It was difficult for Zheng Tan to go there by himself, since the building’s access control was quite troublesome, especially when bringing a gift.

In the morning, Da Pang went to buy groceries with his grandma, Ah Huang was still sleeping at home, and the sheriff went out for a walk. It was said that during the Dragon Boat Festival, the sheriff had stealthily eaten three zongzi at home, and when his owner discovered this, he was immediately taken to the Pet Center.

Generally speaking, it’s no big deal for cats to eat a bit of zongzi. Still, zongzi is sticky, not easy to digest, and too much can be harmful. There had been an incident before in the courtyard where a cat almost choked to death on a zongzi, right next to the sheriff’s residence. No wonder the sheriff’s owner was upset when he saw three big meat zongzi missing. Regardless of choking, eating so many zongzi was concerning, and the owner insisted on a vet check before feeling relieved.

For those who keep cats at home, guarding against their stealthy eating is always impossible. While annoyed at their lack of scruples in stealing food, there’s also concern they might eat something not suitable for cats and have an accident. Hence, keeping a cat is always particularly worrisome.

Watching the sheriff climb over the wall and out of the courtyard, Zheng Tan shook his head.

Zheng Tan did not have to wait long; by a little past eight o’clock, Xiao Zhuo arrived, holding the groceries she had just bought from the market. It wasn’t much and after switching everything to one hand, she helped carry the black cat-headed cushion for Zheng Tan, something Mr. Jiao had mentioned over the phone.

Letting a woman carry things felt awkward, but Zheng Tan had no choice–at the moment, he was just a cat.

The greenery in the West District courtyard had improved greatly, no longer as bare as it had been in the first two years after its establishment. The branches of the trees had spread out, giving it a more comfortable look.

Since it was time for people to go to work, the place was mostly deserted. Zheng Tan did not take the stairs, instead he followed Xiao Zhuo into the elevator.

Upon entering the apartment, Zheng Tan noticed that compared to several years ago, there were not many changes. It was just that there were a lot more of Zhuo Xiaomao’s things, with the original decorative paintings on the wall replaced by his doodles.

Over these years, Xiao Wan, who had helped take care of Zhuo Xiaomao, had left. Her task was complete. Replacing her was another middle-aged nanny found by Buddha. Different from the nanny hired during Xiao Zhuo’s pregnancy, the new one had no aversion to Zheng Tan. As soon as Xiao Zhuo entered, the nanny quickly took the groceries off to the kitchen to get busy.

Zhuo Xiaomao was writing and drawing on his small drawing board when he saw Zheng Tan; he dropped the pen and ran over.

“Black’s gift for you,” Xiao Zhuo passed the cushion to Zhuo Xiaomao.

“Thank you, Black!”

The little rascal wasn’t shy, took it over, and started unwrapping it. Then, grinning, he placed the cushion in his room by the bed.

Zheng Tan noticed a small bookshelf in Zhuo Xiaomao’s room stocked with books that had been moved from Xiao Zhuo’s own shelf; books Zheng Tan once saw there. A closer look showed new traces of handling and child-style bookmarks in several of them.

On Zhuo Xiaomao’s desk lay a Chinese dictionary and an English dictionary, both seeming to have been referred to many times.

Zheng Tan jumped on the table to look at the books on the shelf. There were several children’s science books, all of which had been read through, but now placed at the very edge of the shelf towards the corner. From that angle, the books graduated from easy to difficult, covering a broad array of subjects–some appeared to have been read many times, others not so much.

Those that hadn’t been read much were not necessarily because Zhuo Xiaomao didn’t like them, it was just that he didn’t understand them yet, but Zheng Tan couldn’t tell when the little rascal would start to understand.

During these years that Xiao Zhuo had been away, it certainly wasn’t Xiao Zhuo who had taught him, and although Xiao Wan might have provided some instruction, it was mostly Zhuo Xiaomao’s own selection.

Zhuo Xiaomao was watching an animated film with a pillow in her arms when Xiao Zhuo was looking at a photo album beside the room’s large window.

Zheng Tan, having no interest in joining Zhuo Xiaomao in watching the cartoon, went over to see what Xiao Zhuo was looking at.

Jumping onto a nearby table, Zheng Tan saw an old, yellowed black-and-white photo inside the album, bordered with lace edges. The photo depicted a man in his thirties, but if he was in his thirties then, he should be in his fifties now, right? Observing a resemblance to Xiao Zhuo, could it be her father?

Beside the photo was a drawing on a similarly yellowed piece of paper, probably of similar age to the old photo. However, the person who’d drawn it had poor skills; Zheng Tan couldn’t make out what was depicted, only discerning something resembling a round shape.

Xiao Zhuo’s finger brushed over the photo and the drawing through the protective film of the album, then she took out a golden badge from a drawer of the table nearby, which looked very similar to the drawing on the paper.

Placing the golden badge next to the photo and the paper with the drawing, Xiao Zhuo reminisced about some things her father had done while he was alive. She always remembered how, after drawing that pattern on the paper, her father had spoken to her with a longing tone, saying, “There’s a golden badge that symbolizes the utmost honor.”

Regrettably, he had passed away without ever receiving that little gold badge.

As she traced the texture on the golden badge, Xiao Zhuo said to Zheng Tan beside her, “Heitan, do you know? A tree needs its green leaves exposed to the sun for photosynthesis, it needs the bright, fragrant flowers to attract insects and spread pollen, it needs fruit to continue the next generation, but it also needs roots, buried in the soil and unseen by the sun, to absorb water… This badge validates my contribution, it’s also a promise this country made to me. With it, whether Xiao Mao is smart or foolish, this golden badge can protect her.”

Zheng Tan was aware that the father listed on Zhuo Xiaomao’s household registration was not her biological father, but all official documents matched what was on the registration, and all archives presented may not necessarily be the truth, yet they were absolutely genuine, with an authenticity beyond dispute. No one knew of Zhuo Xiaomao’s real heritage, thus she was spared from criticism and spared from those peculiar stares.

“The values of people in this era might be somewhat different from those of people in the past, but this country truly has many, many unrecognized heroes…”

Many people never returned once they left. No one remembered them, only some classified files commemorated their merits, perhaps accompanied by a medal or two symbolizing their honors as they were laid to rest. The world needs people to be celebrated, but most of these heroes would remain forever unknown.

“Black!” suddenly cried out Zhuo Xiaomao, who was watching the television.

Hearing Zhuo Xiaomao’s call, both Zheng Tan and Xiao Zhuo snapped back to reality and looked over.

Initially thinking Zhuo Xiaomao was calling for him because she needed something, Zheng Tan didn’t expect Zhuo Xiaomao to be focused on the television, not looking in his direction at all.

Due to the angle, Zheng Tan couldn’t see what was playing on the television and wasn’t planning to pay any attention until Zhuo Xiaomao called out again.

“Black! Mommy, Black is on TV!” Zhuo Xiaomao said, looking at Xiao Zhuo.

Xiao Zhuo quickly wiped her tears, took a few deep breaths to compose herself, then smiled as she walked over.

Zheng Tan was curious too, when had he ever been on TV?

Approaching the screen, he saw that Zhuo Xiaomao was watching an entertainment show featuring trailers for several films, one of which featured the movie Zheng Tan had acted in last year.

There were just a few short clips, and by the time Zheng Tan got a look, he only saw a scene and the ending words “This Summer,” before the trailer ended.

Xiao Zhuo didn’t notice; she only managed to see a few brief scenes, including the black cat on the screen, but she didn’t associate the movie’s black cat with Zheng Tan. However, considering Zhuo Xiaomao was so certain, Xiao Zhuo didn’t argue otherwise.

Zheng Tan observed Xiao Zhuo’s expression, relieved to see that she hadn’t recognized him. As long as it was not easy to recognize him, he would still have freedom to stroll outside.

The movie didn’t match reality closely, and when filming, Zheng Tan had even chosen angles favorable to him, making the camera capture him looking “handsome,” coupled with post-production and some special effects, it was unlikely anyone would directly link the cat in the film to him, the cat that spent its days roaming about as a “cheap deal.”

But how had Zhuo Xiaomao recognized him? The child seemed quite sure. Speaking of black cats, there were people in the West District courtyard who owned black cats as well. He had seen one that morning that also looked a lot like him.

Xiao Zhuo didn’t plan to argue with Zhuo Xiaomao about this topic; after checking the release date on the screen, she said to Zhuo Xiaomao, “Xiao Mao, when the time comes, Mommy will take you to see this movie, okay?”

“Okay~”

Meanwhile, in the East District courtyard on the third floor, Ermao, who was also watching this channel, was testing milk for his daughter. He always tasted the formula milk himself after preparing it, to check for any strange taste and the temperature, despite his little girl now being able to eat solid food, he hadn’t skipped the milk.

Just as he tasted the milk, Ermao saw the trailer on the TV and sprayed the milk out in a spray. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (NovelFire.net) with your recommendation tickets and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile phone users, please read on m.NovelFire.net.)

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