Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 397 - Chapter 397 Chapter 384 Falling Ill

Chapter 397: Chapter 384: Falling Ill Chapter 397: Chapter 384: Falling Ill The sheriff’s drop wasn’t high at all; for a grown and healthy cat, one meter was just a small case. Even though he hadn’t expected Zheng Tan to kick him from behind, causing some panic, the sheriff still managed to land on his feet steadily.

Suddenly being kicked down, not only was the sheriff himself taken aback, the two small dogs were also startled and hurriedly backed off several steps. The little yellow dog “Qianli” barked a few times in fluster, whereas the earthy tiger-striped “Shunzi” was a bit more steady, but also watched the sheriff warily, without wagging its tail.

However, it didn’t take long for the thick-skinned sheriff to break the stalemate. Within a few minutes, the cat and the two dogs started playing together. The sheriff was no stranger to dogs, and handling two puppies was nothing to him. After getting used to them, he began to enjoy their company.

The puppies had grown teeth and biting was somewhat painful for the sheriff, but he could handle it since they were just small dogs after all.

Zheng Tan crouched on the trellis, watching the two puppies happily chase after the sheriff, thinking to himself that with the sheriff around, Old Man Lan’s small flower bed wouldn’t be peaceful any longer.

Though they were just puppies, being mutts, the two-month-olds had some heft to them already and were very active. When both puppies ganged up, even the sheriff couldn’t withstand them. But as they played and wrestled, their relationship improved greatly until they ended up snuggling together. The sheriff even went so far as to eat some dog food from the puppies’ bowl and then slept together with them in one nest.

The box was originally prepared by Mr. Lan for the puppies. There was some room left when the two puppies slept in it, and since puppies grow quickly, Mr. Lan figured the box would last at least a month. But now with the sheriff squeezing in, it seemed a bit tight, and the sheriff’s hind legs were still sticking out.

But, cats, being as flexible as they are, can sleep in any position. Zheng Tan watched the three of them crammed into the cardboard box and couldn’t help but laugh. He reckoned that within a few days, the cardboard box would be destroyed, not from being squashed, but from being worn out from their antics.

Looking at the sky, Zheng Tan decided it was time to leave for lunch; the students would soon be out of class, making it inconvenient to move around when there were too many people.

Zheng Tan decided to have his lunch today at Jiao Wei’s family’s small restaurant; leaving the small flower bed, he headed towards the school gates.

However, on his way to the school gate, passing by a building near the school’s logistics department, Zheng Tan was busy savoring the thought of how much trouble Old Man Lan would have in the future. He wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings when he suddenly heard a “Be careful,” and the next moment, a basin of cold water was poured over him.

Zheng Tan’s fur was completely wet as he turned his head and gave a resigned look to the astonished woman holding a basin at the doorstep. It was clearly an accident; people weren’t usually expected here, and she was used to tossing water out without looking, not anticipating a cat might suddenly leap out.

It was probably the water used for washing fruits; Zheng Tan could still smell a bit of its fragrance.

The woman with the plastic basin, after recovering from her shock, said to Zheng Tan, “Hey, kitty, come here, let auntie wipe you off.” She even rummaged through her pockets, pulled out a pack of tissues, and beckoned to Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan looked at the woman’s physique–a model of… ahem, robust femininity, with arms that obviously had plenty of strength–and after considering, decided against it and simply walked away.

After leaving that area, Zheng Tan, seeing there weren’t many people around, stopped and shook his fur a bit, but the water didn’t come off that much. He looked up at the sun in the sky and thought the warmth was good enough, he’d probably dry off quickly. Zheng Tan didn’t think much of it and continued running towards the school gate, wet as he was.

However, although there was sunlight today, it was nearly December and the temperature wasn’t high. The wind blowing on him was actually quite chill.

When Jiao Wei’s parents saw Zheng Tan, his fur still wasn’t dry. Jiao Wei’s mother joked that Zheng Tan might have gone swimming or fishing. Although it was said in jest, she still got a hairdryer and dried Zheng Tan off.

After drying, it indeed felt much warmer, but as Zheng Tan walked back from the small restaurant after eating, he felt dizzy and sneezed several times. It seemed like he had a runny nose; Zheng Tan couldn’t find any tissues to wipe it, so he just wiped his nose on his fur. He’d wash it off later when he got back.

Initially planning to go back to the small flower bed to check on the current situation with the three and if there was any rebellion in the small flower bed, but feeling slightly under the weather, Zheng Tan decided to go home and have a good nap first.

Zheng Tan didn’t know if it was his imagination, but it seemed the temperature had dropped a bit and it felt colder.

He hastened home, jumping onto the couch and casually grabbed a roll of toilet paper from the coffee table, tearing off a piece to wipe his nose.

His head felt even foggier.

Too lazy to move, Zheng Tan simply lay down on the couch and fell asleep.

He only intended to nap briefly, but the sleep lasted longer than expected.

At around six in the evening, Jiao Ma came home. The last class at the attached middle school finished just after five, and after taking the school bus home, she usually got home after six, so the Jiao family’s dinner was generally after seven o’clock.

Little Youzi was now in the ninth grade, her last year in junior high. The school was strict, and although there were no specialized experimental classes, the teachers would still hold extra sessions after class to tutor some top students. Consequently, Little Youzi returned home even later than Jiao Ma. Mr. Jiao almost always came back just in time for dinner. So, Jiao Ma was the earliest to return home.

Standing at the door, Jiao Ma wondered if their cat was out playing and forgot the time, because Zheng Tan usually turned on the living room light and left the wooden door open if he was at home. The habit of turning on the lights and leaving the door open was well-known by the Jiao family and they had gotten used to it over the years.

After taking her keys and opening the door, Jiao Ma saw darkness inside the house; the hallway light wasn’t very bright and didn’t illuminate much of the interior.

Reaching for the switch to turn on the living room light, Jiao Ma saw a black furball on the couch.

“Heitan, why didn’t you turn on the lights while you were at home? Don’t catch a cold sleeping on the couch; there’s a blanket right beside you,” Jiao Ma said as she placed the groceries on the floor, changing into slippers, all the while talking.

However, after speaking several times, Jiao Ma didn’t hear any response from the other end. She changed into her slippers and looked towards the sofa. The black furry ball remained in the same position, unmoved.

Jiao Ma knew that under normal circumstances, her cat rarely curled up into a ball like other cats. When lying on the sofa alone, as if trying to occupy the whole sofa, it would stretch out flat, sometimes in a sprawling spread-eagle pose, sometimes lying on its side, but she had hardly ever seen it curled up like this, as though it was shivering from the cold. Moreover, she had spoken several sentences just now, and there was absolutely no reaction from it.

The living room window was open, and the evening wind blew in, bringing with it the chill of early winter.

Jiao Ma shivered all over; her hand still holding the keys trembled and dropped them. She didn’t bother to pick them up and quickly walked to the sofa.

“Heitan! Heitan!”

Jiao Ma called out several times, but still, there was no response from the furry ball on the sofa. With trembling hands, she reached out and found the ball was still warm, soft. The feeling of almost choking subsided slowly, but soon, Jiao Ma realized her cat was probably sick. She scooped up the furry ball from the sofa and quickly stepped out, not even bothering to change back into her shoes. Due to her hasty movements, the vegetables she had placed on the ground for dinner while changing shoes were kicked all over the floor. While descending the stairs, Jiao Ma nearly missed a step, but fortunately, her luck held, and she steadied herself.

After going downstairs, Jiao Ma rushed to the Pet Center with Zheng Tan, which was open 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Zheng Tan, deep in slumber, had no awareness of what was happening around him, nor could he feel anything. It seemed like a long time after falling asleep before he heard a sound, which gradually grew louder.

All around him were a variety of noises: people shouting, laughing, talking, and the strong beat of electronic music; as he forced his eyes open, his blurry vision captured flickering colored lights, but he could only see those faintly moving shadows, indistinct.

Even though he couldn’t see or hear clearly, the environment evoked in Zheng Tan a sense of deja vu, both unfamiliar and familiar.

Not only was his vision blurry, but the surrounding noise made Zheng Tan’s already dizzy head hurt even more, as if someone was banging drums right beside his ear, causing his head to throb unbearably.

A figure approached. Even though it got closer, Zheng Tan couldn’t make out what the person looked like.

“Zheng Tan, are you really that drunk? Such a low tolerance for alcohol!” The voice sounded somewhat faint and ethereal.

It had been a long time since anyone had called him “Zheng Tan.” At first, he didn’t even recognize the name. When he did, he couldn’t remember who owned the voice.

Zheng Tan tried hard to open his eyes wider to see who was in front of him, where he was, and what exactly was happening, but it was still futile. Even though they were so close, within reach, they felt worlds apart, elusive, and this filled Zheng Tan with a sense of contradiction.

The feeling didn’t last long before Zheng Tan noticed the world gradually becoming distorted, twisting out of shape. The already blurred vision became so contorted that the shapes were no longer visible, and it seemed like everything and everyone was drifting further away.

Zheng Tan wanted to say, wait, I haven’t seen clearly yet, but the world became quiet once more, with emptiness all around.

Time passed, and Zheng Tan gradually began to hear a vague sound, which slowly grew louder and clearer, no longer obscured like before.

Zheng Tan felt a gentle poke, not hard, just a light touch, even a bit ticklish.

Then, Zheng Tan heard a very familiar coquettish, tender voice.

“Why hasn’t Black woken up yet?”

Oh, it was Er Yuan from Ermao’s family. Little troublemaker Er Yuan was almost two years old now. With Ermao, the occasionally chatty dad, Er Yuan had learned to speak quite quickly.

“Er Yuan, stop messing around. Black is just sick and sleeping. He needs to rest,” came another voice.

It was Wei Xiaopang, Wei Leng’s increasingly round and bear-like son.

“Sick?” Er Yuan asked.

“Yeah, my dad said so. His exact words were Black… uh, what’s Black’s name?” Wei Xiaopang tried to repeat his father’s words but forgot what to call Black. What was it? Wei Xiaopang suddenly couldn’t remember.

Usually, they all just called him Black, almost forgetting Zheng Tan’s cat name.

“Er Yuan, what’s Black’s name?” Wei Xiaopang asked.

“It’s… Black… Black…” Er Yuan struggled to recall how their dad referred to Black. After thinking for more than ten seconds, he finally drew out slowly: “It’s… Black… Black Bun…”

Zheng Tan: “…” Why the hell did I have to wake up now? (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, we welcome you to vote for it on Qidian, or place a monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.NovelFire.net to continue reading.)