??Chapter 300: 293
Chapter 300: 293
The cars ahead were speeding, and although Zheng Tan was a bit more special in constitution compared to other cats, he wasn’t a super cat, nor was he a god. Even taking a shortcut rely shrank the distance a little, and once it was a straight path, Zheng Tan continued to be left far behind.
After chasing such a long distance, his physical strength was nearing its limit, his body felt like it was on fire, which was extrely uncomfortable.
Zheng Tan saw that the traffic light at the upcoming crossroads was about to turn red; he estimated that the car ahead should hit the red light when it got there.
He made an effort to ignore the discomfort in his body and kept chasing, his gaze fixed on that crossroads. Several tis he nearly crashed into people; a few pedestrians on the sidewalk pointed at Zheng Tan’s retreating figure and muttered, though he didn’t bother listening to what they were saying—it was definitely nothing good.
On the sidewalk, soone was walking their dog, a large one that seed to have sniffed sothing or perhaps was stewing over where to urinate, sniffing around near a trash can, positioned right in Zheng Tan’s way.
As Zheng Tan ran by, he leaped directly over the large dog’s back.
The dog had been about to turn and check on its owner, but was startled when Zheng Tan zood over its back like the wind, then barked loudly after him as if to vent its dissatisfaction.
Zheng Tan couldn’t care less about the dog, his eyes still fixed on the display at the crossroads. He was praying for the light to turn red and to catch that car.
The car passed several others in succession, heading for the crossroads with the apparent intent to zoom past before the light turned red, not caring about the yellow light in the slightest. The countdown visible there was decreasing, and Zheng Tan desperately hoped it would count down to red quickly.
It seed Zheng Tan’s prayers worked; the familiar car, just as it was about to reach the crossroads, t with a red light.
Zheng Tan felt a burst of joy, but in the next mont, he saw the familiar car didn’t slow down at all nor did it show any intention of stopping; it just rushed through. If it hadn’t been for the relatively sparse traffic at the crossroads and the pedestrians having barely begun crossing, it might have caused a tragedy.
At that mont, Zheng Tan felt as if he had been hit by a sudden dull blow, a heavy one.
He had almost forgotten what kind of temperant he had years ago. Bad temper, self-righteous, dumb as a post, underage driving, speeding, running red lights… Now, thinking back, Zheng Tan felt like slapping himself hard.
After his anger deflated, a sense of fatigue and a burning pain throughout his body swept over him, and Zheng Tan had to slow down, switching to a jog and then to a slow walk, dragging his feet step by step to the crossroads.
The changing traffic lights, the diverse stream of people, the various standard and luxury cars driving on the road, the high-rise buildings standing around the intersection, the vast army of structures blocking the view into the distance.
Standing at the crossroads, Zheng Tan watched the familiar car speed away and disappear from view.
Zheng Tan felt like God was an old immortal with a twisted sense of humor, who would flick him away every ti he was close to his goal and then continue to watch the commotion from the side. It was the sa three years ago, and here it was again.
It was maddening.
Zheng Tan suddenly felt a strong urge to yell like a madman right there, and in fact, he did so. He raised a cat paw skyward, flashed an irregular middle finger, and then howled.
Almost at the sa ti, so idiot driver long-pressed their horn, lazily following the slow-moving traffic queue that started to flow because of the green light, completely drowning out Zheng Tan’s howl.
Passersby and people rushing across the road, all in a hurry. Soone kicked Zheng Tan, but he had no energy to retaliate. The person also seed to be in a rush, probably didn’t even notice Zheng Tan, and even if they did, so what? It was just a cat, why fuss over this nutcase?
There were too many people on this side; after his howl, Zheng Tan had no strength to howl a second ti. He walked to the front of a restaurant, where there was a vacant space and shade. All Zheng Tan felt now was exhaustion and dejection, and he slouched over, preparing to rest in the shade for a bit.
Plip plop!
Drops of water scattered around Zheng Tan, splashing on his head and body.
Zheng Tan looked up expressionlessly toward the source — soone was watering a few potted plants on the railing of the second floor of the restaurant.
“Oh, there’s a cat down there, shoo, shoo,” the person said, tilting the watering can upright and shooing Zheng Tan away with a wave of his hand.
Zheng Tan cursed inwardly: Damn this rotten luck. He got up and moved to a nearby tree, jumping onto a wooden bench beneath it, where he lay down and observed the world tilted at ninety degrees, unmoving. He was just too lazy to move.
A sparrow, coming from who knows where, landed on the tree above. Zheng Tan watched it hop around for a bit before it flew off, disappearing around the corner.
Lying sideways on the bench, Zheng Tan felt increasingly exhausted, his head spinning, unsure if it was because he wasn’t used to viewing the world at this angle or due to overexertion. He wanted to rest more, sleep, and deal with the annoying issues after waking up. Besides that, he didn’t want to do anything at the mont.
With closed eyes, Zheng Tan listened to the sounds of the vehicles and the coming and going of pedestrians nearby.
Just as Zheng Tan was about to fall asleep, he heard approaching footsteps that didn’t seem like those of an adult, and the person didn’t appear to have any ill intent. Since that was the case, Zheng Tan was too lazy to open his eyes to look and continued to woo sleep.
The footsteps stopped beside him, carrying a scent of strawberry sweetness, and then Zheng Tan felt soone sit down on the wooden bench.
A pair of hands slling of strawberry sweetness touched Zheng Tan’s head, gently stroking it.
Zheng Tan opened his eyes and looked.
A little girl about four years old was sitting on the sa bench, only half a palm’s distance from Zheng Tan’s head. At the mont, the little girl held a strawberry cone ice cream in one hand and placed her other hand on Zheng Tan’s head, biting the ice cream while curiously staring at Zheng Tan.
The small hand resting on Zheng Tan’s head was sared with so lted pink ice cream, which spread onto Zheng Tan as the hand moved.
Zheng Tan shook his whiskers and took a deep breath; he decided to let it go, considering the child’s pure gaze lacked any mockery and it didn’t seem intentional.
Just as Zheng Tan was about to ignore the child and close his eyes to continue sleeping, his nose was touched.
Opening his eyes, he saw the half-lted ice cream in front of him.
“Want so?” the little girl asked.
She spoke the familiar South City dialect, a native child of South City.
It felt intimate yet sowhat foreign at the sa ti. Probably because he had gotten used to Mandarin and Chuhua City dialect in Chuhua City, and most of the people he t in Nanhua and South City lately spoke Mandarin.
Seeing Zheng Tan fixated on the ice cream, the little girl pushed it closer to him, the lting liquid nearly touching his nose, which made Zheng Tan back away a bit.
Seeing Zheng Tan’s avoidance, the girl appeared puzzled, “It’s really good.”
Zheng Tan looked at the little girl and then at the sticky, half-lted ice cream that had been bitten several tis on top. He thought for a mont and bit the pointed end of the cone at the bottom.
Normally, the bottom of a freshly made cone doesn’t touch the ice cream, but now that it had lted, the liquid reached the bottom, and Zheng Tan could taste it as he bit.
Cool and sweet with a strawberry flavor.
They say cats can’t taste sweetness, and their vision isn’t as colorful as humans’. Zheng Tan didn’t know why he could taste the sweetness and see vibrant colors, so he took it as a compensatory gift from the heavens—becoming a cat for no reason deserved so kind of compensation.
The little girl laughed heartily, took a bite of her ice cream, and handed it back to Zheng Tan, who gnawed on the bottom of the cone.
This duo, one human and one cat, took turns nibbling at it, lightening Zheng Tan’s previously gloomy mood.
The little girl’s face was sared with ice cream, and Zheng Tan fared no better. A few tis, the lting liquid dripped onto his nose or beside his mouth where his tongue couldn’t reach, sticking his fur together.
While they were eating, the girl’s parents ca out of the store, calling her over; they were preparing to leave.
The girl got down from the chair and hesitantly offered the remaining piece of her unfinished ice cream to Zheng Tan, “For you.”
Zheng Tan pushed her hand away and leaped into a tree.
As the girl’s parents called again, she looked up at Zheng Tan and waved her hand, “Bye-bye.”
Zheng Tan also raised his hand in a goodbye gesture, but as he was up in the tree hidden by leaves, no one besides the girl beneath could see him.
After the little girl left, Zheng Tan grabbed a leaf and casually wiped his mouth. While it didn’t clean the quickly-drying ice cream stuck on him, it was still better than nothing, less ssy to look at.
Having eaten so ice cream, Zheng Tan felt a bit more spirited, and his throat didn’t hurt as much. He looked over to the nearby crossroads and then jumped down from the tree, heading back.
On his way back, Zheng Tan saw a procession of police cars passing by.
Red lights had caused so traffic congestion ahead, so the cars weren’t moving very fast.
Zheng Tan walked back along the sidewalk, not far from the police cars on the road.
After seeing the police cars, Zheng Tan glanced over and spotted a familiar face in the back seat of a car not far from him; he had kicked this person from behind not long ago.
Indeed, the police cars had co from Ancient Zither House, and the knifeman had been handcuffed and taken away, happening upon Zheng Tan.
The expressionless man in the car was still mulling over the kick he had received at Ancient Zither House—a kick that directly led to his capture. He hadn’t seen who it was, only heard that it was a black cat. While he was ready to defend against people, how could he prepare for a cat that made almost no sound walking or running? But how could a cat have such strength? Others might not be sure, but he, as the victim, certainly felt it.
While he was thinking, he turned to look out the window and his pupils constricted.
They say encountering a black cat is a sign of bad luck. Not a black cat again?!
As the man watched the black cat on the sidewalk, cursing all black cats in the world, he saw the cat on the sidewalk lift a paw, open it, and then tuck in three of its more visible toes, leaving only the middle one extended.
Was that… a middle finger? the man thought. Can a cat’s paw form a middle finger? No, why would it give him the finger?
The man paused, looking to confirm what he saw, but the car drove off, and when he tried to turn to look back, a police officer stopped him.
Zheng Tan watched the departing police car, turned his head, stretched lazily, and then started trotting away. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welco to vote for it on Qidian (qidian). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.)
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