The brave little pup followed the group inside as well. This time he was behaving better. He stayed by Liu's side which made him feel better. At least he didn't run towards the cat.
If people kept teasing him about this dog, he would have to give it away, or at least never take it out again. To him, avoiding embarra.s.sment was important. He only just got the pup, so he didn't have a bond with it yet. Giving it away wouldn't make him sad.
The pup did not know what his owner was thinking and bounced happily forward behind the group. He tripped on the stairs, only narrowly avoiding falling off. Thankfully, all the people were looking at Tang Qiye's large cat and didn't notice this mishap.
Zheng Tan didn't know what the pup's name was since Liu never told them. When Zheng Tan got to the second floor, everyone had sat down. He looked around and saw Zhao Le waving him over. He ran to her and rested on her lap. He didn't see a better seat anywhere, so this would have to do for now.
Fang Shaokang had waved at him too. However, it was an easy choice.
Duke sat obediently next to Tang Qiye. Both his paws were outstretched like the sphinx statue. He looked very majestic.
Zheng Tan, on the other hand, acted and looked like a standard house cat. Zhao Le even took out a comb. If they hadn't all seen him slap away the caracal, he would seem like any ordinary cat.
Everyone looked at the black cat, then at Duke, and couldn't help but think cats were weird animals.
Unlike Zheng Tan and Duke who both stayed put, the puppy was biting Liu's chair leg.
Zheng Tan felt someone looking at him. It was the fat man. The look in his eyes was hard to decipher, but Zheng Tan knew he wasn't thinking kind thoughts. He had planned to let the man be, but the staring became uncomfortable after a while.
Zheng Tan could tell kindness apart from spite. The fat man was probably cursing him. There was a fat professor living in the eastern quarters who was very kind. They were the same size, why couldn't the two men have the same heart?
Fang Shaokang was talking with the group of people. Zheng Tan could feel the tension lying beneath the veneer of friendliness. He disliked the atmosphere, and the content of their conversation bored him.
He jumped off Zhao Le's legs and headed for the door after looking at Fang Shaokang.
Fang didn't say anything so everyone else just smiled. If the owner didn't mind, who were they to object?
Duke eyed Zheng Tan but stayed where he was.
The puppy looked at Liu, then started inching towards the door while checking Liu's expression every few steps.
Liu sighed and told a guard to take the dog outside.
The puppy sprinted after the cat happily.
Tong Qing was still by Zheng Tan's side. When they left the room, someone came up to him and whispered something in his ear. He looked surprised then nodded.
The person was Fang's a.s.sistant. His face was completely devoid of emotions but who knew what he was thinking. It was his job not to ask questions and to do as he was told.
Zheng Tan came out of that room and searched the floor for bugs. Though Fang seemed unreliable, he could be trusted with these things. People attending today's party were all important, and none of them would appreciate being watched.
He found nothing of interest on the second floor, so he went downstairs. The puppy followed him. However, he got too excited and fell off the last few steps. Fortunately, he had very thick fur, and the fall didn't seem to harm him one bit.
Zheng Tan checked around them. No one saw the fall, or else this puppy would become a laughing stock again.
Most of the people guarding the building indoors didn't see Zheng Tan beat the caracal, so they saw him as just another house cat.
This was to Zheng Tan's advantage. He looked like a normal cat. If he got dirty, he would look like a stray and people would only be worried he would steal food.
On the other hand, the caracal from earlier would raise people's alarms. It looked like it could do a lot of damage, so it couldn't expect the element of surprise when it attacked. Duke didn't have to hide his strength. He was majestic enough that no one would mess with him.
They were different and led different lives; Zheng Tan preferred his lifestyle. It allowed him more freedom and gave him a chance to enjoy all the things he never noticed in his life as a human.
Let things be - that was his att.i.tude now.
This would have been an unfathomable thought to the human Zheng Tan.
There were plenty of flowers and evergreen trees in the back garden. Even in autumn, it looked like spring. Zheng Tan didn't get a chance to enjoy the scenery because there was a little boy with a model car in the garden. The boy looked younger than Youzi and was probably around six or seven.
Zheng Tan often heard Mama Jiao talk about other people's pets. Because they now had a cat, the Jiao family would take notice when other people mentioned their pets. He heard that children were often curious and irresponsible since they did not have a clear understanding of right and wrong. If their parents never taught them how to treat animals, then these kids could become the archnemesis of any pet. He heard stories of children picking their pets up by the tail. If the animal attacked, then it would be punished.
There was a saying in Papa Jiao's hometown that three or four-year-olds annoy people, five or six-year-olds annoy dogs. There was some truth in that saying.
Zheng Tan tried to avoid all children expect the ones with whom he was familiar.
Kids always ruined his mood, especially boys. They were usually more troublesome than girls. He turned immediately when he saw the boy.
Before he made it into the house again, Tong Qing suddenly spoke up.
"Charcoal, do you want to use the washroom? Come, I'll take you there." He waved to Zheng Tan and motioned for him to follow him.
Zheng Tan didn't understand. When did he express the wish to go to the washroom? Well, he didn't mind going. He was worried that he wouldn't be able to find the washroom when he needed to go.
Tong Qing had expected the cat to ignore him, but Zheng Tan followed him back inside just like that.
Tong Qing shut the door to the washroom. The soundproofing was good in here so he wouldn't be overheard. The a.s.sistant from earlier had told him this.
The more time Tong Qing spent with this cat, the more he found him odd. Pets should act like pets. For instance, that puppy was a pet. Even if he was a Tibetan Spaniel, he was still a pet. Besides understanding his name and a few orders, he didn't know human language. No matter what people said, he would do as he pleased.
This cat, however, would stare at you when you say something. It was the strangest feeling.
Tong Qing really didn't understand. Were all cats like this? Could this be why a lot of people didn't like cats?
Nevertheless, it was his job to pa.s.s on the bosses orders to the cat.
He locked the door and turned. The sight that greeted him stunned him into silence.
The black cat was sitting on the edge of the toilet and peeing. Afterwards Zheng Tan pressed the flush b.u.t.ton, jumped onto the sink and started was.h.i.+ng his paws. He even used the hand dryer and fixed the fur on top of his head.
Tong Qing was speechless.
This changed his view of cats once more.
No matter how mentally strong he was, watching a cat use the washroom like a human shook him to the core. He silently swore.
