Strange Life of a Cat

His ride in the front basket of the bike along the dirt road was a trip Zheng Tan preferred to forget.

He couldn’t wait to get out when they arrived at Wei Ling’s destination. He felt dizzy and almost couldn’t land on his feet.

They arrived at a small two-story building in a mostly residential neighborhood. This place seemed to be within the demolition area. Many houses were empty, with ‘DEMOLISH’ spray painted on the walls. The area was surrounded by huge billboards of the building that had been planned to be built.

The high-tech business area was expanding. The demolition of this piece was inevitable. In the next ten years, high-tech enterprises would slowly take over this entire area.

Wei Ling opened the door; pushed his bike inside the house, opened the refrigerator and grabbed a handful of beef jerky. Then he sat on the sofa and started watching TV. He paid no attention to Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan looked around, jumped on the coffee table and started to eat Wei Ling’s jerky. Wei Ling told him on the way here that he would drop him off at Chuhua University after he finished his business. So he was in no hurry to leave… not that he could leave anyways.

Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. A man in a police uniform came in.

Seeing Zheng Tan, the man was surprised. ” Where did you get the cat? I am not keeping it! You know I prefer dogs!”

“It’s not yours to keep. It belongs to some other people. I’m sending it back tomorrow.” Wei Ling threw some jerky into his mouth, then took out the glass jar.

The man did not say anything more. He held the jar in a gloved hand and took it into the bathroom, reemerging later with a small bag.

The bag was transparent, and the contents could be seen clearly.

Jade, diamonds, a gold ring …

The bag was small, but the value of its contents was anything but.

“Did you see the person?” asked the man.

Wei Ling shook his head and pointed to the Zheng Tan. “The cat found it.”

“Bullshit!” The man obviously did not believe him, but changed the topic: “What else did you find? I couldn’t hear clearly over the phone… … you really need to give up that PHS. You don’t have coverage whenever you leave downtown.”

Wei Ling described the situation over at the brick house.

“The guy deliberately sprayed the area with pesticides to ward off livestock, but not kill the weeds. The residents nearby were busy moving. No one will sniff around those abandoned houses. The bag was well hidden, and the tracks were carefully cleaned. Be careful, this was not the work of a newbie.”

“Of course this wasn’t his first time. That guy is responsible for several murders. He has this stuff down as a science. Only you could find it. If it was one of my men, they would come back with weeds. ”

The guy in the police uniforms shook the little bag. He considered it for a moment then handed Wei Ling a folder.

“A man?” Wei Ling frowned. This had contradicted his guess. He had always thought that the culprit was the only female suspect.

“The bureau got new equipment, the results can’t be wrong.” The man in the police uniform patted Wei Ling on the shoulder. “OK bro. I really owe you one for finding this evidence. I got men on the ground over at the brick house.”

He paused. “I gotta say. You retired from the army three years ago. Now that your wounds have all healed, why don’t you find something to do? Whether it be joining the force or starting a company you have the connections and the skills.”

Wei Ling lit a cigarette and laid back on the couch. “I’m lazy.”

“Bullshit!” The guy in the police uniform took the folder and smacked him but did not say anything more.

He turned to look at Zheng Tan pawing open the packaging of the beef jerky on the coffee table. “You don’t say. This cat is smart. But it’s nothing compared to the master’s bobcat… ”

The guy stopped himself mid-sentence.

“Why did I mention it!”

“Why did you mention it!”

They said simultaneously.

The thought of the Bobcat looking at them, with the exact look their master had, gave the two chills. It was why Wei Ling was not that surprised by Zheng Tan.

Rubbing away the goosebumps on his arm, Wei Ling kicked the uniform. “Bro, you should go back to the office. These cases would keep you busy.”

“You’re right.” The guy gathered his stuff, then bragged with a straight face: “I can’t possibly accept another promotion without solving these.”

“Narcissism is an illness and needs to be cured.”

“Didn’t you read that article on the paper? Napoleon, Roosevelt, Stalin, Edison, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Ford and Hitler were all narcissists. It’s a necessary trait for a leader. ”

Having said that, the policeman left while whistling. He stopped at the door and added: “You can keep my daughter’s bike; just get her a new one. Her birthday is coming up. You know, just get her one of those that could be folded up. ”

Zheng Tan was eating the whole time but his attention was on the conversation between the two men. It seemed that neither were ordinary and both had the same master.

After the police officer left, Wei Ling had some instant noodles then threw some more beef jerky on the table.

“I need a nap. Eat the beef if you are hungry. I don’t have anything else. I strongly advise you to stay put. This place isn’t like anywhere you are used to. Wanna know why there aren’t any strays around?? They all became stew for the construction workers nearby. Lots of people want to eat ‘dragon and tiger'[1]. You should stick to bullying puppies.”

Zheng Tan: “…”

The next day, Wei Ling picked up a bag of clothing and rode his bike to Chuhua University. Once again, Zheng Tan sat in the basket of the pink women’s bike. The roads were much better near the city. Other than the wind blowing hard on his face, he didn’t have any complaints. That was if he ignored a certain someone’s wordiness.

Ever since they set off and all the way till they reached the university, Wei Ling recounted Zheng Tan’s flaws.

“You can’t jump; Your reflexes are slow, and your hearing is probably on par with a pig. You can’t even tell when someone is beside you.”

Zheng Tan wanted to refute. Unfortunately, when he opened his mouth, only cat sounds came out. To the pedestrians, this was an odd sight. A man was on a girls’ bike, talking nonstop. After every few sentences, he was answered by a ‘meow’ from the cat in the basket. It was as if the man and the animal were quarrelling.

It was two-hour bike ride to the university, but Wei Ling showed no signs of being tired.

Wei Ling rented an apartment near the school. He had bought a house not far from the university but it was being renovated. He couldn’t move in for at least another six months.

The mother and daughter Zheng Tan saw last time at the lawn were the family of one of Wei Ling’s comrades. The man had died in service. Wei Ling had been helping them out ever since he left the army.

The place he rented was near the Eastern quarters and about a five-minute walk from the school gates. Students often rented there.

Wei Ling let Zheng Tan off. “When you go back, take time to exercise. As a cat that likes to wander, you would turn into stew sooner or later if you stay weak.”

“I will be jogging on campus everyday around six or seven. You are free to join me.”

Having said that, he locked his bike and went upstairs. He was not worried about the cat getting caught. Wei Ling felt that the cat wouldn’t be worth training if it was so easily snatched away.

Zheng Tan was familiar with the area. He ignored the cooing of students and walked directly towards the east gates.

“That cat is so unfriendly.”

“Exactly. It’s not like that spotted cat the other day that rolled around.”

“Are all black cats like that?”

“No. My aunt has a black cat. It’s so cute, not at all like this one…”

Zheng Tan heard the girls chatting behind him and twitched his ears. He was annoyed right now. Roll around? Act cute? Hell no!

He had to admit that after entering the Eastern quarters, he suddenly felt at peace. He was calmer. Maybe, this was what it felt like to belong?

But before he could relish in his new-found peace, a bark made him annoyed again.

He knew the bark. He hadn’t heard it for over a month now, and the Eastern quarters had been relatively peaceful for over a month.

Zheng Tan looked around. A dog with a plastic bottle in his mouth was running towards Zheng Tan, his owner chasing along behind him.

This dog was called Sahara. It had nothing to do with the famous desert but was named as such because he was a Samoyed, Husky and Labrador mix [2].

Sahara had the serious look of a Husky but also the grin of a Samoyed. That made for a very odd combo. He also inherited a Labrador’s intelligence. But he never used this intelligence on anything good.

For example, now, Sahara was running around with a bottle of water that his owner had just purchased. He just liked to be chased.

Xiu—

Sahara’s sharp teeth punctured a hole on the plastic bottle. Water shot out and hit Zheng Tan right on the face when Sahara ran past him.

Maybe his reflexes were too slow.

The culprit was already far way with the water bottle still in his mouth. Zheng Tan shook off the water. Before he could sigh, he heard the sound of flapping wings.

On the courtyard walls behind him, a blue figure landed.

“Yesterday I passed your door ~ you were pouring out water onto the road, ~ it splashed on my shoes ~ and the pedestrians walking by ~ Oh, what a laugh~ what a laugh we had.”

Zheng Tan: “…”

‘Just kill me now.’

Footnotes:

[1] Dragon and Tiger is a famous Chinese dish, traditionally made from eel and pork. Urban legends have it that it could be made proper with snakes and cats.

[2]Sahara is ‘Sa Ha La’ is Chinese. The three breeds of dogs are ‘Sa Mo Ye’, “ Ha Shi Qi’ and “ La Bu La Duo’ in Chinese. So Sahara is simply the first syllable of each breed put together.