Chapter 97: We Got To Talk
Jiao Wei did not expect this answer. Actually, no normal person would have expected this. It was a cat, how could it help?
Su Qu could tell what Jiao Wei was thinking. He scratched his head and said, "I"m only giving a suggestion, whether you believe me is up to you. "
"Why the cat?" Jiao Wei asked through clenched teeth.
"Well, Yi Xin knows more than me. He told me some stories about the cat. The boss"s family loves the cat as you know, but the Buddha, Miss Zhao, and Professor Lan all hold the cat in high regard as well. There was this other professor who returned last semester after studying abroad. He was fired, and it had something to do with the cat.
Jiao Wei stopped peeling potatoes. He didn"t know most of the people Su Qu just mentioned, but he knew Professor Lan. The cat had taken him to the greenhouse before. He realized what Su Qu said could be true. After all, those people were more powerful than an a.s.sistant professor. Why were they so nice to Mingsheng uncle"s cat?
"I heard all of this from Yi Xin, so I don"t know the details, but if we"re talking about Wei Ling, you could try to find him by watching the cat. He comes to look for the cat every once in a while. Believe it or not, I got admitted because of the cat." Yi Xin had a.n.a.lyzed the events prior to him being admitted into the program and came to that conclusion.
It was getting late, so Su Qu left. He had cla.s.ses.
Jiao Wei hurriedly finished peeling his potatoes, then left for training.
All night, Jiao Wei thought about what Su Qu said. He was slightly uncomfortable the next day when he saw the cats again.
Zheng Tan had no idea what was going on in Jiao Wei"s head. He and his gang had to find new spots to watch military training. The students were starting to shoo them away whenever they came close. He had to move between training grounds now. It was fun watching the kids make a fool of themselves.
After recess, Zheng Tan and Youzi were walking to the restaurants when he felt someone watching him. He turned to find Jiao Wei staring at him.
What?
Zheng Tan was puzzled. Did Jiao Wei have a problem with them watching him train?
Jiao Wei was still staring at him when they started eating. Zheng Tan was losing his appet.i.te.
The man and cat stared at each other for a couple seconds before Jiao Wei looked away. He felt weird, it was as if he had just stared into the eyes of a human.
Jiao Wei had heard that you can tell what a cat was thinking by looking into its eyes. He didn"t quite know what this cat had on its mind, what he felt that it was in a bad mood.
Around national day, military training was coming to an end and the weather was improving. Everyone was suntanned three shades darker but had to line up and have their pictures taken with their student cards. It was the one moment most juniors and seniors claimed to be their most painful. That was the picture that ended up in their files and appeared in yearbooks, certificates, diplomas, student cards, library cards and every other thing that required a picture.
At the time, identification cards were not all-purpose yet and most students had a different card for different things. All had that picture. Whenever students went to the library, the librarian had to look really closely to make sure they matched the dark face in the picture. Those who were easily embarra.s.sed were seriously traumatized by these events.
Zheng Tan sat on a tree and listened to this new cla.s.s of freshmen complain about the pictures.
He yawned. The old saying "fairness hid a hundred flaws" was true. It was difficult finding anyone good looking in this group of people.
The last day of training was when all the students showed the result of their training in a big military parade. Tiger had an upset stomach and wouldn"t have been interested anyway. The other three cats all went.
In the afternoon, the students said goodbye to their drillmasters. At those moments, people forgot how harsh their officers were and many were trying hard not to cry. Men were like that, they could fight one moment, then smoke, drink and talk locker talk together the next moment.
The young were impulsive and often emotional. The atmosphere affected them greatly.
Even Zheng Tan was moved. He remembered when he started university. He didn"t attend military training with the help of a fake sick note and some bribery. He regretted it.
He yawned and jumped off his tree. It was time to go home, Mama Jiao was making dumplings.
Jiao Wei and his roommates watched their drillmaster leave before heading toward his family"s restaurant. They planned to feast tonight and discuss their plans for the next two days.
They had two days of free time after military training and planned to see a bit of the city.
Jiao Wei"s parents edged them on. They wanted their child spend more time with his peers. They gave him some money and told him to go have fun with his friends. He hadn"t gotten a chance to experience the city yet.
The boys researched some of Chuhua"s attractions after they returned to their dorm. Jiao Wei lived in an eight-person room. It was much cheaper than the other kinds. His parents felt bad about it but he insisted on it. He spent little time in his dorm, and besides, it was still better than his high school dorm room.
At night, the boys were having heated discussions. Jiao Wei"s mind, however, was still on the cat. September was coming to an end, were those people going to show up again in October?
Maybe he should try asking the cat.
How would he do it?
He couldn"t just come up to the cat and say, "Hey. Help me. I"ll buy you fish."
People would think he was nuts.
This was hard.
The next day, Jiao Wei and his roommates had breakfast at the cafeteria. They planned to head out soon and bought transit pa.s.ses already. Their route had been carefully planned.
The boys were walking to the bus stop when Jiao Wei caught sight of a familiar figure.
"You guys go ahead. Wait for me at the bus stop. I remembered something I need to do. I"ll meet you guys there." Jiao Wei said.
"What? Do you need help?"
"No. You guys go!" Jiao Wei was gone before his roommates could say anything else.
Zheng Tan was planning to enjoy a stroll in the woods. He hadn"t been over there for a while and needed some exercise. He had eaten too much for breakfast, so he chose not to jog.
"Charcoal! Wait up!" Jiao Wei ran behind the cat and yelled out.
Zheng Tan stopped and looked at the person running toward him. He didn"t know what Jiao Wei wanted. The guy was going sightseeing with his cla.s.smates today. Had they not left yet?
Jiao Wei caught up with the cat but was suddenly at a loss for words. He looked around. They were not alone though the trail they were on was relatively remote. He said, "Let"s find a place where we can talk."
One month ago he would never have believed there would be a day he talked to a cat.
Zheng Tan twitched his ears. What did this guy want? He had nothing to do so he decided to humor Jiao Wei. He thought of places where they could be alone and started walking. He stopped to eye Jiao Wei.
Jiao Wei scratched his nose then followed behind the cat.
They didn"t have to walk far. There was a flower bed nearby where they could talk without being overheard.
Zheng Tan jumped on the edge and waited for Jiao Wei to talk.
Jiao Wei mumbled some nonsense before finally asking, "Can you help contact Wei Ling?"
Wei Ling?
What did Jiao Wei want from Wei Ling?
Zheng Tan looked at Jiao Wei suspiciously.
He hadn"t seen Wei Ling in a while. He mentioned when they last met he wanted to avoid military training because it would make him miss the army. Now that training was over, he should be visiting soon.
"If you can, lead Wei Ling to my family"s restaurant next time he comes to visit you. Please?" Jiao Wei asked hesitantly while watching the cat"s reactions.
Zheng Tan didn"t know what Jiao Wei wanted but they boy wasn"t asking for much and he was willing to help. He raised a paw and looked at Jiao Wei.
Jiao Wei was puzzled and didn"t move.
What an idiot! Zheng Tan was speechless.
He went over and patted the back of Jiao Wei"s hand.
This was how he communicated with the kids. They would high five if he agreed to their proposals.
He then jumped off the flower bed and left for the woods.
Jiao Wei watched him go, then looked down at his hand. Did this mean...yes?