Chapter 13

Yi Xin nervously explained his purpose, and Professor Lan snorted when he heard that Zheng Tan had fleas. "Serves him right!"

However, despite his words, Professor Lan still went to get medicine for Zheng Tan, who followed him into the room.

As for Yi Xin, he held the mop and mopped the floor in the living room.

Professor Lan was a retired employee of the Life Sciences College at Chu Hua University. Although he had retired and no longer taught, he still had a significant influence in the college. Even after retiring, many companies hired him at high salaries for guidance, and he had cooperative relationships with many companies. So, despite the simple and modest decoration of his home, his net worth was considerable.

Professor Lan always had a stern face, giving the impression of a bad temper and being too serious. He would often visit the Life Sciences College, supervising practical guidance for botany courses. The young teachers spoke with a lack of confidence, and the students were even more intimidated, not daring to breathe loudly.

It's no wonder Yi Xin stuttered when he saw Professor Lan. He had been promoted from the same university, and the experience of the botany course still left a deep impression. So Yi Xin was quite curious. Professor Lan wasn't the type to care about people's feelings; even the current dean of the Life Sciences College might not get special treatment from him. Therefore, it definitely wasn't because of Boss Jiao. But why was Professor Lan so tolerant of the cat from Boss Jiao's house?

The reason Professor Lan treated Zheng Tan this way was due to something Zheng Tan did by chance. Over a month ago, when Zheng Tan went downstairs for a walk, he met Professor Lan's wife, Grandma Zhai. She had a weak heart, and at that time, she had helped another elderly lady from another building carry some heavy objects. When she returned and started climbing the stairs, she showed signs of an impending attack. It was rush hour, and Professor Lan was on a business trip. When Grandma Zhai took out her medicine bottle, her hand trembled, and the bottle rolled down the stairs. At that moment, she could hardly take a step. In the end, it was Zheng Tan who ran down the stairs and brought the medicine bottle back to her.

Grandma Zhai took the medicine in time and quickly recovered. Since then, whenever she saw Zheng Tan, she would smile. If Grandma Zhai were at home today, Professor Lan definitely wouldn't dare to scold Zheng Tan. Although he had a big temper outside, at home, he only got scolded by Grandma Zhai. Of course, when there were guests, Grandma Zhai still gave him face.

So, with Grandma Zhai's backing, Zheng Tan wasn't afraid of Professor Lan's stern face at all.

Professor Lan took out two bottles, one containing a liquid and the other a powder.

The liquid was for Zheng Tan to bathe in, which could prevent him from getting fleas when he went out to play. Zheng Tan had used it before but found it troublesome and hadn't come to ask Professor Lan for more. The powder was to be sprinkled on his body. These things weren't available outside; they were all made by Professor Lan himself, natural and safe, and even if the cat licked it, it wouldn't be a problem. However, Zheng Tan never licked himself, so there was no need to worry.

Professor Lan poured some of the powder into his palm and then applied it to Zheng Tan's fur.

Zheng Tan turned his head to look at the messy fur on his back, then looked at the old man with drooping eyelids. The old man didn't say a word, slowly closed the bottle cap, slowly put the bottle back, and then slowly smoothed out the fur on Zheng Tan's back. After smoothing it, he patted it a couple of times, almost knocking Zheng Tan over.

"If this medicine were sold, it could buy a whole house full of cats. You're getting such a big favor, when are you going to help me in the small garden?"

Professor Lan didn't expect the cat to understand; he was just complaining and taking the opportunity to pat Zheng Tan a few more times as a form of revenge.

Zheng Tan pulled his ear, shook his fur, and ignored the old man's muttering, then walked out of the room, preparing to leave.

Outside, Yi Xin had already finished mopping the floor and was sitting stiffly next to the sofa, his nervousness obvious even to a fool.

Professor Lan handed the two bottles to Yi Xin and then went back to the room to get a small brown glass bottle. "The two bottles are for the cat. You know how to use them; ask your mentor if you don't. This brown bottle contains insecticide, 10X concentrated. Dilute it when you use it."

After saying that, Professor Lan directly opened the door, indicating that the man and the cat should leave.

"Thank you, I'm sorry to trouble you!"

Yi Xin forced himself to say thanks, holding the bottles, and followed Zheng Tan out the door.

When they returned to the fifth floor, the Jiao family's home, Yi Xin let out a long sigh of relief.

Zheng Tan now felt much more at ease, having solved the flea problem. He felt comfortable all over and started tearing open a bag of dried fish to eat.

However, before they could fully relax, the door rang.

By the frequency of the knocking and the commotion outside, Zheng Tan had already guessed who the visitor was. He looked up at the ceiling, wondering if they would ever have a moment of peace!

Yi Xin didn't know who was outside until he opened the door.

At the door were three boys, about the same age as Jiao Yuan, all in the sixth grade at Chu Hua University's affiliated elementary school. They were all from the family compound and often played together. Zheng Tan knew them, but Yi Xin didn't.

Before Yi Xin could ask, one of the boys spoke up, "Who are you?!"

He asked with a righteous tone. One of the boys, who was more muscular, even took out a small rolling pin with rat teeth marks from his backpack, looking wary.

Seeing the three boys with clearly suspicious and wary looks, Yi Xin's forced smile froze. He spent five minutes explaining his identity, even showing his graduate student ID to prove it.

The three boys huddled together to look at the photo on the ID, then at Yi Xin.

"The person in the photo is your brother, right? He looks much more experienced than you." The boy with the rolling pin said, then paused, suddenly delighted: "I actually used the word 'experienced'!"

"Hope you remember to use it in your next essay; you might get over 90 points." Another boy said, returning Yi Xin's ID.

The three boys walked into the living room, looked at Zheng Tan, who was lying peacefully on the sofa, and finally relaxed. Seeing that the cat was fine, they confirmed that Yi Xin was indeed a familiar face and sat down on the sofa one by one.

Yi Xin looked at the sofa, which had no more empty seats, and brought a chair from the dining table.

The three boys on the sofa looked at Yi Xin, who was about to sit down, making him feel as if he had done something terrible.

Zheng Tan watched this scene, sighed, jumped off the sofa, and went to the fridge, opening it.

"Oh~~"

"Black Coal is so considerate!"

"Guest etiquette, Mr. Yi, even a cat understands this."

Yi Xin: "..." If this were my home, I would understand too, but this is Boss Jiao's home. I'm eating snacks carefully! I'm a guest too!

The biggest boy moved the fastest, darting to the fridge and rummaging through it familiarly.

"Xiong Xiong, I want the mango-flavored one. I saw Jiao Yuan hide it in the back last time, look for it!"

"I want the apple-flavored one!"

Yi Xin's face twitched. It felt like the Japanese army had invaded the village!

Xiong Xiong used his chubby hands to rummage through the fridge and pulled out three popsicles.

Seeing the three boys sitting on the sofa, eating popsicles, Yi Xin asked, "What brings you three here?"

"My grandpa said there's someone here. We haven't seen Jiao Yuan at school for a few days, so we came to check."

"Uh, who is your grandpa?"

"My grandpa is Lan Tiesu."

Yi Xin: "..." His smile was starting to waver.

Lan Tiesu was Professor Lan's name.

These three boys were: Lan Tiesu's grandson, Lan Tianzhu; a child of a teacher from the Chemistry College, Su An; and the muscular one, Xiong Xiong. Zheng Tan didn't know their detailed backgrounds but had heard that Xiong Xiong's family had some connections and was quite familiar with the principal.

Yi Xin knew that his boss had gone out of province for some business, but he didn't know the specifics. So he explained that the Jiao family had some matters to attend to and would be away for a week.

"Is that so." Xiong Xiong wasn't entirely satisfied with Yi Xin's explanation but was glad to have come. His mother recently forbade him from eating too much cold food, and if he left now, he would definitely be scolded. So it was better to finish the popsicle first.

After thinking for a moment, Xiong Xiong asked Yi Xin, "You're from the Life Sciences College, right? I have a question."

Yi Xin sat up straight, "Please ask."

"I heard that if you don't eat breakfast, your body will eat shit. Is that true?"

Zheng Tan, who was lying on the sofa with his eyes closed but ears perked up, "..."

Su An and Lan Tianzhu also looked at Yi Xin curiously, waiting for an answer.

Yi Xin's smile faltered, but he tried to make the question more academic. "Strictly speaking, it's not correct. After food enters the small intestine, nutrients are absorbed, and the remaining residue moves to the large intestine, where it is eventually excreted as waste. However, the large intestine, unlike the small intestine, has no significant absorption function; it only absorbs a small amount of water and inorganic salts. So even if you don't eat breakfast, the 'residue' in the large intestine won't be reabsorbed by your body. Therefore, the statement you mentioned is not correct."

"So my mom was lying to me!" Xiong Xiong said angrily.

"You can debate with your mom." Lan Tianzhu suggested.

"No way, I'll be punished to kneel on the washboard." Xiong Xiong said dejectedly.

"What's the big deal? I knelt on the keyboard a few days ago. I wasn't allowed to get up until I pressed the space bar." Su An said, munching on a popsicle.

"Why?"

"To verify if aqua regia can dissolve gold. I threw my mom's gold leaf earring into it and it dissolved."

Zheng Tan, Yi Xin: "..." What a wasteful kid!

"For that, my dad won't let me into his lab anymore, and my mom cut my allowance for a month." Su An said with a hum.

"Actually..." Lan Tianzhu wiped his mouth, "Isn't corporal punishment illegal? You can call 110."

"No use, I've tried." Xiong Xiong said angrily, "After I called, my mom brought an even bigger washboard for me to kneel on."

Zheng Tan, Yi Xin: "..."

"Damn, kids have no rights!" Xiong Xiong lamented.

Lan Tianzhu glanced at him, "Watch your language."

"Damn, kids have no rights!" Xiong Xiong repeated.

Zheng Tan, Yi Xin: "..."

Xiong Xiong rolled up his pants to show the red marks on his legs.

Zheng Tan, Yi Xin: "!!"

"Your mom is so cruel!" Lan Tianzhu and Su An swallowed hard.

"No," Xiong Xiong said proudly, "I pinched myself to cry more convincingly! My mom was so soft-hearted, she reduced the one hour to fifteen minutes~"

Zheng Tan, Yi Xin: "..." What's there to be proud of!

Listening to the conversation between the three kids, Zheng Tan felt that he had indeed been naive in his youth.

And Yi Xin was inwardly raging: Kids these days, how do they grow up?

After the three kids finished their popsicles, they reluctantly picked up their backpacks and left, reminding Yi Xin and Zheng Tan, "There's been a thief in the compound recently. Be careful. Several households have been robbed. Don't lend your access card to others and don't let strangers into the building."

After the three kids left, Zheng Tan and Yi Xin finally felt the world was quiet again.

Boiling water for the cat, blowing on the fur, applying medicine, and entertaining the kids... Yi Xin felt exhausted by the end of the day. He decided that when Boss Jiao returned, he would definitely ask for a raise! Definitely!

Zheng Tan didn't care what Yi Xin was thinking. He was also tired. These past two days had been exhausting. Remembering Wei Ling's words, Zheng Tan decided to go for a run tomorrow. Rarely, Zheng Tan went to bed before eight o'clock that night.

Yi Xin finished revising the paper on Boss Jiao's computer, looked at the time, and saw it was past two in the morning again. He stretched, turned off the computer, and went to the living room to sleep on the sofa. Passing Gu Youzi's room, Yi Xin peeked inside. With the light from the living room, he saw a large rabbit doll on the children's bed, and the black cat lying on it, one leg curled up and the other leg pressing on the rabbit's face, sleeping soundly.

Yi Xin pursed his lips, no good sleeping posture!

In his dream, Zheng Tan dreamed that he had become stronger and caught the thief.

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Thank you to Wu Lanfeng, Qi Huangliuxuan, Shu Mutouren, Fish&Cat, AtmanX, Ai Qian, and Lazyorange for your support! Thank you to nego118 for your review! Thank you to everyone who supports this book! I wish you all a smooth week ahead!