Chapter 9

As Zheng Tan went down the stairs, he noticed a note stuck at the corner of the stairs from the fifth to the fourth floor, right at his eye level.

"Turn off unnecessary power sources when you go on a long trip to avoid safety hazards. Close the windows and doors to prevent dust from being blown in by the wind. Remember to bring food... For specific steps, please refer to the detailed instructions on the desk."

It was written in Dad Jiao's handwriting.

Zheng Tan tugged at his ear, turned around reluctantly, and struggled to open the door with the key hanging around his neck. He entered the bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Jiao, jumped onto the desk, and there indeed was an open notebook listing all the tasks in detail. After reading through it, Zheng Tan went around the house, following the instructions to turn off some power sources and close the windows and doors.

After everything was tidied up, Zheng Tan carried a bag of thumb cookies out, swiped the access card, and came to a sycamore tree by the cement road in the East District residential area. He climbed up the tree and placed the key and access card in a fist-sized hole on the third branch, then covered it with two leaves.

There were rarely any birds lingering on the trees near the road in the residential area, including that cheap parrot. As for other cats, they seldom climbed these trees, preferring the ones in the small forest instead, not by the cement road. Therefore, Zheng Tan felt safe leaving his things there. After all, he couldn't take the access card and house key, which marked his pet identity, on a long trip; it would be too inconvenient, and if he did something wrong and got caught, it would be even more troublesome.

After placing his things, Zheng Tan went to the grass near the East District supermarket to wait for a chance to get in the car.

The delivery driver was helping unload the goods. After moving the last box from the small truck, the driver leaned against the car door and smoked a cigarette. Turning his head, he saw Zheng Tan squatting in the grass, with a bag of thumb cookies next to him.

"Hey, Black Charcoal, going out to play again today?"

The delivery driver knew Zheng Tan well and was familiar with this scene. The difference today was that the cat had brought a bag of cookies, perhaps preparing for a long trip.

Zheng Tan had hitched a ride on the delivery truck twice before. At that time, the driver had some complaints, but after Mr. Jiao gave him two packs of cigarettes and a bottle of wine, the driver would always smile broadly whenever he saw Zheng Tan. As long as Zheng Tan hitched a ride, it meant he would receive gifts in the future, and those cigarettes and wine were high-quality, costing over a hundred yuan in the supermarket.

Zheng Tan stretched lazily, picked up the thumb cookies, and jumped into the back of the small truck, waiting for the driver to finish settling the accounts with the supermarket owner.

Today, the truck's cargo area was empty, having been unloaded completely.

"Black Charcoal, the goods have been delivered today, not going to the Central Department Store. I'm heading straight home, not through the East Gate, but through the North Gate."

The first two times, Zheng Tan had wandered around the Central Department Store, which was two stops away from the East Gate of the residential area. It took about twenty minutes to walk there, but from the Central Department Store, you could clearly see the tall buildings of Chu Hua University. The campus was large, and it took several stops to get from one end to the other.

The driver was just talking, not expecting the cat to understand. All he could do was let the black cat hitch a ride, and he didn't care where the cat was going.

By around six o'clock, the inventory at the East District supermarket was complete, and the accounts were settled. The driver called out to Zheng Tan and drove the small truck towards the North Gate.

The sunset had turned orange and was about to drop below the horizon. At the entrance of the North District canteen, students were coming and going, having just finished their last class. They chatted and laughed about the day's events.

The small truck passed by the North District canteen, and Zheng Tan, squatting in the shadow of the truck, watched them, thinking of his former self. Before he mysteriously ended up here, he was also a third-year student.

As the truck approached a fork near the North District canteen, Zheng Tan saw a young man in a white work uniform riding a noisy 28-inch bicycle towards the canteen. If you ignored the "Chu Hua University North District Canteen" printed on his chest, you might think he was from a laboratory.

The future elites of the country were all around, but the young man riding the bicycle and wearing the canteen uniform had no envy or inferiority. The wind made his work uniform look like a high-end, stylish coat. He hummed a song, facing the red sunset, and still smiled brightly.

Exiting from the North Gate of Chu Hua University, they didn't get close to the Central Department Store, only seeing its lights from a distance. Zheng Tan recognized the familiar scenery, with the neon lights around the Central Department Store already lit, and the huge screens flashing, showcasing the prosperity of the big city.

Zheng Tan watched the scenery recede outside the truck, feeling like an outsider. Despite seeing so much, his mind was blank, in a daze.

The small truck traveled from the city center to the third ring road, then to the suburbs. The night grew darker, and the wind grew colder.

The sudden stop of the truck made Zheng Tan, who was daydreaming, bump his head against the cargo barrier with a "thud."

Zheng Tan lifted his paw and smoothed out the fur on his head.

Listening to the conversation outside, Zheng Tan knew the driver had arrived home. He got up, shook off the dust, and jumped out of the truck with the bag of thumb cookies. Looking around, Zheng Tan decided to find a place to sleep and go out during the day, as he still preferred to wander in the daylight even though he was now a cat.

While Zheng Tan was looking for a place to spend the night, a phone in a dormitory in a graduate student building at Chu Hua University rang.

The person closest to the phone answered politely, said a few words, and then said, "Please wait a moment, he should have finished his shower, I'll go call him," placing the phone on the table and going to the bed across from him.

The person on the bed was sleeping soundly, grinding his teeth and smiling. The other three roommates, initially shocked, were now numb to it.

The person who answered the phone pushed the sleeping, tooth-grinding person and whispered, "Yi Xin, it's your boss on the phone! I told him you were in the bathroom, don't say anything wrong."

Hearing "your boss," the drowsy person immediately woke up, quickly got out of bed, and went to the bathroom to clear his throat. A person who had just woken up would have a hoarse voice, and Yi Xin didn't want his mentor to know he was sleeping during the golden time for memory, which would ruin his image in his boss's eyes.

"Mr. Jiao, sorry, I was just in the shower. What's the matter?" Yi Xin answered the phone, feeling he had done a good job of pretending.

The roommates playing games stopped typing to support him, even discussing the academic issue of why meat should be eaten with garlic to be nutritious.

On the other end of the phone, Mr. Jiao paused and said, "Sorry to disturb your sleep."

Yi Xin: "..." What kind of ears does Boss Jiao have! The resolution is really high!

However, Yi Xin was relieved that Associate Professor Jiao didn't dwell on the topic and asked, "Do you have time now?"

"Yes!" Yi Xin quickly responded, determined to make time even if he didn't have any.

Twenty minutes later, Yi Xin, holding the key he found in Associate Professor Jiao's office drawer, stood in the living room of the Jiao family.

This was the second time Yi Xin had come to the Jiao family's home. The first time was when the results of the graduate school entrance exam were announced in the first half of the year. As Associate Professor Jiao's first student and a capable one, he was invited to have dinner at the Jiao family's home.

Yi Xin had never met Zheng Tan. When Zheng Tan went to the life sciences building, only the Jiao family knew, so Yi Xin didn't know that his mentor's cat had some special qualities.

After searching around and not finding the cat, Yi Xin went to the bedroom and called Associate Professor Jiao using the phone in the bedroom.

"Mr. Jiao, I can't see the cat. Has your cat run away?" Yi Xin regretted saying this as soon as he finished.

"Is the air conditioner unplugged?" Mr. Jiao asked on the other end of the phone.

"Unplugged! The power switch in the kitchen is also off!" Yi Xin quickly replied, describing the situation in the house.

"Mr. Jiao, should I buy a bag of cat food and leave it here?" Yi Xin asked.

"No need, as long as there are snacks on the sofa and the fridge is full."

Yi Xin: "..." Is this how you take care of a cat?

"Just come over every day and use the phone at my house to tell me. As for your work summary, you don't need to report it this week."

Hearing that he didn't need to report his experimental progress, Yi Xin breathed a sigh of relief. The experiment hadn't gone well in the past two days, and there was nothing to report.

"Okay, rest assured, I'll come over at this time every day."

On the train, Mr. Jiao put his phone back in his pocket and looked out the window at the dark night.

That little brat has run away again!

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