Chapter 15 Heitan, what did you do again?!

Two puppies were in front of Zheng Tan.

One was nestled next to Ah Huang, while the other, who had just run over, barked twice and then started biting Ah Huang's ears, but it didn't seem to be using much force, otherwise Huang Erhuo wouldn't still be so leisurely.

Looking at the trio, Zheng Tan could tell they had been acquainted for more than a day. He thought for a moment, and concluded that the arrival of these two unfamiliar puppies must have occurred during the days he was away.

Zheng Tan jumped onto a nearby tree and lay down, figuring that the owners of these two puppies must be nearby, so he decided to find out exactly who from the East Family Courtyard was keeping them.

Half an hour later, several old men leisurely walked over; two of them held dog leashes in their hands.

Listening to their conversation, Zheng Tan finally understood why these two puppies had appeared.

One old man was named Li and the other Yan. The former was also a retired professor from the Life Science Institute, specializing in plants, often visiting Mr. Lan's small flower bed, so Zheng Tan was fairly familiar with him. Additionally, Old Man Li lived on the first floor of the same building as Ah Huang, and sometimes, when Ah Huang couldn't get into the building, he would directly go to his place.

As for the one named Yan, Zheng Tan had seen him a few times in the East Family Courtyard, but wasn't familiar with him, since he was not from the Life Science Institute.

There had been several thefts in the East Family Courtyard these past few days, prompting the two old men to come up with the idea of getting dogs.

Old Man Li's building had not experienced any thefts, but since he lived on the first floor, he was somewhat concerned and made a call to his son who lived in another part of the city, asking him to bring a big dog. He didn't have many requirements, just that it be big enough to be imposing. He didn't want something small like a Chihuahua, which didn't look reliable.

Old Man Li's son, after receiving the call from his father and pondering all night, sought advice from some friends. Large dogs were strictly regulated in Chuhua City, and registration was complicated, but since his father had requested it, he had to get one. He hesitated to bring a fierce large dog into his parents' home, considering the potential danger, especially since it was an area where faculty families lived, and it might not be good if the dog bit someone. After much thought, he finally decided to buy a Saint Bernard from a friend. It was big, generally had a calm disposition, didn't bark much, only drooling was a slight inconvenience.

Old Man Li, not being well-versed in animals, was fine as long as it was a big dog. Upon seeing it, he made an immediate decision, "This dog is good, just call it Hua Jiongjiong, rolls off the tongue!"

Zheng Tan imagined the build of a fully-grown Saint Bernard with a 'Jiong' face, and then thought about the name "Xiao Hua," which was really a pitiful confusion...

As for Old Yan, his building had experienced a burglary, and although Old Yan lived on the second floor and didn't lose anything, he was still not at ease. He called his daughter overseas to seek advice. Old Yan and Old Man Li had different standards; he told his daughter, "The size of the dog doesn't matter, as long as it can bite."

Of course, this "bite" did not mean biting people in the courtyard, but rather that if a thief entered the home or they encountered dangerous individuals on the street, the dog should be capable of protecting its owner and guarding against thieves, unlike some dogs that might look imposing but wouldn't even bark when a thief entered the house.

Ultimately, Old Yan's daughter asked a friend to get a Bull Terrier, which was the strangely shaped one Zheng Tan saw. Except for a black patch around one eye, its fur was all white, making it look as though it had been punched. The small, triangular eyes, along with that face, always made Zheng Tan feel like the dog was somewhat sneaky.

Old Yan named this little Bull Terrier "Zhuangzhuang." Hearing that Bull Terriers could be aggressive towards other animals, Old Yan intentionally let this little one get acquainted with the other animals around while it was still young, hoping that even if it became fierce later, it wouldn't be aggressive towards the "internal members" of the courtyard.

Zheng Tan watched the Bull Terrier, which seemed to like biting cat ears just as much as the noisy parrot did, and was also a bit too active, constantly fidgeting; it was likely not going to be a calm creature in the future. By contrast, Xiao Hua, though still a puppy and already much bigger than Ah Huang and Zhuangzhuang, seemed much quieter. After a few grunts, it fell asleep while being groomed by Huang Erhuo.

The three of them were getting along quite well for now, but it was hard to tell what would happen as the two puppies grew up.

No matter what, Zheng Tan felt that the tranquility of the East Family Courtyard had shown signs of never returning.

At noon, Zheng Tan returned to the Jiao family to eat something. Yi Xin brought a meal back, which had gotten cold by the time Zheng Tan ate, so he had to make do.

After dinner, Yi Xin lay on the sofa to catch up on sleep and would need to continue working on his thesis after waking up.

Feeling bored in the afternoon, Zheng Tan went out again. The afternoon sun made him drowsy, and after looking around and not seeing the other cats, he went to the artificial lake, where there were few people around at that time. He found a nice spot, jumped onto a willow tree, and dozed off with his eyes half-closed.

Since becoming a cat, Zheng Tan had developed a habit of perching up high, and strangely, he wasn't afraid of heights nor was he worried about falling off in his sleep. He always slept peacefully in the tree.

After a while, Zheng Tan's ears twitched as he heard someone approaching. He opened his eyes and peeked through the leaves to see a young woman with books walking over and sitting down on a wooden bench not far from him, starting to read.

Zheng Tan thought the woman looked familiar, and after thinking for a moment, he remembered that she was the "leading lady" from the "prime time show" incident involving a parrot a while ago.

Curiously, Zheng Tan tilted his head and looked at her abdomen, which was perhaps due to her loose-fitting clothing, didn't show any signs of being three months pregnant. That day, Zheng Tan didn't continue to watch the drama and didn't know much about the woman's situation, but from what he saw now, was she planning to keep the baby?

Tugging at his ear, Zheng Tan didn't ponder further. After all, it had nothing to do with him. Such "prime time" events occurred daily throughout Huaxia. Zheng Tan had seen it all too often.

Turning over, he prepared to continue sleeping, but not long after, Zheng Tan heard someone else approaching, and the footsteps didn't sound like a man's. He opened his eyes slightly and saw an old woman, around fifty years old, with a stern face that could rival Mr. Lan's, but this elderly woman also had an intense, formidable presence that was somewhat daunting, giving off the impression of someone high-ranking who was used to giving orders.

When the old woman arrived, she specifically looked around to ensure no one else was there before heading straight toward the person sitting on the bench.

"Xiao Zhuo."

The old woman's expression became much kinder, and her voice was very soft. Zheng Tan thought she must have wanted to keep their conversation private, which is why she spoke so softly.

Could there be something scandalous?

Zheng Tan perked up his ears.

"Teacher Ye!"

"It's okay, just sit, no need to get up!"

The old woman also sat down on the wooden bench, but the two didn't talk much.

For some reason, Zheng Tan just felt the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

After waiting for two minutes, the old woman let out a long sigh and said, "Are you really decided?"

"Yes, I've decided."

"But this involves Project A!"

When the old woman mentioned "Project A," she spoke in a hushed tone. Only Zheng Tan, who had excellent hearing, could barely make it out. No one else would have been able to decipher their conversation.

"Teacher Ye, I really have made up my mind."

The two continued to talk for a while. Zheng Tan originally wanted to understand what this so-called "Project A" was all about, but the two didn't mention the term again in their following conversation. They discussed topics too specialized for Zheng Tan to understand, all about physics, which made his head swim.

The drooping willow branches just happened to shield Zheng Tan. It seemed the old woman was only looking out for other people and didn't notice if there were any other animals around. So, she didn't spot Zheng Tan until she left.

It was only when the last class in the teaching area ended that the person called Xiao Zhuo finally got up and left the wooden chair.

Looking at the sky, Zheng Tan also headed back to the East Residential Area, his mind swirling with thoughts of the so-called "Project A" all evening, finding it quite mysterious.

The next day, after following Wei Leng for a run and wandering around, Zheng Tan ate his meal and then wandered over to the artificial lake where he once again saw Xiao Zhuo sitting in the same spot as yesterday, reading a book and writing something in a notebook with a pen.

After thinking it over, Zheng Tan walked over and jumped onto the wooden chair.

Xiao Zhuo, sensing the movement, looked up and saw a black cat staring with wide eyes. She smiled and continued with what she was doing.

Seeing she didn't stop him, Zheng Tan leaned closer to see what was written in her notebook.

The notebook contained complex formulas and many symbols Zheng Tan had never seen before. In essence, Zheng Tan couldn't understand any of it.

As for the book under the notebook, it was all in English, filled with a mass of technical vocabulary and phrases. Zheng Tan considered himself somewhat proficient in English, but he was utterly lost looking at them.

What a blow!

Although he couldn't understand, Zheng Tan didn't leave immediately. He was genuinely curious about the so-called "Project A" and thought that waiting here might give him a chance to learn more.

So, Zheng Tan spent the afternoon lying on the wooden chair. The old woman came by midway, glanced at the pet tag hanging on Zheng Tan, and then didn't say anything else.

Over the next few days, Zheng Tan spent his mornings running and training, and his afternoons napping on the bench by the artificial lake. The old woman came by every day to check, staying for only a few minutes, having a brief chat before leaving. Sometimes, she would just stand there watching Xiao Zhuo calculate her equations and not disturb her, just standing there for a while before leaving.

On this day, after completing his morning run, Zheng Tan didn't stroll outside but went straight back to the Jiao family. He didn't do anything for the rest of the day and just sat on the sofa waiting. Today was Wednesday, a week had passed, and several members of the Jiao family were coming home.

Yi Xin had experiments in the institute today and wouldn't be back for lunch, so Zheng Tan solved his lunch with snacks.

Watching the clock on the wall, Zheng Tan felt that time was excruciatingly slow.

It was not until after three in the afternoon that Zheng Tan heard Jiao Yuan's voice downstairs and immediately rushed from the sofa to the balcony to look down.

Jiao Ma, Gu Youzi, and Jiao Yuan, each carrying a bag, smiled when they saw Zheng Tan peeking out from the balcony railing. After they entered the building, Zheng Tan went straight to open the door, waiting for them.

The three who returned home looked somewhat weary and sorrowful, but the sight of home relaxed their faces. After taking a shower, Jiao Yuan and Gu Youzi went back to their rooms to catch up on sleep. The children were easily tired; they hadn't slept well during their days away from home and were uncomfortable outside.

Jiao Ma was rolling out dumpling wrappers, planning to call the children for dinner when it was done.

Zheng Tan lay on the sofa watching TV, feeling very good. All thoughts of "Project A," Hua Jiongjiong, and Niu Zhuangzhuang were temporarily pushed to the back of his mind. With the Jiao family back, it meant he no longer had to eat half-warm cafeteria food or solve his meals with monotonous snacks. Everything was beautiful again.

Around five o'clock, Mr. Jiao came back. He had first gone to the institute to handle some things after returning to the school. Yi Xin's experiment required equipment from the physics institute, and borrowing those expensive instruments required his presence as the supervisor, so he had made a trip there.

When Mr. Jiao arrived home with a puzzled look, he saw Zheng Tan on the sofa and asked, "Heitan, did you do something again?"

Jiao Ma, who was tasting the soup, got upset upon hearing this, "Heitan is so obedient and sensible, what could he possibly do to make you look like that? Scientists should speak with facts, not suspect on a whim."

"I just went to the physics institute to borrow equipment and ran into Buddha there again, and Buddha actually smiled at me!" Mr. Jiao said with bewilderment.

"Mockingly?" asked Jiao Ma.

It was no wonder she thought this way. Every time Mr. Jiao went to the physics institute to borrow equipment and encountered Buddha, Buddha would scowl at him as if he owed her a large sum of money.

"No, it was a normal smile."

A normal smile on Buddha's face was hugely abnormal!

Jiao Ma's heart went cold, and she left the kitchen with the soup spoon in hand, looking at Zheng Tan lying innocently on the sofa and said, "Heitan, what did you do now!"

Zheng Tan: "..."