A Call From The Cat

When life becomes a routine, times passes quickly.

Zheng Tan's mornings now consisted of running, climbing stairs, climbing trees and practicing jumping.

The Jiao family calendar was flipped to November already. Only when he saw it, did Zheng Tan realize how much time had passed. He had been here for five months now.

Zheng Tan flexed his paws. Sharp claws appeared. These claws looked no different from the claws of other cats, but Zheng Tan knew, they were not the same. At least, they were different from what they were two months ago. He never deliberately grinded his claws, nor did he cut it. His claws grew, then his training wore them out. Then it grew again and was worn out again.

Cat claws were indeed a very magical thing. There were sharp, flexible and retractable. Some said that cat claws were like portable Swiss Army knives. So Zheng Tan was training his to become more sharp and more tough.

Zheng knew he was different from other cats. He heard Papa Jiao say before that cats cannot taste sweetness, but he could distinctly taste it. He could also eat a lot of things cats were supposed to avoid. People debated whether cats were color-blind. He didn't know what it was like for other cats, but at least he could distinguish between colors.

Then there was the issue of claws. Even if other cats underwent continuous training, they would not experience the surge in strength Zheng Tan was experiencing, nor would their claws change drastically.

However, that was about it. He didn't experience anything miraculous. Even if his strength was now close to the level of an adult, he was not physically turning into a human being. Just like even if he trained like a monkey, he was not becoming a monkey.

Was this really what it was going to be like from now on?

Zheng Tan pondered these things while running. Not only was he significantly faster, he could now afford to distract himself with thoughts. He wasn't tired to the point where breathing was painful anymore. At most, he experienced some mental fatigue, which went away after a bit of rest.

After completing two laps, Zheng Tan came to a small patch of woods on the edge of campus. It was larger than the grove in the eastern quarters and usually deserted due to its distance from classrooms. The school recently demolished some red brick buildings that had 'too much history' nearby and was planning to build a new dorm in its place. The university was expanding rapidly, and the old dormitories were filled up to capacity.

Therefore, the area was frequented only by construction workers and construction vehicles. Students and faculty living off campus usually avoided coming in through the side door here. Zheng Tan came here every day to climb trees after his run because no one was here to discover any peculiar behavior of his.

Wei Lin had been helping that police officer recently. Apparently, the case he was investigating was not yet solved. Zheng Tan mostly ran and trained alone these days. As for the other three cats, he gave up on trying to get them to exercise with him since the first day.

After taking a short break, Zheng Tan began his daily tree-climbing exercise. Another advantage of training here was that the trees were larger, which meant they were more suitable for climbing.

Zheng Tan hopped onto a big pagoda tree. He scratched the trunk a few times before picking a branch that could withstand his weight. He slipped off the branch, hanging himself upside down. He held on tightly with his legs, then took a deep breath.

His hind legs let go of the branch, leaving him dangling by only his two front legs. His claws sunk into the tree, and he started moving outwards to the tip of the branch. When he was almost there, he swung himself back onto the tree.

He then looked around, selected a suitable branch within a reasonable distance. He prepared himself before jumping onto the new branch and repeated the whole process again.

When he first heard of this training method from Wei Ling, Zheng Tan had his doubts. After all, he was a cat, not a monkey.

Wei Ling acknowledged Zheng Tan's confusion. He asked, "Do you think it's not possible? Or that no cat can do it?"

"I had known a cat that could run through the woods with the agility of a monkey. It moved from branch to branch, tree to tree without touching the ground. Ever since it learnt to climb trees, it had spent most of its time on trees."

"Remember, sometimes for cats, trees are your last lifesaver."

So, Zheng Tan began his training, hoping one day, he might be able swing from branch to branch on one leg like a monkey.

After climbing five trees, Zheng Tan jumped onto an old Liriodendron tree. He first noticed it, because of its oddly shaped leaves. At the time, Zheng Tan was resting on its branches, when a leaf fell in front of him. It looked just like a vest.

Wei said that this tree was called Liriodendron and was a rare and endangered species. In a city, it was seldom seen anywhere out of a botanical garden. The fact that one of these existed on campus was a testimony to Chuhua University's long history.

Liriodendron flowers looked like tulips. Its English name could be translated to "Chinese tulips", but unfortunately, Liriodendron blossoms bloom in May and June. Zheng Tan planned on bringing the Jiao family here next year to see it together.

Zheng Tan listened to the leaves rustle around him. The wind was softly caressing his fur. He looked side to side, the trees were slowly turning golden. Soon, the temperature was going to drop again. Then, after a rainy or windy day, the leaves would start falling.

Winter was coming to Chuhua.

It was still early. Third period had just ended and Zheng Tan wasn't due home for lunch until the fourth period. If he went home early, he would just end up wasting time waiting around for food to be cooked.

As usual, he decided to go to the lake.

It seemed like calm, obedient animals had the ability to make people lower their guards, which was why people often vented to their pets. That Zhuo talked to Zheng Tan sometimes. She never mentioned "Project A" though. She mostly said pointless things like "you came again" or "are you hungry?".

Once in a while, Zhuo would talk about stuff related to her field like Papa Jiao. One time, she was reading something, when she suddenly got excited and tore a corner from her notebook. She then tore the corner into even smaller pieces. She closed her notebook with the torn paper still inside, then took out a pen with a rubber cap and rubbed it against Zheng Tan. She put the pen close to the pieces of paper in her notebook and was able to attract paper scraps.

Zhuo showed the pen, now covered in paper scraps, to Zheng Tan with a wide smile: "Look, this is called the static electricity from friction! So what caused it? Let me tell you. Everything in our world is made up of atoms. The atom, on the other hand, is made up of positively charged protons and neutrons... "

Zheng Tan almost wanted to choke when he heard "Look, this is called static electricity from friction". Then he heard "Let me tell you". He wanted to cry.

Why did he always run into people like this!

Zheng Tan stayed on the bench next to the lake until end of fourth period, when he got up to go pick up the kids.

However, Zheng Tan didn't see the two little figures come out of the school.

Lan Tianzhu and his bunch saw the black cat sitting on the wall, so they called out: "Charcoal, Jiao Yuan left already. Auntie Ling came and got him after first period."

Auntie Ling was Tiger's owner, but also Mama Jiao's colleague.

He was soon informed by a girl that Auntie Ling picked Gu Youzi up from class as well.

Zheng Tan started to worry. Something must have happened or else the kids would not be taken out of school early.

He ran back to the Eastern quarters, brushed his security access card and hurriedly climbed up to the fifth floor. He meowed loudly at the door for a long time, but no one answered.

So he went back down and fetched the key he hid in the tree.

The house was quiet, very quiet, just like how he left it in the morning. Usually, by this time, it would be full of hustle and bustle and the aroma of food.

Today was different. Zheng Tan searched every room, not even the kids' backpacks were here. That meant they never came home after they left school.

There was no notebook spread open on the desk or notes stuck in the corridor. No tips and memos left around the house.

Zheng Tan was at a loss. He started walking in circles out of frustration.

Although this family was not related to him by blood and he probably wouldn't even meet them if not for this whole turn-into-a-cat fiasco, but Mama Jiao had found him inside a dumpster at the farmers' market and brought him home. The Jiao family, all four of them, treated him really well. And after five months, Zheng Tan had developed a sense of belonging he did not want to admit.

When he was human, he had properties in several locations, but none of them made him feel the way he felt now. He couldn't quite describe this feeling. It was as if whenever he was upset or angry, all he needed to do was come through the front doors, and he would feel alright again.

Just when he was starting to feel dizzy from circling too much, Zheng Tan suddenly remembered something. He ran back into the bedroom and hopped next to the phone on the table. He pressed the speaker button before dialing Papa Jiao's cell phone.

It rang several times before he picked up.

"Hi?"

Papa Jiao's voice sounded hoarse. Zheng Tan could feel he was suppressing his emotions. This made him even more upset. He let out a howl.

"Ah Woo-"

On the other end of the line, Papa Jiao was momentarily speechless. Only his family's cat made noises like that.

He did not expect to receive a phone call from his landline at home. When he saw the caller ID, he had no idea it was his cat. His cat wasn't like any other house cat, but he didn't expect it to call.

Not getting a response, Zheng Tan howled again.

This time, Papa Jiao answered.

"I am at the hospital; I have the kids here with me. Ronghan got into an accident. Be a good boy and stay home for now. There are snacks in the fridge..."

"Ah Woo- Ah Woo-" Zheng Tan continued to howl.

Ronghan was Mama Jiao's name. Her full name was Gu Ronghan. Hearing she got into an accident, he couldn't just remain calm and stay put. He wanted to ask where the hospital was, but of course he couldn't. Frustrated, he just kept howling.

He was so irritable that when he saw a stack of books nearby, he lifted his paw right away and smacked it off the table.

Hearing the sound of books falling to the ground, Papa Jiao was silent for a second, "I'll get Yi Xin to bring you some food?"

"Ah woo -"

Zheng Tan looked around. There was a cup they got from their milk supplier sitting next to the keyboard.

He wagged his tail and off the table it went.

Papa Jiao heard the sound of glass breaking through the phone; he was silent for a bit longer this time.

"I will get Yi Xin to bring you over; wait at home. Stop breaking things. "

Zheng Tan howled his agreement :"Aoo."