The Cat Ran Away

That night Papa Jiao came back very late with Grandpa and Grandma Jiao. The elderly couple couldn't be more different than they had appeared this morning. If they weren't in such good health, Zheng Tan would suspect them to be on the verge of fainting.

After all, what happened was a lot to deal with. They probably knew well what would happen to children who got abducted by child traffickers.

It was going to be a sleepless night. Papa Jiao was still receiving calls at 2 am.

Zheng Tan stayed awake as well and listened in to their conversations.

Zheng Tan had experience with cat traffickers, but humans were different than cats.

After his child disappeared, the father finally stopped working. He contacted everyone he knew and started posting posters that offered rewards to people who helped him find his son. The child's mother, who had been in the hospital, was now in severe shock and would remain there.

Child trafficking was nothing new. Offenders were forming well-organized groups. Police forces had to cooperate across cities or even provinces in order to catch them. However, they had little information at the moment, which made the search more difficult.

Although they didn't have much, they needed to keep trying. They were contacting everyone they could.

Worried that his phone would run out of battery, Papa Jiao left people both his cell and home number.

In the silence of the night, the ringing of the phone startled everyone.

People say no news is good news, at least it proved the kid was still alive. However, this was escapism. Everyone here wanted news, so when the phone rang, everyone was alert.

Papa Jiao took the call. He mumbled something, then his face turned ashen.

"What happened?" Grandpa Jiao came out to ask. In his hurry, he almost tripped over a stool.

"Nothing. I just need to go out," Papa Jiao said after hanging up.

"Bullshit!" Grandpa Jiao walked over, pointed to Papa Jiao and said, " I may be getting old but I'm not dumb. I don't have dementia, don't think you can trick me!"

His voice grew louder, as he was too agitated to control it, causing Mama Jiao and Grandma Jiao to come out of their rooms to see what was going on.

Papa Jiao motioned for Mama Jiao to go take care of the kids. She hesitated but acquiesced.

"Go rest!" Grandpa Jiao said to Grandma Jiao.

He was still of the belief that when things happened, the men were responsible for taking the blow. Women should be sheltered.

Grandma Jiao knew him well enough to know she was not going to get anything out of him right now. She wiped her eyes and went back inside her bedroom.

Zheng Tan stood at the door. No one noticed him so he kept listening.

"Start talking. What did they say on the phone?" Grandpa Jiao suddenly seemed worn out. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

"They found an abandoned baby by the bridge," Papa Jiao replied.

Grandpa Jiao's hands were shaking. He knew exactly what his son meant. If Papa Jiao was notified, the baby must be a boy. Here, baby boys were precious enough that they were rarely just abandoned. The baby was found under the bridge in winter, so the chances of him still being alive were slim at best.

"Are...are you going now?" Grandpa Jiao's voice was shaking too. The lost baby wasn't his grandson, but the families were close. Yao Hong and his husband visited often, and he liked the baby very much. How could he not be deeply saddened by what had happened?

"We don't know it's Hong's baby yet, so don't tell her."

"Alright. I'll come with you." Grandpa Jiao would not be refused, saying, "I still know people, you know."

He was born and raised here, so Grandpa Jiao knew plenty of the locals. It was true that him being present could be of some help.

After they left, the rest of the family stayed up. Mama Jiao bought breakfast early in the morning, but the children were yawning all through the meal. It was clear they didn't sleep much either.

Zheng Tan was upset as well and had lost his appetite. He uncharacteristically didn't finish his breakfast. Mama Jiao noticed but didn't say anything. She just sighed and sighed.

Grandma Jiao wanted to take a walk outside. She said it was too stuffy in the house.

Mama Jiao was worried her health might have been affected by her mood. She was not looking well and if she were to get into an accident or something, it could be devastating. However, she needed to stay home with the kids.

She thought for a while, her eyes eventually falling on Zheng Tan.

"Charcoal, do you want to go outside?" Mama Jiao asked.

Zheng Tan shook his tail then jumped up and opened the door lock. He walked outside, then turned to look at Mama Jiao.

"He really can open doors." He had managed to catch Grandma Jiao's attention.

"Yes, he often opens the door for himself at home. No idea how he does it though."

Grandma Jiao thought she was talking about opening the door from the inside. She didn't even think about keys. It was rare for cats to know how to open doors but a neighbor's cat could do it too, so Grandma Jiao didn't think too much about it.

"Mom, let Charcoal go with you. He wants to go outside too. We let him run around campus all the time, he probably is getting sick of being indoors now."

Grandma Jiao nodded. "He won't run away, would he? Do I need to leash him?"

"No. Charcoal's a good boy," Mama Jiao said. She couldn't imagine putting a leash on her cat.

Zheng Tan heard what they said and pretended to be an obedient cat. He did want to go outside. The atmosphere was too heavy last night. He needed a walk.

Zheng Tan followed Grandma Jiao out the door. He walked beside her and followed her pace.

Mama Jiao watched them leave, then closed the door.

Zheng Tan surveyed the street. He had been here for two days but he hadn't gotten the chance to figure out his surroundings yet. They lived in a residential area, with a trail leading to a main road.

This area was not at the center of the town but was slowly becoming an up and coming neighborhood. The old factory around here was being demolished and would be replaced by new business towers. Other places were circled up for constructing residential buildings.

They had reached the main road when Grandma Jiao suddenly remembered she was with a cat. She looked to the side and saw the cat was staying near her. He didn't run off nor did dogs distract him. No wonder her son's family spoiled him, the cat was indeed obedient.

She decided to walk along the main road before returning home. Zheng Tan didn't care, as long as he followed her, he wouldn't get lost.

They passed by a convenience store where Grandma Jiao picked up some candy for the kids.

"Are you walking your cat?" the owner of the shop asked curiously.

Grandma Jiao managed to smile and say, "He's my son's cat. He is accompanying me on my walk."

The owner didn't say anymore and gave her her change.

She headed back home after buying the candy.

Zheng Tan was about to follow her when out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a familiar figure.

A pedicab stopped at the side of the road and the driver got off to buy cigarettes.

Pedicabs were a common sight around here. They were much cheaper than taxis.

Zheng Tan saw the driver. He wasn't wearing sunglasses and his clothes were different, but somehow Zheng Tan felt he looked just like the man from the amusement park.

"Charcoal. Let's go," Grandma Jiao called out when she saw the cat had stopped.

Zheng Tan turned to look at her then kept staring at the driver. He saw his gloves, they looked similar to the gloves the motorcyclist was wearing yesterday. He noticed the man always shrugged before he started his bike. This was a personal habit. At least Wei Ling never did it.

Grandma Jiao called out to the cat again, however, the cat suddenly started running.

"Charcoal, come back! Come back!" She knew her son's family loved the cat dearly. If she lost the cat, the kids would definitely cry.

Didn't her daughter-in-law say the cat wouldn't run away? What was happening?

She tried to run after him but couldn't possibly catch up.

The owner of the shop looked on as the cat ran further and further away and shook his head. "Why walk a cat? Cats could never just follow you."

Zheng Tan ran after the pedicab. There was construction ahead and the road was covered by pebbles so the pedicab wasn't moving too fast.

When the pedicab took a turn, Zheng Tan managed to jump in through the window.

The driver felt the car shake. He looked in the rearview mirror but didn't see anything, so he swore and blamed the pebbles. Then he drove on.

Most of the construction sites were fenced off, plus the pedicab was taking a turn, so no one saw Zheng Tan jump into the pedicab.

Zheng Tan was worried someone might get on along the way. Even if he hid under the seats, passengers could see him if they looked down. Luckily, the driver showed no signs of stopping.

Zheng Tan looked out the window. They were driving on remote roads. There were 'demolish' signs on many of the buildings around.

The pedicab had driven some distance before Zheng Tan suddenly realized a problem. If he got the wrong guy, how was he getting home?

He didn't know the roads!