Strange Life of a Cat-Chapter 241 - 234 Group Photo

Chapter 241: Chapter 234 Group Photo

Chapter 241 -234 Group Photo

After Jin Ling entered the arena, she sat down on a high stool by the side. Next to her was a simple rack, while Zheng Tan continued to walk towards the other side of the arena, separating from Jin Ling.

Zheng Tan and Jin Ling were on opposite sides of the arena. Near Jin Ling’s side, there was a prop “wall” over four meters high, with a ninety-degree angle standing straight up, separating Jin Ling and Zheng Tan’s side. From the second floor of the venue, Jin Ling was exactly sitting inside that right-angled wall. Most of the audience could see both Jin Ling and Zheng Tan, but Zheng Tan and Jin Ling could not see each other, blocked by the “wall.”

There was nothing suitable for climbing on the wall; the surface was just a little rough.

Zheng Tan arrived at the anticipated spot and stood in place.

Whether they had performed or still had to perform with their own cats, everyone looked puzzledly at the woman on the other side. Doesn’t she need to follow her cat? During the performance, they always stayed close to their cats, even if not right next to them, they wouldn’t be far away. But like now, to be separated so far from the cat and directly use something to block the view, they had never seen such a situation.

While people were pondering what the woman intended to do, Jin Ling took a wooden guitar handed over by Charlie by her side, plucked the strings with her fingers, and began to play.

The surrounding chatter gradually quieted down because of the guitar sound.

Clear musical notes scattered in every corner of the venue, freely flowing under Jin Ling’s fingers, as natural and unrestrained as the sincere and pure emotions of one’s youth, and looking at Jin Ling sitting there with her fresh attire, a faint smile on her lips, and her fingers strumming the strings, one feels as if they are watching a bundle of warm, flickering fire.

Without a doubt, at the opening moment, Jin Ling was the focus of the crowd’s attention.

Some were already thinking that, just for this guitar tune, even if the cat performs poorly, they would still applaud and cheer.

On the other side of the neglected white right-angled “wall,” Zheng Tan also moved.

As Jin Ling played the guitar to a certain note, Zheng Tan jumped onto the first stool labeled with the letter “A,” then onto the second stool marked with the letter “B.”

Zheng Tan felt this performance was extremely foolish, reducing his intelligence, but clearly, Xiao Guo knew the audience’s mind better. Zheng Tan was too close to see clearly; the audience watching Zheng Tan follow the alphabetical order on the stools would exclaim at how amazing the cat was for not jumping randomly, proving that the sequence was correct. Arranging so many stools, especially when jumping accurately without someone to command or guide at the side, was indeed a highlight.

Indeed, some people in the crowd had started to realize it, and there were children reciting the pinyin alphabet following Zheng Tan’s movements—they were more familiar with pinyin than English. As long as one child started, the rest of the children brought by their parents would not want to lose out, so in the venue, one could hear the children’s tender voices of “ah,” “bo,” “ci,” “de,” “e,” “fo,” “ge,” and so on.

The children only saw the order of the Black Cat’s movements, while some others saw much more.

“That cat is stepping to the beat!” someone whispered.

Hearing this, the people around them watched the Black Cat in the arena for a while and saw that the cat stepped in place a few times every time he jumped onto a stool. They hadn’t noticed before and thought the cat was adjusting, but now it seemed there was a hidden secret?

“Indeed!”

“Can this cat understand music?”

“Can’t be, right? It must be trained to do this during practice, just accompanied by music at the venue,” someone said, thinking they had guessed the truth.

Zheng Tan didn’t pay attention to the reactions of the people around him. The first few stools he had jumped were just a simple beginning.

Due to limited space in the venue, there wouldn’t be much performance if he went straight, so the stools were arranged in alphabetical order along a zigzag path.

After jumping over the first few stools, Zheng Tan landed on one, next to which there was a rack holding a long cardboard box. Zheng Tan opened the box and pulled out a rose, which had been processed to remove the thorns and the stem was trimmed to the perfect length and wrapped in clean paper.

Zheng Tan picked up the rose and returned to the adjacent stool, tapping his feet, waiting for the next beat to begin.

Those who had been watching as mere spectators now gradually shifted their attention away from Jin Ling to the cat in the arena, curious about what the cat was going to do next.

After picking up the rose and rhythmically stepping, following finishing a horizontal bar section, the distance between the next two stools labeled with adjacent letters became wider. Zheng Tan could have simply jumped across, but according to Xiao Guo’s plan, he did not.

The rhythm of the guitar tune began to quicken, and Zheng Tan, who had started with three taps of his feet to step to the rhythm, changed to tapping twice. The distance between the stools widened, and between the two stools, there was a vertically placed board. When Zheng Tan jumped, he would use the board as leverage to reach the next stool, much like the technique Li Yuanba had taught Zheng Tan to flip over windows—using an intermediate object to exert force and change direction. As long as the force and direction were controlled well, he would land steadily on the target. Zheng Tan had done this in advertisements before.

One of the stools was probably not fixed well, and it wobbled a bit when Zheng Tan jumped, causing the hearts of the surrounding crowd to leap. They watched the cat land firmly on another stool before they let out the breath they were holding.

Since it was “parkour,” it naturally looked cool only when he was running.

As everyone’s attention gradually focused on Zheng Tan, the rhythm of the guitar tune grew faster and faster, and Zheng Tan, who had been waiting on the beat with each jump, no longer waited, and as he sped up, in the eyes of the people he began to “run.”

Apart from stepping on the stools, he also leaped through a paper ring covered with a thin layer of paper and then from one grid rack to another, moving very fast. If it wasn’t for the broken hole in the middle of the paper ring, people definitely wouldn’t be able to see the cat had just passed through it.

The watching crowd simply felt the black shadow in the center getting faster and faster, like a whirlwind sweeping through the venue.

There weren’t many comments around the venue as people’s eyes followed the swift black shadow, afraid of missing a single moment.

After successfully navigating through the middle obstacles and jumping over the last stool, Zheng Tan had already reached the white “wall.” Black against white, a stark contrast.

Just as people were pondering whether the cat was going to climb over the wall or find some shortcut to get around, Zheng Tan didn’t stop or slow down. He leaped and climbed straight up at the corner and in an instant reached the top of the wall from its base.

“Holy shit! Spiderman?!”

“No, it’s Spider Cat!”

“That cat’s wall climbing is badass! No, I’ve got to learn from it!”

Although the onlookers began to discuss among themselves, their gaze didn’t stray from the scene. They watched the adept black cat climb over the tall wall, with a rose in its mouth, and land on the rack next to Jin Ling as if bringing the night with it. Against the imprint of the dark night, the flames seemed brighter and more dazzling.

By this time, the cheerful guitar melody ended with a final note that seemed to echo in the venue.

Jin Ling shifted her gaze from the guitar to the black cat beside her, the faint smile on her face deepened as she raised her arm and took the rose from the cat’s mouth.

The performance ended, Jin Ling bowed in gratitude to the surrounding audience, while Zheng Tan also bowed his head and nodded twice to those around.

Applause rang out non-stop.

Some marveled at how smart the cat was, others wondered how people trained cats, and some even pondered how to teach their own cats to use this method to woo people.

Jin Ling breathed a sigh of relief. Despite appearing calm on the surface, she had been incredibly worried. Training at home and live performances were completely different things. She had participated in numerous shows during her university days, so her psychological quality was strong, but what about the cat? She couldn’t see the other side, but it seemed everything went smoothly.

Zheng Tan didn’t appear smug at all. He seemed unaware of his success, as if the performance just now was embarrassingly basic. He, with the heart of a person and the body of a cat, hated being praised by the standards of a cat. Just listening to it was embarrassing.

Since this segment wasn’t ranked, there wasn’t much competitive pressure. However, drawing a crowd was still crucial.

After the host invited Jin Ling to draw a lucky audience member, people came up to take photos.

A mother brought her child to the event, naturally giving the chance to take a photo to her child. However, the child seemed a bit scared. He hesitated in front of Zheng Tan, biting his finger, before venturing closer, encouraged by his mother’s cheers and Jin Ling’s assurance.

Zheng Tan squatted on the rack which was about a meter high, so the child’s gaze could meet Zheng Tan’s at the same level.

Seeing the child stiffly standing there, Zheng Tan extended his paw and placed it on the child’s head. Then, he leaned his head close to the child’s, looking towards the camera. If he were human, he could have slung an arm around the child’s shoulder to strike a ‘buddies’ pose, but alas, his arms were too short. However, Zheng Tan was in a good mood today, the task was complete, and he didn’t fuss about the other small stuff. It was not a bad time to boost popularity.

The photographer hired for the event was professional and captured the moment beautifully, showing the photos to the mother and child. Both were very satisfied. The child even wanted another photo and the photographer agreed.

The child wasn’t as scared now, standing next to Zheng Tan with a serious face, he raised his hand and made a pose like Ultraman firing a special move. What made the surrounding audience laugh was the black cat next to the child also stood up and struck a similar pose. It wasn’t a perfect cross, but it was reminiscent enough to satisfy.

Seeing the second photo, the child laughed heartily, hooked on taking photos, clamoring to continue. But there were others waiting for their turn to take a photo, and by now, even some other children were shouting to come take photos too. Several parents went to negotiate with the person in charge nearby, learning that there would be another chance in the afternoon. However, it would cost money then, whereas now it was free. Of course, the parents could afford the photo fee and managed to calm their children for the time being after promises were made.

The child from before was also coaxed away by his mother, muttering with a pout about “not finishing the pose” before leaving, content with the promise of more photos in the afternoon and clutching the two pictures tightly.

While Zheng Tan was busy taking photos with those lucky audience members who had been drawn, at Capital Airport, several people came out carrying their luggage.

“Hey, are you guys heading straight home?”

“Of course, I haven’t seen my family in so long, naturally, I’ll go home first.”

“I’ve already booked my plane ticket.”

“I have relatives in Beijing, and left my car at their place. I’m planning to drive back to Chuhua City tomorrow. If anyone’s headed that way, I can give them a lift.”

“Isn’t Jiao Mingsheng also in Chuhua City? Where’s Jiao Mingsheng?”

“He’s on the phone with his family now. He’s coming back earlier than expected due to his project completion and hasn’t told them yet.”

All these people were on international visits, exchange programs, or participating in cooperative research projects. Some were also abroad for further studies and were now returning home, coincidentally traveling together.

While the few were discussing, Jiao Mingsheng, referred to in their conversation, Professor Jiao, the Cat Dad of Zheng Tan, hung up the phone and walked over.

“I’m not going back to Chuhua City just yet. I need to make a trip to Lin Zhou,” Professor Jiao said.

“What are you doing in Lin Zhou?” someone asked.

“Going to pick up my son.” (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)

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