He decided to make Fang repay his losses.
He was not someone to suffer quietly.
Zheng Tan kept walking. A stretch limousine drove by followed by several other cars. The crowd of people turned their attention to the newcomers.
Zheng Tan glanced over out of curiosity and saw the newcomer was a familiar face.
He hadn't expected to see Ye Hao here.
Ye Hao got out of the car, then turned to help an elderly man out.
The man's hair had gone white completely. He wore a Tang suit and carried around a walking stick, even though Zheng Tan felt he could probably walk without it.
Zheng Tan heard murmuring in the crowd.
Tang Qiye?
He reexamined the man. He thought of Duke who apparently was living with this man now. He was happy for Duke. Ye Hao was against keeping him, but Tang Qiye put his foot down.
Just when he was thinking about Duke, Zheng Tan saw the cat come out of the car. He had a name tag made of some mysterious material. It didn't look like it was just a tag but some security entrance card.
Even if he didn't have the tag, Duke was majestic looking enough that no one dared to look at him in contempt.
Duke walked past the crowd with his head held up high.
"F*ck, that's Tang Qiye isn't it? He's a legend."
"What's that animal with him? It is a cat?"
"Where did he find something like that? I've never seen one like it."
"Someone else came with a large cat as well. This one is even larger. Look at its eyes, it gives me the creeps."
"Me too. Maybe that's what people mean by a murderous look."
"Wow. No wonder its Tang Qiye's cat. It's so different than common pet cats. It's so cool!"
...
Zheng Tan listened to the chatter among the crowds then turned to leave.
Duke had seen Zheng Tan the moment he got out of the cat. He wagged his tail at Zheng Tan but stayed by his owner's side.
"Whose cat is that?" Tang Qiye turned to ask Ye Hao. He saw the black cat too. He wondered why a seemingly everyday house cat would be here with a security guard. It was weird.
Ordinary people might think Tong Qing was a regular driver, but Tang Qiye knew better. He might not be able to see through the cat, but he could tell this person wasn't your average driver with a glance.
Ye Hao had a strange expression on his face. He whispered something into Tang Qiye's ear.
Tang Qiye had a gleam in his eyes. He looked at the black cat again and nodded, "So this is the cat."
Just when he wanted to call out to the cat, he heard someone call his name. It was a friend, so he had to stay and chat. The black cat would have to wait.
Zheng Tan and Tong Qing were guided to the location of the party. It was on a lawn, with tables laid out with food on them. This area was for kids and young people. The business talks were going to happen mostly indoors.
There were lots of animals here, all rare breeds and all expensive. There was the leopard cat who had a servant and a Himalayan cat lying in the arms of a very s.e.xy lady.
In comparison, Zheng Tan felt he was almost provincial.
There were dogs there too. The larger breeds were being kept away from here, though the dogs still stared intently at the cats waiting for a chance to pounce.
There was a puppy among the cats. Though young, it was still quite large. It was larger than Zheng Tan at least, like Daisy when she just came to the quarters. Unlike the St. Bernard though, this little guy was quick-tempered. A cat was bothering it on a chair. The puppy couldn't jump onto the chair, so it barked ferociously and started to bite the leg of the chair.
Zheng Tan looked at the cat on the chair. It had spots like a leopard, but the ears were different from those of leopards and leopard cats. It looked like a serval. Were people allowed to own servals in cities? Or was this a serval mix?
The latter was more likely.
The cat had a leash like a dog's.
When Zheng Tan was strolling on the lawn he saw Fang chatting with several people, Zhao Le included, in the villa nearby. Zhao Le was quiet and mostly listened to others talk.
They were chatting about their pets.
"Liu, I heard someone gave you a black and tan mastiff, the one you brought here is brown," Fang said to a man in their group.
"I gave that cub to a friend then bought this one. It's still a pup now though."
"I heard people often sell fake mastiffs now. You should be careful."
"Do I look like someone who can be fooled?" Liu said.
"w.a.n.g Bin, what was that dog your uncle raised?" Fan Shaokang asked a man in his twenties.
"It's a Tibetan spaniel. One of my father's old war buddies gave it to him. He couldn't keep it, so he gave it to my uncle. My uncle brings the dog to training all the time," the young man answered.
"People still raise Tibetan spaniels?" Liu laughed.
"I've seen some pictures. The dog is always dirty. Does your uncle let it go into the wild with his soldiers?" Fang asked.
w.a.n.g Bin shook his head. "My uncle said the dog is a guard dog and a hunting dog. Being dirty proves it is doing its job."
"Not all Tibetan spaniels can hunt. Even if both parents are good hunters, there's only a 50% chance the cub is a good hunting dog." Liu had first-hand experience in this area.
"Dogs dogs dogs, why don't we ever talk about cats," a fat middle aged man put out the cigarette in his hand and said.
"Men prefer dogs. Cats are weird-tempered and not loyal enough," Liu grunted.
"Large cats are not bad. I once witnessed a dogfighting ring. A caracal killed a pit bull. How about that?"
"What's the point in talking about big cats. It's not like you can own one," Liu argued.
There were ways around the rules, but there was no point.
"That's why I went for the next best thing. Come and see." The fat middle-aged man waved the group to the balcony. He pointed at the cat on the chair. "It's it beautiful. Look at it. Your dog is getting played, Liu."
Liu's face had turned dark. He grunted, "Wait until my pup grows into a big dog."
"What can it do then? My cat isn't stupid. A dog can't climb trees, can it?" The middle-aged fatty sounded very pleased. He had some disagreements with Liu during a project and couldn't let go of this chance to belittle him.
Liu's face grunted. He suddenly thought of something and said, "Your cat might be larger than a normal cat. However, there are at least two cats in Chuhua that can beat it."
"The third in the city?" The fat man wasn't pleased. He knew Nie s.h.i.+jiu's cat was number one, but at least his cat could rank number two.
"I've seen Niu s.h.i.+jiu's cat. You could agree that cat is stronger than yours, right? However, I heard Nie's cat lost a match against Tang Qiye's cat. So that one's definitely number one, Nie's cat is number two, that makes your cat number three."
Fang lit a cigarette and listened to them talk. He caught sight of something going on on the lawn and his stopped smoking for a moment. He ignored Zhao Le who was eying him.
Zhao Le was watching the fat man's cat when she caught sight of a black cat. Before she could smile, the big cat playing with the puppy jumped onto the table and started inching closer to Zheng Tan. She wanted Fang to say something. His word would work better than hers.
The fat man who was ready to argue with Liu suddenly stopped talking. He saw his cat in hunting mode. He knew it so well that he could tell what it was doing immediately. It was about to teach its prey an unforgettable lesson. Even if its prey didn't die, it would be severely hurt.
"Watch and see!" He was excited. He had been waiting for a chance to show off his cat. Now was the time. As for the black cat, it looked plain. G.o.d knew which idiot brought it here. He didn't care if it was killed.
Sensing a show, crowds downstairs were gathering over. Tong Qing had noticed the atmosphere had changed. He hesitated, not knowing if he should alert Zheng Tan. He had never been in a situation like this and didn't know if this was normal behavior for cats.
He decided to watch and see what happened. If the large cat attacked, then he would help.
The big cat crept forward without making a sound. It jumped over the dishes laid on the table and avoided a ping pong ball thrown over by a child. It kept its eye on the prey, ready to pounce.
The fat man on the balcony couldn't suppress his smile. He believed in his cat. It was a caracal mix and had the hunting skills to prove it. He had been training it all this time so fighting a house cat would be like child's play.
Finally, the large cat pounced.
Zheng Tan hadn't noticed the large cat at first. He was fixated on the scenery. However, he quickly felt something was off. His ears moved. The cat's footsteps were light and virtually undetectable among the chatter. Yet, he could tell from what people were whispering that he was being targeted.
F*ck!
Before he could turn, the large cat had already pounced.
Zheng Tan was quick to react. His senses were much sharper now, and he could feel danger a mile away. To other people, this fight might just look like to cats playfighting. However, Zheng Tan knew the large cat was aiming for his life.
He jumped away. At the same time, he attacked by slapping the large cat.
He had been in a bad mood to begin with, and he had sensed pure malice from the large cat, so he didn't control his force.
Bang!
The moment the large cat jumped off the table, it was slapped back. It knocked all the plates and cups to the ground.
Fang Shaokang raised an eyebrow. He took blew out a ring of smoke then slowly said, "Well, it's number four now."
Zhao Le was speechless.
