ed.

Ye Hao was seriously considering wearing a talisman like Long Qi. The animals he had been encountering were not normal.

The large cat had seen Zheng Tan dial the phone as well. It tilted its head as if thinking.

Zheng Tan had dialed Mr. Guo's workshop. He was there most of the time.

The call went through. Wei Ling managed to get Nougat's name out of Mr. Guo. He mentioned Nougat sustaining a small injury and that he would be dropped off home tomorrow.

Learning that Zheng Tan was there, Mr. Guo felt a.s.sured and thanked Wei Ling.

One more problem solved, the two men now turned to the large cat. The cat looked at them then yawned. It curled up next to Nougat and closed its eyes.

So it was going to bed? The two men looked on in disbelief.

Mr. Guo hadn't mentioned any other cat on the phone earlier. Wei Ling turned to Zheng Tan, who was gleefully munching on pork jerky. "Do you know that one?"

Zheng Tan thought about his answer, but eventually decided to shake his head. He knew Nougat and Li Yuanba and had guessed this was the father, but he didn't really know the cat. He had never even heard of the cat. If such a cat was roaming the area, Papa Jiao would have warned him. Even the old ladies in the quarters who loved to gossip had never heard of this cat.

This large cat probably visited the area to see his girl and kid once in a while and hid somewhere suitable most of the time. Where would that be? Zheng Tan suddenly remembered a botanical garden and a park with a hill not far from the university.

There was a shortcut from the pet center to campus. It pa.s.sed by the abandoned construction site. Zheng Tan never took that road. Maybe this cat was heading to the pet center to visit Li Yuanba and Nougat when he ran into someone trying to kill Ye Hao, who had Nougat in his arms. That caused him to interfere.

No matter what brought the cat here, it was here now and it wasn't hiding from anyone.

Suddenly Zheng Tan squinted his eyes, looking first at the pair of cats sleeping peacefully, then towards Ye Hao who was discussing something with Wei Ling.

Was this large cat trying to stay?

He thought of the cat killing a man, then thought about Ye Hao's background. Well...

Wei Ling caught a glimpse of Zheng Tan when he turned to drink water. The black cat had a piece of jerky in its mouth but was not chewing. It seemed to be thinking.

"What are you thinking, Charcoal?" Wei Ling asked. He knew the cat couldn't talk and just wanted to catch its attention. The thinking cat was too weird even for him. He would be talisman shopping like Long Qi if he hadn't known the cat for so long.

Zheng Tan looked at Wei Ling, then at Ye Hao. He went back to his jerky.

It wasn't his problem. If the cat was determined to stay, Ye Hao probably wouldn't refuse. Ye Hao was a good man and wouldn't mistreat the cat. He owed the cat his life after all.

Zheng Tan thought about that. It would be funny.

"Why do I feel the black cat is laughing at me?" Ye Hao frowned.

"You're overthinking things." Wei Ling patted him on the shoulder.

The next morning, Zheng Tan sat next to Ye Hao's at the breakfast table. He was eating liver soup on the chair. It was made with pork liver, kidney, and lean meat and was a favorite of Zheng Tan's. Mama Jiao often made it. He didn't think it would be available here.

Both Nougat and his father had bowls of soup in front of them, except that the bowl in front of the large cat was more like a basin. They were having soup and rice like everyone else. Ye Hao never owned a cat and didn't know what to feed them. He decided they were going to eat like Zheng Tan. Thankfully, they weren't picky.

Both cats were eating on the floor but the large cat saw Zheng Tan getting on a chair. He jumped on a chair immediately and stared at Ye Hao, who was pretending not to notice anything. So the large cat started meowing. It wasn't pleasant, but Ye Hao was someone who had karaoked with Zheng Tan. The large cat at least sounded like a cat.

It was still not the most appetizing sound though.

Ye Hao told the maid that brought them breakfast to move the bowl onto the chair.

The cat was larger than Zheng Tan and had a larger bowl as well. The chair was too small so the maid brought another. She put Nougat on a chair too, since she might as well.

Ye Hao swore inside. He wanted all of them out!

The front door opened.

Wei Ling choked when he heard people talking at the door. He whispered to Ye Hao, "Your wife and kid are here."

Ye Hao wanted to ask what was so wrong about that, then he remembered there were three cats here.

What did he tell his wife when she wanted to get a cat?

Oh, yes, that he didn't like them. Now, he had three right here.

The next moment, a tall beauty with a boy about the same age as Jiao Yuan walked into the dining room.

Tang Xue heard Ye Hao had been attacked last night and hurried over with their son early in the morning. Ye Hao had guaranteed her on the phone that his wounds weren't anything to worry about, but she still wanted to see for herself.

Before she could say anything, the three cats on chairs by the table stunned her into silence.

Unlike her, the kid who had looked at his father with contempt lit up at the sight of the cats.

Wei Ling focused on drinking soup, pretending not to see Ye Hao's plea for help.