I Dare you to Keep Trying!

　　　　　　　　郑叹循声看过去,路灯并不会让郑叹的视线受到太多的干扰,仔细瞧了瞧后,他确定从来没见过这个人.挡着道儿的这三只猫显然跟这人是一伙的,但问题是,大晚上这人带着三只猫过来专程守在这儿到底是什么意思?要说群殴也不对,没什么杀气.而且,这人又是从哪儿得知自己名字的?

Zheng Tan slowly turned around. The nearby streetlight weren't hindering his sight. So after doing another double take, he confirmed that he'd never seen this person before. The three cats that blocked the road obviously belonged to this person. The main problem at hand concerned why this man had decided to bring three cats with him to guard this place of all places in the middle of the night. Could he even consider this confrontation a gang fight? Wasn't the blood-lust missing? Moreover, how did this guy know his name?

　　虽然没有从这人和三只猫身上感觉到什么敌意,但郑叹还是保持高度警惕,这人瞧着有点古怪,这三只猫也古怪,它们和郑叹平时接触的周围的那些猫不太一样.

Zheng Tan didn't detect any animosity from the three cats, but this didn't mean he was going to lower his guard. Both the person and the three cats had a strange feeling to them. These cats were on a whole different level to the ones that he interacted with on a regular basis.

　　郑叹与那人相互打量着,同时心里琢磨,是不是无视他们直接跑回家算了?

Zheng Tan and the person looked at each other and pondered about how to deal with the situation at hand. Was it better to ignore the group in front of him and directly run home?

　　"久仰久仰."那人又道.

"I've been waiting for this moment." That person expressed.

　　郑叹抬眼,久仰你大爷!

Zheng Tan raised his eyes, awaiting s***!

　　"或者也可以叫你BlackC?"那人语气很自然,就像是随意聊天似的.

"Or, should I also call you BlackC?" That person spoke in a natural tone, as if he was engaging in a casual conversation.

　　那人接连说了几句,郑叹不想理他,也不想与那人对视,总觉得那人好像能够从眼神里看出些什么似的,郑叹不爽.

That person droned on for a few more phrases, but Zheng Tan wasn't bothered to pay them any attention. He immediately dropped his stare with the person. It made him feel uncomfortable, as if the person could discern things through simple eye contact. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

　　正准备抬脚跑开,却听那人说道:"先介绍一下吧,来,桂圆,由你开始."

Just as Zheng Tan readied himself to run, that person interrupted and said: "Let's do an introduction first. Come. Long Yan. You're up first."

　　说着那人打了个响指.

As they said this, they snapped their fingers.

　　只见挡在正中间的那只身体白色尾巴黑色看上去一本正经的猫"喵——"地叫了一声.

The cat in the middle whose body was pure white with the exception of a black tail let out a serious "Meow—"

　　"莲子."那人又道.

"Lian Zi." The person spoke again.

　　"喵~"蹲在右侧最靠近路边的那只狸花猫叫了一声.这只狸花毛色跟大胖一样,但与大胖截然不同的是,这只狸花猫看上去显得瘦长一些,瞧着一副乖巧的样子,而不是大胖那种成天睡眠不足啥事都不感兴趣的呆样.

"Meow~" This came from the tabby on the right. It had a very similar fur colour to that of Fatty. The only large differentiator was the difference in size. The tabby was noticeably skinnier. It portrayed a calm and innocent demeanor, whereas Fatty slept all day, lazed around, and was in a constant dazed state.

　　"八宝."那人道.

"Ba Bao." This person announced again.

　　蹲在最左侧尾巴一直甩来甩去像是在憋着劲的那只猫张嘴.

The one who sat on the left kept his tail in constant motion, as if it would immediately burst from the pent up energy. It opened its mouth.

　　"喵呜哇呜哇呜哇呜——"

"Meowuwawuwawuwawu—"

　　郑叹:"..."

Zheng Tan: "..."

　　"好了,八宝你住嘴."

"That's fine. Ba Bao, shut it."

　　那人打了个响指,名叫八宝的猫立刻将自己的声音停下来,看了那人一眼,甩甩尾巴.

That person snapped their fingers. The one called Ba Bao immediately stopped it's howl. It glanced at the person and started to swing its tail again.

　　"最后,自我介绍一下,我叫阿午."那人抬手顶了顶自己帽檐,看向郑叹,正欲说话,突然看向路那头.

Lastly, I'll give my own introduction. The name's A Wu." He raised his hands, tapped his hat and looked towards Zheng Tan. He was about to say something but suddenly drew his attention to the road.

　　蹲在原处的三只猫耳朵动了动,准备转身往后瞧,一个身影飞驰过来,跳起越过拦在路那里的三只猫,扑向那个叫阿午的人.

THe three cats who were crouched in the middle of the road all made slight ear twitches and made a turn to check what had happened. A shadow flew out, jumped over the three cats and pounced at the man called A Wu.

　　阿午敏捷地避过,看着面前对着自己呲牙咧嘴低吼着像是要立马再扑过来使劲挠咬的猫,不但没生气,反而还笑道:"哟,胖子,你住这儿啊?"

A Wu nimbly avoided the attack. He looked at the cat that faced him. It bared its fangs and let out an intimidating growl. It made its intention clear to immediately pounce and rip everything to shreds. The guy wasn't angry, instead he started to laugh: "Hey Fatty, you live here?"

　　郑叹看了着一脸凶样朝着阿午低吼浑身的毛都快炸起来的大胖,心里诧异,他极少见到大胖这幅模样,除了小偷和猫贩子那几次之外,就只有今天了,但前几次也没像此刻这样过,像是对待仇敌一般.

Zheng Tan looked over at the aggressive Fatty whose fur had started to stand on end. This was very unusual. It was rare to see Fatty in such a state. Other than today, this had only happened in the occurrences with the robber and the cat dealer, but even then, it couldn't compare with the current situation. It was as if he was facing his arch enemy.

　　看看阿午和三只猫,再看看大胖,郑叹更迷糊了,这几只它们之间都认识?这个叫阿午的显然和大胖是认识的,而大胖只是冲过来的时候主动攻击了一次之外,就带着浓浓的警惕在旁边低吼.

Zheng Tan took a look at A Wu and three cats and then back at Fatty. He was getting more confused with each ticking second. Did they all know each other? It was pretty obvious that A Wu and Fatty were acquainted. Fatty only made that initial attack when he first pounced out, but now he had resorted to letting out throaty growls while fully on guard.

　　"啧啧,一年多没见,又胖了."阿午打量了大胖一眼,对于大胖威胁式的低吼一点都不在意,慢悠悠地道:"方便面还没蹲够吗?"

"Tut tut. I haven't seen you for over a year. You've gotten fat again." A Wu measured Fatty in a single glance. He wasn't at all bothered by Fatty's aggression and deep growling. Instead, he casually said: "Haven't you had enough from kneeling on instant noodles?"

　　郑叹再次诧异,没多少人知道大胖会被罚蹲方便面的事情,大胖家那位老太太从来不对外说这事.这人既然知道,那还真跟大胖是旧识了.

Zheng Tan was taken aback. Not many people knew about Fatty's instant noodle squatting punishment. Fatty's owner never told anyone about this. If this guy knew about it, then they must have known each other for quite the long extent of time.

　　"算了,今天的目的也达到了,黑炭,咱们现在算是认识了,到时候有时间在过来找你."顿了顿,阿午感叹似的道:"到底是谁把你训练成这样的呢?真想见见."

"Never mind, we've accomplished today's goal. Charcoal. Well met. We'll come looking for you some other time." After pausing for a moment. A Wu finally exclaimed:"Just who was it that trained you like this? I really want to meet them."

　　说着,那人又打了个响指,"桂圆,莲子,八宝,走了!"

As he was speaking, he snapped his fingers again, "Gui Yuan, Lian Zi, Ba Bao. Let's go!"

　　拦在路上的三只猫赶紧跟上去,那只叫八宝的猫估计还准备走过去跟大胖打招呼,但是大胖依然一副高度警戒的样子死死盯着离开的阿午,压根没理会八宝.

The three road obstructors finally followed after their owner. The one called Ba Bao looked like he wanted to greet Fatty, but Fatty was still in high alert and stared down A Wu as he departed, completely ignorant of Ba Bao.

　　郑叹扫了眼周围,爬上一棵梧桐树,看着往远处离开的阿午以及三只猫,那只叫桂圆的猫站在人行道旁边紧跟着阿午,莲子跳上阿午的肩膀,趴在上面,时不时伸爪子勾两下阿午的毡帽,至于八宝,那家伙正精力充沛地将飘落的树叶当假想敌,到处扑腾.

Zheng Tan took a sweeping glance of his surroundings, climbed up a sycamore tree and starred after A Wu and the three cats. The one called Gui Yuan walked beside the pedestrian pathway, sticking close to A Wu. Lian Zi hopped onto A Wu's shoulder and laid there. Occasionally reaching his claws towards A Wu's felt hat. As for Ba Bao, that guy was charged with energy and decided to rush through the leaves as if attacking a invisible enemy.

　　真是奇怪的组合.

What a weird group.

　　大胖已经没有继续叫了,但是耳朵还是微微后压,身体微躬,盯着阿午远去的方向.这家伙是真被吓到了吧?

Fatty was no longer howling, but his ears were still pressed back against his head and his back still left in a slight arch. He kept his eyes pinpointed in A Wu's direction. No way, did this guy really get scared?

　　在阿午走远见不到人影之后,郑叹从跳下树,抬抓拍了大胖一下,招呼这家伙回大院去.刚才估计是听到那只叫八宝的猫的叫声,大胖才从家里阳台上跑出来的.如果大胖对它们有印象,循着声音过来也说得通.而且,八宝的叫声太特别,虽然比不上郑叹的鬼哭狼嚎,但也够跌宕起伏.

After A Wu vanished into the horizon, Zheng Tan leapt down from the tree and lightly tapped Fatty, indicating that they should head back to the quarters. It was probably due to hearing Ba Bao's howling that Fatty ran out from his own balcony. If Fatty had an impression of them, then it made more sense for him to have followed the sound here. As well, Ba Bao had a rather distinct howl. Though it couldn't compare to Zheng Tan's dreary cries and screams, there were both ups and downs.

　　因为碰到阿午的事情,郑叹回去后一晚上都在猜测阿午到底是什么人?认识大胖,还特意跑过来找自己,为了啥啊?

Because of the impromptu meeting with A Wu, the question of A Wu's identity plagued his mind throughout the night. He knew Fatty and even intentionally came to look for him. But what for?

　　次日,二毛估计昨晚上玩得太晚,还在家睡,郑叹没见到他家门打开过.大胖依然在自家阳台上趴着,但是有点草木皆兵的样子,郑叹更好奇到底这家伙受过什么打击,以至于昨晚见到阿午后今天还是这种状态.

Probably due to being out till late, Er Mao was still asleep at home the next day. Zheng Tan didn't see his door open at all. Fatty, as usual, was lying on his balcony, though it seemed as if he had become afraid of his own shadow. This piqued Zheng Tan's interest even more so. What had happened to Fatty to have elicited such a reaction?

　　晚上吃完晚饭之后,郑叹习惯性地在外走动走动,现在的白昼时间越来越长,气温回升,很多人晚上会出去活动,郑叹也会在外面遛遛.

After finishing up supper, out of habit, Zheng Tan took off on an evening stroll. Nowadays, the days became longer and the temperature was finally on the rise. More people came out for activities in the evening. Zheng Tan also joined in on keeping active.

　　太阳隐没在高楼之下,天空还带着晚霞的余晖,大院里陆续走出来一些饭后散步的人.

The sun was hidden behind the skyscrapers, but the sky still lingered with the afterglow of the sunset. In the courtyard, people still continued with their after dinner strolls.

　　郑叹动动耳朵,警长又在外面跟西区大院的猫打架,抬脚正准备过去看看战况,突然察觉到什么,郑叹侧头看向一边的绿化丛.那只名叫桂圆的猫站在那里,看着郑叹.

Zheng Tan twitched his ears. Sheriff was outside fighting with the cats from the western quarters again. Just as he was about to move in the direction of the fight to check out the action. Zheng Tan suddenly felt as if he were being watched. He cocked his head to the side and looked into the greenery. The cat called Gui Yuan stood there and stared straight at Zheng Tan.

　　郑叹往周围瞧了瞧,没发现那个叫阿午的人,也没看到另外两只猫.

Zheng Tan surveyed his surroundings. He didn't see the one called A Wu nor the other two cats.

　　桂圆朝郑叹走过来,在离郑叹半米远距离的时候停下来,看了看郑叹,然后往一个方向走,走两步又回过头看向郑叹,这是让郑叹跟上去.

Gui Yuan walked towards Zheng Tan but stopped half a meter away from him. He glanced at Zheng Tan then turned around. He took two steps and stopped to look back at Zheng Tan. This was to invite Zheng Tan follow along.

　　郑叹在心里权衡一下之后,还是抬脚跟了上去.虽然不确定它将自己带过去干什么,但只要还在楚华大学,郑叹也不那么担心,在心里郑叹已经将楚华大学区域当成自己的地盘了.

Zheng Tan thought about it for a moment before lifting his paws to follow. Though he wasn't clear about the intention or where he was being led to, he wasn't too worried. They were in Chu Hua university after all. In his mind, Chu Hua university was his turf.

　　桂圆走的路郑叹很熟悉,他平时也往这边走过.这边人比较少,属于比较偏的小道,两旁都是树,在前面有个小范围的竹林,生长在小道两旁的竹子在离地三米处逐渐汇合在一起,形成一个拱形门洞,而在这个拱形下面有一张学校里常见的长木椅,夏天白天经常有人在这里躲避阳光歇息,也有来练习吉他或者背诵英文单词的学生等,但在晚上,这里确实有点阴森感,因为路灯只能照到拱形下面一小片地方,照不到坐在长椅上的人.就算有晚霞的余晖,人们也看不清拱形下面的情形,这时候也极少有人往这边走.

Zheng Tan was very familiar with the path that Gui Yuan tread on. He often came to this area as well. There were fewer people gathered in this area. It was a smaller pathway that was sandwiched between two rows of trees. Upfront, a grove of bamboo had sprouted. About three meters from their location, the bamboo had congregated to create an arch. Underneath this arch was one a wooden bench that was commonly seen across campus. During the summer months, people would often come to hide away from the summer heat. Other times, people would come to play guitar or even to memorize English vocabulary, etc. But when it came to the evening, a certain eeriness would settle in. The street lamps only illuminated a small area under the bench and wouldn't reach the person sitting on the bench. Even with the afterglow of the sunset, people couldn't see the situation underneath the arch. Even at this time, people weren't too inclined to tread along this road.

　　桂圆就是将郑叹带到这边来.

Gui Yuan lead Zheng Tan to this specific area.

　　一个物体从拱形下面飞出,在这个物体飞出来的同时,一个身影从那里冲射而出,经过郑叹和桂圆身边的时候,它并没有一点停留的意思,在它眼中只有那个被扔出的物体.

A object flew out from beneath the arch. At the same time, a figure also jumped out, and darted right past Zheng Tan and Gui Yuan. There was no intention of slowing down, its focus was solely on the object.

　　郑叹认出了是昨天见过的八宝,它跳起来接住的是一个小型的飞盘.

The cat made a vertical jump to catch a small sized frisbee. Zheng Tan immediately recognized the cat as Ba Bao from the previous day.

　　八宝叼着那个飞盘往拱形门洞那边跑,经过郑叹身边的时候只是瞟了一眼,便继续往回跑.

Ba Bao carried the frisbee in his mouth and ran back towards the arch. He only gave Zheng Tan a quick glance in passing before continuing to dart back.

　　坐在拱形门洞下的长椅上的人正是阿午,狸花猫莲子趴在一旁,桂圆过来后便跳到莲子旁边,一本正经地蹲着.

Sitting underneath the arch on the long wooden bench was A Wu. The tabby cat Lian Zi was curled up on one side. Gui Yuan walked forwards and jumped up to take the empty spot beside him, settling into a regal position.

　　"又见面了."

"We meet again."

　　阿午跟郑叹打了声招呼,然后拿着八宝叼回来的飞盘,摸了摸八宝的头,夸奖几句,抬手将飞盘往外扔,八宝也迅速转身跑出去接飞盘.这种飞盘小一些,轻软一些,也让八宝接起来不会太费劲,不会伤到牙齿.

A Wu finished his greeting towards Zheng Tan and picked up the frisbee that Ba Bao had just brought back. Giving Ba Bao a scratch, he said a few words of praise, raised his hand and flung out the frisbee. Ba Bao turned around and bounded after the frisbee. This model was on the smaller side and much more flexible. It was much easier on the teeth and Ba Bao didn't tire out as much anymore.

　　扔了飞盘的阿午低头看蹲在两步远处的郑叹,拍拍长椅空出来的地方,"过来咱聊聊."

After flinging out the frisbee, A Wu lowered his head to look at Zheng Tan who was within 2 steps of him. He pat the open space on the bench beside him, "Come on up, let's have a chat."

　　郑叹不动.底细都没摸清,他才不会傻不拉叽跑那么近.

Zheng Tan didn't move. He wasn't dumb enough to get up close and personal without figuring out what was going on.

　　阿午又拿出来一些食物,郑叹没理会.

A Wu brought out some more snacks, but Zheng Tan paid him no attention.

　　将手里的食物分给自己的三只猫,阿午拍拍手上的碎屑,看向依然保持警惕站在那里的黑猫.他昨天第一次见到这只黑猫就知道不能用普通的方法接近,所以很多逗猫的东西都没拿出来,再加上有大胖那只胖子搅合,也就先回去了.

He split the snacks in his hand among his three cats. He clapped his hands and rid himself of the crumbs. He directed his attention back at the black cat that remained on guard. Immediately after meeting this black cat yesterday, he understood that he couldn't use normal methods to approach it, so he didn't bother using any cat toys. Moreover, that fat cat Fatty messed things up last time, so he had to retreat earlier than planned.

　　"你能听懂我在说什么吧?"阿午突然出声道.

"You can understand what I'm saying can't you?" A Wu suddenly started.

　　郑叹侧头避开与阿午直视.

Zheng Tan cocked his head, veering away from A Wu's line of sight.

　　"看来确实能听懂."阿午有些感慨地道.虽然面上表现得很淡定,但在心里,阿午要激动得多.Anna的那只豹纹猫就是他训练过的,昨天听说那只豹纹猫惨败给了一只黑猫,激起了他的好奇心,而找人调查过之后就更感兴趣了.他还买过BlackC拍广告的猫粮,而找过来其实只是想见识下这只猫到底被训练成了啥样,阿午并不认为这只黑猫天赋异禀,只认为这是一名优秀的驯猫师训练的成果.作为一名自认为还破有能耐的驯猫师,阿午难得碰到一个对手.

"Looks like you can understand." A Wu said with a slight exclaim. He looked completely calm on the surface, but was in internal turmoil. He was the trainer responsible for Anna's cat. And just yesterday, he's heard that the leopard spotted cat was suffered an utter defeat in the hands of a black cat. Initially, this jump started his curiosity. He hired someone to look into the situation. With the results of the report, he was was completely thrilled. He had previously bought the catnip that BlackC had endorsed. He main reason for the visit was to see for himself the results of the cat's training. A Wu didn't anyhow speculate that the cat was god-like. He believed it must be the amazing handiwork of another cat trainer. As a self-proclaimed skilled and patient cat trainer, A Wu was waiting for the chance to meet a trainer that matched his own calibre of skill.

　　阿午接下来又说了一些话,还问了些问题.而郑叹就站在那里,对于阿午的话没表现出什么反应,而且阿午那句"看来确实能听懂"的话吓到郑叹了,但郑叹决定装糊涂到底,甭管你说什么,老子就是假装啥都不懂.

A Wu followed up with more small talk and inserted a few questions here and there. Whereas Zheng Tan stood in the same position the entire time. He wasn't going to react to anything A Wu threw at him. Truthfully, the line "looks you you can understand" had shook up Zheng Tan. But he was determined to act confused to the bitter end. No matter what was said, he was going to upkeep this dumb act.

　　阿午自说自话一会儿之后,沉默了两分钟,将八宝叼回来的飞盘再次扔出去,然后平静地道:"小时候见到我师父训斥他的猫,而他的猫却看上去眼神无辜还一副迷茫的样子,我就对我师傅说,'反正它们都听不懂,您说这么多话也是浪费口水'.我师父嗤笑一声,他说,'它懂,甚至可能能听得懂我刚才说的每一句话,并且已在脑中备案,只是装作什么都不知道而已'."

A Wu continued his one sided conversation for a few more moments before finally settling into silence for a full two minutes. He flung out Ba Bao's frisbee again then calmly stated: "When I was younger, I observed my master train his cat. This cat he trained always had this innocent and confused look upon its faces. I had told my master, 'It can't understand anything anyways, talking all that much is nothing more than wasting spit.' My master laughed a tooth filled grin and said, 'It understands. In fact it understood every single sentence I said to it and is currently processing everything in its head right now. It's simply acts like it understands nothing'. "

　　说着阿午看向郑叹,心道:小样,你跟老子装!

While he said this, he looked at Zheng Tan and thought: Nice going buddy. I dare you to keep trying!