Bad Personality

　　　　对于郑叹来说,在家"面壁思过"的日子,总结起来,一个词——无聊.

To Zheng Tan, the days of "reflecting upon one's errors" at home could be summarized with one word. Boredom.

　　前两天还能上网打发一下时间,顺便在网上看看自己拍过的广告,除了这些就是在家困觉.卫棱来过一次,不过为了防止被焦妈骂,卫棱只去了三楼二毛那里,郑叹跑去听他们聊了下事情的后续发展.

In the previous two days, he could at least surf the web to waste some time and scroll through some of the ads that he had shot for. Other than this, his other choice was to take naps. Wei Ling did come over once, but to avoid being chastised by Mama Jiao, he only went to the Er Mao's place on the third floor. Zheng Tan ran over to listen in on the developments after the recent situation.

　　那位驯猫师被判刑,具体怎样卫棱没说,不过,郑叹了解到,那只被自己揍骨折的猫被阿午带走了,听说那猫太凶,而且攻击性很强,尤其是在被郑叹揍骨折之后,脾气更差了,还有人向核桃师兄建议直接对它执行安乐死,这种猫放出去的话太危险.后来阿午开口了,作为这次事件的报酬,也为了解决掉"老大"这个麻烦,核桃乐得将那只猫扔给阿午.

The cat trainer was sentences. Wei Ling didn't talk about the specifics of the sentence. However, Zheng Tan understood that the cat who's bone he'd broken had been taken by A Wu. Supposedly, this cat was very fierce and much too aggressive. Especially after having its bone broken by Zheng Tan, its personality took a turn for the worse. There were some people who suggested putting the cat down to brother Walnut. Letting a cat like this out in the public was much too dangerous. Afterwards, A Wu expressed his outlook. As a reward, and to solve the issue with "boss", brother Walnut excitedly handed over the cat to A Wu.

　　当初阿午不准接近楚华大学的消息是他自己主动放出的,就是为了引蛇出洞,很显然,他的目的达到了,难怪那段时间郑叹在学校里面能见到桂圆.事件平息后,这人和猫也不知道哪儿去了

Originally, the rumour that A Wu was barred from entering Chu Hua campus originated from him. This was to lure out the perpetrator. Obviously, he reached his goal. No wonder Zheng Tan saw Gui Yuan on campus during that period. Once everything had settled down, both A Wu and his cats had disappeared without a trace.

　　总的来说,这几天大多数时间郑叹都在家养膘,对于喜欢在外遛弯的郑叹来说,憋得相当难受,每天趴在阳台上对着外面忧伤.

All in all, Zheng Tan was at home cultivating a fine layer of fat. To the Zheng Tan who liked to wander outdoors, this was absolutely stifling. Everyday he laid on the balcony and miserably faced the great outdoors.

　　终于,在一周后的某天,早上吃完早餐,焦妈带着焦远和小柚子出门的时候,郑叹试探着跟在他们身后往外走,一边走一边看焦妈的脸色.小柚子看了郑叹一眼,抿着嘴不出声,焦远倒是咧着嘴偷笑.

Finally, about a week afterwards, he finished his breakfast in the morning and saw Mama Jiao heading out with Jiao Yuan and You Zi. He tested following after them. With every step he checked up at Mama Jiao's expression. Little You Zi looked over at Zheng Tan and started to pout without a sound. Jiao Yuan on the other hand drew back the corners of his mouth and tried to hide his grin.

　　郑叹一直跟到一楼门禁那里,然后在三人出门的时候,见焦妈没什么表示,厚着脸皮赶紧在门禁关上之前窜了出去.

Zheng Tan followed all the way to the security checkpoint on the first floor. Taking note that Mama Jiao didn't have much to say about his actions while he followed them out, he shamelessly slid through the doors and followed after the three of them.

　　再看焦妈的脸色,不怎么好,但更多的是无奈.

The look on Mama Jiao's face wasn't a good one, but it was filled with a look of exasperation.

　　"不准惹事也不准管闲事,以后碰到小偷也别自己冲上去,逮小偷那是警察和狗的事情,你一只猫冲上去干啥?"那天晚上确实把焦妈给吓住了,不然也不会生这么长时间的气.

"No causing trouble and no sticking your nose into another's business. If you meet a thief again, don't try to attack them by yourself. Apprehending thieves are the duties of the police and dogs. What good is it for a cat like you to be up in arms?" That day really scared the hell out of Mama Jiao. Else he wouldn't have to put up with this extended fit of anger she was throwing.

　　虽然这是在训话,但同时也表示,焦妈暂时默许郑叹出门了.如果不是因为焦妈还看着,郑叹肯定会兴奋得跳起来翻几个跟斗,翻跟斗这事对于猫来说并不难.

Although these were reprimanding words, it also indicated that Mama Jiao was finally lifting his house arrest. If it wasn't for the look Mama Jiao directed at hi, he would've done somersaults in the air from pure excitement. Summersaults for cats were a piece of cake.

　　将小柚子送到附小,看着焦妈和焦远离开直至不见身影,郑叹撒腿往旁边的草坪里跑,上蹿下跳,这一周来他感觉自己浑身都要生锈了,憋得慌,现在跑了跑感觉舒畅多了.

Bringing You Zi to her school and looking off after the Mama Jiao and Jiao Yuan disappearing into the distance. Zheng Tan made off in a run towards the nearby grass field. Threading in and out between the stalks of grass. This entire week, he though his body was going to end up rusting. If it went on any longer, he would've lost it. But now after his run, he felt much better.

　　调戏了几只灰喜鹊,郑叹沿着花坛走,走到教工活动中心那里的时候,听到那边有声音,还有个异常熟悉的.

He messed around with a few gray magpies before walking amongst the flower beds towards the faculty and activities center. He heard a voice from the direction, and this voice seemed strangely familiar.

　　郑叹跳上一个窗台往里瞅了瞅,只见那只贱鸟站在一个搁毛巾的架子上摇头晃脑,跟着那些退休的老教师们唱昆曲段子.难怪这家伙最近腔调怪怪的,还总唱戏,原来是跟着这些老头老太太们学的.

Zheng Tan hopped onto a window still and took a glance. He only saw the stupid bird perched on towel shelf. It moved its head to the tunes of Kunqu opera that were being sung by the elderly professors. No wonder this guy had such a strange accent recently. All that opera coming from this bird. So this is where he learned.

　　大胖它家老太太也在里头,大胖就蹲旁边,将军时不时跑去撩拨两下,然后被拍回来.

Fatty's old granny was also among this group. Fatty sat on the side. General would occasionally move over to annoy Fatty but would always be sent away with a slap.

　　郑叹可听不懂那些戏曲,对那个也不感兴趣.上午没跑太远,就在学校里遛弯,下午才决定去外面跑跑.

Zheng Tan didn't understand an of the opera. He had no interest in it either. He didn't go too far out this morning, and only lurked around school grounds. He would venture outside the campus later this afternoon.

　　有些人被关久了之后,一出门就想跑更远,郑叹就属于这一类.

Some people after being locked up for a while yearned to escape to the far reaches. This perfectly described Zheng Tan.

　　还是选择的焦远学校所在的那条老街,之前沿着这条路走得最远的就是腊梅叔住的那周围,今天,郑叹决定再往前走走.

He opted to go down the old road leading to Jiao Yuan's school. Previously, the furthest he had gone down this road was to the enclosure where Uncle La Mei lived. Today, he was going to continue further.

　　城市建设的步伐在加快,一段时间不见,郑叹感觉又有了些变化.

The pace the city was developing was speeding up. Without seeing everything for a while, Zheng Tan clearly felt the differences.

　　走到腊梅叔以前住的那个小区的时候,郑叹想了想,从围墙翻进去,来到那栋楼前.

Walking up to the enclosure that Uncle La Mei lived in, Zheng Tan pondered for a moment, and leapt in over the walls and arrived in front of that building.

　　唰——

Shua——

　　熟悉的窗口处,窗户被拉开,一个陌生的面孔露出,还有一些对话声.阳台上也放置着一些盆栽,而不是以前那些纸盒子.这里应该是又卖给了别人.

In the familiar window, curtains were suddenly pulled back and an unfamiliar face looked out. This person seemed to be in the middle of a conversation. There were a few potted plants on the balcony now. No longer was it the cardboard boxes from back then. It had probably gotten sold to someone else.

　　既然都不认识,郑叹也没再继续呆下去,走出小区,按照计划的路线往前走.

Since they were unacquainted, Zheng Tan had no reason to stay for any longer. He left the enclosure and returned to the path as planned.

　　越往前走,与老街那边的区别也越来越明显,不论是商铺还是围墙,透着一股子新时代的活力.

The more he walked, the more he noticed how this area differed from where he ventured from. Whether it was the stores or the enclosure walls, everything brought an air of the new era.

　　没有围墙的时候,郑叹就靠着边上走,偶尔有人会多看他两眼,但更多的人来去匆匆,懒得去注意一只看起来没什么特别的猫.

When there were no enclosure walls, Zheng Tan would walk to the sides. Occasionally someone would take a second look at him, but most people walked past in a hurry. They weren't bothered to notice at a cat that wasn't anything special.

　　走了段路之后,郑叹看到前面有个天桥.

After walking for a while, Zheng Tan saw the overpass in front of him.

　　前面街道两旁的行人很多,人行道旁边也没有让郑叹满意的行走路线,所以郑叹不准备再往前走了,但又不想立刻转身回去,于是决定去天桥走走.

There were a lot of people on each side of the road in front. There wasn't even an ideal place for Zheng Tan to walk on the sidewalk. Zheng Tan decided that he wasn't going to keep going any longer. But he wasn't wanting to immediately turn around and leave either. Thus, he turned and walked towards the overpass.

　　没有理会周围逗猫的声音,郑叹自顾自地爬着台阶.台阶拐弯处有卖水果的人,有人在那里讨价还价.

Ignoring the playful calls from the people around him, Zheng Tan immersed himself in climbing up the steps. At the turning of the staircase was a fruit vendor. There were several people gathered there to bargain.

　　来到天桥上,郑叹看了看,还挺丰富,除了几个卖水果的,还有卖发糕的,卖小玩具的等等,难道没城管执法人员过来走动?

Arriving to the top of the overpass, Zheng Tan looked around and took in the various scenes and sights. Other than the fruit vendors, there were also a number of rice cake vendors, and toy vendors as well. Did city enforcement never come round to the area?

　　站在天桥上,脚下是川流不息的车流,而天桥的一边,望过去,是多数为老建筑的街道,很多楼不知道什么时候就会被打上"拆"字标签;而另一边是更加缤纷繁华的世界,高耸的现代化大楼彰显大都市的气息.

Staying on top of the overpass, he saw the constant flow of cars beneath his feet. And looking to one side of the overpass he found an area with a number of old buildings. Most of them were unaware when the "demolition" sign would be finally hung in front of the building. To the other side, it was an entirely different world. Combined with the bustling atmosphere and the towering buildings. This was the true form of a proper metropolis.

　　收回远望的视线,郑叹往天桥上看了圈,视线最后落到位于天桥正中位置的那里,有个头发花白穿着灰蓝色款式老旧衣服的老人坐在简易的折叠矮凳上,背靠着栏杆,在他旁边有个导盲杖,头上方有把黑色的大伞,撑开着遮挡阳光,伞柄绑在栏杆上.

Coming back from his far-out observations, Zheng Tan looked around the overpass. Finally resting his gaze on a spot right in the center of the space. An old man with a full head of white dressed in old grey-blue clothing was sitting on a simple folding stool. He leaned against the railing and had a guide staff beside him. A large black umbrella was propped open to cover him from the sun. The handle was simply tied to the railing.

　　老人怀里抱着把二胡,脚边有个打开的不大的木箱子,木箱里面放着一些硬币和金额不大的纸币.

The old man held an Er Hu in his arms. A small sized wooden box lay open by his feet. A few coins and small bills lay at the bottom of his box.

　　卖艺的?并且还是盲人?

An artist? On top of that, he was blind?

　　在郑叹观察周围的时候,其实周围的人也好奇地看着这只黑猫,他们来天桥上卖东西已经有段时日了,这还是第一次见到独自走上来的猫,而且看着还一点都不怕人,淡定得很,对路人的逗弄声也没理会.

As Zheng Tan was taking in his surroundings, the people around him took to observing him with curiosity. This black cat had been on the overpass for a good while now. This was a first to see a cat solo travelling to an overpass, and it seemed to show no fear of anything. It was very calm, and completely ignored the people's teasing.

　　原本有些人只是对这只突然来到这里的黑猫有些好奇地看了看而已,然后便开始招呼想买东西的行人.可是,当他们发现这只黑猫朝中间那个瞎子老人走过去的时候,一些人不禁停下吆喝声,注意着那边的动静.

Originally some of these people were only curiously looked at the black cat who had suddenly appeared here, but then it got the attention of multiple people who were there to shop. But when they realized this cat was only staring at the old blind man in the center of the overpass, not only did they stop their shouting, they all turned to observe the unfolding situation.

　　郑叹纯属好奇,他听二毛他们讲过一些事情,比如现在流行的一些骗子,很多人装瞎装可怜来骗取人们的同情,一天下来的钱不一定比某些坐办公室的差.不过,这个老人,一没嚷嚷自己可怜向路人乞讨,二没在地上写字或者垫上已经写好的那些让人同情的身世,这第三嘛...郑叹觉得这人有些古怪,说不出来到底怪在哪里.

Zheng Tan was rather curious. He had listened to Er Mao talk about such things before. For example, liars had become more populous. Numerous people would pretend to be blind or pitiful to deceive one's sympathy. A day's work on the streets could be comparable to what people would get in an office. However, this old man: one, didn't not express to passerby's his pitiful situation; two, didn't write out his sympathetic life story and display it on the ground; and three… Zheng Tan thought this old man was pretty weird.

　　这人真的是瞎子吗?

Was this guy actually blind?

　　郑叹走近,在离老人半米远的地方停下,蹲坐着,歪着头看坐在那里闭着眼睛像是睡着了的人.等了两分钟,发现这老头一点都没有要睁眼的意思.

Zheng Tan walked up closer and stopped half a meter away from the old man. He crouched down and tilted his head to look at the old man who sat there, with his eyes closed as if he were asleep. He waited for two minutes but this man showed absolutely no intention of opening his eyes.

　　视线落到老人脚边的那个打开着的木箱,郑叹起身走过去,看了看木箱里的硬币,又看看闭着眼靠着栏杆一动不动的老人,再看看箱子,然后抬爪,捞了捞,弯爪子将一块硬币勾起,又放下.

His line of vision was drawn to the open wooden box by the man's foot. Zheng Tan lifted himself off the ground, looked at the coins within the wooden box then turned to the unmoving old man. He looked towards the box again then raised his paws and fished around. With a flick of his wrist he managed to secure the coin, then he put it down again.

　　硬币下落碰到其他硬币发出"叮"的一声响.

The coin fell and hit the other coins, creating a "ping" sound.

　　郑叹放硬币的时候就注意着那个老人,当硬币发出"叮"的一声时,他注意到,老人的耳朵动了动.郑叹见过的人里面,耳朵能动的不多,难得见到个耳朵能动的,郑叹在家憋了一星期滋生出来的恶趣味又来了.反正只要不太出格,周围的人也只会认为是猫对箱子里的硬币好奇但捞也捞不出来罢了,不会想太多其他的.

When Zheng Tan let go of the coin, his eyes were on the old man. With the "ping" sound, he saw the man's ears give off a slight twitch. With all the people that Zheng Tan had ever interacted with, the number that could twitch their ears were in the minority. It was rare to see anyone who could move their ear. After being shut in the house for a week, the prankster was coming out of him. As long as he didn't draw too much attention to himself, the people around him would only assume that a cat was curious about the coins within the box and simply wasn't able to pull out the coins

　　又捞起一枚硬币,在快捞出木箱的时候松爪,又是"叮"的一声.

He fished out another coin and just as he was about to take it out of the box, he let it drop and it made another "ping" sound.

　　老人的耳朵又动了动.

The old man's ears twitched again.

　　再捞,松爪,"叮"!

He fished out another coin and dropped it. "Ping"

　　老人耳朵再动.

The old man's ear kept twitching.

　　...

...

　　反复了几次,郑叹都不耐烦了,这老头怎么就不睁眼呢?就算真的眼睛有问题,不能张开,难道不会说话吗?还是说,这老头目不能视,口也不能言?

After repeating this a few times, even Zheng Tan became annoyed. Why wouldn't this old man open his eyes? Even if his eyes actually had problems and he couldn't open them, what about his mouth? Was it the case that the man not only couldn't see but couldn't talk either?

　　就算目不能视口不能言,至少听力在,看刚才那情形,这老头听力不会太差,听到自己的钱箱被动,竟然一点反应都没有!甚至面上都没有一点变化!

Just even he couldn't see or speak, his ears were fully functional. After witnessing that scene, this old man's hearing seemed pretty good. He could discern the sounds from his wooden box, but he had no reaction! Without even a slight change in his expression!

　　这也太过镇定了.

This was guy was way too calm.

　　想当初自己在外面跟方三爷一起卖艺的时候,虽然觉得很丢人,但要是谁动钱箱,郑叹肯定会上去揍人,可这老头呢?

Thinking back to when he was selling music with Fang, even though it was an utter embarrassment, if anyone was to touch the donations box, Zheng Tan would have gone up to beat the person. But this old man?

　　蹲在原地想了想,尾巴尖有节奏地摆动,然后,郑叹将视线放在了折叠矮凳旁边的半瓶矿泉水上,走过去,抬爪,推!

Crouching at his current spot, he thought for a moment. His tail flicked to a silent beat, then he set his sight on the half-finished bottle of water next to the small folding chair. He walked over, raised his paw, and gave it a push!

　　这是郑叹跟警长和阿黄他们呆久了之后染上的"恶习".

This was a "bad habit" he had picked up Sheriff and Tiger.

　　只见那半瓶矿泉水倒下之后,又往远离老头的方向滚了滚,原本老头垂手就能碰到的瓶子,现在起身也很难碰到了,毕竟他是盲人.

Seeing the half-filled water bottle falling over, it rolled away from where the old man sat. Originally, by simply reaching down, the old man could reach the bottle, but now, even if he got up, it would be difficult to reach the bottle. At the end of the day, the old man was still blind.

　　周围看到这一幕的人心里都有同一个想法:这只猫的性格真他玛恶劣!

The people nearby who saw the scene unfold all had the same thought: that cat had a f***cking terrible personality!

　　郑叹可不管别人的想法,看着依然老样子坐在那里的人,心里骂道:这人就是个木头吧?除了耳朵会动,还会什么?!

Zheng Tan didn't care how this looked to everyone and looked at that person once again. He swore in his head: This guy a log of wood? Other than moving his ears, what else could he do?!

　　没意思.骚扰半天也没个反应.

No fun. After messing around with him for this long, he couldn't get a single response.

　　郑叹将已经滚远的半瓶矿泉水又给滚了回来,虽然没将瓶身立起,但还是推在老地方,老头垂手就能碰到.

Zheng Tan rolled back the half empty water bottle that had rolled to be a length away. Although he didn't set it upright, but he got it to the original position. If the old man simply dropped his hand, he could reach the bottle.

　　正准备离开,郑叹又注意到,这老头下巴上的胡子还挺长,风一吹两边晃悠.一想到这老头半天没反应,郑叹恶趣味再次升起,跳起来伸爪子将老头的长胡子拨了下.

Just as he was about to leave, Zheng Tan noticed that the old man's beard had become quite long. With a slight breeze, the sides would float along with the wind. Thinking of how the old man hadn't had a single reaction yet, Zheng Tan's prankster side was coming out again. He jumped up to reach his claws forwards to sink his claws through the old man's beard.

　　然后,依旧没反应.

And as just before, there was no reaction.

　　郑叹觉得,那些熊孩子要是抓自己胡子的话,自己肯定会生气会发飙,真不知道这老头怎么能够忍下来.

Zheng Tan thought, if the kids are grabbed at his whiskers, he'd be in a fit of anger. He had no idea how this old man was able to endure this.

　　如果这老头能够给出点除动耳朵之外的其他反应,郑叹也就没兴趣撩拨了,可偏偏这老头坐得住,愣是把郑叹激出了倔性,锲而不舍一次次去抓胡子.

If the old man showed eve anything more than the slight twitch of his years, Zheng Tan would've lost his interest in messing around. But this old man simply could sit still. This ignited Zheng Tan's stubborn side and he took another swipe at the old man's beard again.

　　不远处买芒果的那个面色黝黑的大叔见此状况,嘴巴张老大,露出一口白牙,连路人的问价都忘了回复,他心里感慨:这只猫一定是在作死!

The olive-skinned uncle who sold mango's not too far away saw everything unfurl before him. His jaw dropped, showing a mouthful of white teeth. He even forgot to reply the questions about his pricing. In his head he exclaimed: This cat must be seeking death!

　　郑叹正忙着将这老头给气出个反应,一点都没注意周围几个小摊贩变化的脸色.

Zheng Tan was immersed in angering the old man into reaction and didn't notice the worsening expressions of the nearby vendors.

　　当阿金背着吉他走上天桥的时候,便看到那只许久不见的黑猫,正在欺负人家盲人老头.

When A Jin, who carried his guitar on his back, arrived at the top of the overpass, he saw the black cat he hadn't seen in a long time, bullying a blind old man.