By the end of August, the campus was bustling with activity. Parents were here dropping off their kids. They were waving goodbye with huge smiles, then turning to go to the train station the next moment weeping uncontrollably.

Papa Jiao said a lot of parents didn’t accompany their kids to school because they couldn’t bear to say goodbye, though most cried anyway when their kid boarded the train back home.

Zheng Tan couldn’t quite relate. He had never experienced this.

He went to university accompanied by friends. The school was not very far from his home and he was not close to his parents. He had never been a father, so he didn’t quite know what it felt like so say goodbye to your child.

What a weird emotion.

Here at the Jiao family, Jiao Yuan was starting middle school. Mama Jiao took him along with some other kids and their parents to her school. They didn’t need to check the classroom list. Mama Jiao told them ahead of time.

One of the parents who had a bit of power had talked to the school and had all the kids from the quarters put into the same class to avoid bullying. Middle school kids were young and impulsive, who knew what would happen. It was best if they stuck together. They could go home together this way.

Jiao Yuan and the kids were pleased with this. They all decided to eat at the school cafe for lunch. Mama Jiao was busy since it was the start of the term and she now had Jiao Yuan to look after, so she couldn’t go home at lunchtime anymore. She let the kids eat at the teacher’s cafeteria where the food was better.

Youzi had skipped a year and was now in fourth grade. She knew two kids in her class, Xie Xin and Yue Lisha from the western quarters. The two were the class monitor and prefect. They knew Youzi as well, so Papa Jiao stopped worrying she would be bullied because she was younger.

At noon, the bell rang at the elementary school.

Jiao Wei stood at the door looking for Youzi.

He came to pick up Youzi every day to have lunch at his family’s restaurant which opened recently. Though it was farther from campus compared to some other restaurants, there were plenty of potential customers since it was the start of the year. Business was blooming and they hired someone from back home to help out. Jiao Wei tried to help when he had time but his mother wouldn’t let him.

Papa Jiao and Youzi were going to eat at the cafeteria but Jiao Wei’s parents reasoned it was better if they ate at the restaurant. The cafeteria was too crowded and homemade food was always better. Papa Jiao wanted to pay them but they refused. After some discussion, they agreed to accept a small amount. Whenever Papa Jiao and Youzi went over, the size of the dishes was always larger than usual and the oil used was the good stuff too.

Papa Jiao was busy these days, so it was up to Jiao Wei to pick up Youzi.

Youzi expressed that she didn’t need picking up since she knew the way and was in fourth grade, but Papa Jiao was still worried. At the start of the school year, there were all sorts of people in the area. Pick-pockets were nothing new, what if there were child traffickers as well?

Jiao Wei was more outgoing these days and his Mandarin also improved. Many around him had accents and this made him relax. School was still a relatively simple place compared to the outside world. Sometimes people who knew Youzi would talk to him, he always answered with a smile.

As he was waiting, he heard a sound on the fence. Even without looking, he knew it was the Jiao family’s precious cat.

The first time Jiao Wei came to pick up Youzi, Zheng Tan forgot the time and was late. Jiao Wei was ready to leave when he found Youzi but she wouldn’t walk. She was kicking pebbles while looking around. It was only when he asked her did she say she wouldn’t leave until she saw the cat.

Jiao Wei looked up at the black cat. He was now used to the cat’s unnatural behavior and somewhat understood why the Jiao Family spoiled it. Jiao Yuan had told him about the cat and its past glories. Some of the things it did seemed impossible for a cat. Jiao Wei still didn’t understand why the Jiao family saw it as another kid. No matter how smart and understanding a cat was, it was still a cat.

Zheng Tan found Youzi and jumped off the fence. He waited for her to come out of the school to go to Jiao Wei’s family restaurant to eat.

There was a small room above the restaurant. The original owner used it to pile supplies. Jiao Wei’s parents had cleared it out and made it into a small bedroom where they could rest when there weren’t customers. There was a small table in the room like the one in Jiao Yuan’s bedroom. Papa Jiao and Youzi normally ate in that room. It was still a bit hot but the temperature was manageable in September, unlike in the earlier months. With a fan running, they could eat quite comfortably.

Jiao Wei’s parents were used to how Papa Jiao treated Zheng Tan and gave him the same food as his owners. Mama Jiao even bought a bowl for Zheng Tan to use here.

Papa Jiao was busy that day and was not coming. Yi Xin was tasked with bringing him lunch.

Jiao Wei took Youzi home after lunch. He sometimes took a nap at the Jiaos before taking Youzi back to school.

He had a delivery with him today. It was Qu Xiangyang’s lunch.

A car drove by when they entered the quarters. Jiao Wei looked and saw it was an Audi. Somone rich?

To his surprise, the car stopped beside them and the windows rolled down. Zheng Tan saw a familiar face.

“Youzi, Charcoal!”

Youzi looked at the man and smiled. She liked Fang Shaokang. He was the one who brought Charcoal home so he got one of her rare smiles whenever he came over.

Zheng Tan was still expressionless.

“Who is this?” Fang Shaokang looked at Jiao Wei.

After he introduced himself, Fang Shaokang said, “Good. You can help me carry some stuff up.”

After Fang Shaokang parked his car, Zheng Tan went over to check out what he brought.

Fang Shaokang came off the car and scooped up Youzi and raised her up before putting her down again. He had a young daughter her age who loved it when he did this. Youzi didn’t seem to mind either.

Fang Shaokang scooped up Zheng Tan next but was kicked in the face.

Fang didn’t mind and put the cat down. “You gained weight.”

Jiao Wei felt his face twitch. The cat ate so much every meal, of course it had gained weight.

Fang Shaokang opened the car door. There were two large paper boxes in the back seat.

“These are…?” Jiao Wei asked

“A cat tree,” Fang Shaokang answered with a proud smile.

“…”

Youzi carried Qu Xiangyang’s lunch while Jiao Wei and Fang Shaokang each held a box.

Jiao Wei didn’t know what to say. A cat tree. Again, something for the cat! The boxes were quite heavy too.

They carried the boxes to the fifth floor. Qu Xiangyang came out with his lunch and circled the boxes while eating.

Youzi wanted to see how the cat tree was built, but Fang Shaokang was not about to start the process when it was time for her nap.

He went to the balcony and called Papa Jiao, “Professor Jiao, I’m Fang San.”

Papa Jiao didn’t look at the caller id when he picked up the phone and needed a moment to remember who Fang San was. “Oh hello, Mr. Fang.”

“I’m at your house now. I brought a cat tree and plan to put it together this afternoon. Just thought I should let you know.” No one was home in the afternoon and Fang Shaokang thought he should notify the Jiaos.

Papa Jiao had nothing against the plan and looked forward to the final product.

Jiao Wei looked at this apparently very rich person and shook his head. This was again a person who treated the cat better than humans. He looked at the black cat peering inside the box and again wondered what these people were thinking.

After lunch, Jiao Wei and Youzi needed to leave for school. Youzi lingered around the boxes before finally leaving.

Zheng Tan decided to stay at home and watch Fang Shaokang put together the cat tree.

He had seen these things at Mr.Guo’s place before, but the things Fang Shaokang took out seem different.

Some parts were straightforward, like the shelves put up in Youzi’s room. It was made up of a pole with ropes tied on and some boards. However, there were some parts that needed to be bolted to the wall. Zheng Tan would walk up these boards to reach a tunnel of sort near the ceiling. He could walk all the way to the window on Youzi’s room door. If the window was open, he could jump out.

The pole was moveable and all the materials on the boards would be taken off to wash. Except for the ‘tunnel’ and the ‘stairs’, everything else was easy to take apart and rebuild.

The Jiao’s place was too small for Fang Shaokang to achieve what he had planned so he had to make do. He had wanted to put up ‘stairs’ and another ‘tunnel’ in the living room too, but this wasn’t his house so he gave up. He left the extra materials so the Jiaos could put one up if they wanted to.

The Jiaos loved the cat tree. Youzi was pleased with it as well. She didn’t have a lot of things in her room, so a cat tree was a good use of space.

Fang Shaokang was quite considerate when he undertook the project.

Except, that night Zheng Tan got off the cat tree and climbed onto Youzi’s bed.

The bed was still more comfortable than the cat tree.