Strange Life of a Cat-Chapter 190 - Be nicer to that Black Cat

Chapter 190: Chapter 190 Be nicer to that Black Cat

Chapter 190 -190 Be nicer to that Black Cat

Zhang Qie and the others gathered around, admiring Jin’s ability to create under such circumstances, but they merely glanced at the music Jin had just written without looking closely at the score. Without permission, they felt it would be somewhat like plagiarism to scrutinize it; thus, during the discussion, they mainly speculated about where Jin’s inspiration came from. Could it really have been that cat just now?

Zheng Tan curiously went over to have a look.

Seeing it was Zheng Tan, Jin paused in the act of closing his notebook and instead pushed it closer to Zheng Tan to facilitate his viewing.

Zhang Qie and the two others, seeing this, didn’t understand why Jin was being so nice to a cat, but they didn’t say anything since they weren’t close friends and felt no need to interfere in everything.

Zheng Tan took a look. Apart from the title of the piece, he couldn’t understand the rest—just knew that it was the numbered musical notation he had seen in elementary music books.

After a glance, Zheng Tan lost interest and returned to the windowsill.

“Jin, do you guys prefer to use numbered musical notation when composing?” asked a student. He was used to the guitar’s tablature and even read staff notation more frequently, and suddenly seeing numbered musical notation threw him off. After all, many felt that staff notation was more professional and presentable. As for the guitar tablature, the Guitar Association used it more often due to the nature of the group.

“Yeah, because I never attended university and hadn’t received that kind of professional training initially. I learned guitar techniques from a person in an obscure band, and later I taught myself and created music with numbered notation. I’ve learned various types since but still am more comfortable with numbered notation,” Jin didn’t hide the fact that he didn’t go to university. After joining Night Building, some study classes were arranged to boost professional knowledge, but Jin still preferred numbered notation, which he used mainly for composing.

By now, many in the Guitar Association knew Jin wasn’t a member of any other school’s guitar group, knowing only that he was in a professional band. But the specifics were unclear; Jin had never told them, and there were so many minor bands in Chuhua City that they assumed he was just a member of some obscure band likely to disband at any moment without further investigation.

Zheng Tan didn’t know much about musical scores, but besides numbered notation, staff notation, and guitar tablature, he had once seen Big Fatty’s grandma writing musical scores with notations like “do, fa, mi, re, che, gong, fan, liu, wu, yi.”

As for Jin’s new piece about cats, Zheng Tan still didn’t know how to evaluate it. There were many people in the world who tried to assess and interpret cats, but from the ones Zheng Tan had encountered, it seemed many projected too much of themselves into their analysis rather than seeing things from a cat’s perspective. Even Zheng Tan found it hard to understand the thoughts of cats like the sheriff, Big Fatty, and Ah Huang.

As Mr. Jiao once said, “Scientifically, one cannot interpret feline thought with human thinking,” and Zheng Tan’s thinking was merely human after all.

Regardless, Zheng Tan was looking forward to Jin’s “Cat’s Fantasy” and hoped to hear it the next time he visited Night Building. But it would probably need revisions and arrangement, along with lyrics, so he likely couldn’t hear it in the near future.

As for the Guitar Association’s campus performance in May, Zheng Tan was a little interested in seeing it. Unfortunately, it was in the evening, and if Jiao Ma still grounded him at that time, it’d be a different story. Not just for Zheng Tan, but the other three cats were also under night curfew; being let out during the day was a privilege.

In the following week and a half, Jiao Ma was quite satisfied with Zheng Tan’s behavior. Every evening he stayed home, never going out, and he returned on time during the day without causing any trouble.

Zheng Tan was genuinely well-behaved during this time, at least he thought so himself. After checking out the construction site progress, he would head to the overpass to help the old man attract a crowd. With Zheng Tan around, the old man’s cashbox would contain a bit more money—sometimes, animals indeed attracted more attention than humans.

Zheng Tan was mainly curious about the old man’s identity, but after spending over a week there, he saw no sign of any “underlings” or such figures, although the surrounding vendors did show genuine respect for the old man.

On the day of the Guitar Association’s performance, a Friday, Zheng Tan left the overpass a bit earlier than usual. He planned to go check out the main sports field at the university, and he decided to go out that evening.

It was Jiao Yuan who suggested they group up to attend the Guitar Association’s evening performance. Xiong Xiong, Su An, and a few others were thinking of contacting kids from the courtyard to join them in watching the evening show. For the boys, guitars were quite appealing, including some from West District and Little Youzi’s classmates. Zheng Tan prepared to head out with them in the evening, figuring it would increase the chances Jiao Ma would agree.

In truth, the Guitar Association’s performance wasn’t all that appealing to Zheng Tan, as it was merely an amateur showing by students; he had seen enough professional shows at Night Building. Hence, Zheng Tan’s main goal in joining Jiao Yuan and the others wasn’t for the performance itself but rather to set a precedent. After all, if he went out once, there would likely be a second and third time. Going out for the first time would make it easier to take strolls in the evenings later. Watching soap operas with Jiao Ma nightly bored Zheng Tan to no end.

From the perspective of a layman, Zheng Tan thought the Guitar Association’s performers had put in quite an effort, and even if their skills were lacking, the audience at the sports field didn’t mind, plus the ambiance made the event a success overall.

The opening piece, Canon, performed by Jin and the Guitar Association president with dual guitars, added a lot to the show, creating a good start and boosting morale. Apart from opening, Jin spent most of the time backstage, leaving the students with more opportunity to prove themselves.

The performance started at seven-thirty and ended at nine-thirty. Before the show, Jin had been invited to a celebratory dinner by the association, so even though he had nothing else to do later, Jin didn’t leave.

Since it was Friday and the weekend was coming up, the members of the Guitar Association were planning to celebrate properly after that evening’s performance, especially since most of them didn’t have classes the next day and could enjoy themselves to the fullest.

The president of the Guitar Association, the guy who had competed in guitar with Jin, was fed a bit too much to drink and started to spill words that he usually held back.

“Jin, did you guys often see those master musicians when you were at Night Building?”

Jin was surprised. He had never mentioned this and didn’t expect to be recognized.

Not many people within the Association knew about Night Building, and those who did were now looking at Jin with a new respect upon hearing the president’s words.

After all, it was Night Building. The performers there couldn’t be short on skills, definitely not those of bands that could dissolve at any time. Many were highly promising, capable of signing with companies, releasing records, and who knows? They might become famous at any moment.

“Yeah, that’s right. The ‘East Palace’ in Night Building often has master-level musicians performing, and sometimes world-class masters come to play too. It’s just that… ‘East Palace’ isn’t exactly easy to get into,” said Jin.

One person who had been frequenting Night Building lately couldn’t hold back, “Night Building has four areas: East, West, South, and North Palace. Of course, it’s tough to get into East Palace. It’s expensive, and I heard the audience there often includes some notable figures from the industry. They’re real experts!” As he spoke, longing filled his face, but then he quickly turned to Jin, “What’s the name of your band? Do you have any performances coming up? I hope I didn’t miss them. I’ve been hanging around there every evening last week.”

His words sounded somewhat skeptical of the authenticity of Jin’s performances at Night Building. Jin didn’t mind and was about to reply when the Association president spoke up first, pointing to the necklace Jin was wearing, “New boy, I remember this is the band’s emblem.”

Jin understood now; it was indeed this emblem that gave it away.

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“We’re currently performing in the South District,” Jin said.

“South District? So, you’re a top player! No wonder I didn’t see you. I was always in the North District,” said the man in surprise. The North District was the lowest in terms of performing talent within all four areas of Night Building and also had the cheapest consumption. The man hadn’t expected Jin, someone about his age, to manage to play in the South District, which was a higher level than the North!

As the others gained an understanding of Night Building, they joined in the discussion.

The celebration turned into a session where members of the Association grilled Jin for advice. Jin didn’t hold back, happily sharing some of his experiences with them.

Finally, before Jin left, everyone asked if he had anything else to say. After thinking for a moment, Jin said, “Be kinder to that black cat.”

The others simply thought Jin liked black cats, which is why he said this, given that even their band’s emblem featured a black cat. Even if some had a certain aversion to black cats, they now promised to take better care of them.

Seeing that these people didn’t fully grasp the importance of his words, Jin opened his mouth but then decided against explaining. They were unaware of the significance behind his statement; while many here might strive to curry favor with Jin, he regarded himself as quite insignificant at Night Building. Even currently in the South District, their band was ranked last, barely acknowledged. If someone here could get on the good side of that cat, it would be far more valuable than currying favor with Jin. That cat was familiar with the big boss of Night Building, for it, watching a performance in East Palace was as simple as eating peanuts!

Whether these people could benefit from that cat was up to their own fate.

While the students of the Guitar Association at Chuhua University were discussing Night Building, on the third floor of Night Building in a private room, Ye Hao and his right-hand men, including Long Qi and Baozi, were reviewing a document that had just been delivered.

As Ye Hao digested the substantial amount of gold he had on hand, the projects he invested in increased, and with them came some troubles that needed handling. He had avoided conflicts in the past, but now a confrontation seemed inevitable. Whether it would be a partnership or hostility depended on the attitude of a certain individual. Therefore, Ye Hao finally decided to visit that figure from the same era as Mr. Tang Qi soon. This time, he didn’t want to rely on Tang Qi’s connections and planned to face it himself.

When Ye Hao held a cup of coffee and unfolded the latest investigation report, his hand trembled, spilling coffee on his suit.

Baozi and Long Qi looked on puzzled. What could cause the usually composed Ye Hao to show such a constipated expression?

However, upon seeing the description in the file and the accompanying photo of the black cat, Baozi couldn’t help exclaiming, “Fuck, why is this thing popping up everywhere?!”

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it, monthly pass. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)