Chapter 450: Chapter 419 (Final Chapter) Chapter 450: Chapter 419 (Final Chapter) “The end of the world,” as Zheng Tan had expected, had passed without incident. He neither went online to discuss any bets with those people nor felt the inclination to join the crowds denouncing those who had fervently spread doomsday messages.

After the tumultuous year prophesied online had passed, the atmosphere in the Jiao family household had grown tenser.

One issue was Little Youzi’s college entrance exam, the other was Zheng Tan’s condition.

Little Youzi had decided not to take the reserved spot at Chuhua University because the available spots were limited. She let her old classmate from the West District, Xie Xin, have it. Xie Xin’s scores were not as stable as hers, and Little Youzi’s grades had always been outstanding. After discussing it with Mr. Jiao, Little Youzi made her decision.

For high school seniors, time seems to pass faster than for anyone else, as if there is never enough. Fortunately, Little Youzi’s mental state was still quite robust, much to the relief of Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma.

As for Zheng Tan, the problem was the same as last year: constant dreaming. He felt that even a short nap would lead to numerous dreams, and his thoughts were muddled, making him now scared to sleep. Lack of sleep meant his mental state was certainly not good.

Jiao Ma even took Zheng Tan to the Pet Center for a check-up, but they found no significant issues–only sleep deprivation.

Jiao Yuan had called home much more frequently in the past six months, inquiring about both Little Youzi and Zheng Tan. He even mentioned that if the local veterinarians couldn’t resolve the issue, he would take him to Beijing to see the more reputable veterinarians there.

Zheng Tan didn’t want to go, and Jiao Ma felt helpless. She thought perhaps they could all go to Beijing to visit Jiao Yuan after Little Youzi’s exam, and check on Zheng Tan then as well.

When at home, Zheng Tan looked at the calendar on Little Youzi’s desk. He tried to recall the time of year when he turned into a cat, which was around June, but he couldn’t remember the exact date. It had been ten years; who would remember? Plus, Zheng Tan used to live a chaotic life and didn’t keep track of dates, sometimes even missing exams at school.

Stretching out a paw, Zheng Tan scratched a faint line across the dates from June 1st to June 15th, adding extra scratches on the 7th and 8th–the days of Little Youzi’s exams.

Whenever Youzi came home, Zheng Tan would act as if he were in good spirits, but once Little Youzi left, he would slip back into his usual listless state. Mr. Jiao suggested Zheng Tan stay in his office where he could keep an eye on him, but Zheng Tan refused, feeling more comfortable staying at home.

On the morning of June 8th, Mr. Jiao, Jiao Ma, and Little Youzi left the house. Zheng Tan went out with them; Mr. Jiao was taking Little Youzi to the examination center, and Jiao Ma was headed for the nearby middle school. After seeing them out of the courtyard, Zheng Tan had initially thought about taking a stroll, but he ended up yawning repeatedly and, with heavy eyelids, decided to go home to sleep instead.

Jumping onto the living room sofa, Zheng Tan didn’t even bother to shake off his cat ring. He kicked the bothersome remote control away from the center of the sofa, then settled in the middle of it, listening to the faint ticking of the wall clock seconds’ hand, and closed his eyes.

After riding away, Jiao Ma suddenly remembered she had forgotten to bring a USB drive. She had copied some files onto it that morning and forgot to unplug it, so she rode back home.

At the ground floor of Big Fatty’s house, Big Fatty’s grandmother was grooming him when she saw Jiao Ma and said, “Just now I saw your Black Cat coming back. He must have gone home to get some more sleep.”

Hearing this, Jiao Ma didn’t think much of it, figuring he had been too spirited when they left that morning and was now resting at home. Jiao Ma thought that after today, she should take her family’s cat to Beijing for a check-up, as nobody at home felt at ease.

While going upstairs, Jiao Ma felt her eyelids twitch. She took out her keys to unlock the door and glanced inside the house.

The room was unnervingly silent, with only a cat card on the sofa and no other signs of life, no Black Cat, as if no other creature had ever been there.

Swish–
The half-open window curtain fluttered up as the warm breeze of June blew in from outside.

Outside, the sunlight was bright.

————
South City.

A high-rise residential building near South City University.

In the bedroom, sunlight streamed through the window, slipping through a gap in the not fully drawn curtains.

The glaring light made the person in bed furrow their brows.

The eyelids twitched, and Zheng Tan’s eyes opened a slit.

The sunlight hit his face, and seeing the light as he suddenly awoke made him instinctively close his eyes and raise his hand to shield them, then cover his eyes.

Smack.

The sound of his hand hitting his face was quite clear in the quiet room, the slight pain sharply registering in his brain.

Three seconds later, Zheng Tan opened his eyes.

Peering through his fingers, he saw decorations that were unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar. The curtains by the floor-to-ceiling window were partially drawn, not tightly closed, letting in the light.

Blinking, Zheng Tan’s mind was still somewhat foggy. He lifted his hand from his face, focusing on his palm.

The lines were clear, the five long fingers not the black-furred paws of a cat.

“Damn it, dreaming again!”

He muttered lowly, closing his eyes to go back to sleep. After a silent few seconds, Zheng Tan abruptly sat up, looked at the palms he raised to his eyes, vigorously rubbed his face, and tried to make a sound again.

“Cough! Mm-hmm–ah–eh–oh–”
The sound was clear.

When dreaming, he seemed never to have truly spoken, had he?

It seemed like a very long time since he had this sensation of speaking.

Still, something was off.

Was he a cat dreaming of being a person, or a person dreaming of being a cat?