Chapter 310: Chapter 303: Seeking to Perform Chapter 310: Chapter 303: Seeking to Perform Yang Yi did not understand why the other party had suddenly become so aloof, but after a while, something crossed his mind. He pulled out a business card and handed it over, “I’m from ‘Yixing Culture,’ here to attend a conference on photographic art.”

Charlie remained vigilant. He did not know what Yixing Culture was, but since it involved someone related to photography, he still saw Yang Yi as a competitor until he fully understood the situation.

The business card Yang Yi handed over was quite ordinary, not specifying his position within the company. The phone number was from a spare cellphone Yang Yi had purchased in Chuhua City.

Charlie glanced at the business card and then paid it no further mind. Out of politeness, he did not immediately toss the card into the trash but instead slipped it into his coat pocket, eager to leave with the cat as soon as possible.

Seeing that the other party had no intention of continuing the conversation, Yang Yi did not engage further. Once the other party left on an electric scooter with the cat, Yang Yi contemplated the recent encounter. The guarded look in the other’s eyes upon learning he was a photographer led Yang Yi to suspect a possible reason. He had given out his business card out of curiosity, and the film he was funding also featured some scenes with cats, although it required specific high-priced breeds. The ordinary black house cat he had just seen was not what he considered. His original plan was to find some trained cats with spiritual energy. After seeing “Mingming Pet Center” printed on the bag, he thought that collaborating with such a pet center could be beneficial, a spur-of-the-moment thought.

After having someone check on the pet center, Yang Yi returned to the hotel, watched most of the commercials and videos that Xiao Guo and his team had shot, and spent the night thinking about the videos. Suddenly, he had an idea, but it required meeting the person in charge of the pet center first.

Yang Yi did not have to wait long; the next day, he received a call from Xiao Guo.

It turned out that after Charlie took Zheng Tan to the pet center, he had placed his coat in the designated area due to the slightly higher and stuffier indoor temperature. The business card had slipped out of his jacket at that moment. No one paid attention to it initially. When Xiao Guo went to hang up some clothes, he noticed it and picked it up. Upon seeing the words “Yixing Culture,” he instantly became excited.

Xiao Guo had made a lot of money from advertisements and videos and once rented a cat to a small crew for a TV drama. Naturally, he was familiar with the professional and commercial circles, one of which included Yixing Culture. He did not know who “Yang Yi” was or what position he held at Yixing Culture, but the association with the company meant potential business opportunities. Without further ado, Xiao Guo immediately called Charlie to inquire about the event.

Charlie did not hide anything and told him everything; it had only been a matter of minutes, after all.

Seeing Boss Guo’s inscrutable expression, Charlie felt apprehensive.

“Boss, is Yixing Culture really that big? Could it be… they also do advertisements? How does it compare to our studio?” Charlie asked. In his heart, their studio was the best in the circle, at least within the niche of shooting cat advertisements.

Xiao Guo tapped Charlie on the head with a magazine, “What do you know? Comparing our studio to theirs is like comparing instant beef noodles to real braised beef!”

Charlie: “…” Isn’t that just the difference between a loser and a rich, handsome man?

Looking at the two-yuan packet of instant beef noodles on the nearby table, which barely contained any beef, Charlie fell silent.

After pondering all night, Xiao Guo made a phone call first thing in the morning.

Upon receiving Xiao Guo’s call, Yang Yi listened to his self-introduction and gained an understanding. He had already researched the key figures in the pet center and knew the role Xiao Guo played in the team.

The two scheduled a meeting, and Yang Yi arrived at the pet center led by Xiao Guo. He inquired about Zheng Tan, and while Xiao Guo could talk about other matters, he was reluctant to say much about Zheng Tan until Yang Yi revealed his identity and the underlying details.

Zheng Tan was notoriously low-key, and although many in the cat circle knew of “BlackC,” they could not pinpoint who it was. With Xiao Guo deliberately keeping it under wraps, it was hard to unearth Zheng Tan’s true information. Since the big boss of Yixing Culture had encountered him and showed a willingness to collaborate, Xiao Guo revealed some information.

Yang Yi did not immediately decide on the collaboration, wanting to understand more about the shooting process. For this purpose, Xiao Guo invited Yang Yi to observe the next shooting session.

Yang Yi was already itching to see what the shooting was like and how the cats performed. The performances of many cats in those videos seemed perfect to him, especially the black cat. Although he also took some animal photos regularly, there was certainly a gap compared to a professional pet shooting team, just like his grandfather back in the day who was not good at taking photos of people or landscapes but could outperform anyone when it came to cats.

Thus, after spending some time away from Chuhua City, Yang Yi flew back when the pet center was set for a new round of shooting.

Zheng Tan was surprised to see Yang Yi at the shooting location; he remembered the man but did not know why Xiao Guo allowed him to observe. Generally, Xiao Guo did not let others into the shooting area unless he truly trusted them. And this man…
Observing Xiao Guo’s behavior, Zheng Tan felt that Xiao Guo was somewhat cautious around Yang Yi, indicating Yang Yi was no insignificant figure.

Regardless of Yang Yi’s background, Zheng Tan wasn’t interested; his responsibility was to do his job well today.

When the shooting started, Xiao Guo’s earlier caution disappeared, and he reverted to his usual professional demeanor, almost completely ignoring Yang Yi.

Yang Yi didn’t mind being neglected; he focused on the black cat under the camera, as well as the other cats and dogs playing different roles. He had to admit, a professional team was truly superior. They knew which cat couldn’t sleep without holding something, which would start perking up at what times, and which disliked certain smells to the extent of showing particular behaviors. This team had developed a deep understanding of the few cats routinely filmed in the studio, ensuring high efficiency and satisfying results. Xiao Guo said the black cat was the ace here, and it was evident from these cats’ performances. Unfortunately, due to breed issues, that movie couldn’t feature this black cat; it had to use other breed-specific cats as per the script.

However, this inability of the black cat to play a role in the movie perfectly aligned with an idea Yang Yi harbored.

Yang Yi’s interest in filming was largely influenced by his grandfather. He had long wanted to create a documentary about the city, its people, and its cats. The documentary was to capture real life, showing the pulse of the era and life, depicting the genuine facet of societal background enhanced by featuring cats, boosting the documentary’s appeal. Many who were uninterested in documentaries might give it a glance. However, the project was challenging and had not been realized. After his grandfather’s death, Yang Yi felt a stronger impulse when he flipped through the thick photo albums.

Watching the black cat perform well in front of the camera, Yang Yi’s smile grew wider.

While shooting an advertisement, Zheng Tan suddenly felt a chill on his back, nearly making a mistake during a leap. Fortunately, his extensive experience and strong psychological resilience helped him quickly regain his composure.

After finishing the shoot, Yang Yi and Xiao Guo had a private talk in a room about Zheng Tan’s situation. Xiao Guo shook his head, “I can’t decide on this; you’ll have to talk to its Cat Dad and get his family’s approval. Otherwise, even if you forcefully take it away, it won’t cooperate, and it’ll let you know what a cat’s claws are like.”

Afterward, Yang Yi and Xiao Guo signed a contract, and the movie team picked an experienced cat from the team for the film. They also sent a few team members to take care of the cat and ensure its cooperation in the filming. As for Zheng Tan, Yang Yi went to negotiate directly with him.

Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma were troubled; shooting advertisements was one thing since Xiao Guo was a familiar face who agreed to keep Zheng Tan’s real details confidential. Despite Zheng Tan’s popularity in the cat community, it was still a small circle, unlikely to affect his real life much. As Xiao Guo himself always believed, shooting advertisements for cat food and related products was minor compared to professional film and television production. If Zheng Tan were involved in a major film or TV project, it would be a different story. Moreover, the advertisement shoots were close to home, but taking Yang Yi’s job would mean Zheng Tan might be away from home for a long time.

Given Zheng Tan’s troublemaking tendencies, Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma were indeed worried.

Persuading the Jiao family was not easy, and Yang Yi hadn’t expected such an obstacle.

Lure them with benefits?

Sorry, the Jiao family wasn’t as poor as others thought and wasn’t greedy for money; that approach wouldn’t work.

Threaten them?

In Xiao Guo’s words, the cat would let you know what a cat’s claws are like.

He would just have to keep pressing until the Jiao family agreed.

Yang Yi had planned to fly back to Beijing the next day, but changed his mind because of this matter. He played the emotional card, spoke of sentimental things about art, human relationships, and cat stories. He talked about how this film promoted the idea of loving cats, which would make more people appreciate and understand this species that had integrated into human society, with its difficult temperament and challenging to understand nature.

Eventually, the Jiao family relented, but this was just the beginning. The final decision had to wait for Zheng Tan’s opinion; only after he agreed did Mr. Jiao respond to Yang Yi’s request to participate.

After the conversation, Yang Yi looked at the sunshine outside the window for a while before picking up his phone to look at an album that included a copied old photograph. The picture showed a happy old man with a yellow and white domestic cat on his shoulder. The cat affectionately leaned against the old man’s head, slightly lifting its chin towards the camera, with a slightly lazy, superior air.

Some say the people of Beijing carry the pride of living under the emperor’s feet, but they also retain the warmth of the alleyways; and the cats of Beijing embody the spiritual energy of the Forbidden City and the rogue spirit of the siheyuan courtyards.

Surely that black cat could produce the effect Yang Yi wanted? Yang Yi thought. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote at Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep