Chapter 311: Chapter 304 Joint Performance Chapter 311: Chapter 304 Joint Performance Filming wasn’t just a matter of signing a contract and starting the journey; it required a series of preparations. Thus, Zheng Tan wouldn’t be departing yet and would still stay in Chuhua City for a while.

To better prepare Zheng Tan for the filming, Xiao Guo decided to allocate a portion of the staff from the work group specifically to “help” Zheng Tan during this period.

The so-called help to get familiar with the shooting and adapt to the setting was something Xiao Guo considered necessary after spending a few days at the movie crew and assuming Yang Yi might adopt a similar filming approach. Consequently, Zheng Tan was taken to the Pet Center daily, facing familiar people, cameras, props, and so on in the studio.

He was brought here for “special training.” The people around were very enthusiastic. These days, there was no need to shoot promotional videos or photos, which left Zheng Tan quite bored at the studio. That was already enough to bear. If even eating, sleeping, and even shitting had no privacy, Zheng Tan wouldn’t mind letting Xiao Guo know what a cat’s claw was.

So, when Xiao Guo returned from the film crew to the Pet Center and opened the door of his resting room, he found that the sofa cushion of his not even half-a-year-old sofa was full of “scars.”

Xiao Guo hadn’t locked his resting room these past two days. The only cats who could open the door to this room were Li Yuanba, Huasheng Tang, and Zheng Tan. Zheng Tan often slept here, Li Yuanba would come occasionally, and Huasheng Tang hardly ever entered. Among them, Li Yuanba had his designated napping spot—the bookshelf—and the only one who slept on the sofa was Zheng Tan.

Half a year ago, Xiao Guo had annoyed Zheng Tan over some matters, and in a fit of rage, he had destroyed a sofa here. Now, he had destroyed a new sofa cushion as a warning.

Upon seeing the tragic state of the sofa, Xiao Guo howled and then collapsed in his computer chair, his hand on his forehead. When he looked up, he saw Li Yuanba on the bookshelf. The look Li Yuanba gave him made Xiao Guo feel as though he had done another stupid thing.

“Won’t you stop him at all?” Xiao Guo said to Li Yuanba.

Li Yuanba turned his head and continued sleeping.

Xiao Guo sighed. He knew Li Yuanba’s fighting prowess could handle both cats and dogs and even burglars, but he always spectated without intervening whenever Zheng Tan destroyed a sofa.

They are all such ancestors; truly hard to serve, each with a huge temper. If only they were as well-behaved as “Prince” and the others. However, these few were rather special.

Right, that black cat was also different, so he couldn’t treat it the way he treated other cats.

If it were a person, what should he do?

Reason with him, work on him, enlighten him?

After thinking it through, Xiao Guo immediately contacted Charlie.

Therefore, Charlie, the nanny, suffered bitterly.

For the next few days, when Zheng Tan came to the Pet Center, he didn’t see those bothersome things anymore. However, no matter what Charlie did, Zheng Tan’s attitude could only be considered normal. Charlie didn’t know if he had successfully instilled Boss Guo’s intention into the mind of the cat in front of him. Boss Guo had been busy these days, so he left Charlie with this challenging task, hoping to evoke some positive emotions in the cat. Charlie didn’t even know what a cat looked like when it was feeling positive. All he knew was that while working, he talked until his mouth was dry, only to find the lazily sprawled cat yawning and then ignoring him.

Charlie’s feelings at that moment… speaking of it would bring tears to his eyes. Given the high salary, he resigned himself to it.

Xiao Guo came back early that day. When he arrived at the studio, Zheng Tan was still there, lying on the sofa sleeping. Beside him, Charlie looked perplexed, pondering something. Seeing Xiao Guo, Charlie stood up and reported today’s situation.

“Still the same old way?” Xiao Guo frowned. Collaborating with Yang Yi was an excellent opportunity. If this cat hadn’t agreed to perform, it would have been fine, but since it had agreed, Xiao Guo would have to put much more effort into it. Being passive and lazy wouldn’t look good to others. It was still manageable here, but when they went to Beijing to someone else’s territory, he didn’t know if there would be disadvantages.

Tossing his coat onto the sofa without bothering to change his shoes, Xiao Guo wiped his face, straightened his sleeves, walked up to Zheng Tan, squatted down in front of the cat, who was just waking up from its sleep on the sofa, and waved his fist in encouragement, “Heitan, after we pull this one off, we’ll make it big!”

Zheng Tan, Charlie: “…”

Simple, direct, effective.

At last, Zheng Tan’s fighting spirit surged.

Zheng Tan had seen the contract; the payment was indeed significant, but he felt Xiao Guo was overly anxious. He wasn’t a rookie just starting in commercials. Was there really a need to worry so much?

Sighing inwardly, Zheng Tan felt that lately, everyone seemed a bit too anxious and overly nervous, whether it be the people at the Pet Center or the Jiao family.

As Zheng Tan sighed, Mr. Jiao was contemplating contacting someone he knew in Beijing. He had acquaintances there, but they were definitely too busy to take care of matters and it wouldn’t be convenient to ask them for help. After thinking it over, Mr. Jiao contacted Fang Shaokang. Mr. Fang’s main base was in Beijing, and seeking his help would be more reliable.

Mr. Fang was surprised when he received Mr. Jiao’s call while busy out of the province.

“A documentary?!” Mr. Fang waved his assistant out and propped his feet on the desk, “Who is the other party?”

“Yixing Culture’s Mr. Yang,” Mr. Jiao replied.

“Yang Yi, that guy? Alright, I understand. Don’t worry, even if I don’t have time, I’ll have someone take care of it,” Mr. Fang said as he gave Mr. Jiao a phone number to contact if needed.

With Mr. Fang’s assurance, Mr. Jiao felt much relieved, but still not completely, as that cat indeed had a talent for causing trouble.

After Mr. Fang hung up the phone, he flipped through his contacts and dialed a number. It took a long time for the other side to answer.

“Hello?”

The person on the other end sounded like they had just woken up.

“Hello, Yang Yi, it’s Fang San here. I heard you’re planning to film a documentary about cats?”

Yang Yi was somewhat groggy. He had spent the whole night organizing some materials and hadn’t slept. He had gone out in the morning and only started to catch up on sleep after returning at noon. He hadn’t expected a call from this person.

“Oh, Uncle Fang,” Yang Yi, who was of the same generation as Ermao and not very familiar with Fang Shaokang, had collaborated with him on business a few times in the past two years and like Ermao, called him Uncle Fang. “Yes, that’s true. What about it, are you interested in investing?”

Fang Shaokang had invested in quite a few movies. Yang Yi had only mentioned it in passing, but Fang Shaokang chuckled on the other end.

“Yes, but I was wondering, are you still missing any characters? We also have a cat at home, very smart, not much less than that Heitan.”

Yang Yi paused for a few seconds. Mr. Fang’s family had a cat? What surprised him even more was that unlike others recommending actors, stars, or relatives for cameo roles, Mr. Fang was merely suggesting his own cat!

Since Mr. Fang had spoken, Yang Yi didn’t immediately refuse. Instead, he asked, “What breed is your cat?”

“Our cat is just a mixed breed, nothing fancy, but it’s very smart, much smarter than those purebred fancy cats. Do you have internet? I’ll send you some photos.” Fang Shaokang took out his laptop, selected a few photos taken at home, and sent them over. He always believed that the smartest cats in the world, besides that black one, were his own Da Mi. If his own Da Mi didn’t catch someone’s eye, what cat could?

Mixed breed refers to cats of impure bloodline. Yang Yi wasn’t planning to use many famous purebreds in the documentary; he had primarily decided on domestic and mixed-breed cats. Hearing Fang Shaokang’s words, Yang Yi breathed a sigh of relief, opened the received files, and looked at the photos.

Ten seconds later.

“How about it, does it qualify?” Fang Shaokang asked.

“…Its eyes are quite sharp,” Yang Yi commented.

Fang Shaokang’s demands weren’t many, a cameo would suffice, something fun with a keepsake.

After Yang Yi agreed, Fang Shaokang immediately took the opportunity to turn to his daughter to show off his success.

Fang Mengmeng, delighted, then thought of another possibility, “Dad, since our Da Mi is taking part, can we also get Xiao Mi to make a guest appearance? I haven’t seen Xiao Mi in a long time.”

Thus, after a restless hour of sleep, Yang Yi received another call from Fang Shaokang.

“Hello, Yang Yi, it’s me again, Fang San.”

Yang Yi: “…”

“I just wanted to ask, are you still lacking any characters? I have another one to recommend, also a mixed breed, born in the same litter as our Da Mi, named Xiao Mi, just a bit dumber than our Da Mi, but its appearance is decent, only has a mole by its mouth. Are you still in front of the computer? I’ll send you the photos.”

Yang Yi: “…”

Xiao Mi had been with Zhao Le and stayed in Chuhua City for a while. Later, when Zhao Le became too busy to take care of it, and even a nanny couldn’t handle it, Zhao Le’s mother took it to Beijing for company. Since Zhao Le and her mother were always busy, Zhao Le’s mother grew quite fond of Xiao Mi and decided to bring it along when returning to Beijing. Although now in the same city, Da Mi and Xiao Mi didn’t see each other often. And Zheng Tan, since Xiao Mi was taken away, had not seen it; Da Mi had last seen it at a cat show.

Knowing these two would also participate, Zheng Tan began to look forward to it unusually. He wondered if Xiao Mi, after inheriting its father’s mole, would also inherit its father’s combativeness.

In mid-November, Zheng Tan, along with a group selected by Xiao Guo, set out for Beijing with Charlie taking care of him. This wasn’t Zheng Tan’s first long trip, but the Jiao family still couldn’t help but worry and gave him numerous warnings until his ears nearly developed calluses.

Before leaving, Zheng Tan made a trip to the Old Tile House where he hid his phone and that bag of diamonds separately and moved some broken furniture around to block the entrance, ensuring no other cats could get in, as they lacked his strength.

Yang Yi had already arranged accommodations, which also housed some other members of the filming crew. These people were curious about Zheng Tan, having heard that the boss, Yang Yi, revived the film’s plan because of this cat.

Charlie and others, tasked with an important duty by Xiao Guo, were concerned that Zheng Tan might not adapt well to meeting so many strangers, but as it turned out, they were overthinking it.

Zheng Tan wasn’t nervous at all; although he didn’t know these people, he could feel their goodwill. Even the most rugged-looking man with a big beard, who seemed somewhat menacing when he smiled, was actually exuding kindness.

Since there was no threat, there was nothing to worry about.

After Charlie called the Jiao family to reassure them, before Zheng Tan got a chance to familiarize himself with the local filming crew, someone came to pick him up.

It was someone from Fang Shaokang’s side. After going downstairs, Zheng Tan scanned the surroundings, his gaze landing on a silver private car.

“Heitan, over here, over here!” Fang Mengmeng opened the car window and waved to Zheng Tan.

After Fang Mengmeng finished calling, Zheng Tan saw two cat heads poking out of her car window, looking towards him. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep