The screen grew dimmer and dimmer until it finally faded into pitch black, gradually revealing a line of bold white text: Ownership is a responsibility. Please do not abandon.
The advertisement never told the audience whether the cats were safe. It ended on a note of blank space, leaving all room for imagination to the viewers. It was precisely because there was no clear conclusion that the audience felt all the more haunted by it.
By the time the opening theme of Cute Pets in Charge began to play, the shock of the advertisement still lingered. A segment of the younger audience, scratching their heads with agonizing curiosity over the ending, looked down at their phones to search for the ad.
They didn’t find an ending, but they did stumble upon related information. The ad was a joint production between the local television station and Happy Pets, a well-known local enterprise. In fact, Happy Pets products had made several appearances in the ad: when the big ginger cat sat huddled at the pet shop entrance looking longingly inside, the window display was filled with Happy Pets’ product line.
Even the snacks that the passerby fed the ginger cat were produced by Happy Pets.
The pets in the video weren’t strays at all. The dogs came from a reputable pet hospital, and the cats were even more surprising. They were from a cat café.
Happy Pets’ official Weibo account even released a behind-the-scenes featurette. The post tagged Xian Chan Cat Café. As soon as the video started, the voice of the special effects artist could be heard in a state of total collapse: “I know they’re supposed to be strays! I really tried my best!”
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to edit a sleek, glossy ginger cat to look haggard?”
“These cats are too healthy! Look at this fur. It could go straight into a shampoo commercial! I had to edit it to look clumped and matted, and it had to look naturally messy yet aesthetic…”
“Besides, how could anyone have the heart to do that to these little angels!”
Looking at the comments below, it was a sea of heartless laughter:
“LMAO. He’s actually complaining that the cats and dogs were raised too well to be edited. I’m wheezing.”
“I was so sad after watching the ad and wanted to search for an ending, but instead… I’m dying of laughter.”
“Go look at the comparison photos posted by the cat café! The editor really did his best!”
A crowd of netizens, never ones to pass up a bit of drama, followed Happy Pets’ tag to the Xian Chan Cat Café account.
Once they arrived, the netizens who had only just learned about the café through the ad realized it looked familiar. After browsing the homepage, they suddenly remembered where that sense of familiarity came from!
Xian Chan! Wasn’t that the famous “influencer” cat café on Bishui Station? They had thought it was just a typical viral shop. Some regular Bishui Station users knew of the café but had never followed it. Influencer shops didn’t have the best reputation among the general public. Most people thought they were unscrupulous businesses that fleeced fans and lived off gimmicks.
And now, this influencer shop had actually participated in a public service ad.
It had to be said that a high-quality PSA was incredibly effective at boosting a business’s image. If the initial impression of the cat café was a marketing-heavy influencer trap, it was now gradually shifting toward a “conscientious shop that truly cares for pets and is passionate about charity”.
People tend to love the house and its crows. The short ad had left a deep impression on many, and the unresolved ending was particularly unforgettable. Naturally, a portion of that affection for the ad transferred to the creators.
The cats featured in the ad were also thrust into the spotlight.
Especially Manager Dan Huang. As a male ginger cat, he was surprisingly adept at raising kittens, radiating the diligent, protective love of a devoted father. Just looking at his mountain-like back made viewers feel he was adorable and reliable.
They say tragedy is about tearing apart beautiful things. The most brilliant part of the ad was the final blank space. As soon as viewers thought about how the gentle, patient ginger cat from the beginning might never stand up to meow again, or never use his body to shield the kittens from the rain, their imaginations did the work, leaving them in floods of tears.
Some people even picked out details from the ad. The ginger cat had been wearing a collar the whole time, meaning he was once a pet before being abandoned. It wasn’t just him. The first litter of kittens had also been dumped. Many of the other cats and dogs in the ad wore collars, clearly indicating they were former pets.
The stray cats and dogs also bore various scars or even disabilities. Some feared humans, while others were still willing to be close.
Within minutes, viewers had headcanon-ed tragic pasts of abandonment, breaking their own hearts in the process. Carrying this sadness, they flocked to the cat café’s account to see what the ginger cat looked like in reality, seeking a form of comfort.
However, the vibe of the café’s Weibo was the polar opposite of the ad’s sadness. They had posted side-by-side comparisons of the cats in the ad versus reality, while loudly praising the VFX artist for his hard work.
The viewers, still immersed in the sorrow of the ad, clicked on the full-sized images and immediately understood why the artist had been so frustrated: These cats are being raised way too well!
The main image was a group photo of the cats from the ad. Gone were the bedraggled looks. They were peeking out of their cat nests, brimming with vitality. They looked like completely different cats.
Especially Dan Huang. In the ad, he had been edited to look several pounds thinner! At first glance, the viewers almost didn’t recognize the real-life Dan Huang. But when they met his eyes, they found the feeling from the ad again.
Those amber eyes were incredibly moving, holding a swirling depth of light within them.
There was tenderness in his gaze.
The other cats were also neat and clean, their eyes filled with spirit. Their lively expressions were enough to melt anyone’s heart. It really was a challenge to edit these gorgeous little fellows into such piteous states.
The comments were full of praise for the editor’s professional skills, with many “slightly chubby”, “medium chubby”, and “very chubby” girls jokingly asking for the editor’s help with their own photos.
Thus, the sorrow the audience had been brewing evaporated, replaced by genuine laughter. Seeing the lively Dan Huang in the video gave them a strange sense of relief, as if they were meeting him in a better life.
The cat café’s regular fans were much more emotional than the newcomers. They had invested a lot of feeling into these cats through their screens, spending time rewatching videos to draw warmth and comfort from the fluffies. When they first saw the ad, they immediately projected their feelings onto Dan Huang, nearly having a breakdown by the end.
Thankfully, thankfully, it was all fake. Dan Huang was fine. The cat café was fine.
One fan left a comment:
“I cried for a long time. I only felt better after seeing Dan Huang jumping around. I’m often lonely, so I wanted to get a cat. But after watching the ad, I’ve decided not to for now. Ownership is a responsibility. If I bring a fur baby home, I am taking on a new life. It’s a weight on my shoulders, and there are too many things to consider. I don’t have the capacity yet. I don’t want to bring one home, give it a stable place, and then suddenly have to send it away because of my own reasons.
When my arms are strong enough, I will definitely build a home for my fur baby. Also, I want to call on everyone: please adopt, don’t shop. Think deeply before getting a pet. Make sure you are capable and prepared.
Finally, a heart to the production team. Thank you for such a meaningful short film. And a special thanks to the cat café for giving me the honor of encountering these celestial cats in this world.”
…
Unexpectedly, yet also quite naturally, the PSA went viral.
It had a simple, easy-to-understand plot with no twists, yet it touched the softest parts of people’s hearts. Dan Huang’s tenderness, the kittens’ dependency, the bedraggled state of the other strays… though the ad’s plot was fictional, such tragedies were indeed happening in places out of sight.
The purpose of a PSA is to provoke thought and influence behavior.
Warm and kind things always touch people easily because there is light in the human heart.
The ad succeeded in poking at that tender spot, and so it became a hit.
The ad was uploaded to Bishui Station, gaining a million views in a single day. Its performance on other platforms was no less impressive, making it one of the most successful ads of the year.
The PSA brought a positive influence to both the cat café and Happy Pets. The pet hospital where the dogs came from also rode the wave of popularity to open accounts on Bishui Station and Weibo, with Happy Pets and the cat café both dropping by to leave comments.
Public opinion of the three parties was very high:
“The ad was beautifully shot. Being willing to fund a PSA like this shows the company really cares about animals.”
“I’ve always used Happy Pets products. Seeing this ad makes me feel proud. They’re a socially responsible enterprise.”
“I want to praise the fur babies. The little actors didn’t even get a salary!”
“To the person above: actually, they did. Word is that Boss Pei later treated them to a feast of canned meat and nutrition gels out of his own pocket. He even sent some over to the doggos.”
“LMAO. Oh my god, that’s so cute! Is Boss Pei the cat café owner?”
…
Happy Pets also chose this moment to launch their newly packaged pet shampoo. When the official account released photos of the new packaging, they specifically tagged Xian Chan.
For such a large company to be so down-to-earth made Xian Chan’s fans feel a sense of pride. Their favorability toward Happy Pets skyrocketed. Consumers always prefer companies with a good attitude, especially when the quality is reliable.
And the new packaging was so beautiful that it was almost impossible not to buy it!
There were three designs. The pink bottle featured a Ragdoll cat with sea-blue eyes—a clarity that no color palette could replicate. The Ragdoll had its head tilted, looking at the bubbling bath basin beside it with intense curiosity.
The pure white packaging featured a Norwegian Forest Cat standing by a trickling stream, with a miniature version of the shampoo tucked under its tail, looking like an elf in a fairyland.
The final design had a pale gold background. A snowy white cat had one paw pressed onto the shampoo bottle. With its gold and silver heterochromatic eyes, its gaze was almost regal, practically screaming the words “Buy this for me” at the viewer.
The comments read:
Buy! Buy them all! What? I can’t use them all up? I’ll use them on myself!
…
Following the PSA, many people flocked to the videos or Weibo comments to ask: “Is this the cat café that filmed the PSA?”
“Is this Xian Chan the same Xian Chan?”
After receiving amused confirmations from the fans, they followed the account, stating they planned to find time to visit the café.
The café gained over a hundred thousand followers in a few days. The comment section was filled with people daily, clamoring to see more of the cats to comfort their “fragile hearts” wounded by the ad’s plot.
Boss Pei was a good boss who doused his fans with affection. There were too many hungry fans in the comments, and only one person, Zhou Yan, was in charge of editing videos. So, after some thought, Pei Shiyi decided to host a livestream.
He prepared the “segments” for the stream in advance and even dragged in Bo Jin, who was off for the weekend.
Tong Qian scratched at his scratching board. “Livestream? We’re doing a livestream, too?”
Pei Shiyi said, “Yes, your ‘cloud parents’ say they want to be closer to you.”
Tong Qian bounced up and down in excitement. “Then should I perform a talent or something? How about breakdancing?”
Bo Jin added, “You can learn the ‘Wild Wolf Disco’ right now. They’ll definitely love it.”
Tong Qian still remembered how his first video went viral. He suddenly felt that even though Director Bo looked scary, he was actually quite reliable once you spent time with him.
So, he happily ran off to borrow a phone from Dan Huang.
Pei Shiyi nudged Bo Jin and whispered, “What’s a ‘Wild Wolf Disco’? Is it another new thing?”
Bo Jin took out his phone and started playing the song.
First play:
Pei Shiyi: “…”
The gathered cats: “…”
Second play:
Pei Shiyi was still a bit dazed. “…W-what?”
After three plays, Tong Qian was already wiggling to the rhythm. Dan Huang said blankly, “It’s actually kind of catchy.”
Pei Shiyi: “…”
Pei Shiyi turned to look at Bo Jin. His mischievous boyfriend was looking back at him. If Bo Jin were in his true form right now, his tail would probably be wagging.
Here he goes again. Tong Qian is a silly cat on his own, and yet Bo Jin insists on egging him on.
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Meow meow On TPH Chapter 26.1