The video’s explosive popularity was completely unexpected. By the time it dropped off the daily recommendations, the view count had already climbed past nine hundred thousand. It is likely to break a million today. The Xian Chan Cat Café account had also gained quite a few followers, now with over seven hundred.
The next day
Zhou Yan held his phone, feeling dizzy. “Boss, I’ve been making videos for years. The highest views I ever got were just over two million, and nothing’s ever blown up like that again after. ”
He was only a small creator with a bit over three hundred thousand followers. Many of his videos didn’t even reach his follower count in views.
Getting a million views wasn’t easy, especially for a new creator without any fan base. Even making it onto the daily recommendations was just good luck, catching a day when other creators hadn’t posted.
Pei Shiyi brought over his own phone, and Zhou Yan leaned in. “Boss, download J-Site next.”
Zhou Yan was nearsighted. His prescription had gone up recently, but he hadn’t changed his glasses. He wasn’t familiar with Pei Shiyi’s phone interface either, so he could only squint and press in close to the screen.
Before Zhou Yan could make sense of Pei Shiyi’s phone through the mosaic-like blur filling his vision, a slightly deep voice suddenly came from behind him. “What are you doing?”
Xiao Zhou turned his head. Before he could make out the person’s facial features, he recognized him by height alone. There were only two people in the entire cat café that tall: their boss and the boss’s best buddy.
Pei Shiyi had already opened his private messages and was reading them with great interest. Hearing that, he waved his phone at Bo Jin. “I’m checking my messages. Want to come take a look?”
Most of the people who took the time to send him private messages were netizens who absolutely adored Tong Qian. The messages were full of all kinds of over-the-top praise, yet every compliment sounded utterly sincere, making Pei Shiyi laugh as he read them.
Tong Qian had only come to the cat café through the arrangement of the Supernatural Management Bureau, so Bo Jin would probably enjoy these compliments as well.
Of course, he should read them out to Tong Qian one by one later. As for things like “silly meme cat”, better forget it. Just hearing it didn’t sound like a proper compliment.
Bo Jin walked over. He was so tall it felt oppressive. Xiao Zhou instinctively shrank his neck and stepped aside to give him space.
Pei Shiyi flipped to a couple of interesting private messages and showed them to him. “Quite a few people messaged me asking if they can book tickets online. They want to come see Tong Qian.”
Even he hadn’t expected a short video to attract so much attention. But from the neat, square characters in the bullet comments and replies, he could feel just how much those people liked him.
Bo Jin glanced at them and said, “If Tong Qian sees this, he’ll definitely be very happy.”
Pei Shiyi said, “He already loves sticking his tail up. If he finds out, he’ll probably float straight into the sky.”
As the two of them talked, Xiao Zhou suddenly felt like a complete third wheel. He edged a couple of steps away and said quietly, “Boss, I’ll go help over there then. Don’t forget to do the real-name verification.”
With that, he slipped away as fast as he could.
Pei Shiyi was used to teasing Bo Jin and said casually, “Look at you, scaring people off the moment you show up.”
Bo Jin said, “Actually, I’ve been thinking about something.”
Pei Shiyi was busy scrolling through his private messages. Hearing that, he raised an eyebrow and shot him a look that clearly meant: permission granted.
Bo Jin said, “He was that close to you. Why didn’t your fur bristle?”
Pei Shiyi replied calmly, “First, what happened before wasn’t called bristling. It was restraint held back without release. Second, he leaned in toward my phone, while you leaned in toward me. The nature of those two things is different. If my self-restraint were even a little worse, I would’ve beaten you half-crippled back then. But I didn’t. Do you now fully understand how magnanimous I am?”
Before Bo Jin could speak, Pei Shiyi waved a hand. “No need to thank me. You may kneel and withdraw.”
Bo Jin: “……”
He turned his head to glance at Yun Chao, who was lying on the cat climbing frame, looking down upon all living beings. He privately felt that the expressions on those two right now were exactly the same.
……
Over the past two days, Li Tong had been completely brainwashed by the leopard cat’s “Bad Guy”. She kept humming the chorus at home at the slightest moment. The instant that BGM played in her head, the image of the leopard cat’s cheerfully wriggling body would immediately appear in her mind.
So this Saturday, Li Tong dragged her best friend straight to the cat café.
It was already mid-June now, and today was especially hot. The air outside felt like it was steaming people alive.
Her best friend had broken into a bit of a sweat, her clothes sticking to her skin. She complained, “So why did we have to come at this time of day? It’s way too hot! This cat café doesn’t even have an official website. Are you sure it’s not some messy little back-alley operation?”
Li Tong said, “Probably not. The environment in the video looked pretty nice, and the cats looked good, too.”
Her friend said speechlessly, “The video only shows a palm-sized space. What kind of environment can you tell from that? Besides, animals like cats, unless they’re seriously sick, can always find a moment to act up and be lively. Edited videos can’t prove a cat is healthy. Our city has opened so many cat cafés. Didn’t most of them end up closing anyway?”
Li Tong’s steps faltered. What her friend said made a lot of sense, but it was also pretty discouraging. She hesitated and said, “Then… we’re not going?”
Her friend said, “We’re already on the subway, so let’s just go. Otherwise, we came all this way for nothing and then head back. That’d be such a loss. At least we can go soak up their air conditioning.”
Li Tong said, “Alright.” Although they still decided to go find the place, Li Tong had already lost the excitement she’d had when she first left home, leaning listlessly against her friend.
After getting off the subway, the two followed the address.
“Just walk straight to the end, and we’ll be there,” her friend said. “Pretty easy to find.”
Shiliu Street was Yuchuan’s longest and busiest street. The two of them walked quickly for more than ten minutes before finally spotting the standalone little building. Both were already covered in a thin layer of sweat.
Li Tong was just about to ask how much farther it was to the end when she lifted her eyes. Mint-green lettering suddenly filled her field of vision.
As if a real wave of minty coolness had washed over her, Li Tong instantly stopped feeling hot. She grabbed her best friend and broke into a small run. “I see it! Let’s hurry over!”
That wasn’t a cat café. It was air conditioning!
The standalone little building stood a short distance away from its noisy neighbors. As they walked toward the entrance, they passed a floor-to-ceiling window and were immediately drawn to an oversized display board.
Li Tong stopped in her tracks, her eyes landing first on the various cats featured on the board.
“Look!”
She quickly tugged at her friend.
Her friend had been charging straight toward the café with her head down. When Li Tong pulled her, she said, “What is it?”
She turned to follow Li Tong’s gaze. She was instantly amazed. Every cat on the display board was stunningly good-looking. The hand-drawn portrait style was unique, carrying a fresh, fairy-tale-like charm.
Li Tong stood in front of the board. “Quick, quick. Take some pictures for me!”
The two of them took several turns snapping photos. Her friend said, “I hope the cats inside look as good as the ones up there.” Drawings looking nice was normal. Even some cats that looked beautiful in photos, once seen in real life, were either sickly or dirty. Total “photo scams”.
Li Tong’s enthusiasm flared up again. She grabbed her friend’s hand and rushed into the cat café.
The moment they stepped inside, cool air wrapped around them, carrying a fresh fruity fragrance.
Li Tong stood there in bliss, taking a deep breath. She quickly washed her hands and changed her shoes, then gently pushed open the small gate and walked into the café’s main area.
The friend followed close behind. The environment inside the cat café struck her as novel. The moment they entered the main area, her eyes were almost not enough to take everything in—nothing else for it, the décor had so much atmosphere.
She even spotted the Ragdoll from the display board chasing a ball as it ran past, like a moving marshmallow. Only after the Ragdoll’s figure disappeared behind a wall did she reluctantly pull her gaze away. Just as she was about to order, something brushed against the skin of her ankle. The fluffy touch was exquisite, followed immediately by a drawn-out meow.
The friend quickly lowered her head and nearly cried out. It turned out a big orange cat was sitting by her feet, one hind leg raised as it licked its fur. A small tag hanging from its neck read “Manager Dan Huang”.
Strictly speaking, this was a large ginger cat. Its belly was covered in fine, soft white fur. Sitting by her feet, two beautifully drooping rolls of chub squeezed out on its stomach. The big orange had a pair of round, glossy eyes. When it tilted its head up, it met her gaze perfectly.
Friend: “!!” Her heart melted under that look.
Just then, Li Tong had finished ordering and turned around to see Dan Huang. Before she could bend down to pet the cat, Dan Huang gave its fur a shake and stood up, tail held high. It walked a couple of steps toward the area with the low tables. When it realized the two of them hadn’t followed, Dan Huang turned its head and called out to them.
Li Tong said uncertainly, “Is it calling us over?”
The friend said, “Probably.”
The two of them cautiously took a couple of steps. Sure enough, Dan Huang started walking again, leading them to an unoccupied low table. But when they got closer, they realized it wasn’t actually empty at all. On the table lay a golden shaded cat, curled up asleep in the sunlight. Even the tips of its fur were dyed gold, like a dollop of whipped golden cream.
Li Tong and her friend froze on the spot. Ahhh, if they sit down now, will they wake the little angel?
As if it had heard the sound, the golden shaded cat that had been sleeping so sweetly opened its eyes. Its moist, deep green gaze fell on the two of them. Slowly, it stretched out one front paw and let out a soft, gentle “meow”.
Li Tong and her friend: This is bad. It’s the feeling of falling in love.
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Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152