The news that a production team would come over to shoot footage immediately caught the attention of everyone, including all the cats, at the cat café that very night.
The human staff exclaimed in surprise: “So our cat café has already become this amazing?!”
“Am I going to be on TV? Mom, I’m going to be on TV!”
“Are we about to break out of Tamagawa and go nationwide across China?”
The cats gathered together. Tong Qian, with a series of melodious, rhythmically accented meows, delivered a rousing self-praise: “It must be my handsome and charming figure that has captivated the humans. They came specifically to take photos of me. Even scratching a board can make them completely enraptured. I! Tong Qian! Am about to reach the pinnacle of my cat life! Perhaps not long from now, I will marry a beautiful cat and become the ultimate winner among all cats.”
Song Gao licked his fur, very composed: “Meow-ao.” Being a cat still requires keeping your paws on the ground. Running a cat café must advance step by step. You can’t become a manager just by eating in one bite.
Dan Huang: “……”
Fondant didn’t really understand, lying next to Yun Chao: “Meow?” What is Brother Tong Qian talking about?
Yun Chao said coldly: “Meow.” Daydreaming.
Tong Qian: “……”
Dan Huang was taking care of the two tortoiseshells. In the brief pause while brushing their fur, he said helplessly, “Wake up, Tong Qian. You’re not a cat.”
Tong Qian: “…………”
Oh, right, he almost forgot. He’s actually Zhujian.
Pei Shiyi listened to their antics with a gentle smile for a while, then clapped his hands: “Everyone, quiet down.”
Both humans and cats settled down, waiting for Pei Shiyi to speak.
He spoke slowly: “This show has a decent amount of attention, but there’s no need to be too nervous. Just act naturally as usual. Alright, I won’t take up any more of your personal time. Off work.”
After all, it’s a home renovation program. The focus is obviously on the renovations, and the person actually participating in the interviews is the designer, Kong Fanyang. Pei Shiyi wouldn’t appear much at all.
Even if you’re going to get a sponsorship fee, you can’t make a bad impression, right?
Zhang Yu laughed: “Boss, you’re way too calm.”
Pei Shiyi bent down to scoop up the closest Yun Chao. The snow-white fluffy bundle lazily lay in his arms, mouth slightly open as she yawned, letting Pei Shiyi hold her front paws and wave them gently.
Throughout the entire cat café, aside from Bo Jin, only this big boss dared to pick up Yun Chao anytime, anywhere.
“Who could not love my beauties?”
He sounded like a young emperor with a harem, his tone playful yet full of affection, his voice slightly deep enough to make anyone listening feel their bones turn to jelly.
The “beauties” sprawled on the floor immediately straightened into composed poses.
The staff laughed: “Boss, you’re one yourself, too.”
Zhang Yu, gathering courage, said, “Boss, if you were willing to debut with Mr. Bo, you’d go viral across the entire country in no time. Then why even bother with show promotions? Fans would completely overflow our cat café! We’d be a genuine internet-famous shop!”
Pei Shiyi never missed a chance to tease Bo Jin: “So, Mr. Bo, interested in a career change? If you get famous, don’t forget us, okay?”
Bo Jin sat beside Pei Shiyi. While Pei Shiyi stood, Bo Jin sat, giving him the perfect angle to see Pei Shiyi’s hand pressing Yun Chao’s paw pads.
The lion cat’s paw pads were a soft pink, and when Pei Shiyi pressed them gently, sharp little claws popped out.
Pei Shiyi’s neatly trimmed nails were slightly pale, looking almost bloodless, so pale as to verge on sickly. His wrist bones were thin and fragile, giving off the impression that they could snap with just a little pressure.
So Bo Jin swallowed the sarcastic remark that had reached his lips, word for word. He lowered his eyes and lazily resumed his composure, lifting a hand to play with the cat without saying a word.
Bo Jin suddenly went quiet. Pei Shiyi had no intention of teasing him into an argument, and he stood up to see the staff out.
…
Friday
The atmosphere in the cat café was unlike usual. Even Yun Chao, who normally liked to lie on the climbing frame and look down on everyone, stayed on the floor all day, wandering about.
Regular customers, staring at Yun Chao’s fluffy tail with envy, laughed: “What’s going on today? Everyone seems so tense.”
It wasn’t just the humans. The cats’ behavior was off, too. Cats, creatures usually unpredictable and aloof, were acting serious, wandering the café with gravity, welcoming any “harassment” from customers without resistance. The usually diligent Song Gao and Dan Huang were actively attentive to an almost frightening degree. Not to mention Fondant, the little clingy one, and the always-wild Tong Qian.
Round-faced Song Gao carried a cat teaser in his mouth, casually picked a kind-looking customer, dropped the teaser, and signaled that the customer could now play with him.
Manager Dan Huang bustled about nonstop. One moment, urging the bar to hurry with the desserts, the next welcoming new customers at the door and helping them find seats. He had been trotting around all noon without a break, the flesh on his belly swaying into afterimages. At this level of exercise, he might slim down into a slender Dan Huang in just a few days.
Pei Shiyi smiled. “The café has a filming task today. Maybe the cats and I are in sync. They’re nervous on my behalf.”
A regular customer looked surprised. “What filming task?”
Pei Shiyi replied, “It’s a recording by the program team of 《Small World》. Filming starts at two this afternoon. The cat café’s official Weibo account has detailed information. If you’re interested, you can follow it.”
The regular came to the café once a week to relax. For him, visiting the cat café had already become a routine, like going to the supermarket, a part of daily life. He cared quite a bit about the café’s development. So, upon hearing this, he quickly opened the app and browsed the café’s latest Weibo post.
In fact, the “Cat-Petting Guide” board at the entrance had noted that there would be media filming today. It was just that regular customers often overlooked that wall and naturally hadn’t seen it.
“This is just too…”
The regular customer said in delight, “Congratulations, Boss. When is the second floor of Xian Chan opening? Shouldn’t it be time to bring in some new little cuties?”
In truth, from a customer’s perspective, there were still too few cats. With such a large space on the first floor, at least eight cats would be more appropriate. But suitable cats were hard to find for the time being, and Pei Shiyi had no choice in the matter.
Pei Shiyi raised a finger to his lips, though his eyes were full of laughter. “Keep your voice down. Be careful they hear you and get jealous.”
The regular laughed uncontrollably. “Right, right, we should keep it down. A second batch is easily rejected by the original residents. I know that. Wishing you booming business every day, Boss, and that you’ll soon carry a new cat home.”
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Pei Shiyi’s phone vibrated twice. He took it out and saw it was a call from Kong Fanyang.
Pei Shiyi said apologetically, “They’re almost here. I’ll take this call.”
The regular quickly nodded. “Sure, go ahead.”
Pei Shiyi answered the phone, already walking toward the entrance of the café.
Kong Fanyang’s voice came through the receiver: “Boss, we’ve already arrived at Shiliu Street. Are you ready?”
Pei Shiyi had already spotted them through the window. “We cleaned in advance. Everything’s spotless. The furnishings haven’t been moved. I guarantee it looks about the same as the photos you submitted.”
Kong Fanyang said repeatedly, “Sorry for the trouble, sorry for the trouble. We’re almost there.”
After hanging up, he turned slightly toward a professional woman dressed in an OL suit. “Director Ni, we’ve arrived. This is Xian Chan Cat Café.”
The temperature had recently soared to thirty-two degrees. There weren’t many tall buildings along Shiliu Street, though fortunately, the street itself wasn’t very wide. Even so, a thin layer of sweat had formed on Ni Jiaxue’s body. She was still wearing high heels, struggling as she walked over the bluestone paving.
Shiliu Street was the oldest historic street in Yuchuan City. Among the bluestone bricks laid along the road, there were always a few century-old “antiques”, extremely unfriendly to high heels. Moreover, the street was narrow, and the program team’s large vehicle simply couldn’t get in. The group had no choice but to walk through Shiliu Street.
The road was difficult to navigate, and this year, Yuchuan was unusually hot. The cameraman carrying the camera was drenched in sweat.
When they finally saw the storefront of the cat café, the members of the program team all let out subtle sighs of relief.
Just as Kong Fanyang was about to step forward to open the door, a crisp jingle of a bell rang out. The café’s glass door was gently pushed open, and a tall, slender figure stood by the doorway, smiling at them.
It was Boss Pei!
Seeing him again after several days, Kong Fanyang couldn’t help glancing at Pei Shiyi several more times, thinking to himself with a sigh: Why bother with any advertising? Just station Boss Pei at the entrance, and he’d be a living signboard. When the time came, greeting guests and seeing them off, they’d even save a sum on promotional expenses.
Kong Fanyang said, “Director Ni, this is Boss Pei, Pei Shiyi.”
Ni Jiaxue’s eyes lit up. This was the cat café’s owner?! Kong Fanyang had told her in advance that the boss was very good-looking, but she hadn’t expected him to be this good-looking.
In the blink of an eye, several headlines had already flashed through her mind: “Visiting a Cat Café Renovation, Encountering a Handsome Owner”, “Young Entrepreneur Opens a Cat Café”, and so on. When the time came, they could place a high-definition frontal photo of Pei Shiyi on the cover. It is guaranteed to grab attention.
“Welcome. Please, come in.”
Pei Shiyi’s gaze swept over Ni Jiaxue’s slender high heels. After walking under the sun for so long, she clearly had no patience for small talk, so he stepped slightly aside to let them enter.
Ni Jiaxue had no energy for formalities. The high heels had exhausted her. She could barely maintain a composed appearance and was eager to get into the cool indoors.
The café’s entrance was exquisitely made but not particularly wide. They could only follow behind Pei Shiyi and file in one after another.
As one of the men carrying the camera passed by Pei Shiyi, Pei Shiyi suddenly raised an eyebrow and gave him an extra glance.
The cameraman didn’t understand why, merely nodding politely in response.
Pei Shiyi rubbed the red mark on his finger. The cameraman who had just passed him carried a faint trace of demonic aura. With Pei Shiyi’s level of cultivation, he was actually unable to discern the other party’s true form. The aura was extremely mixed and chaotic, as if it came from different demons, yet the cameraman himself still retained a human presence.
Who knew what kind of monster had shown up, wrapped in such a mess of smells. He wondered whether it would frighten the furry children at home.
Pei Shiyi frowned slightly and followed the filming crew inside.
After stepping past the entryway, before Ni Jiaxue had even taken a proper look at the café’s interior décor, her attention was drawn to the man by the bar. He carried an imposing height, with brows and eyes that were almost coldly severe, his features sharply defined. Even faced with cameras and equipment pointed at him, he merely lowered his eyes and glanced over, then withdrew his gaze without interest, turning to walk toward the young café owner behind her.
Standing together, he and the young cat café owner were similar in height, equally handsome, even matched in the strength of their presence. Yet their temperaments were completely opposite—one cold, one warm. And so, in different ways, they were equally pleasing to the eye. For a moment, Ni Jiaxue didn’t know which one she should be looking at.
Why couldn’t she have grown an extra pair of eyes? Only when you need them do you realize how few you have.
Author’s Note:
Daily interactions between the Boss and the Director:
Pei Shiyi: (scratches once, scratches again)
Bo Jin: … (doesn’t move at all)
Pei Shiyi: Boring…
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Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152