The promotional video funded by Happy Pets was not intended to advertise their newly launched bath set, but rather to produce a public service short film sponsored by the company to enhance its corporate image.
The director of the public service short film was also somewhat well-known, having previously shot several public service videos that had gained popularity online for a while, characterized by a warm, heartwarming, and somewhat tear-jerking style.
The filming location for the promotional video was a park. Before the “actors” arrived, the director looked somewhat solemn.
The accompanying assistant said, “I spoke with the person in charge at Happy Pets yesterday. They said the cat café isn’t hard to communicate with. The owner has a good personality and is quite easy to talk to.”
The director sighed, “I’m not worried about the owner. I’m worried about the cats. Happy Pets is being stubborn, too, insisting on specific cats.”
Why choose cats from a cat café? Those are indoor cats. Can they handle being filmed outdoors? If they just lie on the ground, too scared to move, the filming will become much more difficult. However, if they skip real scenes and rely entirely on special effects, it would indeed be costly and time-consuming.
The assistant, however, understood perfectly. As a relative of the director, he spoke without much hesitation: “It’s normal for them to specify. Those are internet-famous cats with hundreds of thousands of followers. They bring their own traffic.”
Although the director wasn’t exactly old-fashioned, his impression of internet celebrities was still stuck in dancing, chatting, and gaming. He exclaimed in surprise, “Cats can be internet-famous these days?”
Without another word, the assistant opened Weibo and searched for the cat café’s official account.
After the previous giveaway event, the Weibo account had now surpassed the Bishui Station, boasting 590,000 followers and verified as a well-known pet blogger. A quick scroll through the posts revealed high engagement in comments, likes, and reposts, indicating a large number of active followers. The account even had its own dedicated super-topic.
The director remarked, “No wonder people talk about the pet economy. It really is profitable. It’s just like hiring a popular idol. I can understand that.”
The assistant nodded: “Exactly. Everyone’s got to make a living these days. Even for a public service ad, they’d naturally choose more influential ‘actors’.”
But would this cat café turn out to be all flash and no substance, like some internet celebrities, or would it prove to be the real deal, both beautiful and talented?
As the two chatted, the dogs arrived first.
The promotional video had a storyline that required both cats and dogs to participate. The plot was simple: a group of stray kittens, played by the domestic cats from the cat café, are picked up by a “stray cat” with a nurturing personality and brought to meet other abandoned cats and dogs. As they struggle to survive, they gradually find new homes.
Overall, it was a heartwarming yet slightly bittersweet story.
The stray dogs were played by three gentle-tempered dogs taken in by a pet hospital, along with a litter of recently rescued puppies who could barely walk steadily.
The larger dogs had varying degrees of disabilities, some with wounds inflicted by humans, yet they remained affectionate. Brought over by volunteers from the pet hospital, they remained calm and didn’t run around in the unfamiliar environment, even when faced with the crew. If anyone approached to pet them, they would immediately respond with enthusiastic tail-wagging, like little whirlwinds.
The director petted one of the medium-sized yellow dogs and received an affectionate lick in return.
The volunteer was a young man who looked like a college student. He said, “This one’s called General. He has a great temper, is quite clingy, and is incredibly obedient, almost like he’s human.”
The director nodded repeatedly. “Dogs are truly in tune with human nature, so clever!”
They hadn’t been talking for long before they arrived at the cat café. The volunteer, who also knew Xian Chan, smiled and said, “Now we can get our cat fix.”
The director chuckled. “Let me take a look, too.”
As he stood up, he sighed inwardly: I hope these cats aren’t too skittish. And since the promotional video also features dogs, filming will be incredibly difficult if the cats are too timid.
But before they could even step outside, the cats came to them on their own—
A leopard cat led a fluffy pack sprinting over, as if they had been cooped up somewhere and were now bursting out to play. Amid the exclamations of the staff, they screeched to a halt right in front of the director.
This leopard cat was far larger than the average, with strong limbs and a sleek, satin-like coat that draped over its well-defined muscles and bones. Its eyes were incredibly lively.
The director was startled. “Wow! What’s this?”
Tong Qian scratched an itch with its hind paw, stood up to display its elegant posture, and fixed the director with a piercing gaze: What do you mean, ‘what’s this’? It’s a leopard cat! It’s Boss Tong!
The astonished assistant counted and realized there were actually twelve kittens behind the leopard cat! All of them were glossy and well-groomed, not the least bit timid. As soon as the leopard cat stopped, the kittens gathered around it, meowing softly.
The director was so stunned he didn’t know what to say. Just as he was about to speak, a chubby orange cat came waddling over, its belly swaying. It pressed the leopard cat’s proud head to the ground, rubbing it vigorously. “Meow!”
The leopard cat didn’t resist, lying down obediently and rolling over to expose its belly to the big orange cat.
The director was shocked: Is this the internet-famous cat? A bit too lively, isn’t it?
Fortunately, within seconds, two imposing men arrived with several large cats in tow. With just one glance, the director understood why this cat café was so popular—
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Every cat was impeccably groomed, with neat, smooth fur. Leading the way was a pure white cat, followed by two long-haired cats. The white cat strode over with the air of someone ready to start a brawl, until two identical tortoiseshell cats tumbled out playfully. A forest cat with a gradient coat gently swatted them with its tail, revealing a short-legged silver tabby behind them, trotting along on its stubby legs, trying its best to keep up with the larger cats.
Thus, the grand procession of feline bosses transformed into a goddess leading a group of children.
A smile spread across the director’s face. If he had such treasures at home, he’d probably adore them to bits.
One of the two men, a young man, looked utterly exasperated. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt printed with a cat’s face, appearing almost like a fresh graduate. Yet, his gaze was steady and composed. When his eyes met the director’s, he smiled and nodded, then walked over. He tapped the leopard cat’s head and strode directly up to the director.
“You must be Director Wu, right? I’m in charge of the cat café. My name is Pei Shiyi. Pleased to meet you.”
The young man extended his hand with a smile. The director shook it, struck by the other’s extraordinary handsomeness and the radiant light in his eyes. When their gazes met, the director was momentarily dazed.
It wasn’t until the young man released his hand that the director snapped back to reality. “Hello, hello. I’m Wu Ge, the director for this promotional video. We only need a few domestic cats for the shoot, but you have…”
Pei Shiyi smiled and said, “I just brought them out for some fresh air. My family will help keep an eye on them, so they won’t cause any trouble during filming.” On the day the collaboration with Happy Pets was confirmed, the cat café had already posted a notice three days in advance announcing its closure on Thursday. Today, aside from filming, they also wanted to give the fluffy ones a chance to stretch their legs. It was like a team-building outing for the cat café.
Tong Qian: “Meow~”
Oooh, family, huh?
Bo Jin walked over. He picked up Tong Qian and tucked him into his arms.
Tong Qian silently closed his mouth.
Yun Chao approached and let out a soft meow: Trying to be clever? Serves you right.
Tong Qian hung limply over Bo Jin’s arm.
The director glanced around and noticed that the dozen or so cats that had unexpectedly arrived were indeed well-behaved, so he nodded repeatedly. “Alright, alright. This is Xiao Zhang from the pet hospital. The dogs we’re collaborating with this time were adopted from their hospital.”
After shaking hands with Xiao Zhang, Pei Shiyi listened as the director cheerfully began explaining the storyline of the promotional video and how exactly they would shoot it.
While the adults were talking, the little kittens had already gathered around the pet carriers where the puppies were staying.
The youngest of the cat café kittens was already over six months old. But due to being influenced by the phoenix’s aura, they had long awakened their spiritual intelligence and were considered little demons. As a result, their growth was slow, and some still looked like fluffy little furballs. Only the Maine Coon, Jing Zhe, was gradually approaching the size of Fondant.
A circle of fluffy kittens sat around, with Jing Zhe looking like an oversized plush toy that had wandered in by mistake.
A litter of puppies huddled further into the pet carriers, whimpering and yelping as they tried to muster courage and scare away the fluffy “bullies”.
The bullies let out soft meows:
“They’re all yellow dogs!”
“They’re even smaller than Brother Jing Zhe!”
“Why are they so scared?”
Sui Shou poked his head into the carrier: “Meow!”
Come out and play! We brought lots of tasty treats today.
Xiao Man quickly meowed: “Meow meow meow!”
I want to eat canned food!
Meng Xia licked her: “Meow.”
You can have my portion.
The other kittens chimed in: “You can have some of mine, too.”
Despite their friendly intentions, the puppies couldn’t understand them. Seeing Sui Shou trying to squeeze in, they let out terrified yelps. Pei Shiyi and the other two, who had been discussing business, paused and turned to look.
Xiao Zhang was taken aback and hurried over to check on the puppies.
Pei Shiyi also walked over and asked, “Bo Jin, what are those little rascals up to?”
Bo Jin, who had been watching from the sidelines, replied, “Nothing much. They just wanted to interact with the other little ones.”
He reassured the nervous Xiao Zhang, “They didn’t scratch or bite the puppies. Sui Shou has just never seen puppies before, so he’s curious.”
Although Pei Shiyi didn’t think his own kittens would be mischievous enough to bully the puppies, the puppies’ earlier cries had been so pitiful that he decided to help Xiao Zhang take them out of the carriers.
Sui Shou and Gu Yu were incredibly curious, even pawing at Pei Shiyi’s legs to sniff the puppies.
The puppies, terrified, tucked their tails between their legs and let out faint whimpers for help.
Xiao Zhang said in surprise, “What’s going on? They’ve never been this timid before.”
He had checked. The puppies had no scratches or bite marks, so they couldn’t have been attacked. Why were they so afraid of the kittens?
Pei Shiyi sighed helplessly and tapped Sui Shou’s head. “Don’t bully them. If they’re scared, keep your distance.”
Sui Shou’s head was nudged askew by him. Pitifully drooping his head, he twisted around and burrowed into Bo Jin’s arms, softly and delicately tattling while meowing, all the while glancing back at Pei Shiyi.
Bo Jin nodded: “Mm, hitting a child is too much. I’ll talk to him when we get back.”
Pei Shiyi: “…Little tattletale, telling him won’t help.”
Xiao Zhang felt his presence gradually fading and timidly said, “Um, we…”
Pei Shiyi smiled apologetically: “Sorry, sorry, we’ll just…”
Before he could finish, a little puppy that had been placed on the ground mustered all its milk-drinking strength to run, lowering its head and plunging into the fur of Miss Penny, who had come to take care of the children.
The little one in Pei Shiyi’s arms was fine, but the two puppies in Xiao Zhang’s arms whimpered as they jumped down and rolled all the way under Miss Penny’s tail. Finding shelter, they turned their backsides toward the three adults and settled down contentedly.
Miss Penny: “???”
She had only noticed the cats causing trouble for the boss, so she went to take care of the cat café’s feline children.
Miss Penny, who exuded an aura of gentle tranquility, was an angel who attracted little ones just like the nanny Dan Huang.
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wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1