Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 347 - Chapter 347 Chapter 340 Second Time

Chapter 347: Chapter 340 Second Time Chapter 347: Chapter 340 Second Time Watching the two cars grow farther and farther apart, the people in the front car didn’t seem to intend to slow down. Charlie and the others felt that the other party probably wasn’t that petty. Otherwise, even if they didn’t start trouble immediately, they would have at least dropped some harsh words, right?

“Alright, don’t think too much. We’re almost at the plaza,” Charlie said.

The two people in the backseat murmured an agreement, but they still felt that the act of taking a photo with a cell phone before leaving seemed a bit like a childhood squabble and the phrase “don’t you dare leave after school.”

Shaking their heads, maybe they were overthinking it.

Zheng Tan didn’t think too much about it. Although he had been sprayed with snot earlier, he had slapped the other party back, squaring things away.

Going out was meant for fresh air, not to suffer grievances. Adjusting one’s mindset and having fun was the correct approach.

After circling around the destination plaza to get a rough idea of the place, Charlie found a spot to park the car, and then the three men and one cat walked toward the plaza together.

This commercial plaza integrated leisure and entertainment. There were plenty of young people coming and going for fun and shopping.

Shopping was a bit challenging since they had a cat with them, so they had to find a place to sit first and then take turns going to buy things. Since they were there, they might as well purchase some specialty items to take back with them.

Because they had Zheng Tan with them, many stores didn’t allow cats inside, and some food shops even had signs restricting pets. After looking around, Charlie chose a beverage shop on the side. The shop had set up some tables and umbrellas outside, and the plaza had also placed some stationary tables and chairs for rest, which weren’t too crowded at the moment due to work and school hours. Spotting an empty table, Charlie hurried over to it.

The umbrella-covered tables belonging to the beverage shop were all taken, so Charlie and his group settled at a plaza’s public table without an umbrella, which couldn’t be moved. Thankfully, the weather wasn’t too hot, and a bit of sun wouldn’t bother the three rugged men.

Charlie and Zheng Tan stayed at the table while the other two went to buy some food and check out any special souvenirs.

A volunteer came over offering newspapers. Charlie bought one to support the fundraising for education and to catch up on news from this city.

Zheng Tan crouched on the chair, looked around, and then his gaze landed on a table not too far away.

Under an umbrella, two women were sitting. One was wearing sunglasses, and the other–a twenty-something with a ponytail–was softly speaking to the former, who replied a few times.

Zheng Tan didn’t recognize the ponytailed woman, but he remembered the one in sunglasses–not from her face, but from her voice.

If Zheng Tan remembered correctly, that woman’s name was Yang Huaixi. She lived two floors beneath them and had even visited, leaving behind a box of high-grade tea.

Probably because she was wearing sunglasses, Charlie and the others didn’t recognize her when they scoped out the surroundings. Zheng Tan, who had been sitting on a sofa chair at an angle the day he heard her, didn’t see Yang Huaixi’s face but recalled her voice. Right now, though her voice was soft and hard to pick out with the human ear in this place, it wasn’t too difficult for Zheng Tan.

Yang Huaixi mentioned she was an agent and had a few young stars under her wing. So, did that mean the other woman, who had a refreshing appearance, was also a star? But she wasn’t wearing sunglasses or a hat. Don’t stars usually disguise themselves with sunglasses and hats when going out? At least, that’s what Zheng Tan thought.

After watching that side for a while, Zheng Tan shifted his gaze elsewhere and then saw a rather strange person at the corner.

The person was facing the glass of the shop next to them, their face contorting as if in spasms.

Curious, Zheng Tan decided to take a closer look. Just as he jumped off the chair, Charlie noticed. Even while reading the newspaper, he kept an eye on Zheng Tan.

“Black… Z, don’t go too far,” Charlie said with some anxiety, fearing that Zheng Tan would run off. Although the cat had previously gone for a jaunt during outdoor pet advertising and video filming in Chuhua City, this was an unfamiliar city, and trouble would be tough to handle.

Zheng Tan glanced at Charlie to show he understood, then continued towards the corner.

The corner shop was connected to the shopping center and used one-way mirrors, so from the outside, people standing there would see their reflection as if in a mirror.

The person standing in front of the glass seemed to be in their early twenties, dressed inconspicuously. At that moment, they stood there, their facial expressions shifting from anger to worry to embarrassment. One moment they appeared to relish a delicacy, ecstatic, and the next, they seemed as if they’d smelled dog feces, wishing they could spit it out.

Those unaware might suspect the individual was mentally ill or suffering facial spasms. However, Zheng Tan felt they might be practicing acting, as occasionally the person would stop to ponder and then slowly adjust their expressions in the glass.

Zheng Tan approached and crouched nearby to watch the person practice “face-changing.”

Perhaps alerted by Zheng Tan’s intense scrutiny, the person’s gaze shifted slightly, glimpsing the cat’s shadow reflected in the mirror. They turned to look at Zheng Tan a meter away and awkwardly scratched their head.

It felt somewhat embarrassing to be observed that way, even by a cat.

“Little Boots! Come here a moment.”

Yang Huaixi gestured from the other side, and Zheng Tan also noticed that she was sitting at the same table where he had just been sitting, talking with Charlie. The other young woman had also taken a seat there.

“Mr. Cha, this is Xue Ding; we all call him Little Boots. Boots, this is Charlie Mr. Cha,” Yang Huaixi introduced them to each other.

Originally, there were only four chairs here, and now three people had come over and Zheng Tan had no seat, so he simply squatted beside them. He saw no need to make a fuss over a seat with three strangers.

Charlie glanced at Zheng Tan and, noticing that Zheng Tan seemed unperturbed, he breathed a sigh of relief. He then continued to engage in conversation with the trio, albeit a bit restrained.

From their conversation, Zheng Tan learned that the woman with the framed glasses was called Tao Qi, and the young man practicing facial expressions in the glass was named Xue Ding. Both were playing supporting roles in the film.

Tao Qi had just graduated, coming from a proper acting school, and was recently signed by Yixing Culture. As for Xue Ding, he had never formally studied acting but had several years of experience as an extra before being spotted by Yang Yi, who brought him over. They were both part of the newly signed talent.

“We’re not shooting today, and seeing how tense they were, I decided to bring them out to relax. Since they’re newcomers with no popularity, sitting outside, nobody comes to bother them.”

Yang Huaixi talked to Charlie with a chuckle, her words circling around the two actors, leaving Charlie somewhat confused. Praising newcomers in front of him seemed pointless, as he wasn’t even from Yixing Culture and had absolutely no say in the matter.

Yang Huaixi, a distant relative of Yang Yi, held a relationship in the modern society even more indifferent than what distant relatives used to hold in ancient times. Yang Yi had taken her under his wing only because an elder from the hometown recommended her and because she had some years of experience and wasn’t a bad person. Beyond that, Yang Yi didn’t go out of his way to make things easier for her–everything depended on Yang Huaixi’s own efforts.

The reason why Yang Huaixi was so polite to Charlie, and why she introduced her two proteges through him, was because she had chanced upon seeing the car Yang Yi had customized for Charlie and his people. From what she had learned from older family members, Yang Yi wouldn’t arrange such things personally if he didn’t consider someone important. That was also why she had gone upstairs to snoop around the other day. She didn’t expect much from Charlie’s abilities, just hoping he would casually mention something good about Tao Qi and Xue Ding when talking to Yang Yi. Her career now largely depended on these two, and this movie was of utmost importance. It would be great if they could catch Boss Yang’s special attention.

If Charlie knew what Yang Huaixi was thinking, he’d surely tell her that the real power player had just had their chair taken by you all and was now squatting boredly beside you, yawning!

As they talked, Tao Qi’s phone rang.

“Sorry, I need to take this call.” Tao Qi got up, stepped away for a few moments, and then upon returning, she said to Yang Huaixi, “Yang, Erin said she’ll be coming over with Ronald soon.”

A flicker of displeasure crossed Yang Huaixi’s eyes, but she recovered quickly and gave Charlie a brief introduction of the two.

Erin had been signed by Yixing Culture in the same batch as Tao Qi and had previously been involved in a TV drama, making twenty thousand per episode. There was talk that someone was now offering her fifty thousand per episode. In Yang Huaixi’s eyes, Erin was Tao Qi’s biggest competitor. As for Ronald, he was a Three Kingdoms Mixed Blood, which meant he was mixed with people from the three major East Asian countries.

Zheng Tan couldn’t help thinking, if you’re going to be mixed, at least be mixed from farther afield. What kind of mixed blood is that from just three neighbouring countries?!

Erin was also a supporting actress in this movie, with a role similar to Tao Qi’s, while Ronald was not a person from Yixing Culture. However, he had just starred in an idol drama and had some popularity among high school students. He was also playing the second male lead in this film, with considerably more screen time than the other supporting actors.

Framing her words subtly, Yang Huaixi implied that Ronald’s role might have been secured through some connections.

Zheng Tan could tell that Yang Huaixi didn’t think much of either of them, especially Ronald.

Zheng Tan wasn’t fond of Ronald either–it was an intuition.

Soon enough, Zheng Tan’s intuition proved correct.

The guy strutting over with sunglasses on, posturing like an idol, was Ronald. He was also the guy who earlier almost stepped on Zheng Tan’s tail.

As Ronald approached, Zheng Tan noticed several young girls casting glances their way–girls who hadn’t been there before.

Simultaneously, Zheng Tan felt Ronald glance his way and became immediately alert.

“I’ll go grab a couple of stools,” Xue Ding said as he stood up, intending to fetch seats. After all, there were only four chairs here, and it wouldn’t be proper for Ronald to stand given his higher status. Xue Ding didn’t want to put Yang Huaixi in a difficult position.

“No need to trouble yourself, sit down, sit down, I’ll get them myself,” Ronald patted Xue Ding on the shoulder and then walked past him.

As he moved past the spot where Zheng Tan was squatting, Ronald lifted his foot and stepped directly toward Zheng Tan’s cat tail, appearing as though it was unintentional.

Zheng Tan quickly coiled his tail around his foot and pulled it back in the nick of time, looking up at Ronald.

With sunglasses on, Ronald tilted his head slightly towards Zheng Tan, raised an eyebrow, and then proceeded straight to another table to fetch a stool from there.

Zheng Tan watched Ronald’s retreating figure and narrowed his eyes.

This was the second time.

Though it’s said that three times is the threshold, and even though Jiao Ma had cautioned him not to stir up trouble when leaving Chuhua City, Zheng Tan wasn’t someone with a particularly good temper. He didn’t fancy giving someone a third chance to step on him.

Stepping on his foot once, his tail the second time–who’s to say that the third time won’t be a stomp right on him?

Wouldn’t they have several scenes together with this Ronald later?

Good, since he wasn’t from Yixing Culture, he could probably take advantage of that and play a few tricks on Ronald without worrying that Yang Yi and Kong Han would get too upset, right? (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (NovelFire.net) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.NovelFire.net.)