Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 351 - Chapter 351 Chapter 344 Courting Death Again

Chapter 351: Chapter 344: Courting Death Again Chapter 351: Chapter 344: Courting Death Again Tao Qi, Xue Ding, and the others struggled to hold back their laughter, their faces turning red, while Yang Huaixi even covered his mouth for fear of bursting out laughing.

Even Kong Han, who had been gloomy all day, couldn’t help but chuckle, covering his face with a rolled-up script.

Wasn’t this Ronald just asking for it?

He didn’t follow the rules, so who could he blame for ending up like this?

Ronald hadn’t paid attention to the glass earlier, though he felt the taste of the drink was a bit off, he didn’t care much, just wanting to quickly get the scene over with.

After that scene was done, and after Kong Han decided to “pass” it, Ronald noticed everyone’s strange looks. Thinking they were looking down on his performance and laughing at his afternoon NG, he humphed through his nose, took his sunglasses, and left. There was no more of his part in the afternoon’s shoot, and he planned to leave, feeling especially annoyed and stifled, ready to vent outside.

Kong Han didn’t bother with him, letting the filming crew rest for ten minutes before continuing.

Though the scene was over, everyone was still holding back their laughter, especially those who found Ronald displeasing; they felt immensely satisfied.

Actually, everyone thought Zheng Tan’s action was just a spontaneous result of a cat’s whims, as cats always have that mischievous streak. People who own cats know and understand this, and didn’t at all think Zheng Tan did it deliberately. It’s just a cat, nothing so complicated.

But it was precisely this cat that, in front of everyone, set Ronald up, making everyone feel it was Ronald’s own fault,

which Zheng Tan had learned from Zhuo Xiaomao.

Zhuo Xiaomao’s tactics of teasing teachers and classmates showed Zheng Tan that once you understand a person’s habits, setting them up can take only a minute.

Earlier in the scene, Zheng Tan had heard Ronald complaining to his assistant about why he had to drink from a bottle, saying it was unrefined, like a street vagrant. Zheng Tan saw that the soap opera Ronald acted in didn’t have any bottle-drinking scenes; it was all about nobly holding wine glasses. Moreover, Ronald was a bit of a lone wolf, never caring about others’ opinions, just doing as he liked.

To put it nicely, it was a love for untimely self-expression; to put it crudely, it was messing around. Today’s incident was just an experiment by Zheng Tan, it didn’t matter if it failed; the shoot wouldn’t stop halfway. Unexpectedly, Ronald really drank it.

The wine glass actually didn’t contain real wine, just a concoction that looked a lot like high-class liquor. But after the cat’s paw had been in it, what was in the drink?

Dust? Bacteria? Oh, probably also a few hairs from the front paws that the cat uses to sweep around on the floor and step on the toilet with.

He had drunk all of that down.

And he did it with such bold gusto.

In many people’s eyes, Ronald had just drunk a cat’s foot-washing water, of course, they wouldn’t gossip about it, as they were still in the middle of shooting, which could cause trouble.

Ronald only found out about this the next day, and was so furious that he smashed everything in his room, and his attitude on the set was terrible, looking at everyone disagreeably, especially the way he looked at Zheng Tan, as if he wanted to come over and fight.

The assistant and agent advised him to just endure it for a while, but obviously, it had no effect.

One day, when Ronald was late for the seventh time, Old Wang laughed.

“Heh, quite the big star.”

Apart from Yang Yi, only Old Wang would speak so directly, not avoiding anything, nor fearing Ronald’s retaliation, knowing well enough about Ronald’s background to handle it.

Old Wang, appearing carefree and saying whatever he thought, wouldn’t say such things if it was someone truly untouchable, he wasn’t stupid; being able to strive to his current status definitely didn’t come from being a fool.

This “Heh” carried a clear sarcastic tone, and Ronald heard it, glaring at Old Wang, who met his gaze with a smile, not looking away. Eventually, it was Ronald who looked away first.

Old Wang dug at his ear with his pinky and turned to look at the dog beside him, “Mika, tell me, why do some people just ask for trouble?”

Mika, squatting beside him, didn’t seem to understand his owner’s words, and after his owner looked his way, began sneezing uncomfortably fifteen seconds later.

“Look at you, such a silly thing!”

Old Wang patted Mika on the head, continuing to think about investing in another movie to give Mika another cameo. He had heard from Yang Yi that the Cat from the chairman’s family at Shaoguang Group had also made a cameo in that previous documentary. Old Wang liked to follow trends, and after gaining both wealth and status, he enjoyed it even more. That extended to owning a pet as well, but unlike others who owned Tibetan Mastiffs, he felt that the Pharaoh breed was more to his taste, something that seemed befitting of the Old Wang family, so he went with that instead.

Of course, those he chose to emulate were always of a much higher social standing than himself. As for Ronald and Ronald’s father, while the father was decent, the son was a bit of a letdown. Thankfully, his own children were well-raised, Old Wang thought proudly.

Actually, if it had been earlier, Ronald would not have so readily shown a cold face to Mr. Jiang and others. He wouldn’t have frivolously offended some of the more seasoned folks in the circle, but over these past few days, Ronald’s mood had spiraled downward not just because of what Zheng Tan did that day, but also due to Kong Han’s high demands. As the pressure mounted, his temper flared, and it would only simmer down when scolded by Yang Yi. Kong Han was almost ready to fire him on the spot, preferring to reshoot than to keep him around. If it weren’t for a direct call from Ronald’s father, Ronald might not have remained on the set at all.

After his father scolded him, Ronald behaved for a few days.

But that was just for a few days, and soon enough, he was causing trouble again, getting injured every two or three days. Although they were minor injuries, they were worrying enough, and humorously enough, they were all self-inflicted.

For instance, there was a well-planned route that he deviated from, nearly cutting his leg; or the framework made for the Cat, which although it resembled a regular ladder, was not exactly intended for human use. Instead of climbing the staircase as the script demanded, Ronald inexplicably decided to climb the ladder. Had Kong Han not called cut, he truly might have proceeded to climb up the cat ladder, and not getting injured would have been nothing short of a miracle.

These weren’t issues Zheng Tan sought out, but rather, he had been prepared for them, and everytime it was Ronald who initiated. Zheng Tan would then put on an innocent face afterward, arguing that it wasn’t his fault in the first place, it was all initiated by Ronald, he merely “helped” a bit.

Every time it was Ronald’s turn to act, Kong Han frowned. He knew that Mr. Luo was starting to “improvise” again. With any other actor, Kong Han would have immediately called a cut, but with this particular one, he just wanted Mr. Luo to wrap up quickly and leave. If improvisation was what he was after, so be it, as long as the final product wasn’t bad. Fortunately, he had not cast him in a leading role; other major challenging roles were also not given to him.

The other actors and crew members quite resented it; why keep focusing on that Cat, they wondered. The plank over there is unstable; they told you to walk on the other side, did you listen? The area where the Cat sits is even weaker, it’s dangerous for people there, did they not tell you? All these things have been mentioned, right?

Kong Han was speechless; this dissatisfaction was directed at Ronald, not Zheng Tan. He always adhered to a people-first principle, and before shooting, he ensured that the relevant staff checked everything meticulously. Yet, this person just wouldn’t follow the rules. If his reputation and status in the circle were higher, he would definitely have fired Ronald on the spot. But as it stood, Kong Han was still young and hadn’t reached such heights, some things had to be endured. But privately, he did complain to Yang Yi a great deal. Yang Yi also promised that he wouldn’t cast Ronald in future dramas unless he made genuine improvements that would make everyone willing to accept him; until then, out of sight, out of mind.

As the shoot neared its nerve-wracking conclusion, Ronald’s final scene involved yet another mishap; instead of pursuing the “thief,” he followed the Cat, and somehow, he slipped, injuring his face and leaving a ring of blood around the lower right side of his right eyelid.

Kong Han told Ronald’s agent to quickly take him to the hospital for treatment. As for his scenes, they would just reshoot them later.

How did people speak of Ronald? He wasn’t even up to par with a Cat.

Thankfully, the scenes involving explosions didn’t include Ronald; otherwise, who knows what else might have happened.

When the film finally wrapped up, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they no longer had to worry about Mr. Luo anymore, who was quite difficult to serve. Even Charlie felt that compared to Mr. Luo, Zheng Tan was much easier to handle.

This time, until the movie was completed, Zheng Tan had not used a substitute. Indeed, to prevent any sudden incidents or uncooperative behavior, Kong Han had borrowed a cat that looked remarkably like Zheng Tan to serve as his stand-in for the film. However, throughout the filming period, this substitute cat was never needed, and despite not being used, it didn’t get restless. Well-fed and taken care of daily, it was quiet, eating and then sleeping, gaining weight in the process. In contrast to Zheng Tan, it was too “obedient,” lacking much liveliness. But for many city dwellers, keeping such a cat wouldn’t be much trouble, easy to take care of. If it were like Zheng Tan, they would probably be nervous all the time, always having to watch lest it disappear without a trace.

It was the end of December, and even though the temperature here was slightly warmer than in Chuhua City, the onset of winter could still be distinctly felt.

At the wrap party, everyone was smiling, including Kong Han and Yang Yi. They dared not pour drinks for Yang Yi, so they aimed their toasts at Kong Han instead.

Yang Huaixi and others also came over to proactively chat with Charlie. Over this period, they had seen a lot of interaction between Yang Yi, Kong Han, and Charlie, ostensibly due to the cat involved in the filming, but Charlie had also spoken up for Tao Qi, Xue Ding, and others.

Not only did Tao Qi and Xue Ding come over to clink glasses with Charlie, Wei Wen and Shi Xiaotian did too. During their interactions, Charlie tried not to get as excited as he initially did, but thinking that these people would soon become major stars, he couldn’t help but get thrilled all over again.

After the wrap party ended and as they were heading downstairs, Ronald saw a cat flicking its tail at the stairs, a brief distortion crossing his face. He pushed away his assistant’s support and walked over.

“Ah–Ronald!” Ronald’s assistant exclaimed.

“What happened? What’s going on?!” The others, hearing the shout, came over.

Yang Yi and Kong Han came outside just in time to see Ronald rolling down the stairs.

“He must be drunk, right?”

“Probably. Just now I saw Ronald seemed to be about to step on the cat’s tail but somehow he ended up rolling down himself; must have been too drunk and missed his step,” said the speaker with a shrug.

Doing himself in again. Everyone thought simultaneously.

Lying on the ground with a broken bone, Ronald felt dizzy and woozy. The pain brought a slight clarity to the alcohol-induced fuzziness. Looking up, he saw the cat steadily standing on the wooden stair’s railing, locking eyes with him–those were eyes he’d never encountered during the filming, bearing a strange, eerie sensation. He was reminded of a tiger close-up wallpaper he once had on his desktop, the same intense gaze. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (NovelFire.net) and cast your votes or monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.NovelFire.net.)