Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 401 - Chapter 401 387

Chapter 401: 387 Chapter 401: 387 Rarely appearing on television, the Jiao family were all looking forward to it.

The Provincial Annual Ceremony was at the end of January, by which time some students would soon be on winter break, and those who finished their exams early had already bought tickets to go home. Jiao Yuan and Little Youzi had just finished their exams and had a few days to rest before going back to school to get their report cards.

On January 30th, the Provincial Annual Ceremony started at two in the afternoon. Yuan Zhiyi came over in the morning to pick up Mr. Jiao and they headed to the venue together. Yuan Zhiyi, dressed like a true Boss today, wore more casual attire than Mr. Jiao, a suit that cost at least hundreds of thousands. The vehicle he chose to come in was also selected specially, a model of understated luxury.

Mr. Jiao initially wanted to drive himself there, but Yuan Zhiyi scoffed at the idea, considering Mr. Jiao’s car embarrassingly inadequate. Since they were headed to the same destination anyway, it made sense to give Mr. Jiao a lift.

With Mr. Jiao off to the ceremony, the Jiao family sat in front of the television. In fact, the ceremony wasn’t broadcast live. The provincial news that evening would likely have a related report, followed by newspapers and online news the next day. Knowing they couldn’t watch a live broadcast, the Jiao family still sat in front of the television waiting.

Jiao Yuan also opened his computer to browse the web, but unfortunately, he hadn’t found anything by the time dinner approached.

During the ceremony, Mr. Jiao had set his phone to silent and it wasn’t appropriate to take calls while sitting in the venue. They were providing dinner at the ceremony, and around six o’clock, Mr. Jiao called home to say he wouldn’t be back for dinner and he’d be home late.

During the call, Jiao Ma didn’t ask too many questions. Knowing everything was going smoothly was reassuring enough. Jiao Yuan, Little Youzi, and Zheng Tan all listened intently next to her during the call. Jiao Yuan even considered asking his dad to get autographs from a few stars, but since Jiao Ma had already hung up the phone, he let go of that idea.

After 7:30 in the evening, once the national news was done, the provincial news came on. The three Jiao family members and the cat all watched the normally ignored news attentively, afraid to miss a single detail.

“There it is! There it is!” Jiao Yuan exclaimed with excitement.

On the TV, the provincial news covered the Provincial Annual Ceremony held that day. The venue was large and looked very impressive. A few of the province’s leaders were given dedicated camera shots. Zheng Tan spotted Ermao’s dad, who bore a resemblance to Ermao, though he looked quite serious. To be fair, he looked more like Ermao’s older brother. After all, those who become leaders need to project stability, unlike the often silly and goofy Ermao. Going freelance is probably best for the likes of him.

The camera focused more on several important economic figures within the province. Zheng Tan also caught sight of a few acquaintances, such as President Liu. However, Fang Shaokang was closer to President Liu, whereas Zheng Tan knew President Liu’s son, Liu Yao, better, having raced with the kid in the past. Now that little brat has grown up and no longer plays with remote-controlled cars, but with a custom mini race car his dad had made for him.

The other people were each given a brief camera shot. You could see a few celebrity figures, and Mr. Jiao, in that brief shot, wasn’t very noticeable. However, the Jiao family still spotted him, and Yuan Zhiyi was found as well. Among the top ten outstanding young teachers, the one who got more of the camera’s attention was a woman in her 30s who was teaching in the mountains. Everyone could understand that, so they were accepting of Mr. Jiao’s fleeting moment on screen.

When Mr. Jiao came home that evening, Yuan Zhiyi came up with him to chat for a while. Compared to Mr. Jiao’s calmness, Yuan Zhiyi was in high spirits, not because of the awards handed out today, but because of some observations he made at the ceremony.

Mr. Jiao knew teenagers loved chasing celebrities, so without being asked, he had brought a notebook today and got autographs from several stars, one each for every star he approached.

As Jiao Yuan and Little Youzi looked at the autographs, they listened to Yuan Zhiyi recounting experiences from the awards ceremony and from the self-service dinner afterward.

When they heard that a certain star had been somewhat cold and impatient when Mr. Jiao asked for an autograph, Jiao Yuan, Little Youzi, and Zheng Tan instantly paused in their actions.

“Which star?” Jiao Yuan inquired.

“You know, that one…” It took Yuan Zhiyi quite a while to finally remember the name of the star.

After Yuan Zhiyi left, Zheng Tan noticed Jiao Yuan secretly tore off a page from a notebook featuring the name of that aloof celebrity, crumpling it up and tossing it into the bathroom wastebasket while Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma weren’t paying attention.

Tsk, this kid.

Well done!

The next day, indeed, many accounts of yesterday’s grand ceremony appeared in newspapers and on some related forums. In the politically oriented pages of the newspapers, the individuals highlighted by the provincial government were mentioned frequently, while others were merely named, if not just given a sentence or two. The entertainment sections, on the other hand, had extensive coverage, complete with large photos of the celebrities sitting at the event and extensive reports on various aspects, such as which brand a celebrity was wearing, whether they had cosmetic surgery, their hairstyle, bust size, and speculating family conflicts and the reality of recent scandals based on the stars’ behavior.

Newspapers are one thing, since those are entertainment pages after all, but what about online? Even if one avoids the entertainment sections, there are plenty of large community discussion sites and active public platforms that still predominantly feature celebrities, covering everything from their outfits to family conflicts and recent movie roles. Despite the presence of some PR agencies and promoters, the amount of attention was overwhelming. In many photos taken by on-site reporters, celebrities dominated the frame, with logos of well-known media outlets on the microphones. Compared to these celebrities, who were cornered, asked for autographs, and interviewed by journalists, other attendees seemed to fade into the background. Prominent economic figures got slightly more exposure, but people like Mr. Jiao, despite his status as an influential young teacher, received very little public attention.

Jiao Yuan found a photo where a meticulously made-up celebrity took up most of the frame, while those sitting next to her or diagonally behind became nameless extras, reduced to passerby A, B, C, and D in the reports. Beneath this post, there were many comments praising and “liking” it.

One reason why Jiao Yuan had saved this specific photo was that it’s the only one he could find that included Mr. Jiao, even if he was just a “passerby.”

This is a common phenomenon, and many people think it’s perfectly normal.

Jiao Yuan got into an argument with people on the forum. He had merely replied, “Celebrities already have enough spotlight and attention; why not share some with others?” and was immediately attacked by the fans. He was now arguing in frustration, while also rallying his friends–Xiong Xiong from the courtyard, Su An, and Lan Tianzhu, among others, to join the battle.

Zheng Tan also felt annoyed.

Zheng Tan wanted to join the fray, but unfortunately, with people at home and Jiao Yuan hogging the computer, he couldn’t lay a paw on the keyboard. Unable to hit someone or type, his claws itched to do something to vent his frustration.

After some thought, Zheng Tan stepped out and went to the Old Tile House District.

After finding Lan Hua, Zheng Tan charged the phone and hid it again in the Old Tile House. The phone, provided by Liu Ba, had good internet features. Unable to use a computer, Zheng Tan resorted to using the phone to post.

Zheng Tan spent three hours composing a post of nearly a thousand words. He didn’t deny the influence of the celebrities, nor did he bring up Mr. Jiao’s situation, but he named a few media outlets and reporters and listed several of the exemplary figures highlighted, including the young female teacher volunteering in mountainous areas.

The thousand words took Zheng Tan three hours, not because he didn’t know what to say, but because texting with paws on a phone was too difficult. He had never thought much of it when sending a few words or short phrases. It was only after typing more extensively that he realized how inconvenient paws were; his paws almost numbed by the time he finished the post.

By a quirk of fate, Zheng Tan’s post was discovered by an influential scholar who reposted it on a forum he frequented, which was full of sharp-tongued and outspoken individuals with significant public attention. Then, Zheng Tan’s post gained some traction.

Zheng Tan himself hadn’t expected this, as his original intention was merely to vent his frustration after seeing those photos and reports, and Jiao Yuan’s battles on the forum.

When the journalists saw the article going viral online, their faces turned green, especially the ones Zheng Tan had called out. They smashed their desks in the office in anger.

Damn it, who’s the meddlesome, crazy sentimentalist that wrote this?! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (NovelFire.net) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.NovelFire.net to read.)