Mother-child relationship
As soon as Ding Zhizi stepped into the new studio carrying Yun Jin, the calico cat's ears perked up alertly.
The studio's decor was cheap and plasticky, with fluorescent pink cat trees, a backdrop covered in program logos, and even the air smelled of artificial fragrance.
It was a world of difference from the previous studio. Yun Jin sneezed a few times without realizing it.
Yun Chen, standing to the side, was very worried and asked in silent lip-reading, "Sister, are you alright?"
Yun Jin wagged her big tail to indicate that she was alright.
After all, money is hard to earn, and life is tough.
Along with them came that annoying poodle, Polly.
Polly, already wearing a bow, was obediently bowing, but for a few seconds when the camera turned away, she would show Yun Jin her unfriendly teeth.
Of course, the same goes for Yun brocade.
"Xiaoyun, I hope you and Miss Ding Zhizi can be like you and Teacher Shen." Liu Li chuckled and stroked Yun Jin's chin.
Yun Jin glanced at the thin script; her part was only a single, hastily written line:
[Cat and dog interaction (natural and cute)]
Unlike before when Yun Chen was giving instructions from the side, this time Yun Chen leaned against the prop box, quite a distance away from Yun Jin, which made Yun Jin a little worried.
To portray a natural feeling, to be funny unintentionally, and to be funny in a unique way, Yun Jin found it very difficult.
"Bang!"
The studio door was violently pushed open.
A middle-aged woman in a Chanel suit barged in. Her stiffly permed curls were perfectly in place, and her bright red lips were tightly pursed.
Yun Jin felt Ding Zhizi's arms, which were holding her, suddenly stiffen, and the poodle Polly's wagging tail also froze instantly. Even the air pressure on the entire set seemed to drop sharply.
"Ding! Zhi! Zi!" The woman's words were dripping with anger. "Don't you want the fourth female lead in 'Kangzhuang Avenue'? That's a serious drama!"
Yun Jin felt the warm body embracing her suddenly stiffen.
Ding Zhizi's straight back gradually hunched over, and her eyes slowly lost their sparkle.
Her lips trembled as she squeezed out a sentence: "Mom, I... I wasn't selected, so I thought I'd participate in this variety show..."
Her mother became even angrier: "Why didn't you prepare properly? Do you know how rare an audition opportunity is?"
"Are you trying to drive me crazy? Why are you doing this to me?!"
She slammed her bag down hard on the coffee table, making the leaves of the green plants tremble.
Poodle Polly stepped forward and stood in front of Ding Zhizi, bowing repeatedly, trying to salvage the situation.
"Mom, let's talk about this when we get back, okay? We're about to start filming now," Ding Zhizi pleaded.
"You still know how shameful you are? I worked so hard to get you this interview opportunity, and you've just thrown it away. Don't you feel ashamed?" Her mother crossed her arms and glared at Ding Zhizi.
What a terrible thing to do, to embarrass a child in front of so many people. Yun Jin swallowed hard.
"I don't want to act... I'm not good at it, everyone says I'm just a pretty face." Ding Zhizi trembled, her voice trembling with tears.
Yun Jin noticed the camera quietly zooming in, silently focusing on the scene, while the whispers from the sidelines spread like the spitting of venomous snakes.
"I heard her mother went for IVF at forty to seduce a foreigner..."
"That mixed-race face is simply not good enough for a serious drama..."
"Didn't she become famous by selling her body? What else can she do...?"
Suddenly, a warm, fluffy ball of fur snuggled up to Ding Zhizi's neck. Yun Jin had somehow climbed onto her shoulder, its large, fluffy tail wrapping around her like a small scarf, its pink paws gently patting away her falling tears.
"Meow—don't cry." Yun Jin's voice was soft and gentle.
Yun Jin raised her head and fluffed her tail in the direction of the whispers, her round, heterochromatic eyes filled with displeasure.
When the calico cat displayed such human-like intelligence, the entire set erupted in cheers of "Ooh—," and everyone started taking pictures with their phones.
Yun Jin was saddened to discover that no one thought to stop this scene, and they even thought she was cute.
Ding's mother angrily raised her hand.
"Smack!"
The furry claws moved with lightning speed, slapping hard on the back of Ding's mother's hand.
"Meow—How could you hit your daughter at a time like this?"
Yun Jin's fur bristled, she arched her back to reveal her sharp teeth, and hissed threateningly. She was already trying her best to restrain herself from extending her claws.
"This...this mad cat!" Ding's mother staggered back two steps. "It's not your owner, why are you protecting it?"
Ding Zhizi buried her face in Yun Jin's long fur, her red eyes still brimming with tears, and Yun Jin could even feel her snot running down her face.
Although you're pitiful, don't leave your snot on me! Yun Jin quickly changed her position.
After Ding's mother calmed down, she raised her hand to forcibly pull her daughter away, while Baoli, who was standing next to them, anxiously spun around in circles.
"Please don't...do this..." Yun Jin heard Bao Li's plea.
Yun Jin lost her balance while they were pulling her, so she had to jump onto the coffee table.
"Big sister, you've done a great job." Yun Chen squeezed in and took Yun Jin away.
Yun Chen noticed that her sister's gaze was still following Ding Zhizi as she walked away, and even her ears drooped down.
Yun Jin let out a muffled "meow" and rested her head on her sister's shoulder. "I don't know if I've helped her."
"Teacher Liu, we're leaving now, it's time to get off work." Yun Chen noticed that Yun Jin was very tired, and quickly put her into the cat carrier. "Sister, don't think about it, rest first."
"You guys go back first," Liu Li said, grinning from ear to ear as she held her phone. "Get some rest, trending cat."
Through the ventilation holes in the cat carrier, Yun Jin could see the hashtag #EvilMotherPublicViolenceStoppedByCat# followed by the wildly popular word "Boiling".
The trending search results included photos of Yun Jin with her hair standing on end and Ding Zhizi with tears streaming down her face.
Yun Jin could also see those malicious comments scrolling by.
She turned her face away, her tail thrashing restlessly inside the cat carrier.
The netizens cheering and watching the show, the soaring data, and that one glance Ding Zhizi gave back as she was being dragged away…
——
Back home, Yun Jin stretched out her body and collapsed onto the bed.
A lot happened that day.
After two videos went viral, the account gained tens of thousands of followers in a single day, and even received countless private messages from brands that proactively contacted them for collaborations.
She should have been happy, but a vague unease lingered in her heart.
"Yun Chen, I want two eggs in my noodles." She lazily reached out, grabbed the tablet from the bedside table, and scrolled through the comments section, reading through the fans' messages one by one.
"Okay." Yun Chen's calm response came from the kitchen. After the soft sound of the refrigerator door opening and closing, the sizzling sound of egg liquid sliding into the pot, along with the aroma, wafted over.
Yun Jin stared at the screen, but her thoughts had already drifted far away.
"Working with celebrities does produce great results, but..."
Yun Jin knew that her advantage lay in anthropomorphism. People always like pets that are like humans, experiencing joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, but not surpassing humans.
Viewers love the ethereal quality that lies between cat and human, but what if one day they discover that "Xiaoyun" isn't a cute, intelligent little creature, nor a well-trained pet, but a person who can transform into a cat...?
What will happen?
Yun Jin gripped the tablet tightly, her fingers turning slightly white from the force.
Some memories began to surface.
It was a night of torrential rain. They were being carried in their mother's mouth, their fur soaked through by the cold, wet rain.
Finally, they were left at the door of an orphanage.
The headmistress was a kind old woman. My mother had shared her secrets with her and entrusted her two daughters to her care.
When the headmistress finally saw them, she was first surprised, then sighed, took them inside, and gave them names.
From then on, Yun Jin and Yun Chen lived as humans.
But the mother did not completely leave.
Every so often, she would quietly appear at night to teach them how to survive in the human world, how to control their transformations, and how to hide their cat characteristics...
"Don't end up like me, unable to be a cat or a human."
After the last class, the mother stood in the moonlight, looked at them deeply, then turned and leaped into the night, never to return.
"The noodles are ready." Yun Chen's voice interrupted her thoughts.
Yun Jin looked up and saw her younger sister standing by the bed with a bowl in her hand, two soft-boiled eggs sliding slightly on the noodles.
She took the bowl and asked, "Yun Chen, have you thought about... what would happen if we were discovered one day?"
Yun Chen was silent for a moment, then said, "I only know that I will be with you, no matter what happens."
Yun Jin stared at the egg in the bowl, the steam blurring her vision.
"I was just asking, why are you taking it so seriously?" Yun Jin chuckled.
Yun Chen picked up the tablet and sat down in the chair, his fingers quickly swiping across the screen, scrolling through the endless stream of private messages.
"Sis, look." She handed over the tablet, her tone filled with undisguised disgust. "The comments section is full of people saying you and Shen Yi'an should continue filming. Even the captions are almost identical. He must have hired trolls."
Yun Jin took the tablet and glanced at it. The top comments section was full of comments like "Xiao Yun is Shen Yi'an's career cat" and "You must cooperate with handsome guys!"
She sighed, realizing that associating with controversial celebrities for too long would damage one's own reputation.
"Sis!" Yun Chen gritted her teeth and squeezed out these two words, "Don't tell me you're really considering it? He may be handsome, but have you forgotten how he treated his girlfriend and fans in that leaked recording?"
Yun Jin comforted Yun Chen: "Don't think of things as so bad. It's just a normal collaboration, so there shouldn't be any problems. Besides, I'm just a cat."
Yun Chen crossed his arms and snorted coldly.
"That would be best." She watched her sister wolf down her food, her tone softening slightly, "...The noodles are getting cold, hurry up and eat."
Yun Jin secretly glanced at her younger sister and saw that she still had a stern face, so she couldn't help but gently touch her slippers with the tip of her foot.
"Okay, housekeeper," Yun Jin deliberately drawled, "I promise, I'll stay—far—far—away—from—Chen Yi'an."
Yun Chen finally couldn't hold back, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, but he quickly suppressed it and glared at her with feigned seriousness.
Remember to wash the dishes after you finish eating.
——
The night outside the window was as dark as ink, and the city lights blurred into indistinct spots of light outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Shen Yi'an sat alone in the unlit bedroom, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, the flame flickering in the darkness.
The phone screen suddenly lit up, revealing his unhappy profile.
A WeChat message popped up:
I'm back, I'll be late.
His eyes swept across the screen.
Several cigarette butts were piled up in the ashtray, indicating that he had been sitting there quietly for quite some time. His hand hovered over the screen for a moment before he finally just placed the phone face down on the single sofa.
Only after the last cigarette in the pack had burned out did he pick up his phone again and reply briefly:
【OK. 】
The moment the message was sent, a silent sigh blended into the night.
Outside the window, a black sedan was slowly driving by.
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