Mud Battle
"We've started filming," Zhang Shuo strode over to Liu Li's side, "I wonder if I could join in?"
Liu Li frowned and ignored him. The stagehand next to her quickly stepped forward and explained the process with a forced smile, her voice getting softer and softer.
The artists going through the motions whispered among themselves, occasionally casting disgusted and curious glances at each other. Shen Yi'an stood at the edge of the crowd, slowly adjusting the accessories on his clothes, his eyes indifferent.
"Who is he?" Yun Jin looked up at Yun Chen, her tail gently patting Yun Chen's arm.
Yun Chen leaned down and whispered, "Zhang Shuo, a second-generation star. His parents are a famous director and an award-winning actress, but he has resources but no ability. His personality and reputation aren't very good either..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Shuo's exaggerated laughter came from afar. He was patting a minor celebrity on the shoulder and saying something.
"Okay, since they're already on this show, they probably wouldn't come if they had a good reputation." Yun Jin yawned, then quickly covered her mouth with her paw. "How do you know everything?"
"I surf the internet every day, of course I know," Yun Chen replied proudly.
"Do you want to enter the entertainment industry? I can share some of my fame with you." Yun Jin patted her chest with her paw.
"No." Yun Chen refused decisively.
Just then, a staff member pushed a pet transport cart over, which was piled with various sizes of airline crates, all made of brocade, just as the other person reached out.
"Whoosh!"
She darted onto the transport vehicle and deftly slipped into the top-level pet carrier, a perfect spot that offered both protection from other pets and a panoramic view of the entire area.
The production assistants came over and put the pets into carriers of different sizes, waiting for the filming of the show to begin.
"Oh my, Xiaoyun is so enthusiastic!" The stage manager was amused and reached out to pick her up.
Yun Jin immediately rolled over, revealing her soft belly, and put her four paws in the air as if surrendering. Her tail even hooked around the other's wrist in a flattering way, and she meowed in a low voice.
Sure enough, the stagehand softened and withdrew her hand, instead stuffing the Ragdoll cat into the lower box.
The Ragdoll cat meowed loudly in dissatisfaction, while Yun Jin proudly held its fluffy tail and observed the whole scene through the mesh.
Zhang Shuo swayed his shoulders as he approached Shen Yi'an, deliberately bumping into him forcefully. Although Yun Jin couldn't hear their conversation, she could clearly see Shen Yi'an roll his eyes after seeing him off, practically etching the word "disdain" onto his face.
How bad must someone be to make even Shen Yi'an unable to stand them? Yun Jin felt exhausted; none of the celebrities on this show were easy to deal with.
The filming is currently divided into a celebrity group and a pet group. Compared to the cheers from the celebrity group, the pet group is relatively quiet.
Yun Jin could even hear the artists lining up to introduce themselves, interspersed with bursts of canned laughter.
"Hello everyone, I'm Zhang Shuo. My dad asked me to come here today."
"Hello everyone, I'm Lu Xuan, and I'm very happy to be here."
"Hello everyone, my name is Shen Yi'an..."
"Filming is about to begin, everyone please get ready," the production assistant announced.
The pet group's filming was relatively simple. They set up a scene in a clearing in the woods and filmed a three-minute entrance scene.
"Bruce, look here!" The golden retriever's owner waved a bag of snacks, successfully making his beloved dog grin foolishly at the camera.
"Egg Tart, Mommy's here!" The Ragdoll cat's owner held up a feather toy, but it didn't interest the cat.
When it was Yun Jin's turn, Yun Chen simply held up the cat toy and waved it around, since Yun Jin was free to improvise.
Yun Jin mentally planned her stunning entrance. She tiptoed, took a standard cat walk, elegantly raised her tail, casually pawed at the prop feathers in the grass, and finally tilted her head and winked at the camera.
"oh--"
After a gasp of surprise, Yun Jin's hand inexplicably clung to the white gauze, making it appear to outsiders as if she were giving a thumbs-up to the camera.
"Oh my god! Xiaoyun is giving us a thumbs up!"
"That's so clever!"
"Quick, take a picture!"
The staff erupted in cheers, all giving Yun Jin a thumbs-up. Even the usually composed Yun Chen couldn't help but join in, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Meow meow meow meow—my paws are tangled, help!"
"Meow meow—you're all complete idiots!" Yun Jin was on the verge of tears.
"Alright, Xiaoyun, it's time to go. Filming is over," the production assistant reminded her.
But Yun Jin couldn't move at all. Tears welled up in her eyes, whether from the pain of the gauze binding her or from the hurt caused by this cruel world.
Just as she was in despair, Yun Chen finally noticed something was wrong: "Wait... is she really stuck?"
"Pfft, hahaha!"
"Teacher Xiaoyun has such a great sense of variety show humor!"
"Look at its utterly dejected expression!"
Laughter erupted throughout the scene, with some people even slapping their thighs in laughter. Yun Jin watched in despair as her "feat" was recorded from all angles by more than a dozen mobile phones, including Yun Chen's phone.
"Awoooooo—Yun Chen, how could you treat your sister like this?"
When Yun Chen finally had a change of heart and came to her rescue, Yun Jin had already given up on herself and started playing with the yarn by snagging with her claws.
At least this way it looks like he's deliberately trying to be cute, rather than being so stupid as to get stuck.
"Alright, alright, sis, it's okay." Yun Chen hugged her and comforted her.
Yun Jin buried her head in Yun Chen's arms, not wanting to speak.
As soon as the pet group's photoshoot ended, Yun Jin was put into a transport crate.
Outside the metal mesh, a cacophony of noise rose and fell from the artists' area, Liu Li's shrill loudspeaker piercing through the din:
"Teacher Shen Yi'an guessed all four flavors correctly! He will receive extra points."
"Lu Xuan, please do not remove your blindfold, it will result in a deduction of points."
Suddenly, cheers surged like a tide. Yun Jin's ears involuntarily turned to the source of the sound. Even though she couldn't see the scene, she could imagine that Shen Yi'an was the first place winner.
"Meow—he'll definitely choose me."
When the thought popped into her head, Yun Jin herself was stunned for a moment. She lowered her head and licked her paws, feeling incredulous at her own idea.
Why? Shen Yi'an chose Yun Jin to improve his reputation, so why did Yun Jin choose Shen Yi'an?
Footsteps approached from afar, and the shadow of the flight case was shrouded by a tall, slender figure.
"Of course I'll choose my lucky kitten."
As Shen Yi'an's voice rang out, Yun Jin could see his smiling eyes the moment the chest door opened.
"Congratulations to Shen Yi'an for choosing our top-tier cat!" The stagehand smiled and handed over the leash, which Shen Yi'an gently fastened onto the collar.
As the camera zooms in, Yun Jin suddenly rolls over in Shen Yi'an's arms, revealing her soft belly, and her tail playfully twitches.
"It seems our Yun Miaomiao also likes Shen Yi'an." A voice sounded from the side.
The second place went to Zhang Shuo, who strolled into the pet section with his hands in his pockets, scanned the area, and then chose the golden retriever Bruce.
Bruce let out a "woof" and pounced on him, his paws even stepping on his limited edition sneakers. Zhang Shuo's forehead veins bulged, but due to the camera zooming in, he forced a smile and patted the dog's head: "It's so lively."
Lu Xuan was last on the list. He had no choice but to pick "Guoguo," the myna bird that was also left over.
He squatted in front of the birdcage: "I heard that mynahs can mimic human speech?"
"I'm your grandpa!" the myna bird shouted, flapping its wings.
After a two-second silence, the room erupted in laughter. Lu Xuan, maintaining a stiff smile, picked up the birdcage: "It's very unique, this is it."
"Alright, you've all chosen your partners now, and you'll be teaming up for the rest of the show," the production assistant announced.
"Now look behind you."
Ten meters away, a huge mud pit was covered with various obstacle courses, and the plastic fencing around the edge bore a large slogan from the production team:
[Mud Pit Battle]
"Meow—Help!"
Yun Jin's claws unconsciously gripped Shen Yi'an's shoulders, even snagging a few threads on his expensive white shirt.
Shen Yi'an frowned, and Yun Jin covered that spot with her paws as if she were burying her head in the sand, then looked up at him with a guilty smile.
Bruce, standing to the side, was eager to try, his tail practically spinning like a propeller, while Zhang Shuo, holding the leash, was already turning ashen-faced.
Some of the other artists around him were screaming excitedly, while others looked embarrassed, but Shen Yi-an maintained his standard professional smile, as if nothing was a problem.
"Now it's time for our second phase: the quagmire battle."
"Requirement: The artist and the pet must complete the track together. The pet can be held by the artist or run on its own, but the artist cannot let go of the leash."
"The combination that finishes in the shortest time will win a mystery prize."
"Three, two, one, go!"
At a command, Shen Yi'an picked up Yun Jin and stepped onto the log bridge. Almost simultaneously, a hidden mechanism set up by the production team was activated, and the bridge began to sway violently like a pirate ship.
Yun Jin clung tightly to his shoulder, praying that she wouldn't fall.
As soon as Shen Yi'an stepped onto the bridge, he staggered two steps, swayed helplessly in place, then swung his arms wildly like a windmill, and finally fell into the mud in a perfect "T" shape.
Dude, weren't you so confident just now?
"Meow!" Yun Jin kicked off with her hind legs the moment he fell, but was pulled back by the traction rope in mid-air. Looking at the azure sky, she slowly shed two lines of hot tears.
It's over.
At the last moment before falling into the mud, Shen Yi'an pushed Yun Jin with his mud-covered hands.
"Meow!!!"
Yun Jin instantly exploded into a dandelion, leaving a solid mud handprint on the beautiful tricolor fur on his back.
She stood frozen on the bridge, looking down at her filthy fur, then turning to look at Shen Yi'an, who had become a mud figure. Her heterochromatic cat eyes were filled with shock and despair.
The mud and water on my back...it's so dirty!
Licking it is wrong, not licking it is wrong.
The entire audience was deathly silent for three seconds, then erupted in deafening laughter.
The first challenge had already exhausted Yun Jin and Shen Yi'an of all their strength.
The second level requires pets to retrieve specific items from a pile of toys; cats need to find fish-shaped dolls, and dogs need to find bone toys.
It wasn't a difficult task for Yun Jin; she just hadn't yet recovered from the shadow of the previous challenge.
She walked stiffly, as if she had lost her soul, each step accompanied by thoughts of the mud on her body.
Arriving at a pile of toys, Yun Jin first casually fiddled with a ball of yarn with her paws, then sniffed a rubber duck, sneezed, and finally picked up a gray mouse toy and presented it to Shen Yi'an.
“Yun Jin, it’s not this…” Shen Yi’an had a look of being both amused and exasperated.
Yun Jin looked up at Shen Yi'an, whose lower body was covered in mud and water, and couldn't help but admire his optimism.
As the countdown began, she precisely picked up the fish doll from a pile of toys, and as the countdown reached "1", she jogged back to Shen Yi'an's feet.
"That's great," Shen Yi'an said softly.
Yun Jin dodged before Shen Yi'an could reach down.
"Don't touch me!" Yun Jin cried out in her heart.
The third challenge is the final one, where the celebrities and their pets need to jump over five floating inflatable mats in sequence and finally take a group photo at the finish line.
The inflatable mat was shaking like jelly. Just as Shen Yi'an, covered in mud, was about to reach out to hug Yun Jin, a kitten shoved a paw onto his face.
Yun Jin: Help!!!
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