The humans started eating, while Li Wan and Xixi began discussing how outstanding her two-legger is.
Xixi didn’t really want to bother with her. It always felt that this silly little kitten was nothing but a bragging machine for her butler.
She couldn’t go three sentences without praising him.
It, on the other hand, was different. It was a mature Maine Coon. Although its Mama Qingqing was indeed a bit more outstanding than the little kitten’s Papa, it was very low-key.
If the little kitten wanted to brag, then let her brag.
So the scene ended up being: one cat meowing nonstop, the other cat grooming his fur lazily while half-listening, surprisingly harmonious.
Du Qingqing noticed them and laughed. “Wanwan seems to really like Xixi. Their personalities are both very good.”
“How about in the future, when Wanwan grows a bit older, Brother Chi, let them try dating?”
She was only joking, but she didn’t expect that before she even finished speaking, the man’s peach-blossom eyes had already grown cold.
“No need.
“Wanwan is still young.”
Just that timid, stupid Xixi. How could it be worthy of the kitten he raised?
But the topic made Chi Yan’s thoughts drift a little. Female cats go into heat when they reach a certain age. His kitten was a special case… he didn’t know whether she would have a heat cycle.
If she didn’t have that troublesome issue, then in his view, she didn’t need to find a mate for the rest of her life.
He could raise her just fine.
And no male cat was worthy anyway.
Du Qingqing was stunned for a moment and tried to explain, “I meant in the future.”
Chi Yan replied without hesitation, “There is no future. She’ll always be young.”
The atmosphere froze for a moment. Li Wan sensed it and blinked, then leaned over and rubbed against the man’s dangling fingers.
*Meow? Meow!*
—”Don’t be angry, okay? Your little kitty will always stay with you!”
Feeling the soft touch on his hand, Chi Yan’s expression gradually warmed, looking much gentler.
Li Xiaoyun broke the silence with a laugh.
“People who raise pets are like this. Sister Qingqing, you have a male cat, so you don’t understand.
“These kinds of things, female cats always get the short end of the stick.”
Du Qingqing also realized she had misspoken earlier. Embarrassed, she scratched her head.
“Sorry, Brother Chi, I didn’t think that far.”
Chi Yan nodded, letting the matter drop.
Everyone shifted the topic, except Fu Shilin, who clicked his tongue and muttered, “It’s just a cat, what’s the big deal.”
But he hadn’t said it loudly. Back when the show was still filming, he had shown his dislike of animals, and Du Qingqing had already been displeased with him.
Even now, long after the first episode ended, she still treated him lukewarmly.
That wouldn’t do.
Thinking of this, Fu Shilin felt irritated. He subconsciously looked toward the girl.
Du Qingqing’s profile was fair and smooth like fine porcelain. With just one glance, he inexplicably calmed down.
It was fine.
Chi Yan had tried all his life to take back his mother’s affection, yet he had never succeeded.
Du Qingqing could only ever belong to him.
The conversation shifted again, back to the variety show.
Du Qingqing asked, “Have you all been watching the show?”
Zhou Jia nodded. “I’ve been following it lately. It’s trending several times already.”
“Sigh,” he said dramatically, “My manager even contacted me specifically to remind me to watch my weight. Honestly, it’s embarrassing. For country bumpkins like us, trending is like celebrating New Year.”
Everyone laughed. The private room filled with lively chatter.
Li Xiaoyun smacked his arm. “Please, Brother Zhou Jia, don’t pretend. You’re always trending. I’m the only one who treats trending like New Year!”
Du Qingqing waved her hand. “That’s not true. I rarely trend either.”
She usually focused on acting, and trending only happened when a drama aired.
Chi Yan watched them silently, peach-blossom eyes carrying a smile.
Li Wan stared at him, a little dazed.
The lines of his side profile were clean and sharp, yet he looked relaxed.
How to put it…
In the original novel, at this point her butler was sitting alone in a dark corner of his house, molding like a mushroom.
He really needed more friends.
Like this, he looked much better, more human.
The kitten flicked her tail, determined to continue working hard for a bright future for both the human and the cat!!
Not long after, filming for the second episode of the variety show <A Family of Furry Friends> began. This episode would also take a week to shoot.
Everyone brought their pets back to the villa they had stayed in for episode one.
The moment the car stopped, Li Wan saw Du Qingqing on the villa lawn, sunbathing with Xixi in her arms.
She wore a floral skirt, her hair in braids, paired with bright sunflower hair clips, the picture of pastoral charm.
Waaah!! Beautiful Mama Qingqing!!
Li Wan leapt straight out of the open car window.
*Meow meow!*
She completely ignored assistant Xiao Li calling from the front seat.
She happily hopped her way toward Du Qingqing in her strange little bouncy gait.
【Long time no see, everyone!!】
【HAHAHAHA the familiar energy!!】
【Wanwan is still so cute!!】
【She really loves Du Qingqing! She ran straight to her LOL】
【HAHAHAHA how does Wanwan even walk? What kind of cat runs like THAT??】
Du Qingqing liked her a lot too. When she saw her come over, she even temporarily put Xixi down from her arms.
“Wanwan, long time no see!”
Li Wan : “Meow.”
Du Qingqing picked her up and skillfully started scratching her chin.
“You look so pretty today!
“It’s a new dress!!”
Hearing the compliment, the little kitty puffed out her chest proudly.
She was wearing a little purple dress with wavy lace trim, elegant like a kitty princess from a fairytale.
And she was the one who asked her human to buy it for her.
As expected, Mama Qingqing also thought it looked great. Beauties really do share the same taste!!
【No way no way】
【I told you Chi Yan doesn’t actually like cats that much. Last episode he was still acting like ‘cats will feel uncomfortable in clothes’】
【Exactly, pretending like he knows so much about cats, yet secretly dressing her up just for his own enjoyment】
【Wanwan is so pitiful having such an owner】
【Uh……】
【How much do you upstairs get paid per day for this part-time job? Can you take me with you】
【Lmao you must not have even finished last episode before coming in to slander】
【The cat likes wearing clothes herself, is that not allowed? Seriously speechless】
【Cat: 😼】
【Look at Xixi everyone hahahahahaha his eyes are SO resentful hahaha】
【Not gonna lie, Xixi’s personality is just as gentle as Du Qingqing’s】
Li Wan finally noticed Xixi’s resentful look. She blinked, realized it was probably inappropriate for her to be monopolizing Mama Qingqing like this, gave Qingqing’s hand one last affectionate rub, then jumped down, planning to go rub against Xixi.
But before she could touch it, a big hand lifted her up from behind.
“You’re a girl. Be reserved.”
Li Wan stared blankly upward, and met her human’s deep peach-blossom eyes.
She tilted her head. She didn’t understand what being a girl had to do with rubbing Xixi.
Mainly, cats greet each other by rubbing heads!
But remembering that her human had a bit of a mysterious, slightly unhinged brain that worked differently from normal people, she accepted it, nodding obediently.
【HAHAHAHA I’m dying, everyone, is Brother Chi jealous?】
【Ahhh it hasn’t even been that long, where did my aloof, cold, untouchable Brother Chi go QAQ】
【Didn’t I say before, Brother Chi will eventually fall at the feet of our fluffy Wanwan】
Even Du Qingqing laughed and pressed her lips together, then proactively retold what happened back at the group dinner.
“Thinking about it now, it really was my bad. Wanwan’s this cute, and Brother Chi is basically an old father, he sees her as the child he’s raising. Saying she should date someone… wasn’t that basically setting off a bomb right in front of Brother Chi.”
Chi Yan’s gaze lightened, though it didn’t show on the surface.
“It’s fine.”
The livestream comments went wild.
【HAHAHAHA didn’t expect Brother Chi to be this type of person】
【Old father mindset hahahaha I never thought that phrase would apply to Broher Chi】
【Who said Brother Chi doesn’t like fluffy things! He’s a true fan!!!】
After some greetings, Chi Yan waited with Li Wan and Du Qingqing for the remaining guests to arrive.
Li Xiaoyun and Zhou Jia arrived quickly. Only Fu Shilin came late, so late that noon had arrived by the time he strolled in.
“Sorry everyone, I actually left early, but halfway there were issues with the release of my new song, so I went to the company.
“That’s why I’m late, really sorry, really sorry.”
Though he said ‘sorry,’ everyone present could hear the smugness in his tone.
No one really understood what there was to be smug about.
Still, they all worked in the entertainment industry—surface-level politeness was mandatory.
Zhou Jia stood up first and clapped.
“Wow, Teacher Fu, amazing!!
“Didn’t expect you to have another new release coming so soon!”
Li Xiaoyun added, “Teacher Fu works so fast, your professional skills are impressive!”
Fu Shilin lifted his chin proudly, completely missing the fact that they were being perfunctory.
Even Li Wan couldn’t help but avert her eyes, learning from Xixi and showing the signature kitty ‘I can’t look at this’ expression.
Really, she didn’t understand. How could someone like that be the male lead?
And in the original novel, even her excellent human was overshadowed by him?!
Unacceptable.
Hmph hmph hmph.
【I can’t anymore guys, my ‘idiot intolerance’ is acting up, I’m getting nauseated】
【What’s so great about a new song? If you have money, you can drop as many singles as you want】
【You outsiders don’t talk nonsense!! Our A’Lin needs inspiration too!】
【Original artists depend on inspiration, only our A’Lin can produce new music this fast】
【Love him】
【Love what. If my idol were this dumb, unable to recognize obvious sarcasm, I’d go smash my head into tofu out of shame】
【LMAO they seriously think people were praising him】
【That’s normal, right? If you have pets at home, who would want to be around someone who abused a dog?】
【Can you stop slandering him? A’Lin already clarified it ages ago, okay?】
【LOL, not every ‘clarification’ even counts as a clarification】
【I’m dying, can that fandom please have some self-awareness】
【Stop arguing stop arguing, I know you’re all just worried about Qiu Tian, but look, Qiu Tian is doing fine】
Li Wan’s gaze also fell onto Qiu Tian.
They hadn’t seen each other for a while. At the last group dinner, Fu Shilin didn’t bring it.
The dog’s body size hadn’t changed much since last time, but he looked much healthier now.
Li Wan guessed that maybe because Fu Shilin was afraid of another incident being exposed, he’d been treating Qiu Tian better than before.
The Akita noticed her gaze and turned to look at her.
She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she felt that the moment the big dog looked at her, there was a bit more warmth in his eyes, and he even nodded at her.
Li Wan froze for a moment, her ears twitching. She subconsciously wanted to smile at him, yet the next second, her entire cat head was wrapped up in the man’s hand.
Li Wan: “……”
*Purrrr!!*
She shook her head several times, finally freeing her cat head, then glared angrily at the meddling butler.
The latter’s expression was perfectly calm, as if he hadn’t done anything at all.
Little cat: “……”
So speechless!!!
But the commotion made her forget what she had wanted to do.
With everyone gathered, the director began cueing the segment: “Welcome back to <A Family of Furry Friends>, everyone!!”
The group applauded.
Li Wan looked left and right, feeling that just sitting there made her look silly, so she tapped with her paws and tail to join in.
…She couldn’t use both front paws—she’d lose her balance QAQ.
【Cute】
【Is she clapping? Baby, you’re a soft sweet strawberry cake】
【Nope, today she’s a taro-paste cupcake hahahahaha】
“Since you’ve all participated once already, I’m sure the process is familiar. This is a new season, so the room assignments from last time don’t count!
“This time we’ll still use a mini-game to decide room choices.
“We’ll separate the pets from the guests. The guests stand five meters away from their pets, then staff members will pretend to ‘attack’ the guests.
“The staff will record how long it takes for the pets to run over to protect their humans. Just like last time, the order of choosing rooms will be decided by timing.”
After the rules were announced, everyone looked unsurprised.
Only Fu Shilin’s face instantly darkened.
What the hell?
He’d known about this game rule since the morning. With his relationship with Qiu Tian, that damned dog would be more likely to bite him than protect him. There was no way it’d come running to rescue him.
Which meant he’d definitely be last again. So he had told his assistant to ask the director to change the game.
But, why wasn’t it changed?!
He glared at the director.
The director pretended not to notice, shrugging innocently.
He wasn’t stupid. This game had been designed in advance, and all props were ready. Change it last-minute? Where was he supposed to find a backup game?!
Besides, the young master had already caused a huge mess last season. The fact he hadn’t kicked him out was already generous. And now this guy dared to act arrogant in his show?!
Laughable.
The director continued, “If there are no objections, please come draw lots to determine the game order.”
Everyone took a ping-pong ball from the box.
The order drawn was: Fu Shilin, Du Qingqing, Zhou Jia, Li Xiaoyun, Chi Yan.
Being first meant he couldn’t observe anyone else’s results. Fu Shilin was very unhappy, his expression worsening.
Maybe the director hated him and rigged it to make him draw first.
He had requested a rule change this morning, and the director ignored him. Maybe he was annoyed by him and was now deliberately causing trouble?
And Chi Yan was last again.
His new movie was a hit, and everyone said he was basically guaranteed the Best Actor award again. Maybe the director wanted to kiss up to him by giving him favorable treatment.
The more Fu Shilin thought, the darker his expression became. After holding it in for a moment, he couldn’t anymore. “I’m not competing.”
Everyone froze and stared at him.
【What the hell is this young master doing now】
【The capital’s firecracker prince is about to start acting out】
【I can’t take it anymore. Director, can you kick him off the show? An animal abuser staying on a pet show, how is that fair to the animals!!】
【Stop, don’t misunderstand him. A’Lin must have a reason. Everyone knows he’s never been a spoiled, reckless rich kid】
【Yes yes, he just looks rebellious, but he’s actually very principled】
【HAHAHAHA don’t mock him like that, his fans are suffering enough!】
The director hadn’t expected this nonsense. He cursed under his breath, but had to maintain a smile on camera: “Teacher Fu, do you have any suggestions?”
It’s fine, it’s fine, money is hard to earn and shit is hard to swallow, just endure it.
Besides, maybe this would be the first big conflict and buzz point for episode two.
Hehehe.
His voice was almost grinding with frustration, but Fu Shirlin thought he was guilty and puffed up even more. “I said I’m not competing!”
The director nearly lost it, wanting to punch him, but forced himself to smile.
“May I ask why, Teacher Fu?
“Did the production team do something wrong?”
—If not, then sit down and shut up!
Fu Shilin slammed down into a chair, then tossed the ping-pong ball at him.
“You’re seriously asking?
“This is a variety show, a live broadcast, and you dare secretly manipulate things?!
“You’re disrespecting the audience and the guests!!”
He crossed his legs, speaking from a place of condescending righteousness, even glancing meaningfully at Chi Yan: “You’re just trying to cling to someone’s recent popularity, but this is way too obvious!!”
Director: “……”
He was speechless and wanted to call him a moron.
But on camera, he could only smile and say, “How could that be, Teacher Fu? The draw was random. All ping-pong balls are identical except for the numbers.
“It’s pure probability. There is no—”
“Still denying it?” Fu Shirlin cut him off, sneering. “Then why was Chi Yan last in the order both last season and now?
“He definitely gave you benefits!! Let me remind you, I have the Fu family behind me!!”
【Oh my god, this moron is spitting blood and slandering people!!】
【So stupid. The camera showed the whole process, there was no opportunity to cheat!!】
【Ah, I knew something felt off with the draw results. This is what was weird!!】