“Perfect,” Kang Gai murmured, then asked the photographer to take a few more shots.
Whether it was the leaping motion, the moment when the owner left, the cat’s instinctive paw reaching out to stop them with a sense of foreboding, or the sight of the owner’s back disappearing as the cat watched—its expression full of loneliness and sorrow—everything was vivid and lifelike, as if the cat truly were that cat, living in that era.
“Very good.”
The entire sequence of cat-related shots was now complete.
The moment the director called “Cut!”, Jian Xun immediately sprang to life, like a cannonball shooting toward Shang Xuci, who had been standing nearby watching. He threw himself against Shang Xuci’s legs, rubbing against him enthusiastically.
The lively behavior was completely different from the anxious, worried cat just moments before.
The bright sapphire-blue cat eyes were now clear and lively, the almond-shaped frame brimming with joy.
Shang Xuci picked him up, using a wet wipe to clean his paws. Once they were clean, he held the cat in his arms and gave him a gentle pat, while the cat shamelessly begged for attention.
“Meow~”
Let’s see if the intimacy level has changed!
Hehe, not bad, not bad—it’s gone up a little.
Shang Xuci lightly rubbed the soft, tender, pink paw pads with the tip of his finger.
“So this cat belongs to President Shang?” Kang Gai walked over with a smile.
“Mm. He’s very playful.”
“Yes, a very clever cat indeed. No wonder you signed him up for the audition.”
Shang Xuci simply smiled without answering. He couldn’t exactly say it had nothing to do with him and that the cat had signed itself up, could he?
And had even been chosen at first sight.
The little white cat wrapped his paws around the big boss’s neck and patted his shoulder proudly.
The next group stepped onto the set, and Jian Xun noticed a familiar figure—the big boss’s fiancée, Jiang Yuanqing.
He thought so. How could such an important drama not have Jiang Yuanqing in it? He’d heard from the office ladies that she had even approached Shang Xuci personally for the role, but was turned away at the door.
Jian Xun had also heard that Director Kang Gai was very strict, and there was no way the crew would allow anyone to buy their way in. That meant Jiang Yuanqing must have gotten in purely on her own merits.
Backstage.
Jiang Yuanqing stared at the female lead’s back, her fingers clenching white. She hadn’t expected the role she’d been eyeing to be taken by a completely unremarkable woman. She’d checked the woman’s information—just an eighteenth-tier minor star—while she herself had only managed to secure a supporting villain role through her own efforts.
Fortunately, this supporting role still had plenty of scenes. In the early stages, the character was portrayed as the male lead’s first love, beautiful and pure. As long as she seized the opportunity, she could still stun the audience with this role.
In fact, it was Shang Ye who had secured it for her. That day when she went to find Director Kang Gai, she had left a bad impression, but Shang Ye not only got her a chance to audition for another group, he also gave her a new female-lead script from another famous domestic director. Either way, once the new drama aired, her career would rise.
With that thought, Jiang Yuanqing’s heart finally regained balance.
But just now, when she saw the lion cat auditioning and Shang Xuci standing there watching, her dislike for him deepened yet again. He claimed he would never abuse his power, but wasn’t he still putting his own cat into the show?
In comparison, Jiang Yuanqing gave a cold laugh.
After finishing his scene, Jian Xun obediently stayed in Shang Xuci’s arms. When he saw Shang Xuci not leaving, and Jiang Yuanqing taking the stage again, he nodded slightly.
So, it was to watch his fiancée, huh?
That thought was broken just over ten minutes later.
“Wow, it’s Chen Chi!”
“Ahhh, it’s really him! I knew he’d be in this drama too!”
A burst of excited chatter came from the doorway.
The man was strikingly handsome, dressed in the battle armor of an ancient general. His long, flowing hair was tied into a high ponytail, radiating youthful energy. He carried both an imposing presence and a spirited vitality, his gait and gaze as if he had stepped straight out of an ancient painting.
Everyone present smiled in admiration—no wonder he was Chen Chi, he was just too handsome!
Director Kang Gai also nodded in satisfaction. These days, finding a young male actor with both skill, popularity, and a strong sense of conviction was incredibly difficult, but Chen Chi had not let him down.
Jian Xun’s eyes lit up—it was Chen Chi, the male lead from Love 100%! He was even more handsome in person than on TV.
In an instant, Jian Xun leapt from Shang Xuci’s arms and ran toward Chen Chi. In the drama, he was the cat Chen Chi’s mother had taken in, and they had a great relationship. He loved nothing more than being Chen Chi’s little shadow.
A crowd gathered around Chen Chi, and Jian Xun wanted to squeeze in for a closer look.
Shang Xuci called out “Sui Sui,” but the cat ignored him, choosing instead to rub against Chen Chi’s leg.
Seeing this, Shang Xuci pressed his lips tightly together, his eyes growing dark.
Hearing the meowing, Chen Chi instinctively looked down. A white cat was clinging to his pants leg, softly mewing.
He picked up the cat and smiled. “You’re the actor cat, Sui Sui, right? You’re so cute.”
After praising him, he took a packet of cat biscuits from his bag, tore it open, and asked, “Smell this—want to try?”
To be complimented right after meeting someone, and with such skilled petting—it was obvious this man had practice. Feeling so comfortable under his touch, Jian Xun narrowed his eyes in bliss, purring softly. When he heard the man offering food, he was overjoyed, meowing as he buried his head against the man’s chest.
“Handsome man with a beautiful cat—so pleasing to the eyes!”
“Hehe, secretly shipping this CP!”
“Look at Mr. Chen’s expression—he really loves cats. He even carries cat snacks with him.”
“Of course. Mr. Chen is good with all animals.”
Seeing Chen Chi interact with the cat, everyone started taking out their phones to snap photos.
Kang Gai even patted a staff member on the shoulder and said cheerfully, “Take a few more shots.”
Perfect for marketing.
Shang Xuci lowered his head, staring at his cold fingertips, lost in thought.
So, it wasn’t as if the cat had to cling to him.
He was pretty savvy, knowing exactly who to stick close to in order to get treats.
Shang Xuci’s narrow, phoenix-like eyes squinted slightly as he slipped a hand into his pocket, giving the candy the cat had hidden there a squeeze.
Some people, seeing how close the cat was to Chen Chi, assumed it must be his cat. But when they voiced their guess, they suddenly felt a chill. A tall, handsome man standing nearby had swept his gaze over them, and for some reason, that one look made them stand at attention, as if they had said something they shouldn’t have.
4 p.m.
Shang Xuci made a quick trip back to the office. The lion cat followed him, wanting to be picked up, mewing coquettishly, but the man ignored him. Though the little white cat felt wronged, he had no choice but to trot after him.
…
For the past few days, the big boss’s office had been stocked with cat treats. The cat would stand on tiptoe to hook them down with his paw, expertly tearing open the packaging, inhaling the scent in bliss, then taking a big bite.
A large hand suddenly slid under his chin, ruthlessly snatching the treat away.
Jian Xun looked up at the owner of the hand. The man’s gaze remained fixed on the computer screen, as if not sparing even a sliver of attention for the cat.
Jian Xun stared at him, then began moving with one paw, feeling around the desk until he found a small piece of cake. He hooked it over with his sharp claws.
Plop—
The small cake accidentally fell to the floor, startling Jian Xun. He looked down at it, while Shang Xuci also glanced over. The little white cat, caught red-pawed, awkwardly shifted his body, trying to cover the “corpse” of the cake with his body. But the man scooped him up with one hand, flicking his plump belly with just enough force to make a point.
“You’ve even got a belly now.” Shang Xuci bent down to pick up the small cake. Since it was still in its wrapper, it was fine to eat.
His long fingers tore open the packet, then used the little fork inside to spear a piece and feed it to the cat.
The little white cat purred twice, opened his mouth, and flicked his tail high into the air.
After that, the man didn’t watch the cat as he fed him piece by piece. Instead, he kept his head down, eyes fixed on the documents, yet the cake in his hand still found its way precisely to the cat’s mouth every time.
Returning the favor, after finishing the cake, Jian Xun unwrapped a piece of candy and pushed it onto the document Shang Xuci was reading.
“Meow.”
It’s freshly opened—just peel the wrapper and you’ll see the candy inside!
Shang Xuci raised an eyebrow and said casually, “Feed me.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the candy wrapper on the document was picked up by the cat. Thump—
The cat landed lightly on the desk, reaching out a paw.
A piece of candy was delivered right to Shang Xuci’s lips.
Shang Xuci was momentarily stunned. He had only been joking, yet Sui Sui had actually fed him. He bent down without thinking, licking and taking the candy into his mouth.
The sweet taste spread through his mouth. Realizing what he’d just done, Shang Xuci gave a silent laugh.
When had he started acting this childish?
He looked at the cat’s head rubbing frantically against his palm, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. Pushing the documents aside, he opened a drawer and took out a yarn ball.
The cat saw the ball and let out a spoiled meow, urging the man to play with him.
Just then, the phone on the desk vibrated. Shang Xuci glanced at it—it was a message from his cousin, Shen Huan.
[Cousin, did you let Sui Sui go act in a drama?]
Shang Xuci: [?]
Shen Huan: [It’s trending! Sui Sui’s on the hot search! I knew he was going to be popular!]
Shang Xuci opened Weibo. The hashtag #TopStarAndHisCat was ranked second on the trending list.
The first spot was also a post from Chen Chi.
He clicked into the second tag.
A nine-photo collage—all of them were of a man holding a cat. The title read “Top Star and Cat.” Shang Xuci browsed through each image before finally looking at the comments.
[Lion cat! Chen Chi and the cat look so good together!]
[Uwu, the cat is so well-behaved—especially in the fifth photo. They’re looking at each other, and in the cat’s eyes there’s only Chen Chi, and in Chen Chi’s eyes there’s only the cat. Love it, love it.]
[Serious question—Is this cat the top star’s cat?]
[In the drama, yes. In real life, not sure. Haven’t seen Chen Chi post any photos of the cat before.]
[I don’t care, I’m shipping Chen Chi and the cat! They’re the best pair in the world.]
[Right? A cute, soft, adorable cat with a cold, rugged general—ship, ship, ship!]
[Quick, look—Chen Chi just posted an official Weibo with the cat. @ChenChi]
Shang Xuci clicked directly into Chen Chi’s account and happened to see six photos of Sui Sui he had just posted—solo shots of the cat from every angle.
Someone even asked if they were taken at his home.
The comments section was filled entirely with people praising how perfectly matched the cat and Chen Chi were.
Tsk.
Shang Xuci, without a word, posted a photo of himself with the cat on Sui Sui’s account. He also quietly changed the account name—to Shang Shang’s Cat.
The profile picture was of the cat hugging the man’s neck, acting spoiled.
Jian Xun was lazing around at home when he saw a voice message from Big Brother Tu Tu.
Xu Tutu: “Meow meow meow meow!”
[Sui Sui, you’ve made it! Already acting now? Is the pay good? Do they still need more cats?]
Jian Xun tapped the voice message with his paw pad: “Meow meow meow?”
[Huh? How do you know about it? I don’t even know how much it is yet. If they need other cats later, I’ll tell you.]
Xu Tutu: [smoking.jpg]
Shang Suisui: [lighting-cigarette.jpg]
Xu Tutu: [You’re trending. You should check. I thought you’d gotten together with that handsome guy.]
Shang Suisui: [What are you talking about? I’ll go see.]
Aside from memes, the two cats communicated mostly in meowing voice messages. After exiting the chat, Jian Xun went to check Weibo.
And there it was—his own trending topic!
Jian Xun scrolled through the comments. So many people were shipping him and Chen Chi, and quite a few claimed he was Chen Chi’s cat. Jian Xun shook his head hard.
No! Absolutely not!
He was not Chen Chi’s cat.
It took him a while to remember his account password, but once he logged in and saw his new nickname, he froze for a moment. Had Shen Huan changed it?
The cat jabbed at the blank post editor with his paw.
He posted a new update:
[My name is Shang Suisui.]
Along with a cat ID photo.
After sending it successfully, Jian Xun closed the tablet, bounded upstairs in two steps, thud thud thud, and ran into the study.
He jumped onto the desk, fixing his gaze on the big boss.
He wondered if Shang Xuci had seen the trending topic. If he saw people saying he was someone else’s cat, what would he think?
Jian Xun sat on the desk, his little paws shifting slightly. He thought, It’d be nice if human and cat were chasing each other equally.
But even if it was one-sided, it didn’t matter—he would always be Shang Xuci’s one and only cat.
“Meow~ meow~” The white lion cat lifted his head to stare at Shang Xuci. Then he stepped closer, stood up on his hind legs, placed his front paws on the man’s shirt, and patted him to signal him to bend down.
Smack—
The moment Shang Xuci lowered his head, the little white cat puckered up and planted a quick kiss on the man’s chin.