Pet King

Famous being awarded the Berlin Film Festival’s Best Male Lead had also made Snowy proud and elated. Her father had always nagged that the people she knew from live streaming were all people with small mindsets and it’d be better for her to join him on dinners with the upper class where she could meet the big names of Binhai City or even the big names in the whole of China.

Now, if he were to nag again, she would have something to refute with—the best actor in a European film festival. Was that still small?

In the past, she would sneak out like a thief whenever she left the house, but today, she deliberately strolled around the sofa downstairs. She wanted her father to say what he had always nagged so she could use her prepared rebuttal, but he just sat there, looking unconcerned as if he was on a fishing platform. Her father continued reading his newspaper, not giving her a chance. She was so mad she snorted several times.

But her mother, on the other hand, was very gossipy. She told Snowy to inquire about some insider information, like if there was any news or scandals about Lin Feng and Feng Xuan.

If the interview was requested by the reporters, Zhang Zian would give serious consideration as to whether or not he should accept it, but if it was Snowy, he would just go along with her. However, she came over at an inopportune moment. Famous was surrounded by a group of university students and unable to make its escape.

Wang Qian and Li Kun returned to the shop with the food for the elfins. They noticed the situation and inquired if they should ask the students to leave so Snowy could go on with her live stream. Zhang Zian waved his hands and told them that there was no need for that because everyone in the shop was a customer, and even if they had not spent a single cent, they were still fans of Famous, so there was no place for being biased.

Snowy, too, was unwilling to be treated specially, especially if others were inconvenienced because of her arrival. It would make her feel bad. But even if she could wait, the fans in the broadcast channel might not have the same patience as her. They were just like newborn kittens waiting to be fed, crying for milk.

Zhang Zian was also unable to accompany her. He looked at the time, and it was about time for him to set off.

Snowy noticed that he was a little absent-minded, and it looked like he wanted to go out, so she asked, “Mr. Shop Manager, did I come at a bad time?”

“Oh, that’s not it,” Zian said. “I just have something to do at the nearby fish market, but Famous will remain in the shop. So once all these people leave, you can take all the pictures you want and share them with the netizens.”

“To the fish market?” Snowy looked to the side at the shop next door and wondered, “To buy carps?”

She thought that the female cat’s milk was still not enough and they required carps that would be stewed into a soup to stimulate the secretion of milk.

“It’s a fish market, not the usual market. They don’t sell fish that are meant to be eaten there; they sell ornamental fishes,” Zian explained. “My new aquarium branch will be opening soon, so I need to buy some sand, coral, live rocks, and more––maybe also bring in a batch of ornamental fish.”

“Yi? Mr. Store Manager, you’re starting an aquarium? The aquarium where you can see sharks and dolphins?” She was in a shock and stood there in a blur. Clearly, she had confused the aquarium with the underwater world.

“No, do I look like I have that kind of capability?” Zhang Zian laughed. “Nothing so high-end. It’s just an aquarium that sells ornamental fish and it’s just going to be next door—isn’t it empty there right now? I plan to bring in a batch of fish tanks, equipment, and marine life, turning it into an aquarium with mainly saltwater fish.”

“Wow, that’s really amazing!” Snowy reacted like she had found a scoop. “Can I go over and take a look?”

She visited a wide variety of shops daily, but she had never been to an aquarium before. The reason was the same as to why she had never visited a pet shop in the past––because she didn’t know anything about them and there was too much to learn about them. It was much simpler for her to visit restaurants and bars since all she had to do was follow her taste buds and show the appropriate facial expressions.

Whether the food tasted nice, or if the drinks were good had always been a very subjective feeling, so the audience would be able to understand. Pets, on the other hand… before she had visited the pet shop, it was really possible for her to mistake an American Shorthair for a British Shorthair.

To her and her audience, an aquarium was a very new thing, and with Zhang Zian’s professionalism, she was confident that it would make a great show.

“Of course, but there’s nothing much to see now. There’s no difference from before other than the first floor, which is just piled up with aquarium equipment now. If you’re interested in taking a look, you can come back once the aquarium is ready,” Zhang Zian said truthfully.

“Is that so…” Snowy was a little disappointed. It seemed like the live stream of the aquarium could only be pushed back for now.

She glanced over at the crowd that surrounded Famous. She wouldn’t mind waiting for some time, but if taking pictures of Famous was all that she was going to do, then it won’t be enough to fill in as a program. After all, she couldn’t understand dog language.

“That… Mr. Store Manager, I would like to visit the fish market, too, and do a live stream program. Would you be okay with that? Would I disturb you?” she asked with a smile.

“Well, I won’t find it an inconvenience.” Zhang Zian shrugged his shoulders. “Just that the smell of fish would be quite heavy over there. If you’re okay with that, then sure.”

“That’s great! I’ve never been to a fish market before!” She breathed a sigh of relief. “Right, on the way there, I would like to have you share with the audience the filming process that you and Famous experienced, and if there were any interesting happenings during the Berlin Film Festival. Is that okay?”

“Sure.” Zhang Zian accepted her request.

Snowy happily took out her phone, removed her backpack, and took out a handheld pan-tilt-zoom, assembling them skillfully before she turned on the selfie function to give it a test.

Hm?

Through the phone’s self-portrait interface, she noticed some abnormalities. The Holy Cat statue that was placed opposite the cashier counter was missing. The statue had been a gift from her to Zhang Zian to congratulate his shop opening, so she remembered it clearly.

She then recalled that Lu Yiyun had asked her a few days back about the purchase process of the Holy Cat statue. Linking the two together, she couldn’t help but wonder.

Ahe pointed at the floor with the white marks and asked, “Mr. Store Manager, what happened to the Holy Cat statue?”

“Oh, that…” Zhang Zian pondered for a moment before he looked at the restless Lu Yiyun. He then said, “While I was away from the shop, a thief broke in and, since there was nothing for him to steal, he stole the Holy Cat statue.”

“Ah? Such a thing actually happened?” Snowy was worried so she asked, “Did you lose anything else?”

Zhang Zian shook his head. “No, the thief probably saw Zhan Tian guarding the stairway, so he left after stealing the Holy Cat statue.”

“Did you call the police?” Snowy asked.

“No, it’s better to have one less problem than to create another one, and it might not be found even if I called the police, so I’m just going to strengthen the security in the future—though, it’s a pity for the Holy Cat statue.” Zhang Zian took on the common attitude of small businessmen. He did not want to be entangled in the issue any longer.

“It’s okay. Who knows if you might come across another similar statue, and it’s okay as long as no other items were stolen.” Snowy suddenly thought of a great idea. “Why don’t I mobilize the netizens to assist you in keeping an eye out? The more people, the more efficient… maybe we could find it again?”

Zhang Zian paused for a moment. That’s a great idea indeed.