Wen Zheng has only known that person for a little over a month, and it's an online relationship. Is this really reliable? Can they really fall that deeply in love?
“I want to give it a try.” Wen Zheng looked at Bei Sining’s back. “Anyway, there’s not much time left, so I’ll be selfish this once.” He paused and then said, “Yesterday, my master asked me to go on a blind date. He couldn’t wait for me to book a hotel room that day and leave a seed.”
Bai Shuang: "..."
“I didn’t go.” Wen Zheng said coldly, his eyes no longer showing the faint affection he once had: “I didn’t want to go, let him be.”
As they spoke, speakers placed at the four corners of the lawn, which was about half the size of a football field, began playing entrance music. Wen Zheng, who had been holding back for so long, finally took a step towards Bei Sining.
Bei Sining seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. She moved aside, making room for him next to the fence, but didn't speak to him. Instead, she gave a soft hum.
Wen Zheng felt like he was wearing a delusion filter, finding even this cute.
It's hopeless.
Just then, the cats entered.
The lawn is divided into narrow "tracks" to allow viewers to see the cats' breeds and appearances more clearly.
The professional cameras were positioned very low, specifically to capture the cats walking towards the camera. One by one, the cats appeared on the large screen above their heads, eliciting shouts of "cute!" from the audience.
The trainers, wearing special bracelets to lure the cats, slowly backed away in front of each racecourse, and the cats followed along dumbly, quickly forming long lines.
This is the preliminary selection. There are reportedly more than 3,000 cats, so this round is not enough to select all of them.
But after the second and third rounds, everyone was getting tired of watching, and Wen Zheng's big black still hadn't appeared.
Bei Sining leaned lazily against the railing, resting her chin on her hand, looking utterly bored. Her attention was clearly unfocused.
Wen Zheng did not disturb him and watched quietly.
"The 2200th kitten has finished its entrance..." The host said into the microphone, then immediately corrected himself: "Wait a minute, we still have a few cute kittens that haven't come out yet. Maybe they were scared by the scene just now and don't even want to eat their food anymore?"
The host made a lighthearted joke, but Wen Zheng stood up straight and stared at the passageway through which the cats entered.
Before long, a pack of wildcats, led by Big Black, marched in with orderly steps, looking as proud and imposing as athletes entering a stadium!
The leader is a large, black animal with smooth, glossy fur, a long frame, and powerful muscles.
His expression was aloof and arrogant, like the king of cats, striding with his head held high.
Behind them, in the first row, were three orange cats, all with glossy skin, neither too fat nor too thin, and full of energy, even following the big black cat with their eyes fixed straight ahead.
The second row has five birds, the third row has seven birds... The whole formation is like a bird spreading its wings, extremely neat and beautiful!
"Camera! Adjust the camera position!" The director frantically climbed onto a chair, as if that would give him a higher vantage point and a wider view: "Who trained this secret weapon...? It must be Galaxy Group, right? They're definitely the hottest topic this year! My God... how can there be such a smart cat!? Quick, quick, call President Liu..."
The errand boy went to run an errand and returned with a shocked report: "Director! Mr. Liu said this isn't his cat?"
"What?" The director stood there dumbfounded: "No?"
He muttered to himself for a few seconds, then suddenly threw his head back and laughed wildly: "Great! We've got this trending topic covered! Quick, quick, camera—"
...
The internet exploded.
If the director doesn't know Dahei, how could netizens who care about the live streaming industry not know?
Although the live stream of the preliminary rounds didn't attract as many viewers as the finals, the total number of participants was still considerable.
Previously, everyone naturally loved cute cats, and there was a lot of discussion about them, especially the several new breeds that Galaxy Group bred this year. They are docile, soft, and adorable, attracting attention and making many people eager to own one.
But when Big Black appeared, all the other cats paled in comparison.
How can there be such a smart and charismatic cat that is completely unfazed by its trainer's bracelet!
Under the high-definition camera, Dahei's heroic spirit and powerful aura are on full display.
Within minutes, a topic quietly climbed to the top of the trending search list—
#Z's Straight Male Photography Skills#
Upon hearing from Bai Shuang that there was good news, Wen Zheng, after taking out his phone and opening it, was speechless.
Author's Note: Wen Zheng: I'm not happy. Let Mingzhu do the splits for everyone to see.
Mingzhu: ? ? ?
(Why haven't I written the confession scene yet?! I'll get myself into trouble! It'll be soon, just these few chapters, within a week, who knows, I'll try to add more chapters but I can't say for sure when, although the story after the confession isn't all sweetness and light (?))
Chapter 66
You guys are the ones who take photos like straight men.
Who's a straight man?
If they're not straight men anymore, how can you still ask straight men to take photos?
Wen Zheng genuinely didn't think there was anything wrong with his photography skills, but after gritting his teeth and clicking into the trending topics, he was dazzled by the comparison photos and felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
Depend on.
That camera shot was really good.
He looks even better than when Deng Puyue added filters to his photos; they're not even in the same league.
"How do you feel?" Bai Shuang put her hand on his shoulder. "Xiao Yu's skills are so bad, yet you still asked him to help take photos. When I saw your Weibo, I even thought about enrolling you in a photography class, but I was afraid it would hurt your pride."
“…Then report it to me now.” Wen Zheng’s face darkened. “Get a better phone with better hardware. There’s definitely something wrong with my device.”
Bai Shuang was stunned: "Are you serious?"
Wen Zheng rarely felt so resentful, but the comparison photo he had just seen was so glaringly obvious that he desperately wanted to regain his dignity.
Even if there are only two and a half months left, dignity is still important.
“Sure,” Bai Shuang answered the phone casually, her face lighting up with a smile. “You’re here? Come to the sidelines, to section A… under the little red tent.”
Deng Puyue rushed over, almost tripping, carrying a brown paper bag in her hand.
"Brother Zheng! Brother Zheng!" he shouted, "I'm late! Has our Big Black team finished competing yet?!"
Bei Sining lazily snagged a chair in the emergency medical ward, sitting there like a lord, holding a disposable paper cup filled with glucose. Hearing the name "Big Black," she instinctively looked up.
Upon seeing Ning Ge in the tent, Deng Puyue slammed on the brakes and veered off course, changing her direction from directly towards Wen Zheng and Bai Shuang: "Ning Ge! What's wrong? Why are you sitting here? Not feeling well? Low blood sugar? Ning Ge looks so good today—"
"Where are you going!" Bai Shuang habitually pulled Deng Puyue back and flicked the back of his head with her index finger: "Your girlfriend is here."
Deng Puyue shook her head: "Who's your boyfriend? Get lost. Zheng-ge, I brought you guys a gift!"
Wen Zheng watched as he squatted down, tore off the sticker on the paper bag, took out a palm-sized blue silk embroidered bag, untied the drawstring, and took things out of it.
“I went to the suburbs with my dad to burn incense this morning. I heard the master at Xianhe Temple is very efficacious, so I got some amulets for us.” He handed Wen Zheng a red one, then ran to give Bei Sining a yellow one, and finally stuffed the last one into Bai Shuang’s hand: “Keep it safe! It’s worth five hundred each.”
"Four hundred and ninety-eight out of five hundred miles are probably just a waste of money," Bai Shuang said, trying to hold back, but couldn't help herself.
"Don't give it back to me." Deng Puyue's face immediately turned cold, and she made a move to snatch it. Bai Shuang stepped back, and the two of them started fighting over it.
The scores from the first round were still being tallied on the field, and the crowd of spectators who came to watch the game were making a ruckus, so they didn't mind the noise from Bai Shuang and Deng Puyue.
Wen Zheng casually pulled up a chair and sat down next to Bei Sining, noticing his beautiful hands fiddling with the one-inch-long cloth bag.
"What happened to them?" Bei Sining asked casually. "They were fine before."
“Last time, Bai Shuang angered him, didn’t she? She suddenly ran away and can’t be contacted. Xiao Yu isn’t completely without temper either.” Wen Zheng placed the red amulets in his hand into Bei Sining’s palm; one red and one yellow, both the same size.
"Why are you giving this to me? Take it." Bei Sining glanced at him, hesitated, and asked, "What's 'IQ tax'?"
Wen Zheng paused, chuckled silently for a while, and then explained, "It's just a way of mocking some people for being too stupid, wasting money, and getting scammed. Low IQ means someone is stupid. So, what do you think?"
"What?" Bei Sining looked at him.
"Is there a 498 yuan 'stupidity tax' inside?" Wen Zheng picked up the red one and shook it.
Bei Sining is a cat spirit, she should know these things.
Wen Zheng hadn't thought much about the question when he asked it, but seeing Bei Sining's puzzled expression, he became puzzled as well: "What?"
"Why are you asking me?" Bei Sining asked.
“Wait a minute,” Wen Zheng raised his hand to indicate a pause, thought for a moment and said, “...Because you’re smart? These things are also related to classical culture. You play the guqin, so I feel you should know about these things.”
Bei Sining let out a soft sigh: "It's probably not very useful, after all, there's only..." He gently pulled, and the opening, which was tightly sewn with dense thread, broke off, "...a piece of yellow paper."
He pulled it out, unfolded it, and found it completely blank. He sniffed it again: "It doesn't seem to have anything special about it."
Wen Zheng helped him put it back: "Don't let Xiaoyu see it."
"Oh." Bei Sining picked up the cloth bag, pretending she hadn't opened it, and then reached into a pocket on her person and stuffed it inside.
Wen Zheng followed his example and stuffed the cloth bag into his pocket. As he looked down, he heard Bei Sining ask him, "Do you believe in these things?"
"Hmm?" Wen Zheng: "Amulet?"
The brighter the outside light, the dimmer the covered emergency medical station appeared. Wen Zheng's gaze was fixed on Bei Sining, a hint of unease creeping into his eyes.
He didn't intend to keep it from Bei Sining forever, so after considering it for a while, he said, "I don't really understand metaphysics either. But if something exists, it must have a reason. Just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist."
"..." Bei Sining frowned as she looked at him.
What, is this way of coaxing him wrong? Wen Zheng saw him suddenly stand up and say he was going to the toilet.
"It must be my imagination," Wen Zheng thought. "I guess Dahei will be making an appearance again soon."
He discovered that although cats and humans could coexist, Bei Sining's attention could only be focused on one body most of the time.
My cat has been acting really strange lately, is it going through a sensitive period?
"The scores are out!" someone shouted, pointing to the big screen: "The text is so small!"
It was indeed very small. Soon, the announcer's voice came over the loudspeaker reading out the list. The cats' names were arranged from lowest to highest score. Wen Zheng quickly heard the names of Big Black and his gang of little brothers, with Big Black being the last.
Depend on?
Wen Zheng immediately forgot everything.
79.8? My adorable Dahei is trending on social media and you only give it 79.8?!
He was holding his breath, his head was throbbing with blood, and he opened Weibo. Sure enough, the official account had already posted the list. There weren't many people around listening to the radio; the cat owners were all scrolling through their phones.
There were more than 3,000 participating cats. After their first appearance, the cats were scored by 100 authoritative judges, and the average score became their final score.
The top 800 will be selected.