Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Chapter 38 — First Release on Jinjiang Literature City

Night owl Lin Chao finished sharing the audio and added a few more lines:

“Sigh, you’re the only one who liked it.”

“Quick, listen to it, then remember to delete it. I risked my life sharing this with you.”

“I listened to it again—damn, it’s actually pretty good. I’m thinking of getting a cat.”

Lin Chao always talks a lot of nonsense. Bai Liu skimmed through roughly, then expressionlessly closed the chat window.

He didn’t believe Lin Chao’s shared stuff could be anything good. Last time, this guy shared several gigabytes of files, claiming it was a slip of the hand.

Back then, not knowing what the files were, Bai Liu casually opened them to take a look while there were still visitors touring the lab.

That day...

What happened that day, he still doesn’t want to recall.

Bai Liu just got back from the lab, showered, ready to sleep, but somehow he suddenly thought of the meowing sounds Lin Chao mentioned.

“Alright, I’ll trust you once more.”

Bai Liu murmured, “If you trick me again, you’re done.”

After speaking, the boy in pajamas opened the audio file in the chat.

“Meow, meow meow, meow meow aow!”

Bai Liu: “...”

His delicate face blanked for a few seconds.

“Lili.”

He stared at his phone in disbelief, repeatedly playing the cat audio.

By the third time listening to the cat song, Bai Liu closed his eyes and confirmed it.

This really was his beloved little kitten.

Meanwhile, Lin Chao finished sharing the audio, deleted the post after causing trouble, and, holding Diao Ling who came to find him, prepared to head upstairs to have fun.

But Bai Liu’s incoming call suddenly rang urgently.

“General Manager Lin, where did you hear the audio from?”

Lin Chao was stunned but honestly told this little genius he admired: “Xie Chen sent it. He slipped a finger. Don’t spread it—”Before he finished speaking, Bai Liu told him he had something to do and said goodbye.

“Hmm.”

Lin Chao was a bit puzzled: “Why do I feel like something’s off with Xiao Liu?”

Diao Ling leaned against Lin Chao’s chest, her smile sweet but mixed with wariness toward the person who just called.

“Lin Ge, who was the one who just called you? Why do I feel like you’re so nice to him?”

Getting a call so late at night, and still being so patient and good-tempered, made Diao Ling unable to help but wonder more.

“He’s a genius boy.”

Lin Chao wasn’t good at studying himself, so he admired those who were, especially Bai Liu—he was a total fan.

“Xiao Liu is really a good person, the smartest, most humble, kind, and considerate person I’ve ever met.”

Diao Ling’s mouth twitched; hearing Lin Chao heap all those compliments on this Xiao Liu made her even more on guard.

“Lin Ge, it’s really late.”

Diao Ling snuggled closer to Lin Chao, tracing circles on him with her fingers: “Let’s go upstairs.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

The night grew deeper; some indulged in pleasures, others in soft snores.

The next day.

In a bright hotel room, the little snoring kitten lay basked in the warm sunlight pouring through the window, then slowly stretched out his paws, half awake.

Tan Yi woke up early; when he got busy with work, it was often like this—up earlier than chickens, asleep later than dogs.

“Let Lili sleep in the hotel; I’ll come pick him up later.”

“Leave him alone here?”

The manager hesitated: “I have to follow you.”

Besides the manager, Tan Yi also had a personal assistant, but the assistant was on leave these days and hadn’t returned yet.

“You stay here,” Tan Yi said. “Buy him some breakfast; he can eat human breakfast.”

“After he finishes eating, bring him to me.”

The manager frowned, a bit opposed to the plan: “Tan Ge, there’s also Liu Yi in the crew you’re going to. He’s playing the second male lead this time.”

“I still can’t fully trust you, so maybe—”

“It’s fine,” Tan Yi said calmly. “It’s just one Liu Yi. I can handle him.”

“Let’s do it my way. Just take good care of Lili.”At Tan Yi’s insistence, the manager had no choice but to let him go to the crew alone while the manager stayed at the hotel to take care of the little kitten whom Tan Yi spoiled terribly.

“Sigh.”

At the hotel, the manager squatted by the bed, looking at the still-sleeping kitten, murmuring, “You’re really cute, but why do I feel like Tan Yi cares about you way too much?”

In the manager’s eyes, the cat was just a pet; compared to humans, humans were obviously more important.

But with Tan Yi, it was obvious that this cat seemed to weigh even more than Tan Yi himself.

After sleeping a while longer, Bai Li finally yawned and woke up.

“Meow.”

His head was still dizzy; instinctively, he called out “Sir.”

No response.

Bai Li was stunned for a moment, then shook his head to clear his mind.

“Meow meow.”

Third Brother.

The manager didn’t understand what he was meowing about but, following Tan Yi’s instructions, prepared breakfast for him.

After eating and drinking enough, it was exactly nine o’clock.

The manager, worried about Tan Yi’s situation, took the snack bag from Tan Yi’s room along with other cat supplies, picked up the little kitten, and headed out.

“We’re going to the crew.”

The manager was a chatterbox and kept babbling nonstop even to the kitten.

“There are many people on the set, don’t be scared. Just don’t run around.”

“Also, there’s someone who looks a lot like Tan Yi, but that’s not Tan Yi. You little kitten, make sure you don’t mistake him.”

Bai Li listened carefully to all the manager’s nagging along the way.

When they arrived at the set, the little kitten was filled with all kinds of industry rumors and worries about Tan Yi’s crisis, and his nervous little paws curled up.

The more he heard, the more he wished he could just go back to work and support Third Brother.

“Director.”

After the manager put Bai Li’s things in place, holding the kitten, he went to find the director. “Is everything going well with Tan Yi today?”

The director looked grim.

“Tan Yi’s scenes have had several NGs; they still haven’t passed.”The manager felt something was off.

After Tan Yi debuted, he acted in quite a few dramas, even carrying the lead roles in major male protagonist dramas. How could he mess up a cameo role like this?

As they spoke, Bai Li’s gaze had already caught sight of Third Brother.

“Meow.”

Third Brother’s expression wasn’t good.

Not far away, under various lights, Tan Yi was filming his scene.

In that scene, Tan Yi was accidentally ambushed and attacked by a group, and in the end, the female lead passing by saved him.

Because of the female lead’s rescue, Tan Yi treated her very well and later even died for her.

It could be said that it was a very devoted supporting role that could make the audience feel heartache.

Under the camera.

Tan Yi lay on the ground in the attack scene. Tan Yi himself was acting fine; the problem was with the extras.

After several NG takes, both the manager and director grew anxious.

Only Bai Li was not anxious—he was angry!

“Meow!!!”

Bai Li watched Third Brother getting beaten, and his beautiful amber eyes were full of fury.

Seeing this, the manager quickly tried to soothe him: “Don’t make trouble, Tan Yi is filming; he’s not really getting hit.”

In scenes like this, extras always hold back; they wouldn’t really hurt the actor.

But Bai Li wasn’t having it. He clawed the manager’s arm and even extended his sharp claws.

The manager was scratched painfully, loosened his grip, and Bai Li jumped out of his arms.

“Li Li!”

Bai Li’s eyes were only on Third Brother on the ground and didn’t even hear the manager’s call.

“Meow-ow!!!”

The angry meow was accompanied by cat claws striking.

Bai Li’s memory wasn’t great, but his eyesight was sharp! He saw clearly who really laid the black hand just now!

“Hey, little bastard, get lost!”

Two extras scratched by Bai Li’s sharp claws, in pain, kicked hard at the clawing little cat.

Tan Yi, lying on the ground and unable to see clearly who was attacking because of the angle, saw his little brother about to get hit and instantly flared up.

“Who are you calling a bastard?!”Tan Yi scooped up the little angry kitten who was still trying to scratch, holding him tightly in his arms, then suddenly pushed hard against the two extras.

But they didn’t budge.

Tan Yi: “...”

Damn.

They’re pretty strong.

The manager and director rushed over; the manager protectively pulled Tan Yi behind him.

“What’s going on?”

The director had a bad temper. Seeing this messy scene, he said, “You’re all experienced extras who film regularly—why does this scene keep getting messed up today?!”

“Meow!”

They’re hitting my Third Brother.

The angry little kitten kicked his legs, claws still restlessly scratching.

Tan Yi held his brother tight, not letting him act on impulse and rush into a fight.

“Director.”

Tan Yi said in a low voice, “I originally didn’t want to say anything.”

“In the earlier scene, someone sabotaged me. Please take a look.”

As he spoke, Tan Yi lifted his shirt in front of the director.

His skin was pale, and the multiple bruises under his eyes were shocking.

“I know your rules—if I can’t find out who sabotaged me, you’ll fire them all.”

“But among these people, some are not easy to deal with.”

That morning, when he arrived, he overheard these extras chatting. He didn’t know who started it, but they were having a tough time too.

Tan Yi didn’t want to be a saint, but he also didn’t want to take away others’ livelihoods.

If these people got kicked out but the culprit wasn’t found, everyone would be blamed for injuring an actor.

In that case…

Other productions might not dare to hire them.

After Tan Yi finished speaking, not only the director but also the extras began to understand.

“Brother Tan.”

An extra bit their lip, calling out to Tan Yi but couldn’t say anything else.

The director looked at the two who tried to attack the little cat and said coldly.“Tan Yi, were these two the ones who sabotaged you?”

Tan Yi trusted his brother’s judgment: “Yes.”

“Stage crew, take these two away and check their backgrounds for me!”

Usually, people who sabotage discreetly aren’t easy to catch; these were all veterans.

The stage crew led the two away, and the director glanced at the anxious others.

“What are you afraid of? If your hands are clean, I won’t fire you.”

The extras, relieved to keep their jobs, relaxed. With the film industry in a slump, finding work was hard.

This director had a bad temper but was fair; if they worked well under him, they’d keep getting gigs.

“Tan Yi, go get your injuries treated.”

The director stopped Tan Yi from continuing to shoot, signaling the manager to take Tan Yi and the little meowing kitten away.

After they left, some extras looked at Tan Yi’s back and sincerely praised him.

“Tan Yi is really a good star.”

“Yeah, if he wasn’t thinking about us just now, he’d have made a scene already.”

Tan Yi didn’t have time to listen to the extras’ talk.

He was focused on the precious little brother’s meowing.

“Third Brother, does it hurt a lot?”

After venting his anger, Bai Li was now full of concern for Third Brother.

He hadn’t known before that Third Brother’s work involved getting beaten.

“Third Brother doesn’t hurt.”

Tan Yi petted the kitten’s head, coaxing him: “Those marks look scary, but it’s nothing serious.”

Bai Li didn’t believe him.

He stretched out his paws, hugged Third Brother’s arm, and buried his head in it.

“It definitely hurts,” his meows were choked with emotion.

Tan Yi could feel the wetness on his arm and felt a bit helpless, unable to comfort the kitten well.

“Li Li, be good.”

Tan Yi tried to change the subject: “Getting bruised and bumped is normal during filming.”

“Do you know how much Third Brother earns per scene? Seven figures.”

Bai Li had zero interest in seven figures.He just didn’t want Third Brother to get beaten again.

Until they went to a nearby hospital, Bai Li still didn’t say a word.

The doctor treated all of Tan Yi’s injuries: “You have quite a high tolerance.”

“The attackers specifically chose the more painful spots to hit. I’ll prescribe you some medicine; apply it twice a day.”

“Okay.”

After leaving the hospital, Bai Li followed Tan Yi back to the hotel.

“There’s a variety show in the afternoon, Li Li, you stay in the hotel.”

After the morning’s incident, Tan Yi didn’t want to bring Li Li along again, afraid something else might happen.

“Meow.”

Okay.

Bai Li tilted his head back and actually responded with a meow.

By the afternoon, Tan Yi set off to record the variety show. No sooner had he left than Bai Li slipped out behind him.

He wanted to go check on how those two who beat his brother were being dealt with.

The manager went out to buy food, and when he came back, he found the little kitten was missing, completely stunned.

“Li Li?!”

He searched the room once, even crawling under the bed, but saw no trace of the snow-white little figure.

“Damn it.”

The manager slapped his forehead, feeling his heart sink. “If Tan Yi knew Li Li was missing, he’d go crazy.”

At that moment,

The little kitten setting out for revenge sniffed his nose, catching a familiar scent.

When he scratched those two earlier, he left marks on them.

Daring to hit his Third Brother…

The little kitten thought fiercely, he absolutely had to scratch their faces up!