Note: Thank you for the support, Vae. This bonus chapter is for you!
Chapter 24: Partner
Lou Ting walked over and grabbed his tail.
The tail that was swaying suddenly got caught. The eyelids of the black panther twitched, but it still pretended to be asleep without opening its eyes.
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Nsw Mkdt bye psxl ekqqknwzvu bszekdt vbl czynj rydvbla’p vykz okvb fwpv sdl byde. Tl blzrle pxssvb swv vbl qwa yde pyke, “Psd’v pzllr, zlv’p tlv wr yde lyv.”
Mbl czynj rydvbla pvkzz eked’v alynv.
Nsw Mkdt aykple yd lulcaso yde rzynle bkp byde sd vbl czynj rydvbla’p qynl, okvb obkpjlap sd csvb pkelp.
Gp zsdt yp bl tyhl kv y tldvzl rwzz—
The black panther suddenly opened its eyes and let out an angry growl, revealing its sharp teeth.
Lou Ting had just grabbed the whiskers without exerting any force when the whisker came off on its own. Although he held it in his hand, it had no connection to him.
The black panther also froze, closed its mouth, and blinked as it looked at the whisker in Lou Ting’s hand.
Lou Ting: “…”
Feeling somewhat guilty for no reason, Lou Ting raised his hand and reinserted the whisker into the pile of whiskers.
At first, it could still stand upright, but in the next moment, it slumped to the side and eventually drifted down.
Lou Ting and the black panther locked eyes: “…”
“I’m telling you, it’s natural shedding. Do you believe me?”
“Roar!”
“…”
He Yunzhou transformed into human form and lay on Lou Ting’s bed, looking at the whisker that Lou Ting plucked out. He silently said, “Add 500,000.”
Lou Ting said, “You’re being too harsh. 500,000 for one whisker?”
“Oh, right. There’s also the cost of the whisker. Let’s add another 300,000,” He Yunzhou said, “The 500,000 is for mental anguish.”
Lou Ting: “…”
No wonder you became a financial tycoon.
Forget it, add to death!
Lou Ting turned around and took the chicken leg away, not giving it to him to eat, and ate it himself!
After taking a bite of rice, Lou Ting felt that something was off. He turned his head and asked, “Why do you have clothes when you transform from beast form to human form?”
Lou Ting carefully recalled it several times. It seemed that he didn’t wear clothes during the transformation. Even in beast form, the clothes would be left aside.
He Yunzhou said, “It’s normal to feel uncomfortable during the initial transformation. You’ll get used to it after a while.”
Lou Ting nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that he didn’t see Ji Xing’s clothes when the ragdoll cat appeared. At that time, he was too busy playing with the cat and didn’t pay attention to clothing details.
He Yunzhou suddenly asked, “Why did you come back so early?”
Lou Ting said, “Yu Yimeng caused trouble in the training room. We couldn’t continue, so we disbanded early.”
Pausing for a moment, he continued, “Yesterday, Yu Yimeng went online, pretending to be depressed, and then it was exposed that he went to a bar for a date with an Alpha. It’s being discussed online.”
Upon hearing this, He Yunzhou lay on his side, propping his cheek with one hand, and looked at Lou Ting. He asked, “Are you happy?”
“What do I have to be happy about? It’s not like I…” Lou Ting’s voice abruptly stopped, and he asked, “Did you do it?”
He Yunzhou proudly raised his head, “No need to praise me, it had to be done.”
Lou Ting was still pondering. In such a vast universe, that fan happened to bump into Yu Yimeng while he was kissing an Alpha at the bar. He used to think Yu Yimeng had bad luck, but he didn’t expect…
“You’ve worked hard.” Lou Ting brought the unopened chicken leg to the black panther.
“It’s the least I could do.” He Yunzhou sat up and enjoyed the chicken leg he earned through his efforts.
After finishing the meal, Lou Ting made a glass of iced water with some ice cubes and asked, “Aren’t you busy during this time?” He wondered why He Yunzhou had the leisure to stay with him all the time.
“I’ll be going to the palace later,” He Yunzhou smiled and said, “Want to come along?”
Lou Ting shook his head, “I have a midday shoot. Although there’s enough time to go back and forth, I feel it’s unnecessary. I wanted to go before because of mental issues, but now that the test results are out, there’s no need for another trip.”
Seeing his response, He Yunzhou didn’t insist and said, “Alright.”
—
Inserting advertisements is when commercials are played during variety shows, and in talent shows like “Youth Returns,” it’s an opportunity for relatively unknown contestants to get some screen time.
In a regular program, you might not have any camera time, but if selected for an inserted advertisement, a solo shot of you will be inserted in the middle of the program.
It was a great chance to get exposure. The production team had arranged a dedicated car to take them there.
After getting in the car, Lou Ting realized that there were a total of three people participating in the shooting, including himself.
Liang Caijin, being the highest-ranking movie star, naturally made the list, and Yu Senze, a rising young actor, was also there.
It seemed that the dance, vocal, and rap teams each sent one person to participate in the inserted shooting.
Yu Senze saw Lou Ting enter and immediately smiled. “See, I told you, Lou Ting must be from the dance team!”
Yu Senze patted the seat next to him. “Lou Ting, come sit here.”
Lou Ting moved over and nodded at Liang Caijin as a greeting.
Liang Caijin handed him the script. “This is today’s shooting content.”
“Okay, thank you.” Lou Ting took the script and lowered his head to flip through it. The script contained the shooting content for the three of them. Lou Ting glanced at it and quickly turned to the page with his name on it.
The content wasn’t much; it could be summarized in just three pages.
By the time they got out of the car, Lou Ting had already memorized the plot and was ready for makeup to start shooting.
The inserted advertisement was for milk tea endorsement.
The investors had prepared various flavors, and even during the makeup session, there were cups of milk tea placed in front of them.
Lou Ting didn’t like drinking milk tea, but he didn’t want to offend the investors, so he took a cup of milk tea and held it in his hand without drinking.
Next to him, Yu Senze’s manager didn’t come along. Escaping from the clutches of the manager, he held a cup of milk tea in each hand and happily exclaimed, “Mmm, this matcha flavor is delicious. This chocolate one is also good, and the vanilla one smells amazing.”
In comparison, Liang Caijin appeared much more composed.
“Let me introduce everyone. For this shoot, to showcase the ‘sweetness’ of milk tea, we have invited three Patec members to join us in this advertising shoot.” The manager clapped his hands and smiled. “Now, let’s get to know each other. Tian Tian, you’ll be with Movie Emperor Liang. Xie Wanwan is with Yu Senze, and Xu Yuanmeng…”
“So, am I with Lou Ting?” Xu Yuanmeng was taken aback and refused, “I don’t want to. Wasn’t I supposed to be with Movie Emperor Liang from the beginning?”
The person hadn’t even taken their seat yet, and an argument had already broken out.
For a moment, the room fell silent.
Xu Yuanmeng felt uncomfortable, but there were a few people in the industry who didn’t care about others’ feelings.
Seeing the situation, she quickly forced a smile and said, “The production team suddenly changed their strategy, so everything I prepared earlier is no longer applicable. What a pity.”
By doing so, she shifted the blame onto the production team.
The manager, who suddenly became the scapegoat, became unhappy and didn’t bother arranging a change for her. Instead, they made a firm decision, “It’s settled then.”
After saying that, they left without attending to them.
Xie Wanwan patted Xu Yuanmeng’s hand and got up to find Yu Senze, while Tian Tian simply ignored her.
In the end, Xu Yuanmeng was left standing there, motionless. After the momentary awkwardness passed, everyone got busy with their own tasks, paying no attention to her. Eventually, it seemed like she was the only one feeling embarrassed.
Yu Senze discreetly leaned back and whispered, “Have you had a conflict with her?”
Lou Ting smiled helplessly and shook his head, indicating that he didn’t even know her.
In his eyes, Xu Yuanmeng was a complete stranger. While they were talking, Xu Yuanmeng approached them with an unhappy expression.
Liang Caijin glanced at her and furrowed his brows. “I’ll be with Xu Yuanmeng.”
Xu Yuanmeng immediately showed a delighted expression, “Really?”
“False.” Tian Tian interrupted her fantasy, “What’s been decided cannot be changed.”
Xu Yuanmeng immediately became defiant. “Hey, what’s wrong with you? Don’t you have any respect for your seniors? Does Movie Emperor Liang gave your permission to interrupt him?”
Just then, the director knocked on the door and shouted, “What are you all dilly-dallying for? Hurry up, we’re starting the shoot. All three teams, come out together, don’t waste time.”
Xu Yuanmeng said, “Director, I want to switch teams.”
“Not possible.” The director interrupted her and urged, “Come out!”
Liang Caijin wanted to say something when he saw the subtle shake of Lou Ting’s head.
So, Liang Caijin got up and left.
Liang Caijin and Yu Senze both acted gentlemanly, supporting their teammates’ hands as they walked out together.
With no hope of a replacement, Xu Yuanmeng simply raised her hand, waiting for Lou Ting to support her.
However, Lou Ting looked at the hand in front of him and went around it directly, without even offering his hand.
Xu Yuanmeng widened her eyes in astonishment. Someone nearby was already covering their mouth, suppressing laughter. She gritted her teeth and said, “Why are you laughing?” But as soon as she broke the ice, they laughed even louder. Xu Yuanmeng glared at them and ran off.
Lou Ting didn’t care about the comedy unfolding behind him and walked straight out.
When the director saw him come out, he raised the microphone and shouted, “I said start, and you just walk forward.”
“Xu Yuanmeng, when you see him coming, pour the water down, then come down with a towel and the milk tea. Say your lines shyly to him, and then you both walk forward hand in hand while drinking the milk tea. Understand?”
Lou Ting said, “Understood.”
Reluctantly, Xu Yuanmeng said, “Got it.”
“Begin!”
At the director’s command, Lou Ting started walking forward. To highlight the youthful vibe, he was dressed in a fresh and campus-inspired outfit, with a pure white T-shirt and slim-fit jeans. This outfit resembled the one he wore during the live broadcast.
Lou Ting’s pace was not fast. The walls on both sides of the street were covered with green plants. If it weren’t for the cold weather, Lou Ting would have felt like he was shooting a summer advertisement.
When he reached the designated spot, Xu Yuanmeng opened the window and poured a basin of water.
The water didn’t feel cold when it landed on him. It seemed to be heated to a comfortable temperature. The warm water slid down his forehead, his eyelashes quivered, and the water droplets gently fell. Lou Ting stood still, waiting for Xu Yuanmeng’s actions.
But…
Instead of following the script and running down as intended, Xu Yuanmeng crossed her arms lazily and leaned against the window frame in front of her. Her gaze carried a hint of mocking smile as she looked at Lou Ting.
“Sorry, I forgot to run down.”
Forgot about such a simple plot after pouring the water? You didn’t even move from your spot!
It was too fake!
Lou Ting looked at her deliberately provocative demeanor and didn’t lose his temper on the spot. Instead, he casually patted the water on his body and said, “Director, let’s do it again.”
Although the water wasn’t cold, the weather was chilly. Initially, the water on his body was fine, but after a while, the wind made it bone-chilling.
Lou Ting gave her a cold glance, turned around, and walked back to the starting position. The crew cleaned the water on the ground and handed him a new jacket.
The director said, “Action!”
Lou Ting played with a few small stones in his hand and walked slowly.
**********
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Natural shedding😂😂 . I really suspected thst lou ting doesn't realize his strength. Especially also because his fur also shed. Or the he yuanzou does not have healthy furr😂😂
He needs an anti-hairfall shampoo. LOL. Hahahahaha.