Pet King

The pet shop was not far from Potsdamer Platz. Every year during the Berlin Film Festival, much of the staff would excitedly purchase tickets for the films. As members of the pet industry, they had all heard of the film Dog Warrior that would be appearing in the main competition segment as a worldwide premiere––so more or less they were looking forward to it.

However, in recent years, China-made films in the Berlin Film Festival did not have much exposure or a sense of existence; even the films that had won awards mainly revolved around China’s different cities or country life. There had never been a film like Dog Warrior––a hot-blooded military film that focused on the bond between man and dog––so they were unsure if the film would be nice to watch.

There were not many opportunities to join the queue and purchase tickets, so the staff was unsure if it be worthwhile to forsake the other films in the festival, which might be more interesting than Dog Warrior.

Reina was a loyal fan of the Berlin Film Festival. She grew up in Berlin and and grew up watching films from the Kplus segment to the 14plus segment. Now she watched any film from the 14plus segment to the main competition segment. She had spent countless days and nights growing up at the Berlin Film Festival.

Age was an unforgiving knife. She used to be a young girl with a willowy figure, but now Reina was a slightly chubby, middle-aged woman. Her passion and enthusiasm for the Berlin Film Festival, however, had always been the same.

She would have never thought that she would encounter a fellow countryman from China with the dog that acted in the film Dog Warrior.

“So… what role did Famous take on in the film?” Reina asked, looking at Zhang Zian. She then looked at Famous, for she had decided to look out for Famous during the film.

“Famous played the role of Lightning, the protagonist of the film,” Zhang Zian answered proudly.

With a much exaggerated voice, Reina cried out, “Oh god! It’s the main character? Meaning that Famous is a well-known star back in China––which has a population of 1.4 billion?”

“Not yet. This is the first film it is appearing in, but I believe that Famous will become a superstar in the future,” Zhang Zian confidently patted Famous’s head.

“I believe that, too.” Reina nodded hurriedly. “Its first film and it’s already appearing on the stage of the Berlin Film Festival. Famous’s future achievements will be limitless!”  / update by NovelFull.Com

Excitedly rubbing her hands together, Reina said, “A future star actually came to my shop and picked out a pair of sunglasses. I am really honored!”

Zhang Zian noticed her choice of words, so he curiously confirmed with her, “This pet store of such great size belongs to you?”

“Yes. It’s an inheritance from my father.” Reina nodded. “He has retired after handing the shop to me and is now enjoying himself at the beach.”

“This is not an easy task!” Zhang Zian praised from the heart. “This is the largest pet store I have ever seen. Your store compared to mine is like putting a dwarf in front of a giant.”

After learning that Reina was the shop owner, Zian was not that surprised. His role in his own store was similar to hers, as he did everything himself. Although the shops might differ in sizes, there was no essential difference between the shop owners.

Reina laughed and said, “Although I have not seen your shop, it took 20 years for this shop to expand to such a scale. Initially it was just an ordinary shop by the road. With this superstar dog of yours, you can expect a great number of people visiting your store for its autograph… Oh, right. Can I take a picture with it and get a pawprint? I will treasure it and show it off to others in the future—’look, that well-known superstar visited my store in the past!'”

“Sure,” Zhang Zian readily agreed.

“Hey! Guys! Everyone come over for a moment!” Reina raised her voice and shouted out to the remaining staff. “There’s a surprise for you guys. Look who is here!”

All the idling employees slowly gathered around. They were all of different skin colors. All of them stared at Zhang Zian, wondering which famous person he was. Since there were a lot of people in Germany walking around with their dogs, no one would have thought that the German Shepherd right in front of their eyes would be the protagonist in a film.

Reina pointed at Famous, introducing it to everyone. “Do you know who this is? Its name is Famous, the protagonist of the film Dog Warrior that will be appearing on the screen at the film festival!”

“Is that true?” one employee asked.

“You’re not kidding, right?” another asked.

Everyone was surprised by what they heard. A number of them liked watching movies and they were also loyal fans of the Berlin Film Festival. It was not very often that they would have the chance to have a close encounter with a movie star.

Zhang Zian took out the invitation letter to the film festival and the film crew employee ID as proof of his identity, which dispelled their doubts.

Immediately, Famous was treated like a star. He became surrounded by everyone as they fought to take a picture with it. They wanted to post the picture on their various social networks to brag about it. Someone even brought over a polaroid and an inkpad, requesting for Famous to leave its paw print on the back of the picture.

Famous was very calm, accepting everyone that came forward, and was very cooperative with the countless photos. It even did weird poses and made funny expressions from time to time––it would stick its tongue out, tilt its head, squint its eyes, pretend to be dead… Famous’s charm quickly conquered everyone.

Those that had chosen other films deeply regretted their decision. They quickly called up their friends to help them purchase tickets to Dog Warrior. Someone even took off his uniform on the spot and requested from Reina to have the day off so that he could go join the queue and purchase the tickets.

Reina, too, was happy, so she approved their request of taking the day off before taking a picture with Famous herself. She then stood to the side, happily watching the lively scene in front of her.

Zhang Zian glanced at the shelf where the sunglasses were placed. He suddenly remembered something and asked Reina, “Reina, other than normal sunglasses, do you have any other types of glasses? For example, sand-proof glasses?”

“Yes, we do––hold on for a moment,” Reina answered almost instantly. She spoke to the staff in German before the staff hurried off somewhere and returned after a while with a few boorish looking boxes.

“Try this.” Reina handed one of the boxes to Zhang Zian. “These are the wind-proof goggles that the United States military had equipped their military dogs with during the battle at Afghanistan. The lenses are made of polycarbonate, so it not only provides protection from the wind and sand, but it also blocks off tiny pebbles and shrapnel. The coating of the lenses can also weaken the damage of strong ultra-violet rays on the cornea, so they are especially suitable for use in the desert and highland combats. Let me tell you, this is an authentic military product. It’s not easy to obtain something like this in Germany, so take it as a special treat for you and Famous!”

Zhang Zian had initially just been checking; he did not expect Reina to bring out a product of such quality, so now he couldn’t help but be overjoyed.

The camouflage-style box carried the strong color of munitions.

“Thank you! Thank you very much!” Zian could not stop expressing his gratitude.

“You’re welcome,” Reina said. “Is Famous filming a movie in the desert or on the highlands?”

“Something like that.” Zian smiled and said, “We might be visiting a desert three months from now.”

Reina generously said, “Then there is no need for money. Take it as a gift for Famous from me, its little fan.”