Pet King

It was Zhang Zian’s first interview with the television station. The first question was so embarrassing. Richard would have to take responsibility for that one.

As for the prostitution expense––crap… Looking at how satisfied Snowy Lionet seemed, it was uncertain who was prostituting who…

Luckily, before he answered, journalist Liu Ying laughed out loud. “It’s a joke! Zhang Zian, your pets here are so eye-opening to us––especially that grey parrot. How did you train it? It talks just like a human!”

“Well… It’s the result of very hard training. But the hardness is not worth mentioning to others…” Zhang Zian sighed and pretended to be profound, as if he had been through much suffering.

“We can imagine,” she said in admiration. “I once interviewed a retired worker in our city. He likes birds, and had a lot of them, such as parrots, crested myna, Chinese hwamei, and so on. Some of them could talk, but nowhere close to your parrot.”

“Excellent aptitude and correct training methods are both essential.” Zhang Zian tried to avoid the same thing from happening again. “Even I cannot find another parrot as gifted as this one.”

Liu Ying nodded. She had a lot of interview experience and was not a rookie journalist. She soon diverted the subject to Famous.

“So, you trained a Best Actor German Shepherd that ‘didn’t shock the world with cuteness, but impressed everyone with its acting.’ Is this also related to excellent aptitudes and correct training methods?”

“Right. It’s exactly so.” Zhang Zian nodded gladly. “Ever since Famous was young, it followed orders and commands very well. In other words, it’s highly obedient. Plus, it’s good at sports. These are all reasons that it won the award.”

“Well, would you be willing to share with the audience the unknown anecdotes between you and Famous during the filming?” Liu Ying asked again.

“Anecdotes… There are a few.”

He and Famous had been filming for quite a while. They reported to the production team each day, and had experienced or witnessed some interesting things. He chose a few non-controversial things as examples. For example, regarding the bento boxes, he said that he was very surprised that everybody in the crew––producers, directors, celebrities, and regular workers––ate the same bento food.

In addition, he mentioned that Xu Junyu, the makeup artist, had a very rare hairless cat and always put makeup on it. She would then film the cat’s astonished face in front of the mirror. Liu Ying could not help but laugh.

He didn’t mention anything about the conflicts within the team. Even when Liu Ying asked him about the Guan Biao, the pyrotechnician, he down-played it with very few words. It was not something nice to mention, after all, and it might leave the audience with a poor impression towards the team. Even if it was not the truth, he had to create an impression that the entire team was getting along, so that the audience would be willing to pay for the movie.

A verbal interview alone could not satisfy Liu Ying. There had finally been breaking news in Binhai City that shocked the entire nation, and it was not a negative report. The interview today would surely be played again and again on the television.

The audience focused on Famous, wondering how Famous was different from others. Therefore, she made a request to film Famous’ handsome training outdoors. She also asked him to replay part of the film on the spot so that the audience could get a glimpse of the film before the official screening.

Zhang Zian had no reason to say no––the request was a piece of cake to Famous.

Thus, he shouted at Famous, put a leash on it, and headed to the grass behind the shop for a demonstration. There was enough space to run around.

Famous followed him obediently.

Liu Ying walked alongside them, asking detailed questions from time to time. The cameraman was a few steps behind them to film Famous from different angles.

As soon as they left the pet shop, Jiang Feifei walked towards them.

At first, she didn’t notice the journalist crew behind Zhang Zian. She thought they were regular customers. She told him in a hurry, “Store Manager, a clownfish is dying. Would you like to come over for a look…”

Then, she finally saw the cameraman with a camera on his shoulder, and a journalist with a microphone in her hand. She kept the other half of the sentence inside and didn’t speak it out.

Zhang Zian introduced to her. “These two folks are from the TV station. They are here to interview Famous.”

Then he introduced to Liu Ying, “This is a cashier in my shop.”

Liu Ying suddenly lost herself, taking a while to realize what was going on. It was not until Qin An nudged her from behind that she finally came back to her senses. “Oh, hello. My name is Liu Ying. I’m a journalist at the TV station.”

“Em, hi! My name is Jiang Feifei. I’m working part-time at Store Manager Zhang’s aquarium…” Jiang Feifei shook her hand nervously, glancing at the dark camera lens from time to time.

Zhang Zian told her, “I’ll check it later. I’m bringing them to the grass behind the shop so that Famous can perform a few moves for them.”

“Aha, okay.” Jiang Feifei nodded and returned to the aquarium quickly.

Liu Ying lifted her head and saw the sign for the “Amazing Fate Aquarium.”

“Mr. Zhang, are you running this aquarium as well?” she asked in curiosity.

Zhang Zian replied, “Yes. It’s still under preparation and not open officially. Let’s go.”

But Liu Ying stayed. She looked sideways towards the aquarium’s inside. “Mr. Zhang, was that girl looking for you for something? You don’t need to worry about us. If you have something to deal with, just go ahead.”

“It’s nothing important. A fish might be sick,” Zhang Zian explained. “I can handle that later.”

Liu Ying smiled. “Mr. Zhang, actually we are here for a special report––it’s not only for Famous. You are an important person that we want to interview. Before we arrived, we heard that you took over the shop not long ago, but managed to earn a reputation. You also mentored Famous, such an amazing actor. Therefore, we are very curious––curious about you. We want to find out what kind magic you have to achieve these amazing miracles. So filming your daily business at the pet shop is our plan. Please take it easy and do whatever you need to do. Don’t worry about us, as long as you allow us to film behind you.”

Zhang Zian had thought that they were here for a regular interview, which would be no more than a few minutes on the local news. Now he finally found out that it was a very official, special report. He mooched the popularity of Famous and the other elfins.

Since she said so, it would be inappropriate to insist on his own way. He nodded and said, “Okay. Let’s get inside and take a look.”

“Welcome inside,” he said, leading them into the aquarium.