Pet King

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Grandma Gu’s news cheered Zhang Zian up a lot. As the economy transformed, society transformed as well. Everybody mattered. He should not look down on himself. However, he had to start his long journey one step at a time.

His aquarium was only an empty shell for now. He had to find a way to fill it up. Karl had shipped him a lot of high-end aquarium equipment for a low price. Zhang Zian also purchased some cheap equipment that was made in China. The aquarium tanks and chillers could be either custom-made or purchased as long as he had the money. The most pressing issue was where he could get the sand bottom, eco-bio-blocks, grass, corals, and other aquarium creatures… It was unrealistic––and unnecessary––to acquire all of them from Germany. The shipping cost alone would be unaffordable. Therefore, he decided to visit Binhai City’s aquarium market. Maybe he could find some nice things there.

The aquarium market was also called the market of flowers, birds, fish, and insects. It was somewhat similar to the dog market but not the same. For instance, there were not any cats or dogs in the aquarium market. Ornamental fish occupied at least half of the market of flowers, birds, fish, and insects. Eventually, it became known as the aquarium market.

He brought Famous to the dog market last time. But this time, Famous could not clone itself. Many people traveled here to take pictures with it, which would only happen more after the film was in theaters.

The aquarium market was not far from the pet shop. It was located in the Dongcheng District, close to the harbor. Ornamental fish were shipped in from other cities and distributed to different levels of distributors, as well as regular customers.

Lu Yiyun already ordered the label stickers. Zhang Zian sent Wang Qian and Li Kun to get lunch for the elfins, then told her that he might return late today and that they could leave when their shift was over. There was no need to wait for his return.

As he spoke, the door opened.

“Hello, Mr. Store Manager. It’s me!” An energetic figure hopped inside. It was Snowy, who had been a great help during the Chinese New Year. Without the fresh Crucian carps that she had sent in just in time, a few Abyssinian kittens might have starved.

She was wearing a thin winter coat and no tuque. She switched out her thick cotton gloves for the thinner knitted gloves to go with the season change. She also cut her hair short. It had been growing all winter, so the new cut made her look vibrant and energetic.

“Welcome.” Zhang Zian nodded to greet her.

“Hello, Snowy,” Lu Yiyun greeted her with a smile. “Are you here for fun or for a live broadcast?”

“For a live broadcast, of course! I’m an online host and must follow what’s popular! It’s a great chance to get more fans!” The moment that Snowy entered the door, she was glancing around. “Well… Where is Famous?”

“Over there, the one surrounded by a crowd.” Zhang Zian pointed inside the shop.

“This many people?” She was a little bit surprised. “Am I late?”

Many people didn’t come to the shop for pets or pets supplies, but to take pictures with Famous, just like photos with celebrities. One crowd left, and another crowd arrived. People didn’t stop pouring in.

Most people left after taking pictures, but some were attracted to the other pets and stayed in the shop. Zhang Zian was seriously thinking that he should charge for the photoshoots––ten yuan for five seconds per person.

“It’s not too late,” he said.

Snowy suddenly looked worried and sighed. “Arh! I’ve been to the shop so many times and had always seen Famous as an ordinary dog. Turns out I’m missing out on a huge future celebrity! Now my Weibo account is full of the fans’ complaints, saying that I’m penny wise and pound foolish. I should not have wasted my time on Mr. Store Manager…”

Zhang Zian decided to visit Snowy’s Weibo account tonight and write down all the IDs complaining that said he was a waste of time. He would then send private messages to them one by one to fight back.

“Mr. Store Manager, you are keeping your profile too low!” she complained. “Why didn’t you tell us that you took Famous to shoot a film? I was totally unprepared…”

She had been to the pet shop a few times and had worked with him on a few outdoor live broadcasts, such as the trip to Mount Hidden Fog and the trip to the dog market. Most of the live broadcast fans knew Zhang Zian and were familiar with his shop.

However, she did not take notice on any of her visits of the silent German Shepherd lying next to the reclining chair. Even when they went to the dog market, she did not pay close enough attention to Famous.

The fans in the live broadcast were the same. The dancing kittens in the shop were so cute, and it was so much fun to argue with the store manager. Who would pay attention to the ordinary German Shepherd?

All of those thoughts were put to an end at the moment that Famous stepped onto the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the Berlin Film Festival.

At first, along with the online fans, Snowy felt amazed and impressed when she heard the news. Zhang Zian had made a film with his dog without anyone realizing it, and they had gone to the Berlin Film Festival. Maybe he had hooked up with a film director.

Since Dog Warrior was only screened in public at the Berlin Film Festival but not in mainland China, she and the online fans were only able to find a few trailers and posters. They didn’t know what kind of role Famous played in the film or how much screen time it actually had. It was not surprising that this misunderstanding occurred.

From that moment on, Snowy and the other online fans had been following the status of Famous and Zhang Zian during the Berlin Film Festival. They wanted to find out something to make fun of Zhang Zian about so they could laugh at him after his return. It would be best if he did something stupid during the live broadcast––it would surely be a lot of fun.

They had never expected that, during the last day of the film festival, paradigm-shifting news would break out in front of everyone’s eyes. Famous, a dog, won the Best Actor award. Zhang Zian took it on stage to receive its award and made a speech on its behalf.

Everybody had different views and comments for Zhang Zian, but most people agreed that he made an excellent speech.

It was very late at night when the ceremony was finished. She went to sleep––after letting her parents glance at the live broadcast––without any second thoughts. The next morning when she logged onto her Weibo account, she discovered that the online fans had all kinds of complaints in the comments!

Everyone said they simply could not allow Zhang Zian to be such a poser and gain such publicity like this!

Many fans questioned why nobody noticed the dog in the shop earlier… Did the poser store manager do it on purpose to humiliate them?

After it was mentioned, Snowy was overwhelmed with regret. She quickly browsed through the recordings of the past live broadcasts. In the video files that filled up her hard drive, she realized that, despite the fact that she had visited the pet shop many times, she didn’t give a single shot of Famous!

It had always been in the background as a supporting role to Zhang Zian and the other pets… It was a case of, “Today, you don’t give a sh*t about me. Tomorrow, I’ll make you eat your own sh*t in real life!”

Therefore, under the urge of the online fans, she decided to pay another visit to the pet shop to make up for past regrets.

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