Chapter 356

Upon hearing Kong Han's words, Zheng Tan stiffened all over.

Damn it, cold sweat broke out!

Suddenly feeling guilty.

Zheng Tan turned his head away, no longer sizing up Kong Han, but his ears perked up, afraid of missing Kong Han's following words.

"If we really count it properly, Professor Jiao, your cat is half a lead in this film," Kong Han said with a smile.

For actors generally, "lead role" is an attractive term; as for why it's called half a lead, that has to do with the plot.

"Could you be more specific?" Jiao Ba said. Letting his own cat act, lead or supporting role actually doesn't bother him, but a half lead... the screen time sounds quite substantial.

"As just mentioned, the plot is about a big man who wakes up to find himself turned into a cat..." Kong Han explained calmly.

Hearing this, Zheng Tan: "……" Woken up like that? Has my true identity really not been discovered?!

The good thing is, when Kong Han continued speaking, Zheng Tan discovered that the script's protagonist is a white-collar worker rather than a college student, turning into a cat isn't a direct return to the past, and the cat and human forms alternate—meaning the protagonist sometimes is a cat, sometimes still human.

The script differs from Zheng Tan's situation, which relieved him. However, to some extent, Zheng Tan taking this role counts as playing himself; aside from Zheng Tan, probably no other cat could portray it better.

And Jiao Ba, after hearing Kong Han's brief explanation, also nodded; he roughly guessed some points, but still waited quietly for Kong Han's further words.

"The male lead turns into a cat. So, in terms of lead roles, Professor Jiao's cat and the rising star Shi Xiao Tian share the screen time, but strictly speaking, your cat's portion is a bit more than Shi Xiao Tian's."

Zheng Tan had heard of Shi Xiao Tian; many little girls at Xiao Youzi's school are his brainless fans, and he's one of those who popped up after Gongzi Xiao's incident. As for his true character, Zheng Tan doesn't know yet.

"What about the female lead? Oh, sorry. I was just asking. If it's inconvenient, you don't have to answer," Jiao Ba said.

"It's fine; the female lead is already set—Wei Wen, have you heard of her? She's filmed a palace drama and an idol drama." Kong Han didn't hide much; the cast now confirmed isn't large, and there are still variables. But Yang Yi said. He would answer the other party's questions as much as possible, after all, it's rare to find such a cat, and Professor Jiao isn't the type to gossip.

Wei Wen? That girl is pretty good—nice face, good figure, many people have her as a fantasy object, but Zheng Tan remembers she won't truly blow up until two years later; for now she isn't a super‑popular star. Could it be that the upcoming film isn't that good or won't be a hit?

Zheng Tan shook his head; everything was unknown. At that time he hadn't heard of this film.

Jiao Ba isn't a celebrity chaser; he has no particular impression of Wei Wen and Shi Xiao Tian, but he noted their names intending to look them up later, after all his cat will be working with them; the collaborators' character affects his cat's treatment. Though he's never acted, he's heard that there are many little tricks on set; a slip‑up could lead to being sabotaged, and since his cat isn't human, it can't voice any grievance.

Kong Han and Yang Yi chatted with Jiao Ba here for a while; after Jiao Ba nodded, they relaxed, then produced the previously drafted contract for Jiao Ba to review.

Over these past few years, many contracts have been signed because of Zheng Tan, and Jiao Ba has gained experience, carefully examining the clauses.

The contract also has no traps, just as Yang Yi said on the phone; it won't let his cat be disadvantaged.

"The contract is basically fine, but..." After reviewing it, Jiao Ba didn't sign immediately, but looked at Yang Yi and said, "I hope we can add a clause, or sign a supplementary agreement."

Yang Yi nodded, indicating Jiao Ba could continue; as long as it can be signed, a supplementary agreement that isn't too excessive is acceptable.

The supplementary agreement Jiao Ba proposed is actually a confidentiality clause concerning Zheng Tan.

As before, although Jiao Ba agreed to let Zheng Tan act, he also knows some commercial tactics; if his cat really becomes famous, there will be benefits but possibly more trouble. Yet he can't really let Zheng Tan hide his identity and not use his real name; he'd have to use a pseudonym, politely called a stage name.

Zheng Tan already has a stage name, blackc, abbreviated bc, which has some fame in certain online circles; but if used, likely without Yang Yi's team hyping it, the net would still dig it up and draw just as much attention. I've heard celebrities go out wearing glasses and masks—would Zheng Tan's cat have to worry about being mobbed when out for a stroll? Even if the film doesn't become a hit, Jiao Ba still doesn't want to take risks, so some things need to be prepared in advance, to guard against the unexpected.

"Another name change?" After hearing Jiao Ba's explanation, Yang Yi didn't quite understand why everyone wants fame while this family prefers a low profile—why bother? Yang Yi could confidently say that with good promotion and proper handling, this cat will definitely become a big star; its worth may not match those film‑star emperors and empresses, but a modestly famous celebrity could compare, given that China currently lacks any truly famous animal star, even the recently active TV drama monkey Qi Dada can't compare. On the other hand, this family truly cares for the cat, which is also done for the cat's sake.

Of course, regardless of Yang Yi's thoughts, the supplementary agreement still needs to be signed; it's not excessive, and even some artists have changed names several times. As long as the cat understands, it's fine—otherwise, if on set calling it elicits no response, that would be troublesome.

After thinking it through, Yang Yi nodded and said, "Alright, Professor Jiao, what new stage name do you plan for your Hei Tan?"

"ZT. The letter Z and the letter T." Jiao Ba said, tracing the shapes of the two letters in the air with his finger.

"ZT?" Yang Yi and Kong Han both puzzled, wondering how to pronounce a name that sounds like an abbreviation.

"Right." Jiao Ba said. He himself was actually helpless; this wasn't his choice. He has always been democratic.

The name "ZT" came about when, after Jiao Ba mentioned the need to change the stage name, Zheng Tan stepped on the keyboard in front of Jiao Ba's computer and produced it; Jiao Ba asked Zheng Tan what it meant, but Zheng Tan pretended ignorance, and Jiao Ba didn't press further, treating it as random letters struck.

After everything was settled, Kong Han and Yang Yi left, declining Jiao Ma's invitation to stay for dinner because they had evening engagements; some people here still needed to meet up later.

The matter of Zheng Tan acting in a film is known to all four of the Jiao family, but Jiao Ba said, "We just need to know ourselves; don't go spreading it around."

Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi have dealt with similar situations many times; they naturally understand the meaning. However, knowing their cat will act in a movie, the two kids still can't contain their excitement, always gathering to discuss. Jiao Ma sometimes joins the conversation; it's clear they look forward to Zheng Tan, which boosts his confidence. The decision was correct.

Yang Yi and company said filming starts in September; it's still early now, but taking advantage of summer vacation, the Jiao family of four plus the cat will gather more often; by September, they'll likely have to part from Zheng Tan for a stretch, definitely longer than last year's documentary shoot.

Since Zheng Tan has decided to film a movie, Xiao Guo needs to give notice on his end.

While Zheng Tan hadn't yet left Chu Hua Shi, Xiao Guo had him work overtime a few times; of course overtime pay was essential. Thus, in August, Zheng Tan's frequency of overtime at the pet center increased.

At the same time, Yang Yi's documentary gave Xiao Guo an inspiration; plus, Zheng Tan will be absent for a while, so Xiao Guo thought of filming another documentary. Yang Yi had already done a regional documentary; Xiao Guo decided to do one based on age.

Xiao Guo plans to film a documentary about senior cats; although many consider seven or eight years old as senior, according to the pet center's medical records and some pet files, there are still plenty of cats over seven. Thus, Xiao Guo changed the age limit for this documentary to "ten years and above."

Nowadays aren't we advocating harmony and positive energy?

That's not bad either—using a documentary approach to record touching stories of people and cats; being able to coexist with humans for over ten years, the feelings involved must be quite deep.

Xiao Guo thought, we don't have Yang Yi's lavish resources or that level of equipment and manpower, so we can't produce overly artsy stuff, but we can go for a natural, fresh style—close to life.

Filming this senior‑cat documentary can also last a long time; even on days Zheng Tan is absent, there can be output to attract clients and viewers, avoiding the situation like last year when Zheng Tan went out to film a documentary and caused rumors all over the official website; Xiao Guo also doesn't want to be blocked by people showing up at the door.

Now Xiao Guo is preparing to shoot "Old Cat"; first he must contact customers who have cats of suitable age at home; if they refuse to cooperate, Xiao Guo won't force them—of course, most customers' families are quite happy about it.

However, this also involves a problem: among the contacted customers, most are from relatively well‑off families; these people often come to the pet center for checkups, and Xiao Guo naturally knows the center has detailed records, but ordinary families are fewer—they basically don't take pets for injections, likely not even vaccinated, so there are no medical records, and Xiao Guo would be even less likely to know. He doesn't want to select only well‑off families; to make the film grounded, he needs to be more down‑to‑earth.

So, one day after overtime, Xiao Guo casually mentioned while giving Zheng Tan his overtime pay in the break room: "Zheng Tan, you often wander around; you must know some senior cats, right?"

Zheng Tan indeed thought of it—the boy named Wang Xing often comes to Chu Hua Da Xue to pick up bottles; in summer there are many bottles, and the boy's haul seems pretty good. His family's cat meets the requirement.

Zheng Tan brought Xiao Guo to that old neighborhood; below Wang Xing's building, Xiao Guo followed Zheng Tan's gaze upward and saw the cat lying on the second‑floor windowsill.

The Wang Xing family were easy to persuade; for them, filming brings payment and free treatment for the cat—why not?

After settling matters here, Zheng Tan then led the crew to the set.

The personnel are still the few who followed the documentary shoot last year; Cha Li naturally continues as the "assistant."

Knowing Zheng Tan would change his stage name to "ZT," Xiao Guo specially prepared a set of uniforms, giving Zheng Tan's attendants caps and T‑shirts each bearing a large letter "Z."

Zheng Tan suddenly felt that this letter actually has a bit of ambiguity; looking at the attendants' heads and bodies with their big "Z," really, those who don't know might think they're Zorro fans. (To be continued...)