Chapter 136: Volume 1, Chapter 136 – The Movie Emperor Who Turned Into a Cat (3)

Jiang Zhi thought she had misseen, raised her hand to rub her eyes, and a ball of Heitan was curled up beside the hot water bottle next to the pillow, body tucked in, ears drooping, face buried in its belly.

She kept looking and couldn't help laughing.

Heitan is quite afraid of the cold, doesn't like sleeping in the cat nest, runs to her bed to sleep, and even sticks to the hot water bottle, really knows how to enjoy itself.

Heitan was awakened by her voice, its black plush ears perked up, it gave a slight shake, lazily opened its eyes without glancing at her, jumped down from the bed, as if its previous sleep here had been a grand condescension.

Stepping on the cold floor, its back view was elegant, not like that of a mere cat.

Jiang Zhi glanced at the time: eight in the morning.

She had set an alarm for nine, needing to go to an audition for a TV drama female lead stand-in before eleven.

For a whole month she hadn't worked, staying in the hospital to look after Heitan; her wallet only saw money going out, none coming in, and if she stayed longer, even her savings wouldn't be enough for her to squander.

Now awake, she felt no drowsiness, threw off the covers, washed up, put on light makeup, donned a thick down jacket, wrapped a scarf, and set out tightly bundled.

Heitan was placed by Jiang Zhi into a warm pocket, packed with some cat food and its medicine, and they went out.

"I'm going to work, stay here and don't move around," Jiang Zhi told it in two sentences, not bothering to see if it understood.

She wouldn't be home, no one could look after it, so she had to bring it along.

The little black cat was quite obedient, aside from not letting her pet it, everything else was fine.

Taking the subway to the destination, this is the world's largest film and television shooting base, built with various ancient-style buildings, covering a large area, most historical costume dramas are filmed here.

Following the original host's memories, Jiang Zhi found the audition site.

The original host had struggled here for two years, also knew martial arts, and many crews would hire her as a female lead stand-in.

Stand-in work is thankless and hard, earning a bit more than ordinary extras, but the tasks are heavy and tiring, and injuries are frequent.

The crew auditioning this time is for a historical palace intrigue drama; the heroine, a palace maid, endures various perils and gradually climbs to the Empress's position, a serial spanning over seventy episodes.

It's a big IP novel adaptation, casting big-name actors, so her stand-in pay is considerably higher than before, with a long-term contract; if she passes the audition, she'd need to stay with the crew for several months.

Just when she was short of money, Jiang Zhi remarked, "This is truly a timely help."

When she arrived at the audition venue, the queue stretched outside; the bitter wind made the few girls waiting outside cold and tired, yet none left.

Jiang Zhi saw this and felt fortunate she had worn thick clothes, even long socks, and went to stand at the end of the line.

"Little Heitan, look, sister has put in all this effort to earn money for your cat food, yet you won't even let me pet you."

That latter sentence is the key.

Heitan once again turned its rear toward her.

Jiang Zhi's gaze fell on the faces of the few girls in line, and she sighed helplessly.

For such a major historical costume IP, many people rack their brains just to get a chance to appear.

She saw several low-tier actresses, likely there to audition for the neighboring palace maid role, standing side by side with those auditioning for the stand-in position here.

After waiting nearly an hour, Jiang Zhi finally didn't have to endure the cold wind, entered the corridor, and the next person to be interviewed was her.

Until the girl ahead came running out crying, and the staff inside called her in.

Jiang Zhi felt a bit nervous.

When nervous, one tends to touch nearby objects; she slipped her fingers into her pocket, felt the soft fur, hadn't even stroked twice when Heitan fiercely scratched her, instantly clearing her mind, and she pulled her hand back.

She muttered softly:

"Stingy!"

The black cat curled in the pocket heard it, arrogantly scratched its chin, turned over, and burrowed deeper inside.

As the female lead's stand-in, the drama has many stand-in-required scenes, equivalent to the heroine's shadow, which the higher-ups value greatly.

Height and weight are extremely strict; Jiang Zhi had measured herself before and she roughly meets the standards.

After answering a few questions, they proceeded to the audition segment.

Jiang Zhi's acting skill need not be said to be top-notch; anyway, none of the other girls present could out-act her.

After signing the cooperation agreement, she needed to go back and pack her luggage.

Meals and lodging provided, she must report to the set tomorrow and stay for five months.

She returned home.

Jiang Zhi beamed, humming a song as she placed her change of clothes into the suitcase.

She didn't have many clothes, only bringing the ones she bought that day; she closed the suitcase, looked up, and her eyes met those of the black cat lying on the bed.

Soft warm light fell on its slit-like upright cat eyes, revealing a black-and-blue hue, beautiful like glass beads, refracting strange colors.

Before, Heitan either slept with eyes closed or didn't look at her properly; this was the first time she could see its eyes clearly.

Upon meeting her gaze, Heitan shifted its eyes away, resting its chin on its slightly bent legs, as if everything just now had been her illusion.

Jiang Zhi didn't want to miss this chance, marched over angrily, hands on hips, glaring at it:

"Were you just peeking at me?"

Heitan's body stiffened, its tail behind also motionless, looking ever more like a plush toy.

Jiang Zhi's lips curled, she shifted her stance to meet its evasive eyes, and smiled: "Heitan, you sneakily look at me—are you growing fonder of me?"

Heitan had never heard such shameless, self-admiring words, yet the girl's pair of clear, bright eyes sparkled with myriad stars, as if able to dispel all darkness.

Obviously there was nothing to be happy about.

Jiang Zhi saw it stunned, couldn't help reaching out to cover its head, and gently rubbed.

Its fur was gradually growing back, black and smooth, feeling especially pleasant to the touch.

At the moment Heitan reacted to grab her, Jiang Zhi promptly withdrew her palm, triumphantly saying: "This time you can't catch me!"

Heitan unwilling to engage, got off the bed and lay down in a dark corner.

Jiang Zhi had already washed up early, lay in bed, and instructed the black cat in the corner.

"Don't sleep on my bed again; you have your own nest!"

After saying that, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The black cat in the corner stood up, its dark vertical pupils gazing through the dim light at the figure on the bed.

It jumped onto the bed with ease, burrowed into the warm blankets, its nose filled with the girl's scent, moved closer, lay down, and closed its eyes.

Whenever the girl stirred, it would open its eyes, glance over to make sure she hadn't woken, then relax and lie down again.

Early morning.

Jiang Zhi was awakened by suffocation, the weight of the blanket covering her head pressing on her face; she pulled off the blanket and saw a black mass with its butt facing downward.

She had almost been smothered by its butt, and she strongly suspected it had done it on purpose.

"Heitan!!"

Jiang Zhi let out a loud shout.

Heitan, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly woke, lifted its eyelids, gave her a casual glance, obviously blaming her for waking it.

Jiang Zhi: "……"

She ignored its struggle, scooped it up, immediately got off the bed, and shoved it into the cat's nest.

"This is your nest!!" she gritted out, each word deliberate.

Heitan turned its butt toward her.