Director Mu rented a row of rural houses on the outskirts of Changdeng City as a filming location.
The location was in Dale Village, which caught the director's eye due to its unique landscape and environment. The villagers had built their houses in a nearly circular pattern around the village center, creating a distinct geometric beauty when viewed from above.
In the central square stood an aged maple tree, reportedly a city-protected plant. Though the weather was turning cold, its leaves blazed bright red. Behind it was the village community center, with vibrant red slogans adorning its walls, exuding a sense of simplicity and warmth.
Director Mu Lou often traveled to various locations for inspiration. She preferred filming in real locations rather than studio sets, enjoying incorporating her discovered scenes into her movies. Sometimes, a single shot could make a location famous.
After Chu Tingwu landed, the crew sent a car to pick her up.
Though not an actress, she was part of the crew and was assigned to stay in one of the village houses.
Sitting in the back seat, Chu Tingwu learned from Man Xing's conversation with other crew members that filming had already been underway for some time, with the director shooting scenes that didn't require the cat.
Director Mu Lou had previously sent the script to Chu Tingwu, who quickly recalled the scenes to be filmed in Dale Village:
"Is it the part where the male lead's mindset changes through his interactions with the villagers?"
Speaking of the "male lead," the cat was actually the true protagonist of this film. Based on a true story, the script had undergone significant adaptations—
Chu Le, a narcotics officer, returns to his hometown to recover after his comrade's death and his own severe injury, which left him physically disabled. Feeling lost about his future, he deals with relatives who know nothing about his real job, assuming he's just returning from military service, leading to many misunderstandings.
While dealing with neighbors and relatives, Chu Le contemplates his future. When neighbors move away, one orange kitten is accidentally left behind and nearly freezes to death before Chu Le finds it. He takes in the kitten and, finding it intelligent and obedient, begins training it using drug-detection dog methods, leading to surprising results.
Chu Le names the orange cat "Tiger Head" and gradually intensifies the training, practicing with it around the village, causing more misunderstandings as villagers whisper that "the Chu boy has gone strange since returning from service." But his eyes grow brighter with each passing day, and during the training, he regains his confidence, believing he can still contribute to his fellow officers. He then returns to the narcotics squad with Tiger Head, resuming his work.
The plot advances to an emergency mission where Chu Le must leave Tiger Head in temporary care while pursuing a drug trafficking organization with his colleagues. As core members of the gang flee, and after days of pursuit with some members captured, Chu Le falls into the traffickers' hands while protecting his teammates. He pretends to be mentally unstable to avoid revealing his identity, gradually moving further from his colleagues' ambush zone and being taken to Fallen Phoenix City.
This portion is from the male lead's perspective, interspersed with Tiger Head's viewpoint.
From discovering Chu Le's disappearance to deciding to search for him, the police and the cat take different paths, with the cat following its owner's scent all the way to Fallen Phoenix City.
According to the plot design, this is when Three-Five-Five appears, along with the female lead of the film.
Being Director Mu's film, the cast includes many celebrities—even the actor playing the neighbor's son for contrast has hundreds of thousands of fans. Though not a major role, it provides consistent comic relief without alienating the audience. For contrast, there are also several glamorous scenes.
Chu Tingwu suspected that for these two scenes, the actor's agency might have tried to secure a spot through investment—though unsuccessfully, as the investment positions were already filled.
Additionally, the narcotics squad captain and team members with significant dialogue were all familiar faces on screen.
The female lead had an even higher profile and would carry the second-most important storyline after Tiger Head in the latter half of the film.
The female lead, Tao Xin, is a recent college graduate with an exhausting, low-paying job who nearly gets hit by a car after work. She happens to meet Tiger Head upon arriving in Fallen Phoenix City, leading to a cat-saves-damsel scene.
Tao Xin wants to adopt Tiger Head but gradually discovers the cat's extraordinary abilities—first catching a pickpocket on a bus, then exposing a colleague's ill intentions... Later, Tao Xin almost gets fired for bringing the cat to work but coincidentally lands a major deal. While her manager's attitude completely changes, before Tao Xin can celebrate, she discovers Tiger Head has disappeared.
During the contract signing, Tiger Head had detected a suspicious scent from the client's driver. The cat begins tracking, and Tao Xin, now believing in the cat's abilities, instinctively helps. Through various mishaps, the male lead's connection with his cat leads them to jointly solve the drug dealers' challenges.
At a critical moment, his colleagues arrive, rescuing the male lead and successfully taking down the drug trafficking ring.
The overall film plot is complete, offering both humor and emotional moments. The male lead has a highlight scene near the end where he works with the cat to catch fleeing drug dealers, while the early parts are filled with comedic moments—
The only issue was that Chu Tingwu had only seen a note in the margin of the script halfway through, where Mu Lou had written "Three-Five-Five appears here," but without any details about the role or content.
Chu Tingwu wondered: Would it recreate the real-life scenario?
But the reality didn't have all these family-friendly action sequences.
Chu Tingwu got out of the car, with Three-Five-Five jumping out after her, while Man Xing helped carry her luggage to their accommodation.
Dale Village was large, home to over a hundred households, with its circular layout creating pathways between buildings leading to the village center.
As she got out, village children watched curiously, holding freshly picked maple leaves.
Chu Tingwu looked up and offered them a bag of chocolate, asking, "May I climb onto your roof?"
Won over by the chocolate, the child immediately offered access to their roof, suggesting, "Climb the tree—it's easier to get up there!"
A parent who had come out with a bowl of chicken feed: "?"
Before the parent could scold the child, they saw the young woman's eyes curve into a smile as she leaped onto the wall, then the roof, shielding her eyes from the brilliant sunlight as she gazed toward the central maple tree.
The cat followed her up, meowing before lying down, its tail swishing back and forth.
Filming was underway in the village center, with actors in the middle surrounded by crew members. The village head had instructed residents to stay away unless specifically called as extras.
The child's parent climbed onto the roof with a basket of steamed buns, chatting with Chu Tingwu: "Are you with the crew, or are you here for the celebrities? Help yourself, they're still warm."
Chu Tingwu asked puzzled: "Are there celebrity fans here?"
The parent enthusiastically replied: "Yes! They're carrying heavy cameras and everything. They've even rented houses over there, saying they're taking 'spoiler photos' or something... We thought they were crew members at first, but the production team keeps them away and won't let them film."
Chu Tingwu realized: "Those must be fan site photographers?"
Though unfamiliar with entertainment industry practices, she knew about fan photographers who tracked celebrities' schedules.
Some actors don't reveal their joining of a production, but others, especially those who are popular, need to regularly release various news to maintain their fan base. Some fan site managers follow the schedule themselves, while others are deliberately informed by staff, even invited to come and take photos.
From time to time, they release a bit of behind-the-scenes footage, get on the trending list, and keep the fans hooked.
Director Mu Lou probably doesn't like this, but since they are paying for the accommodation, it's not possible to forcibly drive them away. So, during filming, they try to keep them at a distance.
After Chu Tingwu finished eating two steamed buns, the filming on the other side also came to a temporary halt. Director Mu stood up, spoke a few words with the production manager, and then turned around, looking towards the house arranged for Chu Tingwu.
The production manager was about to make a phone call when Chu Tingwu, who was sitting on the roof, stood up and waved.
Seeing this scene, Mu Lou: "……"
She looked helpless, patted the production manager's shoulder, and then waved at Chu Tingwu: Come over quickly.
As Chu Tingwu walked over, the child's parents suddenly realized: "Is this little girl really an actress?"
Could she be a child star?
-
That evening, the scene of Director Mu Lou waving made it to the trending list.
The one who captured this moment was not a fan site manager but a staff member. Initially, Mu Lou chose this location for filming because of its natural scenery. As a result, this photo captured her expression beautifully. The light enveloped her, her eyes crinkled with a gentle smile, and behind her were scattered maple leaves. The surrounding equipment formed a blurred, darker background, making Mu Lou in the center appear radiant, her raised hand filled with anticipation.
Since it had been previously revealed that a movie was being filmed, and there had been rumors of many celebrities joining the cast, this photo sparked a lot of fan speculation: Who was Director Mu waving at?
Fans of celebrities confirmed to be in the cast came forward to claim, while fans of other stars who had hinted at their schedules spoke ambiguously. As a result, fans attacked each other, exposing each other's secrets, and unexpectedly made it to the trending list.
While the trending list was buzzing, Mu Lou herself posted a picture: "It's her."
The accompanying photo showed a disgruntled tabby cat perched on a toolbox next to the director's chair.
Fans: "???"
—Of course, all this happened in the evening. Mu Lou just saw the buzz and casually took a photo of Three-Five-Five, reminding the audience that her film's protagonist is a "cat."
For now, Mu Lou was pulling Chu Tingwu to look at the cats.
"The scene where the male lead decides to adopt Tiger Head has already been shot, ten days ago. The actors at that time were these orange kittens. Now that the kittens have grown a bit, can we pick one to complete the subsequent scenes?"
This refers to the part where Tiger Head transitions from "kitten" to "young cat." In the plot, the male lead trains Tiger Head for half a year, returns to the anti-drug squad, and then continues to work and train for another year. The movie can't really film for a year and a half, so different stages require different cat actors.
Although orange cats mostly look the same, the film will be shown on the big screen, and Director Mu has always been a perfectionist, hoping that the details will be as perfect as possible... If it weren't for the budget constraints, she might have had the same cat play for a year and a half.
Chu Tingwu heard Director Mu say: "It's still a matter of insufficient funding..."
Her previous films were more inclined towards "small but beautiful," and she hadn't directed such a widely-received big film before, so investors lacked confidence in waiting for her for a year and a half.
Chu Tingwu was curious: "Do I need to pick out cat actors for different stages?"
Director Mu: "Pick two for now, and I'll see if we can mix and match the animal actors."
—In filmmaking, to save costs, scenes are often not filmed in chronological order but rather all the scenes in the same location are shot together.
For example, before she arrived, the male lead Cheng Luwei had already finished filming the part from the lowest point in his life to returning to the police station, completing most of the content at the Changdeng City Police Station that didn't require a cat.
It might be morning filming the scene of returning injured, with comrades comforting him, and in the afternoon, he's back at the police station, full of energy.
But animal actors are different; filming with animals especially requires patience... Sometimes, the crew can spend a whole day waiting for an animal to perform a single action, and even the top actors have to repeat the scene over and over, their faces stiff from smiling.
And Director Mu had even bigger ambitions: "I want to make a big film with animal protagonists like those from Disney!"
Chu Tingwu: "=="
For some reason, she suddenly shivered.
Director Mu hoped to capture more subtle expressions and actions of the animals during filming, portraying the human-like posture and thought processes, and the intelligent image of the orange cat police officer. This couldn't be accomplished with ordinary animal actors—they needed to be able to understand the shooting content with Chu Tingwu's help and even perform!
This also required the animals to have more pronounced expressions in front of the camera.
Chu Tingwu: "So, the cat's meows won't be translated?"
"Right," Director Mu said, "Like in animations, the plot is conveyed through expressions and body movements."
If done well, it could be a milestone in film history, but if not, the cat's heavy role without dialogue to fill the content would make the script feel unbalanced and unclear.
Chu Tingwu respectfully asked: "Where exactly did you get the investment from?"
Mu Lou: "……cough."
While choosing the cats, the male lead also came over. The assistant director was handling scenes with other supporting actors, and Cheng Luwei, the male lead, wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket, led the way for the two to a villager's home.
Yes, these orange cats that were part of the film were not special; they were found in the city and are now being cared for by nearby villagers.
The mother cat, an orange and white, was lying on her side nursing her kittens. These kittens were only about a month old, some were nursing, while others were stumbling to play with a ball in the corner of the box, only to fall flat on their faces shortly after.
Chu Tingwu's expression slowly turned into: ==
"Even the police dog base wouldn't let me pick such young kittens..."
At this age, what can you tell!
The film director, the film's male lead, and the crew's production manager stood in a circle by the door, while Chu Tingwu, an underage girl, half-squatted beside the box, squinting at the kittens.
The male lead Cheng Luwei couldn't help but remind: "The mother cat is very fierce, be careful."
Chu Tingwu knew he was right—because his thick cotton-padded jacket had the scent of the mother cat's saliva.
Cheng Luwei is in his thirties, a child star who went on to study in a professional acting school. He has a face full of righteousness and is considered one of the young actors with both works and reputation.
Because of his looks, he has often played righteous roles. Previously, he wanted to break away from his fixed image, so he took on a villain role, but the audience commented harshly: "I thought Cheng Luwei was an undercover agent until the end, but he wasn't, it's so disappointing!"
Unable to succeed with the villain role, he cleaned up and returned to his familiar roles... "Chu Le," the police officer role, was too familiar to him. It was clear that Director Mu chose him for stability. This film didn't have much difficulty; the only concern was the animal actor he had to work with.
Acting with animals is something only those who have done it know, and with Mu Lou's high standards, it was bound to be tough.
So, even though the "animal communicator" hadn't joined the crew yet, Cheng Luwei still went to bond with the kittens every day, ensuring that when filming started, the cats would stay in the frame and not run away at the sight of him.
His agent was also helpless: With kittens this young, they couldn't find experienced animal actors, and the duration of filming was completely unknown.
Chu Tingwu reached out, and the orange and white mother cat bared her teeth, standing up from her half-lying position.
Chu Tingwu let out a soft "meow" that sounded much like the other kittens. The cat mother seemed puzzled and hesitated for a moment, giving Chu Tingwu the opportunity to quickly flip through all the kittens.
She identified three male cats among the five orange kittens, and noticed that two of them had a white stripe on their bellies, leaving only one that truly met the criteria of being all orange.
What else was there to choose from?
She explained the situation to Mu Lou, who also felt a bit awkward. "When we took the photos, we just moved the cardboard box over. The cat mother was too fierce, and in the shots, all five looked orange..."
That small white stripe was barely noticeable when they were so young.
Chu Tingwu: "Taking the kittens for filming at this age might require adding a scene of feeding them milk. They still need to nurse. And, the initial scene was supposed to be about the kitten finding the key and pushing it back into place—"
To show that "Chu Le discovers the orange kitten is smart, leading him to think about training it as a police cat," the beginning was set with a plot.
Chu Le's house key was always kept under the doormat. Once, it fell into a water pipe due to a prank by the village kids. He went out to find tools, and when he returned, he found the kitten emerging from the pipe, strutting with a swagger, pushing the key back under the doormat, then plopping down on top of it and meowing at him.
This part required a cat's acting, specifically, a cat's eyes that should be more expressive than a human's—other crews might use close-ups and editing, but Director Mu wanted a single shot.
Chu Tingwu glanced at the cat in front of her, giving Director Mu a look that said: Are you making things difficult for me?
Mu Lou: "…Then let's use this fully orange one as the lead, and his siblings can be stand-ins. As for age, um, Teacher Cheng, let's add a scene where you've previously helped a neighbor feed their cat. So when you hear a cat meowing later, you think it's just your imagination, but you worry the cat might really be abandoned, so you go out to check. That makes sense, right?"
Problem solved!
Chu Tingwu: "I'll do my best."
If it doesn't work out, they'll have to wait for the kittens to grow a bit older, though that might make the shooting schedule a bit tight.
Director Mu's decision added a bunch of scenes of the male lead interacting with the kittens. A villager who had been helping feed the cats stepped in to assist, moving the box with the cat mother and the orange kittens to the "neighbor's" house.
Chu Tingwu thus met more of the cast members.
Director Mu referred to Cheng Luwei as "Teacher Cheng" and to her as "Teacher Chu," and because of his attitude, everyone, though surprised by her young age, was quite friendly.
During the time the male lead was added to the scenes, Chu Tingwu went out with the production assistant and brought back an orange cat, six months old, named Orange.
This adolescent orange cat was to be responsible for the part where the training had just begun.
This orange cat actually had a pedigree; its mother had been an animal actor before, and its sister had starred in a cat food commercial. In the car, the production assistant could hear Chu Tingwu and the cat meowing back and forth.
Chu Tingwu said: "Tiger Head!"
Orange "meowed" and sat up straight.
Chu Tingwu: "The sound should be short and powerful, not 'meow,' like this, 'meow!'... Can you understand? Meow, meow, meow, meow?"
The production assistant: "……"
Such conversations continued all the way to the shooting location, the doorstep of "Chu Le's" house.
Chu Tingwu got out of the car with Orange, and the production assistant couldn't help but glance at the kitten—though it was orange, its body was slender, and it didn't seem to be afraid of strangers, its eyes turning to take in the surroundings.
The shooting seemed to have paused for a break, and the actors were resting. Chu Tingwu noticed that the male lead, Cheng Luwei, not only smelled of cats but now also of milk.
... Not sure how he was getting along with the cat mother.
She took Orange to see Director Mu, saying: "There are two options: either Cheng Ge helps me train Orange for a while, or we train on the spot while filming."
Director Mu: "Let's try the second one first?"
He immediately set up the crew to shoot according to the cat's schedule—this time, filming the male lead training the cat in bite practice.
Cats like to play with their prey, so the male lead, knowing the village chief's house had a mouse problem, took "Tiger Head" to catch mice but instructed it not to play with them, just bring them to him.
They had already done simulation training, so this scene was successfully completed in one take, showing the high level of domestication of "Tiger Head."
The director's team bought mice, which they were now feeding alongside the cat, making these grey mice fat and big.
Orange licked its lips, curiously approaching the cage, poking at it with a paw, then looking at Chu Tingwu: "Meow, it's alive!"
It's alive, it won't eat it, it only eats cat food and cat meals, and it also likes canned food and cat treats!
Chu Tingwu: "=="
The first problem emerged!
She and Orange stared solemnly at the cage. Just as others were curiously looking over, Chu Tingwu turned her head: "Three-Five-Five—"
Three-Five-Five, who had taken over the director's chair, "meowed" and walked over, giving Orange a sidelong glance.
When the two cats were put together, everyone could see that Orange was indeed still a young cat, smaller than Three-Five-Five. Seeing this adult cat, Orange, who had grown up at home, looked a bit timid.
Chu Tingwu whispered something in Three-Five-Five's ear, then opened the cage.
The mouse didn't run away. Three-Five-Five reached out a paw to push the mouse out, then picked it up and trotted to Cheng Luwei's feet, slightly raising its chin to indicate it had completed the "task."
Cheng Luwei, who had been drinking water: "!"
He often played such roles, his muscles well-trained, his figure tall and robust, but now he awkwardly crouched down, saying: "Is this… for me?"
Mu Lou: "Teacher Cheng =="
Cheng Luwei immediately snapped back into character, even in his big padded coat, switching to "Chu Le" mode, giving the cat a gesture, then, according to the plot, trapping the mouse and bending down with a loving and proud expression, patting Three-Five-Five's head.
Three-Five-Five also "meowed," sitting beside him and looking up at him, then forward.
Mu Lou: "Cut! Perfect, that's the effect I wanted!"
She muttered: "Live mouse or dead mouse? Hmm, should the mouse be killed…"
Teacher Cheng Luwei, back in reality, chuckled, looking down at Three-Five-Five beside his feet, praising Chu Tingwu: "Your cat is really well-trained, so smart and obedient—how did you train it like that?"
As he reached out to pat Three-Five-Five again, he saw the cat suddenly turn its head away, then jump to the side, lifting a paw to rub its head, then started licking its paw disdainfully.
Cheng Luwei: "?"
Cheng Luwei looked at Chu Tingwu:
Isn't it, it's acting me!?
Isn't it, it just acted!?
Chu Tingwu: "This is my partner, Teacher Cheng, your partner is here."
She pointed at Orange beside her feet, which looked up at him with a clear, foolish expression: "Meow?"
Thanks to Three-Five-Five's demonstration, Orange quickly imitated and completed the scene. It seemed that with a few more repetitions, it would meet Director Mu's requirements.
Everyone was happy, thinking that the shooting would be faster than they had expected.
Cheng Luwei showed his true colors as a cat lover. Though Orange wasn't as expressive as Three-Five-Five and a bit spoiled, his gaze clearly showed his fondness.
When moving to the actual shooting location, Cheng Luwei told Chu Tingwu: "I've also raised a cat before, but being an actor is too busy, and I couldn't be with it, so I sent it to my parents."
This time, it seemed he would be interacting with several cats during filming, so Teacher Cheng was quite happy.
However... the smooth filming came to an end when they arrived at the village head's house.
This time, it wasn't the cat causing trouble, but the rats—
These rats, which had been overfed, didn't run away when released!
Upon discovering the issue, everyone instinctively looked towards... Chu Tingwu.
Chu Tingwu: "……"
Chu Tingwu: "?"
Did she look like someone who could communicate with rats too?
Mu Lou: "Let's try luring them with food."
The expectations for the cat were high, but the rats didn't matter much. Just a few close-up shots of them scurrying and some footage of the cat catching rats would suffice.
The food lure indeed worked, but only for the latter part of the scene. The rats didn't show the "swift and agile" behavior Mu Lou had demanded; they just moved slowly after being well-fed.
Assistant Director: "Maybe we should starve them for a couple of days..."
Mu Lou frowned, thought for a moment, and then spoke a few words to Chu Tingwu.
Everyone was curious, and they saw Chu Tingwu talk to Three-Five-Five for a bit.
Then, the tortoiseshell cat let out a soft "meow" and quickly disappeared outside. After about fifteen minutes, the crew waiting for a cat saw the long-haired tortoiseshell dash in like a gust of wind, her steps nimble but not hurried, with a fierce and plump gray rat clamped between her teeth.
This gray rat was quite different from the ones the crew had been feeding. It kept trying to turn over and squeaked as it attempted to bite Three-Five-Five. It was clear that if released, it could be fierce enough to bite even a person.
The cameraman instinctively moved to protect the equipment, while others grabbed the cages but dared not get too close.
They only saw Three-Five-Five approach Chu Tingwu's feet, slightly raise her head, and Chu Tingwu take out a cage.
As Three-Five-Five let go, a gray shadow shot past, but the next second, there was a "clang" sound, and the rat was already trapped under the cage by Chu Tingwu.
Before anyone could even utter their surprise, the "battle" was already over.
This cat was really well-trained!
Only the cameraman whispered: "Thank goodness, the machine is fine."
He turned his head and saw Director Mu Lou's eyes gleaming.
Cameraman: ...Wait, what?
Mu Lou: "Mr. Cheng, I think it's reasonable to show the protagonist's skills through some small details. He trains the cat while also keeping himself in shape, doesn't it make sense? So—"
Cheng Luwei: "……"
The cat was gone.
The orange cat and the tortoiseshell, which didn't belong to him, were now both around Ms. Chu.
And Cheng Luwei was left with an empty space in front of him, where a gray rat had been cleaned and thrown in. Multiple cameras were aimed at them, and he had to start practicing how to trap the rat with a transparent bowl (Mu Lou thought it looked more realistic).
He could hear—
Chu Tingwu: "Meow."
Orange Cat: "Mew?"
Three-Five-Five pounced and pinned the orange cat, who couldn't learn: "Meow!"
Cheng Luwei: Meow.
Let him meow a couple of times to blend in, because catching rats with bare hands is really not a human job!
Mu Lou: "Ms. Chu, can you demonstrate again?"
Chu Tingwu "oh"ed and jumped into the circle while taking the bowl from Cheng Luwei's hand. With a lift of her foot, she accurately stepped on the wild rat's tail as it was driven over. When the rat looked up to bite, she bent down and trapped it with the bowl, lifting her foot to press on the bottom of the bowl—so everyone saw the rat constantly bumping into the bowl but unable to escape.
Mu Lou: "Mr. Cheng—"
Cheng Luwei was startled!
Mu Lou: "I think—"
He'll learn, he'll learn, okay? Don't let Ms. Chu demonstrate anymore! If she shows another new move, this scene will never get finished!
