After finishing the cake, everyone decided to watch a movie together.
Chu Tingwu went next door to knock and delivered cake to Teacher Yuan and others, and Teacher Yuan gave her a bag of cherries in return.
With birthday wishes echoing, Chu Tingwu returned with the cherries, only to find Three-Five-Five crouching at the doorway.
Three-Five-Five looked utterly miserable. When Chu Tingwu opened the door, she heard everyone's laughter.
The apartment had excellent soundproofing, neither upstairs nor downstairs could hear anything... but their cat could.
The mother cat meowed once to greet her kitten, then strode away with an aloof attitude to patrol the neighborhood, sparing these minors. The high school students in the room had no idea they had nearly been scolded by a cat. While eating and drinking, they were selecting a movie when Chang Yile excitedly waved at Chu Tingwu: "Chu Chu, do you have any ice cream?"
It was only spring!
So everyone decided to turn the projector around and crouch in the kitchen to watch the movie while making ice cream puffs.
After all, Chu Tingwu's kitchen was quite spacious.
Halfway through, the birthday girl herself was quietly adjusting the filling when she tilted her head and asked, "Can you all see from that position?"
An Shiyan whispered, "Yes, we can see the reflection in the glass."
Chang Yile tugged at Chu Tingwu's pants: "Didn't you use to be scared of ghost movies too? How come you're fine now! Did you secretly train without us!"
Chu Tingwu: "=="
What was there to train for?
Yes, they were watching a horror movie.
Since the other two would arrive later, they had already gotten permission from their parents to spend the night at Chu Tingwu's house... and with these people staying together, sleeping was out of the question - they would likely stay up all night having fun.
Chang Yile suggested watching a horror movie.
Halfway through, all three of them had crouched down, putting the screen behind them, at most glimpsing the reflection in the window glass, watching the blurry images and listening to the sound to imagine the plot.
Chang Yixin was fine; she was pulled down by her sister. An Shiyan seemed determined not to let go of Chu Tingwu's leg.
Chu Tingwu: "...If you don't get up, I'm going to eat all the ice cream."
Chang Yile: "You think that can threaten us? Alright, I'm getting up now."
While getting up, she also turned down the horror movie's background music, and the atmosphere immediately lightened - if they had played a birthday song or Christmas carol instead, the mood would probably have turned comedic instantly.
Chu Tingwu glanced at the screen again-
She hadn't really done any "special training," but after the system update, relying on her [Intuition] skill, she instinctively realized that horror movies were just illusions with no real threat, so even when jump scares appeared right in her face, she wouldn't be scared anymore.
"This seems to be related to both [Intuition] and [Perfect Control] skills?" she thought.
Under Perfect Control, she could now control even her body's "instinctive reflexes."
Chu Tingwu vaguely sensed that the [Perfect Control] skill wasn't just a combination of all other body-related skills; digging deeper would reveal surprises... but she wasn't in a hurry.
After eating, drinking, and watching the movie, following a quick cleanup, Chu Tingwu turned on the lights, and the high school girls sat formally around the living room coffee table-
To do their homework.
Chang Yixin: "An An and I have extra classes to attend, but didn't you come early? How do you still have so much unfinished work?"
Chang Yile: "Don't mention it... by the way, where's Three-Five-Five? There's so much math homework, and I don't understand it. Could I tell Teacher Yuan tomorrow that Three-Five-Five accidentally tore up my homework while playing? I had actually finished it before it was torn up, really."
Look at your empty workbook and say that again?
Chu Tingwu had the least homework and casually said, "Three-Five-Five isn't that kind of cat - if you really want a scapegoat cat, should I catch one for you?"
"Oh!" Chang Yile's eyes lit up, "Are there any nearby?"
Chu Tingwu: "Yes, Teacher Yuan has one called Coal Ball, very easy to bribe, it'll tear up however many pages you want."
Chang Yile: "...?"
Whose cat is that?
Chu Tingwu smiled at her: "Just get to work."
Then she closed her exercise book.
She was done.
An Shiyan twirled her pen: "I only have two problems left... by the way, are we sleeping in the guest room tonight? Should we tidy it up first? Once I finish writing, I can help!"
Chu Tingwu: "My assistant comes to clean every few days, we can sleep there directly."
After all, it was the boss's birthday, and Man Xing had given her a gift-
Considering the boss's age and interests, Man Xing chose a toaster and included a bunch of cute kitchen molds.
The night was getting late, and Chu Tingwu yawned. An Shiyan finished her homework and took out her phone to check trending topics, while Chang Yixin took out her tablet to study competition mathematics... and Chang Yile, after peeking around and failing to get her elder sister's exercise book, had to lie down and continue filling in formulas with a bitter face.
An Shiyan: "Ah... looks like that movie you acted in also caught some of today's birthday trending topics."
She showed Chu Tingwu the trending topic - it was news about the entire "Tiger Head" film crew wishing Chu Tingwu a happy birthday. Of course, some of these people had just reposted her updates on their personal accounts, while others who were actually closer to her had sent private birthday wishes.
But the movie promotion had indeed begun. "Tiger Head" was scheduled for release at the beginning of May during Labor Day. Other films releasing at the same time included an art film, a big-budget American special effects movie, and a detective film, while other scattered low-budget films didn't have much competitive power.
Chu Tingwu hadn't left the staff group chat, so she occasionally saw these industry insiders discussing that the strongest competition would probably be the special effects film. After all, during holidays, unless a film had universal acclaim, people out together would tend to choose special effects movies as a safe option.
"Tiger Head" had promotional images featuring cats, Cheng Luwei, and Tong Bei. The animals could attract ordinary people who didn't follow entertainment news, while Cheng Luwei's acting skills and Tong Bei's national popularity would draw in fans.
As long as the movie's plot didn't completely fall apart and face universal criticism, it was estimated to rake in around 200 million yuan at the box office during the holiday.
This would elevate Director Mu Lou's position in the industry by another level.
Chu Tingwu didn't know much about the entertainment circle, so when the others asked if she had any gossip, she could only think of how Cheng Luwei had confused two similar-looking cats while feeding them, feeding one cat twice, and ended up being chased up a tree by the other cat who had been waiting in line for food.
Chu Tingwu: "Does this count?"
An Shiyan: "We were asking for juicy gossip, not embarrassing moments=="
Give back their muscle-man image of Cheng Luwei!
Well, then Chu Tingwu didn't know anything else, because all she could remember were everyone's embarrassing moments.
However, they all agreed to watch the movie together during the May Day holiday - although Chu Tingwu didn't show her face, she did appear on screen, and Three-Five-Five not only appeared but had some really cool shots! They had to show strong support for the cat's debut work!
"So," Chang Yile looked up, "where's Three-Five-Five?"
Chang Yixin pushed her head back down: "Just do your homework."
Yes... Chu Tingwu also wondered why Three-Five-Five was taking such a long walk?
The system had actually been monitoring and now reluctantly informed the young one: "Three-Five-Five is currently over at Building 2... seeking revenge against a parrot."
Chu Tingwu: "?"
-
The calico mother cat had a grudge against the parrot kept by the old man in Building 2, Unit 101.
Although they had been at odds since their first meeting, Three-Five-Five hadn't taken the parrot seriously at first. Even after scaring the parrot several times and being cursed at from afar by it multiple times, she hadn't paid much attention.
Just a stupid bird that only knew how to hide in its cage.
However, when she went out on patrol today, she ended up making an enemy of this troublesome parrot—
To celebrate Chu Tingwu's birthday, the system funded the sterilization of all stray cats in the city. But even with money, there was still a manpower shortage. So this task had started several days ago and would take about half a month to complete.
There weren't many stray cats in their residential complex. The team there was preparing to pack up and leave when suddenly someone said, "There's a cat, there's a cat!"
Team members: "?"
They couldn't find who spoke, but when they turned around, they made eye contact with Mama Calico.
Due to the dim light, the calico wasn't directly under the streetlight. They could only make out that it appeared to be a calico cat, strolling leisurely through the complex.
The cat looked puzzled, while the humans looked excited.
Then the team members started taking out their nets and other tools.
Three-Five-Five: "...?"
She wasn't an ordinary cat, but rather a transfer student at the police cat school. She could easily recognize mere cat-catching tools, and judging by their attitudes and movements... Three-Five-Five was certain these people wanted to catch her for sterilization!
Three-Five-Five: "?"
With a head full of question marks, Three-Five-Five hissed, glared at the two humans, and ran.
The humans tried to chase after her, but when they saw the calico run under the streetlight and noticed the collar beneath her long fur, they hesitated.
"Why does this calico look familiar?"
"Yeah, I feel like I just saw her in a video."
"We just looked it up, right? Since we had to check what the sponsor looked like..."
"Oh yeah, isn't Chu herself living in this complex?"
"..."
Three-Five-Five darted straight toward the parrot's hiding place!
Although the parrot hadn't left much of a scent, Mama Cat wasn't deaf. She had heard its voice when it was instigating the humans, but she had simply ignored it at the time.
Though she hadn't been caught this time, just thinking about being set up made her angry.
Following the scent, Three-Five-Five tracked it to Building 2, Unit 101, springing out from the shrubbery to crouch outside the first-floor balcony.
Though on the ground floor, the complex had enclosed balconies to protect against falling objects.
The old man was soaking his feet, with the parrot perched on his shoulder as they watched a comedy show together, when he heard a "thump thump" sound.
"Meow~"
As he turned his head, he saw the calico cat pressing its face against the window, letting out a clear and precise meow.
The old man: "..."
"Thump thump"
The cat raised its paw to knock on the glass again, appearing polite but with a fierce glare.
The old man looked at his parrot: "Did you provoke her?"
The parrot buried its head under its wing: "Can't see!"
The old man: "Why did you have to provoke her! You can't even fight her!"
The parrot lifted its head, glanced at its owner, then at Three-Five-Five, then back at its owner...
The old man: "I can't fight her either."
He gave a dry laugh toward the cat, put on his glasses, took out his phone, and @'ed 1-202 in the residents' group chat. When a cat comes seeking revenge, you can only talk to its owner.
So Chu Tingwu, after settling her friend, came to Building 2 to pick up the cat. Upon learning what had happened, she couldn't help but laugh, though she didn't forgive on Three-Five-Five's behalf:
"I can take Three-Five-Five away today, but tomorrow she'll come back and pluck all your parrot's feathers—"
Could you please keep your parrot from causing trouble?
Although this old gentleman had had several indirect interactions with Chu Tingwu because of their pets, this was their first face-to-face conversation. Since he kept a bird, seeing Three-Five-Five crouching next to Chu Tingwu made him a bit nervous.
"Can you control her?"
Chu Tingwu looked innocent: "I'm not Three-Five-Five's owner; on the contrary, she's my mom. She manages me, not the other way around."
This wasn't the first time she'd said this, so she found herself saying it almost automatically, very smoothly... Even if others found it strange, what did it matter? They might gossip a bit, but it wouldn't really affect Chu Tingwu.
The old man indeed reacted this way. Though his expression was a bit odd, he didn't say anything—nowadays, among pet owners, forget treating pets like mothers, some even treated them like ancestors.
He was currently treating this troublesome bird like his grandson, and said gently: "Indeed, my pet was in the wrong. I apologize to the little cat on its behalf. How about I make it up with some cat food and canned food?"
Chu Tingwu relayed this to Three-Five-Five, who glanced at the human and meowed twice.
Chu Tingwu smiled: "Three-Five-Five doesn't eat cat food or canned food. She says no compensation is needed. But she won't scratch your bird. She was unhappy with your attitude when you first met, so she kept... well, I should apologize for that too."
The atmosphere was good, but the parrot looked left and right, shocked, glared at its owner, then flapped its wings, pointed at Three-Five-Five, and said: "Bandit!"
Then it buried its head under its wing and shouted: "Robber!"
Finally, it landed on the table, hopped twice, suddenly lay down playing dead, turned its head to the side with a "squawk," facing away from the calico: "Murderer, murderer!"
With just one bird, it had performed an entire murder mystery.
The other main actor who had no idea they were supposed to perform: "?"
Three-Five-Five suddenly pounced on the table. The parrot swooped up with a whoosh, and the old man made two "hey hey" sounds as he reached out to block.
In that split second, Chu Tingwu leaped up on one foot, touched the table surface, and soared into the air. She caught the parrot's body with one hand while spinning in mid-air, one foot on the table edge and the other on top of the chair back.
The high chair beneath her feet tilted up, standing in an acrobatic three-legged pose. Chu Tingwu made a gesture to Three-Five-Five, who was still not pleased and therefore jumped up again, grabbed Chu Tingwu's clothes, and hung onto her shoulder, crouching there to hiss at the parrot.
The parrot: "...eep."
The stranger who had just pushed open the door: "...Huh?"
The old man had also noticed the sound of the door opening. It was his son who had just returned from work. He glared at his son: "What are you 'huh'-ing about? You're the one who spoiled Miaomiao! Teaching it bad habits all day, just being mean-mouthed!"
"Son": "?"
He had just gotten off work!
Chu Tingwu, however, found this stranger somewhat familiar: "Officer Zhou?"
—It was the officer who had previously come to her home to present a banner and thank-you letter for helping catch a thief and filming it!
Officer Zhou, in his early thirties, smiled helplessly: "No need to call me Officer, that's too formal! We're all from the same complex!"
Chu Tingwu obligingly said: "Uncle Zhou."
Officer Zhou, in his early thirties, felt like an arrow had struck his heart: "H-hello, haha."
Had he been looking too old from all the overtime lately? She could have called him big brother!
The parrot Miaomiao was fine, just feeling down, clearly puzzled about how someone without wings had outmaneuvered a flying creature. It was getting quite late, so after Chu Tingwu helped clean the table, Officer Zhou offered to walk her back to Building 1.
...Even though it was just a few steps away.
So, when they went out, Chu Tingwu sensed he might have something else to say—
"Three-Five-Five usually stays with you, right? I know she's receiving training at the police dog base... Little Chu, your airport video from before had quite a big impact," Officer Zhou pondered, "It's best not to go to isolated places alone recently. Pay attention to your safety, and keep the cat with you."
He believed that a cat praised by his colleagues at the police dog base couldn't be an ordinary cat, and would probably be able to react promptly to dangerous items and people.
Chu Tingwu caught his hidden meaning: "Is someone trying to get revenge on me?"
Who would be so... suicidal?
Officer Zhou maintained his serious expression but revealed some inside information: "Actually, it has nothing to do with those thieves. We just caught some people making reckless comments in the comment section... Interestingly, among those who posted inflammatory comments, there were actually criminals and people with prior convictions. Some criminals were unlucky, got reported, and their past records were discovered during our investigation."
It seems people who made inappropriate comments on Chu Tingwu's posts were noticed by the police, reported by the public (were they really just ordinary citizens?), and then arrested in quick succession.
Chu Tingwu vaguely guessed what had happened.
While these people were caught, the police realized there might be more potential wrongdoers who simply hadn't made public declarations yet.
As an "ordinary citizen" not under the protection of official institutions but with relatively high visibility, she became a target for some disturbed individuals who liked to prey on people like her.
Moreover, she had additional "buffs" like being "exceptionally talented," "underage," and an "animal lover."
Chu Tingwu nodded.
Of course, she wouldn't go to isolated places alone... she always had her system and Mama Tortoiseshell with her.
After getting acquainted with the neighbor from the next building, Chu Tingwu returned home with her cat mother.
She had received so many birthday wishes that day that her face was stiff from smiling. She rubbed her face and then reached out to pat Three-Five-Five's face.
Three-Five-Five, who had just gotten comfortable: "?"
Chu Tingwu: "Good night."
Good night.
-
While her birthday was ordinary for Chu Tingwu, it was a rare break for her competition class classmates.
Because after that day, their classes seemed to increase.
Chu Tingwu also had to prepare for the biology competition preliminaries—this preliminary round was close to the league competition (provincial competition), and the teachers indicated that the preliminary questions might be as difficult as the provincial competition, essentially serving as early exam practice.
Unexpectedly, the first round would eliminate most participants.
But Chu Tingwu noticed many people secretly breathing sighs of relief—
Most freshmen in the competition prep class believed they couldn't pass, and after being eliminated, their course load would become lighter.
The competition system consisted of preliminaries-league competition-national competition. Passing the preliminaries allowed participation in the league competition, where top performers would be selected for the provincial team to compete nationally. National first-prize winners typically secured direct university admission, and the most outstanding talents would join the national team for international competitions.
On the 26th, the biology competition participants would take the school bus to the exam venue together. On the evening of the 25th, Chu Tingwu had her system give her last year's national exam paper for practice.
After completing it, she determined that with her current level, passing the preliminaries would be barely possible, the provincial competition would be extremely challenging, and the national competition would be impossible.
Even with the system's tutoring and learning through entertainment, she had only been studying for a short time.
Therefore, Chu Tingwu maintained a calm attitude during the exam, skipping questions she didn't understand or couldn't immediately answer... she flipped through the dozen pages of the exam paper, joining the rustling sounds of turning pages throughout the classroom.
After filling in all the answers she could remember and reviewing the entire paper once more, the exam ended.
This exam seemed no different from previous ones. The freshmen could still chat quietly on the bus ride back, but several sophomores started crying as soon as they boarded.
Everyone fell silent, only hearing the soft sobs of the upperclassmen.
Chu Tingwu gazed at the swaying trees through the window.
The weather was beautiful.
In a few hours, another day would pass.
Someone stopped crying and handed tissues to the person next to them. The wind swept up fallen leaves, and today seemed no different from any other day.
But for Director Mu Lou in Beijing, today was a crucial day.
It was the preview screening of the movie "Tiger Head" and would determine whether she could successfully transition in her career!
All the important actors were present, and as the film's light fell on their faces, Mu Lou sat in the middle, intently watching the movie she had seen countless times... like watching her own child.
When Cheng Luwei's character first made a fool of himself, the audience let out soft laughter.
When the orange kitten appeared, was abandoned, and then rescued by the male lead, Mu Lou heard them discussing quietly... Obviously, while not everyone liked cats, their basic moral compass told them this wasn't right, and they felt positively about the male lead for adopting the kitten.
And then... Mu Lou thought, it was the cat's time to shine.
During the film's registration, the main characters were listed as the male lead, female lead, and "cat."
Sure enough, when they saw the kitten's clever and intelligent performance, everyone was drawn in. Mu Lou noticed people unconsciously smiling, their emotions following the film's plot.
Even in scenes without human dialogue or other characters, they remained focused just watching the cat—
This was Mu Lou's proudest sequence of shots, able to convey a story purely through filming animals. It was all real footage, without any special effects—even the most perfect special effects couldn't truly fool the human eye, as people would instinctively sense something unnatural and be pulled out of the story.
Now watching her own direction from an audience perspective, Mu Lou found herself falling in love with "Tiger Head" too.
A smart, humanlike, loyal little cat.
One that understands when you call it, responds when summoned, perfectly follows commands, and secretly seeks affection after training. It even comes to comfort you when you're feeling down, bringing its toys for you to play with.
Mu Lou even heard someone say: "Why did they only buy Tiger Head so few toys? The male lead is so stingy! If it came to my house, I'd buy it a whole box!"
Mu Lou couldn't help but laugh: The male lead was also a first-time cat owner!
They had found his awkward interactions with the cat endearing before.
Indeed, once the true protagonist appeared, as the cinematography changed, the audience's hearts turned toward Tiger Head.
Thus, when the male lead got into trouble, Tiger Head was put in temporary care, and bad news kept coming, everyone showed worried expressions.
In some films, even if you can guess the development, you're still moved by the emotions conveyed through the actors' performances.
Therefore, seeing Tiger Head tracking, cleverly avoiding dangers, but still encountering difficulties not found at home, yet accurately finding clues left by the male lead each time—while serving as a contrast to the police force—the audience felt both heartache and pride.
Normally, when films use official forces as a contrast, people don't appreciate it, thinking: "Isn't this too focused on individual heroism?"
But this was a cat!
The police were working hard too, but they didn't have a cat's sense of smell, balance, and discretion. When your cat travels thousands of miles to save you, you're too moved to even think about "feline heroism." And even if it was, give the hero cat a medal!
As the plot developed, people instinctively smiled when the female lead appeared—her image in variety shows was similar to her character in the film, unlucky but likable. Mu Lou had amplified her physical characteristics, making her beauty more pure and approachable, capturing many beautiful shots.
When Three-Five-Five appeared, someone whispered: "Is that Three-Five-Five?!"
Yes, Chu Tingwu and her cat had already become famous.
The fans on Fenghua Video Network were of much higher quality than those on the New Plum app, with fewer fake followers. While Chu Tingwu didn't appear, her cat was often made into reaction memes.
For example, [Little (?) Cat Hits People], [This Punch Might Kill You], [Even the Cat Feels Dead], [What Does It Have to Do with Me, I Didn't Kill Anyone, I'm Just a Black Dandelion], [catiswatchingyou—]...
Internet-famous cats can't escape the fate of becoming memes, and Three-Five-Five, due to her unique behavior and distinctive fierce expressions, carved out a bloody path through the cute meme world with her "hitting series," achieving even wider circulation than Chu Tingwu's account.
Three-Five-Five was just being herself, which greatly amused the audience.
Mu Lou felt somewhat fortunate to have found Chu Tingwu—animal films actually carry significant risks. When the film was submitted to investors for evaluation, the assessment team was conflicted: should they cut some of the pure animal scenes?
Would scenes filled with just animals make the visuals monotonous and the plot boring?
Although the film's presentation looked good, there's a saying that "when making movies, treat the audience like idiots." The more widespread the audience, the lower the threshold needs to be. Would they really be able to understand what the cats are expressing through facial expressions and tones?
But as it turns out, the audience could.
The most nerve-wracking part was over, and Mu Lou breathed an internal sigh of relief.
The later action sequences, grand scenes, and plot twists worked as expected. After the movie ended, everyone seemed to be in good spirits.
—This was a family-friendly blockbuster with action, plot, positive themes, and cute pets, complete structure, beautiful cinematography, solid acting performances, worthy of a 7.5+ rating, perfect for holiday viewing with family.
During the post-screening interview, the interviewer predictably praised the film, then asked: "Director Mu, what are your box office expectations for 'Tiger Head'? The release coincides with 'Ultimate Era 3,' which is also an action and special effects-driven film. Was this intentional?"
Mu Lou thought: They focus on special effects, with action just for the lead actor to look cool!
But no matter how she responded, media would publish provocative reports for traffic anyway.
Regular moviegoers who finished watching weren't concerned about these issues. They just felt they'd seen a pretty good film. Critics rapidly posted their reviews, while actors' fans chatted excitedly about their idols' scenes—
Tian Shi bounced happily as she left the screening room.
She had heard that Chu Tingwu had a cameo in the film, so she asked the system if she could get preview tickets, and the system actually managed to get them!
"Director Mu really knows how to shoot scenes..." Tian Shi thought.
Regular viewers just found the experience enjoyable, but as an art student, Tian Shi naturally paid attention to the cinematography. She noticed that in Mu Lou's film, there were almost no ineffective shots, and many close-ups were particularly aesthetically pleasing... not just making the characters look beautiful.
Tian Shi could still remember Chu Tingwu's entrance scene.
Although she also loved Three-Five-Five, the cat had more screen time while Chu Tingwu had less, so she paid extra attention—
Because they were filming the cat, the camera was focused on the low wall where the cat was lying, and the skateboard sound appeared first.
Then, Chu Tingwu's shadow fell on the edge of the wall, and as the skateboard moved, the camera began chasing the moving shadow. When the shadow fell on Three-Five-Five, the tortoiseshell cat narrowed her eyes, with her ear tips gleaming golden in the sunlight, close-up showing faint blood vessels.
The cat's head lifted slightly, and before the skateboard stopped, she was already prepared to jump down.
At that moment, just through this subtle movement, Tian Shi felt it showed that someone the cat knew and was very close to had arrived.
The cinematographic language was absolutely brilliant!
When Chu Tingwu called Three-Five-Five, since her face wouldn't be shown, the camera focused on her lower body, showing her foot movements.
As the small skateboard connected and glided in a smooth pattern on the ground, Chu Tingwu's foot made the same rhythmic sliding motion in the air, and in the next second, both skateboards moved forward simultaneously.
Tian Shi realized what this shot made her feel—it was "rhythmic"! Whether it was the steady, unchanging skateboard sound, the uniformly passing wall projection, or this small foot movement, everything had a rhythmic and stable beauty. This allowed Chu Tingwu to perfectly blend into the scene and perfectly lead Three-Five-Five away.
This series of actions was natural and fluid; it wasn't noticeable while watching, but after viewing, this scene kept replaying in Tian Shi's mind.
When this scene appeared, people around laughed at the plot, but the lingering impression of this image in their minds might be more profound than even the highlights of the male and female leads—
Even though Chu Tingwu only appeared for seven seconds in the two-hour and twelve-minute film.
Tian Shi was curious: Did Director Mu shoot it this way intentionally? How many takes did this scene require to achieve the perfect effect? Why pursue such aesthetics in an inconspicuous shot that many people might not even notice?
With these lingering questions...
She went back and enthusiastically recommended it in Chu Tingwu's fan groups and self-organized interest groups.
Then she was muted for half an hour by the group admin for being a "lucky preview viewer who shouldn't speak."
However, the group chat name was directly changed to—
[Chu Tingwu and Three-Five-Five both appear in 'Tiger Head,' go watch it!]
-
As movie promotions increased and more online reviews appeared, Chu Tingwu didn't specifically promote it herself, but her classmates all seemed to know about her appearance—
Although it was only seven seconds.
Although her face wasn't shown.
But even a cameo deserves encouragement! Even Teacher Yuan patted Chu Tingwu's shoulder and said, "I'll go watch it for Three-Five-Five!"
Chu Tingwu thought: Don't underestimate seven seconds==
During the holiday, many people rushed to see the premiere, as this film's quality could be trusted compared to others. Chu Tingwu went to the cinema on the second day.
She hadn't arranged to go with classmates, but was caught at the entrance by a social media influencer who seemed to be livestreaming.
"Hello young lady, may I ask what movie you're planning to watch today? Oh, you've got your ticket already, can we see it?"
Chu Tingwu: "..."
She opened her hand, and the person filmed the text on her movie ticket: "Ultimate... World... 3?"
The social media host had a moment of realization: "That's an excellent film, I heard the special effects have been upgraded and are really outstanding, though it's a foreign film. May I ask why you chose this movie instead of others?"
The camera panned briefly to the 'Tiger Head' promotional poster.
Chu Tingwu: "..."
Chu Tingwu sighed: "Because I've already seen 'Tiger Head,' and I have a friend who worked on 'Ultimate World 3,' so I'm here to show support."
After saying this, she didn't explain further and simply walked past them into the venue.
This social media host's livestream theme was interviewing moviegoers, and most people, unless extremely socially anxious, wouldn't leave so hurriedly when they knew they could be on camera.
The host looked at Chu Tingwu's retreating figure: "...Why does she look familiar?"
They felt like a name was about to slip off their tongue, but something seemed missing from the picture, missing... ah!?
"Three-Five-Five!"
The bullet comments were exasperated.
[Three-Five-Five is the cat's name, this is Chu Tingwu, and she didn't bring the cat...]
[Wait, Chu Tingwu is indeed studying in Jin City, but why isn't she watching her own movie and instead supporting the competition?]
'Ultimate World 3' and 'Tiger Head' are currently competing for box office numbers!
People thought about Chu Tingwu's response about "friend's involvement"—does she have friends in America? Wait, something's not right—
Someone dug up the promotional poster for "Ultimate World 3" and found the name of the special effects team at the bottom.
It was you, System!
So your friend really did participate!
-
In the movie theater.
[Baby! You actually came to watch the movie I helped make, instead of going to watch your own movie... I'm so touched! I never even specifically mentioned it to you...]
Yes, Chu Tingwu found out about it herself.
[If I had known, I could have increased the precision when creating the special effects—]
Mu Lou would cry if you did that, he really would.
[Then we could set the contract payment higher and take more of their money!]
That's fine then.
Chu Tingwu asked curiously: "Are there any actual humans in your studio?"
Although the System made money, it wasn't through quick-profit activities like stock trading and reselling, but rather through company investments, high-level consulting services, and some minor functions that came with being a super AI. Of course, if it really wanted quick money, it could simply modify bank account numbers, but it insisted on following society's rules, giving it an endearingly stupid AI quality.
System: "After getting on track, we hired some external staff for liaison work."
Although most work could be done online, some things still required human involvement.
Thinking about it now, it indeed needed to find more reliable managers. If the little one needed to go abroad, having their own people there would make things more convenient.
The System shared all this with its little one, and also chatted about what work it had done in the movie. A strange emotional code crawled around in the System's code library, something it wanted to express but couldn't quite articulate, so it simply bundled up that chunk of code and tossed it aside.
Chu Tingwu nodded "mm-hmm" in response, and as the movie began, she raised her hands to cover her ears: "Shh... I'm starting to watch."
The System, which had quickly compiled an entire presentation that could clearly and simply explain its work in special effects production to its little one, and had predicted what information she might be curious about, all archived within one second:
"?"
So you really just came to watch the movie?
