The System Mistook Me for a Cat

Chapter 52

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

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."

Aliali: 674843b7c4f3f33ac47659ac

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!