The System Mistook Me for a Cat

Since the last time Chu Tingwu posted a documentary about police cats, her account hasn't uploaded any new documentaries... However, some fans have heard some rumors:

It is said that there is a rumor within the Wu Voice Group that "the boss only makes one documentary a year for the most promising project," and various departments are working hard to secure this year's spot.

Although there are many rumors, the documentary "Nature Pavilion" wasn't found by fans, but rather by users who casually browse the Fenghua Network's documentary channel.

About a month ago, Fenghua Network made a small reform. Although it was a minor change, it separated the film/video/live streaming projects and added individual account pages, making the interface much cleaner. Correspondingly, the recommendation mechanism also changed.

This means that if a viewer clicks "not interested," even if their subscribed up-master uploads a video of that genre, they will not receive a push notification.

Documentaries have always been a niche project, rarely making it to the front page of the film section. Most of the time, they only go viral through word of mouth... But many people just collect them without watching, thinking "collecting means I've watched it."

Shang Cheng has the habit of watching one documentary a day. Compared to receiving information in fragmented short videos, she feels that watching documentaries reduces the guilt of "wasting time" and sometimes she can actually learn something.

She prefers documentaries about animals rather than human culture. No special reason, just that the former tends to be more entertaining.

"Maybe it's because real life isn't a story, and nature doesn't follow an arrangement? Humans can't influence the random events between animals..." She shook her head. "Who cares? Let's see what today's documentary is."

The documentary titled "Nature Pavilion: From Beginning to End" had a simple, old-fashioned feel just from the name. She almost skipped it at first, but the cover showed a dog looking at the camera, which caught Shang Cheng's attention.

She glanced at the introduction:

The Nature Pavilion at Jin City No.5 Senior High School was initially established to purchase animals for students to learn about animal habits. However, with changes in personnel, its function gradually shifted. After 28 years, from its beginning to its end, it has now disappeared.

What happened to those animals back then? Did they all die of old age?

It seemed obvious that this was a small venue built within the school, and the cover featured a cute, watery-eyed Yorkshire Terrier... Shang Cheng grabbed some snacks and clicked to play in full screen.

To her surprise, the opening scene showed a common school bulletin board, with a commendation notice for students being recommended to universities. Next to it, there was a criticism notice—

Criticizing a student who was recommended to a university for stealing animals from the Nature Pavilion. The behavior was severe and deserves criticism.

Shang Cheng: "?"

Wow, you guys—she glanced again—you guys at Jin City No.5 Senior High School are pretty bold, huh?

But this opening piqued her interest. It was rare for a documentary to start like this. Although there are documentaries that begin with an event or "a problem to be solved," leading into characters or solutions... those films were usually about wild animals, museums, or ancient buildings, which were too distant for Shang Cheng to relate to.

But Jin City... it's in the neighboring province, right?

She adjusted her posture and continued watching:

The voice-over introduced the student's argument. Although he was publicly criticized, he didn't feel he was wrong, only indignant: "Their living environment is too poor... the ermine’s life is so short... why can't I take them to a proper home?"

As his voice faded, the camera turned to the Nature Pavilion. The footage, whether synthesized or not, had an intentionally aged "unreality," but it allowed Shang Cheng to see the state of the pavilion.@@novelbin@@

The crowded and messy environment, ordinary but not properly separated animal living spaces, and the animals, indeed, didn't seem very lively, often huddled in corners, avoiding people.

"If the Nature Pavilion is like this, it might as well be canceled!"

In the voice-over, the student said this.

His voice was innocent and youthful, but Shang Cheng shook her head: It's easy to say, but what about the animals if it's canceled? Can they quickly find reliable adopters, or should they just be sold?

The video didn't explicitly state it, but the visuals were fair, and through a few words from the pavilion staff, anyone could see that the school administration wasn't taking responsibility, while the employees weren't highly motivated either, lacking a sense of achievement or career prospects.

Shang Cheng noticed that a dog frequently appeared in the footage, the same Yorkshire Terrier from the cover. After the student who tried to steal the ermine disappeared from the screen, the Yorkshire Terrier seemed to take over as the main focus.

After the background was explained, Shang Cheng realized she had been following the Yorkshire Terrier's perspective without thinking.

This filming style is quite impressive.

She ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‍grabbed her roommate walking by, wanting to call her to watch together. The roommate wanted to refuse at first, thinking documentaries were too boring... but when she saw the dog, she paused: "This seems..."

The roommate didn't finish, because the screen showed people calling:

"Dog."

The Yorkshire Terrier didn't have a name and couldn't go out for walks. It could only wander around the Nature Pavilion, but anyone could tell the dog wasn't young.

In contrast, the young peacock constantly tried to escape, and from the employees' conversation, Shang Cheng learned there was even a female peacock kept in the cafeteria... were they going to eat it?

The roommate leaned on her chair, excitedly saying: "Just watch, soon they'll sneakily breed baby peacocks!"

Shang Cheng: "!?"

How did watching a documentary get spoiled—no! Rather, because a documentary is real life, not a movie, someone who knows the reality can spoil it, right?

As she thought this, someone entered the Nature Pavilion.

It seemed to be a group of students, but these students were different from the ones who came year after year "to visit."

--They resembled the ones who were criticized for wanting to adopt the pitiful little animals.

Shang Cheng thought they were just "NPCs" to advance the plot, but then she heard her roommate "oh-hoo" with a strange sound, murmuring "how young back then" "little Chu is so cute" "I’m going to find the old videos for 'check-in'"... Huh?

Shang Chen changed her posture to continue watching, and the screen, still following the dog's perspective, showed the Yorkshire Terrier raising itself up to the fence, curiously watching the "humans" who had come to wander around.

Therefore, the students' images were a bit blurry, giving a distant feel, and one could only tell their gender and school uniforms—Shang Cheng didn't know where her roommate saw the "youth," was it from the voice?

But the changes came quickly. The animals were relocated, and the Nature Pavilion was dismantled—while the dog knew nothing about it.

Called "dog," the Yorkshire Terrier paced back and forth in its cage. Shang Cheng was also a bit nervous: Wait, wouldn't it end so soon? It's being demolished already? Although real life isn't a novel, with no pre-arranged scripts, you can't make a documentary without any scripting at all!

She felt tense with the dog for a while, but her roommate just laughed, still scrolling through her phone, apparently trying to find some browsing history to show her... then the screen switched to the scene of the Nature Pavilion being rebuilt.

In the footage, Wu Voice Group's drones appeared, showing students working hard to make money through live streaming, building the financial framework for the Nature Pavilion, planning to sponsor and find a solution with the school.

Finally, the dog was also sent to a boarding school, and Shang Cheng let out an "Ah"—

This is the Golden City Police Dog Training Base, right? She had watched that documentary!

In the footage, puppies were undergoing training. However, Shang Cheng noticed that the documentary's cameraman seemed to have a natural talent for capturing animals. When humans appeared on screen, she hadn't paid much attention. But once animals appeared, she realized that the animals in the frame seemed unusually spirited. It was as if the cameraman could perceive their emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness—and through the lens, magnified those feelings, transmitting them to the audience.

So Shang Cheng could see the changes in the puppy's emotions. It was a bit nervous, yet hopeful, thinking it might be staying at the police dog base. But it also knew it couldn't keep up with the training. So in the dead of night, it had secretly cried.

The tears glistened on its fur, but Shang Cheng chuckled. She knew the puppy would be taken back to the nature center, which was thriving thanks to the students. Clearly, it was a better place than the police dog base.

Her roommate, however, sniffled beside her.

Shang Cheng: "?"

Something was off. She realized that if everything was thriving, why was the title of the documentary "From Beginning to End"? What had happened next?

She had already labeled the school administration as the antagonist, so she continued to watch with a curious, annoyed attitude.

The puppy got a name: Cheng Cheng.

The first adoption event at the nature center was a huge success.

The peacock eggs hatched, and the baby peacocks were healthy and lively.

The nature center's operations were now on track, with full-time adults taking over so the students could focus on their studies. Cheng Cheng was also taken better care of.

Shang Cheng noticed that many of the products in the frame had the Wu Voice Group logo—from drones to pet supplies, even some personal items. Even the dog bowls had a little cat head on them.

She found it amusing and irritating at the same time. But when the plot came to the nature center being shut down, and animals were being put up for "adoption," she fell silent.

"It’s… good… The adopters seem reliable," she said, gripping her roommate's hand as her roommate gripped hers. "The problems from the beginning have been resolved now…"

Then came the scenes of the animals being taken away one by one.

Some people were smiling with joy, while others were in tears.

Whenever someone took an animal away, Cheng Cheng would stand on its hind legs, staring without blinking until the person was out of sight.

And then it would bark twice at Cheng Cai, as if asking:

Aren't these people just here to see the birds? Why are they taking the birds, the peacocks, and even the alpaca away?

If they were thieves, Officer Cheng Cheng, trained in the police dog program, would surely retrieve all the little animals!

Even if its size wasn’t much larger.

Finally, the room was mostly empty. Sunlight streamed in from the indoor ceiling as Cheng Cai called Cheng Cheng to board the vehicle.

Humans were waiting in front, and unlike when it had temporarily left for renovations, Cheng Cheng didn’t hesitate. It immediately trotted after them.

Because it knew it hadn’t been abandoned.

Suddenly, a hand reached out, and her roommate blurted, "I've seen the spoilers! Alright, we don’t need to watch anymore… Waaa…"

Shang Cheng: "There are still ten minutes left."

Surely, it would involve the follow-up of the animals being adopted, some narrative text and dialogue, summarizing the complete content of the documentary. What’s the big deal?

Roommate: "Oh, I’ll go get some tissues."

Shang Cheng: "?"

Ten minutes later, half the tissues were used up, and Shang Cheng said fiercely, "It was… well-made…"

"But Wu Voice Group must have invested in this drama, right? It felt like there were soft ads for Wu Voice everywhere… Sob… I’ll buy them, alright? I’ll book a trip to Shanwan Ranch…"

Luckily, she had some vacation days left.

Her roommate blew a snot bubble: "Huh? What soft ads?"

She hadn’t noticed any.

Shang Cheng: "There were so many Wu Voice Group products in the scenes… Though it’s great they sent the animals to Shanwan Ranch in the end."

So she figured the product placement in the documentary was acceptable, as long as the charitable actions were real. The intent didn’t matter.

Roommate: "Oh…"

"But those products in the scenes weren’t ads," she said. "Haven’t you noticed that the short-haired high school girl in the documentary is actually Chu Tingwu, the boss of Wu Voice Group and the director of the documentary?"

Probably while filming, Chu Tingwu hadn’t thought about advertisements at all; it was just how things were in reality.

Shang Cheng: "…"

No, in a sense, this was the ultimate soft ad. People like her roommate, already customers, didn’t even notice, while newcomers like her willingly bought the products… Wu Voice Group, terrifying indeed!