Daily Life in the Pet Shop Ch. 97

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"To stop the hamster that thinks it's a cat from constantly bothering them, they've learned to play along—at this point, they're already quite good at pretending to be dead."

Fang Yi picked up the two hamsters from the ground and tossed them into the cage.

"Oh my god, you're incredible! I'm seriously impressed. You actually managed to teach a hamster to catch mice? I've never seen anything this bizarre in my life." Hai Yang took the two hamsters from Fang Yi's hands, only to realize they were actually alive. It was unbelievable.

"The hamster I raised keeps pretending to be dead... Was it forced into it by this 'hamster with a cat's heart'?" Du Qianze suddenly thought of his own hamster, which always played dead. With a brother like that—one who thinks it's a cat—his poor hamster must be exhausted. No wonder it was so eager to go home with Da Bai.

"Probably," Fang Yi nodded.

Seeing how fascinating these hamsters were, Hai Yang took all four at once, saying he would train them properly. Maybe he could get them to be as skilled as Da Fei and have them appear on TV shows to make money. That would be ideal—these four wouldn't demand a cut of the earnings, and they'd be obedient.

When Hai Yang said the word "obedient," he deliberately emphasized it, then turned to look at Du Qianze.

Du Qianze, refusing to feel embarrassed, pretended not to hear him.

Two days later, Ning Feng called Du Qianze and told him that Cai Ya and Sui Yuan had reached out to him. He planned to release the animal abuse video on major websites at noon that day and told Du Qianze not to act rashly.

Not that Du Qianze had any intention of doing things himself. He and Hai Yang had tried hiring internet trolls, but none of them accepted the job, saying they'd already been contracted by someone else.

Du Qianze kept a close eye on the video's traction and the comments it was getting. At first, there were barely any discussions, but after about three hours, the number of comments started to rise, though the overall engagement was still too low.

"With just these few comments and agenda pushers, are you sure this will work?" Du Qianze wasn't too worried, but Hai Yang was getting anxious. Where were the promised internet trolls?

"Relax, take your time." Fang Yi got up to change the food for the cats and hamsters at home—only to realize the hamster was missing again.

When he first bought the cage, Fang Yue had warned him that this type of hamster was an escape artist. That turned out to be completely true. The Little Common Bean he raised escaped from the cage at least ten times a day. Thankfully, Da Bai was around. No matter where the hamster hid, Da Bai could always sniff it out.

Recently, Da Huang and Xiao Huang had started joining in, and they seemed to enjoy the game. Whenever the hamster struggled to escape, they would even step in to help, purposely letting it succeed.

"How can I not be anxious?" Hai Yang muttered under his breath. Du Qianze had put everything on the line for this—his future, all for the sake of these animals. If things didn't go according to plan, Hai Yang would be devastated. He'd not only lose money but also his future.

That was a massive loss.

The video was not very popular on the day it was posted, but the next day, before Cai Ya, Ning Feng, and the others could make any moves, the video became popular in a place Du Qianze could not have imagined.

The video gained traction on a game forum for Warring Westward Journey, which Fang Yi also played. Within just one day, the post had garnered thousands of replies. This result surprised Du Qianze, though he understood why. Fang Yi was considered a top player in the game, and with his influence, it wasn't surprising the post gained such popularity.

However, what followed was beyond Du Qianze's imagination. Once the thread surpassed 3,000 replies, someone recognized Hua Ziyi, and soon, bits of Hua Ziyi's personal information began surfacing.

Many gamers were tech-savvy, and after Hua Ziyi's information was leaked, someone hacked his computer, retrieving numerous photos and videos. Most of the content consisted of intimate photos with female celebrities and disturbing videos and images of animal abuse.

Once these circulated online, Hua Ziyi quickly became infamous. Major news outlets picked up the story, and Cai Ya began reposting and commenting on the incident.

The scandal remained a trending topic for days and couldn't be suppressed. Hua Ziyi hired numerous internet trolls, but their efforts were futile. Enraged, Hua Ziyi even destroyed two computers.

Soon after, Hua Ziyi held a press conference, claiming that the person in the video wasn't him but someone who looked very similar. He insisted that many of the photos and videos were fabricated and that someone was trying to frame him. He also posted a lengthy statement on Weibo, threatening to sue netizens who insulted him.

Even the media at the conference seemed skeptical, though many, having accepted benefits from Hua Ziyi, reported according to his narrative.

Du Qianze watched the entire press conference and couldn't believe Hua Ziyi would lie so blatantly. Few would believe such obvious falsehoods. This made Du Qianze suspect that Hua Ziyi might truly be guilty of animal abuse—his behavior seemed too irrational. Still, Fang Yi's investigation had never been wrong before.

Concerned, Du Qianze called Ning Feng to ask if Hua Ziyi would still attend the upcoming party despite the scandal.

"Don't worry. At a time like this, Hua Ziyi will be even more eager to hold the party—he needs to maintain pressure on celebrities to speak for him," Ning Feng reassured him, adding that Hua Ziyi had even moved the party date forward.

Two days later, just as the animal abuse scandal began to fade, news broke that Hua Ziyi had been arrested for drug use.

Given the prior scandal, this news went viral quickly. Regardless of its truth, many netizens cheered.

A few days later, the arrest was confirmed. Hua Ziyi's company's reputation took a nosedive. Some people even launched a campaign to boycott their company's movies and TV shows, which frightened the employees. Many quietly prepared to terminate their contracts, and the company's stock plummeted.

Seeing this, Du Qianze breathed a sigh of relief. Hua Ziyi was finally dealt with, though it didn't feel like a victory.

"Happy and satisfied now?" With Hua Ziyi's downfall, Hai Yang began to worry about Chi Rui's involvement. Chi Rui had recently approached him, asking which script Du Qianze had chosen.

"Satisfied." Du Qianze nodded, sensing Hai Yang's concern. He changed clothes and left with Hai Yang to meet Chi Rui at the company.

All credit goes to the original author
Feel free to pinpoint us if there are any grammar error or typos
Please don't use Guazi's translation to re-translate in other languages

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