Chapter 825: There’s No Credit for Nothing Done
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The onlookers opened up a pathway down the middle, making the female journalist look particularly isolated and embarrassed. After a little hesitation, she also moved away to let Eddy and Zhang Zian step into the pet shop.
With the exception of Fina and Famous, the other elfins had never seen anyone with dark skin, so they couldn’t help but stare at him.
Eddy looked around the shop. He carefully moved his feet, fearing that he might accidentally step on the kittens who were running around. “Wow! Mr. Zhang, your shop is really interesting. It’s a paradise for all cat lovers! I don’t think Ms. Ryan would ever feel lonely accompanied by so many cats!”
When his gaze fell on Kathy’s portrait, his smile immediately vanished. He walked over and placed the daisy in his hands at the front of her portrait. He placed his hands together in front of him, bowed his head, and prayed silently.
Kathy in the portrait was surrounded by Abyssinian cats. She was sitting on the green lawn and smiling at the photographer. The bright yellow daisy blocked the lower part of the portrait and made it look like she was sitting among the flowers.
When the flowers in the mountains bloomed, she would be smiling amongst them.
The Abyssinian cats who had been chasing each other on the top of the shelf seemed to have felt something. They jumped off the shelf and sat or laid down in front of the portrait, then stared at the face of the former owner. As if recalling their past memories, soft whimpers came from their throats.
Eddy, who was looking down, peeked to the left and right in surprise. He looked at the cats that seemed very intelligent and he could not help but feel awed. At the same time, he was also glad that he wasn’t in the United States… Otherwise, if the scene before him was witnessed by a devout priest, they might think that the cats were possessed by evil things, and may even try to exorcise them…
Because of his work, he was acquainted with one or two priests that had extreme beliefs. Even under the restrictions of the Vatican’s explicit prohibition of exorcism, they still identified a woman that was possessed by a demon and forcibly exorcised her, which caused an uproar.
Zhang Zian knew what was going on; they were obviously ordered by Fina.
Others who saw the scene were also in awe. They took in a breath of cold air and raised their phones to take pictures of the kittens remembering their master.
The female reporter and her cameraman rubbed their eyes; they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
Eddie was done mourning, and the Abyssinian cats had also returned to normal. They jumped back onto the shelves and the cat tree to continue playing.
Zhang Zian walked over to the female journalist and glanced at her journalist’s work permit on her chest. “I’ve given it some thought, and I don’t seem to have the need to prove anything to you. If you suspect that I’m part of a donation fraud, then you can go look for the evidence—however, if you don’t have any evidence and you still insist on slandering me about the donation fraud, then we’ll have to meet in court.”
The female journalist let out a few dry laughs and said, “Mr. Zhang, you have misunderstood me. I was just asking questions out of journalistic curiosity––I did not make any sort of assumptions in my heart…”
“Don’t you know the saying, ‘curiosity killed the cat?'” Zhang Zian just threw her the sentence, then left her alone.
She was not at all angry; on the contrary, she was very excited because she got first-hand, exclusive news. Her original report on Zhang Zian’s donation fraud was changed to Zhang Zian’s low-key support of charities that had attracted a foreign friend. That friend had come to visit and then offered him Chrysanthemums with a bow… Not to mention the picture of the kittens mourning at the picture of their master would certainly yield a lot of reactions.
Anyway, she just wanted to collect exclusive news that could attract attention. As for whether it was positive reports or negative reports, it didn’t matter.
Zhang Zian didn’t guess how her thoughts would change. But even if he did, he wouldn’t be surprised. Journalists from illegally-run media outlets were just like that––they went with whatever came.
Eddy’s trip to Binhai City, aside from paying tribute to the late Ms. Ryan, had another small purpose.
“Mr. Zhang, I still don’t understand it now… How did you pretend to be the voice of Ms. Ryan? Do you have some… special skills? Or some high-tech equipment?” Eddy asked curiously. “If I had not found out that Ms. Ryan had passed away, I would really have been fooled by your voice.”
Before Zhang Zian could say anything, a gray shadow flapped its wings and quickly descended on his shoulder.
“Ga ga! You’re Eddy Lewis? Nice to meet you! I am Katherine Donna Ryan, and I’m very happy to meet you!” Richard never gave up on a chance to steal the limelight. It imitated Kathy’s voice and spoke in English.
Eddy’s eyeballs were about to pop out. “My God! The… the one talking to me the whole time… was this parrot?” Eddy felt a ringing in his head and he stuttered.
Zhang Zian glared at Richard as if to say, “Would you die without speaking?”
Richard did not seem to be bothered. It scratched the feathers on its chest with its beak, while its little black eyes rolled around. It replied with a look that seemed to say, “Yes I would die from holding it in!”
To prevent Eddy from having a heart attack from the shock, Zian quickly explained, “It’s just a part of it. Most of it was re-edited with Kathy’s previous voice! I have a friend who’s an expert in this field, and he helped me with it.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is.” Eddy finally accepted his explanation. After all, even if a parrot was able to imitate people, according to common sense, it would, at most, be something like daily conversations. But his conversation with Kathy involved a lot for the donation, so how was a parrot able to respond to those questions?
If it was a re-edited recording, then it made sense. Some spy movies often had similar content.
Thinking back, his dialogue with “Kathy” was actually not very complicated. If it was prepared in advance, and then played as needed, it could be done with expert assistance.
Then, he remembered another question. “Mr. Zhang, why do you want to make the donation in the name of Ms. Ryan? I heard from Lawyer Adams that it was because she gave you the cats she raised in her will. Is this considered your reciprocation?”
“You could say that.” Zhang Zian nodded. An Abyssinian cat happened to pass by him, so he picked it up.
“There’s an old saying in China…” While he spoke, he unconsciously looked up at the ceiling and hoped that Sihwa would not misunderstand his sentence. “There’s an old saying in China: ‘There’s no credit for nothing done.’ Although Kathy gave these cats to me, I always thought that they belonged to her. You can’t imagine how much effort she put into cultivating these excellent cats. The honor is always hers; I’m just her agent,” he explained.
Eddy had more or less guessed the reason, but when he confirmed it through Zhang Zian’s mouth, his heart felt deep respect for him. How many people were ecstatic when they received something from a will, but yet they didn’t even know how to be grateful to the generous gifters?
Eddy once again looked at Kathy, who was in the sea of flowers. She was smiling so bright and comfortably, as if she had listened in on their conversation.