Chapter 409: Four Little Swans
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As soon as Zhang Zian said that a different dance had been prepared for the Abyssinian cats, someone immediately questioned, "Didn’t you say earlier that all of your cats, regardless of breed, dance the same movements?"
Zhang Zian had expected such a question, and he immediately replied, "First of all, I only said that the cats currently being sold share the same movements, and Abyssinian cats are not currently on sale. Second of all, some dance moves are so complicated that only a few breeds of cats, such as Abyssinian cats, can master them. "
His words aroused a great curiosity in everyone. What kind of dance moves could Abyssinian cats perform that other cats could not?
"Mr. Manager, please show us — we all want to see!" With her hands crossed, Snowy was urged by everyone to beg Zhang Zian to show the dance. In fact, she was very curious herself too.
Zhang Zian deliberately pretended that he was put in a dilemma. After "thinking" for a while, he granted the request reluctantly. "Well, I guess I can show you the performance, but this set of dance moves is very difficult, and the training time has not been sufficiently long enough yet, so please do forgive us if there are any flaws in the dance."
The ch.o.r.eography was too difficult? Everyone looked at each other. In their opinion, teaching the kittens to dance to the song of Little Apple was already a mission that seemed impossible. What could possibly be more difficult than that? Many people were restlessly scratching their heads and couldn’t wait to see the show!
Zhang Zian picked up the remote that controlled the lights inside the shop, telling the customers, "In order to create an atmosphere, I will turn off some of the interior lights, so watch your own belongings."
Looking around and hearing no objection from the crowd, he turned off all the lights on the ceiling except for the one right above the Abyssinian cats. With the soft light radiating straight downwards, a bright circular area was formed. For this, he really needed to thank Guo Dongyue, who had improved the indoor lighting situation greatly and thus contributed to the dance performance’s overall magnificence.
Suns.h.i.+ne was weaker in the winter than in the summer, and the Amazing Fate Pet Shop was an old house with an outdated structure, so the natural lighting was poor. After the lights were turned off, the room was suddenly dimmed, creating an atmosphere like that of a theater.
People were holding their breaths. Eyes wide open in the dark room, they were waiting excitedly to see Zhang Zian’s tricks.
Zhang Zian clapped his hands three times, and four of the seven Abyssinian cats immediately started to walk elegantly into the lighted area. Standing side by side, they looked up at Zhang Zian.
The gentle light created shades on their smooth furs. The viewers had the illusion that with every slight change in angle, their furs seemed to s.h.i.+ft colors. In fact, this was because every hair of an Abyssinian cat was, from the tip to the end, divided into two or three different colors, which appeared even more mysterious when they were illuminated.
Because the light was directly targeted on their bodies, the shading highlighted their facial features. Their amber eyes reflected the light, making them seem like they were gazing at the audience fiercely.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
Zhang Zian spoke the predetermined code words while pressing play on the music player on his phone.
Four Abyssinian cats lifted their right forepaws and placed them on the shoulders of their neighboring companions while looking to their lefts in unison.
Accompanied by lively and cheerful eighth notes, the orchestra started to play a well-known duet.
"Meow meow meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow meow meow meow..."
What Zhang Zian was playing was not the original version of the song, but a karaoke version sang by Fina!
Since the ch.o.r.eography of Four Little Swans was very complicated for cats, the four Abyssinian cats had experienced serious setbacks during the rehearsals. They couldn’t remember the sequence of the dance moves, so Zhang Zian came up with this idea to add Fina’s instructions in the song to remind them of the steps. Of course, to ordinary people, all they heard were the sounds of Fina meowing.
At the moment they heard the first note, the four Abyssinian cats turned into four chocolate-colored little swans, making graceful postures and dancing on the dance floor.
Putting their cat paws on their companions’ shoulders was just an imitation of humans’ famous ballet gestures, but they were not human beings, obviously. Standing on their tiptoes, they were dancing to the beats elegantly together. They kicked their legs side to side in unison, and then as if they were figure skating, they started to sideslip while quickly crossing their two forepaws.
"Meow meow meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow meow meow meow..."
Not only were their limbs moving, but they would also bow and raise their heads from time to time, just like real ballerinas. When they bowed their heads, it seemed that they were looking at their reflections in the center of the lake and lamenting themselves; when they looked up, it seemed that their eyes were filled with longing for the sky far away, as if the sky was their home!
Every time they leaped and landed on the floor, they were like swans creating ripples in the center of a lake as smooth as gla.s.s.
Although they could not hold hands like human ballerinas, Abyssinian cats had a unique way to make up for this shortcoming: their dexterous tails. While they danced, they wiggled their tails, drawing circles in the air as they moved.
"Meow meow meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow meow meow meow..."
When they stood on their tiptoes, their legs became slenderer, and the vertical rays of light created a complex effect that dazzled the audience, as if there were countless long legs swinging in front of their eyes. Far lighter than the lightest of human dancers, it seemed that the Abyssinian cats were gliding on the dance floor without touching the floor at all. Coupled with Fina"s unique singing voice, for cat lovers, the stage effects of this performance were irresistible!
Several girls were already in tears, covering their mouths tightly with their hands, for fear that their excited screams might disturb the fantastic dance.
Many people hoped that this moment could be frozen forever, but the short dance ultimately had to come to an end. When the last meow was heard, the four Abyssinian cats bowed, bending their forepaws and lying on the ground while blinking adorably to the audience.
Due to the delusional song of Little Apple, people did not hold high expectations for Zhang Zian"s choice of music, and were also skeptical of this so-called difficult dance he claimed. With higher expectations came greater disappointment, and vice versa! Just when everyone had deemed that Zhang Zian was a man with the poorest taste, he chose the extraordinarily elegant Four Little Swans, accompanied by the perfect ch.o.r.eography and singing voice, thus refres.h.i.+ng everyone’s impressions of him!