Chapter 417: The Audition
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhang Zian followed Sheng Ke into the room, and felt like he had entered a courtroom with two serious looking judges sitting in the middle, a few security guards in uniform standing on the side, and an a.s.sistant that seemed to be attending to legal matters.
The a.s.sistant glanced at his tablet and asked, "Is the candidate from the Amazing Fate Pet Shop?"
Nie Yuan recognized Sheng Ke, for he had seen him bring police dogs from the police force to the auditions several times. He smiled happily and approached Sheng Ke to greet him, "Captain Sheng, what brings you here today? And who is..."
Sheng Ke shook hands with him and introduced, "This is my friend. I’m taking him here to audition."
Zhang Zian introduced himself, "I"m Zhang Zian, and this is my dog, Famous."
As he spoke, he brought out the resume he had prepared for Famous. He used to write a lot of resumes for himself when applying for jobs, but it was the first time he had ever written a resume for a dog. There was a photo of Famous attached to the resume, and except for its gender, everything, including its date of birth, he had made up. In the column of honors, there was a large and embarra.s.sing blank s.p.a.ce, just like on Zhang Zian’s own resume...
Since Zhang Zian was escorted by Sheng Ke, Nie Yuan a.s.sumed that he had some internal relation with the police force and did not dare to underestimate him. He warmly shook hands with Zhang Zian and laughed, "Great, you are the last one to audition. It is said that a finale must be a good show, and I am looking forward to seeing your wonderful performance."
"Ah, I almost forgot to introduce you. This is the director of Dog Warrior. He is the famous Director Feng, a famous senior film artist. You must have seen movies directed by him before," Nie Yuan introduced.
This was a strange name to Zhang Zian, but Feng Xuan’s face looked really familiar. He probably had seen him on television once or twice, and just didn’t remember his name.
Sheng Ke immediately responded enthusiastically, "Oh, you are the famous Director Feng! Your reputation precedes you! I’ve watched several of your movies! They are fantastic!"
Feng Xuan did not get up, he just hummed lightly in response. He could tell that what Sheng Ke said was only out of hypocritical courtesy, so he didn’t bother to continue the topic, but the expression of the young man next to Sheng Ke indicated that he genuinely didn’t know who he was…
The a.s.sistant took over the resume and handed it to Feng Xuan. Feng Xuan roughly looked at the resume that showed no exceptional achievements and was inevitably disappointed. He put it on the table, and looked at Famous behind Zhang Zian.
Every German Shepherd looked alike, and Feng Xuan was just checking it as routine. But at first glance, he had noticed something different in Famous.
Since entering the room and without waiting for orders from Zhang Zian, Famous had been quietly squatting on the ground with its mouth shut tight, neither revealing its teeth nor sticking out its tongue, unlike all the other dogs that had looked around curiously when they came in. And it was even more obedient than the well trained police dogs.
Specifically, its eyes were totally different from those of the other dogs that had auditioned. Feng Xuan was unable to describe its eyes accurately, but it seemed that there was a determined will in its eyes, and its gaze was calm and confident without any hint of threat.
Feng Xuan had heard that when faced with unfamiliar dogs, it was best not to look directly into their eyes, for it was easy to provoke them this way and might cause them to attack, but no matter how long he stared at this German Shepherd in front of him, its gaze did not change.
Looking at Famous, he suddenly realized—wasn’t this just like a performance from an experienced actor? It was as if it was releasing goodwill to the audience through its eyes and saying, "Do not be afraid, I will not hurt you."
No, how was this possible? It was only an ordinary German Shepherd who had achieved few honors in its resume and had never been in a movie. Feng Xuan guessed that he was so desperate to choose the right dog for the movie that he was hallucinating that this dog could perform as a human actor did. Perhaps this was just a dog with a quiet temperament?
"Director Feng?" The a.s.sistant noticed Feng Xuan’s strange expression. Thinking that he was uncomfortable, he came to pat his shoulder worriedly.
"What?" Feng Xuan shuddered and came back to himself.
The a.s.sistant whispered and reminded, "Director Feng, should we start the audition now?"
"Oh, right." Feng Xuan wiped his face, took out the score sheet, and began to test Famous with the usual test methods.
"Please tell your dog to stand up." He picked up the pen and said to Zhang Zian.
Without waiting for a command from Zhang Zian, Famous stood up by itself, looking very energetic. Its fur, that had just been combed through before leaving the pet shop that morning, was smoothly covering its well-developed muscles. Its legs were straight and steady, with its ears tilting about 30 degrees in Feng Xuan"s direction, as if waiting for his instructions.
Not only was Feng Xuan startled, but Nie Yuan and his a.s.sistant were too. They had seen many dogs these past few days, but they had never seen a dog that was able to obey orders from people other than their owners… No, there was another dog previously that listened to strangers’ instructions, but as it turned out, its owner had been quietly issuing signals to the dog, and pretended that it was listening to the instructions of strangers. Soon, the facade was exposed, for the dog had been looking at its owner every second.
However, Famous was different. It was staring at Feng Xuan instead of Zhang Zian.
"Your dog can understand my words?" Feng Xuan couldn’t believe it, and he asked Zhang Zian, "Please answer this question truthfully, this is also a part of the audition."
Zhang Zian did not know whether he should be honest with him, he thought for a moment, and decided to withhold some information. He cautiously replied, "It can understand some common instructions."
"Oh, that"s not easy either... can I try?" Feng Xuan asked.
"Yes, but the instructions should be as brief as possible, not too complicated." Zhang Zian nodded and retreated.
Feng Xuan tentatively said, "Turn around?"
Famous did not move.
Feng Xuan was slightly disappointed. It seemed that this dog was just so-so. What it manifested before perhaps was only coincidence.
Famous barked at Zhang Zian.
"Please try not to be ambiguous in the instructions," explained Zhang Zian, "If you want to make it circle around, please say ‘circle around’."
"Well, circle around then," Feng Xuan said with no expectations.
Famous immediately executed the order, circling around and returning back to its original place.
Feng Xuan wondered if Zhang Zian thought he was an idiot.
He thought for a moment and then said, "Shake hands."
Famous trotted to the front of the desk, raising its forelimbs and standing upright, extending its right front paw to Feng Xuan.
Feng Xuan opened his mouth in surprise. He moved his shoulder, trying to shake hands with it, but then Famous retreated its right front paw.
"What happened?"
He froze, but just when he was about to ask Zhang Zian, he saw Famous extend its left front paw instead.
Not until this moment did Zhang Zian and Sheng Ke notice that Feng Xuan was holding the pen with his left hand—he was left-handed.