The System Mistook Me for a Cat

"Want to learn a round?"

"Sure, but I don’t have enough points to open a room."

"Join my room then. Custom gambler mode, I’ll let you win some points first."

"Thanks, benefactor!"

When the staff walked over, they saw the boss and Daoist Sun intensely focused on... playing a game.

Nowadays, the word "learn" has become a kind of slang, commonly used among players of *Cat Cat Can’t Learn*. People often arrange to "study" together, which is very positive energy.

Chu Tingwu was naturally skilled in high school-level knowledge, especially in biology competitions, while Senior Brother Sun often brought up Taoist-related questions during their matches. The two weren’t in a rush to determine a winner; instead, they discussed the questions as they went along. Senior Brother Sun would explain the Taoist concepts behind the questions, speaking fluently as if performing a comic monologue, which attracted other staff members to listen in.

After resting enough and killing some time, they prepared to head up the mountain together. On the way, Senior Brother Sun hesitantly asked:

"Does your company still recruit streamers?"

He couldn’t keep relying on his monkey to support him. Senior Brother Sun wasn’t materialistic and could live frugally at the Taoist temple, but he couldn’t let his monkey brother eat scraps.

Especially when the cats were eating premium cat food, while the monkeys were stuck with simple meals.

Chu Tingwu: Actually, Three-Five-Five doesn’t eat that cat food either. What you saw were the treats Zhou Qiang, Chu Xiao, and Shao Lingwu bought to feed the temple cats.

It’s not the norm.

Still, it takes some skill to ask for a job directly from the boss. Chu Tingwu didn’t usually handle these matters, but she could still ask:

"Are you planning to stream parkour, temple life, or monkey care?"

The company’s studios had signed streamers like Arthur, charity streamers sponsored by the foundation with VR equipment, and some promising newcomers spotted on video platforms. They had all been given small contracts and were doing quite well.

Chu Tingwu knew that aside from prize money, the top finishers in the upcoming downhill race would also get contract opportunities. With only Arthur consistently streaming VR parkour, the lineup felt too thin. Having multiple streamers under one brand would be more effective for promotion.

...Of course, the top finishers were likely professional parkour athletes with their own media accounts, and they might not be willing to start over in a new environment.

The VR pods hadn’t even been sold overseas yet.

Senior Brother Sun was probably just acting on impulse, much like Chu Tingwu when she first started streaming. He hadn’t settled on a specific theme yet. As the temple came into view, he finally made up his mind:

"Can I stream my budget travel adventures?"

Chu Tingwu: "Huh?"

Senior Brother Sun looked a bit embarrassed: "It’s not that I can’t earn money. I can save up by doing manual labor, but my master said I have a ‘wealth-breaking fortune.’ I can’t hold onto money—if I don’t spend it quickly, I’ll lose it somehow."

Chu Tingwu: Your master sounds kind of like a scammer.

But Senior Brother Sun had been raised by his master. The temple on the mountain was small, and this "wealth-breaking fortune" had been with him for a long time, shaping his easygoing personality.

Since he started participating in parkour competitions, he’d been working odd jobs while traveling with his monkey. He’d slept under bridges and on buses, eating when he had money and staying at temples when he didn’t. If things got really tight, he’d take on short-term jobs to feed his monkey brother.

It was through Senior Brother Sun that Chu Tingwu learned... there were so many parkour competitions?

Senior Brother Sun: "I join about one a month on average. Many of them are unofficial..."

As he entered the courtyard, Chu Xiao and the others overheard his explanation: "Some are organized by companies, some by parkour clubs, and others by enthusiasts themselves."

Some provided two buffet meals, so participants had to pay an entry fee. Others had no prize money, just honorary medals, but most offered small cash rewards.

Senior Brother Sun wasn’t great at describing things. No matter how complex his experiences were, they always sounded mundane when he talked about them.

But Chu Tingwu found it fascinating.

This was a lifestyle worth streaming, one that most people had never seen. It was like delivery guys streaming their routes or food couriers sharing their daily routines—ordinary yet captivating to a dedicated audience. Through the internet, people could glimpse worlds they’d never noticed before.

Chu Tingwu told Senior Brother Sun she’d think about it, but after he left, Zhou Qiang quickly pointed out an issue:

"This kind of streaming might be controversial, right?"

If fans tuned in, what would truly keep them watching was Senior Brother Sun’s "poor but happy" attitude. To outsiders, his life might seem impoverished and chaotic, but through his lens, it could appear interesting and "rich"—a spiritual richness, unrelated to material wealth.

Coincidentally, modern audiences were under immense mental stress. They needed to draw nourishment from this kind of fulfilling mental state.

But the company’s goal was to make money. Even if it wasn’t a huge profit, with the company’s help, Senior Brother Sun’s fanbase would grow. Savvy fans would realize he could earn money, and wealth and poverty were inherently contradictory. A rich person streaming budget travel would feel like a lifestyle experiment, which would change the audience’s perception entirely.

Chu Tingwu paused for a moment.

"Who cares!"

Whether Senior Brother Sun truly had a wealth-breaking fortune, donated his earnings, or changed his travel lifestyle, Chu Tingwu couldn’t control that. But she wanted to give him a chance—

Because she wanted to watch his streams too.

For a whimsical boss like her, that reason was enough.

The company sent someone to finalize the contract and quickly designed a streaming route for Senior Brother Sun. They also provided him with new streaming equipment: a compact, portable drone codenamed Hummingbird.

This was the company’s latest model. Unlike the bulky, orb-like drones, the Hummingbird was sleeker and more discreet. It was stable and easy to use, with a detachable camera perfect for small-scale video creators.

The drone might not be more expensive than the monkey, but the VR streaming equipment could probably buy a monkey.

This made Senior Brother Sun a bit nervous. He kept reviewing the contract, wondering how much he’d have to pay if he lost the equipment.

Taoist Zhuge, standing nearby: "..."

Why did it feel like he was watching an honest man get swindled?

The VR equipment wasn’t for daily use. The management team suggested Senior Brother Sun use it during parkour competitions, but he had to be careful not to let it affect his performance.

—Anyone could deliver food, but not everyone could do parkour. That was his competitive edge in streaming.

If Arthur and the other signed streamers represented the "academic" approach, Senior Brother Sun was the self-taught outlier. Only time would tell which style would endure in the ever-changing online landscape.

Chu Tingwu squatted nearby, watching for a while, then remarked: "Don’t worry. If this path doesn’t work out, you can always pivot to being a pet influencer."

The management team: "=="

Is that from personal experience, boss?

Speaking of which, when are you coming back to stream some pet content?

-

Chu Tingwu was fine with it, but Three-Five-Five seemed less enthusiastic.

Three-Five-Five had been busy lately, and Chu Tingwu could feel her excitement—different cats kept gathering on the temple roof for meetings.

Taoist Zhuge once floated over during breakfast, trying to bribe her with a steamed bun: "Aren’t you going to do something about this?"

Chu Tingwu played dumb: "About what? The stray cat management in Fallen Phoenix City is pretty good, right? Aren’t they all neutered?"

Chu Tingwu’s attitude was one of indulgence.

Mom had been stuck on the ranch for too long, so she could only argue with the dog, ride horses, nap on the backs of cows, chase sheep around, and bother the vet seven hundred times a day (because on their first meeting, the vet tried to pick her up to weigh her). She also fought with Shao Lingwu (Shao Lingwu was mostly on the receiving end) and watched Chu Tingwu cook... It all felt incredibly boring.

When they returned to Fallen Phoenix City, Three-Five-Five immediately went back to her cozy old haunt. She greeted the familiar cats, busied herself asserting dominance over the new ones, and licked each of their fur... Chu Tingwu often found freshly regurgitated fur balls by her bedside.

The cat mom had found a new lease on life, calling out to her friends every day. Soon, she formed a little gang and sweetly asked Chu Tingwu to help make a big pot of cat food, which completely won over the feline crowd.

—It left Zhou Qiang and the other two exhausted from helping distribute the food, their hands trembling.

Zhou Qiang even tried to bribe Chu Tingwu with two fried chicken legs: "Aren’t you going to do something about this?"

Chu Tingwu: "Huh?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Three-Five-Five was introducing her adorable, capable, and very fragrant... very fragrant kitten to the other cats!

Because she emphasized "very fragrant" twice, all the cats came over to sniff Chu Tingwu.

Shao Lingwu, who had sent Zhou Qiang as a scout, peeked into the kitchen: "..."

He was done for. Completely fallen into the clutches of the cats!

Three-Five-Five then walked up to Shao Lingwu and meowed twice, and the other cats turned to look at him—

Shao Lingwu met their gaze and instinctively stood at attention, feeling as though he was being introduced:

Servant.

Yes, a servant.

A bit clumsy but useful servant.

...Damn it, that’s definitely how they’re introducing me!

Only Chu Xiao remained steadfast in his resolve: because of his cleanliness obsession, he didn’t like getting cat hair on himself.

Whenever ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‍Three-Five-Five led the cat gang down the mountain, Chu Xiao always took a detour.

Until one day, a sturdy calico cat dragged half a grasshopper out of his room, smearing blood on the door.

Chu Xiao: "...This room is the cats’ now."

Shao Lingwu: "Wait! I still need to live here!"

Fortunately, the day of the competition arrived soon after.

Since Chu Tingwu wasn’t participating this time, they were just there as spectators, so everyone was in a relaxed mood.

Spectators could watch from either the starting point or the finish line. As it was a mountain race, live footage was provided, and there were five viewing platforms along the way, including one in front of the Taoist temple.

However, spectators weren’t allowed to move along the race route after the competition started, to avoid disrupting the participants.

Chu Tingwu wasn’t particularly concerned about the competitors’ results. As the organizer, she was more focused on the overall presentation of the event—

In addition to the official live broadcast on the viewing platforms, there was also a simultaneous online stream, coverage by a small foreign TV station, and a local TV broadcast, making it far more professional than the competitions Senior Brother Sun used to participate in.

From the introductions to the warm-up and then the competitors taking their places, Chu Tingwu kept her eyes on the camera feed, thinking everything was going smoothly.

Then a small "incident" happened.

A cat appeared on the live feed.

The camera switched angles a few times, and at first, the audience only noticed the virtual projection effects during the race. But then someone at the viewing platform shouted, "There’s a cat on the track!"

The staff had already noticed but weren’t sure whether to shoo it away:

Humans weren’t allowed on the track, but the cat wasn’t actually on the track either—it was just sitting on the steps nearby, grooming itself. Trying to remove it might actually disrupt the race.

Chu Tingwu: "..."

Where’s Three-Five-Five?

The next second, a competitor came speeding down the track, and an orange cat projection appeared alongside them. Then, a real cat darted over and swatted at the projection.

Cat: "Meow!"

The competitor, focused on the race, didn’t notice and probably thought the real cat was just a more realistic part of the projection.

Then a second cat appeared, chasing after another projection.

Followed by a third on the track.

The staff’s expressions went from tense and shocked to calm and numb.

The official live stream audience was equally unfazed. Some newcomers who clicked on the trending hashtag were about to comment when they noticed the location of the incident:

Oh.

Fallen Phoenix City...

Well, that’s just how things are in Fallen Phoenix City. You get used to it.