LAVW – Chapter 163 Tiger Tiger

Seeing the white tiger nod, Merlin almost shouted out loud.

Although she managed to hold it in, she was still clearly overexcited. A flush of lively color suddenly bloomed on her face as she muttered to Shi Qian with envy, “Why is it that I can’t see Master Qian?”

“Is Master Qian a white-bearded old man? Like the immortal elders in Eastern legends?”

“I really want to meet an immortal…”

Shi Qian: …

I have ascended before—couldn’t that count as being an immortal?

But better not nod at that. Shi Qian felt embarrassed.

After listening to the gossip, their relationship with the onlookers had drawn a little closer.

Merlin activated her social skills and started chatting with the members of the crew.

Shi Qian followed along at her side, feeling like a fierce and handsome bodyguard.

Others didn’t dare get too close, yet they couldn’t help sneaking glances at him.

Before long, Laman arrived with another lead actor, Pascal.

Pascal looked like a very young, handsome guy, but his actual age was already thirty-two—several years older than his appearance suggested.

He carried an air of nobility and purity, the kind of purity that came from a fresh, clean temperament. When he smiled, dimples appeared, and his eyes were a deep brown, slightly darker than Merlin’s.

Dressed in a vintage, intricately designed shirt and solid black trousers, he perfectly matched the image of a prince from the setting.

Laman led him over to Shi Qian and introduced them. “This is Qian, and beside him is Merlin. Merlin will be responsible for teaching Qian how to act. If you have any ideas, you can communicate with Merlin first.”

“Merlin, this is Pascal. I think you should know him.”

“Of course!” Merlin stared at Pascal’s face, her eyes lighting up. Pascal was one of her favorite male actors!

With Pascal’s temperament and image, it was easy to imagine just how likable the character he played would be—especially to female audiences.

Merlin said, “I even watched Teacher Pascal’s works together with Qian. That one—Inferno Academy! That year’s Oscar should have belonged to Inferno Academy!”

Pascal sighed inwardly.

When he was younger, he had been famous for his outstanding acting, yet to this day he had only won two Golden Globe Best Actor awards, and still lacked Hollywood’s Oscar for Best Actor.

Inferno Academy was the moment he had come closest to winning the Oscar.

Being nominated but not selected was disappointing enough. What hurt even more was that Pascal’s loss back then hadn’t been due to his acting, but for other reasons.

Still, having someone remember and like his work was enough to make any actor happy.

Pascal smiled with gentlemanly grace. “Thank you for your appreciation, Miss Merlin.”

After speaking, Pascal’s gaze shifted downward, meeting the white tiger’s eyes.

Shi Qian was also looking at him, thinking that compared to the role eight years ago, Pascal hadn’t changed much at all.

Truly age-defying.

Seeing the friendly-eyed white tiger, Pascal squatted down. “Hi, Qian. Nice to meet you.”

Noticing the nervous agent beside Pascal, Shi Qian didn’t move in for a friendly rub. He merely let out a soft “huff” and nodded reservedly.

Pascal didn’t dare reach out either. He discussed with Merlin whether he could feed Qian later on—he wanted to build some rapport between one man and one tiger.

Merlin agreed readily. “Sure, but it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Qian has already eaten today, and it’s not convenient to prepare extra food here.”

Laman asked from the side, “Does Qian usually eat in the morning? The crew can arrange it.”

That way, there would be more “behind-the-scenes footage.”

Laman thought to himself—it wasn’t that he wanted to see it so badly; it was that the kids truly needed it.

Merlin, who knew all too well how high Shi Qian’s food expenses were: !

“Can the crew cover Qian’s meals? He only eats the freshest meat, and it has to be rotated frequently.”

Seeing Laman nod with a smile, Merlin said, “Then we’ll eat at the crew’s place. Thank you, Director Laman—you’re really such a good person.”

That would save a huge amount of money.

Pascal added, “Then can I feed him more often? That seems more convenient.”

In a good mood, Merlin nodded straightforwardly. “Sure.”

Watching the three of them look so happy, Shi Qian said nothing.

Only inwardly did he complain: Human hearts have grown cold, the world is going downhill—no one even asked me, the tiger involved.

When they said they’d eat the crew’s meat, they meant it.

The next day, Shi Qian and Merlin went to the set on empty stomachs. The difference was that Merlin had brought several portions of cold noodles with her.

Her meals weren’t expensive, and she didn’t really care where she ate. Preparing breakfast had become a habit.

But to keep Qian from feeling wronged, she decided they could be hungry together for a while.

Thinking about the money she could save made Merlin very happy. She even generously made extra portions to build goodwill when visiting the crew.

Upon arriving at the set, they saw Pascal’s car.

Walking further in, a large area and the adjacent buildings were all very quiet—completely different from the hustle and bustle of the hundreds of people already busy with filming. This was Shi Qian’s designated rest area, which had now gained an additional function: dining.

Pascal stood by the lawn, facing the rising sun, his back tall and straight.

He didn’t turn around, so Shi Qian could only admire how handsome his silhouette was, unable to see the unhappiness on his face.

Pascal found it absurd—because of what had happened that morning.

His agent had actually warned him: don’t crave the white tiger’s meat.

That was raw meat.

Even when he had competed for the Oscar with Inferno Academy and gained a lot of weight due to gluttony—leading to tabloid attacks and a regrettable loss—surely that didn’t mean he’d be suspected of fighting a tiger over raw meat?

He clearly only ate cooked food; he even preferred his steak medium-well.

Feeling distrusted, and thinking of his repeated Oscar defeats over the years, Pascal wasn’t in a great mood.

But when he turned around at the sound of someone calling his name and saw the combination of a young girl and a white tiger, that ultimate blend of beauty and power lifted his spirits.

“Good morning, Merlin, Qian. I hope my request won’t cause any trouble.”

“It won’t, don’t worry,” Merlin said. “Qian has a very good temper. He’s extremely friendly even to people other than me—and he’s even picked up a child from the roadside before.”

That time, a child had wandered onto the road alone, not staying with their parents.

Pascal listened to the story Merlin was telling, nodding the whole time and offering praise now and then, while leading them to get Shi Qian’s breakfast—several large slabs of fresh beef.

The beef was stored in a freezer. Pascal asked Merlin where she wanted to feed him and added by way of explanation, “The people who deliver the meat also said that someone will come every day to clean up.”

“That’s wonderful. This surprise is really delightful.”

Yesterday, Merlin hadn’t gone inside the house, so she hadn’t known that Director Laman had specially arranged such a great resting area for Qian.

Shi Qian circled around once, picked a clean spot, and started eating—on the coffee table.

This was a real coffee table, with an actual tea set placed on top. Presumably because he’d seen one at Merlin’s home before.

Shi Qian: Director Laman is really such a good person.

Merlin removed the tea set from the table and spread out a tablecloth she’d brought specially.

Then she looked up at Pascal. “Please put it right here. Remember to wear gloves—Qian likes things clean.”

Pascal: ……

He followed Merlin’s instructions, put on gloves, and turned into a beef porter.

He was still a little scared when setting the meat down, but Shi Qian was nothing like a ravenous, ferocious tiger. He merely looked at Pascal calmly.

That expression was just as composed as Merlin’s.

After he finished placing everything, Shi Qian let out a “roar” of thanks and lowered his head to eat.

Perhaps it was something etched into his genes—Shi Qian’s palate was still most accustomed to raw meat.

Clearly, in his memories, young tigers mostly ate cooked meat. To reduce animals’ wildness, circuses never minded the extra trouble.

Since coming here, ever since Merlin and Deanna had fed him raw meat, he’d been eating more raw meat than cooked.

Using cooked food as extra snacks was partly because of Shi Qian’s soul, and partly because Merlin’s cooking skills had upgraded dramatically—she could accurately grasp Shi Qian’s preferences.

But snacks were just snacks.

The white tiger ate meat in big mouthfuls. Pascal watched…and actually felt it looked delicious.

Mostly because Shi Qian ate with such relish, Pascal thought to himself: he still didn’t have much appetite for raw meat.

Just then, Merlin walked over to a small basket on the dining table and warmly invited him, “Teacher Pascal, I brought some cold noodles with Eastern flavors. Would you like to try them?”

Merlin lifted the lid, and Pascal moved closer to the table.

He’d already eaten breakfast—eggs, milk, beef, leafy vegetables—but the portions were small, and it all looked quite bland.

Unlike the food in front of him now. Once Merlin poured on the sauce and mixed it, the aroma instantly hooked his senses.

Pascal forgot his agent’s disdain and sat down at the table to eat a second “breakfast.”

Only after finishing did Pascal realize he’d eaten three portions. Merlin had only brought four portions in total.

Oh no! If his agent found out, he’d be dead.

But he could hide it.

His assistant hadn’t arrived yet, so no one would tip off the agent. Even if the assistant did find out, he could explain—he just couldn’t bear to refuse a new friend’s kindness, and worried it might affect relationships on set, so he’d made a one-time exception.

Having settled on a response in his mind, Pascal sincerely thanked Merlin for the meal.

“Did I eat too much? It was just too delicious. I love Eastern food.” Seeing that Merlin had only eaten one portion, Pascal felt a little embarrassed.

Merlin smiled. “As long as you enjoyed it. I’m full, don’t worry.”

Then she heard Pascal say softly, “I haven’t been this happily full in a long time. My agent won’t allow it—says I have to maintain my figure and face. You might not believe it, but Eastern food is everywhere in Hollywood now, and yet I’m not allowed to touch it.”

Merlin disagreed. “As long as you keep exercising, eating a bit more is fine. You can definitely eat until you’re about seventy percent full.”

She herself maintained things well and never deliberately starved herself.

Pascal nodded. “Yes, more exercise.”

Shi Qian had also finished eating and lifted his head to look at Pascal a few times.

Maybe it was still a genetic thing—at a glance, he could tell that this human’s flesh was on the tender side.

In other words, Pascal probably didn’t like exercising very much.

As for why he looked young, maybe that was also due to genetic talent?

After eating his fill and dozing for a bit, when Shi Qian woke up again, Pascal was already gone. Only Merlin remained, studying the script.

Seeing the white tiger wake up, Merlin began teaching him today’s scenes.

“Today’s scenes are simple—mostly fight scenes. Big Brother will be there too later. Qian, just pay attention to your strength.”

The crew didn’t shoot scenes in the order they appeared in the story, but divided by locations. This location was hard to schedule, so they had to shoot it first.

To help Shi Qian adapt better, Laman said that later scenes would be filmed as much as possible in script order.

After the solo tiger scenes were finished, it was time to build rapport with Pascal.

Pascal took out his secret weapon.

Specially made meat treats, popular canine toys, a giant toy tiger, brightly colored balls… and so on.

Shi Qian: ……

You’re really putting in a bit too much effort.

But I don’t like exercising either!

Shi Qian politely ate a mouthful of treats, then, as usual, went off to sleep. As a tiger, he slept quite a lot each day.

Pascal secretly suppressed the urge to sneak a bite of the tiger treats.

You couldn’t blame him—they really did look delicious. Fortunately, Qian had finished them all; otherwise, he might have committed another “sin.”

Pascal patted the tiger’s head, then went to sit farther away to give Merlin a lesson.

Ten minutes later, the gentleman transformed into a roaring tyrant.

“How can you act sadness like that? It’s far too deliberate—you have to be natural, understand?”

“This wound here pierces the tail, not the butt. A tiger’s tail is used to maintain balance—you should express this by losing balance here!”

Merlin nodded, nodded again, and nodded once more, only occasionally offering her own interpretation.

She didn’t really understand acting, but she understood tigers.

Shi Qian, freshly awake, glanced over a few times. Watching Merlin being scolded, he guiltily thought: Oh, Merlin—it’s my fault for not understanding tigers well enough and getting you into this.

Filming progressed slowly. Laman’s standards were high, striving for perfection in every scene.

Only then did Shi Qian realize that acting skills could be insufficient, and he experienced what it felt like to be told “Cut.” He also had to maintain the normal performance level of a tiger—it was quite tiring.

After three to five days of filming, a sensational piece of news began airing on major TV stations, sweeping the nation.

Guess who the youngest self-made millionaire is. The first person to send the correct answer to the TV station’s special number would receive a million in prize money.

At this time, money was still very valuable. People across the country enthusiastically participated, and even the TV station’s paid message lines were flooded.

After hearing about it, people in the crew also made wild guesses whenever they had free time.

Shi Qian flicked his tail and thoughtfully rubbed against Merlin, telling her not to feel too heartbroken.

“Roar, roar.”

It’s just a hundred thousand in publicity expenses—our film fee is several million!

Of course Merlin felt heartbroken, because the answer was clearly right beside her, yet for the sake of promotional effect, she couldn’t take the money.

The youngest self-made millionaire wasn’t a person at all—it was Shi Qian, this tiger.

At this very moment, Laman, who had come up with this ingenious idea to stir up a storm, was secretly laughing at the world’s naivety.

Why did everyone only look among humans?

The answer was guessed correctly two days later, but the “advertisement” continued for ten days before being officially revealed.

Shi Qian’s new film King, along with his name, rode this successful promotion to fame across Amelika, becoming known to all, young and old alike.