With Jane and the cameraman leading the way, Zhang Zian was much more relaxed. There was no navigator in Tim's family station wagon. Maybe it was because the couple had lived here long enough that they didn't need a navigator anymore.
Tim and Lauren didn't live in downtown Los Angeles, but in a county in a big district. The CFA tournament was held in another neighboring county, about half an hour's drive away.
Along the way, Zhang Zian and Richard discussed the possible situations they might encounter in the stadium and discussed countermeasures.
In the other car, the cameraman doubted whether Jane's approach was correct. In his opinion, Mr. Zhang must have used a camouflage and set up some props in the lawn in advance. It was not worth wasting time on this — to some extent, his guess was closer to the truth.
Jane couldn't be sure, but she insisted and thought it was worth a try.
Approaching the destination, Jane, who was responsible for driving, noticed that temporary signs had appeared on the roadside, guiding the direction of the stadium for the CFA participants and spectators. Vehicles painted with various cat patterns frequently passed by, including real cats and cartoon cats like Hello Kitty. Some vehicles also had phone numbers printed on them to advertise their catteries.
When they arrived at the stadium marked on the map, she saw that it had become a sea of cats. All kinds of cats — although she couldn't tell what kind of cats they were — were obediently locked in cat cages and carried into the stadium by their owners. Some catteries focused on participation and only had one or two people, while other catteries had strong lineups and were obviously determined to win.
Many catteries owners knew each other and didn't rush to bring their cats into the stadium. Instead, they stood near the entrance of the stadium and chatted enthusiastically, talking about cat-related news and gossip, and talking about their experiences in cat breeding. Of course, some people were just talking about the weather and the election like ordinary Americans.
Jane's and Zhang Zian's cars stopped at the entrance of the stadium one after another. Several catteries owners recognized the car behind them as Blue Climax and walked over to say hello.
"Hi! Tim, you are late today... "
However, the person who got out of the car was not their old friend Tim, but a strange Chinese man with black hair and yellow skin. There was no one else in the car.
"Uh... Who are you? Why are you driving Tim's car? " Out of concern for their old friend, they questioned Zhang Zian impolitely. They even surrounded Zhang Zian, not letting him escape.
Jane signaled the cameraman to hurry up and take pictures. It would be best if the few of them started fighting. Whether Zhang Zian beat them down or was beaten down, it would be good news. The title of the former would be "Kung Fu Master Lives Up to His Reputation," followed by "The Fake Kung Fu Master Reveals His True Colors."
These American men were all very big, and Zhang Zian looked very pitiful being surrounded in the middle.
He looked calm, while Richard said, "Tim asked me to drive his car here. He and Lauren stayed at home and are not going to participate in this competition. If you are his friends, you should know that the cats of Blue Climax are currently in a state of shortage."
They looked at each other hesitantly and believed most of it. Tim had indeed told them that he wasn't going to participate in this tournament. There were plenty of opportunities anyway, and Blue Climax's situation was just as the Chinese man had said.
"Sorry to misunderstand you, I'm Jack."
"I'm Simon."
"I'm Vincent."
"Carl."
"I'm Jeff Zhang, from China. I'm a friend of Tim and Lauren, and I'm temporarily staying at their home."
They introduced themselves to Zhang Zian and shook hands one by one. The atmosphere eased up. The dressing style and even the tone of their speech were very similar to Tim's, with sloppy plaid shirts, baggy jeans, and work boots. They were all between 40 and 50 years old, and they all seemed to be straightforward people. No wonder they were old friends with Tim.
Jane smacked her lips in disappointment and signaled the cameraman to put down the camera.
Zhang Zian knew that they were worried about their friends, and that was why they were rude at the beginning, but he didn't take it seriously.
Carl adjusted his baseball cap and asked tentatively, "Tim did tell us that he wasn't going to participate in this competition, but he said that he would come to visit and get together with some of our old friends. Did he change his mind?"
Zhang Zian nodded. Richard said according to the situation, "Thanksgiving is coming. You know that the Kellers hold a party in the backyard every Thanksgiving. He is busy preparing for it and can't leave for the time being. He and Lauren asked me to say hello to you on their behalf, and invite you to the party. "
They even knew such details of life, so they no longer had any doubts in their hearts.
"Jeff, how did you and Tim meet? We haven't heard him mention it. When did he meet a friend from China? "Simon asked.
Richard replied, "Because they recently went to China, met me in China, and invited me to the United States as a guest."
Vincent said with pride, "So you're here to watch the CFA Competition? Welcome! You must go to my booth! You must have seen Tim's cats, but our cats are no worse than theirs! "
"Come on, Vincent, you won the least number of championships last year among us. Don't make a fool of yourself in front of your China friends!"
"What are you talking about! Last year, I missed several races because I was renovating my house. What does that have to do with my cats? "
Vincent's words aroused laughter and ridicule from the others, and he retorted unwillingly.
It seemed that although they were friends, they were secretly competing with each other. No one was willing to admit defeat, and they were striving to cultivate better cats. In this atmosphere of healthy competition, they were competing with each other and supporting each other to move forward.
"Let's go to my booth."
"You must go to my booth!"
They all invited Zhang Zian, who was full of confidence in their cats. In a sense, this was also a part of their secret competition. They wanted Zhang Zian, the impartial third party, to judge whose cat was better, and they even argued about it. Their voices were so loud that other contestants and spectators looked at them, thinking that there was a fight.
"Everyone! Everyone! Listen to me, "said Richard, interrupting their argument.
They were quiet for a while, watching Zhang Zian, waiting to hear what he was going to say.
"Thank you very much for your invitation, but … in fact, I'm not here to be an audience — I'm here to participate in the competition."
As soon as he said that, the smiles on their faces suddenly froze. They heard that Zhang Zian came from China, and instinctively thought that he came to the United States to play, but they didn't think of this possibility. They knew that there were catteries in China, and they also knew that Chinese catteries often took advantage of each other in competitions. However, CFA had separated the China region from the China region, but a cattery from China had specially come to the United States to participate in the competition?
However, because of their trust in Tim, although they were surprised, they didn't say or do anything too extreme.
Richard continued to explain, "I opened a pet shop in China, and that's how I got to know Tim. Today, I came to participate in the competition on the spur of the moment, and it has nothing to do with Tim. He just lent me his car."
Pet shop?
They were amused. If it was a cattery from China, maybe they would pay more attention to it. After all, catteries in China were amazing. However, how could an amateur pet shop dare to participate in the CFA competition? They were underestimating the catteries in the United States!
Simon winked at the other three people ambiguously, pretending to be very serious, and asked, "Jeff, which cat breed are you going to participate in the competition? Ragdoll? "
Because Ragdoll cats were quite popular, and nearly half of the cats in the CFA competition were Ragdoll cats, and Tim was selling Ragdoll cats, and Zhang Zian was acquainted with Tim, so Simon was confident that his guess was right.
Zhang Zian regretfully spread his hands, "No, because my cat doesn't have a pedigree certificate, so it can't participate in the championship, so I came to participate in the competition for house cats, regardless of cat breed."
They finally couldn't help but laugh out loud. An amateur was indeed an amateur. He came all the way to the United States just to participate in the competition for house cats. Everyone knew that the competition for house cats was only for entertainment and performance, and even if he won the championship, it couldn't prove anything.
"Well, Jeff, where's your cat? Let us see your cat. Our eyes are very accurate, and we can tell its chances of winning the championship in the house cat category at a glance, "Karl said, holding back his laughter.
Zhang Zian turned back to the car and said in Chinese, "Fina, get out of the car!"
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