Chapter 16: The Tables Turn

#InedibleOrange#

#CatFoodRecommendedByCats#

#PetInteractionButtons#

#CanAnimalsReallyUnderstandHumanSpeech?#

#CatFoodRankings#

#HighIQCats#

A single cat food review video dominated nearly half of the trending topics on Weibo. It was unprecedented: not a person recommending cat food, but a cat recommending cat food to people. It seemed incredible and piqued the curiosity of even those who usually had no interest in the pet circle.

Jessica Chen, a food blogger on F-site who normally doesn't watch pet content, was intrigued by the widespread discussion and clicked on the video link within the trending topic. She immediately turned off the barrage of comments that flooded from the right side of the screen.

The video featured a woman wearing a cartoon animal mask, sitting on the floor surrounded by various brands of cat food samples.

"Hi everyone, I'm Selene. Today, my cat and I will review some cat foods for you."

As the camera shifted, a charming orange cat appeared in the center of the screen, and the voice-over became more playful.

"Surprise! Today's food critic isn't me but our adorable little Orange~ I'm just the assistant here to handle the filming and the charts."

The screen split into a grid showing nine simultaneously played videos of cat food being poured.

"First, we'll evaluate the palatability of the cat foods. I've prepared clean little ceramic dishes, and I'll pour the sample packs from nine different brands into them. These are the top-selling products from each brand."

"A small number in the upper right corner of each window marks the sample, which will help us record the results."

"These samples were all purchased from the respective brands' official stores on Taobao, and the purchasing records are posted in the comment section. I've sped up the pouring process without editing."

Jessica couldn't resist turning the comments back on, curious about how others were discussing the video.

[I thought this was going to be an ad, but now it doesn't seem like it]

[Is this for real, how can a cat review?]

[It's true! I watched it and came back, shocking!]

[I've watched it three times and still can't believe it]

As the camera cut back to show the nine small dishes of cat food neatly placed in front of Orange, Jessica was amazed.

Unless this cat was a controllable robot, she had no idea how it was possible to pre-train it to selectively praise a sponsor's product amid so many.

"I've set up three buttons for Orange: tasty, so-so, and not tasty. After tasting, it can express its opinion."

[...???]

[So it's really the cat giving the reviews!]

[I get that cats understand tasty and not tasty, but how would they know what so-so feels like?]

[What are those two green buttons next to the orange ones?]

[Just keep watching... you'll see what they're for]

The screen was full of question marks, and so was Jessica's mind as she eagerly continued watching.

"Go ahead, Orange."

"Let's see which cat food Orange chooses."

True to its role, Orange approached a dish and began eating.

"Let's see... it chose number 4, the chicken recipe from Baomei."

"Orange, do you think it's tasty?"

After chewing and swallowing the cat food, Orange walked over to the buttons and pressed the middle one.

"So-so."

"Okay, let's record that. Sample 4's palatability is so-so."

Jessica was stunned. She had no idea cat food testing could be conducted like this. But as she continued watching for another couple of minutes, her shock subsided as one person and one cat methodically tested all nine cat foods. For each food, Orange pressed a button to provide feedback: four were tasty, two were so-so, and three were not tasty.

"Now that we've tested for taste, let's ask Orange which cat food it recommends the most?"

The screen was full of question marks, mirroring the shock of viewers.

Orange then did something that further altered Jessica's understanding of cats. The cat walked up to a dish, pawed at it slightly, and her owner asked, "So, you mean this is the best cat food?"

Orange then went to the buttons and this time pressed a green button.

"Yes."

"Alright, cat food number two is Orange's top recommendation. To make sure it's not just randomly pressing, let's confirm."

"Orange, this cat food is worse than the others, right?"

Orange walked to the buttons and pressed another green button.

"No."

"Okay, number two is the best. Which do you think is the worst?"

Orange approached another dish and pushed it slightly.

"Alright, number eight is what Orange thinks is the worst."

"The owner then asked, 'So, Orange, between these two cat foods, which one do you prefer?'"

The woman on screen pushed two dishes towards Orange, and Jessica watched as the cat hesitated for just a second before decisively pushing its paw against the left dish.

Jessica was flabbergasted, as were other viewers witnessing the scene.

At that moment, the comments exploded.

[My cat told me, this has to be edited]

[Wow, I actually saw a cat that understands human speech!]

[I knew this cat, it sat next to me during the college entrance exams]

[Stop flattering yourself, it's clearly a PhD student]

[Am I the only one focusing on the cat food review? Number eight is from LovePetFortune, and I really think their quality is subpar. Many cat owners reported their cats got sick after eating it, yet they still market it everywhere as premium pet food]

[Exactly, LovePetFortune has lots of fans, finally someone (or a cat haha) tells the truth]

[Cried, just watched a video by Brother Bing and bought LovePetFortune's cat food, it's still on its way]

[Better return it, people can lie but cats don't]

[No problem, Mimi definitely wouldn't lie to us! I'm going to buy the cat food it recommended!]

[So, I thought only well-known cat food was good, the one Orange recommended feels unfamiliar]

[That's my underrated gem! The brand's just too poor to advertise, it's all word of mouth. I didn't expect Selene to have bought it too]

Jessica stopped watching the video. She followed "Inedible Orange" and decided to ride the wave of this trend, planning her next video to be about "Orange Cat-style steamed buns."

While netizens enjoyed the drama, pet food manufacturers were in turmoil. Several were pleased, others were in despair.

Selene had mentioned nine pet brands, and she summarized a "Cat Food Red and Black List" at the end of the video. LovePetFortune's cat food ranked last, causing their already shaky reputation to collapse. When the wall falls, everyone pushes.

Many consumers came forward to share their experiences of being tricked into buying "unscrupulous cat food" and the difficulties they faced seeking justice. Some even claimed their cats had fallen ill or died after eating LovePetFortune's products, which the company refused to acknowledge.

#LovePetFortuneCollapse#

#LovePetFortunePoorValue#

#LovePetFortuneCatFoodKilledCats#

#LovePetFortuneDifficultReturns#

Seeing these trending topics, the CEO of LovePetFortune, Daniel Lee, was on the verge of a breakdown. It felt like trouble had come knocking while he was sitting at home. He had spent a fortune to building brand recognition and reputation, only to see it destroyed by a pet blogger's video.

Even on a weekend, Daniel had his PR team summoned to work overtime.

However, half an hour later, the negative trends were still rampant.

The PR manager looked at his boss's fuming face, his voice getting quieter, "Boss, there are too many spectators online, too many keywords, we don't have enough funds to suppress everything..."

Daniel took a deep breath, his vision blurring, and shouted, "If money's the issue, I'll have finance take care of it, just get those trends down now! And did anyone contact that video creator yet? Tell her to delete it, we can negotiate a price."

"Wait, actually," Daniel calmed down slightly, "maybe she can make a new video. That damned cat understands human speech, right? Tell her to let the cat praise our products. I think that's a better plan."

The PR manager didn't dare to speak, giving a look to Emily Zhou, who handled social media, to take over.

Emily, who had remained silent, realized she couldn't avoid speaking any longer. "Boss, I contacted the blogger. She said no amount of money would make her delete or remake the video..."

Daniel's blood pressure rose. Frustrated, he gritted his teeth, "She won't delete it because she said so? Can't you get John Smith, the lawyer, to sue her for unfair competition?"

"Actually, about that, we've checked with the lawyer. We can't sue. Her video was a simple review, didn't specify our product data, nor did she fabricate any information. It's considered a legitimate consumer right."

"The lawyer said manufacturers have to tolerate reasonable public commentary; her actions don't constitute infringement."

Daniel felt faint, barely able to stand, "You're all useless! I pay you to solve problems! If you can't come up with a solution now, you're all fired!"

"Boss... I have an idea."

Daniel turned to see a young woman with straight bangs and thick black-rimmed glasses speaking; he didn't recognize her.

"Uh, she..." Daniel instinctively looked at his secretary.

The secretary quickly whispered, "She's a new intern in PR, Zoe Zhu."

What reliable idea could an intern have?

Daniel skeptically looked at Zoe, "What's your idea?"

Zoe, seeing all eyes on her, became even more nervous. She pushed her glasses up and said quietly, "We can't suppress all the hot searches, but we can address the problem at its source."

The room filled with confused looks.

"Yes," Zoe nodded, then took out her phone, opened the video, and spoke more confidently, "This blogger is a novice at editing. Her video has many obvious editing marks, such as inconsistent hand angles, improper lighting, and extensive post-production dubbing."

Emily took Zoe's phone, puzzled as she looked at the screen, "I can't see any of that."

"It doesn't matter if you can't see it..."

Zoe was cut off by an impatient Daniel, "What does this prove? Does it solve our current situation?"

"It shows the credibility of her video is questionable, and so is her cat's review."

Zoe pushed her glasses up again, smiling timidly, "We don't need to suppress the hot searches but need to purchase some, pointing out the video's fabrication, and there will be netizens who will help us analyze which parts were edited."

"Also, we need to send a lawyer's letter to that netizen who claimed our cat food killed his cat, asking him to provide evidence, a precise medical diagnosis signed by a vet."

"Lastly, we need to contact influencers who've worked with us before to support LovePetFortune publicly and publish positive reviews to sway public opinion back."

The usually quiet PR manager found holes in Zoe's ideas, eagerly objecting, "With our current reputation, which influencer would dare to support us publicly? You're just a young girl, totally naive about the world."

Daniel nodded in agreement.

Zoe faced the skeptical looks from her superiors, paused for a moment, then patiently explained:

"Brand disasters affect all influencers who've collaborated with the brand before; we're in the same boat. If the first two PR measures are implemented well and they see the possibility of turning public opinion, they'd be willing to help out of convenience."

"After all, those who compete with the pet bloggers aren't our enemies."

---

Public opinion can turn incredibly fast.

#OrangeCatFoodReviewVideoHasLotsOfEditing# appeared and immediately shot to the top with a red "Hot" label, climbing rapidly in the rankings.

It was followed by an official clarification from LovePetFortune and legal notices sent to those who made unfounded accusations.

The netizen who claimed his cat died because of LovePetFortune's food couldn't provide any evidence and ended up deleting his Weibo account.

Subsequently, several pet bloggers came forward to claim they had been feeding their pets LovePetFortune's cat food for a long time without issues.

One well-known pet knowledge blogger, Brother Bing, even stated he could vouch for the quality of LovePetFortune's cat food, and that some influencers exploiting animals for profit were utterly unreliable.

Thus, those who were furiously accusing LovePetFortune suddenly had their fire doused, and the "Cat Food Review Video" was scrutinized frame by frame.

#InedibleOrange# quickly rose to the top of trending searches.

Of course, compared to before, the reputation had done a complete 180.

Those who had praised the intelligence and cuteness of the cat were now furiously denouncing the owner as a thorough fraudster, accusing her of using editing to manipulate their emotions.

Selene, of course, saw all this unfold.

She opened her laptop, clicked on the trending hashtag, and saw that the top post was a detailed analysis by a concerned netizen who had broken down her video frame by frame.

The comments section was bustling.

[Damn, there are so many smart people online; I didn't notice all that editing]

[LovePetFortune really got dragged through the mud, a lot of people returned their products, they must have lost a lot, feel sorry for them]

[If I were LovePetFortune I'd feel cursed, unfairly targeted by an influencer, good thing this blew up fast]

[So does that mean that Special Meow paid Selene to rank their food first and trash LovePetFortune?]

[Very possible! It's likely that those brands ranked at the top are sponsors]

[What a business war, I knew there couldn't be such a smart cat]

[Glad it was a scam, it'd be too scary if cats could actually communicate that fluently]

[This woman is truly malicious, probably even staged finding Orange just to use it to make money]

[So evil, she really wanted to make money that badly, I watched her video genuinely and even helped her criticize the haters]

Comments of all kinds were flying, with most people vilifying her; now she was truly "famous," but unfortunately, it was infamy.

Selene closed the comments section and turned to the long analysis detailing her editing. She watched it carefully and took out her tablet to start noting important points; she had anticipated her rudimentary editing skills might be exposed.

But Selene hadn't expected it to be uncovered so quickly and to ferment so fast...

It seemed LovePetFortune's PR was quite clever, using her editing to divert public attention and whitewash themselves.

Even if she immediately sent LovePetFortune's cat food for third-party testing to prove it was indeed problematic, it would be too late-the results would take a week to come back, at least 24-48 hours even if rushed.

Having studied communications, she knew the key to crisis PR was timing; the longer the delay, the greater the negative impact and the harder it became to communicate with the public.

Missing this "golden time" for PR meant that once the hype died down, her clarifications would be ignored, and the scandal would become an indelible stain on her reputation.

This was something Selene did not want to see.

She had to respond to the editing issue immediately, but how could she turn the tables beautifully in this "comeback battle"?

Selene turned her head and saw her reflection in a full-length mirror next to her. As she curved her lips into a smile, the reflection mimicked her.

Who couldn't pull the rug out from under someone?

Selene's fingers danced lightly over the keyboard, ending with a decisive press of the Enter key.

[Selene: #InedibleOrange# See you at 7 PM tomorrow in our live room. Don't miss it.]

One stone causes a thousand ripples.

With the announcement of a live stream, the internet erupted in speculation. People wondered what Selene had up her sleeve to counter the allegations. Supporters and skeptics alike were eager to see how she would handle the situation.

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