Chapter 8

The next day.

At 6:30 in the morning, the alarm clock rang.

Fang Ye yawned, rubbed his sleepy eyes, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and sauntered downstairs.

The canteen was opposite the employee dormitory. Even before he entered, the pleasant smell of steamed buns wafted out.

"Hey, Old Zhang, what are you making today?"

Fang Ye recalled slightly, raised his voice, and called out, as usual, sitting down at a random table.

The canteen was empty and desolate at this time, with no one else besides him, making it seem very quiet.

One reason was the small number of employees; Linqhai Zoo currently had fewer than twenty employees, including the ticket collectors, security guards, and Old Zhang from the canteen.

Another reason was its distance from the city center, which meant that visitors arrived late, so there was no need to start work too early.

Old Zhang's chubby face suddenly appeared at the white-tiled serving window, greeting him with a dialect-infused accent: "Director, you're up so early again! For breakfast today, we have fried dough sticks, steamed buns, eggs, tofu pudding, and pickled vegetables! For lunch, we have stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, and zucchini with pork! What would you like?"

Fang Ye smiled and nodded: "A bowl of tofu pudding with some green onions, two fried dough sticks, and some of your wife's pickled radish!"

"Sure thing!" Old Zhang's chubby face showed two dimples, his eyes squinting shut, "If the Director likes it, I'll have her make more next time!"

Old Zhang had been an employee since the zoo was built, a veteran who had witnessed all the ups and downs—when the zoo was most popular, a ticket cost 40 yuan!

Now, every day before dawn, he would drive his old minivan to the nearest farmers' market to buy fresh vegetables and meat for the zoo, including food for the animals. He and his wife would then prepare breakfast together, working diligently.

Therefore, Fang Ye treated Old Zhang with great respect.

A large, tender piece of tofu pudding, immersed in a dark brown sauce, glistened with oil, adorned with green coriander and scallions, emitting a mouth-watering aroma.

He picked up a golden, crispy fried dough stick, dipped it in the tofu pudding sauce, and opened the system panel to take a casual look.

Hmm?

Fang Ye took a bite of the sauce-dipped fried dough stick and suddenly froze.

Why did he feel something was subtly off?

After searching for a while, he finally found the change and was stunned: "Popularity value 352??"

How did the popularity value become 352? If he remembered correctly, it was only 43 yesterday.

An increase in popularity was undoubtedly a good thing, indicating a rise in the zoo's fame and allowing for lottery draws. But why did it increase so mysteriously?

Strange, indeed.

Fang Ye frowned in thought, but his mouth kept chewing while he was lost in thought, unconsciously finishing a fried dough stick and secretly picking up two pieces of pickled radish.

...

Lan Li, with a heavy heart, entered the canteen.

She sat down opposite him cautiously, her mouth opening and closing, her hands placed neatly on her lap.

Fang Ye looked up and saw a girl sitting opposite him, and he said cheerfully, "Hey, Lan Li! You'll be helping me clean the tiger enclosure later."

Halfway through, he realized something was off: "What's wrong? You look like a primary school student who's made a mistake."

Lan Li's face was downcast, her fingertips touching each other, as if she had something difficult to say. After a while, she said, "Director, I'm sorry! I posted the photos of you and the tiger on my social media without your permission! You... you can deduct my salary!"

"Hey, it's no big deal." Fang Ye waved his hand nonchalantly, but then his eyes widened in realization.

Ah, the mysterious increase in popularity was because of you!

I was puzzled for so long.

Lan Li's face turned red, and she hurriedly explained, "Director, it's not just about posting on social media... A friend of mine shared the photos on Weibo without asking, and they spread quickly. Many netizens forwarded and commented, which might have a negative impact... I didn't expect it, Director, I'm really sorry."

She was also regretful, not realizing that the few casual photos she took would cause such a stir online.

She cautiously raised her eyes and found that Fang Ye's expression was not the anger she expected, but... a smile?

"That's great! I was just thinking about increasing the zoo's fame. How many people forwarded it?"

Fang Ye slapped his thigh and enthusiastically opened Weibo, searching for keywords related to tigers.

"Uh, a few dozen forwards, a few hundred comments..." Lan Li blinked, still unsure, "Director, is it really okay?"

"Tch, only a few dozen forwards." Fang Ye pouted, disappointed. This generation of netizens is not up to par.

But thinking about it, it wasn't realistic or a good thing for Linqhai Zoo to become famous overnight just because of a few photos.

At least wait until the tiger enclosure is completed and has something impressive.

Looking at the nervous Lan Li, he couldn't help but feel that she was too honest!

He comforted her, "This is a good thing. Besides, you didn't do it on purpose, so why should I punish you?"

"Really?"

"Yep!"

Lan Li finally smiled, her hand on her chest, breathing a sigh of relief, feeling a great weight lifted off her shoulders!

"Master Zhang! Give me a bowl of tofu pudding and a steamed bun!"

Fang Ye switched the search results to sort by time, and the first result was himself.

Besides the photo of the headrest, there were scenes of him playfully rubbing Jiaojiao's big head and hugging her neck.

Netizens were discussing it fervently!

"The tiger is so cute!"

"Ooh, won't the tiger bite? Scary!"

"Fake tough guy, attracting attention with muscles; real tough guy, smiling and petting the tiger's butt!"

"I had a friend who was as cool as him, but now the grass on his grave is two meters tall!"

"The young man is so handsome!"

Fang Ye laughed: "Hey, what a truth!"

But as Lan Li said, there were also many skeptical and critical comments!

"Is this photo edited? Who would dare touch a tiger like that!"

"Maybe he's been training it since it was a cub."

"Malicious marketing! Using such dangerous stunts to attract attention, have they forgotten all the reports of tigers attacking people?"

"/Anger/ Now people will do anything to become internet celebrities, risking their lives!"

"As an animal researcher, I must tell everyone that this is a very dangerous behavior! Although the scene looks warm and the tiger seems obedient, it's all an illusion! Interacting with wild animals without protection is playing with your life; it might turn on you in the next second!"

"Who is this person? How can he enter the tiger enclosure? Which zoo is this? The management is extremely irresponsible!"

People on Earth still lack knowledge.

News about tigers is usually negative, like "Horrible! A tiger attack at xx Zoo" or "A man killed by a tiger, the scene is shocking"...

In most people's minds, the relationship between humans and wild animals is either conquest or predation!

Respect for nature and harmonious coexistence? Nonexistent.

To them, the idea of humans and tigers being intimate is indeed quite bizarre.