The next day.
Ruan Xingyao got up early in the morning.
After tidying herself up, she left a note for You Huan and then stepped out of the room.
Chen Yu was already waiting for her at the door.
Although they had made peace and moved on last night, Ruan Xingyao still couldn’t stand the sight of him.
She shot him a glance, then strode toward the elevator.
Chen Yu raised a hand to rub his nose before following after her.
The two of them took a taxi to Changcheng Zoo.
It took a full two hours from the hotel to Changcheng Zoo, and along the way, Ruan Xingyao didn’t say a single word to Chen Yu.
They sat one in front of the other, each fiddling with their own phone.
Last night, Xie Lin had sent Ruan Xingyao a lot of WeChat, but she hadn’t replied.
Just now, he had sent over more messages.
She glanced at them but still didn’t respond.
As they were about to arrive at Changcheng Zoo, Ruan Xingyao received a call from an unfamiliar number.
On the other end was a young male voice: “Hello, Streamer Starry, I’m Zhou Yuan, grandson of Zhou Heqing. May I ask, have you already arrived in Changcheng? When would be a convenient time for you to come to our zoo?”
“I’m already on my way,” said Ruan Xingyao.
Zhou Yuan was obviously stunned at her words.
After a few seconds, he replied, “Then I’ll wait for you at the zoo entrance.”
Ruan Xingyao gave a brief acknowledgement, glanced at the driver’s navigation phone, and said, “It’ll take about another half an hour, no need to hurry.”
After hanging up, she slipped her phone back into her pocket and turned her head to look out the window.
Half an hour later, the car stopped at the entrance of Changcheng Zoo.
It was almost ten o’clock by then, and the entrance was still packed with people queuing.
Just as Ruan Xingyao was about to call Zhou Yuan, she saw someone walking toward her.
Looking closely, she realized he did seem familiar — someone she’d seen before during a livestream connection.
“Hello, Streamer Starry, I’m Zhou Yuan. We just spoke on the phone. Thank you for making the trip.” Zhou Yuan greeted her.
He was polite enough, but his eyes swept her up and down, faintly yet unmistakably, which made Ruan Xingyao feel quite uncomfortable.
She gave him a slight nod, forced a smile, and said, “It’s no trouble.”
“Streamer Starry, please come this way with me,” Zhou Yuan said.
Ruan Xingyao nodded and followed Zhou Yuan through the side gate into Changcheng Zoo.
Chen Yu trailed behind them.
As soon as they entered, a shuttle bus was already waiting at the security office.
The three of them got on, and after a twenty-minute ride, they arrived at the panda administration area.
On the way, Zhou Yuan gave Ruan Xingyao a brief introduction to Changcheng Zoo, placing special emphasis on the panda exhibit.
As they spoke, they arrived at the office building.
Zhou Yuan gestured politely, “Streamer Starry, this way, please.”
Before long, Ruan Xingyao saw Zhou Heqing.
He seemed even older and frailer than when she’d seen him during the livestream connection.
This made Ruan Xingyao furrow her brows slightly—it looked like the situation with the panda exhibit was no small matter.
“Grandfather, Streamer Starry is here,” Zhou Yuan said, walking over to stand beside Zhou Heqing.
Zhou Heqing had been reading through some documents.
At the sound of his grandson’s words, he immediately set them down and rose to greet her.
“Hello, Streamer Starry, I’m Zhou Heqing,” he said.
His manner was far warmer than Zhou Yuan’s, and even his gaze toward Ruan Xingyao carried much more sincerity.
In response, Ruan Xingyao’s smile became more genuine as well.
She said, “Hello, Elder Zhou. May I ask what you would like me to help with?”
Up to this point, she still had no idea why Zhou Heqing had gathered so many people on the livestream before—what kind of help he was hoping for.
Zhou Heqing turned and handed her the documents from the desk. “Streamer Starry, please take a look at this first.”
When she opened it, she found a photo inside: two giant pandas together.
The two pandas were named Haichen and Taotao.
According to the information, Haichen and Taotao had originally been from the giant panda base.
At four years old—just over a month ago—they had both been transferred to Changcheng Zoo.
At first, Haichen had adapted fairly well, but then he suddenly stopped eating properly.
His weight kept dropping, and the zoo staff had no solution.
They even invited Haichen’s former keeper from the panda base over, but it was no use.
Originally, the panda base had planned to take Haichen back, but his health condition didn’t allow for the transfer, so for the time being he had to remain at Changcheng Zoo.
Now, both the zoo staff and the base staff were at their wits’ end, working day and night to figure out how to help Haichen.
Ruan Xingyao said, “Could I see Haichen first?”
Zhou Heqing asked, “Streamer Starry, forgive me for being so blunt, but… can you really understand what animals say?”
Ruan Xingyao replied, “Elder Zhou, if you didn’t believe it, you wouldn’t have specially invited me here in the first place.”
“Yes, that’s true,” Zhou Heqing admitted.
“It’s just… I hope you’ll understand. Since this concerns Haichen, I have to be extra cautious.”
Ruan Xingyao sighed helplessly, raised a hand to scratch her cheek, and said, “Alright then, I’ll prove it to you first. After that, I’ll go see Haichen.”
For some reason, Zhou Heqing’s old face flushed with embarrassment.
He stayed silent for half a minute before shaking his head and saying, “Streamer Starry, I’ll take you to see Haichen now.”
Ruan Xingyao arched her brows lightly.
Without making a fuss, she stood up and followed Zhou Heqing outside.
After she and Chen Yu changed clothes and went through disinfection, they entered the enclosure where Haichen was kept.
Haichen was inside the house, lying sprawled on the bed with his back to the door.
Ruan Xingyao looked at his body through the doorway, then glanced at Zhou Heqing in puzzlement.
This was what Zhou Heqing had meant by “losing weight”?
Then what was this chunky fellow in front of her?
Zhou Heqing explained, “Since Haichen came to our Changcheng Zoo, he’s lost nearly about 10 kilos.”
It was just that Haichen’s body mass had always been larger than that of most other giant pandas, which made the weight loss less noticeable.
Ruan Xingyao couldn’t help grumbling inwardly: Talk about spoiled.
But for now, Haichen was clearly asleep.
So Ruan Xingyao quietly used her spiritual power to check on his condition.
Physically, there was nothing wrong.
From this, it was clear that whether at the panda base before or now at Changcheng Zoo, Haichen had been very well cared for.
Ruan Xingyao said, “Since Haichen is sleeping, may I go see Taotao first?”
From Taotao, perhaps she could get a sense of what was going on with Haichen.
Zhou Heqing agreed.
“Taotao’s right next door. Though now, he should be out in the yard. Let’s go have a look.”
Ruan Xingyao nodded and strode toward the adjacent yard.
Soon, she caught sight of Taotao—a giant panda smaller than Haichen by a full size.
— The end of the Chapter–
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