Chapter 11: Going Back to Put the Children to Bed

While Mingling Zoo's popularity has remained strong these past few days, Shang Youqing hasn't been rushing to keep the animals busy.

She's hired several skilled workers to connect all the cages in the wild animal area, allowing the large animals to swap cages.

They've also rearranged the enclosures, stocking each with toys tailored to the needs of each furry creature, to prevent them from developing stereotyped and depressed behaviors in captivity.

The results have been remarkable: several furry creatures that were rather listless when she first took over the zoo have now begun exploring and playing in their new enclosures.

Even the leopard named "Hua Mei," who initially appeared to be more stereotyped in her animal behavior log, has begun climbing trees and rolling around.

That day, when Shang Youqing arrived to feed Huamei, she was resting on a tree trunk, licking her fur gracefully. She sensed her approaching and nimbly leaped down from the tree, arriving at the fence and looking at her with her front paws raised.

"Wait a minute,"

Shang Youqing said as he unlocked the door, carrying the feeding bucket. Huamei eagerly tilted her head to nudge her calf, then lifted her furry paws to hug Shang Youqing's legs, emitting a low-pitched meow.

[Human, Leopard completed his treatment task early today. Besides the head pat, he wants another reward!]

"So impressive!"

Shang Youqing reached out and stroked Huamei's head, guiding her to the grassy area before kneeling down to feed her some meat.

Once she was satisfied, she used her prescribed treatment plan to coax her into climbing the tree with rewards.

As luck would have it, Shang Youqing's visit to feed and treat Huamei was witnessed by a young tourist. She couldn't resist posting a promotional post online the same day.

[Title: I heard the new director of Mingling Zoo can read the minds of animals? Checked in! Click in now!]

[I visited Mingling Zoo last year. I knew they had rescued many animals and wanted to see them. Back then, most of them seemed lifeless, lacking energy and ignoring visitors. The new director of Mingling Zoo had become a minor celebrity a few days ago, and I was curious to see if he could really read the minds of animals. I drove over early this morning and was struck by how much the zoo had changed! Please see [Image 1][Image 2][Image 3] .

The park's layout has changed, and the large furry animals now have new toys to play with. I compared the photos I took last year and saw that several of the furry animals have actually swapped cages. Look at [Image 4]: Two furry animals are sniffing through the fence, as if they're asking each other about their new homes. They're so cute!

The biggest surprise was that I saw the legendary Director Xiao Shang today!! [Image 5] Haha, I only dared to secretly take a photo of her from behind! She's so gentle and has such a great temperament! Such a big leopard actually just lay down at her legs and acted cute! Oh, and I even heard Director Xiao Shang talking to the leopard. Every time the leopard climbed a tree, it would come down and hug Director Xiao Shang's legs, begging for a hug. How did I know the leopard wanted a hug? Because I heard Director Xiao Shang talking to the leopard! Director Xiao Shang gently refused Leopard, saying, "No, he's still a little slow climbing trees. I can only hold him twice today. Try again tomorrow." Ahhhh! At that moment, I really wanted to be Leopard! ...]

This promotional post quickly went viral online, with many netizens flocking to the Mingling Zoo account to comment, urging Director Xiao Shang to personally host a livestream!

Shang Youqing, however, had just had a break from her busy zoo duties and before she could even get online, something else had her slightly worried.

For example, right now, she was crouching on the steps of the courtyard, chewing an apple, when suddenly, there was a snapping sound. It was Shang You, from the vegetable patch, rolling up her sleeves and splitting a small bamboo branch with her bare hands. With a stern expression, she violently broke it in two to repair a nest for her chicks.

Shang Youqing thought back to the poem Young Master He had recited when he'd been with her. By comparison, she felt she had indeed been a bit too rough with her babies.

The more Shang Youqing thought about it, the more ashamed he felt. He couldn't even chew the apple in his mouth. He wiped his mouth and called to Shang You, "Baby, come here."

Shang You's delicate nose twitched as she came over. Standing at the bottom of the steps, she put her hands behind her back and asked, "What's wrong, Mom?"

Shang Youqing pulled Shang You's hands over, carefully wiped them clean, and asked earnestly, "Baby, do you want to go to school?"

Shang You's amber-clear eyes fluttered for a moment. "Is it like the kind of school He Zhimo mentioned?"

Shang Youqing nodded.

Shang You looked at her mother's eager eyes and, without much thought, agreed directly, "I'll listen to you, Mom."

Coincidentally, Shang Youqing received a reply from her junior fellow apprentice that same day: "Senior sister [address], come here tonight. I'll pick you up personally when you arrive."

So, that evening, Shang Youqing drove Shang You to stay with Old Lady An while she went directly to her junior fellow apprentice according to the address in the letter.

As night fell, the magnificent corridors of the Tan Palace were illuminated by gilded, carved wall lamps, casting a hazy, luxuriant glow over the paintings on both sides of the corridor.

The main atrium door opened, and several distinguished individuals, dressed in elegant attire, entered. Led by a handsome man in a well-tailored suit, he appeared in the center, broad-shouldered and long-legged. They chatted and laughed as they entered a private room.

Since they were here to discuss a partnership, and the Yancheng government was spearheading the project, by the time the negotiations were nearly complete, someone, already drunk, began to reveal their true colors. They chuckled meaningfully, "I heard there's a lot of fun activities going on at Tan Palace tonight. Mr. He, are you interested in going up to the third floor later?"

He Cong glanced at his watch and said coldly, "You guys can have some fun. Curfew's time at home is up."

The man was momentarily taken aback. "Huh? Mr. He, you have a curfew at home? Who, who dares to interfere?"

Someone in the seat coughed and nudged him, whispering a warning to keep quiet.

He Cong stood up, his slender figure clad in a suit. Even after drinking a little, he looked meticulously dressed, even his collar straight and rigid. His gaze slowly passed over the man, his tone and emotion unclear: "I have to go back and put the kids to bed."

While everyone was still stunned, He Cong had already gathered up his coat hanging on the seat and left the compartment.

Yu Zhu called, "Mr. He, I've already driven to the basement garage. Do you want me to come up and pick you up?"

"No, I'll go down myself."

The waiter opened the elevator for him, and He Cong hung up and walked in.

The elevator slowly descended, and He Cong stood slightly to the side. The narrow space was filled with a thick, sticky fragrance. He Cong tugged at his neatly tied tie with a hint of impatience, and the pure black Buddha amulet around his neck slipped from his collar.

He Cong's eyes were heavy as he stared at the amulet reflected in the elevator mirror. His expression was cold, but it also had a hint of the distracted and irritable feeling of drunkenness.

After a long pause, the elevator doors opened.

He Cong regained his composure and headed towards the underground garage.

He Cong narrowed his eyes slightly drunkenly, suspecting he was truly intoxicated.

He saw a slender figure with its back to him, parked next to a car in the parking space ahead. The soft yellow headlights cast a hazy, blurred shadow.

He Cong stared blankly.

He walked into the mist, approached the figure, grabbed her waist from behind, and pressed her hard into his violently beating chest.