The next day.
At 6:30 a.m., the alarm clock went off.
Fang Ye yawned, rubbed his sleepy eyes, washed up, brushed his teeth, and then dawdled down the stairs.
The cafeteria was across from the employee dormitory, and before he even entered, the savory smell of steamed buns wafted out.
"Hey, Old Zhang, what are you making today?"
Fang Ye faintly recalled, raised his voice and called out as usual, then casually picked a table and sat down.
The cafeteria was empty and deserted, with no one else but him, making it seem very cold.
One reason was the small staff, Linhai Zoo currently had no more than twenty employees—including ticket inspectors, security guards, and Old Zhang in the cafeteria.
Another reason was its distance from the city center; visitors came late, so there was no need to start work too early.
From behind the white tiled serving window, Old Zhang's chubby face suddenly appeared. With a dialect-infused accent, he greeted warmly, "The director is up so early again! This morning we have fried dough sticks, steamed buns, eggs, tofu pudding, and pickles! For lunch, we'll have stir-fried potatoes, eggplants, bottle gourd, and 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 strips!"
"Alright!" Old Zhang's chubby face revealed dimples, his eyes squinting until they disappeared, "If the director likes it, I'll ask her to pickle more next time!"
Old Zhang had been an employee since Linhai Zoo was first built, a veteran through and through, having witnessed all its ups and downs—the highest time of popularity, a ticket sold for forty!
Now, every day before dawn, he would drive that old minivan to the nearest farmer's market to buy fresh vegetables and meat required for the zoo—including the animals as well, then he'd return and prepare breakfast with his wife, diligently and conscientiously.
Therefore, Fang Ye treated Old Zhang with great respect.
The white, soft chunks of tofu pudding were submersed in a deep brown sauce, shimmering with droplets of oil, and adorned with bits of vibrant green cilantro and scallions, exuding a mouthwatering aroma.
He picked up one crisp, yellow fried dough stick, dipped it into the sauce of the tofu pudding, and at the same time, opened the system dashboard to casually check it.
Hmm?
Fang Ye was about to take a bite of the sauce-dipped dough stick when he suddenly paused.
Why did he have a subtle feeling that something was off?
After searching for a while, he finally found the change and was completely dumbfounded, "Popularity value 352??"
Why had the popularity value risen to 352? If he recalled correctly, wasn't it just 43 yesterday?
An increase in popularity value was undoubtedly a good thing, indicating a rise in the zoo's renown, and it could also be used for raffles. But the key was, why had it increased so inexplicably?
Strange, very strange.
As Fang Ye frowned and pondered, his mouth, taking advantage of his distraction, kept munching ceaselessly. Unnoticed, he finished one dough stick and even sneakily picked up two sticks of pickled radish.
...
Heavy-hearted, Lan Li walked into the cafeteria.
She carefully sat down across from him, her mouth slightly opened then closed again, placing her hands neatly on her lap.
Fang Ye looked up and noticed an extra girl opposite him, and cheerfully said, "Hey, Lan Li! Later, follow me to clean the tiger enclosure."
He stopped midway realizing something was off, "What's wrong? You look like a little kid who just got in trouble."
Lan Li's face fell, her fingertips nervously touching, as if she had something difficult to say. After a long moment, she finally spoke, "Director, I'm sorry! I uploaded your photo with the tiger from yesterday to my social media without your permission! You… you can dock my pay!"
"Hey, it's not a big deal." Fang Ye initially dismissed the matter with a wave of his hand but suddenly realized something, his expression turning peculiar.
Shoot, the mysterious growth in popularity was your doing!
Had me puzzled for a while.
Lan Li's face flushed slightly as she hurriedly explained, "Director, it's not just posting on social media… A friend of mine posted the photo on Weibo without asking me, and it spread very fast. Many people shared and commented on it, and it might have some negative effects on you… I really didn't expect that, I'm truly sorry."
She also felt regretful, not expecting a few casually taken photos to cause such a stir online.
Lan Li cautiously lifted her eyes only to find that Fang Ye's expression was not the annoyance she had imagined, but rather… delight?
"Fantastic! I was just thinking about boosting our zoo's popularity. How many people shared it?"
Fang Ye enthusiastically patted his thigh and opened Weibo, immediately searching for the keyword "tiger" and began checking.
"Err, dozens of shares, hundreds of comments..." Lan Li blinked, still somewhat doubtful, "Director, are you sure it's alright?"
"Tsk, only dozens of shares." Fang Ye look slightly disappointed, shaking his head — the netizens this time around weren't up to par.
But then again, he realized that gaining fame overnight for Linhai Zoo through a few pictures wasn't realistic or necessarily a good thing.
At least wait until the tiger exhibit is completed, something that really holds its own.
Seeing Lan Li so nervous almost made him feel sentimental, this kid was just too honest!
Look at how scared the kid is.
He reassured her, "This is a good thing, and besides, you didn't do it on purpose, so why would I punish you?"
"Really?"
"Yes!"
Finally, a smile appeared on Lan Li's face. She put her hand on her chest and took a deep breath, relieved!
"Master Zhang! Give me a bowl of tofu pudding and a bun!"
The search results were listed by relevance by default, but Fang Ye changed it to chronological order, and the top post was his own.
Apart from the knee-pillow one, there were others where he was seen happily petting Jiaojiao's giant head and holding around Jiaojiao's neck, among others.
The netizens were all buzzing in the comments!
"Big tiger is so cute!"
"Oooo, won't big tiger bite people, scared!"
"Fake macho man attracts eyes with exposed muscles; the real deal is the one who smiles and strokes a tiger's butt!"
"I had a friend who was as cool as him, now the grass over his grave is two meters tall!"
"Little brother is so handsome!"
Fang Ye chuckled, "Ah, who's talking big truths here!"
But as Lan Li said, there were many skeptical and critical comments as well!
"These photos are Photoshopped, right? No one would dare to touch a tiger like that!"
"Maybe they have been tamed from a young age."
"Malicious marketing! Using death-defying stunts to attract attention, have all the reports of tigers eating people been forgotten?"
"/anger/ /anger/ People nowadays will do anything to become internet celebrities and attract traffic, no regard for their own lives!"
"As an animal researcher, I must tell everyone, this is extremely dangerous behavior! Although this scene looks harmonious and the tiger appears gentle and obedient, it's all illusory! Close encounters with fierce animals without protective measures is just playing with one's life, you never know when it'll turn on you!"
"Who is this person, and why can they enter the tiger enclosure, which zoo is this? The zoo's management is too irresponsible!"
People on Blue Planet still know too little.
News related to tigers was mostly negative like "Terrifying! Incident at xx Zoo with a tiger biting someone," "A man eaten by a tiger, the scene is horrifying"...
In most people's minds, the relationship between humans and fierce animals only comes in two forms — conquest or predation!
Respect for nature, living in harmony? Non-existent.
In their view, humans living closely and affectionately with tigers was indeed quite bizarre.