Little Luo Mingyan had no idea who this “Raccoon” was. She stood frozen, her lips pressed tight, forming two shallow dimples on her cheeks. She looked utterly helpless.
Gu Chou stepped in to rescue her. He walked over, crouched beside Yanyan, and gently took her small hand. “Yanyan, we have to follow the rules when we play games. It’s great to team up with Nannan; you can make a new friend! Everyone can play together after the mission is over.”
Yanyan hesitated, glancing at the card in her hand, her lips still pouting with a hint of grievance.
Suddenly, she noticed Xi Nan staring at her from a short distance away. It dawned on her, a bit slowly, that her reluctance might seem like she didn’t want to be on his team. She quickly and cautiously changed her tune: “Then… I’ll be on Nannan’s team.”
“Good girl.” Gu Chou reached out and gently smoothed the little ponytail of Yanyan’s princess-style hair, then stood up and led her over to greet Nannan, their new teammate.
Xi Nan was in a foul mood, and his gaze toward Ming Yan was anything but friendly. He gripped Ji Subai’s sleeve tightly with his small hand, his expression sullen and displeased.
Ji Subai smiled and lowered her eyes to the boy sitting beside her. In a calm yet firm tone that brooked no refusal, she instructed, “Go say hello to your sister.”
Though Nannan was far from willing, he obeyed the adult’s command with well-trained discipline. He stood up, approached Yanyan like a little gentleman, and gently took her small hand. His eyes shone with warmth as he said, “Sister Yanyan, I’ll do the mission with you.”
Yanyan blinked her large, watery eyes as she looked at Nannan. Her mood shifted as quickly as it had arrived, and she suddenly smiled shyly, pursing her lips. “Thank you, Brother Nannan.”
After this brief interlude, each team headed to their respective venues.
Min Zhuozhou and Chen Yan took Min Hua and Jin Mo on the park’s sightseeing shuttle, preparing to head to the Primate Pavilion for their mission.
The autumn scenery was at its most gentle. Golden sunlight filtered through the gaps in the branches and dense foliage, casting brilliant yet hazy spots of light that seemed to gather time itself, capturing the lushness of nature.
Min Hua’s attention was drawn away. His small hands gripped the low railing of the sightseeing car as he quietly gazed at the rare clear sky and the deep, rich greens of the forest in the distance. The autumn light enveloped him in a soft, warm glow.
Seeing how absorbed he was, Min Zhuozhou rested his head on the young boy’s shoulder, his voice tinged with a hint of casual ease. “Do you like it here?”
Away from the fixed cameras and the real-time scrolling comment screen of the live stream, Min Hua’s mood visibly relaxed. Watching the waterbirds playing in a nearby pond, he couldn’t help but recall a line of autumn poetry Min Zaiming had taught him. He murmured softly, “A crane soars through the clouds…”
“That’s a pelican,” Jin Mo, sitting beside them, interjected with objective and calm correction.
Min Hua blinked and turned to meet Jin Mo’s gaze, his eyes partially hidden behind his long, thick lashes. He smiled. “A’Jin knows so much.”
“Not at all,” the little girl replied, a flash of pride gleaming in her ink-dark eyes. “I know very little. Human knowledge is infinite.”
“Alright, that’s enough, sweetie,” Chen Yan said, pulling a chestnut cake from his bag. He broke off a piece and fed it to A’Jin, then turned to Min Zhuozhou with an apologetic smile. “My sister’s always been interested in this kind of thing. She’ll dig up every single phylum and class of whatever she sees.”
“That’s amazing, Jinbao. Will you let me be your student?” Min Zhuozhou asked, his expression warm and relaxed in the autumn sunlight.
A’Jin straightened her posture, exuding the aura of a queen. She looked at Min Zhuozhou with a gaze that seemed to say, Although you are a mere mortal, I will reluctantly agree, seeing as you are eager to learn. She gave a haughty “Hmph” and primly pointed to her chestnut cake. “Do you want some? It’s delicious.”
Min Zhuozhou didn’t hold back. He broke off a piece for the little one and another for himself. The cake was sweet, soft, and fragrant, a truly delightful treat.
The livestream shifted to the “Gibbon Group,” and a flood of comments instantly overwhelmed the chat. The screen was filled with heart-bubble emojis and “So cute!” messages. Viewers were completely won over by the adorable contrast between the little girl’s mature, “big shot” aura and her sweet tooth.
The scene then cut to the “Little Bear Group,” led by Wang Wenhe and fellow guest He Fanglan. Their mission for the day was to bake bear-shaped cookies and sell them at a charity bake sale in the park.
Since their task was taking place right in the forest cabin, their group was ahead of the others. With the help of the baking instructor and the older brothers, the two children were already whipping the butter.
The tone of the comments section shifted accordingly:
Hahaha, are they serious about letting little Chenchen make cookies? He just devoured all the instructor’s samples!
Little angel Anqi ate a bunch too! I think they’re both total foodies, ahhh! The cookies are in danger! The baking instructor is in danger!!
Hmph, don’t think I didn’t see it! A certain celebrity guest also sneaked a few bites while the kids weren’t looking!
Calling out a certain big brother named Wang!
Calling out a certain big brother named Wang +1
“Hey, hey, hey! Stop the chain of comments in the chat. I can see them, I can see them, okay?”
Wang Wenhe sieved the low-gluten flour without a hint of blush or a skipped beat, his face perfectly composed as he read the neatly lined-up “public call-outs” on the screen. He continued to follow the teacher’s steps to make cookies, interacting with the live stream comments:
“Life is short, have another bowl. This just proves that our baking teacher’s cookies are delicious. They’ll definitely attract a lot of customers at the charity sale… The people visiting Ningcheng Zoo today are in luck!”
Excuse, definitely an excuse!
I bet the cookies they make won’t even last until the charity sale, they’ll be devoured first!
I want to eat, I want to eat, I want to eat it all! Don’t make me crawl into the screen!!
Reasonable suspicion that the person above doesn’t actually want to eat cookies.
Reasonable suspicion +1. Forget the cookies, eat Wang Wenhe!
Wang Wenhe watched the teasing comments on the screen with a beaming smile, no longer replying. He turned his attention back to Chenchen, his little partner, as they focused on making the bear cookies for the charity sale.
The young man was like a sunflower basking in the bright sun, his vibrant, youthful energy almost overflowing from the screen. When he lowered his gaze, concentrating on the cookies, a natural nobility radiated from his features.
He Fanglan, in the same group, was his complete opposite. Though quiet and reserved, he became remarkably approachable whenever he looked up to speak. The two young guests got along harmoniously, making their channel the most healing one to watch.
Yet, while the “Little Bear Group” was happily baking cookies in a serene atmosphere, the “Raccoon Group,” who had just arrived at their destination, seemed to be caught in a violent storm.
“Noooo! I won’t do it! It’s all bugs! Waaaaah!”
A little girl’s heartbroken wails pierced the air in the zoo’s backstage area. Ming Yan clung to Gu Chou’s shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. Her tiny, palm-sized face was drenched in tears, reflecting a wet, glistening sheen.
The “Raccoon Group’s” mission was to prepare food for a raccoon family. Raccoons are omnivores, eating both fruits, vegetables, and meat. Today, the zoo had provided apples, pears, and mealworms. The moment Ming Yan saw the box of wriggling, long-bodied worms, she had a complete meltdown.
“Sweetheart, let’s not look, okay?” Gu Chou wrapped his arms around his little ball of a child, trying to soothe her. “Yanyan, honey, why don’t you watch the keeper sister slice the apples?”
“Waaaaah! I want to go home! I don’t want to be here!” Ming Yan shook her head like a rattle, her once-neatly styled little princess pigtails now completely disheveled.
The zoo’s backstage area was nothing like the clean, open spaces of the public front. The entire “Animal Kitchen” had only one small window, and even though it was daytime, the lights had to be on inside the workspace, or else the surroundings would be completely dark.
Ming Yan had been unhappy the moment she stepped inside. Not only did she dodge the zookeeper’s welcoming hug, but she also hid timidly behind Gu Chou, refusing to come out. She kept softly repeating, “I don’t want to stay here.” Just when Gu Chou had finally managed to calm her down, she spotted the insects she feared most, wriggling in clumps inside a metal box. A wave of grievance and terror washed over her, and she cried until her voice went hoarse.
Gu Chou tried to soothe her, but his efforts were in vain. He could only apologize profusely to the zookeeper. “I’ll take her outside for some fresh air. She’s a bit overwhelmed…”
“No problem at all,” the zookeeper said kindly, her eyes filled with concern as she watched Yanyan sob breathlessly. “Turn left outside, and you can enter the Raccoon Pavilion. Yanyan probably hasn’t seen a raccoon yet, has she? She can go make friends with our baby raccoons first.”
Gu Chou gave the zookeeper a grateful look and quickly led the child out.
Ji Subai, who had been standing silently to the side, glanced at the mealworms wriggling back and forth in the metal box, then silently shifted her gaze to the zookeeper.
The zookeeper before them was a very young woman. Her skin was a bit rough, tanned to a bronze hue by the sun. Her arms were covered in black sleeves caked with dirt from the animals’ scratching, and her rubber boots were caked in mud. Dressed in the zoo’s standard uniform, there wasn’t a single thing about her appearance that could be described as “pretty”,
Yet, her eyes held a gentle gaze, always radiating a kind and warm goodwill.
The profession of a zookeeper seemed ordinary, but it was difficult to excel in if one only had a simple love for animals without the spirit of self-sacrifice. Many volunteers came with enthusiasm under the banner of “loving animals,” only to be deterred by the working environment or the intensity of the labor. They would then tuck away their so-called love and leave as if nothing had happened.
Those who could truly devote themselves to staying here and caring for the animals were actually very few.
Having been here for a long time, the zookeeper sister was used to seeing these kinds of “life experience seekers”, people who were both refined and impetuous. She wasn’t angry, but instead gave Ji Subai a friendly smile. “Nannan, you’ve never seen a raccoon dog before, have you? How about we go take a look?”
Nannan had long been desperate to leave this stuffy little room. Hearing this, she immediately grabbed Ji Subai’s hand and pleaded, “Brother… can we go outside now?”