"How did you know?"

Yang Qi blurted out the question instinctively.

He had just received the invitation; word shouldn’t have spread this fast.

"It’s really an invitation from Red Star?!"

Chen Ze’s eyes went wide as he exclaimed, his face flush with excitement. "That’s amazing, Brother Qi! You’re the fucking man! Even the best zoo in the province sent you an invitation! What a power move!"

"I’m just going over to help them take a look. It’s not a big deal."

Yang Qi waved his hand dismissively, getting back to the point. He looked at Chen Ze, puzzled. "You still haven’t said how you knew."

"I guessed, of course!"

Chen Ze chuckled, a bit smug. "Weren’t there rumors going around that the zoo in the Provincial Capital wanted to poach you? They sounded pretty convincing."

"When you mentioned you were going to the Provincial Capital on a business trip, Brother Qi, a lightbulb went off. I thought, ’What kind of job would need you to go all the way to the Provincial Capital?’"

"Connecting that with the earlier rumors, I took a wild guess it was about the zoo. I can’t believe I actually got it right!"

Yang Qi was speechless.

So he had just stumbled upon the truth by accident.

"Not many people know about this yet. Brother Chen, please don’t spread it around for now," Yang Qi advised.

"Got it, got it."

Chen Ze immediately made a zipping-his-lips motion. "I promise my lips are sealed!"

Yang Qi nodded, then turned to the animals that had followed him into the house and called, "Xiaojiu, Bai Wan, Hu Zi, Leopard, come here."

Hearing his call, Xiaojiu and Bai Wan immediately looked up and walked over. Hu Zi and Leopard followed, coming to stand before Yang Qi.

Yang Qi crouched down, patting each of their heads in turn, and used the Basic Spirit Communication Technique to speak.

"For the next two or three days, I have to go on a long trip and won’t be back at night. This is Chen Ze. While I’m gone, he’ll come over every morning and evening to give you food and fresh water. You all need to be good and cooperate with Brother Chen, understand?"

"Meow~"

Xiaojiu was the first to respond, glancing at Chen Ze with her turquoise eyes.

She knew Chen Ze; they were old acquaintances.

"WOOF!"

Bai Wan gave a steady bark, indicating he understood.

"Woof~"

"Woof woof~"

Hu Zi and Leopard also barked in response, looking curiously at Chen Ze and memorizing his scent.

Chen Ze watched from the side, clicking his tongue in amazement.

The way Xiaojiu, Bai Wan, and the others were so intelligent and responded in unison made him once again feel the magical connection between Yang Qi and the animals.

He immediately crouched down and tried to greet Xiaojiu, Bai Wan, and the others.

"Hey everyone. Let’s all get along for the next few days, alright?"

Xiaojiu, aloof, ignored him and jumped onto the sofa.

Bai Wan came closer to sniff his hand, wagging his tail.

Hu Zi and Leopard, with a mix of curiosity and scrutiny, also came closer for a sniff.

Seeing that the little ones had tentatively accepted Chen Ze, Yang Qi stepped aside, took out his phone, and called Song Wan to inform her that Overlord’s "special training" was over and he could be returned.

He asked if Song Wan was home, and upon learning she was, he told her to wait at the entrance of her residential complex in half an hour.

After hanging up, Yang Qi went upstairs, packed a few changes of clothes and some daily necessities, then checked for his ID, work permit, and the invitation, putting them all into his backpack.

Back downstairs, he showed Chen Ze where the dog and cat food were stored and how to refill the automatic water dispenser, finally handing him a spare key.

"Brother Chen, I’ll have to rely on you for the next couple of days. I’ll treat you to a meal when I get back," Yang Qi thanked him again.

"Brother Qi, you’re being too polite! Don’t worry about a thing, I guarantee I’ll take good care of them!" Chen Ze patted his chest, promising.

With the arrangements settled, Yang Qi picked up the reluctant Overlord, who seemed to have a premonition, and got into the SUV.

"Meow~"

Overlord lay by the passenger-side window, meowing loudly at Xiaojiu, Bai Wan, Hu Zi, and Leopard, who were standing at the door to see them off.

’Boss, I’ll miss you!’

’Hu Zi, Leopard, you have to listen to the Boss.’

’Bai Wan, watch the house.’

’This cat... this cat will be back in a few days.’

’Wait for me!’

"Meeeow~~"

...

The car started slowly, pulling away from the employee living quarters and out of the Zoo.

First, he made a trip to Hongshu District, to the complex where Song Wan rented her apartment.

He handed Overlord over to Song Wan at the complex entrance.

He declined Song Wan’s offer to treat him to a meal as thanks and headed straight for the high-speed rail station.

Arriving at the high-speed rail station, Yang Qi parked the car in the lot and bought a ticket for the next bullet train to the Provincial Capital from an automated kiosk.

He checked the departure time—there was still half an hour left—so he found a clean little restaurant near the station and had lunch.

After eating, he returned to the waiting hall, found a seat near the corresponding boarding gate, and waited.

He had just taken out his phone when a new friend request notification popped up at the top of the screen.

The verification message read, "Yang Druid, hello, this is Zhou Jing. May I ask what time your train arrives?"

’Zhou Jing?’

Yang Qi was slightly taken aback.

’Do I know someone named Zhou Jing?’

Puzzled, he accepted the request and sent a message.

"Hello, are you a staff member from Red Star Zoo?"

The other person quickly replied with a crying emoji, followed by a line of text.

"Yang Qi, have you forgotten? We’ve met before, with my aunt. You were cleaning the raccoon enclosure at the time. Oh, and there was that Little Clouded Leopard you’re raising."

’Aunt?’

’Little Clouded Leopard?’

’Met while I was cleaning an enclosure?’

A flash of inspiration struck Yang Qi, and he remembered a delicate-featured girl who had been with Tong Xiaoyue when he met her.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn’t recognize you at first. So it’s Miss Zhou."

Yang Qi replied, then told her his bullet train number and estimated time of arrival.

The bullet train from Donghua to the Provincial Capital took about an hour.

Zhou Jing replied with an "OK" emoji.

"Got it. Call me when you arrive, I’ll come pick you up. [smiley face]"

"Okay, thank you."

Yang Qi sent his thanks.

He then put down his phone, feeling even more certain that Tong Xiaoyue was most likely the one who pushed for Red Star Zoo to send him the invitation.

If not for Tong Xiaoyue, even if Red Star Zoo were looking for help, they wouldn’t have sought out a mere zookeeper like him.

...

Before long, an announcement came over the PA system that boarding had begun for Yang Qi’s train.

Yang Qi followed the crowd, went through the gate, and walked down to the platform. After a short wait, the bullet train pulled into the station, and he boarded, finding his assigned car and seat.

He placed his backpack on the overhead luggage rack and sat down in the aisle seat.

A few seconds after sitting down, he sensed the strange feeling of being watched.

With his current level of perception, Yang Qi could detect any stare that lasted more than two seconds.

He immediately and discreetly raised his head, looking in the direction the gaze was coming from.

Diagonally across from him, separated by a row of seats, sat a little girl who looked to be about six or seven years old in a window seat.

The little girl’s face was a sickly pale, her body was thin and frail, and she was hugging a rabbit doll with a tilted head.

Right then, she wasn’t curiously looking around or playing like other children. Instead, her head was slightly tilted, and her pair of large, clear eyes were staring straight at Yang Qi without blinking.

’Was that curiosity in her gaze? Joy? And... affection?’