The moment Yang Qi stepped out, Huang Leqing was the first to rush over. His eyes glittered behind his glasses as he grabbed Yang Qi’s arm and fired off a series of questions.

"Mr. Yang, how did you do it? Did you use a specific sequence of body language? Or did you discover some key stimulus we overlooked that triggers a gibbon’s feeding instinct?"

"Your stance, your movements, your speech tempo just now... was it based on a reverse application of the ’comfort-encouragement’ model found in the social behavior of Western black crested gibbons?"

"Or..."

The barrage of technical terms and analysis left Yang Qi a little stunned.

He quickly coughed to interrupt Huang Leqing’s questioning. "Teacher Huang, please calm down. I think I’ve figured out the problem."

With that, he turned to Tong Xiaoyue and the others.

"The reason Ah Wu is refusing to eat isn’t a physical illness; it’s a psychological issue. He wants to see his mate—his first mate!"

"He misses her so much that he’s lost his appetite. If we can find a way to let him see his first mate, even just a look through the enclosure or a sniff of her scent, it would be a decisive help in his recovery."

"Do you know where his first mate is now? Could you find a way to bring her here, or arrange for them to meet?"

"His first mate?"

Hearing this, a slightly older keeper standing nearby had a look of astonishment on his face. "When Ah Wu first came to our zoo, he was indeed paired with a female gibbon, but that female... *Sigh*, let’s not talk about it."

"Ah Wu was young and hot-headed back then, with a terrible temper. He beat that female gibbon every day, leaving her covered in injuries. We had no choice but to separate them."

"That female gibbon was later sent to another zoo, I think, through an animal exchange program."

"That’s right, I remember that."

A researcher who had been involved in the exchange back then chimed in, "She was traded to Mountain City Zoo. She was re-paired in Mountain City, adapted well, and even had an infant. But..."

He paused, his tone turning somber. "It was last year, I think. The female gibbon got sick and passed away. Mountain City even issued an obituary."

"Huh?"

Yang Qi’s heart sank.

’Dead?’

’This is trouble.’

’The female gibbon is actually dead!’

’How are they supposed to "meet" now?’

’Then again, this male gibbon, Ah Wu, is quite the character.’

’He domestically abused his partner when she was here, drove her away, and now, after all these years, he’s suddenly pining for the good old days with his "first love"?’

’A classic case of not knowing what you have until it’s gone...’

’No, this is more like some kind of obsessive, self-indulgent nostalgia.’

"Yang Qi, didn’t you already succeed in feeding him?"

Zhou Jing noticed the change in Yang Qi’s expression and asked curiously, "Ah Wu has started eating. Isn’t the problem solved?"

"No."

Yang Qi shook his head and explained, "I only temporarily convinced him. I told him that to see his mate in a ’presentable’ state, he first needs to start eating again and get his strength back." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"But that’s just a temporary fix. If his deep-seated obsession to ’see his first mate’ isn’t satisfied, or when he finds out he’ll never see her again, this longing could turn into a much deeper depression. The situation could become even worse than it is now, and it’s highly likely he’ll start refusing food again."

Hearing this, everyone fell silent.

If the female gibbon were still alive, even at another zoo, they might have been able to figure something out.

But now... there’s no bringing a gibbon back from the dead.

This heartache was practically incurable.

"Let’s head back to the conference room and talk."

After a moment of silence, Tong Xiaoyue spoke. "Let’s go back, summarize the situation, and see if there are any other approaches."

Then, she looked at Yang Qi, her tone softening. "Xiao Yang, it’s not often you get to visit Red Star, and you’ve worked hard. Feel free to walk around the zoo and relax. We’ll handle the subsequent discussions."

"I’ll be your guide!" Zhou Jing immediately raised her hand, volunteering eagerly.

"Well..."

Yang Qi glanced at Tong Xiaoyue, then at the expectant Zhou Jing, and hesitated.

If he stayed, he couldn’t really participate in the highly professional follow-up discussions anyway.

"Go on, don’t worry about things here."

Tong Xiaoyue continued, "Now that we’ve found the root of the problem, we should be able to find some way to deal with it. Even if we can’t solve it completely, we can at least try to mitigate it."

Hearing this, Yang Qi didn’t insist. He nodded to the group and left the Gibbon Hall with Zhou Jing.

Huang Leqing seemed to want to call Yang Qi back to continue discussing his miraculous "communication skills," but a single glance from Tong Xiaoyue stopped him. He could only follow the main group back to the conference room, looking disappointed.

...

Red Star Zoo was vast, with modern and ecologically-minded exhibit designs.

Zhou Jing was extremely familiar with the place, pointing out each exhibit to Yang Qi like she was showing off family treasures.

During their casual chat, Yang Qi learned that Zhou Jing worked in the Zoo’s marketing department, responsible for new media promotion and planning visitor interaction events. She was in the same line of work as Cheng Yao from Donghua Zoo.

Although she wasn’t a keeper, her job and personal interest meant Zhou Jing knew the habits and stories of the zoo’s animals—especially the popular "star" animals—like the back of her hand.

The two walked and talked, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the Leopard Hall.

The enclosure here simulated a mountainous jungle environment, home to several leopards with brilliant coats and elegant postures.

They were either dozing on the rocks or moving lithely between the perches, attracting many visitors who stopped to take photos.

Zhou Jing’s gaze fell upon a female leopard stretching languidly and beautifully in the sun. With a mischievous and expectant glint in her eye, she made a suggestion to Yang Qi.

"Yang Druid, since you’re here, why not test your skills again and help us solve our leopard breeding problem?"

’Leopard breeding?’

Yang Qi glanced at the lazy female leopard behind the glass wall and asked curiously, "Haven’t you tried pairing them up one-on-one in an enclosure to create suitable breeding conditions?"

"Of course we’ve tried."

Zhou Jing spread her hands in resignation. "More than once, in fact. We’ve tried several different male leopards. But it’s no use. Hua Hua—that’s the female leopard—she has absolutely no chemistry with any of the ’suitors’ we’ve introduced."

"Even when she’s clearly in heat, the moment a male leopard tries to approach, she either immediately bristles and lets out a threatening growl, or she just lunges and attacks. She’s extremely aggressive and scares the daylights out of them."

"We don’t dare risk forcing them together for fear of an accident, so the breeding program has been shelved."

Yang Qi found this rather amusing.

The situation was a stark contrast to the one at Donghua Zoo.

At Donghua, the female leopard, Big Flower, was desperate to breed, but the male, Er Hua, had no interest and kept his distance, getting chased and bitten by her for his trouble.

Here, it was the complete opposite. The female leopard looked down on every male and had absolutely no "inclination."

"Alright, I’ll ask about the situation first," Yang Qi said.

"Ask about the situation?"

Zhou Jing paused, not understanding.

"I’ll ask Hua Hua why she doesn’t want to breed, or rather, what kind of mate she’s looking for," Yang Qi explained calmly.

Zhou Jing’s eyes lit up. ’That’s right!’

’Yang Qi has this ability; he can just ask the "leopard" in question!’

’That’s way more efficient than blind matchmaking.’

Just as she was about to speak, a slightly chubby keeper in his work uniform, around thirty years old, came jogging over. Seeing Zhou Jing, his face immediately broke into a warm smile. "Jingjing, you came to the Leopard Hall?"

"Sun Dawei, you’re just in time."

Zhou Jing perked up when she saw him and said in a tone that was commanding yet familiar, "Quick, open the small gate to the staff passage. Let Yang Qi go in and have a chat with Hua Hua."

"Okay, no problem."

Sun Dawei agreed almost reflexively, an eager-to-please smile on his face, and turned to get the keys.

He had only half-turned when he jolted to a stop, his steps halting and the smile freezing on his face.

The next moment, he was waving his hands frantically and shouting.

"No, no, no!"

’Let someone who isn’t staff for this hall into a dangerous animal’s enclosure?’

’And the leopard’s enclosure, at that?’

’Are you kidding me?’

’Did I want to lose my job or what...?’