[Ye Haibing: Or have him interact with other pets?]

[Qian Yu: You could also film some educational content, like an introduction to the habits of the Bengal Leopard Cat, combined with Overlord’s daily life.]

The few of them were enthusiastically brainstorming ideas in the group chat, with Yang Qi chiming in occasionally.

...

A little after nine the next morning, Yang Qi left his hotel and returned to the Red Star Zoo.

Just as he walked through the main gate, he received a message on his phone from Tong Xiaoyue.

[Xiao Yang, are you at the Zoo? If you’re here, come straight to the conference room from yesterday.]

Yang Qi quickly replied.

"Teacher Tong, I’ll be right there."

Putting his phone away, he followed the familiar path to the conference room in the office building. He knocked on the door, and a voice from inside said, "Come in."

Pushing the door open, he saw that Tong Xiaoyue, Huang Leqing, and the several veterinarians and researchers he had met yesterday were already there.

"Xiao Yang is here. Have a seat."

Tong Xiaoyue gestured for Yang Qi to sit in the empty seat next to her, then pushed a tablet in front of him.

"We discussed this at length last night and also contacted the Mountain City Zoo. The female ape has passed away, so it’s objectively impossible for Ah Wu to see her again."

She pointed at the tablet’s screen.

"However, we can try showing Ah Wu videos of his first mate from when she was alive. The people at Mountain City were very cooperative. They worked through the night to find two relatively clear video clips of the female gibbon and have already sent them to us. Take a look."

Yang Qi picked up the tablet and played the first video.

On the screen, a slightly smaller female gibbon was playing among the trees with a lively young one. She gently passed a piece of fruit she had picked to the little ape, her eyes filled with maternal love.

The background was the simulated natural environment of the Mountain City Zoo.

The second video showed the female gibbon interacting with a familiar zookeeper.

The zookeeper was holding an enrichment toy with food hidden inside. The female gibbon cleverly used a tool to get the food out. After succeeding, she danced around excitedly and even reached out to gently pat the zookeeper’s shoulder, appearing very affectionate.

"What do you think...?"

Tong Xiaoyue waited for Yang Qi to finish watching before asking directly, "Which video do you think would be more effective for Ah Wu? Or rather, which one would be less stimulating and easier for him to accept, so it can help ease his longing?"

Beside them, Huang Leqing adjusted his glasses and began his analysis from a professional perspective.

"From a behavioral standpoint, the first video shows the female gibbon’s gentle side as a mother. This could trigger Ah Wu’s protective instincts and more complex feelings of nostalgia. The impact might be greater, but the outcome is also more uncertain."

"After all, the female gibbon found a new male and even had a young one."

"The second video shows the female gibbon’s intelligent, lively, and friendly side with humans. This might be closer to Ah Wu’s memory of his mate’s daily life. It could be more likely to evoke pleasant memories and be gentler on his emotions..."

"..."

Yang Qi listened carefully to Huang Leqing’s analysis, then recalled Ah Wu’s expression and tone when he mentioned his "first mate" during their conversation yesterday.

Although he missed her, it wasn’t the kind of hopeless, all-consuming grief. Instead, there was a hint of embarrassment, and he wasn’t entirely without feeling when he mentioned his current mate.

"I think..."

Yang Qi began, choosing his words carefully. "We can actually try both videos."

"When I spoke with Ah Wu yesterday, I realized that while he wants to see his first mate, his emotions aren’t that of extreme, desperate longing."

"He’s a little ’embarrassed’ and also pays attention to his current mate. This suggests the male gibbon’s condition might not be that severe."

"To put it bluntly, the male gibbon wanting to see his ’first love’ is a bit like the sudden whims people get from time to time."

"If it were a person with a rich entertainment and social life, they could quickly redirect or regulate this kind of emotion."

"But a gibbon can’t. His world is relatively simple, and his cognitive and emotional expression is limited. Once he gets stuck on something, it’s easy for him to get fixated and fall deeper and deeper into it."

After a pause, Yang Qi continued, "So, I don’t think the key is choosing the ’gentler’ video. The key is to use this ’evidence’ to give him a wake-up call and make him face reality!"

"His first mate has started a new, happy life, and even has offspring. We need to make him understand that there’s no point in wallowing in the past. As long as we can untie or loosen this ’emotional knot,’ given that he hasn’t completely sunk into despair, the chances of recovery are still very high."

"Try both?"

Huang Leqing was a bit hesitant. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

An older veterinarian nearby suggested, "To be on the safe side, why don’t we show him the second one first? The one with the female gibbon playing with the toy."

"That one seems more lighthearted and cheerful. We can test Ah Wu’s reaction first. If he takes it well and his mood is stable, then we can show him the first one."

"Okay." Yang Qi nodded. "A gradual approach is good too."

"It’s settled then."

Tong Xiaoyue made the final decision.

Immediately, the group left the conference room and headed straight for the Gibbon Hall.

The staff in the hall had already been notified and were prepared.

The door to the staff passageway leading to Ah Wu’s solitary area was opened, and Yang Qi walked in alone, holding the tablet.

Ah Wu was still by the perch in the same corner as yesterday, but he seemed more agitated today, scratching his fur from time to time.

Hearing the door open, he whipped his head around warily. When he saw it was Yang Qi, his brown eyes visibly brightened with urgency and anticipation, and he called out to him.

[Two-legged Beast, how did it go?]

[Is... is she here?]

Yang Qi didn’t answer immediately. He walked over and stopped two or three meters away from Ah Wu. He channeled his Magical Power, and the Basic Spirit Communication Technique quietly activated.

"You weren’t honest with me yesterday."

Yang Qi’s first words carried a trace of seriousness and reproach, a small, sharp "interrogation" to start things off.

Ah Wu was stunned by the sudden accusation, his face a picture of bewilderment.

Before Ah Wu could fully react, Yang Qi continued, "When you were talking yesterday, you made it seem like you really liked and missed your first mate."

"But I heard from the two-legged beasts who feed you that you weren’t like this at all when your first mate was still around."

"Back then, didn’t you hit her every day? Bully her? Is that right?"

At these words, the urgency and anticipation on Ah Wu’s face instantly froze, replaced by obvious shock, guilt, and the embarrassment of being exposed.

He subconsciously wanted to retort, to defend himself, but memories of the past surged up uncontrollably.

He fell silent immediately.

His long arms drooped, and his head hung low. Even his once-straight back seemed to slump a little.

After a long moment, he let out a cry of shame and regret.

[It... it was my fault...]

[I shouldn’t have hit her... I was... so mean back then.]

After admitting his mistake, he seemed to remember something. He timidly raised his head, a glimmer of faint hope in his eyes, and looked at Yang Qi, calling out softly.

[Is she still angry?]

[Is she refusing to see me because she’s angry at me?]

"Shouldn’t she be angry?"

Yang Qi retorted bluntly, "If it were you, being hit and bullied every day, wouldn’t you be angry and scared?"

Ah Wu was speechless once again. The light in his eyes dimmed, overshadowed by deeper regret and dejection.

Seeing that the atmosphere had become a bit too heavy, Yang Qi decided to pull back and softened his tone. "But that was a long time ago. The place where your first mate is now is very, very far from here. So far that even if she wanted to come, the process of bringing her over would be extremely troublesome, take a very long time, and she might even encounter all sorts of dangers along the way."

He watched Ah Wu’s reaction as he spoke.

Upon hearing the words "very far," "troublesome," and "dangers," a look of clear worry and a hint of hesitation appeared on Ah Wu’s face.

"However," Yang Qi said, seizing the moment to present his prepared plan, "we two-legged beasts came up with an idea. Although we can’t bring her here right away, we found some recorded images of her life over there."

"It’s... it’s like a reflection in the water. It will let you see what she looks like now and how she’s doing."

"Do you want to see?"