The next day.
At 6:30 in the morning, the alarm clock went off.
Fang Ye yawned, rubbed his eyes, washed and brushed his teeth, then leisurely walked downstairs.
The cafeteria was right across from the employee dormitory, and before he even entered, the delicious smell of steamed buns wafted out slightly.
"Yo, Old Zhang, what's cooking today?"
Fang Ye somewhat reminisced, raised his voice and greeted as always, then casually found a table and sat down.
The cafeteria was empty except for him, making it feel very quiet and cool.
One reason was that there were few staff members; Linhai Zoo currently had no more than twenty employees—including ticket inspectors, security guards, and Old Zhang from the cafeteria.
Another reason was its distance from the city center which meant that visitors arrived later, so there wasn't any need to start work too early.
From the white ceramic service window, Old Zhang's chubby face suddenly emerged, warmly greeting him with an accent, "Director is still up so early! This morning, we've got fried dough sticks, steamed buns, eggs, tofu pudding, and pickles! Stir-fried potatoes, eggplants, bottle gourds, and pork for lunch! What'll it be?"
Fang Ye smiled and nodded, "A bowl of tofu pudding, with a sprinkle of green onions, two fried dough sticks, and some of your wife's pickled radish strips!"
"You got it!" Old Zhang's fleshy face showed two dimples, his eyes squinting until they almost disappeared, "If the Director likes it, I'll have her pickle some extra next time!"
When Linhai Zoo was first established that year, Old Zhang became an employee, a true veteran who had witnessed all its ups and downs—from the times when the zoo was most popular and a ticket sold for 40!
Now, every day before dawn, he would drive that old van to the nearest farmers' market to buy fresh vegetables and meat for the zoo—including the animals' meals—and then he would return and cook breakfast with his wife, diligent and persevering.
That's why Fang Ye treated Old Zhang with great respect.
The pure white, soft chunks of tofu pudding were submerged in a dark brown sauce, gleaming oil bubbles glistened on the surface, garnished with vibrant green cilantro and scallions, giving off an enticing aroma that made one's mouth water.
He picked up a golden and crispy fried dough stick, dipped it into the soup, and while munching on it, opened the system panel, planning to take a casual look.
Huh?
Fang Ye bit into the sauce-dipped dough stick and suddenly froze.
Why did he subtly feel that something was amiss?
After some searching, he finally spotted the change and was stunned, "Popularity value 352??"
How did the popularity value get to 352? If he remembered correctly, wasn't it just 43 yesterday?
An increase in popularity value was undoubtedly a good thing; it signified a rise in the zoo's fame and could also be used for raffles. But the key question was why it had increased so unexpectedly?
"Yes!"
Finally, a smile appeared on Lan Li's face. He placed his hand on his chest and took a deep breath, feeling a wave of relief wash over him!
Old Zhang! Fix me a bowl of tofu pudding, and throw in a steamed bun!"
As for the search results, sorted by default relevance, Fang Ye switched to sorting by time and the first post that came up was his own.
Besides the one with Jiaojiao resting on his knees, there were others with him grinning while vigorously petting Jiaojiao's big head, embracing her neck, and so on.
The netizens below were buzzing with comments!
"Big tiger is so cute!"
"Yi yi yi, will the big tiger bite, I'm scared!"
"Fake macho men attract attention by showing their muscles; real macho men smile while they pet tiger butts!"
"I had a friend who was as cool as him, now the grass over his grave is two meters tall!"
"This guy is so handsome!"
Fang Ye chuckled: "Hey, stop telling such brutal truths!"
But just as Lan Li mentioned, there were plenty of doubtful and critical comments!
"This photo is Photoshopped right? Who would dare to touch a tiger like that!"
"Maybe they started training it from when it was a cub, taming it."
"Malicious marketing! Resorting to death-defying stunts to draw attention, have they forgotten all the reports of tigers eating people?"
"/Anger/ - Nowadays, people would do anything for internet fame and traffic, completely disregarding their own lives!"
"As an animal researcher, I must tell you that this is extremely dangerous behavior! Although the scene looks warm, and the tiger seems gentle and obedient, it's all an illusion! Getting close to a wild animal without any protective measures is playing with your life, it could turn on you the next second!"
"Who is this guy, and why is he able to enter the tiger enclosure? Which zoo is this? The management is so irresponsible!"
People on Blue Planet still have too little understanding.
Most of the news related to tigers are horrendous stories like "Terrifying! xx Zoo Tiger Maims Visitor" or "A man was eaten by a tiger, and the scene is shockingly gruesome"...mostly negative.
In the minds of most people, there are only two types of relationships between humans and fierce beasts—conquering or being preyed upon!
Respect for nature and harmonious coexistence? Non-existent.
In their eyes, the idea of humans and tigers intimately interacting is indeed quite bizarre.