With the arrival of Yousu, Xiao Su gained a new hobby: playing with the child (in her eyes) whenever she had free time.

Xiao Su even borrowed Yousu from Duan Jiaze to be a model. “I can take some photos of little Yousu interacting with the animals. We can print them out and hang them up as promotional pictures, and we can also use them as material for the flyers we’ll hand out before the grand opening.”

“That’s a great idea,” Duan Jiaze said. “In the future, when we have our own promotional platform, we can post more photos like these. People love to see cute animals and cute kids.”

Xiao Su hesitated, looking like she wanted to say something.

Seeing her expression, Duan Jiaze asked, “What’s wrong?”

Liu Bin chimed in from the side, “Director, she just wants to borrow Brother Lu to be a model too.”

Besides a cute little girl, wasn't a handsome guy also a major highlight?

Duan Jiaze, however, said gravely, “That’s going to be difficult...Your Brother Lu has a big temper; he might not be willing to pose for pictures. I’ll see if there’s a chance to bring it up when he’s in a good mood someday.”

In truth, Duan Jiaze was just saying that. He wouldn’t dare.

“Okay, okay,” Xiao Su nodded eagerly. “Actually, Director, you could be a model too, but you’d have to change your clothes first. The ones you’re wearing don’t fit you well.”

Duan Jiaze was wearing a set of clothes that Luya had rejected. “I bought them too big. But it’s not good for me to be a model either. Wouldn’t that be like Granny Wang selling melons and praising her own wares?”

For now, Xiao Su could only lead Yousu away to take pictures, planning a photoshoot for her with the birds. Along the way, she was constantly and considerately reminding her, “Be careful here, there’s a little step.”

Duan Jiaze followed behind them, planning to watch for a bit before getting to work. Hearing Xiao Su’s words, he couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. Xiao Su, do you know who you’re reminding to walk carefully? You should know, even if their grandchildren lived to be ninety, this one would never slip and fall. The only thing sly about her is her cunning.

Xiao Su brought Yousu to the aviary. She took a Hwamei bird from a branch and placed it in Yousu’s hands.

Duan Jiaze watched as Yousu, under Xiao Su’s direction, struck various innocent and adorable poses. Xiao Su happily captured the moments, completely oblivious to the fact that the Hwamei bird in the photo was being overly docile, even trembling slightly...

Sigh, it’s not easy for anyone here, he thought.

Duan Jiaze watched for a little while longer before he couldn’t bear to look anymore and went off to work.

He fed the animals he was responsible for, cleaned their enclosures, and disinfected them. By the time he was done, it was almost noon, and it was time to cook again.

Actually, after Xu Chenggong arrived, he had voluntarily taken on the responsibility of making lunch for his colleagues. Having lived on his own for many years, his cooking skills were quite good.

So why did Duan Jiaze still have to cook? He could have asked Xu Chenggong to stir-fry a plate for Luya as well, but that bastard Luya insisted that being fed by the Zoo Director was better for his image!

Being relegated to an animal here was grievance enough for him; was just any random person qualified to cook for him?

Of course, Duan Jiaze now wanted to beat him up, since he was clearly being punished by being sent down here.

Since there was only one kitchen, Xu Chenggong and Duan Jiaze used it at different times. When he arrived, Xu Chenggong was just about finished. He brought the dishes out and called Xiao Su and Liu Bin over to eat.

Yousu’s food had also been portioned out, so Duan Jiaze took responsibility for hers as well.

Although Yousu hadn't said anything, Duan Jiaze still had her eat her food separately. While Yousu had been very obedient, Duan Jiaze really didn't dare let her eat with the other employees, lest she start portioning out her own "feed".

The three of them, Xu Chenggong, Xiao Su, and Liu Bin, waited for Duan Jiaze to join them. Yousu also sat at the side, waiting for her dish.

When Duan Jiaze was almost done cooking, he had Yousu go call Luya down. Yousu, pattering in her little leather shoes, went upstairs to find Luya. By the time Duan Jiaze had plated the food and brought it to the table, Luya walked in, rubbing his hair.

But as soon as Luya entered the room, everyone stared at him. They looked at him, then back at Duan Jiaze.

Duan Jiaze and Luya also looked at each other.

Luya: “...”

Duan Jiaze: “............”

Duan Jiaze was speechless. He realized Luya was wearing the exact same outfit as him. But he had only bought one set of these clothes, and since Luya didn't want them, he had worn them himself. So where did Luya’s come from? He must have conjured them himself, right?

So what the hell were you being so picky about the other day?!

The others were fine. Xu Chenggong and Liu Bin were both simple-minded guys. Xu Chenggong even smiled and said, “Little Lu finally changed his clothes. Did you buy them with the director? They look really nice.”

Liu Bin said, “Hey, Brother Lu must have bought two sets and gave one to the director. No wonder the director’s clothes looked too big.”

Xiao Su (inexplicably excited): “They look so good!”

After being lectured by Duan Jiaze, Luya had been very indignant. What did he mean, not changing clothes? If he wanted to, he could change every day. And so he did, changing into the very style Duan Jiaze had bought.

Luya had planned to let Duan Jiaze see it and then mock him for it, but who would have known that Duan Jiaze would wear the same outfit on the same day.

Under everyone’s gaze, Luya walked in a bit awkwardly and whispered into Duan Jiaze’s ear, “How impertinent. You dare to wear this venerated one’s clothes!”

“What the hell,” Duan Jiaze whispered back. “You were the one who didn’t want them. Was I supposed to let them go to waste?”

Luya retorted, “Who said I didn’t want them?”

Duan Jiaze: “...”

Furious, Duan Jiaze picked up the serving dish and scraped more than half of its contents into the bowl of the obediently seated Yousu. “Eat up! Yousu, you’re a growing girl, you need to eat more!”

Yousu quickly picked up her bowl and began shoveling the meat into her mouth, her cheeks puffing out.

Since Yousu had already started eating, how could Luya snatch the food from her bowl? He was instantly choked with anger.

Seeing his crestfallen expression, Duan Jiaze was finally happy.

Xu Chenggong, however, hadn’t noticed the bickering between Duan Jiaze and Luya. He was captivated by the way Yousu was eating. “My goodness, how starved is this child?”

Yousu was devouring the meat at an extremely fast, almost ferocious pace. Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was a refugee.

Luya let out a sneer, as if mocking this Nine-tailed Fox for failing to shed her wild nature. No matter how well she acted or how high her cultivation was, her fox habits were still exposed. Even nine tails weren't enough to hide her true nature!

Duan Jiaze gave a dry laugh and patted Yousu’s head. “Eat slowly—the little one was sick for a while and hasn’t had meat in a long time.”

In this respect, Yousu was indeed a bit inferior compared to Luya. Luya’s control was impeccable; when he reined in his aura, the other animals weren’t affected by his presence, nor did he ever reveal his Golden Crow habits in his human form.

This was actually because Luya’s self-control was higher than Yousu’s. With Yousu’s power, could she do the same? Of course she could, but she simply wasn’t willing to suppress her natural instincts to that degree.

......

Duan Jiaze told everyone about the introduction of the Arctic foxes, which were scheduled to arrive before the park opened. He wanted to give them a heads-up so they wouldn’t be surprised when foxes suddenly appeared.

Xiao Su immediately cheered, “Arctic foxes are so beautiful! Director, do you have any pictures? We should add the Arctic foxes to the promotional flyers, right?”

“Mhm, yes. But the Arctic foxes haven’t been transported here yet. Let’s just find a picture online for now.” Duan Jiaze searched for photographic works of Arctic foxes on his phone, the rights to which could be purchased online.

Yousu leaned on his shoulder, standing on her tiptoes to see. “So that’s what an Arctic fox looks like?”

Duan Jiaze thought to himself, So the ‘Arctic fox’ herself is only just finding out what an Arctic fox looks like. “That’s right. They live in very cold places, so their fur is pure white in the winter and silver-gray in the summer.”

Yousu had a sudden realization. “I almost got it wrong.”

Duan Jiaze: “...” He didn’t dare to imagine what Yousu had originally planned to turn into.

After Xu Chenggong and the other two finished lunch and went for their break, Duan Jiaze said, “Yousu, why don’t you transform into an Arctic fox for me to see first?”

“Okay, have a look.” Yousu spun around and transformed into a pale, silver-gray Arctic fox. Its fur was soft and glossy, its fluffy tail trailed behind it, and its moist eyes were jet black, looking exceptionally enchanting. When its crescent-shaped eyes narrowed, it looked as if it were smiling.

The only problem was that it was as big as a small lamb.

Duan Jiaze broke into a sweat. “That’s not right. A normal Arctic fox isn’t this big.” He had shown Yousu a picture, but with no frame of reference, and considering the different era and background she came from, she probably hadn’t understood and thought she had made herself small enough.

Only after Duan Jiaze gestured to show the proper size did Yousu transform into a more appropriate form. She walked around the room in this new shape and spoke, her voice coming from the fox’s mouth, “Heh, I’m really not used to having only one tail.”

Duan Jiaze: “...Please, you must hide your fox tails well. I’m talking about the other eight.”