Chapter 255

Five minutes ago.

In the office, the director, holding a coffee and waiting for good news from his subordinate, suddenly heard a knock at the door. He excitedly opened it, only to see an unfamiliar face.

"Who are you?" he asked, furrowing his brow. As soon as he spoke, he realized this middle-aged man was not ordinary; as a well-known zoo director, he had received many important figures, yet the man's demeanor surprised him.

The man in a suit and dress shoes smiled slightly, placing his hand over his heart; he looked like an elegant aristocrat from a painting, somewhat out of place.

The director was about to laugh out loud, "What era is this?!"

But the man calmly said, "I am the butler of Mr. Chakesi·Meiyisi—Xuete."

As soon as those words left his mouth, the director could barely contain himself; he wanted to question, but his crystal‑clear mind told him no one would dare impersonate that person.

A bone‑chilling chill rose from his feet to his limbs, layers of cold sweat seeping from his back, the sticky sweat clinging to his silk shirt.

He opened his mouth, resembling a fish out of water; his dying look seemed especially comical.

Almost in the next instant he was about to drop to his knees, but instead he weakly leaned against the doorframe, breathless, asking, "Xu‑Xuete, sir, what brings you here—"

The butler pulled up a screenshot; there, unmistakably, was Ling Yue's likeness. He solemnly introduced, "This is Mister Meiyisi's honored guest, our lord's most esteemed visitor."

The implication in those words chilled the director to the core; as the head of Mengfeisi Zoo, seeing the truth exposed—a Chinese person ruining his livelihood—filled him with utter hatred.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent a confidant to cut the livestream; now, having suddenly heard the bad news, he harbored murderous intent.

The director staggered into his chair, fumbling to make a call, inwardly pleading with Jesus, God, and all the deities for a chance.

Thus came the later reprimand of the fat supervisor.

Upon hearing that Mister Chakesi·Meiyisi himself would stay and come to Mengfeisi Zoo, the director plopped onto his chair, the lounge chair swaying slightly—"Done! Finished!"

How did he end up offending Mister Meiyisi's distinguished guest!

Who could have guessed that an inconspicuous Chinese internet celebrity would be tied to an American capitalist mogul? In their capitalist nation, money reigns supreme, unlike China, where even political elections are largely driven by money.

Take, for instance, a certain figure from a few years ago who leapt from businessman to U. S. president, with capital controlling the government—an unspoken rule everyone follows but never openly acknowledges.

As he wailed, he could only be glad his subordinates hadn't done anything yet; his whole being felt like a transparent jellyfish baked on scorching sand, about to melt into a puddle.

At the same moment, the fat supervisor, who had just been yelled at by his superior over the phone, was dazed; looking toward the camera, his eyes seemed ready to pop out.

What's going on?

His walnut‑sized brain couldn't process it; he stared hard at the screen while the stream's viewers were about to die laughing.

【Heavens, is this dead‑fat guy gone mad? After one call he turned like this—was he scared?】

【No way, everyone's watching—our streamer certainly didn't abuse him, did they?】

【What on earth is happening?】

Just then, the gift donations on the barrage finally ended; after several minutes of gifts, Huyingyu Platform's person‑in‑charge, Cen Ming, grinned widely, seeing the total amount from the data—his eyes nearly popped out.

He stared, dumbstruck, counting the digits one by one: 'ones, tens, hundreds… tens of millions, hundred millions!'

He sucked in a big breath, his body instinctively leaning back: 'Eight hundred million!'

The backend showed that, in just that short while, the platform had received over eight hundred million in gift donations!

Seeing the subordinate pull up the initial account—whose name was just a string of numbers—he fell into deep silence: 'Can you trace it? Where is this client from?'

The subordinate blinked, then said, 'We found that the source shows it's an American account, and it's the largest donation our platform has ever received.'

Cen Ming hadn't even finished processing when a subordinate suddenly shouted, 'Manager, quick look! User 6956988 just spoke!'

Cen Ming immediately perked up, craning his neck to look.

Just like him, the hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide watching the screen could see the ultra‑large, bold, flashy font—'so tacky it's chic'—filling the entire display—

【Esteemed Ling Yue streamer, hello—I am Chakesi·Meiyisi, and I have arrived.】

【Who is Chakesi·Meiyisi?】

【I don't know; probably just a rich guy—what does he mean by that?】

Someone sensed something vaguely, but then Ling Yue curled the corner of her mouth, and in the next instant the livestream's linked video suddenly rang with a booming rumble.

Everyone looked up in unison, then realized the sound was coming from the livestream itself; countless people craned their necks, trying to get the first‑hand news.

At that moment, the friends who had finished their Baidu searches returned, fingers tapping the keyboard, but no matter how they tried they could only form shocked exclamations.

Yet no one paid attention to them; the hundred‑plus million viewers and the fat supervisor alike all had their heads tilted upward.

Suddenly, the fat supervisor widened her eyes, pointing at the sky; the Adam's apple buried in her flabby neck rolled up and down, her stammering words turning her into a stutterer: 'That, that—'

A subordinate, resembling a groundhog on a dirt mound, shouted, 'Helicopter!'

The earlier assistant immediately raised his phone, and thus everyone could see the scene: a private jet hovering over the zoo, the booming rumble unmistakably the sound of its propeller engine.

【I remember now—that's the propeller sound! Good heavens, who would dare hover a private jet over Mengfeisi Zoo?】

【I recall the zoo director being arrogant—who would dare offend him?】

【Maybe—it's someone even more formidable than him?】 someone remarked with deep meaning.

At that moment, another group appeared on the screen; local exchange students instantly identified—

【He's the zoo director!】

【What's he here for?】

【Holy shit, quick look—he plops down and just kneels!】

The zoo director, sliding onto his knees: '……'

He swore, 'It's really just that the floor was too slick; my leg gave out and I accidentally knelt!'

Meanwhile, the hovering private jet had lowered its stairway; the zoo director's besuited butler stepped forward, bowing respectfully, while several black‑clad bodyguards formed two lines behind him.

Such a grand spectacle left not only the zoo's staff astonished, but even the livestream's viewers were stunned.

【Holy shit, who's putting on such a show!】

As that comment popped up on the screen, the man on the stairway landed, gave no reply to the zoo side, but walked straight to the camera, his face slightly flushed, his earnest gaze seeming to pierce the screen: 'Streamer, I am Chakesi, and I have arrived.'

His utterance matched the earlier on‑screen comment exactly, making his identity all the more obvious.

That face is familiar to anyone who follows economics; a scream rose to their throats, only to be swallowed back down.

Just now, the angry netizens each felt like they'd suddenly fallen into an ice‑cream snow mountain in midsummer, shivering with delight!

Now they finally understood, Ling Yue's earlier words were deeply meaningful!

She didn't need any compatriots to contribute blood; a single sentence could command this huge American conglomerate, turning the tables to pressure the zoo side!

Seeing the arrogant zoo director trembling before compatriots, like a stray dog in disgrace, who knows how many felt delighted to the point of scalp tingling!

Mr. Chakes gave the zoo director a sinister look, then suddenly said: "What if it were me?"

The zoo director froze instantly, blank like an idiot, swaying under the other's gaze; he swore that at that moment his mind was truly empty!

He racked his brain at top speed to grasp the meaning of those words, his breath catching, he uttered incredulously and trembling: "You, you mean for that Chinese net… oh no, respected Chinese host?"

He was so panicked and uneasy he was about to cry.

Under everyone's gaze, the chubby supervisor shrank like a stupid partridge, wishing to beat his former self, to find a crack to crawl into, or even become invisible.

In short, just don't notice him!

Then he was called out.

In an instant, the earlier arrogant, domineering dead fat man lowered his flags, lost all hope, trembling like a pitiful little chick.

Chakes didn't even say another word; the zoo director, frightened out of his wits, had people open the panda enclosure, and the pitiful panda Yaya was moved into a place filled with countless fresh bamboo, bamboo shoots, and all the food pandas love.

This also made people even more angry—

【It turns out they weren't lacking the ability or the means; they simply didn't want to treat Yaya properly!】

【Damn it! How much suffering has Yaya endured here, yet they claim to be taking good care of her—why not lock him up and let him experience it?!】

【Brothers, I just looked up the news—you wouldn't guess it, but the zoo released a video this morning saying they hope to adopt another pair of young giant pandas!】

【This is just—shameless! Thick‑skinned!】

【Surely it's a girl upstairs—coming to curse, brother style—I *******! **** die ****!】

【System notice: after three violations of prohibited words in one day, the account will be banned directly.】

【……】

Ling Yue nodded, expressing full agreement: "That netizen's earlier suggestion was really good."

For the zoo director, he's lost Yaya and lost troops, face full of unshed tears, even wanting to give himself a fig leaf: "Yaya's situation is due to our mismanagement; sending her away this time is for better treatment, and I also regret not being able to let Yaya stay in our zoo till the end."

He said this without noticing that, after hearing Ling Yue's remark, Chakes looked at him with eyes like looking at a dead person.

The delicate iron cage transporting Yaya was lined with silk, wrapped four times with plush fabric, looking comfortable and warm, like a cozy plush little nest.

Inside the cage, Yaya stared blankly at the piles of fresh bamboo; after a long while she finally reacted—contrary to expectations, the Yaya who so wanted to live didn't feast heartily but instead huddled fearfully against one side, trembling all over.

Its skinny head actually slipped through the bars, its thin arms reaching out of the cage, letting out plaintive cries: "Scared… Yaya is scared… let Yaya out…"

The giant panda's frightened trembling made Ling Yue ache; she immediately soothed it: "Yaya, don't be scared, they won't hurt you, they're here to take you home, Yaya—we're going home."

The giant panda Yaya blankly gazed at the tiny humans on the screen; after a moment it bit a dirty little paw, then trembled incessantly—prolonged torment had dulled its reactions to the outside world by more than a beat or two.

It blinked, and tears actually fell: "Home? Is Yaya going home?"

Ling Yue wiped the tears that had somehow appeared on her face, as if comforting a child, and softly said: "Yes, our Yaya is going home, Yaya don't be scared—besides me, many people are following you, waiting for you to come home."

The giant panda lay motionless on the ground, like it was dead, showing neither joy nor anticipation, but timidly asked: "Mom… where is Mom?"

At first it was scared, it didn't want to die; now hearing these people's words, it's overjoyed—it's going home with Mom!

"Yaya wants Mom, Yaya wants to go home with Mom…… Mom…… when will Mom come home with Yaya……"

The skinny giant panda Yaya tilted its head, and Ling Yue actually saw a hint of childhood in it—twenty years ago, that chubby pretty little girl also lay in the cage like this, with her mother, leaving their hometown.

Ling Yue's eyes felt sore, her nose congested; the plump little Rollie and the present Yaya overlapped in her mind.

She heard Yaya's simple words: "But Yaya can't leave yet, Yaya has to wait for Mom to come back…… we have to go home together……"

Ling Yue choked up while translating this passage; the pitiful panda Yaya's eyes sparked with a glimmer, a glimmer of expectation.

But it didn't know that the giant panda named Lele, who had been protecting and guarding it, had died long ago.

Tragically, it was named Lele, yet spent twenty hellish years in a foreign land and never returned to its homeland before death.

The netizens before the screen, having heard this translation, have already cried rivers.

【Ahhh I'm about to cry to death! All those damned American devils! Yaya has no mom! Lele's dead!】

【TMD, I just went to look for videos of Yaya and Lele—they gnaw on dry bamboo sticks, besides being dazed they just beg for food, just eat; their will to live is obviously so strong! Why did Lele suddenly die?】

【Let Yaya come back quickly—don't wait a moment! Can't wait a moment!】:,,.