Chapter 2634: Fantastic Beasts in the Zoo 41

On the day they returned to Zhenyang Zoo, it happened to be the zoo's weekly closing day.

The grounds were quiet.

Although it was a day off, after receiving the news that the director would be bringing back new members today, the staff living on the grounds still had to take charge of intake.

Everyone was curious about the incoming new animals, and they couldn't contain their curiosity about the director's boyfriend.

Amu kept glancing at the intersection from time to time, his mind full of wanting to gossip.

But everyone only saw Bai Rendong get out of the car, holding in his arms the Xiao Bai lion that had grown a circle larger and was now even more imposing.

Amu peered curiously into the car and asked doubtfully, "Director, didn't your partner come along?"

They imagined the director's boyfriend to be someone just like the director—gentle and good‑looking.

Bai Rendong's Xiao Bai lion lazily flicked its tail, stretched out a paw, and waved in Amu's direction.

Amu's attention was drawn; he grinned and reached out to lightly touch the lion's paw, saying, "Xiao Baiyu!"

"It's been a few days and you've gotten even sturdier; before long the director won't be able to hold you!"

Bai Rendong smiled gently, ruffled Jin Chen's fluffy head, and answered for his temporarily speechless boyfriend: "He has something else to attend to."

Amu gave an "oh", stopped thinking about it, and turned to the matter at hand: "Director, that friend of yours—the one who came to see you before—knows you're back today, came over again, and is now waiting in the reception room."

Bai Rendong nodded, his expression unchanged: "Okay, I know."

"Amu, you and Daniu work hard—first bring everyone to settle the new animals in. Pay special attention to the crested ibis and water quality; the panda cubs need whatever is lacking replenished promptly. I'll go check the reception room and be back soon."

"Su Ning, you take Master Zhou to handle the onboarding."

Su Ning: "Don't worry, Director!"

Amu called out to the other keepers to start getting busy.

The Xiao Bai lion jumped down from Bai Rendong's arms, lifted its head, and let out a low growl toward Bai Rendong: "I'm going to find them."

Bai Rendong understood, gave a light nod, watched that white silhouette cross the lawn and run toward Pigeon Plaza, then turned and walked toward the reception room.

Pigeon Plaza is one of the animals' favorite gathering spots on closed days.

The hulking Tiger Valley lay on a big rock basking in the sun, while the red fox Hu Cai Cai stayed close, occasionally sticking out her tongue to help the tiger groom the fur on the back of its head and neck that it couldn't reach.

Tiger Valley let out a contented gurgling sound from its throat.

Not far off, the grey wolf and the purple marten huddled together, their fluffy heads almost touching, whispering to each other.

Daoge perched on the soft back of Spit Treasure, pecking with its hard beak, while Spit Treasure half‑closed its eyes and slowly chewed the tender grass.

The first to notice the Xiao Bai lion's arrival was the sharp‑eyed Daoge.

It flapped its wings and took off, crying, "Ga! Little boss! Little boss, you're back!"

It tried to land on the Xiao Bai lion's head, but a lifted paw gently batted it away.

"Boss!"

Tiger Valley perked up its head at the sound, amber tiger eyes flashing with delighted light.

It rushed up to the Xiao Bai lion, its massive head rubbing affectionately, and excitedly reported, "The method you taught me works great!"

"I can now turn into human form, though the time is still short and I'm not very practiced…"

It said this, then glanced a little embarrassedly at Hu Cai Cai beside it.

The Xiao Bai lion tilted its head, looking teasingly at Hu Cai Cai: "Oh? Nice."

Hu Cai Cai licked her forepaw, her beautiful fox eyes flicking a glance at the Xiao Bai lion: "Not too bad, I guess."

"But it doesn't compare to you—you can't even conjure clothes in front of the director, so you go around naked all day."

Jin Chen: "……"

He just said his wife suddenly knew he could conjure clothes—turns out this fox was tattling.

The lion's paw patted, "Let's get down to business."

The Xiao Bai lion looked at Daoge: "Those three rabbits I asked you to watch—anything abnormal lately?"

At the mention of rabbits, Daoge immediately perked up: "Ga! Strange! Really strange! Three rabbits, appearing and disappearing mysteriously."

The purple marten also came over, smoothed its fur with its little paws, full of resentment: "It's really strange, little boss; when I and Big Brother were playing tail‑pull, I turned my head and saw two red eyes hiding in the bushes, staring at us without moving—scared the marten to death!"

The grey wolf also growled discontentedly: "Weird rabbits!"

Hu Cai Cai flicked her fluffy big tail: "I've run into those three rabbits twice with the tiger… could they be watching us?"

Spit Treasure, the alpaca that had been quietly chewing grass, slowly lifted its head: "Hmm… I noticed that the director's friend has touched those rabbits."

The Xiao Bai lion immediately looked at Spit Treasure: "You sure?"

Spit Treasure nodded firmly.

The Xiao Bai lion's ears prickled up—his wife's friend had been in contact with those three strange rabbits.

"Come on, let's go check."