I Rely on My Versatility to Reach the Top of the Entertainment Industry [Ancient Times to Modern] - Chapter 17

Lu Yuzhi’s finger hesitated slightly over the like button.

He opened the Weibo registration page and created a small account. The new account still had its default ID as he silently liked Jing Yi’s latest post.

It wasn’t that he didn’t dare to use his main account, but Guo Lin had repeatedly emphasized that before the broadcast of “Seduce the Monk,” the audience shouldn’t be able to guess his connection to the show in advance.

Seeing his new Weibo post quickly gain traction among netizens, Jing Yi turned off his phone and searched for the nearest route to the National Zoo.

It was the weekend, and the zoo was crowded with visitors.

The line at the entrance snaked around the corner, and people could be heard murmuring, “The zoo said Lu Yi has the day off today. What a waste—I came specifically to see him.”

“Don’t worry, we can come back tomorrow. The ticket’s only 40 yuan, not expensive anyway.”

Listening to the chatter, Jing Yi’s phone rang again.

Lu Yuzhi: “Come to the side gate. We’ll take the staff entrance.”

Jing Yi walked to the side gate and spotted Lu Yuzhi dressed similarly to him. A smile instantly lit up his eyes.

He recognized that hat—it was the one from the elevator at the Glimmer Hotel.

“Mr. Lu,” Jing Yi called out.

Lu Yuzhi put away his phone. “Mm, let’s go.”

Side by side, they entered through the staff passage, where a guard handed them work passes.

Thanks to live streams and adoption programs over the past two years, the animals at the National Zoo now enjoyed more realistic and comfortable habitats. The staff pathways weaved through different ecological zones, ensuring neither the animals nor the visitors were disturbed.

Jing Yi glanced around.

Some animals he had seen before, others he hadn’t. Across shifting times, they felt strikingly similar to him—lost in a new environment, with a home that wasn’t their origin.

“Jing Yi? Jing Yi?”

Jing Yi snapped back to attention. “Hmm?”

“What were you thinking about so deeply? Lu Yi lives over here.”

“Ah, sorry.”

Jing Yi followed Lu Yuzhi back, entering through a stone archway.

Lu Yi was lying on a platform, lazily swishing his tail, when he suddenly caught a familiar, memorable scent. He immediately stood up and bounded over to Jing Yi, rubbing his large head against Jing Yi’s chest.

Jing Yi reached out and hugged the tiger’s big head, his touch playful and gentle, but Lu Yi accidentally nudged his hat off.

The massive tiger was overly enthusiastic, nuzzling Jing Yi’s chest before moving up to his face.

Using a bit of inner strength to support Lu Yi’s weight, Jing Yi heard Lu Yuzhi scold softly from the side, “Lu Yi, you’re heavy—get down!”

Lu Yi’s ears twitched, pretending not to hear. Only when he noticed Jing Yi’s breathing hitch slightly did he slide off, rolling onto his back to expose his soft belly, tilting his head cutely to win favor.

Jing Yi laughed and crouched down to stroke Lu Yi’s belly.

“Have you been eating well lately?”

“Roar~”

An affirmative reply, accompanied by a nod while lying on his back.

“Good boy. How about a little reward?”

Jing Yi flexed his fingers and gave Lu Yi a gentle massage.

The enormous beast purred contentedly, squinting his eyes and adjusting his position to wherever Jing Yi was petting.

Lu Yuzhi shook his head helplessly, walked over to a platform, sat down, and took out his phone to take photos of Jing Yi and Lu Yi.

The interaction between the human and the tiger in the pictures was incredibly warm, each shot looking like a promotional poster.

Lu Yuzhi selected the most perfect one and sent it to his WeChat friend Cao Yang.

Cao Yang: “Wow, how is Jing Yi so close with Lu Yi too? If I’d known earlier, I would’ve invited him directly. Good thing I’m at the zoo today as well!”

Lu Yuzhi: “What a coincidence, so are you coming?”

Cao Yang: “Of course! It’s not every day you get to witness such harmony between humans and tigers up close. I came to the zoo to gather inspiration for the public service announcement.”

Lu Yi had finished enjoying the petting by now, arching its back in a stretch. After flexing its body, it gently took Jing Yi’s hand in its mouth and led him to the side.

Because it disliked interacting with other tigers, Lu Yi’s enclosure was separated from the main tiger habitat. Inside, there was a pool for Lu Yi to bathe in, a small grove for scratching, and an artificial rock platform for sunbathing.

Lu Yi guided Jing Yi through each specially designed area, letting out soft “aow” sounds at every spot as if giving a tour.

Jing Yi couldn’t understand tiger language, so he could only infer what Lu Yi did in each place by observing the traces left behind.

After the complete tour, Lu Yi began climbing the artificial rock structure meant for play and sunbathing.

The rock formation was quite high. At each level, Lu Yi would turn back and let out an “aow,” signaling for Jing Yi to follow.

Seeing Jing Yi move nimbly, Lu Yi was delighted, its tail curling back and forth in sheer joy.

Once Jing Yi reached the top, Lu Yi placed its paw on the stone wall that separated its enclosure from the main tiger area, looking down from above.

Jing Yi approached and asked, “What are you looking at?”

Lu Yi climbed down and nudged Jing Yi toward the wall.

With no other choice, Jing Yi braced his arms and hoisted himself onto the stone wall.

On the other side of the wall was also a simulated forest and grassland. A few tigers were scattered about, lounging in sunny spots, peacefully resting with their eyes closed.

Lu Yi pressed its large head close and let out a couple of “aow aow” sounds.

“Do you like watching them from here?” Jing Yi tried to converse with Lu Yi. “The view is great.”

“Aow aow~” Lu Yi looked proud.

Just then, a tiger wandered over to this side. Lu Yi scrambled up the wall and let out a roar at the tiger below. The startled tiger below leaped into the air, landing with its ears drooping as it stared up at Lu Yi.

The two tigers locked eyes. Outside the tiger enclosure, a child noticed the scene and shouted for the adults to come over.

Soon, everyone gathered around. Someone with a camera snapped a photo through the lens and froze, staring at the image on the screen.

The wall separating the main tiger habitat from Lu Yi’s enclosure was covered with ivy, some of which cascaded down from the top.

Amid the lush green leaves, there was clearly a human figure!

The man showed the photo to his girlfriend, who snatched the camera and peered through the viewfinder toward the top.

In the camera’s display, the figure placed a hand on Lu Yi’s head, giving it a couple of gentle rubs. Lu Yi immediately softened its fierce expression and even nuzzled the hand.

“That must be Lu Yi’s mom! Lu Yi never nuzzles its keepers!” the girl exclaimed excitedly, tugging at her boyfriend’s sleeve. “It’s the same person from that video a while back, the one who picked up Lu Yi with Lu Yuzhi! Ah, what a shame—from this angle, his face is completely blocked by the leaves. You can’t see it.”

Others nearby overheard her and started using their phone cameras to zoom in for a better look.

Several times, the person amid the leaves almost came into view but turned away again. All that was visible, aside from a faint glimpse of the person’s back, were those hands.

Someone began posting on Weibo, using the same hashtag that had trended recently.

“Jing Yi, Lu Yi, come down now,” Lu Yuzhi called up to the pair.

Cao Yang had arrived.

Jing Yi leaped down a few times, landing lightly, and greeted Cao Yang: “Hello, photographer, long time no see.”

Cao Yang introduced himself: “Hahaha, long time no see. I’m Cao Yang, just call me by my name.”

As he spoke, Cao Yang’s gaze fell behind Jing Yi.

Lu Yi was slowly descending, then crouched beside Jing Yi, lifting his tiger head to stare at Cao Yang.

Cao Yang was a freelance wildlife photographer who often traveled around, capturing images of wild animals in remote areas. To get the most authentic and best shots, close encounters with wildlife in the wild were common for him, and he had narrowly escaped danger several times.

His last stint as a photographer for the “Seduce the Monk” film crew was due to invitations from Guo Lin and Lu Yuzhi.

“Hello, Lu Yi.” Cao Yang crouched down to greet the tiger.

Lu Yi ignored Cao Yang, turning his head away to look elsewhere, his tail swishing left and right, clearly displaying his impatience.

Cao Yang didn’t mind, standing up again to say to Jing Yi: “I’ve seen the news online too. The Dream Entertainment case will soon go to court. Once that happens, all the contracts you signed will become void. Perfect timing to be my model—you wouldn’t still want to turn me down, would you?”

“Not anymore.” Jing Yi could tell that both Lu Yuzhi and Guo Lin knew Cao Yang.

Guo Lin and Lu Yuzhi were good people who had specifically recommended him for this photoshoot, showing genuine kindness.

“That’s great, hahaha! I was worried you might actually be unwilling.” After saying this, Cao Yang glanced around. “Could you get a bit more intimate with Lu Yi? I want to take some short videos for inspiration material—won’t publish them.”

“Alright.” Jing Yi nodded. “Mr. Cao, could you also ask Lu Yi if he’s willing?”

Cao Yang raised an eyebrow, crouching down to speak with Lu Yi.

Just then, Lu Yi’s keeper entered.

“Mr. Lu, Mr. Jing, it’s time to start the livestream.” The keeper said somewhat apologetically, “I’ll only broadcast for half an hour, is that okay?”

Actually, he had some personal motives.

Tourists outside had taken photos of Jing Yi, and now everyone was clamoring for the livestream to start. More viewers meant more gifts, which meant more commission for him.

The keeper’s request wasn’t unreasonable, but the problem was that if Jing Yi appeared on camera now, the information Guo Lin had been desperately trying to conceal would be exposed to netizens.

“Does the zoo have any masks?” Lu Yuzhi’s amber eyes sparkled with interest. “Bring three masks, and two sets of your work uniforms too.”

The keeper immediately understood Lu Yuzhi’s meaning and went to find the masks.

To attract visitors, the zoo prepared gifts for children on special holidays like Children’s Day. This year’s Children’s Day gifts were Ultraman masks.

The ones given to children were children’s sizes, while adult versions were stored in the warehouse—the ones the staff had worn at the time.

The keeper made sure to wash the masks thoroughly before bringing them back.

Lu Yuzhi was the first to put one on, followed by Cao Yang, then Jing Yi. The three also put on the work jackets. Meanwhile, the keeper secured his phone and opened the livestreaming platform to start the broadcast.

Viewers waiting in the livestream room went wild when they saw the keeper’s face, frantically spamming comments.

“Hurry hurry, turn the camera! We want to see Mama Lu Yi!”

The keeper raised an eyebrow: “Sure thing, but if you want to see, how about some gifts first, folks?”

Gifts immediately began flooding the livestream.

“Ahem, everyone must remember that the money from gifts goes towards the animals in the zoo. Also, be sure to choose appropriate gifts according to your income level. Without further ado, I’m turning the camera now.”

The zookeeper aimed the camera at Jing Yi.

The live stream lagged for a moment, then a series of ellipses flooded the chat as people started making memes.

“Mom, I saw light at the zoo.”

“Optimus Prime ditched fighting the fish-head people to come pet Lu Yi at the zoo?”

“Just tell us, how much would it take for them to take off the masks!”

While everyone was enthusiastically meme-ing, Lu Yi suddenly pounced on one of the Optimus Primes. It stared at the Optimus Prime mask, seemingly figuring out where to start biting.