I Rely on My Versatility to Reach the Top of the Entertainment Industry [Ancient Times to Modern] - Chapter 42

Despite having recovered from the fever, Lu Yuzhi slept until 1 p.m. in the afternoon.

When he sat up, the first thing he saw was Jing Yi’s back.

Jing Yi had a naturally small frame, making his silhouette appear slender. Apart from the occasional movement of his arms, his back remained perfectly straight, as if fixed in place.

Lu Yuzhi smiled faintly, threw off the covers, and stood up.

His foot bumped against something, and he looked down.

A pair of brand-new cloth slippers lay by his feet.

“I bought them in your shoe size,” a clear, youthful voice came from beside him.

After putting on the slippers, Lu Yuzhi looked up and realized that Jing Yi’s posture seemed unchanged from start to finish.

Was his hearing that sharp?

Lu Yuzhi walked over to Jing Yi.

On the table lay a middle school physics textbook, opened halfway through.

“I’ve prepared new clothes for you too, already washed,” Jing Yi said, looking up and smiling at Lu Yuzhi. “They’re on the bed.”

Lu Yuzhi turned back, walked to the bedside, and picked up the clothes.

It was a black sweatsuit, very similar to the white one Jing Yi was wearing.

…Matching couple outfits?

The thought crossed his mind, and Lu Yuzhi desperately pushed it away.

He picked up the clothes and tentatively asked, “Are we going out later?”

“Yes, to see Lu Yi,” Jing Yi replied. “There’s food in the microwave. Eat first, and then we’ll go.”

…

On weekdays, the zoo wasn’t very crowded.

Jing Yi followed Lu Yuzhi, entering through the staff entrance as usual.

As they passed by King Kong’s enclosure, the gorilla happened to look in their direction and immediately walked over.

Jing Yi stopped, smiling and greeting King Kong through the glass.

The intelligent primate pointed at his own feet, gesturing for Jing Yi to come inside and join him.

Seeing this, Jing Yi thought for a moment before turning to Lu Yuzhi. “Shall we go see King Kong first?”

How could Lu Yuzhi disagree?

Not to mention Jing Yi had referred to this zoo trip as a date, but even if he hadn’t, Lu Yuzhi would do his best to fulfill Jing Yi’s wishes.

The two made a turn, taking a side path to King Kong’s enclosure.

Lu Yuzhi was a frequent visitor to the national zoo and often donated funds, so the staff recognized him. Moreover, King Kong’s keeper already had a strong impression of Jing Yi. When he heard they wanted to visit King Kong, he agreed without hesitation.

“Mr. Jing, I have a small request,” the staff member said somewhat sheepishly. “My younger sister watched your film ‘Xie Qiyun’ and became your fan. She’s always wanted your autograph. Would it be possible for you to sign one for her?”

Jing Yi was taken aback.

This was the first time a fan had asked him for an autograph.

“Of course, I can,” Jing Yi replied with a gentle smile, asking softly, “What animal does your sister like?”

The staff member had already taken out a notepad and replied without thinking, “Thank you so much! My sister likes Lu Yi.”

Jing Yi took the paper and pen and casually drew a miniature black and white tiger.

The staff member was stunned.

The tiger on the paper looked exactly like Lu Yi, even the tuft of higher fur on top of its head was vividly depicted.

“Mr. Jing, you can draw too?” the staff member remarked, thinking of Jing Yi’s tweet about needing money, and casually suggested, “If you’re this good at drawing, you could try selling your artwork to earn some money.”

“Selling artwork?” Jing Yi seemed intrigued.

In his own world, there were also painters who made a living by selling their artwork, which was indeed a good method for raising charitable funds.

“Thank you.” Jing Yi bowed deeply to the staff member, unusually earnest. “Your suggestion is very helpful to me.”

“Not at all, I just mentioned it in passing.” The staff member smiled sheepishly. “Not many people come to visit King Kong, so you and Mr. Lu can stay a while longer, no problem.”

After saying this, the staff member glanced at their attire.

“If you’re worried about other visitors, you two can also wear hats.”

The sporty hooded sweatshirts were already loose-fitting with large hoods, which would provide good coverage when worn.

Jing Yi nodded to accept the suggestion, then turned and entered King Kong’s enclosure with Lu Yuzhi.

King Kong had been waiting by the door. As soon as Jing Yi entered, he immediately handed the walnut in his hand to Jing Yi.

Jing Yi casually cracked it open and offered it back to King Kong.

But King Kong shook his head, pointed at Jing Yi’s mouth, opened his own mouth to make a couple of sounds, and grinned.

“Thank you for sharing.” Jing Yi broke off a larger piece of walnut and gave it to Lu Yuzhi, then looked up to introduce him to King Kong. “This is my…”

He paused and turned to look at Lu Yuzhi.

“My Yuzhi. I hope you can become good friends too.”

Lu Yuzhi’s heartbeat quickened for a moment.

He wanted to ask Jing Yi why he introduced him that way, but King Kong suddenly stepped between them.

The bared-teeth gorilla suddenly extended his palm.

Caught off guard by the tremendous force, Lu Yuzhi staggered and nearly lost his balance.

King Kong opened his mouth wide with a loud cry, stood in front of Jing Yi, and beat his chest. His dark eyes, glancing sideways at Lu Yuzhi, displayed an incredibly human-like expression of disdain.

He looked down on Lu Yuzhi for being unsteady and didn’t acknowledge him.

Lu Yuzhi frowned.

Jing Yi’s tone was helpless. “You can’t compare like that.” King Kong furrowed his brow, then handed the walnut from his other hand to Lu Yuzhi, making a fist to indicate he should crack it open.

To prevent King Kong from getting bored and because he loved eating walnuts as snacks, the zoo provided walnuts that weren’t pre-cracked, meant for King Kong to slowly open and pass the time.

Lu Yuzhi’s expression shifted slightly as he looked down at the walnut, feeling troubled.

He couldn’t crack it open.

King Kong didn’t hesitate to bare his teeth in a grin, then took Jing Yi’s hand and tried to lead him toward the bedroom.

But Jing Yi didn’t move.

He broke free from King Kong, turned, and took Lu Yuzhi’s hand.

Lu Yuzhi looked puzzled at Jing Yi’s fair face, then opened his palm. The walnut in his hand was already crushed, yet he hadn’t felt any force at all.

How exactly did Jing Yi… manage that?

Jing Yi knew Lu Yuzhi would be puzzled.

He smiled at Lu Yuzhi, then turned to look at King Kong.

King Kong let out heavy, snorting breaths from his nose, turned around, and picked up a large rock.

The staff member thought, “This is bad,” and shouted, “Mr. Jing, Mr. Lu, come out quickly! King Kong is angry. When he’s angry, he throws that rock around—it’s dangerous!”

The furious-looking King Kong paused his rock-raising at the staff member’s words.

He sneakily glanced at Jing Yi, put down the rock, and nonchalantly wandered around for a moment. Then he walked over to Lu Yuzhi, stood upright, placed a hand on Lu Yuzhi’s shoulder, and smiled at Jing Yi.

His canine teeth were still sharp, but the staff member inexplicably sensed King Kong’s attempt to please Jing Yi.

Just how much did he like this young actor?

I have no idea how Jing Yi managed it, but he’s truly impressive!

Lu Yuzhi didn’t want to be this intimate with the gorilla and tried to move aside, but the gorilla forcibly pulled him close.

Jing Yi pursed his lips in a smile.

Lu Yuzhi’s expression of disgust and helplessness… was actually somewhat adorable.

Had Lu Yuzhi ever been like this before?

As Jing Yi thought this, the smile in his eyes deepened.

The gorilla thought Jing Yi was happy because of its friendly behavior, so it released Lu Yuzhi’s shoulder and forcibly held his hand instead.

These were all actions the gorilla had seen visitors do.

Thinking this, the gorilla pulled Lu Yuzhi over to Jing Yi’s side, forcibly joined Lu Yuzhi and Jing Yi’s hands together, then held their other hands with its own.

The three of them formed a large circle holding hands—the scene was truly humorous and amusing.

“Ah!”

A visitor’s exclamation suddenly came from outside the enclosure.

Lu Yuzhi and Jing Yi simultaneously turned to look.

A young couple stood there with shocked expressions. The girl covered her mouth as her eyes gradually lit up, suddenly exclaiming: “Yi Zai! Are you and Film Emperor Lu here at the zoo too?”

Her boyfriend glanced at the shattered walnut shells on the ground, equally excited: “Master Jing, could you perform crushing walnuts barehanded? The brothers have been wanting to see that!”

Their voices attracted more visitors, who all started walking toward the gorilla area.

Lu Yuzhi frowned, wanting to break free from the gorilla and temporarily leave with Jing Yi, but his hand remained firmly gripped by the gorilla.

He glanced at the gorilla, then turned to the visitors with a smile: “We’ll demonstrate another time. This is a private outing, please don’t take photos to post online. Thank you.”

The newcomers confirmed that the people being held by the gorilla were indeed Lu Yuzhi and Jing Yi, and grew excited.

One quick-witted visitor called out: “Can we take photos for private keeping only?”

Private keeping—there was no way to prevent that.

“Alright, hope everyone enjoys your visit.” He moved closer to Jing Yi, shielding him, and said quietly, “Let’s go.”

Jing Yi nodded, bidding a soft farewell to the gorilla.

The two entered the staff passageway to leave, while outside, visitors eagerly discussed whether they were going to see Lu Yi.

They rushed to Lu Yi’s enclosure, only to find a sign displayed outside: National Treasure Cat Resting.

“This must be Film Emperor Lu’s doing, right? What a pity, I wanted to see them interact directly.”

“Don’t you think this is a bit excessive? Using privilege to make Lu Yi unavailable for viewing.”

Someone made a similar complaint, but was quickly countered: “What privilege? Lu Yi has every right to refuse visitors. It’s not like other animals—it’s an animal star! The money it earns from acting even helps fund other animals at the zoo.”

“Exactly, it’s normal for their family of three to want some private time. Celebrities are people too, they need personal lives.”

“Buddy, if you really want to see them, you can interact with Master Jing on Weibo. Maybe he’ll fulfill us male fans’ small requests.”

“God Lu has always taken good care of his fans. Last time when my hometown Yincheng had an earthquake, he personally delivered relief supplies to every household. We shouldn’t cause them trouble.”

Everyone chimed in until the complainer felt embarrassed.

After reaching consensus, nobody actually posted any unnecessary comments online.

Lu Yuzhi and Jing Yi turned through the staff passageway and arrived at Lu Yi’s territory.

As soon as they entered, Lu Yi trotted over and sniffed the two of them repeatedly.

The keeper, watching from the side, couldn’t help but ask, “Do you two have the scent of other animals on you?”

Lu Yuzhi replied, “Yes, we just visited Jingang.”

“Well, that’s trouble. Lu Yi gets jealous easily and is very possessive,” the keeper explained. “I haven’t had the chance to mention this to you before, Mr. Lu, but whenever I come in with the scent of other animals on me, Lu Yi refuses to eat the food I offer.”

No sooner had the keeper finished speaking than Lu Yi drooped his ears, let out a whimper toward Jing Yi, turned his back, and sat down—so upset he didn’t even wag his tail.

Recalling some comments he had seen online, Jing Yi glanced sideways at Lu Yuzhi and asked, “If I had someone else’s scent on me, would you get this angry too?”

Lu Yuzhi: “…”

Lu Yi’s keeper: “???”