Chapter 175 - 142: You Be the Director

’Then I can go to Jiang Kai and Huang Zhongmu and propose letting Qi Zai out of its cage under the guise of scientific research, like "adaptive wild-release training" or "observation of its flight and predation capabilities." That’ll make it much more legitimate.’

...

「The next morning.」

Yang Qi was reading in his dorm. Around ten o’clock, his phone rang.

He took it out and saw it was a voice call request from "Fatty Rui."

"Hello, Senior?" Yang Qi answered.

"Junior, I’m at the Zoo. Where are you? I’ll come find you." Pang Yunrui sounded like he was in good spirits.

"I’m in the staff living area. Where are you now, Senior? I’ll come out and get you." Yang Qi stood up.

"I’m on a tour cart. I’m heading to the living area now."

"Okay, I’ll wait for you at the entrance then."

After hanging up, Yang Qi straightened his clothes and went out to wait at the entrance of the staff living area.

A short while later, one of the Zoo’s electric tour carts slowly drove over and stopped at the entrance.

The door opened, and a casually dressed, plump, and pale young man hopped out of the cart. It was Pang Yunrui.

Following behind him was a lean man in his thirties who seemed to be his driver, assistant, and bodyguard all in one.

"Senior!"

Yang Qi smiled and walked up to greet him.

"Junior, long time no see... Holy crap!"

Pang Yunrui strode toward Yang Qi. As soon as they were face-to-face, he couldn’t help but cry out in surprise, his eyes wide as saucers as he looked Yang Qi up and down.

"I don’t remember you being this tall, this fair-skinned, or this handsome, right? Junior, did you get plastic surgery?"

Pang Yunrui raised an eyebrow.

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

Yang Qi chuckled and responded naturally, "Senior, we haven’t seen each other in years. I just happened to have a second growth spurt. Isn’t it normal to change a little?"

During the car accident, Pang Yunrui had been unconscious and hadn’t seen Yang Qi at all.

"I guess that makes sense."

Pang Yunrui looked skeptical.

"But it’s true."

Yang Qi smiled and changed the subject. "Come on, Senior, let’s not just stand here. Let’s go to my dorm and sit down."

As he spoke, he guided Pang Yunrui toward his small, villa-like dorm, which was nestled against the mountainside.

"Wow, nice place you’ve got here, Junior."

Pang Yunrui followed Yang Qi, sizing up the environment of the Zoo’s staff living area as they walked.

"It’s alright," Yang Qi replied casually. "What have you been up to since graduation, Senior?"

"Nothing at all. Just an idle man."

Pang Yunrui shook his head. "If I wasn’t so bored and just wandering around aimlessly, I wouldn’t have gotten into that car crash. Speaking of which, I’ve wanted to come thank you for saving my life for a while now, but my dad insisted I stay in the hospital. That’s finally over, though. The weather was nice today, so I figured I’d pop over. Besides, there’s something I wanted to chat with you about."

"I was just about to ask what it was. You’re being so mysterious."

"No rush. We can talk about it later."

...

"Whoa, are these police dogs?"

When they arrived at the small courtyard of the mountainside dorm, Pang Yunrui’s gaze was immediately captured the moment he stepped through the gate. He couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise at the sight of Hu Zi and Leopard sitting on the left and right like a pair of door gods.

"What magnificent dogs! Their build, their gaze, their spirit... They look even more vigorous than the decorated dogs I saw at the provincial Police Dog Base."

"Junior, you’re really something else, raising retired police dogs to be like this!"

Pang Yunrui was a cat person, but he also had a keen interest in dogs, and he could tell at a glance that Hu Zi and Leopard were extraordinary.

This aura of robust health, alertness, and composure, radiating from the inside out, was something no ordinary pet dog could possess.

"They’re alright. It’s mainly because they had a good foundation to begin with."

Yang Qi smiled and called Hu Zi and Leopard over. "This is Hu Zi, and this is Leopard. They’re both official police dogs who just recently retired from the Police Dog Base."

He then called out "Bai Wan" toward the backyard.

The next moment, an agile, yellow-and-white figure darted out from the backyard. It was Bai Wan, who had heard the commotion.

Unlike Hu Zi and Leopard, who sat majestically, it wagged its tail, curiously sizing up the stranger, Pang Yunrui. Its eyes were bright and lively, and its posture was relaxed.

"This is Bai Wan, a Chinese Rural Dog. He’s also an ’Honorary Police Dog,’" Yang Qi introduced.

As for Xiaojiu, he had gone out early in the morning.

Pang Yunrui’s eyes lit up even more. He greeted the three dogs one by one and tried to reach out to pet them.

Hu Zi and Leopard just watched him calmly, giving a slight nod as if in acknowledgment, but they didn’t try to get closer.

Bai Wan, on the other hand, came closer to sniff his hand and wagged his tail, as if approving of this guest.

"Incredible, Junior! This place is practically a mini police dog exhibition hall!"

Pang Yunrui exclaimed in admiration.

The two went inside and sat down, and Yang Qi went to make tea.

The man who had been silently following behind Pang Yunrui—the driver-slash-assistant-slash-bodyguard—sensibly remained in the courtyard and didn’t follow them inside.

Seeing this, Yang Qi made an extra cup of tea and brought it out to him. The man seemed slightly surprised, but he quickly accepted it with both hands and said his thanks.

Returning to the living room, Pang Yunrui took the tea from Yang Qi, took a sip, and sighed. "Ever since the accident," he said with a helpless tone, "my dad has insisted on having Brother Liu follow me everywhere. He calls it protection, but it feels more like being in jail. Sigh."

"That’s just Uncle Pang being concerned for you. With a professional like Brother Liu by your side, your parents can rest easier."

Yang Qi offered a few words of comfort and then smoothly changed the subject, steering the conversation toward some of the funnier stories from their university days.

Although Pang Yunrui was two years ahead of Yang Qi and in a different department, he loved treating people to meals and was always gathering groups of friends. Yang Qi had tagged along to a couple of those dinners, making them nodding acquaintances with some common topics to talk about.

As they reminisced about old times on campus, the atmosphere gradually became more relaxed and familiar.

At that moment, Pang Yunrui set down his teacup, sat up a little straighter, and looked at Yang Qi with a serious expression.

"Junior, I came to find you today not just to thank you in person, but mainly to discuss something with you."

He paused, then stressed, "And don’t get the wrong idea. While I do want to repay you for saving my life, this is more about us leveraging our respective strengths to build something truly meaningful and with a promising future."

Seeing how serious he was, Yang Qi dropped his casual posture and replied earnestly, "Please, go on, Senior."

Pang Yunrui looked directly into Yang Qi’s eyes and spoke calmly, enunciating every word.

"Let’s open a zoo together."

"And you’ll be the director!"