Wang Shu's home was in a residential complex just a few hundred meters in a straight line from Donghai City Zoo. As a child, she often went to the zoo to play and knew it like the back of her hand.

After growing up, graduating from university, and starting her career, she went less often, but her boyfriend, Xu Zhouxian, was a lion keeper at the City Zoo.

Not long ago, Xu Zhouxian had told her that Huanhuan, the earliest lion she remembered from the zoo, had been given up for care and transferred to a private zoo on Cape Mountain.

Wang Shu's nostalgic feelings were immediately stirred up. The last time she visited her boyfriend at the zoo, she had noticed that Huanhuan was not in great shape. And now she was being given up and sent to some small zoo—who knew what the conditions were like there.

Wang Shu found some old photos taken at the zoo and posted them on her social media.

"One of my childhood memories, the lioness Huanhuan from the City Zoo, has gotten old and was recently sent to a private zoo called Lingyou to live out her old age. So sad. I don't know if she'll be okay there."

Unexpectedly, there were quite a few comments.

"Oh my god, I remember Huanhuan too! I loved her so much as a kid."

"Huanhuan QAQ my childhood! Where is this zoo? I want to see her!"

"Huanhuan was sent to Lingyou? I've been to that zoo, it's very nice, the environment is great too, Huanhuan will be fine!"

"Lingyou? My niece is staying with me, and last week she was nagging me to take her there..."

"Can we form a group to see Huanhuan? Seeing her makes me think of my own childhood."

......

With so many people chiming in, Wang Shu's nostalgic feelings grew even stronger. She found her boyfriend and mentioned that she and a few of her friends wanted to go see Huanhuan.

Xu Zhouxian scratched his head. "That's quite a coincidence. I've just organized a group of people who are also very concerned about Huanhuan to go to Lingyou together. You guys can come along. Their director came to our zoo last week and told me Huanhuan is doing well."

It was a perfect match. Wang Shu invited her friends, and they all went in a large, grand group to Lingyou Zoo to visit their good friend from childhood.

Wang Shu was filled with emotion. In her and many of her companions' imaginations, Huanhuan was now decrepit and old, forgotten by visitors, with only them remembering the joy she brought to their childhoods...

Walking into Lingyou Zoo with this sentiment, Wang Shu noticed there were quite a few people, but from their conversations, she could tell they were here to see the pythons.

Posters inside the zoo also informed them that a white variant Burmese python and a green tree python had been newly introduced, and a citizen had also donated a golden python. They even had nicknames given by netizens: Bai Niangzi, Xiao Qing, and Fahai... which made Wang Shu cringe a little.

Previously, Wang Shu had thought this unheard-of private zoo was like the ones she'd seen on the news—dirty, messy, and unprofessional. But after Xu Zhouxian and some friends who had been to Lingyou told her otherwise, she knew that wasn't the case. But only by being here could she get a clear picture.

This place wasn't just professional, it was practically high-class—except for that ugly, old-fashioned office building. It was new and modern, not just on par with the City Zoo, but even a few notches better, just not as large.

They first passed the reptile exhibit, which was especially crowded. Then they saw a group of tourists feeding sparrows, with someone occasionally letting out a yelp, indicating that their food had been snatched by a sparrow.

However, these cries of surprise were largely filled with expected laughter; some people came specifically for the antics of these rogue sparrows.

Wang Shu didn't like snakes, but she loved birds. Of course, the main purpose of this trip was to see Huanhuan, so Wang Shu's steps remained firmly directed toward the lion exhibit.

After walking a little further, she even saw a Daoist priest. Now, everyone in Wang Shu's group couldn't help but slow down to watch.

Why was a Daoist priest visiting a zoo? Donghai City had only one Daoist temple, so this priest must be from Linshui Temple, right?

Wang Shu couldn't help but ask her question out loud, "Why is there a Daoist priest here?"

Do Daoist priests also engage in animal science education?

A companion said with great confidence, "I went to Linshui Temple to burn incense last week and saw an ad for Lingyou there. You could even buy a combined ticket for Linshui Temple and Lingyou. I think they have a partnership. This priest might be here to show support."

A zoo and a Daoist temple in a partnership? And he came to show support? It left one full of doubt.

—This Daoist priest was actually Shao Wuxing, who had come to report on his work.

Wang Shu's group walked into the lion exhibit. As one of the few places with large animals, although most people were drawn to the new pythons, there were still some people here, watching happily in front of the glass wall.

Wang Shu and her friends couldn't see from the back, so Xu Zhouxian pulled her to the front.

When they saw her again after some time, Huanhuan was sharing an enclosure with the male lion. Xu Zhouxian even heard visitors calling the lions' names—some called Huanhuan, some called Lele. Apparently, the male lion's name was Lele.

Huanhuan was lying there, lazily wagging her tail from time to time. That's right, lazy, not listless. Her eyes were bright, and her fur had miraculously regained its luster. Even her color seemed as deep as it used to be. If Xu Zhouxian weren't so familiar with her appearance, he might not have recognized her.

With this mental state and physical condition, how did she resemble the Huanhuan from the City Zoo who was too listless to eat!

As for Lele, he was much more lively. He was sticking his rear up, playing with Huanhuan's tail, pawing at her wagging tip with great curiosity. Lele had only been with other lions when he was a cub. Just after he had learned the basics of socializing, he was sent to Lingyou Zoo, where he spent an adolescence of intermittent hunger before entering adulthood.

Perhaps because of this, after being housed with Huanhuan, he developed a great interest in Auntie Huanhuan and often initiated interaction with her, hoping for some response.

Unfortunately, old driver Auntie Huanhuan was initially in poor health and wary of the strong male lion, always avoiding him. Later on, she became very aloof and didn't want to bother with this bear child.

After playing with her tail, Lele moved to her front to cause more mischief, only to be swatted across his big face by one of Huanhuan's paws.

Many tourists who saw this scene burst out laughing.

Wang Shu was a bit dazed at first; it was unexpected. But upon seeing Huanhuan's contented appearance, her nose suddenly tingled, and she felt an urge to cry.

She had a feeling she might cry today. She had seen Huanhuan when she wouldn't eat at the City Zoo and remembered even more clearly how vibrant Huanhuan had been in her youth. How could she not cry if she saw the old lioness Huanhuan again today? But she hadn't expected to see Huanhuan full of spirit and playing with a companion, and because of this, she actually cried even harder.

Wang Shu buried her face in Xu Zhouxian's arms and said tearfully, "It's like seeing her when she was young..."

That one sentence nearly brought Xu Zhouxian to tears as well. He nodded forcefully.

......

After coming out of the lion exhibit, the eyes of all the companions who came together were red.

Huanhuan was their shared childhood memory. Learning that she had been transferred to another zoo due to old age and frailty had filled them with complicated feelings.

Now, seeing her living so well, even regaining some of her past splendor, moved them even more. How they wished she would never grow old, just like their childhood.

......

Xiao Su opened Weibo and found that she had been tagged again. She clicked on it and saw a long post by a Donghai citizen who had tagged Lingyou's official blog, posting a several-hundred-word-long Weibo post and a few pictures.

This citizen was one of the people who had come to Lingyou with Wang Shu and the others today. After returning, they were deeply moved, found some old photos, and posted them on Weibo along with today's pictures. They narrated the experience and emotional journey of visiting the transferred lioness Huanhuan, reminisced about their childhood, and also tagged the official blogs of some local media.

These official blogs had already reposted it. Their followers were all Donghai citizens, many of whom still remembered Huanhuan, so by now, it had been reposted hundreds of times.

Donghai Daily reposted: Remember Huanhuan the lioness from Donghai City Zoo? How many people took a photo with her? She is twenty years old now.

Donghai Micro Life: This editor also went to see Huanhuan as a child! I remember being so happy back then when I heard the City Zoo had acquired a little lion cub. The first time I saw Huanhuan, she was just a little girl QAQ

Donghai City Affairs: So touching. When we have time, let's form a group to see Huanhuan. She must be lonely after moving.

Some ordinary citizens also dug out old photos; many people had photos with Huanhuan.

And in the current photos, although Huanhuan still looked spirited, she was obviously old. Lying there, she looked even more like she was enjoying her retirement years.

This really brought back memories for many citizens, reminding them of the happy times they had playing at the City Zoo back then.

"Oh my god, I'm twenty too, and I don't remember ever going to the zoo. But I just asked my mom, and she said of course I did. She found a photo of three-year-old me with a three-year-old Huanhuan."

"Huanhuan must be the oldest one... I remember there was a male lion around her age back then who passed away five or six years ago. The lions at the City Zoo now are almost all in their prime."

"I went to the City Zoo for work a few days ago. Comparing the old and new photos, a lot has changed, but some places are still the same. Look at that tree ten years ago and ten years later."

"I actually remember Huanhuan too? The school organized a trip, and we had to write an essay afterward. The animal that left the deepest impression on me was her. Huanhuan was the top star back then!"

"The star player of yesteryear has retired and been re-hired at a countryside zoo for her golden years..."

......

This directly led to two situations: one group of people rushed to the City Zoo to find their childhood, while another much larger group rushed to Lingyou Zoo to see Huanhuan.

Although Huanhuan was living quite happily, her body restored by spiritual energy, and her relationship with Lele was... not too bad, it still satisfied everyone's nostalgic feelings of visiting an old friend.

It wasn't that she had to be miserable to be appreciated. Huanhuan's condition made people feel that Donghai City Zoo hadn't "abandoned" her because of her old age. Although Huanhuan was indeed old, it was just as one of the official blogs said, like being re-hired after retirement, which made them feel it was wonderful that Huanhuan could enjoy her later years in peace.

......

With the zoo partnering with other attractions, sales shot up without much effort, and with tourists being drawn in for various reasons, Duan Jiaze was in a great mood as he watched the visitor traffic stabilize.

It had been over half a month since his last visit to Uncle Sun's home, and Duan Jiaze still remembered that Sun Aiping was going to give him a puppy from his golden retriever's litter. So when Sun Aiping called, Duan Jiaze immediately thought of it. "Uncle, has your Baobao had her puppies?"

Sun Aiping said dejectedly, "Don't mention it. Your aunt is making a fuss. She had already promised two of her friends a golden retriever puppy. The dog gave birth a few days ago, and it turned out to be a litter of five mutts. We asked around, and Baobao and that other family's golden retriever probably never mated, but their neighbor has a mutt."

Duan Jiaze: "..."

Sun Aiping: "Let me tell you, those dogs—they don't look like golden retrievers at all! How are the mutt's genes so strong? When her two friends saw they were mutts, they didn't want them anymore."

Duan Jiaze broke into a sweat. "I don't mind. A mutt can guard the house just fine here."

Sun Aiping said embarrassedly, "Would you mind raising a few more? It's not easy to give away these mutts. Your aunt insists they're mixed-breed golden retrievers and will look like goldens when they grow up. She won't look for people who want mutts, and the people who want goldens don't want her dogs."

Duan Jiaze didn't mind. A few dogs wouldn't be much trouble, and he had plenty of space here for them to run around. "Sure, you can send over as many as you like."

Sun Aiping was relieved. "I'll see if I can give away any more. Once they're a month old, I'll send the rest to your place to be raised."

Duan Jiaze: "Okay, sure, send them over. I'll definitely take good care of them."

Duan Jiaze hung up the phone and saw Luya standing to the side.

Duan Jiaze: "..."

Duan Jiaze: "What?"

Luya said grimly, "Send what over? And you'll raise them personally?"

Duan Jiaze: "...Dogs."

Luya was very displeased. At Lingyou, it was a given that Duan Jiaze was responsible for managing and feeding Luya—or in Luya's words, serving him.

This was a symbol of status. Even though Lingyou was small, the Daoist Lord had to be number one.

Now Duan Jiaze was actually discussing taking in dogs to raise? Luya was very unhappy, seeing this as a challenge to his status.

"Dogs? You have me, and you're still in the mood to raise dogs?"

Duan Jiaze: "Don't say that in front of Xiao Su..."

Luya: "Don't change the subject."

"..." Duan Jiaze was speechless. "I'm just getting them to guard the gate..." Halfway through, he also felt that wasn't right. How could dogs be more useful than Luya?

"Sigh, I already promised. He helped me out before. Besides, it's just a few more mouths to feed."

Luya said angrily, "So you must raise dogs?!"

Duan Jiaze: "..."

Luya: "You'll regret this!!"