Super Zoo

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This time, it was Suming's turn to be completely taken aback.

Xiaomei hadn't even left, it had only been a few days since the last episode was shot, and unexpectedly, Jiao Shou had come back!

What was even more surprising was that the young man with a sigh-inducing stubble, and a lean figure came back with Jiao Shou.

"Eh? Han Han?" Suming looked at the young man and found him very familiar, but at first, he couldn't recall who he was. Celebrities, the kind that one can recognize on TV at a glance, are not necessarily immediately identifiable in real life.

"Shh!" Han Han blinked, "Keep it a secret, keep it a secret."

Suming said a bit awkwardly, "You know... you don't have to worry too much about keeping it a secret."

The place where the three of them met was the conference room of Yangchuan City Zoo, and there were quite a few people inside, part of them employees of the zoo and the others were workers under Shen Yan.

With so many people all busy with their work, they seemed not to notice Han Han at all, carrying on with whatever they were doing.

Apart from Suming, no one recognized him. Han Han's main fan base consisted mostly of post-80s literary youth. It would have been strange if any of the bear-feeding staff at the zoo or Shen Yan's workers had recognized him.

It made Han Han a little embarrassed, as if he was being ignored. He pursed his lips, looking quite pitiful.

The conference room was in a chaotic state, so Suming led them directly to his office before asking with some surprise, "How come you two suddenly showed up?"

"It's a long story!" Jiao Shou raised his eyebrows, roughly explaining the previous disputes about the movie and the investors to Suming.

Contrary to Suming's expectations, Jiao Shou was actually planning to resign and quit!

"No way, you're currently doing web series, which actually have a lot of potential, and what about your many fans?" Suming was shocked, thinking that Jiao Shou was being way too capricious!

Could Jiao Shou really not think that web series were at the height of their popularity, with millions of viewers? Even if he couldn't realize his 'movie dream', it was still a promising career path. To just up and quit?

Letting down the audience, not earning money, not to mention that—what about the contracts with investors? Abruptly walking away like this, wouldn't the investors sue him into bankruptcy?

Despite the glitz and glam seen in the entertainment industry among directors and celebrities, the real big players were the behind-the-scenes investors, controlling vast capitals and extensive networks. If Jiao Shou really walked away, not only would he probably owe a huge compensation, but it could also ruin him and completely drive him out of the business.

It wasn't until Han Han explained that Suming understood what Jiao Shou meant by 'not doing it anymore' was after finishing this season, not abandoning it right now.

He didn't want to watch Unexpected Visitor go downhill and hoped to end the web series at its peak, then find new investors who were willing to fund his movies!

"Things were going so well, how did it come to this?" Suming felt it was such a pity. Jiao Shou had come from his hometown to the capital as a drifter, struggling for many years, and had finally had his break. Although he was still a distance away from his dream of becoming a true leading director, he had become a name in the industry and had his share of fame and fortune. Unexpected Visitor was the collective effort of the entire crew. From obscurity, it had become a leading web series in the country. Giving up now was indeed very regrettable.

Seeing Jiao Shou from the corner of his eye, Han Han shrugged at Suming, saying, "It's all because of money."

"It's the ideals!" Jiao Shou stubbornly insisted.

Whether it was for ideals or money, it wasn't Suming's problem. Since Jiao Shou had already made up his mind, it was his choice. Suming didn't feel the need to advise otherwise. Besides, Suming probably didn't know the whole truth, so it was better to stay out of other people's business.

"So why did you come here?" Suming asked Han Han. If Jiao Shou was here, it meant he was on a mission or simply wanted to take a break, but why would Mr. Han come along? They were practically strangers, without much connection. Was Mr. Han planning to write a book about animals, so he came to the zoo for inspiration?

"I followed him to relax a bit. Is there a quiet room available? Can you arrange one for me to stay in for a few days?" Mr. Han was quite presumptuous, not bothering with pleasantries at all.

To relax a bit? Suming rolled his eyes internally, thinking why don't you go to a spa if you want to relax, there's a beauty salon right at the entrance. This is a zoo, what's here to relax with? Should a bear give you a massage, or a python loosen your muscles?

But so be it, the zoo wasn't short on a few empty rooms.

Accommodation wasn't a big issue. Whisperwind Pavilion was mostly vacant. The business of selling fake and inferior cultural memorabilia on the first floor had been canceled a long time ago. It simply wasn't profitable and was a waste of utilities and management effort. The four floors above had ample space. Aside from Xiaomei living on the second floor, the third, fourth, and fifth floors were all available for lodgings. Once the front door was locked from the outside, no one without a key could get in, which also saved them from the 'harassment' of their fans, big and small.

"This place is amazing!" Han Han was staying on the fifth floor, the very top.

Whisperwind Pavilion was shaped like a tower, narrower from the bottom to the top. The top floor had a space of less than one hundred and fifty square meters, with bluestone brick floors and imitation antique window lattice wood doors all around. Upon opening them, there was a corridor outside. Standing on the corridor, one had a wide view—almost the entire zoo was visible.

The only downside was the strong wind. If all four doors were opened at once, the draft would be strong enough to blow hats off. Suming's hair on his head was whooshing back, getting as messy as a dog's.

Jiao Shou stayed downstairs, busy writing scripts for the remaining episodes, which at least gave him something to do. But Mr. Han, as he said, came to 'relax,' with nothing to occupy him—surely he couldn't just spend his time enjoying the breeze all day, could he?

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"Otherwise, how about I find you something to do?" Suming asked against the wind.

"What kind of work?"

"How about being a live streamer?"

...

Mr. Han's Weibo, Jiao Shou's Weibo, and the Weibo for Whisperwind Pavilion at the zoo all posted a new message at almost the same time.

The zoo's announcement was the most straightforward: The live streaming platform for the zoo is officially complete, and the first broadcast will start at noon tomorrow. Everyone is welcome to log in and watch!

There was a small hint at the end: There will be a mystery guest.

The news about the zoo launching a streaming platform had actually been released on Weibo a while ago. Hundreds of thousands of followers were quite interested; after all, the live stream was free, so watching animals when bored and killing some time didn't seem like a bad idea.

So, not long after this Weibo post went up, it received a lot of attention, and several other zoos that had connections with Yangchuan City Zoo even shared this post.

What most people discussed was that last hint: There will be a mystery guest.

Many people were guessing who this mystery guest could possibly be.

Some guessed it was Jiao Shou, some guessed it could be celebrities like Xiaomei or internet stars, others speculated it might be the zoo director himself, and there were those who guessed it could be the Jumping King or a monkey from the Axe Gang. In short, everyone's thoughts were gravitating towards the unexpected.

Because on Jiao Shou's Weibo, there was a very simple post: See you tomorrow!

See you tomorrow? At first glance, these words seemed nonsensical, not like schoolmates parting after class or colleagues saying goodbye at the end of the work day.

You can't just see a celebrity whenever you wish. Jiao Shou had fans all over the country, and he couldn't clone himself. See you tomorrow, how and where would you see him?

Jiao Shou's fans and those of Whisperwind Pavilion had a significant overlap, and once the fans from both sides connected the dots between the two pieces of information, they guessed it: Jiao Shou would most likely appear on the zoo's live streaming platform tomorrow.

The fans who had followed Jiao Shou for a longer time all knew that before working on the web series, Jiao Shou had actually been an "internet celebrity," posting his series of "Jiao Shou Teaches You XXX" videos online. At that time, the concepts of live streaming and social media influencers had not yet taken off, but essentially, he started out as a live streamer, except his content was pre-recorded, not live.

When Jiao Shou was creating pre-recorded content, he had no financial backers or internet marketers to hype him up; he relied solely on the quality of his content, good reputation passed by word of mouth among friends, and gradually gathered his initial fan base, making a name for "Jiao Shou" online.

The situation now, where a slightly interesting program could become an overnight sensation with the operation of marketers and capital, gathering millions of fans, was unfathomable back then.

It was clear that in this regard, Jiao Shou had certain strengths. A portion of his old fans from those days were really looking forward to his return to the old trade.

"Looking forward to Jiao Shou returning to his true self!" someone commented below.

Suming found and rewatched Jiao Shou's original "Jiao Shou Teaches You XXX" series.

Due to differences in time, production technology, team capabilities, and audience groups, one couldn't simply compare his old work with the recent series.

But it was clear that the videos Jiao Shou made before didn't have the heavy commercial scent of the later ones, nor did they deliberately pander to the audience. Every segment had its own charm and felt uncontrived. At least to Suming, it seemed that the Jiao Shou from the series was closer to the real-life Jiao Shou.

Mr. Han's Weibo also had a short message consisting of just four words: Long time no see.

In this era of abundant internet celebrities, no one would link this very cryptic post from Mr. Han to Whisperwind Pavilion's Weibo.

But with his mention, quite a few fans actually remembered that Mr. Han had not appeared in the public eye for a long time, as if he had vanished into thin air.

Then someone replied with the phrase "When will we meet?"

The person originally said it casually, but Mr. Han actually responded: "Tomorrow at noon, Yangchuan City Zoo, live streaming platform."

Internet celebrities usually maintain an air of mystery, speaking ambiguously to leave people guessing. Mr. Han, being an artistic person by nature, was especially like this. His Weibo tended to be metaphorical and obscure in information, so his straightforward reply this time created a sense of discrepancy.

"Yangchuan City Zoo? What's that?"

"Are you going to become a male web broadcaster? Dance for us, xoxo…"