Chapter 183

183. The Shame of Being Forced

Xiong Siqian refused to cooperate.

I mean, fair enough. The guy’s pride was already in tatters, and after finding out that the so-called “Hope Project” had snitched on him? Yeah, that was the final slap to his already bruised ego.

It was just… humiliating. For everyone involved.

And let’s be honest, Xiong Siqian is huge—nearly two meters tall. What was I supposed to do? Physically pin him down? Please. If Lu Ya tried, Xiong might spiral even deeper into psychological doom. And I do not need another depressed divine beast on my hands.

So I played it cool. Waited. Watched. Let him unravel at his own pace. Meanwhile, he just kept ranting—about Hei Xuanfeng, about the world, about cosmic injustices. The whole break room could hear it, tension slowly building like storm clouds over Mount Tai.

And then…

Then he saw it.

Zongbao’s PP tea coaster.

To be fair, everyone had one by now. Linggan, for instance, was just innocently sipping tea off of one. Didn’t even blink.

Xiong Siqian pointed at it like it was a cursed artifact. “You—you too?!”

Linggan looked up, all innocent koi-smile. “What’s wrong, Old Xiong?” He swished his tail. “It’s from the merch room. I just grabbed one.”

Of course he didn’t care. He was literally a fish.

Xiong Siqian’s fur bristled. “It’s a disgrace! An utter disgrace!”

He stormed around the room, waving the butt-shaped coaster like it was Exhibit A in a trial for crimes against bear dignity. Then he grabbed the nearest bystander.

“Tell me—this thing, this cup coaster, shaped like that—isn’t it disgraceful?!”

Yuan Hong blinked, peeled his sleeve out of Xiong’s paw, and deadpanned, “I think stealing someone’s stuff is disgraceful.”

Xiong Siqian: “…………”

Instant face-flush. He muttered something about guarding the mountain for years in repentance. But the truth? Everyone from Daluo Mountain had a shady past. And his—well, it involved stealing someone’s □□. Definitely not his proudest moment.

He wilted a little. Tried to recover. But then his gaze met Diting’s across the table.

Diting’s ears twitched.

Xiong Siqian: “…”

Diting: “…”

Xiong Siqian: “……………………”

And he bolted. Just straight up pushed the door open and left in despair.

Outside wasn’t any better. Pandemonium near the panda house. Tourists swarming. Black Whirlwind and Zongbao apparently chasing each other again like WWE rivals in a fur suit.

More cheers. More chaos.

More fame for their butts.

I heard someone say, “Giant panda poop is so fresh and green! Like tea leaves!”

No wonder Xiong Siqian had psychological trauma. His thunder stolen. His butt overlooked. Even the pandas’ excrement was getting admiration.

Still, we had a plan. Three “exchange student” black bears had arrived from Luo City—Duo Duo, the mom, and her twin cubs, Da Mi and Xiao Mi. Adorable little crescent-chested bundles of fluff.

The plan? Pair them with Xiong Siqian. Maybe the kids would cheer him up.

Da Mi and Xiao Mi had a secret weapon, too—they bowed. Adorable, manipulative, synchronized bows. Visitors loved it. Gave them snacks back home. Here, no snacks—just squeals and iPhone photos.

We figured the cubs might soften Xiong up. Or at least distract him.

At first, there was a net between them. Safety and all that. But Xiong Siqian didn’t growl or swipe. Duo Duo didn’t panic. Eventually, we removed the barrier.

That’s when it got…weird.

Xiong Siqian locked eyes with the cubs. Then he walked—slow, deliberate—toward Duo Duo. We all held our breath.

And then… he picked up Da Mi.

By the scruff.

Like a mother bear.

And looked back at us like, “Can I borrow this?”

Da Mi stiffened. Made a tiny whimper. But didn’t resist.

And Duo Duo? She froze. Didn’t dare challenge Hei Feng.

He took Da Mi back to his spot, gently dropped him onto the ground, and…played with him.

Sort of. Da Mi curled up in terror. Xiong poked. Da Mi rolled over. Xiong tried again. Then, defeated, he picked up a bamboo shoot and dropped it in Da Mi’s arms.

That was the game-changer.

Da Mi sniffed. Took one bite. Then zoned out like he’d discovered nirvana. Crunching happily, completely forgetting he’d been kidnapped.

Xiong Siqian examined him closely—ears, paws, teeth, tail.

Then he snorted.

“Our cubs are way cuter than pandas,” he seemed to declare.

He grumbled some curses at the panda family and then—politely, believe it or not—returned Da Mi to Duo Duo.

But it was too late.

Da Mi was obsessed.

That night, the little rascal snuck away while Duo Duo slept, dragging Xiao Mi with him. They followed the scent of the bamboo shoots, sniffing their way through the dark.

They found them. And Xiong Siqian’s warm, grumpy fake-bear decoy. And fell asleep on top of it like it was dad’s belly.

Next morning? Chaos.

Duo Duo panicked. The keepers freaked. Until they found the cubs curled up beside Hei Feng, snoring peacefully.

Someone snapped a photo.

Next thing we knew, the Internet exploded.

“Uncle Hei Feng’s bamboo shoots: 10/10, would run away from home again!”

“Hei Feng is so gentle!”

“He adopted them!!”

Even I got a little teary reading the comments.

The merch team ran with it—pictures, hashtags, product links. Hei Feng finally got some love. But just when we thought he was back in the game…

A new photo dropped.

Zongbao falling off a swing and landing face-first on Black Whirlwind’s stomach.

That picture got double the shares.

I wanted to scream.

We worked so hard. Promoted Hei Feng nonstop. And all it took was Zongbao falling by accident to go viral again?

The editor chuckled. “Does this count as Black Wind being pushed too hard?”

I glared. “Don’t say that in front of Hei Feng. He’ll lose it.”

“He won’t understand, right?”

Xiao Su cut in. “You think animals don’t understand shade? Say that again and he’ll throw a rock at your head.”

The editor wisely zipped it.

After all that, Xiong Siqian did cheer up a bit. Not because of the comments—he didn’t care about humans. But Da Mi and Xiao Mi kept coming back. Bowing. Playing. Eating his food.

He started mumbling things like, “Black bears are actually very elegant.”

And then—of course—he declared, “Director, I’ve decided. I’m going to write a play!”

I blinked. “I have somewhere to be.” And ran.

I shoved the flower seeds he’d earned into his paws and pointed him toward Zhu Feng. “Here. Grow something poetic.”

Meanwhile, we had a Big Animals segment coming up. Final episodes. Guests dressing up like keepers, interacting with animals undercover.

Crowds were pouring in. The show was topping ratings charts.

Even Director Meng and his dad flew over for the banquet. Everything was going smoothly until—

“Xiao Duan, what’s that?!”

A cry.

Then something massive charged through the crowd.

It barreled into a little girl.

She tumbled onto its back, screaming, clinging to its shell.

My brain short-circuited.

“MY SEA TURTLE?!”

How the hell did Fat Sea Turtle escape?!

What were the Big Animals guests up to now?

First an emperor penguin escapes, now this??

Someone sedate me.