"Now?" The night breeze was hot and dry, and Su Zhou finally understood what his gaze meant.

The surrounding crowd was bustling, and even though it was almost midnight, many people were still discussing the movie's plot with great enthusiasm. Su Zhou felt like she was watching the movie in fits and starts.

"Um."

Su Zhou took Xie Chi's hand and said, "There are too many people here. I feel a little embarrassed. Let's go somewhere else."

They sped along with Xie Chi, and since there was a park nearby, it was already quite quiet at this time of day.

LED strips were wrapped around the trees, and the streetlights were still on. By the light of the moon and the dim lamplight, Su Zhou closed her eyes and touched her cheek: "Now it's okay, let's kiss."

Xie Chi kissed her lips without hesitation.

…

The number of people who made reservations for tickets increased from 50,000 to 100,000, but unexpectedly, the tickets were still sold out.

It's important to know that aquarium tickets aren't cheap, but almost two out of five people will choose to buy aquarium tickets specifically, and many people come specifically for the aquarium.

The fire at the zoo also brought many worshippers to several religious sites that offered tickets to the zoo.

The monks and Taoist priests even expressed their gratitude to Su Zhou on WeChat.

[Chang Wuxiang: Director, we have a white snake here, which we're currently keeping. Would your zoo like it?]

White snake?

In an instant, many species of white snakes flashed through Su Zhou's mind, and she immediately nodded: "Yes, yes, I definitely want it."

[Xiao Zhou: Could you send me a picture of the snake?]

Chang Wuxiang quickly sent over a photo of a white snake.

The snake was pure white with black eyes, without a single impurity. Su Zhou immediately recognized it as a common pet snake, the Texas rat snake, which many reptile owners have kept.

How could such a snake possibly appear in a place like the capital? Su Zhou didn't need to think about it any further to know what was going on.

I guess it's some kind of genius again, organizing some kind of animal release.

It's not uncommon to buy animals for release. Some people buy turtles and goldfish to release, while others buy snakes. There have even been cases in China of releasing cobras, which ended up in human settlements, causing public panic.

Chang Wuxiang: Then I'll drive it over now.

Chang Wuxiang was the abbot of a Taoist temple, a man of genuine talent and learning, not a charlatan. Many wealthy merchants and high-ranking officials from the capital and even across the country would specifically request him to perform rituals. Chang Wuxiang himself possessed an ethereal and refined air, with his hair styled in a bun and dressed in light gray clothes, making him convincing to all.

When he arrived on his electric scooter, he was still wearing casual clothes. If Su Zhou hadn't remembered his signature beard, she wouldn't have recognized him at first glance.

An acrylic box containing a white snake.

This white snake is of excellent quality. Its entire body is pure white, like white jade, with small scales and black eyes, like two black grapes attached to a piece of white jade.

“I just got a bamboo viper from Master Wuchen, and now I’ve got a Texas rat snake. Now I have both green and white snakes. It feels like we could make a TV series out of this.” Su Zhou smiled as she took the snake.

Pet snakes are quite cute.

This pet snake is indeed female.

[...]

[...]

After listening for a while, Su Zhou still couldn't hear any mental activity from the Texas rat snake, and decisively concluded: "This is a socially anxious snake."

“It seems an old lady released this snake. Some guests at the Taoist temple saw an old lady releasing several snakes, and that’s how we found this one,” Chang Wuxiang said.

Pet snakes have almost no chance of survival in the wild. Other snakes would probably suffer a terrible fate if they couldn't be found, and it would be quite pitiful if they were found by someone.

Su Zhou still hoped that the released snakes would have a good outcome.

"Some people get pets on a whim, without considering whether they are capable of raising them. I feel this needs to be carefully considered. If you don't have the ability to be independent and responsible, don't get a pet rashly. It's so bad to get one and then abandon it." Su Zhou has long been unhappy about the behavior of abandoning pets. Back in college, every time graduation came, many people would keep cats in their dorms, and if they couldn't take them with them, they would just let the cats become strays.

Every time school starts, new kittens always appear in the school.

Chang Wuxiang chimed in, "That's true, it's incredibly irresponsible. Director Su, from now on, we'll keep this snake here."

Su Zhou nodded.

Their zoo really doesn't discriminate; they keep whatever comes their way.

Su Zhou, holding the acrylic box, placed the snake directly next to the green snake.

The two snakes happened to be female, one talkative and the other quiet. The quieter white snake looked very reserved, and the two snakes seemed to be getting along well, soon they were intertwined.

They seem to have a good relationship.

These monks and Taoist priests are different from Fahai in the TV series who flooded Jinshan Temple. In this new era, the concept of demons and ghosts is not popular. They are all doing what they can to save these animals.

These two snakes, one green and one white, truly have a connection with religion.

"You two get along well," Su Zhou said, standing in front of them.

Just then, a tourist exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, isn't that the Green and White Snake? They're playing Jenga here now, besties, let's stack them together!"

The tourist was very young, looking like a middle school student, and his companion was also a middle school student of about the same age. He said slowly, "I feel that Fahai and Xu Xian are superfluous. They are both snake demons. It would be so much better if they were together. Snake demons should be able to choose their own gender, right? Whether it's heterosexual, BL, or GL, it would be delicious. I've already imagined so many scenarios in my mind."

Su Zhou: ...

Do kids these days know so much?

She had just finished thinking that when someone called her.

"Is this Director Su? Hello, I was introduced by Director Meng Huan. I'm Jiang Anmin, his good friend. The reason I'm here is to borrow the green snake from your zoo to film a TV series..."

Jiang Anmin is a very famous person. Su Zhou grew up watching his TV dramas.

Back then, he made a lot of movies with supernatural themes, like Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and movies about fairies. When Su Zhou was a child, she really liked watching movies of this genre.

"We've heard that the animals in your zoo are very intelligent, so we'll give them money."

At this moment, Meng Huan's voice rang out, "It's not fake, this really is my brother, Director Su, could you please give him a chance..."

Su Zhou nodded: "It's no problem to lend Xiao Qing to you, just don't damage the facilities and animals in the zoo. Um... actually, besides the green snake, the zoo now has a white snake."

"White Snake? I don't see any mention of this on your zoo's account."

"Now you have it, congratulations! You can use live animals instead of special effects for the performance. Just come over when the time comes." Su Zhou looked at the green and white snake. It really was a prophecy of hers. What she said not long ago had come true.