Chapter 40
[Why does Brother Leng seem like he doesn't know anything about this?]
[Wow, my husband has so many businesses, I can't possibly remember them all!]
[President Jiang is incredibly capable!]
The rescue center is located inside the zoo and has an entrance for the public. By the time the veterinarian arrived with a large group of babies, the deer had already been taken to the operating table by the rangers.
"Those damned poachers, they don't even spare the ones in the mountains!" He launched into a tirade as soon as the veterinarian finally arrived.
S City is surrounded by vast mountains and fields, some of which have been designated as animal protection areas by the authorities to safeguard native wildlife.
The forest ranger patrols the mountains daily to ensure the animals are in good condition. Usually, he encounters wounds caused by fights between animals, but today is completely different.
"Look, someone brought a child to see this!"
It's unclear which girl had sharp eyes, but she shouted it out first, and immediately all her friends turned to look.
The stadium steps were quite high, making it a bit difficult for Jiang Mingzhe with his short legs to walk, which is why the fans saw this scene.
A small, red and black bundle dressed in the same style as them was rolling down the steps, using both its hands and feet.
He was still muttering to himself, "I need to do my best! Dad, you need to do your best too!"
The next day, Leng Zhi and Jiang Mingzhe slept until the sun was high in the sky.
Last night's variety show ended abruptly. After receiving the prize money, there were no more segments. Amidst peaceful background music, this season of "Baby Go Forward" officially came to a close.
The production team worked very hard; they didn't want viewers to remember the incident of the Levin truck exploding. They edited the footage overnight and uploaded it to the platform early the next morning.
Viewers noticed that almost all of Lei Shen and Lei Ling's scenes were cut. For the scenes that couldn't be cut, their presence was minimized by blurring and re-dubbing.
Ms. Xu Lin submitted a formal request for a severe sentence to the court early this morning, along with all the evidence she had collected.
The video from last night went viral online, and all viewers were outraged by the irresponsible father. Under pressure from public opinion, the local court accepted the case of the minor Lei Xixi being used by her father for profit as quickly as possible.
The verdict has not yet been announced, but higher-level provincial and ministerial-level official media outlets have already commented on it:
The profiteering from "child internet celebrities" needs regulation; platforms should protect the legitimate rights and interests of minors in cyberspace.
This practically set the tone for the whole affair, meaning that even if the local court's ruling was outrageous, it wouldn't deviate too much.
Soon, more similar cases were uncovered, and various variety shows and MCN agencies that wanted to remain anonymous were warned and investigated.
The director of "Baby Go Forward" was extremely cautious. He not only donated his own savings to subsidize the prize money for the guests, but also established a new children's welfare fund in his personal name and donated a large sum of money to prove his innocence.
Lei Ling didn't sleep all night. He sat on the sofa and smoked several packs of cigarettes. His phone screen kept lighting up as letters of termination of his and Lei Ling's endorsement contracts with the brands he represented came in like snowflakes.
Ultimately, unable to withstand the pressure of public opinion, he sent Xixi to his ex-wife's house early in the morning.
Overnight, Xixi sensed that even his strong-willed father had become lonely.
He opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything. He just clutched his mother's sleeve tightly and watched Lei Shen walk away.
The show's all-out kneeling stunt did have some effect. Although many viewers were still dissatisfied with their actions, they apologized, paid out of their own pockets, and banned the Lei Shen Lei Ling from the entire internet. They did a good job in both appearance and substance.
With the full movie being released for free overnight, viewers who had been following the live stream had a great time and reviewed all the high-energy scenes.
They formed a strong fan base, and in just one day, the number of views for the full video reached an unprecedented level.
Although it's a children's variety show, the e-sports segment this season has really gone viral, attracting many people working in the e-sports industry.
Qian Yun, the team manager of KM team, is one of them.
Manager Qian, true to his name, manages a team with good results but poor commercial value, seemingly indifferent to money—but that's not really the case; he's been troubled by the low commercial value of his team members for a long time.
They were immediately captivated—so cute!!!
When he turned to the last row, a puppy doll caught Jiang Mingzhe's eye.
He stopped and stared at the puppy toy, remaining silent for a long time.
This puppy looks familiar.
Jiang Mingzhe searched his memory for a long time before finally remembering—wasn't this the dog from the meme that Bad Dad sent?
Like Leng Zhi's meme, this is also a Siberian Husky, or as it's also known, a husky.
The doll perfectly captures the characteristics of this type of dog: black fur on its head, a serious and disdainful look in its eyes, and a snow-white face.
Jiang Yijing chased after Jiang Mingzhe and found that the latter had stopped in front of the claw machine window with the puppy.
The little one raised his hand and pointed at the puppy toy: "It's a bad dad!"
Jiang Yijing: "...?"
Jiang Yijing casually searched for this dog breed online.
His eyes automatically filtered out those somewhat silly and cute husky photos, finally settling on a Siberian Husky standing with its lips pursed, on the snowy plain.
They do look somewhat alike.
Perhaps they have similar temperaments?
He didn't know that Jiang Mingzhe actually thought the emoji looked similar, and didn't actually identify it with Leng Zhi himself.
Jiang Mingzhe had already thrown a handful of coins into the machine and was intently gripping the small handle.
The grappling hook gripped the puppy doll's paw and slowly tightened.
"Got it! Got it!" The little one jumped up and down excitedly.
However, as the grappling hook began to move, the machine wobbled slightly, and the puppy fell back to its original position.
Jiang Mingzhe's expression immediately fell, but this small setback couldn't deter the young Jiang. He immediately tossed in another handful of coins: "Great chance! Let's try again!"
However, the grappling hook repeated the same trick again, and the puppy landed again, but this time it was one centimeter closer to the hole from which the doll came out.
Jiang Mingzhe rubbed his hands together excitedly: "We'll catch them soon!"
Jiang Yijing stood behind Jiang Mingzhe, watching him fail time and time again, until his little hand reached for the basket again and found nothing.
Jiang Mingzhe: !!!
Where are my coins?! They've all disappeared!
He turned his head and looked at Jiang Yijing with his big, watery eyes: "Daddy~"
Jiang Yijing handed his basket to Jiang Mingzhe with a hint of helplessness, gently reminding him, "You still need to catch Bulbasaur Zygarde."
Jiang Mingzhe was torn; he wanted both Bulbasaur Z and the Bad Daddy dog plushie.
One is his favorite animated pet character, and the other is a doll that he can bring home and beat up whenever his bad dad makes him unhappy. It's a really hard choice!
"Half on each side! I'm going to try my best to catch them all!"
Jiang Mingzhe's choice was to have it all.
He counted out fifty coins and set them aside, then pushed the remaining coins into the machine in one go, preparing for a final showdown.
"Little friend, do you need my help?"
"Be careful! The steps are high, don't fall."
They immediately stood up from their seats and reached out their hands to Jiang Mingzhe.
Jiang Mingzhe's big eyes blinked as he looked at the kind-hearted young aunties and broke into a big smile.
"Thank you all, Mingzhe can do it himself!"
The adorable little boy instantly melted the hearts of all the aunties. If it weren't for the rule against bringing food and drinks into the venue, they would have made Jiang Mingzhe take off his jacket to hold the snacks, just like the old folks at the New Star Internet Cafe back then.
"Your name is Mingzhe... Hey hey hey!"
Finally, a girl recognized her—wasn't that Leng Zhi's child?!
Because Jiang Mingzhe's small flags and colorful face paint were obscuring her vision, she didn't recognize him at first. But now that she heard his name, her memory was instantly activated.
Since becoming a fan of the LSG team, she has caught up on all the related video materials online, including the second season of "Baby Go Forward".
"It's Jiang Mingzhe from the captain's family! Are you alone? That's impossible, could it be..."
Only then did the fans shift their gaze from the adorable baby to the man in a suit following behind.
As expected, it wasn't just Jiang Mingzhe alone! There was also Young Master Jiang!
As a seasoned CP fan and a prolific fanfic artist online, the girl blushed with happiness upon seeing the actual person from the original pairing personally providing after-sales service.
"You're here to watch the Cold team's game too, right?"
Jiang Yijing smiled slightly and reached out to help Jiang Mingzhe, who was standing a little unsteadily: "He's exercising, he's fine."
After saying that, he put his index finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture.
The fans immediately understood and nodded to make way for him.
I will never be a sasaeng fan!
The final was a grand affair, with many celebrity endorsers in attendance. First came a fantastic song and dance performance with top-notch stage effects, followed by a broadcast of fan blessings collected online, and finally the most anticipated "friendly exchange" segment.
This time, both teams took to the stage at the same time.
A spotlight fell from above, casting a turbulent shadow between Bian Xiangyu and Leng Zhi. The representative colors of red and orange fell to the ground, and the atmosphere became tense.
Leng Zhi ground his teeth and gave the WRC captain a polite smile.
In his usual style, he started with a trash talk: "Team Leader, I've heard so much about you. What do you have to say about going home after this WRC match?"
The roe deer had been injected with anesthesia and lay unconscious on the operating table. A horrifying wound had been torn open around its left foreleg, revealing the perpetrator's identity—an animal trap.
The veterinarian reassured him, "Don't worry, we'll talk about it later. What's the condition of the wound?"
The two quickly exchanged information about the injured roe deer.
The five children were not allowed into the operating room. They pressed their faces against the glass, watching longingly as the four-legged animal with soft fur received suturing from the veterinarian.
"Why is it injured?" Jiang Mingzhe's voice lowered.
Leng Zhi did not answer. He did not know how to describe this huge poaching system and the countless poor animals behind it to a five-year-old child.
He didn't know much about it either, only bits and pieces from news reports.
The question wasn't answered until the veterinarian finished the surgery, when the veterinarian and the forest ranger described the dangers of the forest to him in a child's language.
Jiang Mingzhe listened in a daze, but a small seed was vaguely planted in his heart.
The guests were accommodated at a hotel inside the zoo that evening.
As darkness fell, the distant clouds burned a deep purple, casting long shadows of the group on the ground.
For the first time in a long time, Jiang Mingzhe was quiet. He held onto Leng Zhi's clothes and didn't laugh or play with his friends. The originally joyful trip to the zoo had left a subtle mark on Jiang Mingzhe's heart because of the injured deer.
Leng Zhi glanced at the sullen Jiang Mingzhe and asked softly, "Are you unhappy today?"
Jiang Mingzhe shook his head, then nodded: "Happy! The giraffe and the red panda are both very cute!"
Leng Zhi didn't ask any further questions.
Fortunately, children's attention is easily diverted. After dinner, back at the hotel, Leng Zhi reached out to Jiang Mingzhe's wrist: "Where's your watch? Let me swipe it for you for a while."
Jiang Mingzhe instantly recharged and sprang from the bed: "We're having another squirrel battle today!"
"Okay, let's have a squirrel war then."
With his new score in the Squirrel Battle, Jiang Mingzhe became very happy and started dreaming of becoming the Squirrel King. Before it was time to sleep, he obediently crawled into bed.
"Good night!" His eyes shone like the morning star.
Leng Zhi left the room—he had finally remembered something. There was still one task he hadn't finished today.
The phone screen remained on the chat window with Jiang Yijing, and the call was not dialed for a long time.
As per his boss's instructions, he was supposed to talk to Jiang Yijing on camera, not in a private room long after the live stream ended.
Forget it, let's just fight.
It's better to complete half the task than not to complete it at all, Leng Zhi calmly calculated.
[Still the familiar aggressiveness]
[That's infuriating, that old man Deng is really annoying]
[Old Deng and Little Deng, Xiao Jiang, quickly use your shareholder rights to kick them both out!]
Tang Wenshi lowered his eyes and remained silent. Only now did he begin to understand his captain's style.
It really is... my heart.
In the second game, the KM team became more cautious.
In this round, the two sides switched sides, and LSG banned first and then picked first.
LSG ruthlessly banned two of the strongest sidelane heroes in the current patch.
Zhuang Yu's pupils contracted: "As expected, they're still targeting Gong Cheng!"
After that, they made a similar selection as in the previous game, choosing a standard tank side lane hero, Titan, for the second position.
Zhuang Yu sneered, "Heh, still using this trick? We won't fall for it again!"
According to the coach's plan, they have great confidence in Gong Cheng's abilities and are prepared to let him choose a hero he is good at to go head-to-head with Panzer.
"As long as we leave the last position to Gong Cheng, we will definitely be able to restrain Panzer and make Gong Cheng achieve the desired effect..." he said through gritted teeth.
Therefore, the selection of the first four heroes was almost entirely foreshadowing Gong Cheng's future plans—marksmen and mid-laners who could allow the core to switch lanes for gold, junglers who were better suited to freeing up the side lanes, and standard tank supports to supplement the team's tankiness.
Luo Hongshuo pushed up his glasses: "Okay, now there are two major problems."
"First, we're still short one person. We haven't heard from Meng Cheng, and we haven't received his resume, which means he hasn't seen this team recruitment post. Second, the league's qualifying schedule here is every September and October, once a year. The winning team can qualify for the playoffs from November to January. Time is tight and the task is heavy. We need to make it to the September matches, so the pressure of training and finding people is very high."
Yu Fu nodded: "Yes, it's the end of August now. The first round of the qualifiers is the city tournament. Each registered team can participate in a maximum of three matches. Considering the time spent flying back and forth between the cities, it means that we need to complete the team registration for the alliance by mid-September at the latest and start the official competition."
Zou Shu added, "Recruiting new players is very troublesome. We must find them before mid-September, and we also need to recruit one more person so that six people can form a team."
Everyone studied the competition format here, and they quickly came up with a general direction: to find Meng Cheng while ensuring training.
Zou Shu couldn't help but complain: "What is Meng Cheng doing? We did a high-intensity self-search across the entire internet, and we found it as soon as Yu Fu's team recruitment came out!"
"Yeah, we're all here because of Yu Fu. At the very least, Captain Leng is now a star who's made a name for himself in both gaming and variety shows, so there's no reason why we shouldn't attract Meng Cheng's attention!"
"I really don't know what this kid is busy with."
They cursed a few times, but they were still somewhat uncertain.
What if Meng Cheng hadn't traveled through time? Or what if he ended up in some remote mountain valley, where he was helpless and had no one to turn to?
Finally, Leng Zhi outlined the future plan: "If we can't find one, I'll play jungle and recruit a support player. That way, we can add a player to the team after the regular season starts and let him play jungle."
The others remained silent—Leng Zhi was referring to a last resort. Ultimately, the jungler position would have to be given to Meng Cheng.
Seeing the somewhat heavy atmosphere, Zou Shu suddenly had a bright idea and interjected, "On a side note, does anyone want to see Captain Leng in a wedding dress?"
Leng Zhi: "?"
Yu Fu & Luo Hongshuo: "...???"
Sensing the invisible killing intent emanating from Leng Zhi, Yu Fu and Luo Hongshuo quickly shook their heads, declaring righteously, "We won't look, it must all be fake!"
"Why does he always leave so quickly?" Boss Xu muttered to himself as he watched Leng Zhi hurriedly pay the bill and leave.
When Leng Zhi came to his senses, he had already driven the car to the amusement park's parking lot.
"..."
I'm definitely not here to hang out with this kid. Meeting the boss on vacation? Absolutely not!
He convinced himself and casually bought a ticket to go inside.
"drop--"
The security guard at the entrance was a young girl. She smiled and helped him swipe his card at the gate: "Are you here alone? That's rare, a male tourist traveling alone. Have a pleasant trip, here's your guidebook."
Leng Zhi took the manual and said generously, "Yes, I came alone."
He emphasized the last four syllables, it was unclear whether he was speaking to the girl or to himself.
The amusement park is an adventure-themed park with a vivid and rich layout. The simulated tropical rainforest vegetation reaches the sky, and there are wild beast mechanisms that open their bloody mouths according to a pre-programmed sequence, performing their ferocious appearance for every passerby.
Following the instructions in the guidebook, Leng Zhi walked forward along the recommended route.
Many amusement rides have single-person lanes, so you can enjoy them without queuing. The long queues next to him all looked at the handsome young man with envy.
The amusement park's main customers are couples and families with children. They watched as this handsome young man, carefree and free to enjoy the rides, rode the roller coaster twice on his own.
Leng Zhi had a great time, and his hair, blown by the wind, revealed his full forehead, further highlighting his extremely high looks.
Several passersby seemed to recognize them as guests on the currently popular children's reality show.
"Hey, isn't that Leng Zhi?"
"It really seems so! Wow, he looks even better in person than on camera!"
"Should we get an autograph?"
After they reached a decision, Leng Zhi had already disappeared back into the crowd.
He felt the probing gazes of those around him, and had no choice but to put on a mask and let his bangs down to cover most of his eyes.
After passing through the roller coaster, you'll see the Spinning Cuphead.
The kindergarten group has already left, and now only a few individual tourists are playing here.
Without Jiang Mingzhe, that little devil, leading the way, Cuphead returned to the appearance of a gentle amusement park ride.
Lovers snuggled together, letting the teacups beneath them spin freely. Fathers with children lifted their babies high, while mothers slowly turned the spinning wheel, making the babies giggle.
Leng Zhi overheard the project administrators chatting:
"Those kids were really good at having fun."
"This is the first time I've seen something spin so fast."
"It seems there was also a kid who got vomited by his dad and was crying loudly while hugging the trash can. It cracked me up."
"I wonder which kid started this trend!"
The parent of one of the naughty kids walked over, eyes downcast and seemingly oblivious to their own thoughts.
Walk a little further ahead, and you'll see the large group of kindergarten children in the distance.
About twenty families came in total, along with the accompanying teachers, making it a large group of about fifty or sixty people, like a middle school class on a spring outing.
Jiang Mingzhe and Jiang Yijing were at the end of the line. Jiang Mingzhe held his father's hand and skipped along, his footprints filled with undisguised joy. He suddenly turned around and pointed his gaze directly at the ice cream shop next to Leng Zhi.
Leng Zhi subconsciously stopped and dodged behind a monster decoration.
Luo Hongshuo said meaningfully, "Speaking of which, we haven't added each other on WeChat yet."
Zou Shu immediately understood: "Yes, yes, that's right, let's add one quickly."
Leng Zhi: "..."
He knew his three good brothers too well. Although he would give them face on the surface, he would secretly create a group chat for the three of them to enjoy and discuss the live stream recording.
While secretly creating a small group chat on his phone, Yu Fu changed the subject: "Do you have any opinions on the location of the base?"
“Just use your funds,” Leng Zhi said.
He had originally planned to use the salary he received from Jiang Yijing to fund his team's operations. However, since he didn't know when he would be leaving the Jiang family, this wasn't exactly a stable income.
Yu Fu's unreliability also reveals his reliability. Although the hardware facilities are still far from adequate, he has already signed contracts for all the training aids and training accounts needed for the team's training.
Luo Hongshuo gave him an approving look: "Boss Yu is indeed capable."
Yu Fu chuckled: "That's a must. It's just that... the base rent seems a bit tight. I need to go home and get some more sponsorship."
Leng Zhi: "It's okay, there's no rush. My job is a bit unusual right now, so I can't attend the daily training sessions. We'll have to use online methods for the time being."
He calculated the time: "Jiang Mingzhe doesn't have much time left in his summer vacation. Once he goes back to school, we can take some time each day to go offline."
His teammates immediately cast sympathetic glances his way.
"Captain Leng, let's get a divorce. He gets custody of the children."
"You've really become an excellent stepfather to a wealthy family, bro."
However, the opposing team did not choose a similar lineup for the last two positions as they did in the previous game.
Archer, Gongsun Shangxiang.
Auxiliary, the Carp Immortal Crossing the River.
A standard marksman-centric system.
"Damn it! This isn't what we agreed on!" Zhuang Yu almost slammed his fist on the table and stood up, but with the camera right in front of him, he put his butt back down on the chair.
We've been tricked!
Now it's time for him to showcase his perfect acting skills.
But Jiang Mingzhe wasn't going to give him that chance.
He was filled with curiosity about Leng Zhi's cooking process—the vegetables he bought looked completely different from the pictures! Did this bad dad have magic powers?
The curious little boy followed Leng Zhi like a little shadow, wanting to see everything from when Leng Zhi carried the groceries into the kitchen to when Leng Zhi slowly took the groceries out of the bag, and even when Leng Zhi went to the bathroom.
"Bang--"
The bathroom door was slammed shut.
The butler looked at the busy lady and young master with a warm smile on his face.
He gently picked up Jiang Mingzhe: "Young Master, calm down for a while. Mr. Leng is in the restroom, so don't follow him in."
Leng Zhi finally took his first breath of the afternoon.
He quickly dialed the hotel's number and turned on the tap to cover his voice.
"Hello, welcome to Fudi Hotel."
This is a restaurant carefully selected by Leng Zhi. The price is moderate, but not so low-class that President Jiang's palate would immediately detect that it is pre-made food.
The food map of S City is pretty much the same as before he transmigrated here. He actually knows where he can order food that suits the tastes of a rich young master, but now the prices there are no longer affordable for him.
Things are different now. Good gold coins should be spent wisely. We can only make the young masters' taste experience suffer a bit. When asked about it later, we can just say that our cooking skills are average and can't compare to the top chefs outside.
"I want to order food for dinner, yes, to be delivered at five o'clock. I'll add you on WeChat and tell you the menu."
"Wait, when you deliver it, don't knock on the door. Wait for me about 200 meters from the gate, and I'll come pick it up myself. Yes, it might be a little troublesome, but I can give you a tip. Okay, thank you for your trouble."
After accepting the friend request, he immediately edited the menu and sent it over, and repeated the delivery instructions.
The other party was very helpful, settling on a price that perfectly matched the cost of the cold-pressed wallet, and sincerely promised to deliver it according to his request.
Leng Zhi: "..."
What could I do but pay it with tears in my eyes?
He also bumped the post he had previously made on the game forum.
I urgently need money, please. The next order will still be discounted.
Seeing that he was about to exceed Jiang Mingzhe's patience limit in the bathroom, he finally came out.
Leng Zhi took the live-streaming equipment from the housekeeper and led Jiang Mingzhe into the kitchen.
He began processing the vegetables.
Peeling potatoes, washing vegetables, and mashing garlic are simple steps that can be done with cold food preparation.
As he expected, Jiang Mingzhe watched the tedious and boring food preparation steps for a while, and then his eyelids started to droop.
He immediately put down the kitchen knife, invited the little deity into the bedroom, drew the curtains, put on an eye mask, set up the live streaming equipment, and eliminated all interference from light sources and sounds.
"good evening."
Jiang Mingzhe rubbed his eyes, wondering why Leng Zhi had prepared such thoughtful arrangements for him when he was just taking a nap.
He burrowed under the covers, not forgetting to emphasize, "Make sure you're all curled up when we're cooking!"
No wonder Tang Wenshi exclaimed that Leng Zhi's tactics were dirty. Leng Zhi had anticipated from the beginning that KM would be wary of anything after being bitten once, and would definitely do their best to protect their advantage on the flanks in the second game.
He even anticipated that KM would choose a support player to protect the side lane.
"Panzer, you're going to have to put up with this pressure this time," Leng Zhi said.
Yu Fu laughed more happily than anyone else: "Leave it to me, hehe, watching them fall into the trap is more satisfying than watching me kill indiscriminately."
Zhuang Yu rubbed his temples. Since things had come to this, he could only continue fighting the way things were going.
He regretted it somewhat. If he had known this would happen, he should have let Gong Cheng choose the hero earlier and left the last important counter pick for the support, so that his own marksman wouldn't be in such a passive position.
Crossing-the-River Carp Fairy is a very special support hero, extremely well-suited to the agile and graceful Gongsun Shangxiang, and is usually placed in the ban slot.
Unfortunately, KM was so focused on the enemy Titan that he thought it was a support, and missed the chance to ban her and pick a support that countered the team composition.
Leng Zhi... he really played a brilliant move.
Leng Zhi truly deserves the title of tactical master. If his old rivals saw this plan, they would probably grit their teeth and say things like, "As expected of you," or "I knew I was going to be fooled." After all, they had been tormented for two or three years.
No one here has ever seen such a bizarre tactic before—yet it worked.
[Laughing so hard, finally got out of there]
[Refunds? The zoo is too kind; I'd rather pay a fine.]
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