Chapter 119.2

But Deputy Director Liu couldn’t bring himself to kick someone when they were down. He cleared his throat and took the initiative to help Mu Ling save face:

“Arrogant is a very powerful war beast. And since it just retired, it’s still at its physical peak, which makes it… a bit harder to tame.”

“Deputy Director Liu,” Mu Ling suddenly spoke up, her eyes fixed solemnly on the surveillance feed. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Deputy Director Liu quickly waved his hands. “Don’t say that. Even if this matchmaking doesn’t work out, there’ll be other chances. It’s not a big deal. A failed mating attempt won’t kill a beast…”

“No, I mean—”

“Deputy Director!” Arrogant’s keeper suddenly shrieked.

Deputy Director Liu jumped in shock and whipped his head around—only to see that Butcher had somehow crept to the gate, stretched out a paw, unlocked the latch, and darted right out!

“Good heavens!” Deputy Director Liu’s face drained of color.

Arrogant’s keeper and Mu Ling immediately rushed out.

The keeper hurried to shut the gate, afraid Arrogant might escape too.

Mu Ling and Xiang Bie, meanwhile, flanked Butcher from both sides to block his escape.

“Butcher, what are you doing?!” Mu Ling was nearly beside herself. “If you don’t want the blind date, we can just go back. Why are you running?!”

Usually defiant and Ba Dao, Butcher had no intention of wrestling with them today. He spun around and charged in the opposite direction.

Mu Ling and Xiang Bie immediately gave chase.

But Butcher didn’t follow the main path. He dashed into a thicket of brambles at the roadside, seemingly unfazed by the thorns stabbing at his feet, moving lightning-fast. Mu Ling and Xiang Bie couldn’t follow directly through the brush and had to take a longer route around.

Back at the main command center, Deputy Director Liu was drenched in sweat. He quickly called the security team to hurry over, then pulled up satellite surveillance to track Butcher’s location.

To his relief, Butcher was heading toward the flower fields in the back.

Deputy Director Liu breathed easier. Their zoo had a beautiful field of flowers—popular with visitors and often rented by wedding companies for photo shoots. But it was still early in the day, just after opening hours. No visitors would have arrived yet.

Just as he began to relax, Arrogant’s keeper said, “The flower fields? Director, didn’t we rent those out to a film crew for an ad shoot? A three-day booking—they’re starting setup today!”

Deputy Director Liu: “……”

He’d completely forgotten.

*

At the flower fields, Bai Su was touching up his makeup.

The director was adjusting the camera angles nearby. Seeing that Bai Su’s look was nearly done, he came over to discuss poses.

They were shooting a high-end fashion ad. Bai Su, a top model, was there to showcase the brand’s clothing—capturing a dreamlike vibe among the flowers.

Bai Su listened absently, his elegant, refined face wearing an expression of lazy indifference.

The director loved that attitude. He said with satisfaction, “Keep that aura in the next take.”

Bai Su didn’t respond—just casually gazed out over the sea of flowers.

And then, as he watched, the aloof young man suddenly froze.

His eyes locked on something ahead—watching in disbelief as a small black creature with white fur on its back darted through the flowers at full speed.

“What the hell is that?!”

“Ahhh! Some animal just ran in!”

“Protect Bai Su! Protect Bai Su!”

The crew shouted as they rushed to surround Bai Su. Someone even grabbed a tool to try and drive the creature away.

But the animal clearly wasn’t interested in them. It bolted toward a large tree, scurried up the trunk in seconds, and with a single swipe, knocked down the beehive hanging there.

As the hive hit the ground, a swarm of bees exploded into the air with a buzzing roar—charging at the death-defying honey badger.

The black-clawed beast shook its head violently to dodge the bees, then leaped from the tree and started tearing into the hive with its claws, trying to crack it open.

By the time Mu Ling and Xiang Bie arrived, this was the scene they stumbled upon.

The bee swarm was so thick that they couldn’t get close, and had to shout from a distance: “Butcher!”

Hearing their voices, the film crew turned toward them.

Bai Su, standing at the back of the crowd wearing a long white shirt, tilted his head to glance forward—and suddenly spotted a very familiar figure.

He froze…

Just then, the Maple Leaf Zoo’s security team arrived. A dozen men stared at the fearless Black Claw Ferocious Badger tearing into the hive, but none dared approach.

At that moment, the beast finally broke through the hive. It shook its head and began devouring the honey and larvae inside. After a while, it grabbed the largest chunk in its jaws and turned to run back the way it came.

Seeing it flee, the security guards gave chase. Mu Ling and Xiang Bie were about to follow too—but then, a clear male voice rang out behind them, sharp with surprise:

“Mu Ling?”

Mu Ling turned instinctively—and then froze.

Xiang Bie also looked back. When he saw a man with strikingly good looks calling out to Mu Ling, his brow furrowed deeply.

Bai Su tried to walk forward, but the staff kept him back, worried he might get stung by the bees.

He could only look at the girl from a distance and ask, “What are you doing here?”

Mu Ling opened her mouth to reply—but before she could speak, Xiang Bie’s voice called out from the other side: “Director, Butcher’s getting away!”

Mu Ling snapped back to her senses. She quickly told Bai Su, “Sorry, I’ve got something urgent.”

Then she turned and bolted after Butcher.

Xiang Bie gave Bai Su one last look, then silently followed after her.

*

Fifteen minutes later, Deputy Director Liu was on the verge of tears as he watched Arrogant inside the enclosure, gorging on the honeycomb.

Honey badgers are called that for a reason—they’ll die for honey if they have to.

And since the Black Claw Ferocious Badger is an evolved variant, their obsession with honey is just as intense.

And so, Butcher—trying to win his future mate—staged a jailbreak, hunted down a hive, and pulled off a flawless execution. Finally, he got a favorable reaction from Arrogant.

Butcher was ecstatic. He lay on the ground, happily munching on the scraps of honeycomb Arrogant left behind. From time to time, he’d even sneak a quick lick at Arrogant’s lips.

The two beasts were delighted.

Deputy Director Liu, on the other hand, had to spend a long time apologizing to the film crew.

Mu Ling also spent ages apologizing to him.

So in the end, it was only the humans who got hurt…

And not just two of them, either.

Xiang Bie’s face was as cold as ice. He stared at Mu Ling, who was watching the two Black Claw Ferocious Badgers in the enclosure with bright eyes. He couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Director, who was that guy just now?”

Mu Ling blinked, turned to look at Xiang Bie, and said, “Oh right, you just reminded me—I’ve been wondering that too. I’ve only met him once, and that was ages ago…”

She turned to Deputy Director Liu and asked, “Deputy Director, do you know who those people shooting the ad are? There was a tall guy, super pale, had this lazy, spaced-out look. What’s his name?”

Deputy Director Liu had seen the surveillance footage earlier. He replied, “You mean Bai Su?”

Mu Ling’s eyes lit up. “So his name’s Bai Su, huh.”

Bai—as in that Bai. No wonder he showed up at Grandpa’s funeral all those years ago…

It was only this year that Mu Ling learned she had a Grandaunt she’d never met—also surnamed Bai.

Mu Ling kept turning over the name Bai Su in her mind.

Meanwhile, Xiang Bie felt increasingly conflicted.

Because based on how Mu Ling described him—his sense of crisis was beginning to feel like a joke…!