Chapter 17: Explanation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

[What were the caretakers doing? Didn’t they notice someone bullying the pandas? Is it okay to ignore a disabled panda?]

[What does this have to do with the caretakers? Instead of blaming them, why don’t you scold the people who poured water? Didn’t you see the caretaker girl crying while holding Bao? If it weren’t for her comforting Bao in time, Bao’s condition would have been even worse!

…

The arguments among netizens grew increasingly intense. Anger made everyone desperately seek an outlet. The comment section of the Capital Zoo’s official account was quickly taken over by netizens. Some demanded that the zoo publicly reveal the identities of the visitors, while others accused the zoo of not providing sufficient care and attention to the disabled panda.

After reading the news for a while, Xia Xin felt a growing headache and turned off her phone.

In the end, the zoo did not disclose the identities of the visitors who poured water because it was illegal.

The zoo could pursue the responsibility of those visitors privately, but if their identities were made public, they would undoubtedly face severe online harassment. The situation would only become worse.

Netizens were very dissatisfied with the zoo’s actions. They did not understand the situation, and from their perspective, the zoo had failed to take care of Bao and failed to punish the person who harmed Bao. After the incident, they saw no action from the zoo, as if it was playing dead.

In an instant, the reputation of the zoo was affected, and there were even individual netizens calling for a boycott of the “unscrupulous zoo”.

Before the end of the afternoon shift, Tang Hai informed Xia Xin that Lu Yuan wanted to see her.

Xia Xin’s heart trembled, feeling nervous, ‘Is Mr. Lu going to hold me responsible?’

Although Xia Xin knew this possibility was small, she could not guess why Lu Yuan would want to meet with her.

After entering Lu Yuan’s office, Xia Xin saw his serious expression.

The incident may not be Xia Xin’s fault, but she felt that since the accident had happened, as a caretaker, she definitely had a certain degree of responsibility.

Xia Xin stood in front of Lu Yuan’s desk and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Lu. I was wrong in this matter.”

Lu Yuan paused for a moment and smiled. Then he said, “I may be old, but I’m not senile yet. What does this have to do with you? I didn’t come to criticize you. I wanted to ask if you could help me, and of course, help the zoo as well.”

Xia Xin suddenly raised her head, wondering how she could be of assistance.

Seeing Xia Xin’s puzzled expression, Lu Yuan explained, “Here’s the thing. Now, the netizens think that our zoo is not taking responsibility. However, we can’t publicly reveal the identities of those visitors. I think we need to find another way to appease the netizens’ anger. Otherwise, the reputation of the zoo will be severely affected.”

Xia Xin listened quietly.

“You were just on the trend search a few days ago, and netizens are quite familiar with you. You have a good image, and Pipi and Dodo like you. Netizens have a favorable impression of you. If you can come forward and explain the situation, perhaps the netizens will be willing to understand the difficulties our zoo is facing. Of course, this is just my personal suggestion. If you don’t want to do it, I won’t force you.”

After a two-second silence, Xia Xin nodded and said, “Mr. Lu, I’m willing to explain the situation.”

Lu Yuan let out a long sigh of relief, and the wrinkles on his face relaxed a bit. He said, “Good. Set up a streaming account. After you publish the content, our zoo’s official account will mention you. Now you can go back and think about what to say. Don’t feel pressured. Say whatever you want to say.”

Lu Yuan did not ask Xia Xin to deliver an official statement. After all, such statements would not be effective. Currently, what was most important was for the zoo to have a spokesperson with a favorable image, to help calm the netizens’ anger.

After the conversation with Lu Yuan, Xia Xin returned home. When she pushed open the door, Layle wagged its tail and rushed over, then sat obediently on the ground, looking at Xia Xin with bright eyes.

Xia Xin gently rubbed Layle’s head and apologized, “Layle, is it boring at home alone? Wait a few days, the things I ordered will arrive, and then you’ll have new toys.”

Xia Xin worked at the Capital Zoo, and it was not appropriate to bring her pet to the zoo every day, so she left Layle at home today.

Xia Xin noticed that there was still a lot of leftover dog food in the bowl that she poured in before leaving in the morning and realized that Layle was not the kind of dog that ate without restraint.

Xia Xin went to the kitchen and cooked some fresh chicken breast as an extra meal for Layle. Then she entered the bedroom, sat in front of the desk, and turned on the camera on her phone. She hesitated about how to explain to the netizens.

After thinking for a long time, Xia Xin took a deep breath and pressed the record button.