"Do you miss me, Tongtong?" she asked, taking his little hand.
"Yes, shall we go see the tigers and elephants together later?" Tongtong replied.
Yaoyao nodded, "Mhm, okay! I want to see the giant pandas too, because they're so cute!"
"I'll go buy the tickets!" Xu Muqing said, moving towards the ticket window.
Liu Yifeng immediately pulled out the tickets he had just bought for them, "I've got them. Let's go in together!"
"Thank you!" Xu Muqing took the tickets.
Liu Yifeng held Tongtong's hand, Xu Muqing held Yaoyao's, and Tongtong held Yaoyao's. The four of them, hand in hand, looked like a family of four.
Xia Qianqian, walking beside Liu Yifeng, seemed like the odd one out.
Upon entering the zoo, the first animals they saw were monkeys.
Tongtong and Yaoyao, watching the little monkeys scampering on the enclosure, excitedly let go of their adults' hands and ran towards them.
Liu Yifeng and Xu Muqing followed closely, afraid of losing sight of the children for even a second.
Many people were feeding the monkeys fruit, and Yaoyao wanted to do the same.
However, they hadn't brought anything to feed them, so Xu Muqing specially bought some fruit for the two children to feed the monkeys.
"Yifeng, Miss Xu is so beautiful. What does she do?" Xia Qianqian asked Liu Yifeng curiously while Xu Muqing was with the children feeding the monkeys.
Liu Yifeng watched the three of them and replied, "She's in the fashion business!"
"Oh, no wonder she's so stylish. She looks young and capable. It's a shame she's not an actress, with her looks!" Xia Qianqian exclaimed with regret.
In this era where looks matter most, there are many beautiful faces who are doing very well.
Liu Yifeng didn't quite understand the mindset of people in her industry, "Do you think anyone good-looking should enter the entertainment industry?"
Xia Qianqian came back to her senses, "Not exactly. It's just that Miss Xu is so stunning. Even as a woman, I'm captivated by her beauty. If she were to enter the entertainment industry, she'd definitely be more popular than Yun Duor!"
Liu Yifeng didn't understand why she would compare herself to Yun Duor, and he asked curiously, "You think Yun Duor is popular too?"
"Honestly, I didn't know her before, but her song 'Wind Sound' made me aware of her. Plus, she's been on many variety shows recently, and her upcoming TV series has also garnered a lot of attention," Xia Qianqian said.
"Really? I don't think she's that popular. It's all hype! If one lacks substance, they'll eventually fade from the scene," Liu Yifeng had never thought of that woman as popular. In his eyes, true top-tier stars were the veteran actors, not these current popular actresses.
Hearing Liu Yifeng's assessment of Yun Duor, Xia Qianqian felt inexplicably better. His words suggested he wasn't interested in Yun Duor, so her worries from yesterday seemed to be unfounded.
"What are you two chatting about? You seem to be having a good laugh!" At this moment, Xu Muqing turned around and saw them chatting and laughing.
"Nothing much. Are you done feeding the fruit? I'll go buy some more!" Liu Yifeng said, intending to buy more bananas.
Zoos, if anything, have plenty of animal food, intended for tourists to purchase and feed the animals. It's not permissible for visitors to feed their own brought fruits and vegetables to the animals; if any issues arise, the owner is legally liable. Therefore, even though many people brought their own fruit, they dared not feed it to the animals, valuing legal safety over the pleasure of feeding them.
Xu Muqing quickly stopped Liu Yifeng, "There's still plenty left, don't buy any more, or we won't be able to finish it." She had bought bananas and apples. The bananas were almost gone, but there were still apples left.
Liu Yifeng then stopped going to buy more. He walked behind Tongtong and saw him feeding bananas to the monkeys. It was fortunate these weren't aggressive monkeys, or they would have snatched the bananas away. Instead, they were eating them obediently, one bite at a time, from Tongtong's hand.
Seeing Xia Qianqian standing alone, Xu Muqing asked, "Qianqian, do you want to feed the monkeys too? I have apples left!"
Xia Qianqian smiled and shook her head, "No, thank you. You guys go ahead!"
Seeing Xia Qianqian decline, Xu Muqing didn't insist and continued feeding the monkeys. Xia Qianqian felt a bit bored. Looking at the happy four of them, she felt a pang of unease. She and Liu Yifeng's son had arrived first, yet she felt like an intruder. Thinking this, she actively moved closer and watched Tongtong feeding the monkeys, cheering him on. She didn't want to be the one left out.
After feeding the monkeys, they moved on to the crocodile enclosure, which housed over thirty crocodiles, all of them quite large. If one were to fall in, they would be torn apart and their bones gnawed clean in an instant. Since there was only a fence and no other safety measures, Liu Yifeng held Tongtong's hand the entire time, and Xu Muqing also held Tongtong's hand. To prevent Tongtong from holding Yaoyao's hand again, Xia Qianqian took Tongtong's other hand. The three of them then resembled a family of three.
Xu Muqing saw this but said nothing, her expression showing no displeasure. She continued to chat and laugh with Liu Yifeng. After all, she and Liu Yifeng were just friends. Xia Qianqian, let alone holding Tongtong's hand, even holding Liu Yifeng's hand, was none of her business. There was no need to make herself angry over such a matter.
However, Xia Qianqian's next action made her feel a little jealous. "Miss Xu, could you take a group photo for us?" Xia Qianqian asked with a smile, pulling out her phone and opening the camera app.
Given the situation, Xu Muqing couldn't refuse. "Okay, stand properly, and I'll take one for you!"
Seeing Xu Muqing agree, Xia Qianqian was overjoyed. She smiled, held Tongtong's hand, tilted her head, and made a peace sign. Liu Yifeng held Tongtong's other hand, with one hand in his pocket, exuding a roguish charm. The three of them smiled at the camera, and soon Xu Muqing finished taking the photo and returned the phone to Xia Qianqian.
Xia Qianqian took it, saying, "Thank you!" She looked at the photo on her phone with great satisfaction. "Miss Xu, you're a good photographer. The picture turned out great!"
"I just took it casually!" Xu Muqing didn't want her praise. The way Xia Qianqian kept calling her "Miss Xu" felt like a sarcastic jab at her age. She herself had wanted to take a photo with Liu Yifeng and Tongtong, but she was generally too reserved to say such things, and she was embarrassed to ask. Otherwise, Xia Qianqian might think she was trying to copy her.
Just then, Yaoyao tugged at her hand. "Mommy, can we take a photo with Uncle Liu and Tongtong too?"
"That depends on Uncle Liu's wishes!" Xu Muqing deferred the decision to Liu Yifeng.
Liu Yifeng, of course, wouldn't refuse such a small matter. "Yaoyao, do you want to take a picture? Then hurry over, let's take one together!"
As Yaoyao walked over, she didn't forget to hold her mother's hand and walked to Liu Yifeng's side. The task of taking the photo was, obviously, to be handed over to Xia Qianqian. This time, it was Xu Muqing who gave her phone to Xia Qianqian, asking her to help them take a photo. Under the lens, all four of them were handsome and beautiful. Xia Qianqian didn't even need to find a specific angle; any shot looked like a professional photograph.
After taking the photos, Liu Yifeng took Tongtong to see the tigers, which Tongtong had been longing for.