dmims Chapter 279 Am I good-looking? Average!
Chapter 279 Am I good-looking? Average!
As soon as Lin Feng finished lunch and put down his chopsticks, Tang Xiaorui couldn't wait to speak:
"There's still an hour before work starts, Captain Lin—" she drawled, leaning forward, her eyes shining brightly, "Would you like to go boating on Swan Lake with me?"
"We saw black swans with their babies, it was so interesting! Just the two of us, all so quiet..."
"No." Lin Feng refused without the slightest hesitation, his mind flashing with images:
The narrow hull of the boat, the shimmering lake water, the unmonitored environment, and the seemingly sweet girl in front of you who actually harbors a ticking time bomb...
He must nip any possibility of an accidental clash in the bud.
Seeing Tang Xiaorui's face fall instantly, he softened his tone:
"The morning patrol was not just about walking some distance—I dealt with an 'abnormal situation,' which was very physically and mentally exhausting."
"What I need now is real, undisturbed rest and recovery."
"You wouldn't want me to make any irreparable mistakes during my afternoon shift due to lack of energy or slow reaction time, would you?"
Tang Xiaorui pouted, her fingers unconsciously twirling the ends of her ponytail, clearly struggling between "wanting to be alone with Lin Feng" and "not wanting him to have any work-related accidents."
Ultimately, the latter prevailed.
"Well... okay, you get some rest."
He immediately followed up with, "Where do we meet this afternoon?"
"Check in at the security booth in the primate enclosure before 1:30."
"Got it! The security booth in the primate enclosure, before 1:30." Tang Xiaorui repeated, stood up, picked up her plate, and smiled again.
"See you later, Captain Lin! Dream about me... oh no, I mean, get some rest!"
She stuck out her tongue, turned around, and left the cafeteria with light steps.
Wasim walked over, patted Lin Feng's arm with his broad hand, and a rare, slightly teasing smile appeared on his bronze face:
"This girl is like a lively little lark, full of energy, full of ideas, and clingy."
He paused, looked at Lin Feng, and a hint of envy flashed in his eyes.
"If she's by your side in the future, life will definitely not be boring."
"I can be crazy with you, go through thick and thin with you, and even play games with you."
Lin Feng couldn't help but picture himself playing games with Tang Xiaorui side by side, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
He picked up the painting tube and said softly, "Let's go back to the dormitory and rest first."
........................
At 1:26 PM, Lin Feng and Wasim stepped into the somewhat cramped doorway of the security booth in the primate enclosure.
As soon as he steadied himself, his gaze was immediately drawn to a figure inside the pavilion that was completely different from his usual self.
Tang Xiaorui has arrived.
Instead of wearing the off-white casual outfit she wore in the morning, she changed into a plain dark blue security guard uniform.
The rough synthetic fabric should have concealed her figure, but on her, it strangely accentuated her exquisite curves, giving her a neat yet contradictory charm.
The shoulder line of the top was slightly wide for her, but it made her neck look long and slender.
She tightened her waist slightly with a thin leather belt she found somewhere, outlining her slender waist and full hips below.
The trousers were slightly long, rolled up at the ankles to reveal slender ankles and a pair of sturdy black low-top work boots.
She even meticulously pinned her long hair up under her security guard hat, leaving only a few strands hanging by her ears. She lost her usual charming and lively demeanor and gained a rare sense of competence that belonged to a "staff member".
This sudden change in appearance made Lin Feng's heart skip a beat.
Unexpectedly, she was able to wear this most ordinary work clothes with such a unique aesthetic that blends flexibility and strength, uniform allure and professional seriousness.
"How is it? Does it look good?" Tang Xiaorui twirled lightly in front of him, her eyes sparkling under her hat, full of anticipation.
Lin Feng quickly composed himself, his gaze sweeping over her, his tone calm and indifferent:
"It's alright."
"Just average?!" Tang Xiaorui immediately puffed out her cheeks, her tone coquettish yet certain, "You're lying! Your eyes were practically glued to the screen just now!"
"The word 'stunning' practically jumped out of your eyes, don't think I didn't see it!"
Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat: "Little sister, aren't you the 'trickster'? I'm just fooling you."
He merely raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and, along with Wasim, completed the check-in process at the terminal in the security booth.
The three then left the guard post and began their afternoon patrol.
The primate enclosure is divided according to species and habits, including a gibbon exhibit, a baboon and mandrill exhibit, an Old World monkey exhibit, a New World monkey exhibit, a lemur island, and a separate chimpanzee enclosure.
The three walked slowly along the planned path, with Lin Feng on the far left, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings warily.
Wasim followed behind, his steps steady and his demeanor calm.
Tang Xiaorui followed behind the two, looking like she wanted to get close to Lin Feng but was trying hard to hold back. Her hesitant posture was quite lively and cute.
As Lin Feng walked towards the baboon and mandrill exhibit, he suddenly stopped.
As he gazed at the massive main artificial mountain in the exhibition area, a strange sense of familiarity welled up inside him.
He silently took out the old photo from the Republic of China era that he had obtained earlier from his inner pocket and carefully compared it with the artificial mountain in the exhibition area.
The outline of the mountain and the trend of the stacked rocks in the photo are highly consistent with the artificial mountain in front of us.
In the photo, a hidden stone entrance was partially concealed by vines behind the artificial hill, but now that spot has been replaced by a solid rock, and the entrance has vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
Lin Feng looked up and exchanged a glance with Wasim, who had also noticed something amiss. Both of them saw a tacit understanding of gravity in each other's eyes.
"What's wrong? Did you find something?" Tang Xiaorui noticed the two's unusual behavior, stepped forward, and asked softly.
Lin Feng put away the photos, looked at Tang Xiaorui, and asked in a calm tone:
"Did you grow up in this zoo?"
Tang Xiaorui nodded without hesitation: "Yes."
"And this artificial hill," Lin Feng pointed to the hill in the exhibition area, "is this what you saw when you were a child?"
Tang Xiaorui looked in the direction he pointed and nodded firmly again: "Yes, it's always been like this, nothing has changed."
Wasim, standing nearby, immediately asked in a deep voice, "When you were a child, did you ever climb this artificial hill or explore the caves inside?"
Tang Xiaorui gently shook her head:
"My father always told me to stay away from these monkeys and gorillas, saying that they carry unknown bacteria and are very aggressive, and he wouldn't let me get close."
Lin Feng nodded slowly and did not ask any further questions.
The three continued on their way and soon arrived at the Old Continent monkey exhibit area.
A few tourists gathered in front of the glass curtain wall, while the monkeys in the exhibition area either climbed and played or sat and rested quietly, seemingly everything was normal.
Several feeding ports were set up below the glass, and there were also eye-catching feeding instructions posted next to them.
Just then, a furtive figure approached one of the feeding pens.
The man was wearing a faded gray hoodie, the hood pulled down very low, covering most of his face except for a sharp chin.
He held a peeled banana in his hand, his gaze fixed on a monkey in the exhibit.
The monkey he had his eye on had a particularly strange appearance—
Its dark fur from its chest and abdomen to its back strangely outlined a clear silhouette resembling "overalls".
Its head hair was neatly and rigidly parted to both sides, forming a smooth, glossy center parting...