It was nine thirty at night.
Xiao Zhang, who had been busy all day, returned home.
She tossed her bag aside, kicked off her shoes, and plopped onto the soft couch.
Instinctively, she reached for her phone and opened a short video app.
After a busy day, this was one of the few times she had to herself.
And during such times, scrolling through videos was the most effortless and relaxing activity.
All it took was a flick of her fingers to find joy and amusement.
The app opened, displaying its familiar logo.
Then, a video appeared.
It was one with few likes, comments, or saves.
Normally, Xiao Zhang would have instinctively swiped past it.
But now, she was suddenly stunned.
The video title read: "Northeast Tiger's Belly, So Soft!"
Northeast tiger?
Belly???
Xiao Zhang stared at the expanse of white on her phone screen.
It truly looked like the fur of some animal.
Then, a long, slender hand appeared, slowly rubbing the belly.
The camera followed the rubbing motion, pulling back.
Revealing the full picture.
A Northeast tiger, sprawled on the ground, looked at a slender man with a helpless expression.
The man, on the other hand, was beaming with a smile as he gently rubbed the tiger's belly.
A simple scene.
Only fifteen seconds long.
But this simple video, coupled with a warm and cheerful BGM, exuded a healing power.
Xiao Zhang didn't hesitate.
She first gave it a triple-tap: like, comment, and save.
Then, she opened the comments and quickly typed.
"Such a heartwarming scene!"
"Is this really... a Northeast tiger???"
She sent the comment.
Then, with just a refresh.
The video's initially sparse comments exploded.
"My god, petting a tiger? A Northeast tiger???"
"Is the author a zookeeper? I'm so jealous!"
"I want to touch it too! It looks so good to touch!"
"Petting the big kitty (starry eyes)"
"......"
Xiao Zhang was dumbfounded.
In the blink of an eye, the video's comments had surpassed a hundred.
And they were still climbing.
Every refresh brought in dozens of new comments, a relentless flood.
Besides the comments, the video's like count was also skyrocketing.
Xiao Zhang remembered that when she first watched it, there were only a few dozen likes.
And now, in the time it took her to type a few words, the likes had broken ten thousand?
That's insane!
This was the first video she'd seen with such powerful data.
Xiao Zhang was also a little bewildered.
But what shocked her most was the author's identity.
Was he really a zookeeper?
But why was his name "Old Su of the Farm"?
With a question mark in her mind, Xiao Zhang swiped left and entered the author's profile.
It was obviously a new account.
The number of followers barely reached a thousand.
It was likely that the recent video had driven the follower growth.
She scrolled down the page, not even getting a chance to see the author's bio before she was captivated by the adorable antics of two tiger cubs in the works section.
Without hesitation, Xiao Zhang clicked on the video.
"Hee hee,"
"From today on, you'll be called Little White, and you'll be called Little Yellow."
"How about that?"
The tiger cubs looked at Su Ze and let out a baby-like "awoo."
In an instant.
Xiao Zhang was captivated.
"My god! They're so cute!"
"And... this blogger... is so handsome!"
"To watch the handsome guy... no, to watch the cubs, follow, follow!"
Without a second thought, Xiao Zhang hit the follow button.
Then she opened the comments.
And by now, the comments section was in chaos.
"Such cute tiger cubs!"
"I can't take it anymore, I'm having a nosebleed!"
"Upstairs, I hope you mean the cubs are too cute (dog head)"
"You can have the cubs, I want the blogger. No, I want a cub too!"
"Little White is too cute, all fluffy!"
"And Little Yellow, his arrogant face is so funny!"
"Hahaha..."
With every refresh, countless comments poured into the comments section.
And these comments were filled with laughter.
It seemed as if, in this moment, their inner weariness was swept away.
The netizens in the comments section were like this.
Xiao Zhang, watching the video, was the same.
A smile curled on her lips.
"This blogger is really interesting."
...
On the short video platform.
The two videos Su Ze had posted were destined to cause a huge stir.
Of course, that wasn't due to the quality of his editing.
Nor was it because the existence of Northeast tigers and cubs shocked people.
After all, while rare, Northeast tigers could still be seen in zoos.
Especially in today's age of flourishing new media, many zoos have their own official accounts.
They frequently post videos.
And it's not uncommon to see videos of Northeast tigers, even the national treasure, the giant panda.
Under such circumstances.
The viewers assumed that.
Su Ze, the poster of the video, was merely a zookeeper.
While an enviable job, it wasn't rare.
And these videos, though heartwarming and hilarious under Su Ze's editing,
Were far from capable of setting the internet on fire.
Until...
The Lin Yuan City Forestry Bureau, in conjunction with the Northeast Province Forestry Department, issued a document.
The document title: "Notification on the Discovery of Wild Northeast Tigers in Lin Yuan City."
The entire document was around two thousand words.
When condensed, its essence was only one sentence:
Considering multiple factors, the recently discovered wild Northeast tigers...
Will be temporarily cared for by Su Ze of Lin Yuan City.