Chapter 3: Who Could Understand Better Than I Do?

Ning Zexi, handsome and naturally funny, enjoyed considerable popularity; his livestream now had two thousand viewers online. Today, there wasn’t much material to showcase—the entire audience was hanging on his solo comedic monologue.

As soon as word spread about the discovery of poachers, the audience’s excitement surged.

“Those aren’t five earless foxes—that’s a sentence between five and ten years in prison!”

“Hurry up, streamer! That woman looks like she’s about to run!”

“No wonder it’s voted the cutest animal in the world by the media! Streamer, act fast! Such a soft little bundle can’t be skinned for clothes! That’s just cruel!”

“Don’t worry, everyone, I will take action!”

“Justice! Peace!”

Ning Zexi rolled up his sleeves, eyes shining with noble resolve.

“Don’t move! I’ve already called the police!”

With a defensive knife in one hand and phone in the other, he rushed forward and confronted Xu Ying.

“Put down the little foxes, or don’t blame me if my blade doesn’t take pity!”

But it was his first time confronting a criminal, and nerves got the better of him. In his panic, he mistakenly held the knife to his ear as if it were a phone, and brandished the phone like a knife towards Xu Ying.

The viewers, expecting him to subdue the villain, were utterly befuddled witnessing this entire scene.

“I’m speechless. Streamer, are your hands and brain out of sync? Holding a knife to your ear and offering the phone to the criminal—what kind of self-sabotage is this?”

“Maybe his brain just isn’t fully developed.”

“Fierce battle spirit, but a complete fool’s move.”

“Ning Zexi: I don’t care, I’ll embarrass myself.”

Startled by Ning Zexi’s sudden leap, Xu Ying quickly shielded the fox cubs behind her.

Hearing the stranger’s words, she immediately realized he had mistaken her for a poacher.

Confused, she stared at the knife pressed to his ear, then reached out and snatched the phone from his hand. Seeing the emergency number dialed on the screen, she breathed a sigh of relief—just in time, since she did intend to call the police.

Ning Zexi was puzzled why the expensive phone at his ear hadn’t rung, only realizing his blunder when it was seized.

He hurriedly pointed the knife at Xu Ying: “Stealing foxes and snatching phones? That’s double the crime!”

Moving closer to the fox cubs curled at Xu Ying’s feet, he tried to coax them over: “Little foxes, this woman is a poacher!”

“Your brother is here to save you!”

But the cubs moved further away, their eyes wary and anxious.

Feeling the cubs’ fear, Xu Ying scolded sharply: “You’re reckless! Suddenly jumping out and scaring people with a knife.”

“Animal infants have undeveloped physiology and immune systems, very sensitive to external stimuli. When frightened, the surge of stress hormones can burden their hearts, making them prone to heart disease!”

Ning Zexi listened, eyes wide with surprise: “You poachers sure know a lot!”

Xu Ying shrugged helplessly: “Because I’m not a poacher—I’m the director of an animal rescue center.”

Ning Zexi snorted coldly: “You say that, but where’s your proof?”

The proud leader of the foxes immediately squeaked at Ning Zexi: [My sister has proof!]

Xu Ying pulled out her work ID and held it before Ning Zexi’s eyes—

“Director of Animal Rescue Center 032.”

Due to understaffing, each center was basically run by one person; Xu Ying was the “boss” here.

At that moment, the call Ning Zexi had placed connected, and a deep male voice answered: “Hello, Desert District Police Station!”

Recognizing the voice, Xu Ying quickly said, “Hello, Brother Chen! This is Xu Ying from Station 032. I have a report.”

Seeing Xu Ying’s ID and hearing her familiar tone with the police officer, Ning Zexi wished he could bury his head in the sand like an ostrich.

Help—he had tried to be a hero in front of the entire online audience, only to become the clown himself!

Xu Ying reported how she had been abandoned by a colleague in the desert.

After hanging up, she returned the phone to Ning Zexi.

He bowed deeply, hands outstretched to take the phone: “So you’re an animal rescuer! I’m sorry! Sorry! It was a misunderstanding.”

Despite his embarrassment and guilt, Ning Zexi felt a twinge of disappointment.

He had thought catching a poacher would make him an internet sensation.

The Environmental Protection Fund was launching a new reforestation project that urgently needed funding; just yesterday, they asked if he could help.

He introduced himself to Xu Ying.

Learning that he was a hiking enthusiast who donated most of his livestream earnings to the environmental fund, Xu Ying’s irritation eased considerably.

“All right, no more nonsense. There’s a sandstorm coming in two hours.”

The moment Ning Zexi heard “sandstorm,” his expression changed instantly. “Really? Don’t scare me!”

“Believe it or not.”

Xu Ying gathered the fox cubs to usher them into the travel crate.

“Come on, cubs, get in quickly—we still have forty kilometers to cover. Hurry up.”

As the crate door opened, the little earless foxes scrambled inside one by one, afraid of the stranger who’d just scared their “big sister.”

One cub tumbled in the sand, covered in dust, both comical and pitiful.

Xu Ying smiled wryly, helping it up.

“Don’t rush, there’s still time. Let’s line up and go in one by one.”

The other three fox cubs obediently lined up in a neat row, calmly entering the crate.

This scene stunned Ning Zexi’s livestream audience.

“Wow, the little bundles actually line up! Such smart, adorable babies—I’m sold!”

“They really listen to this rescuer girl. Was she the one who trained them?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. She’s young and already a rescue center director; must be nepotism. No way she trained them.”

“Exactly. I’ve raised pigs for twenty years and can’t even get them to line up, let alone this fresh college graduate. The foxes are just naturally smart!”

Seeing the unfriendly comments, Ning Zexi fired back energetically, rapid-fire and unreserved.

“Throwing accusations of nepotism already? With your brain, no wonder you’ve been with pigs for twenty years—your brains must have been scrambled. Think before you speak!”

“Does your village donkey just kick you all day and do nothing else?”