Super Zoo-Chapter 638 - 629: Love Like Quicksand

The plane flew over the sky of Yangchuan City, where a group of young people harboring dreams about the future and the film industry hurried towards the world's largest dream factory of movies.

Perhaps years later, some of them would become leaders in the domestic film industry, while others might blend into the crowd, or even without waiting for many years, this flight would be a watershed in their lives.

Parking the car outside the airport, Suming leaned in the open-top Wrangler with its roof removed, looked up at the sky until he saw the plane become a speck in the sky and disappear on the horizon, then smiled faintly, started the car, and headed back to the zoo.

He happened to see Hong Feifei wearing casual attire and jogging slowly on the path in the park. Hong Feifei also saw Suming, waved to him across a slope of grass, took off her headphones, and slithered down through the grass.

"Exercising?" Suming parked the car and took off his sunglasses to smile at Hong Feifei. He often saw her jogging alone in the park. Suming had fairly conventional tastes when it came to female aesthetics—tight and revealing clothing suited most women, except for Hong Feifei, who looked very comfortable in her casual attire.

"Mhm." Hong Feifei directly pulled the door open and hopped into the back seat, "Take me for a ride. I didn't sleep well last night, I'm a bit tired from running and don't feel like walking anymore."

Suming started the car and watched Hong Feifei wiping off her sweat in the rearview mirror, then laughed, "You're only 25 this year, right?"

"Only 25?" Hong Feifei was taken aback, "You make it sound like I'm so young. If I remember correctly, you're even two years younger than me, aren't you?"

"Of course you're young, and so am I." Suming meant something else. Ever since Hong Feifei came to the zoo, aside from managing the not-too-big-nor-too-small restaurant at Whisperwind Pavilion—strictly speaking, not her managing but Hong Bo, she was just in charge of the back kitchen—she spent most of her time in the park, swimming when it was hot and running when it was cold.

On several occasions, Suming saw her sitting alone at night on the overhanging eaves of the second floor of Whisperwind Pavilion, legs dangling, staring at the moon... The scene was picturesque, like something out of a martial arts romance drama, but even Suming could sense the girl's loneliness.

At 25, it's the time when life's vitality is at its peak, yet Hong Feifei seemed to have already settled into a retiree's leisurely life.

"The moon and age are tranquil, but you're not a nun, starting to watch the moon in your twenties." Watching the moon has two meanings: one is waiting for the return of a distant family member, and the other is for widows.

"Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit like that." Hong Feifei smiled wryly, "It's my dad who's really retired. He has a lot of time, and under his elderly care, what else can I do?"

Suming laughed off her comment, "Apart from matters between men and women, it seems there are still many things to do in this world. Oh, I mean women and women in your case."

Hong Feifei gave Suming a reproachful look through the rearview mirror.

"Actually, sometimes when you can't get what you desire, it might be better to let it go for a while, focus on doing other things. Maybe one day, when your perspective broadens, the world's doors will suddenly open to you, and what you yearned for will naturally come your way. Or perhaps you'll suddenly realize that none of those things are important anymore."

Hong Feifei fell silent for a few seconds, "Have you started dispensing chicken soup for the soul lately? Is it that once people reach your stage and become successful, they start to sum up their life experiences and insights?"

"Could be." Suming also laughed, "I just see you alone in the park a lot, and said it off the cuff, no other meaning."

"Xiankelai opened another branch on the pedestrian street." Hong Feifei suddenly uttered something seemingly irrelevant, her mood a bit low.

Suming could understand Hong Feifei's thoughts. Her relationship with Ding Jing seemed indispensable, but if Ding Jing were a man, this affection would actually be quite awkward.

When Ding Jing was still obscure, she met Hong Feifei and her family. The Hong Family supported Ding Jing, and Hong Feifei relied on Ding Jing for emotional support. They developed feelings for each other; now, however, the Hong Family's business has collapsed, their fortune declined, while Ding Jing's business has grown bigger and bigger, long surpassing the Hong Family's heyday.

Whether it was in terms of economic conditions or personal horizons, Hong Feifei had actually been left far behind by Ding Jing, and this distance was still widening with time.

"A heart that has its fill with water can be content," but can two people, who were almost not on the same level anymore, really continue together based on the feelings formed in their youth? It couldn't be denied that the feelings formed in youth were the purest, but because of their purity, they were also the most unstable. A slight influx of negativity could easily destroy them.

The beautiful chef Hong Feifei, with top-notch professional skills, was in her heart, actually a very insecure and frail woman, courageous on a grand scale, but timid in minute details.

Not all women were as confident as Nangong Yan; even Nangong Yan, upon realizing that Suming's rapid development could lead to a gap between them, immediately took various measures to keep up with Suming's pace without hesitation.

Ding Jing was advancing every day, while Hong Feifei was confined to her small zoo; other than her culinary skills, she was only marking time in other aspects, and even becoming gradually disconnected from society.

"I've also read those inspirational quotes," Hong Feifei said, "that say, 'sand will slip through your fingers the harder you try to hold onto it.'"

"Sis, your inspirational quotes are old jokes from over a decade ago; they're almost 'so last year,'" Suming laughed.

"Get lost!" Hong Feifei also laughed.

"But it still makes sense," Suming applied the brakes, and the Wrangler slowly stopped in front of Whisperwind Pavilion, "We're here."

Hong Feifei didn't immediately get out of the car; she looked at Suming seriously and said, "Thank you for talking to me about all this; I've indeed been feeling quite uncomfortable lately."

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Suming shrugged his shoulders; why does it seem like everyone has psychological issues these days? It looked like the zoo needed to open a mental health clinic.

He smiled, "Actually, there's no need to thank me. I was just thinking that you, being a national treasure-level chef, are too much of a gem to be stuck in Whisperwind Pavilion. So, I've been coming up with various schemes to trick you into helping me start a business to make money. If you want to expand your business and venture into the catering industry, just let me know."

When he was preparing to buy the zoo, it always felt like there was never enough money;

As he advised Hong Feifei, people really shouldn't be too obsessed. In an effort to scrape together a few hundred million, Suming felt like he was going to work himself to death, but all the methods he could think of were futile. He knew this was because his overall capabilities were not strong enough;

Later, he realized that since he didn't have the money now, why take a huge risk? Instead of putting all his funds into it for peace of mind, why not follow a step-by-step approach, let things take their course, and when his overall strength improved, acquiring the zoo would naturally follow.

As a result, he found his finances more comfortable. Film, elderly care communities, dining—a few industries could be laid out smoothly.

After spending a few thousand on a meal at the class reunion, Suming realized how lucrative the catering business was. Take, for example, those pufferfish on the table from Huating Reservoir, the cost price was probably no more than 80 yuan, but the selling price was 388...