At these words, the faces of several staff members from Yongcheng Zoo turned grim.

Lu Gangsheng frowned. He ignored the young man and looked at Yu Xiulian instead.

"Director Yu, is this the caliber of your staff from Nanling?"

Yu Xiulian’s gaze swept over to the young man. "Xiaozhou, apologize to Director Lu and ’Expert Yang’ immediately."

"I’m sorry, Director Lu." The young man immediately bowed his head and apologized to Lu Gangsheng.

He completely ignored Yang Qi.

Yang Qi’s expression remained unchanged. His gaze didn’t linger on the young man for even a second; he simply looked calmly at Yu Xiulian.

"Hello, Director Yu. I’m Yang Qi, from the Donghua City Wildlife Park."

Yang Qi responded evenly, "My diagnosis for why ’Dawei’ is refusing to eat is a conclusion I reached based on my contact and observation of him."

"As for whether this diagnosis is accurate, and if ’Dawei’ has truly lost his appetite because he wants to see his cubs, I believe the truth will reveal itself once we get the cubs settled and arrange for them to meet him."

His tone was calm and his reasoning was clear.

He didn’t become flustered or defensive in the face of their skepticism, nor did he seem intimidated by his youth. Instead, he exuded a composure and confidence that belied his age.

A flicker of surprise flashed in Yu Xiulian’s eyes.

She had expected the young man to either rush to defend himself or appear to lack confidence. She hadn’t anticipated him to be so composed, steering the conversation directly to the most crucial step: verification.

Results were all that mattered.

Yu Xiulian stared at Yang Qi for several seconds, as if trying to read something more from his face, but his gaze was frank and clear, without a hint of evasion.

"Fine."

Yu Xiulian said no more, giving a sharp, clean nod. "Then let’s wait and see. If the facts prove your diagnosis is correct, I, Yu Xiulian, will not only apologize to you but will also take responsibility for what was said today. But if..."

She didn’t finish her sentence, but the implication was clear.

"If my diagnosis is wrong, causing the cubs to have made this trip for nothing or negatively affecting ’Dawei’, I will take full responsibility."

Yang Qi finished her sentence, his tone still calm.

"Expert Yang, that’s too much. It was our zoo that invited..." Lu Gangsheng hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

But Yu Xiulian waved her hand, signaling for Lu Gangsheng to stop.

She turned to the staff from Nanling Zoo who had come with her and gave an order.

"Xiaotang, Xiaoli, coordinate with the Yongcheng Zoo staff to move the cubs to the prepared temporary enclosure. Monitor their condition and keep them calm."

"Yes, Director Yu!"

The team from Nanling Zoo responded at once, getting busy alongside the Yongcheng Zoo staff.

The two little Northeast Tigers, weary from their journey, were safely transferred to an enclosure next to ’Dawei’s’ residence. For safety, it wasn’t the one immediately adjacent, but a neighboring enclosure that had a double-mesh barrier.

This temporary enclosure was clean, quiet, and lined with a thick layer of hay.

Several veterinarians quickly gave the two little tigers a simple physical examination, confirming they hadn’t been injured during transport and were just a bit nervous and fatigued.

The two little ones were a bit frightened by the new environment. They huddled together, letting out faint, trembling cries.

After the staff provided fresh water and soft bedding, they gradually calmed down and began cautiously exploring their new "home."

Everything was in place.

All eyes fell on Yang Qi.

"Now that the cubs are settled, let’s go see ’Dawei’s’ reaction."

Yang Qi looked at Lu Gangsheng and Yu Xiulian, his tone calm.

It was as if he were about to conduct a routine observation, not face a test that would determine whether his diagnosis was right or wrong—a test that could even affect the cooperative relationship between the two zoos.

Lu Gangsheng took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright, Expert Yang. We’ll follow your lead. What do we need to do?"

Yu Xiulian didn’t speak. She just gave a slight nod, her arms crossed, adopting the posture of a detached observer.

The people she had brought with her stood behind her, their eyes sharp and focused.

Yang Qi thought for a moment before speaking. "For safety, and to ensure ’Dawei’s’ reaction is as natural as possible, we shouldn’t have too many people near the inner enclosure’s observation window at once. We don’t want to disturb him."

"Director Lu, Director Yu, and the head veterinarian here—just the few of us will go first. Everyone else can watch the live feed from the monitoring room."

"Also, we’ll need a keeper to slowly open the gate in the barrier between ’Dawei’s’ inner enclosure and the cubs’ temporary one at the right moment. This will let the scents and sounds carry over more clearly. The gate has to be opened very slowly and quietly to avoid startling either the cubs or him."

"We’ll do as Expert Yang says."

Lu Gangsheng immediately relayed the instructions.

Soon, the group arrived at the behind-the-scenes observation area for ’Dawei’s’ exhibit.

The observation window was made of one-way glass, so those inside the enclosure couldn’t see out.

At that moment, ’Dawei’ was lying on his usual rock platform. His head was still facing the staff corridor, but his eyes were a little brighter than they had been that morning. The tip of his tail would occasionally give a slight, unconscious twitch, betraying his inner restlessness and faint anticipation.

The monitor also showed a live feed from the cubs’ temporary enclosure.

The two little ones had recovered their spirits and were now tumbling and play-fighting on the soft bedding, letting out kittenish but energetic yelps.

"We can begin."

Yang Qi nodded to the keeper standing nearby, who was holding a walkie-talkie and was in charge of operating the gate.

The keeper took a deep breath and pressed a button.

From a speaker next to the observation window, a faint, slow, mechanical sliding sound could be heard.