Animal Detective

After seeing the other three off, Shen Xin found Zhou Xianyong and made a request.

He wanted to come by often and asked if Zhou Xianyong could arrange for him to have more contact with the three dolphins.

Zhou Xianyong hadn’t expected such a request and wore a strange expression.

After a moment’s thought, he lowered his voice. "Officer Shen, have you found something?"

The four of them had just wandered around without saying a word.

But police officers had sharp eyes, and Zhou Xianyong was sure they must have discovered something.

Besides, why would they suddenly start investigating this case again after two years, for no apparent reason?

And why had Shen Xin stayed behind by himself?

Shen Xin claimed he wanted to spend more time with the dolphins, but what was there to see? It was obvious he was still focused on the people here.

"Officer Shen, if someone here is a suspect, could you give us a heads-up before you make an arrest? That way, we can be prepared."

In the internet age, having the police show up to arrest someone could give people the wrong idea about the Oceanarium.

Shen Xin replied, "It’s not that serious. I’m genuinely interested in the dolphins and thought I’d take this opportunity to get to know them. How about this? I can volunteer to help you with your work. I feel bad for troubling you so much."

Zhou Xianyong quickly waved his hands, insisting it was no trouble and that Shen Xin didn’t need to help.

But Zhou Xianyong still didn’t believe him.

However, since Shen Xin wouldn’t elaborate, Zhou Xianyong couldn’t press the matter. Besides, he felt that whatever Shen Xin was planning could also be beneficial for the Oceanarium.

The case involving Lin Zenghui all those years ago had never been closed.

It was a loose end, which meant Lin Zenghui’s family could still sue the Oceanarium in the future.

It was better to investigate the case thoroughly and assign responsibility where it was due.

With that, Zhou Xianyong led Shen Xin back to the Dolphin Hall and explained the situation to Wang Hui and the others.

The three trainers didn’t react much.

Only after Zhou Xianyong left did Li Fusen ask how they should cooperate.

Shen Xin said, "You don’t need to ’cooperate.’ Just ignore me and go about your business. And if there’s any work I can do, let me know. I told Manager Zhou I’d volunteer to help you out."

Li Fusen quickly said that wasn’t necessary, but when Shen Xin insisted, he suggested that Shen Xin could help feed the dolphins.

The Oceanarium opened at eight in the morning and closed at six in the evening.

There was one show in the morning and another in the afternoon every day.

But Li Fusen and the others’ work didn’t end with the half-hour-long performances.

During their ten-hour workday, they had to be constantly attending to the three dolphins.

Chen Sili took Shen Xin to chop up the fish.

"You have to check them. Some of the fish aren’t fresh and need to be picked out. If they eat bad fish, they’ll get diarrhea, and these guys cost millions just to buy."

"And after all the time we’ve spent raising and training them... if anything happened to them, we could never afford to replace them."

When Shen Xin had first met Chen Sili, the trainer had been rather awkward and nervous.

But now that they were more familiar, he was more outgoing and talkative, chattering away to Shen Xin as he worked.

Before long, they had sorted three buckets of fish.

He explained that a dolphin eats about ten kilograms of food a day, split into several feedings.

Shen Xin treated it as a learning experience, taking note of everything.

Carrying the buckets back to the pool, Chen Sili tapped one, and Yuebao and Xingbao immediately shot out of the water and swam over.

Shen Xin took a closer look and realized there were people in the pool.

He had heard from Zhou Xianyong earlier that the pool had different depths.

The shallow area was for the dolphins to rest, while the deep end was nearly seven meters deep.

Right now, there was one person in the shallow end.

Faintly, he could see another in the deep end.

He asked Chen Sili and learned it was Wang Hui and Li Fusen.

Another one of their daily tasks was to dive down and scrub the pool.

"This job is exhausting."

Chen Sili grumbled, "But what can you do? These three masters are incredibly high-maintenance. If you don’t scrub the pool, bacteria will grow, and they can easily get skin diseases. That’s why we have to scrub them down later, too."

"Scrubbing them down?" Shen Xin was taken aback.

Chen Sili nodded and explained that dolphins, like humans, secrete oils from their skin. Combined with constantly being in the water and their fast metabolism, you can scrub grime off them every couple of days.

They rub themselves against the pool walls, but there are some spots they can’t reach, so you have to scrub them manually.

Shen Xin thought to himself, ’These dolphins really are high-maintenance. Raising them is no easy task.’

Just then, Shen Xin noticed that while Xingbao and Yuebao swam over to eat, Yuexiao kept his distance, swimming in circles, not daring to approach.

"Those two are a nasty piece of work."

Chen Sili secretly pointed at Yuebao and Xingbao below, then whispered, "This is just what I heard from the others, but at the very beginning, our Oceanarium only had two dolphins, Yuexiao and Hua Zi."

"The two of them were a pair. Then the Oceanarium bought Yuebao and Xingbao, and those two took Hua Zi for themselves, not letting Yuexiao near her."

"Yuexiao fought with them, but he couldn’t beat them. And those two hold a grudge, so they’ve been bullying Yuexiao ever since."

Shen Xin was floored and couldn’t help but feel bad for Yuexiao.

’There were originally just two dolphins, a happy, carefree couple.’

’Then two thugs barge in, steal his mate, and beat him up.’

’Stuck in the same pool, watching Hua Zi get bullied every day... what must Yuexiao have been feeling?’

’But wait, that’s not right.’

Shen Xin remembered Zhou Xianyong saying that Yuebao and the others had killed Hua Zi.

’If they had already taken her, and she was the only female, why would they kill her?’

’Could Yuexiao have killed her?’

Shen Xin drew a sharp breath. ’If so, Yuexiao is pretty ruthless. Since he couldn’t beat Yuebao and Xingbao, he just killed Hua Zi so no one could have her.’

’So maybe Yuebao and Xingbao bully Yuexiao because he’s the one who killed Hua Zi.’

Shen Xin asked Chen Sili how Hua Zi had died.

Chen Sili shook his head. "I don’t know. A security guard found her that night. Said she was floating. She had bite marks on her, anyway, but no one knows who killed her."

"Dolphins... well, their lives are pretty messy."

As he spoke, he told Shen Xin to go to a farther spot to feed Yuexiao by himself.

Shen Xin carried the bucket over, tapped it, and waved at Yuexiao.

The dolphin didn’t come all the way, just poked its head out of the water and watched Shen Xin from a distance.

It seemed very wary.

Shen Xin picked up a fish and tossed it to him.

He snapped it up in one bite but kept his head raised, observing Shen Xin.

"Yuexiao, come here."

Shen Xin beckoned to him.

He hesitated for a moment before approaching the edge of the pool.

As hoped, the affinity icon appeared above his head.

But just like with Yuebao, it only had three bars.

Shen Xin sat down and tried to reach out and pet him.

The dolphin flinched back.

"Don’t be scared. I’ve got something good for you," Shen Xin said, picking up another fish and wiggling it.

Yuexiao looked at the fish, then at Shen Xin, then suddenly turned, flicked his tail, and sent a huge splash of water all over Shen Xin.

The affinity icon above his head vanished instantly.

Chen Sili quickly asked if Shen Xin was okay.

Shen Xin shook his head. ’Looks like just bribing him with food won’t work.’

For cats and dogs, eating is a survival instinct. Just like Da Mei, whose life revolves around eating and sleeping.

But dolphins are different; they’re smarter.

It’s said they have no natural predators in the ocean. In the vast sea, they can eat whatever they want.

The reason their lives are so chaotic, with all their "messing around," is that they’ve moved beyond basic survival needs and ascended to the level of psychological needs.

A measly bit of food obviously wasn’t enough to win them over.

Just then, Li Fusen, who had been scrubbing the floor in the shallow end, surfaced. He first asked if Shen Xin was alright, then called out to Yuexiao.

Yuexiao immediately swam over and affectionately nuzzled Li Fusen’s hand with his head.

Li Fusen took a fish from the bucket and fed it to Yuexiao, then said, "Dolphins aren’t like cats or dogs. You give those guys a treat, and they’ll like you."

"But that doesn’t work with dolphins. They’re incredibly smart. You have to spend a lot of time with them before they’ll listen to you."

With that, he asked if Shen Xin could swim, suggesting he could get in the water to interact with the dolphins.

"I’m decent."

He had learned at the police academy, but he clearly wasn’t at the same level as Li Fusen and the other trainers.

There were wetsuits in the locker room.

Shen Xin went to change into one and got in the water.

Li Fusen called Yuexiao over and, pointing at Shen Xin, introduced the two.

Yuexiao chirped twice.

"He’s saying hello to you," Li Fusen said with a smile.

He said that after spending so much time with them, they could distinguish the different meanings in the dolphins’ calls.

Only then did Shen Xin finally get to pet Yuexiao.

His skin was smooth and elastic. Their body surface temperature is quite low, so he felt cool to the touch.

Up close, their eyes met. Gradually, the affinity icon reappeared above Yuexiao’s head.

And this time, it had five bars.

This probably meant he had a good first impression of Shen Xin and had now become interested in him.

Sure enough, he began circling Shen Xin, continuously nuzzling him with his snout.

Then he stopped sideways in front of Shen Xin, turned his head to look at him, and chirped.

Shen Xin didn’t quite understand what he meant.

But Li Fusen said with some surprise, "He’s inviting you to swim with him."

After saying this, he looked incredulous.

Yuexiao performed every day, and there was even a segment where he interacted with the audience.

But that segment, to put it bluntly, was just him going through the motions.

This was the first time he had ever seen Yuexiao show such proactive goodwill and even invite someone to swim with him.

Shen Xin thought to himself, ’That must be the affinity level at work.’

’It all comes down to my talent.’

He then asked how he should swim with him.

Li Fusen said he could hold on to him, or even ride him. They had a "Water Knight" act in their show.

In that case, Shen Xin decisively chose to lie flat on his back.

He lay on Yuexiao’s back and held on tight.

The dolphin seemed to know to be careful with Shen Xin, as he didn’t start out fast.

And that feeling of riding the waves... it was truly exhilarating.

"Yuexiao, a little faster!"

Shen Xin pointed forward.

Yuexiao seemed to understand the gesture and began to accelerate.

The pool was quite large, and as he carried Shen Xin back and forth, Shen Xin got to have his fill of the thrill.

At that moment, Yuebao and Xingbao saw them, left Chen Sili’s side, and rushed over.

Li Fusen’s expression changed, and he quickly shouted for Shen Xin to be careful.

Unexpectedly, when Yuebao and Xingbao got closer, they just swam alongside them upright in the water, constantly looking at Shen Xin.

And very quickly, an affinity icon appeared above Xingbao’s head.

Four bars, all at once.

Shen Xin didn’t know why the dolphin had suddenly taken a liking to him.

’Maybe he thinks this is fun?’

After interacting with them, he got the feeling that these three dolphins were extremely playful.

Seeing him constantly bobbing his head, eager to try something, Shen Xin pointed a finger toward the sky.

It was just a random gesture.

But Xingbao must have guessed his intention. With a flick of his tail, he leaped out of the water, soared over Shen Xin’s head, and landed back in the pool with a huge splash.

Seeing this, Yuebao, who was nearby, immediately did the same move.

As water splashed everywhere, Yuexiao swam even more joyfully.

Yuexiao paraded Shen Xin around the pool, while Yuebao and Xingbao leaped and followed along on either side.

This scene made Li Fusen and the other trainer stare, their eyes wide with disbelief.

It was the first time they had ever seen Yuexiao and the others play so familiarly with a stranger.