Chapter 16
Splashed Water
After temporarily settling the two pandas, Xia Xin continued to clean the ground when she suddenly heard a commotion among the visitors.
Xia Xin was taken aback and immediately realized that something must have happened. She hurriedly walked over.
“Ms. Caretaker, someone poured mineral water on that panda!”
As Xia Xin appeared, someone from the crowd immediately informed her loudly, pointing toward Bao’s location.
Xia Xin was shocked and quickly rushed toward Bao. When she reached Bao’s side, Xia Xin was astonished to find that Bao’s originally fluffy fur was now wet, like a black and white ball of yarn thrown into the water. There were two empty mineral water bottles on the ground.
Bao was trembling, using its front paws to crawl towards a corner, as if trying to hide. Xia Xin could tell that it was very scared at the moment, as it did not even care about its old toy ball.
Bao was not very popular among visitors, and many did not even know its name or pay much attention to it. Initially, only a few people noticed someone pouring water on Bao. By the time everyone noticed the situation, Bao was completely drenched.
Xia Xin was filled with anger, but she did not have time to find out who did such a thing.
She quickly walked towards Bao, picked it up while it was still trying to crawl into the corner, and tightly embraced it. As she wiped the water off Bao’s body, she comforted it with the Beast Language System, “It’s okay, Bao. Don’t be afraid. I’m sorry I arrived late, I’m sorry…”
Bao had physical disabilities, and it knew that it was not liked by people. It never played with the other two popular pandas and always stayed in a corner by itself.
After being splashed with water by a visitor, it not only trembled in fear but also believed that it was being hated because of its disabilities. When Xia Xin picked it up, it did not even dare to move.
Tears welled up in Xia Xin’s eyes as she haphazardly wiped them away with her hand. She continued to hold Bao tightly and comforted it in a gentle voice. Under her soothing words, Bao’s extreme reaction gradually subsided, and it began to calm down.
Bao cautiously curled up in Xia Xin’s arms, as if her embrace was the only safe place in the world.
After learning about the situation, the zoo’s security personnel rushed over but could not find the visitor who poured the water.
Xia Xin held onto Bao until other zoo professionals arrived, and only then did she let go of Bao and hand it over to them.
“Bao is usually timid, and now it’s been scared. I’m afraid it won’t dare to go to the outdoor area anymore.” Li Li sighed as she watched Bao being taken away.
The more Xia Xin listened, the sadder she felt, ‘Bao never ran around. It always quietly stayed in its little corner. Yet, even in this state, its small territory was invaded by some despicable person.’
“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault.” Xia Xin apologized. She felt that she was partly responsible for everything because she had not given Bao enough attention and failed to notice the visitor’s actions in time.
Li Li sighed, “How can you blame yourself for this? Don’t blame yourself. No one could have anticipated such a thing.”
Xia Xin remained silent, not saying a word.
“Now that the incident of Bao being splashed with water has probably spread online, I wonder what kind of impact it will have. Let Fu take care of your afternoon tasks. You should have some rest for now,” said Li Li.
Xia Xin looked up and asked, “Can I go and see Bao?”
Li Li shook her head and said, “There will be a professional team providing psychological therapy for it. You don’t need to worry too much.”
Xia Xin bit her lip and nodded.
Li Li’s speculation and concerns quickly became a reality. Two hours later, the incident of Bao being splashed with water made it to the trending search rankings.
Bao had never been popular before, and not many people even knew its name. However, this time, almost everyone who loved and paid attention to pandas learned about Bao.
[This is despicable! Pandas are our national treasures. How dare they do such a thing??]
[Doesn’t the zoo have surveillance cameras? Let’s quickly find those people who poured the water! I want them to experience how Bao felt at that time!]
[I never expected that our Bao would become popular because of this incident. I have been following Bao for a long time. Every time I go to the zoo, I visit it. It always sits alone in its little corner, playing with its toy ball. It’s the cutest and most well-behaved panda in my heart. After watching the video of Bao being splashed with water, I actually cried.]
[Yeah, Bao is already self-conscious. Would it think that it was splashed because of its disabilities? How sad it must have been at that time?]