Is It Too Late to Withdraw Now

In the Leopard Garden, two clouded leopard cubs, looking like fluffy balls of fur, were sprawled on their backs with their big bellies exposed, taking an afternoon nap.

Nearby, the leopard Li Bao was also lounging lazily on a giant cat climbing frame.

Despite this leisurely scene, there was no decrease in the number of visitors outside the iron cage.

Evidently, this group of one adult and two cubs had successfully replaced the first-generation chimpanzee Shidi Fu as the main attraction.

Just as visitors were enthusiastically taking photos of the animals in the cage, Yang Lin's voice suddenly came from nearby.

"Attention, dear visitors! To show our appreciation for your support of our zoo, we're organizing a special drawing activity."

"Those interested can come to me to get brushes, paint, and paper."

Upon hearing Yang Lin's announcement, the visitors' interest was immediately piqued.

"Isn't this a zoo? Why are they holding a drawing competition?"

"What's the theme for drawing?"

"Are there any prizes, Director?"

Seeing that everyone's attention had been captured, Yang Lin continued:

"As for prizes, how about my autographed photo?"

As soon as he said this, the crowd erupted in jeers.

"Pfft, who wants your autographed photo?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't take it even if you paid me."

"Are there any better rewards?"

"It's no fun without proper prizes."

...

"Alright, alright, how about this - the top five winners can spend five minutes petting the two little ones."

"And the top ten can enter the cage to take photos with the cubs."

As soon as Yang Lin finished speaking, the crowd became excited.

"Now that's more like it!"

"Can we really pet those two little ones up close?"

"Oh my god, I've been dying for this chance!"

"Sign me up!"

"I want to take photos with the cubs!"

"That first place is mine, don't anyone try to compete with me!"

The crowd's enthusiasm continued to build.

"Well then, let me lead you to the competition venue."

As Yang Lin walked towards the back of the tiger enclosure, the eager participants and spectators quickly followed.

Soon, they were led to the location of the pig pen.

When everyone saw the large black pig in the pen, their faces immediately showed intense confusion.

"Director, is today's drawing theme about drawing this pig?"

"Drawing a pig is easy - just a body, a mouth, four legs, and a curly tail."

"It can't be that simple, maybe this pig is actually the prize for the winner."

"What, we get to win this pig?"

"Wait, Director, are you asking us to slaughter the pig?"

...

Looking at the crowd's wild guesses, Yang Lin decided not to keep them in suspense any longer and announced loudly:

"Of course you're not drawing the pig, and you're definitely not slaughtering it."

"In fact, this pig is also a contestant in today's competition."

As soon as Yang Lin said this, the crowd erupted in chaos.

"What! Director, are you kidding? You want us to compete against this fat pig?"

"Isn't this insulting? Putting us in the same category as a pig?"

"Come on, how could a pig possibly draw?"

"If a pig can draw, I might as well climb trees."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"If I lose to a pig, it would prove my dad right - that I'm worse than a pig."

"Hold on, we already know the Director's border collie is better than us, and if this pig surpasses us too, we wouldn't just be worse than a pig, we'd be worse than both pigs and dogs."

"Although it's somewhat insulting, I still find it interesting."

"I want to see how this pig actually draws."

...

Seeing that nobody believed a pig could draw, Yang Lin didn't waste time arguing. He directly handed brushes and paint to the black pig in the pen.

"Come on! Li Fugui, show our esteemed audience your artistic skills."

Hearing Yang Lin's words, the black pig, temporarily named Li Fugui, immediately picked up a brush with its mouth and ran to the wall.

The next second, to the visitors' astonishment, it dipped the brush in the palette of colors.

After getting paint on the brush, it began making deliberate strokes on the wall.

The crowd had expected random scribbles, but as the pig continued painting, their expressions changed.

From their perspective, Li Fugui was actually painting a large, beautiful lotus flower.

Both the colors and form were impeccable - while not masterpiece level, it certainly surpassed many beginners.

Seeing this, the previously skeptical visitors exchanged bewildered looks.

When Li Fugui finished the painting, they all fell silent.

The louder they had protested earlier, the more embarrassed they felt now.

"Well, how's that? Pretty good, right? I assume no one still thinks pigs can't paint?"

Yang Lin's face showed obvious satisfaction at their dumbfounded expressions.

After several seconds of silence, one visitor holding a brush stepped forward with a bitter smile.

"Director, is it too late to withdraw from the competition?"

"Yeah, I think I'll pass. If I actually lose to a pig, where would I hide my face?"

"It's not even a question of 'if' - I honestly can't paint as well as this pig."

Following this person's lead, other registered participants began withdrawing from the competition.

In their words, they couldn't risk the embarrassment.

Yang Lin maintained an indifferent attitude toward their withdrawals.

"Anyone else want to withdraw? If not, we'll start the competition."

"As for the subject matter, let's paint the lake and scenery over there."

Hearing this, the remaining contestants who insisted on competing prepared themselves.

Meanwhile, Yang Lin took the opportunity to open the West Rainbow Zoo's official livestream.

The moment his stream went live, numerous followers flooded into the channel.

"Hello, Director! What made you start streaming today? Is there something new at the zoo?"

"Director, can we get some zoo merchandise? I want plush toys of the two clouded leopard cubs."

"Do you have life-sized Siberian tiger plushies?"

"What about the yellow cart? Are there still any livestreams without yellow carts these days?"

Just as netizens were wondering about Yang Lin's purpose for streaming, the camera suddenly turned to the visitors preparing to paint.

As viewers were about to complain about the boring content, the camera swiftly panned again, revealing a large black pig holding a brush in its mouth.

The online viewers' expressions of surprise matched those of the on-site visitors perfectly.