Chapter 145: Offering Its Head for Her to Pet
Chapter 145: Chapter 145: Offering Its Head for Her to Pet
Yvette Brooks stopped and turned to look back at Shannon Lynn.
Her brows were tightly furrowed, and she was in a foul mood.
Seeing her look over, Shannon Lynn spoke again. "Vivi, if you walk out now, I’ll take it that you don’t want me as a friend anymore!"
"Danna, can you not say that?" Yvette Brooks’s heart was in turmoil.
Shannon Lynn’s eyes were fixed on her. "Didn’t you say I was your best friend?"
"Why are you forcing my hand like this?" Yvette Brooks looked hurt. "Am I the one who doesn’t want you as a friend? It’s clearly you!"
She took a deep breath, walked up to Shannon Lynn, and demanded, "Tell me, was there something wrong with that bottle of wine or not?"
Shannon Lynn’s eyes flickered, and she answered guiltily, "No, didn’t you see for yourself? There was nothing in the wine. Don’t you believe me?"
Yvette Brooks frowned. "If there was nothing, why did you pour out the wine and not let us get it tested?"
Shannon Lynn said with false bravado, "I poured it out to show you, to prove there was nothing in the wine."
Yvette Brooks was completely disappointed in her.
She looked down and gave a small laugh. "Fine. Forget it."
"What do you mean, forget it?" Shannon Lynn asked.
"Didn’t you say I don’t want you as a friend?" Yvette Brooks’s expression turned cold. "I’m telling you now: you’re right."
Leaving those words hanging, she turned and walked away.
Shannon Lynn watched her retreating back, a look of frustration appearing in her eyes.
She bit her lip and yelled at Yvette Brooks’s back, "If you leave, don’t you dare regret it!"
Yvette Brooks truly didn’t want to lose this friend, but Shannon Lynn had been the one to betray her first.
She wasn’t an idiot. Someone was trying to harm her, so was she supposed to just suck it up and go crawling back?
Impossible.
Standing at the entrance of the lounge, Yvette Brooks gratefully clasped Renee Jennings’s hand. "Thank you for tonight."
"You’re welcome." Renee Jennings’s lips curled into a smile. "The main thing is that you were willing to listen."
She had been afraid Yvette Brooks wouldn’t believe her.
She hadn’t expected her to take it to heart so quickly.
"It was all fated to be," Michelle Fuller summarized in a single sentence.
Renee Jennings nodded in agreement. "Exactly."
"Now what are you going to do?" Inside the lounge, Vince whispered darkly in Shannon Lynn’s ear, "Your dear sister has abandoned you. And those photos of yours..."
Shannon Lynn trembled, her hands at her sides clenching into tight fists.
She bit her lip, took a deep breath, and ran out after them.
When Shannon Lynn reached the entrance of the lounge, Yvette Brooks was already out of sight.
Her face instantly turned deathly pale.
**
Renee Jennings woke up to a WeChat message from Yvette Brooks.
[Renee Jennings, the more I thought about it last night, the more scared I got. I don’t know what Shannon Lynn put in the wine... Are you free today? I’d like to thank you in person.]
Renee Jennings sat up and typed out a reply: [You don’t have to thank me. Like Michelle said last night, it was all fated to be.]
After sending the message, she threw off the covers, got out of bed, and stretched as she walked out of the room.
Today, Renee Jennings was going to the zoo to see her tiger brothers.
She headed out right after breakfast.
Renee Jennings had contacted Evan Griffin beforehand and entered the zoo directly through the staff entrance.
Evan Griffin was waiting for her at the entrance to the Tiger Park.
The moment he saw Renee Jennings, a delighted look appeared on his face. "Consultant Jennings, you’re here at the perfect time."
"What’s wrong?" Renee Jennings raised an eyebrow slightly.
Evan Griffin scratched his head and explained with a smile, "One of the tigers in the park has been acting a little strange the past couple of days. You’re just the person to have a chat with him."
Renee Jennings asked curiously, "Who is it?"
"Sol," Evan Griffin said. "He’s usually quite introverted, but he’s become even more so lately. He’s always slow to eat at feeding time, like he has no enthusiasm. Even when we sneak him extra treats, he doesn’t have much of an appetite."
Renee Jennings asked, puzzled, "Is he sick?"
"I don’t think so," Evan Griffin said. "He just had a check-up a while ago, and all the tests came back normal."
"That is strange, isn’t it?" Renee Jennings nodded slightly. "I’ll go talk to Sol in a bit, then."
"We’re counting on you." Evan Griffin looked grateful as he watched her enter the Tiger Park.
As soon as Renee Jennings entered the Tiger Park, she felt what seemed to be a tremor under her feet.
Soon after, a huge tiger bounded up to her and roared excitedly, "Renee, you’re finally here to see us tigers!"
"Rory." Renee Jennings’s eyes curved into crescents as she said with a grin, "It’s been a while. You seem to have gotten even more handsome."
"Really?" Rory was exceptionally excited. His tail swayed, and his tiger eyes sparkled. "Hehe~ You’ve got great taste!"
As they were talking, another tiger rushed over.
Niner went up to Rory and nudged him aside. "Renee’s here! Let this tiger get a look!"
"Niner," Renee Jennings called out, studying him carefully. "You look like you’ve lost some weight."
"I have?" Niner blinked. "Does this tiger look good thinner?"
Renee Jennings laughed. "You look good either way."
"Who’s here? Who’s here?" An excited tiger’s roar echoed. "This tiger thinks he smells something familiar!"
Sabin squeezed between the other two tigers. Seeing Renee Jennings, he grinned happily. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! It really is Renee! What auspicious wind blew you here today to see us tigers?!"
"Hey, Sabin. It’s good to see you," Renee Jennings said with a smile, holding out her hand.
Sabin was just about to press his head forward for a pat when Rory shoved him forcefully aside. "This tiger knew Renee first, so of course it’s this tiger’s head she wants to pat!"
After his fierce declaration, he bared his teeth at Renee Jennings in a grin. "Renee, you held out your hand to pat this tiger’s head, right?"
Renee Jennings: "..."
She was both amused and exasperated.
Before she could answer, Sabin, who had been knocked aside, came back and roared angrily, "Rory, are you asking for a beating?"
"Shut up!" Rory snapped at him. "This tiger doesn’t want to do something so ungraceful in front of Renee. If you want to fight, we’ll talk after Renee leaves!"
Sabin glanced at Renee Jennings, then nodded in agreement. "Fine."
While the two tigers were negotiating when to fight, Niner had already seized the opportunity to stick his head out for Renee Jennings to pet.
"Renee, do you want this tiger to take you for a run?" Niner offered enthusiastically.
Renee Jennings blinked and said tactfully, "Thank you, Niner, but I’d like to walk around on my own first."
"All right, then," Niner instructed her. "If you feel like a run, just call for this tiger. This tiger is always free."
"Okay," Renee Jennings agreed with a smile.
A few more tigers came over to greet her.
She scanned the area and saw a tiger lying listlessly on a rock not far away.
"Is that Sol?" Renee Jennings asked, pointing in that direction.
Carter looked up and replied, "Yeah, that’s Sol. He seems to be in a bad mood these past couple of days. He won’t play with us at all."
"In a bad mood?" Renee Jennings’s brow furrowed slightly. She said softly, "I’ll go talk to him."
"This tiger will go with you, then." Carter followed beside her like a giant house cat.
Seeing this, the other tigers all trooped after them as well.
"Sol, what’s wrong?" Renee Jennings asked gently.