Chapter 63: Tibetan Mastiff—So Your Name Is Mimi~
In the end, Lin Jiangye never made it to the Capital Zoo.
According to Lin Xia, those people would make their move on January 10, and today was already December 28.
There wasn’t much time left. Lin Jiangye had no idea when he’d be back from this assignment, so naturally he needed to spend more time with the little ones at home.
Besides—if he didn’t go back now, it would be next year already! He had to spend New Year’s Eve with his little ones this year!
So he brought more than ten rescued animals, boarded a private jet, and returned to Yue City with three security officers.
When Jiang Xin heard Lin Jiangye was back, he was excited and ready to pick him up—only to be told to rent a truck to come to the airport.
The moment Jiang Xin heard that, he instantly understood: Lin Jiangye had definitely brought new “little ones” home again.
But still… “You need a truck? Isn’t that a bit much?” Lin Jiangye’s car was huge. Even after fitting a Siberian tiger, it could still hold the Border Collie and the German Shepherd, plus a few cats and birds.
“Haha… you’ll see when you get here.” Lin Jiangye rubbed his nose awkwardly, then glanced back at the three men seated behind him.
Those three were assigned to him by Wenren Ming—meant to supervise him, protect him, and also help with work at his home.
Lin Jiangye didn’t really care about “supervision” that was basically surveillance. Shang Yongyi had said it best:
“You’re bringing so many large predators home. You’ll definitely need people to help take care of them. And as your reputation grows, criminal groups will want to get close to you—this is a perfect opportunity.”
Since he had to hire people anyway, it was better to use people they had vetted.
Besides, these three had all been elite soldiers—strong, capable, able to protect Lin Jiangye, and their salaries were paid by Wenren Ming.
Which meant Lin Jiangye got three workers for free.
When the private jet landed, Jiang Xin and Sun Jian watched as tigers, lions, gray wolves, lynxes, and other large predators walked down the stairs.
Their mouths twitched hard.
Sure, there were already lots of animals at home—but at least those were ordinary pets like cats and dogs.
Even when the Mountain God came before, it was just a one-week visit before she returned to Taibai Mountain, so everyone hadn’t actually felt too pressured.
But now, seeing the growing number of predators… even Jiang Xin got a headache.
Fortunately, these new predators wouldn’t be managed by them.
“These are the helpers I found for you—Bai Zhengwen, Wang Pu, and Huai Huarong. From now on, the big ones will be handled by them.” The moment Lin Jiangye said that, Jiang Xin and Sun Jian exhaled in relief at the same time.
Jiang Xin studied the three men’s solid muscles, their buzz cuts, and straight posture, then narrowed his eyes.
“They were soldiers too?”
Too?
Hearing that word, Bai Zhengwen and the others all looked over.
The first time they saw Sun Jian, they could tell he’d served before—though he looked retired now.
As for the other man—despite his disability, his eyes were clear and upright. Combined with what their superiors had told them, this had to be the undercover narcotics officer.
As Jiang Xin waited for an answer, the three men suddenly snapped to attention and saluted.
“Comrade, you’ve worked hard.”
In that instant, Jiang Xin felt something stab into his heart—not pain, but a sour ache so strong it almost made him choke.
“They’re not ‘former.’ They’re still active-duty. The leadership in the capital worried I’d be in danger, so they assigned them to me.” And from now on, whenever Lin Jiangye went out, he had to bring at least one person with him.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xin and Sun Jian both nodded immediately.
“It’s about time!”
Lin Jiangye: “???”
Seeing Lin Jiangye’s stunned face, Jiang Xin gave a cold chuckle.
“If we don’t have someone watching you, who knows if next time you’ll rush in alone again and fight three suspects by yourself.”
Lin Jiangye was about to protest—then the moment he heard that line, he shut up.
Bai Zhengwen and the others were curious, so Jiang Xin didn’t hide it. After they loaded all the animals onto the truck, he told them the whole story on the way back.
“No matter how strong Mr. Lin is, he’s still flesh and blood. How can anyone take bullets head-on!”
After hearing everything, Lin Jiangye keenly noticed the disapproving look in their eyes.
And the deep vigilance—vigilance against him doing something that reckless again.
So when he finally got home, the German Shepherd, Border Collie, the tabby “Tibetan Mastiff,” and the others came out to greet him—only to find their owner stomping out of the car, cheeks puffed in anger.
Before they could even wonder why he was mad, several dense waves of predator scent crashed down over every animal’s head.
The German Shepherd instinctively stepped in front of the Border Collie. The Border Collie instinctively shoved the three bristling kittens under her belly and clamped her mouth around the Five-Red native dog that tried to charge forward.
And Tourmaline and the other two crows instantly fluffed their neck feathers and flew off, cawing, to the farther trees.
“I’m back! Look who I brought home!” Lin Jiangye grinned as he led the predators down one by one, making Yu Anhe and the others’ eyelids twitch.
Where did he get so many big predators?
The zoo on the back mountain wasn’t even built yet—how did he already bring predators home?
“Hehe… so here’s what happened…” Lin Jiangye scratched his head awkwardly and explained what he’d run into in the capital.
Once they learned these animals had suffered abuse and torment, the earlier wariness in Yu Anhe and the others melted into sympathy.
After working here and living with animals for so long, they could no longer stand seeing animals abused by humans.
And precisely because these were large predators—seeing rescued Siberian tigers reduced to skin and bones, barely any flesh on their frames, was even more heartbreaking.
Mr. Lin was right—damn the Zhang family.
The German Shepherd thought for a moment, then wagged his tail and walked forward on his own.
Maybe because he’d spent time around Tiger Mom before, he’d grown somewhat used to predator scent. After bristling for a split second, he quickly adapted back to normal.
Lin Jiangye had fed him so well he was thick and powerful. He wasn’t as long as a North American gray wolf, but in weight they were shockingly close.
A North American gray wolf can reach ninety kilograms—so you could imagine just how thin these wolves currently were.
The moment the German Shepherd approached, the two gray wolves tensed up. They knew this was their human’s “family.” If they harmed them…
As the German Shepherd walked closer, the two gray wolves actually began backing up—clearly not wanting any conflict.
But the next second, the German Shepherd dropped his front half low, lifted his rear, and wagged his tail lightly.
Lin Jiangye laughed immediately. “Well, this is rare—you inviting someone to play.”
That posture was a common play invitation among dogs.
But it was rarely seen on the usually steady German Shepherd.
And yet—here he was inviting the gray wolves to play.
Was it because he thought the other puppy-like ones were too weak?
The gray wolves didn’t have this habit, so they couldn’t tell what he meant.
But the German Shepherd had a mouth—he could speak.
[Wanna play? There are lots of toys here!]
Right then, Tourmaline and the tabby cat ran over too. They stood in front of the Siberian tiger with worried little faces.
[Why are you so thin? Tiger Mom is way, way fatter than you!]
The animal-yard rescues had heard of “Tiger Mom”—a powerful wild Siberian tigress.
The captive Siberian tiger shrank back shyly. Its tail curled around its thick limbs, its posture strangely cat-like.
[Before… no meat to eat…]
Oh, poor thing…
Lin Jiangye watched with his own eyes as Tourmaline and the tabby—meowing and cawing—comforted a tiger far bigger than them.
The tiger even lowered its head and let the tabby pat its forehead with a tiny paw.
The phrase “the world has truly gone upside down” slammed into Lin Jiangye’s mind like a runaway truck.
Jiang Xin handed Lin Jiangye a list showing the number and species of animals brought back and asked how he wanted to arrange them.
“Carnivorous predators go to the backyard first. There’s a small garden there, right? Clear a few rooms, move out the furniture, then spread blankets—those can be sleeping nests.” Most of them were either cats or dogs anyway, so grouping them together made sense.
Lin Jiangye didn’t plan to separate them. They were used to living together in the animal yard; splitting them up would only make them anxious.
Then came the herbivores and omnivores. As for the tabby “Tibetan Mastiff” who could pass as a normal pet—he could sleep with the Five-Red native dog and the others.
“Ahem. First—give the Tibetan Mastiff a name,” Jiang Xin cleared his throat pointedly.
The moment he spoke, two heads—one big and one small—snapped up at the same time.
[What are you calling me for?]
[What are you calling me for?]
Lin Jiangye’s expression turned complicated.
Back when he’d named the little tabby “Tibetan Mastiff,” he never imagined he’d someday bring home an actual Tibetan Mastiff.
Now whenever someone said “Tibetan Mastiff,” both of them thought they were being called.
The real Tibetan Mastiff didn’t have a name. The Zhang family didn’t care enough to name “tools,” and the keepers didn’t care either—they just called animals by their species.
So to the rescued animals, “Tiger” was the tiger’s name, “Lion” was the lion’s name, and naturally “Tibetan Mastiff” was the Tibetan Mastiff’s name.
“So?” Jiang Xin watched Lin Jiangye’s stiff face with interest. “Have you decided a name for the Tibetan Mastiff?”
The others, hearing the mess, all looked over too, smiles completely unhidden.
The Tibetan Mastiff stared blankly, not understanding why these humans kept calling his “name.”
But the tabby instantly exploded.
[I’m called Tibetan Mastiff! I’m not changing my name!]
The German Shepherd and Border Collie exchanged a look and lay down quietly, deeply grateful they’d arrived early—otherwise there might be kittens named “German Shepherd” and “Border Collie” too.
And yes—the Caucasian shepherd dog had already lost his breed-name title.
Lin Jiangye placed a big hand on the tabby’s head. He didn’t rush to rename the dog. Instead, he explained why “Tibetan Mastiff” had become the tabby’s name in the first place.
He was speaking not just to the tabby, but also to the rescued animals.
“So… let’s all pick new names together.” Lin Jiangye clapped his hands. Sunlight poured down, and his smile looked dazzling.
“Awoo!” [Okay! I want a new name!] The first one to respond was the Tibetan Mastiff.
To him, a new name meant fully entering a new home and gaining a new family.
That was a good thing.
Lin Jiangye brought everyone into the central courtyard of the compound. It was large enough for all the animals to gather.
The weather was beautiful. Everyone sprawled lazily in the sun while the new members waited patiently for Lin Jiangye to choose their new names.
“First is the Tibetan Mastiff. The Tibetan Mastiff will be—”
“Meow!” A cat head popped out from above the big black-brown dog’s head.
[Call him Mimi!]
Lin Jiangye’s train of thought snapped in half. He lifted his head, helpless, and looked at the troublemaking tabby.
He flicked the tabby’s forehead lightly. “What are you doing?”
The tabby yowled. “Meoow!” [That hurts!!!]
“Mimi my ass… you think he’s Sang Biao?” Lin Jiangye started—
But before he could finish, the Tibetan Mastiff barked loudly.
[Then I’ll be Mimi!]
“….”
Lin Jiangye covered his face.
Tabby—he was joking. Why are you taking it seriously?!
But when he met the Tibetan Mastiff’s and the tabby’s sparkling, hopeful eyes, Lin Jiangye could only rub his forehead.
“Fine. I get it. You two are really…”
He reached out again and poked the tabby’s tucked-down head.
“You—listen. From now on you need to be nicer to Mimi.”
Hearing he wasn’t being beaten, the Tibetan Mastiff immediately leaned in and rubbed against Lin Jiangye’s fingers, letting out a sweet, syrupy cat-like meow.
[I’ll protect him~]
Lin Jiangye’s mouth twitched. With your tiny body, you’re saying you’ll protect someone…? Ahem. Forget it. He couldn’t laugh—if he laughed, Mimi the Tibetan Mastiff would definitely bristle.
“So the Tibetan Mastiff will be called Mimi…” Lin Jiangye felt confused stares coming at him from every direction.
“Don’t ask me—this was the name Tibetan Mastiff gave Tibetan Mastiff.” It sounded a bit tongue-twisting, but everyone immediately sorted it out: the little tabby cat named “Tibetan Mastiff” had named the Tibetan Mastiff dog “Mimi.”
Jiang Xin couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
The others had still been stunned, but Jiang Xin’s laughter set them off too, and they all started laughing along.
It wasn’t Lin Jiangye who was laughing, so the tabby didn’t care. It lazily sprawled across Mimi’s head, even pressing its tiny paw into the big dog’s fluffy skull. Warm and comfy, it purred like a little engine.
Mimi didn’t mind being “bullied” by a kitten at all. He was delighted, lying on the ground with his mouth open in a big grin.
He wasn’t stupid. After staying with the Zhang family for so long, he could clearly read the emotions coming off the living beings around him.
The kitten on his head liked him. The handsome human in front of him liked him. And the new family gathered around him were all watching him with kind, smiling eyes.
Here, no bad humans would hit him. No one would starve him of meat. And no one would force him to fight his companions to the death.
Mimi liked it here.
“Alright, alright—now it’s time to give you all names.” Lin Jiangye patted each big predator on the head.
One Siberian tiger, one Asiatic lion, two North American gray wolves, one lynx, and one cheetah—six in total. He named them according to the Big Dipper.
The four felines were Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, and Tian Quan. The canines got Yu Heng and Kai Yang.
Lin Jiangye paused, glanced back at the tabby, and then placed the final star name—Yao Guang—onto its head.
“Woof?” [Isn’t my name Mimi?]
Hearing the tabby complain in meows, Lin Jiangye cupped its little muzzle with one hand so it couldn’t shout, then explained, “Your formal name is Yao Guang. Your nickname is Mimi. What’s wrong with that?”
The tabby, pawing at Lin Jiangye’s hand, froze—clearly reminded of the black-cat boss who had a formal name “Sang Biao” and a nickname “Mimi.”
Next came the smaller animals: the red panda whose tail had been broken off, the gyrfalcon, the white-tailed sea eagle, and so on. Since the predators used star names from the Big Dipper, Lin Jiangye decided to keep the “stars” theme for them too.
He named the white-tailed sea eagle Chang Geng and the gyrfalcon Qi Ming—both are alternate names for Venus.
The rest got names from the moon’s many epithets: Silver Plate, Jade Plate, Golden Wheel, Moon Laurel, and so on.
As Lin Jiangye named them, Jiang Xin wore a faint smile the whole time.
Thinking back on the other names in the house, he noticed a pattern—most of the time, you could tell relationships by names.
For example, “German Shepherd” and “Border Collie”—a married couple. “Tibetan Mastiff” and “Caucasian”—not blood sisters, yet closer than sisters.
The Maine Coon and the Five-Red native dog arrived around the same time too—one was “Sesame Paste,” the other “Red Bean Cake,” and those two were inseparable.
Then there were the three crows. In Yue City now, the moment police heard a gemstone name, their first thought was: crow.
And now, this group of animals rescued from the same place all had star-themed names.
Hmm. Jiang Xin found himself curious—when the next batch arrived, what theme would Lin Jiangye use then?
But among all the names Lin Jiangye gave, one was completely different.
Tiger Mom.
“Tiger Mom” wasn’t a name. “Mountain God” and “Miracle” were Tiger Mom’s names. “Tiger Mom” was Lin Jiangye’s private nickname for the Mountain God—and only he could call her that.
While Lin Jiangye was at home naming everyone, people from the Forestry Bureau arrived.
They knew he had brought back many protected animals today, including foreign species. They came to register everything to prevent future reports from causing trouble.
But they hadn’t expected him to bring back this many.
Staring at a courtyard packed full of animals, the Forestry Bureau staff suddenly felt a headache coming on.
No wonder Lin Jiangye insisted they come register in person. If it were one or two, they wouldn’t worry—everyone in the Bureau knew what kind of person Lin Jiangye was.
But this many? That was harder to explain.
They originally wanted him to send some to a zoo. Yue City had one in the urban area—smaller than a wildlife park, but with many species, and it often took in animals from circuses.
But looking at those dozen-plus predators—so unlike household pets—each one either thin or injured, all bony and gaunt… if they dumped them all on a zoo, the director would probably explode.
They were all carnivores. And the zoo didn’t have money like that.
After thinking it through, they realized the best place for them was Lin Jiangye’s home.
“But there’s still one issue,” they reminded him kindly. “You need to build fencing. What if they run out?”
This wasn’t about trust—it was about showing a responsible stance.
“I understand. I’ll have people start on it tomorrow.”
Even if they hadn’t said it, Lin Jiangye planned to fence things off anyway. Once the wildlife park was built, his private mini-animal park would be built alongside it. For the people living in the compound, and for the people down the mountain, this whole area needed to be secured.
After the naming, Lin Jiangye and Bai Zhengwen’s group escorted the animals back to their living areas.
The carnivorous predators stayed on one side. The two big birds stayed with the crows. Mimi stayed with the German Shepherd and the others. The red panda stayed with the tabby and the other small cats.
Then Lin Jiangye drew a boundary line on the front mountain for the predators: unless they faced a life-or-death emergency, they were not allowed to cross that line toward the main gate.
But the predators didn’t care. The open back-mountain forest was theirs to roam—why bother running to the front mountain?
Once the little ones were settled, Lin Jiangye waited peacefully for New Year’s Eve.
On the 30th, Shang Fuyan called and asked if he could come to Lin Jiangye’s place to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
Lin Jiangye agreed without hesitation. A big reason everything had gone so smoothly in the capital was because Shang Yongyi was there.
And Shang Yongyi taking such good care of him surely had Shang Fuyan’s influence behind it.
“Come, come! Perfect timing—let the new ‘stars’ recognize you.” Lin Jiangye paused, then asked whether the rest of the unit were on duty or on leave.
“On leave… why?” Shang Fuyan’s heart sank with a sudden bad feeling.
Sure enough, Lin Jiangye’s next sentence proved it right:
“If they’re on leave, tell them to come eat together!”
Lin Jiangye sounded genuinely cheerful over the phone. He truly liked the direct task-force teammates, so he wanted them to come hang out.
“I remember Yan Keke really likes the little ones, right? She can come tomorrow and pet them all. I’ve got plenty of empty rooms—no worry about space.”
Hearing his happy tone, Shang Fuyan couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
After hanging up, he let out a long sigh—then still passed Lin Jiangye’s invitation along.
The happiest by far was Yan Keke.
Seeing his teammates so excited, the sourness in Shang Fuyan’s chest eased a little. Still, he warned them:
“I’m reminding you—he brought back more than ten abused animals. Around strangers they might get stressed. You are not allowed to force-hug them, got it?”
Forget whether Lin Jiangye would be unhappy—those predators could swipe once and, best case, leave you disfigured; worst case, kill you.
Yan Keke instantly reined in her excitement, snapped straight, and saluted. “Yes, sir! ?(°?°)”
Shang Fuyan rubbed his forehead helplessly. The gesture made everyone laugh again.
On New Year’s Eve, the group arrived at Lin Jiangye’s home with prepared food.
After everyone got acquainted, Lin Jiangye released the backyard animals, and the unit members immediately piled in, hugging them in a chaotic heap.
Yan Keke was inhaling fluff so hard she nearly floated out of her body. “This… is heaven!”
Lin Jiangye watched the noisy chaos with a helpless smile, but he wasn’t unhappy.
This kind of lively warmth… it was the first time he’d ever experienced it.
Shang Fuyan brought several bottles of red wine—Shang Yongyi’s old collection, which he’d transported from the capital to Yue City.
When midnight arrived, brilliant fireworks bloomed across the sky in the distance.
The little ones were seeing something like this for the first time. One by one, they sat quietly, watching in wonder.
At the same time, Shang Fuyan walked to Lin Jiangye’s side and raised his wineglass to him.
“Happy New Year!”
Lin Jiangye turned slightly. His eyes were bright—and in those eyes, only Shang Fuyan was reflected.
“Same to you.”
